Sustainable Solutions for the Planet’s Energy Challenge The
environmental challenges of climate change, energy demands, and
natural resource loss continue to mount. World population hit
seven billion on Halloween and is projected to go to ten billion
if not more. The first decade of the 21st century was the
warmest in 130 years of recorded global temperatures and 2010
was the warmest year yet recorded. Extinction rates are 1000
times base rates. The Amazon had the greatest drought in
recorded history in 2010. Droughts, floods, wildfires, and
probably intense tropical storms are becoming more frequent.
These challenges call for action at a planetary scale. The
“Managing Our Planet” seminar series – developed jointly by
George Mason University and the Wilson Center’s Environmental
Change and Security Program and Brazil Institute – addresses
planetary scale problems and solutions.