Worldwatch Institute

THE WORLDWATCH INSTITUTE is “dedicated to fostering the evolution of an environmentally sustainable and socially just society, where human needs are met in ways that do not threaten the health of the natural environment or the prospects of future generations.” It describes itself as “an independent, globally focused environmental and social policy research organization” with a “unique blend of interdisciplinary research and accessible writing.” Worldwatch is essentially a think tank, with its closest environmental movement analogues being Resources for the Future, the World Resources Institute, and the Earth Policy Institute. The latter is headed by Lester Brown, who founded Worldwatch in 1974 and served as its president through 2000. Its current president is Christopher Flavin.

Worldwatch prides itself on its accessible writing style and its fact-based analysis of critical global issues. It focuses on the underlying causes of these issues and seeks, through education and dissemination of information, to inspire people to act in positive ways. A search of its website produces large numbers of publications regarding climate change, which it has addressed in its publications since at least 1984. Worldwatch Papers, one of its signature publications, has sought to educate the public regarding “pressing economic, environmental, and social issues” since 1975. Worldwatch has published State of the World, a widely read and widely influential annual report, beginning in 1984. Although Worldwatch does not lobby Congress directly, this comprehensive report is read by legislators as well as world leaders, students, and ordinary individuals and has been translated into [Page 1112]25 languages. In 1992, Vital Signs: The Trends That Are Shaping Our Future came into being—an annual series designed to be even more accessible, with its “brief, digestible glimpses into more than 50 issues affecting the world each year.” The group publishes a bimonthly magazine, World Watch, and has moved to Web-based education recently with Vital Signs Online. It also produces an occasional series of books on specialized issues.

Worldwatch is not a one-issue organization, having written about a very wide range of environmental issues including energy, water pollution and availability, soil erosion and other agricultural concerns, population, biodiversity, materials recycling and conservation, forests, toxic materials, and so on. However, it seeks to foster recognition that these issues are inextricably tied to issues of social justice and peace. It began paying consistent attention to the relationship between social and environmental issues, particularly in international settings, much earlier than most environmental organizations. It began calling attention to the need for a sustainable society in at least 1982, five years before “sustain-ability” began to gain widespread attention with the publication of the Brundtland Commission report, Our Common Future. One of the features of its website is an item entitled “Natural Disasters and Peacemaking.” A premise is that natural disasters can serve as a means of breaking down social and political barriers, leading to opportunities for peace.

A desire to inspire change in societal attitudes and actions from a grassroots perspective is a hallmark of this organization. It seeks to effect change not by force from the top but by educating the public and thereby inspiring them to demand change.

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