Ed Ayres
Encyclopedia
Ed Ayres is the founding editor and publisher of Running Times magazine and former editor of Worldwatch, a bimonthly global-trends magazine frequently quoted by textbook
s and the mainstream news media
. Ayres is also an ultramarathon
runner, four-time national age-group champion, and former winner of the JFK 50-mile run.
In 1999, Ayres wrote God's Last Offer: Negotiating for a Sustainable Future, a book that warns of four "spikes," out-of-control phenemona that threaten the biosphere
. These include rising carbon gas
emissions, the rate of biological extinction
s, unsustainable consumption
, and the exploding human population
. Word of mouth spread rapidly and the book soon sold out. In 2010, he was co-author of "Crossing the Energy Divide: Moving from Fossil-Fuel Dependence to a Clean Energy Future" (Prentice Hall).
Ayres considered the environmental movement
to be mostly a failure, with the exception of some notable successes on issues such as ozone depletion
. He retired from his position at the Worldwatch Institute
in 2004, and later launched a website concerned with the sustainability of civilization in the coming decades. In 2005, he and his wife, Sharon, moved from Northern Virginia
to California
, where they built an ecologically efficient house.
Textbook
A textbook or coursebook is a manual of instruction in any branch of study. Textbooks are produced according to the demands of educational institutions...
s and the mainstream news media
News media
The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...
. Ayres is also an ultramarathon
Ultramarathon
An ultramarathon is any sporting event involving running longer than the traditional marathon length of .There are two types of ultramarathon events: those that cover a specified distance, and events that take place during specified time...
runner, four-time national age-group champion, and former winner of the JFK 50-mile run.
In 1999, Ayres wrote God's Last Offer: Negotiating for a Sustainable Future, a book that warns of four "spikes," out-of-control phenemona that threaten the biosphere
Biosphere
The biosphere is the global sum of all ecosystems. It can also be called the zone of life on Earth, a closed and self-regulating system...
. These include rising carbon gas
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
emissions, the rate of biological extinction
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
s, unsustainable consumption
Consumption (economics)
Consumption is a common concept in economics, and gives rise to derived concepts such as consumer debt. Generally, consumption is defined in part by comparison to production. But the precise definition can vary because different schools of economists define production quite differently...
, and the exploding human population
Overpopulation
Overpopulation is a condition where an organism's numbers exceed the carrying capacity of its habitat. The term often refers to the relationship between the human population and its environment, the Earth...
. Word of mouth spread rapidly and the book soon sold out. In 2010, he was co-author of "Crossing the Energy Divide: Moving from Fossil-Fuel Dependence to a Clean Energy Future" (Prentice Hall).
Ayres considered the environmental movement
Environmental movement
The environmental movement, a term that includes the conservation and green politics, is a diverse scientific, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues....
to be mostly a failure, with the exception of some notable successes on issues such as ozone depletion
Ozone depletion
Ozone depletion describes two distinct but related phenomena observed since the late 1970s: a steady decline of about 4% per decade in the total volume of ozone in Earth's stratosphere , and a much larger springtime decrease in stratospheric ozone over Earth's polar regions. The latter phenomenon...
. He retired from his position at the Worldwatch Institute
Worldwatch Institute
The Worldwatch Institute is a globally focused environmental research organization based in Washington, D.C. Worldwatch was named as one of the top ten sustainable development research organizations by Globescan Survey of Sustainability Experts.-Mission:...
in 2004, and later launched a website concerned with the sustainability of civilization in the coming decades. In 2005, he and his wife, Sharon, moved from Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia consists of several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in a widespread region generally radiating southerly and westward from Washington, D.C...
to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where they built an ecologically efficient house.
Publications
- The Hidden Shame of the Global Industrial Economy, World Watch magazine article 2004.
External links
- Hymas, Lisa: Worldwatch kerfuffle, Grist Magazine, 23 Nov. 2004.