Lester Brown

Background

Lester Brown helped pioneer the concept of environmental sustainability by creating the first research institute in 1974 devoted to analyzing environmental issues on a global basis, Worldwatch Institute. He founded Earth Policy Institute in 2001 to provide modeling for sustainable economies. Brown has been described as “one of the world’s most influential thinkers” by the Washington Post. The Telegraph of Calcutta called him “the guru of the environmental movement.” Brown has been honored with a MacArthur “genius” Fellowship and the United Nations Environment Prize. In 1986, the Library of Congress requested his papers for its archives, noting that his writings “have already strongly affected thinking about problems of world population and resources. He’s published over 50 books, which have been translated into over forty languages. Brown began his professional career as a farmer in southern New Jersey­. After obtaining a degree in agricultural science from Rutgers in 1955, he spent six months living in rural India where he became familiar with food and population issues. In 1964, he became a foreign policy advisor to Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman. Brown earned a masters degree in agricultural economics from the University of Maryland and in public administration from Harvard. This past speaker page shares two events, Brown's presentation in 2009 on his book, Plan B 3.0, and his 2013 interview with Progressive Forum president Randall Morton at the national launch of his memoir, Breaking New Ground: A Personal History.