EPI Releases

Book Bytes - The Return of the Bicycle

July 06, 2010

The bicycle has many attractions as a form of personal transportation. It alleviates congestion, lowers air pollution, reduces obesity, increases physical fitness, does not emit climate-disrupting carbon dioxide, and is priced within the reach of the billions of people who cannot afford a car. Bicycles increase mobility while reducing congestion and the area of land paved over. Six bicycles can typically fit into the road space used by one car. For parking, the advantage is even greater, with 20 bicycles occupying the space required to park a car. For full report visit the EPI website.

Book Bytes - The Population-Poverty Connection

June 29, 2010

The 21st century began on an inspiring note: the United Nations set a goal of reducing the share of the world’s population living in extreme poverty by half by 2015. By early 2007 the world looked to be on track to meet this goal, but as the economic crisis unfolds and the outlook darkens, the world will have to intensify its poverty reduction effort. For full report visit the EPI website.

Book Bytes - Raising Water Productivity to Increase Food Security

June 22, 2010

With water shortages constraining food production growth, the world needs an effort to raise water productivity similar to the one that nearly tripled land productivity over the last half-century. Since it takes 1,000 tons of water to produce 1 ton of grain, it is not surprising that 70 percent of world water use is devoted to irrigation. Thus, raising irrigation efficiency is central to raising water productivity overall. For full report visit the EPI website.

Book Bytes - How Many Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs Does It Take to Close 705 Coal Plants?

June 16, 2010

The lighting sector is on the edge of a spectacular revolution, a shift from the century-old, inefficient incandescent light bulb to far more efficient technologies. Perhaps the quickest, most profitable way to reduce electricity use worldwide—thus cutting carbon emissions—is simply to change light bulbs. For full report visit the EPI website.

Book Bytes - Cars and People Compete for Grain

June 01, 2010

At a time when excessive pressures on the earth’s land and water resources are of growing concern, there is a massive new demand emerging for cropland to produce fuel for cars—one that threatens world food security. Although this situation had been developing for a few decades, it was not until Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when oil prices jumped above $60 a barrel and U.S. gasoline prices climbed to $3 a gallon, that the situation came into focus. Suddenly investments in U.S. corn-based ethanol distilleries became hugely profitable, unleashing an investment frenzy that will convert one fourth of the 2009 U.S. grain harvest into fuel for cars. For full report visit the EPI website.

Book Bytes - Parking Lots to Parks: Designing Livable Cities

May 25, 2010

As I was being driven through Tel Aviv from my hotel to a conference center in 1998, I could not help but note the overwhelming presence of cars and parking lots. It was obvious that Tel Aviv, expanding from a small settlement a half-century ago to a city of some 3 million today, had evolved during the automobile era. It occurred to me that the ratio of parks to parking lots may be the best indicator of the livability of a city—an indication of whether the city is designed for people or for cars. For full report, please visit our website.

Book Bytes - Reclaiming the Streets

May 19, 2010

EPI Releases - Offshore Wind, Not Offshore Oil

May 12, 2010

EPI Releases - Reduce, Recycle, and Replant – Data Highlights on Restoring the World’s Forests

April 28, 2010

Book Bytes - Saving Civilization is Not a Spectator Sport

April 22, 2010