The Worldwatch Institute was a globally focused

environmental research Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physics, biology, and geography (including ecology, chemistry, plant science, zoology, mineralogy, oceanography, limnology, soil science, geology and physical geo ...

organization based in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, founded by

Lester R. Brown Lester Russel Brown (born March 28, 1934) is an American environmental analyst, founder of the Worldwatch Institute, and founder and former president of the Earth Policy Institute, a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, D.C. BB ...

. Worldwatch was named as one of the top ten

sustainable development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The des ...

research organizations by Globescan Survey of Sustainability Experts. Brown left to found the

Earth Policy Institute Earth Policy Institute was an independent non-profit environmental organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was founded by Lester R. Brown in 2001 and functioned as an environmental think tank, providing research and analy ...

in 2000. The institute terminated in 2017, after publication of its last '' State of the World Report''. Worldwatch.org was unreachable from mid 2019.

Mission

The mission of the Institute read: "Through research and outreach that inspire action, the Worldwatch Institute works to accelerate the transition to a

sustainable Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livin ...

world that meets human needs. The Institute's top mission objectives are universal access to

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

and

nutritious Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient nu ...

food, expansion of

environmentally sound Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes (also referred to as eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green), are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that clai ...

jobs and development, transformation of cultures from

consumerism Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the supp ...

to sustainability, and an early end to

population growth Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 83 million annually, or 1.1% per year. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to ...

through healthy and intentional

childbearing Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but ca ...

." The Worldwatch Institute aimed to inform policymakers and the public about the links between the

world economy The world economy or global economy is the economy of all humans of the world, referring to the global economic system, which includes all economic activities which are conducted both within and between nations, including production, consumption, ...

and its environmental support systems. Research conducted by the institute was integrative or interdisciplinary and global in scope. Worldwatch's priority programs included: *Building a

low-carbon A low-carbon economy (LCE) or decarbonised economy is an economy based on energy sources that produce low levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. GHG emissions due to human activity are the dominant cause of observed climate change since the mi ...

energy system that dramatically reduces the use of

fossil fuels A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels ...

and lowers

greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and lar ...

. *Nourishing the Planet - methods that create a

sustainable food A sustainable food system is a type of food system that provides healthy food to people and creates sustainable environmental, economic and social systems that surround food. Sustainable food systems start with the development of sustainable agr ...

production system that provides a healthy, nutritious diet for all while sustaining the land, water, and

biological resources In biology and ecology, a resource is a substance or object in the environment required by an organism for normal growth, maintenance, and reproduction. Resources can be consumed by one organism and, as a result, become unavailable to another organi ...

on which life depends. The project resulted in the Worldwatch Institute's flagship publication, ''State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet''. * Transforming economies,

cultures Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

, and societies that meets human needs, promotes

prosperity Prosperity is the flourishing, thriving, good fortune and successful social status. Prosperity often produces profuse wealth including other factors which can be profusely wealthy in all degrees, such as happiness and health. Competing notion ...

, and is in harmony with

nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...

. Worldwatch also monitored human

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

water resources Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. 97% of the water on the Earth is salt water and only three percent is fresh water; slight ...

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

governance Governance is the process of interactions through the laws, social norm, norms, power (social and political), power or language of an organized society over a social system (family, tribe, formal organization, formal or informal organization, a ...

, and

environmental security Environmental security examines threats posed by environmental events and trends to individuals, communities or nations. It may focus on the impact of human conflict and international relations on the environment, or on how environmental problems c ...

History

* 1974—The institute was founded by Lester Brown. * 1975—The first ''Worldwatch Paper'' was published. * 1984—First State of the World published. * 1988—''World Watch Magazine'' was launched. * 1992—''Vital Signs'', Worldwatch's third annual series, was premiered. * 2000— Christopher Flavin became President of Worldwatch in October. * 2000

left, to found the

in 2001. * 2008—Worldwatch hosted the 20th Anniversary of the

James E. Hansen James Edward Hansen (born March 29, 1942) is an American adjunct professor directing the Program on Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions of the The Earth Institute, Earth Institute at Columbia University. He is best known for his research ...

hearings. * 2010. July/August edition of ''World Watch magazine'' was the last. * 2011—

Robert Engelman Robert Engelman is an American author and former journalist who writes about the environment and population and serves as Senior Fellow at the Worldwatch Institute. He was President of the Institute from 2011 until 2014. His book ''More: Population ...

became President of Worldwatch in October. * 2014—Ed Groark became Acting Interim President of Worldwatch. * 2017 Ceased operations after its last ''State of the World'' report was published.

Publications

Worldwatch Institute publications have been published in more than three dozen languages by its global partners in 40 countries. Worldwatch publications include: * The '' State of the World'' report is an annual assessment of urgent global environmental problems and the innovative ideas proposed and applied across the globe to address them. * ''Vital Signs'' tracks social, environmental and economic trends and publishes data and analysis.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Environmental organizations based in Washington, D.C. Organizations established in 1974 1974 establishments in Washington, D.C. Think tanks based in the United States Human overpopulation think tanks Population concern advocacy groups Population concern organizations

Mission

History

Publications

See also

References

External links