Anyone got $190 Billion to "save the planet"

A new book puts the price of saving the planet at a mere $190billion. The question is whether $190 million is "mere" or actually a "substantial" amount.

The headline does appear a little over the top and I suspect it would cost a lot more than $190 billion.

What would it cost to wipe out world poverty, guarantee universal health care, stabilise population growth and roll back the ravages of global warming?

The second paragraph talks about the "prominent environmental economist" Lester Brown. He certainly has a CV as long as your arm HERE.

It is interesting that Brown sees himself as an optimist (a rare trait among economists).

That optimism sets Brown apart from eco-pioneers like Gaia guru James Lovelock, who has concluded it's too late to reverse the devastating effects of climate change.

"He might be right, and he's not the only one who thinks that," Brown said. "I have to hope there's a chance we can turn it around. Otherwise there's no point. Even if we lose it's better to go down fighting than just standing there."

This article in PlanetArk interviews Lester Brown. One notable quote from Brown who calls for:

"a great mobilisation" to fight climate change, equivalent to the Allied wartime effort to beat Nazi Germany"

New Book Puts Cost of Saving Planet at $190 Billion [PlanetArk]

LONDON - What would it cost to wipe out world poverty, guarantee universal health care, stabilise population growth and roll back the ravages of global warming?

About $190 billion a year, or the equivalent of a third of US annual military expenditure, a prominent environmental economist says in a new book.

"Once you accept that climate change, population growth, spreading water shortages, rising food prices etcetera are threats to our security, it changes your whole way of thinking about how you use public resources," Lester Brown told Reuters in an interview.

From eradicating adult illiteracy to restoring fisheries and stabilising water tables, the head of the Earth Policy Institute think tank in Washington calculates the cost of saving civilisation in a new edition of his best-selling "Plan B".

The $190 billion price tag compares with $1.2 trillion that world governments spent on military budgets in 2006. The United States splurged the most with $560 billion.

Describing a planet on the brink of environmental meltdown, Brown calls for a "great mobilisation" to fight climate change, equivalent to the Allied wartime effort to beat Nazi Germany.

Details of Plan B 3.0 can be found in his new book:

Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization

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