Environmental Book Launch at Wilson Center: Sept. 29, 2008

Please join the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Division of International Security Studies and the Environmental Change and Security Program for a book launch of

Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution-and How It Can Renew America

featuring

Thomas Friedman, Foreign Affairs Columnist, New York Times, and Author


Monday, September 29, 2008
10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Reception to follow
6th Floor Flom Auditorium
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Webcast live at www.wilsoncenter.org

Please RSVP to ecsp@wilsoncenter.org with your name and affiliation.


Thomas Friedman’s new book, Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution-and How It Can Renew America, brings a fresh outlook to the crises of destabilizing climate change, rising competition for energy, and rapid population growth. Plagued by inaction, the United States and the rest of the world have watched as “global warming, the stunning rise of middle classes all over the world, and rapid population growth have converged in a way that could make our planet dangerously unstable,” writes Friedman.

Yet undergirding Friedman’s book is his sense of optimism that renewed American leadership on energy conservation, population, and multilateral cooperation-what he calls “Geo-Greenism”-could not only stave off the worst climate change scenarios but also bolster America’s economy and flagging global reputation. Friedman sets out the clean-technology breakthroughs the world will need; shows that the ET (Energy Technology) revolution will be both transformative and disruptive; and explains why America must lead this revolution-with the first Green President and a Green New Deal, spurred by the Greenest Generation. Whether you defend or challenge Friedman’s perspective, Hot, Flat, and Crowded is certain to become a lightning rod in the debates over climate change, energy, and environmental security.

Thomas Friedman, a world-renowned author and journalist, joined The New York Times in 1981 as a financial reporter specializing in OPEC- and oil-related news and later served as the chief diplomatic, chief White House, and international economics correspondents. A three-time Pulitzer Prize winner, he has reported on the Middle East conflict, the end of the Cold War, U.S. domestic politics and foreign policy, international economics, and the worldwide impact of the terrorist threat. His foreign affairs column, which appears twice a week in the Times, is syndicated to 700 other newspapers worldwide. He is the author of From Beirut to Jerusalem, The Lexus and the Olive Tree, Longitude and Attitudes, and The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century. Friedman graduated summa cum laude from Brandeis University and received a master's degree in modern Middle East studies from Oxford University. He has served as a visiting professor at Harvard University and has been awarded honorary degrees from several U.S. universities.


If you are interested, but unable to attend the event, please tune into the live or archived webcast at www.wilsoncenter.org. The webcast will begin approximately 10 minutes after the posted meeting time. You will need Windows Media Player to watch the webcast. To download the free player, visit: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download.

Location: Woodrow Wilson Center at the Ronald Reagan Building: 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW ("Federal Triangle" stop on Blue/Orange Line), 6th Floor Flom Auditorium. A map to the Center is available at www.wilsoncenter.org/directions. Note: Due to heightened security, entrance to the building will be restricted and photo identification is required. Please allow additional time to pass through security.