Eco-economy : building an economy for the earth / Lester R. Brown.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [277]-322) and index.

Machine generated contents note: 1. The Economy and the Earth 3 -- Economy Self-Destructing 7 -- Lessons from the Past 14 -- Learning from China 17 -- The Acceleration of History 19 -- The Option: Restructure or Decline 21 -- I. A STRESSED RELATIONSHIP -- 2. Signs of Stress: Climate and Water 27 -- Temperature Rising 28 -- The Ice is Melting 30 -- Sea Level Rising 34 -- More Destructive Storms 37 -- Rivers Drained Dry 39 -- Falling Water Tables 43 -- Facing Water Scarcity 46 -- 3. Signs of Stress: The Biological Base 49 -- Fisheries Collapsing 51 -- Forests Shrinking 55 -- Rangelands Deteriorating 58 -- Soils Eroding 62 -- Species Disappearing 68 -- Synergies and Surprises 72 -- 4. The Shape of the Eco-Economy 77 -- Ecology Over Economics 78 -- A Monumental Undertaking 81 -- Restructuring the Economy 83 -- New Industries, New Jobs 85 -- History's Greatest Investment Opportunity 92 -- 5. Building the Solar/Hydrogen Economy 97 -- The Energy Efficiency Base 99 -- Harnessing the Wind 102 -- Turning Sunlight into Electricity 107 -- Tapping the Earth's Heat 110 -- Natural Gas: The Transition Fuel 112 -- Getting to the Hydrogen Economy 114 -- 6. Designing a New Materials Economy 121 -- Throwaway Products 123 -- Materials and the Environment 126 -- The Earth's Toxic Burden 131 -- The Role of Recycling 135 -- Redesigning the Materials Economy 138 -- 7. Feeding Everyone Well 145 -- A Status Report 147 -- Raising Cropland Productivity 150 -- Raising Water Productivity 154 -- Restructuring the Protein Economy 158 -- Eradicating Hunger: A Broad Strategy 163 -- 8. Protecting Forest Products and Services 169 -- Fuel, Lumber, and Paper 170 -- Forest Services 172 -- Sustainable Forestry 176 -- Lightening the Load 178 -- The Role of Plantations 181 -- Reclaiming the Earth 183 -- 9. Redesigning Cities for People 187 -- An Urbanizing Species 188 -- Car-Centered Urban Sprawl 191 -- Urbanization and Obesity 195 -- Urban Rail and Bicycle Systems 199 -- Planning Cities for People 202 -- III. GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE -- 10. Stabilizing Population by Reducing Fertility 211 -- Breaking Out or Breaking Down 213 -- Africa Breaking Down 217 -- Filling the Family Planning Gap 220 -- The Role of Female Education 225 -- Using Soap Operas and Sitcoms 227 -- Stopping at Two 228 -- 11. Tools for Restructuring the Economy 233 -- The Fiscal Steering Wheel 234 -- Tax Shifting 236 -- Subsidy Shifting 240 -- Ecolabeling: Voting with Our Wallets 244 -- Tradable Permits 248 -- Support for Fiscal Restructuring 249 -- 12. Accelerating the Transition 253 -- United Nations Leadership 255 -- New Responsibility of Governments 257 -- New Role for the Media 259 -- The Corporate Interest 261 -- NGOs and Individuals 265 -- Crossing the Threshold 269 -- Is There Enough Time? 274.