in the 2013-2014 trade year and their grain use climbing by 17 million tons per year. Outgrowing the Earth This book, published in 2004, is a more recent description of "the ways in which human demands are outstripping the earth's natural capacities, and how the resulting environmental damage is undermining food production on a global scale. He documents that the decrease of crop production is due to global warming, water shortages, decreasing cropland in developing countries like China, and population growth that is still increasing world population by 76 million each year. Plan B 4.0 This book, published in 2009, continues the themes of his earlier books, and is written as a final warning call for the leaders of the world to begin "mobilizing to save civilization" and stresses even more that time is of the essence. At California State University, Chico, Plan B has become "required reading for all incoming freshmen." The university says that it is being used in many courses in History, English, Philosophy, Communications, Political and Social Science. Breaking New Ground: A Personal History In the fall of 2013, Brown published his autobiography. In Breaking New Ground, Brown details the seminal events of his life that led him to establish the first research institute devoted to an interdisciplinary analysis of global environmental issues. Of the book, David Orr said: "This is the life story of a true American hero . . . as a scientist and public intellectual dedicated to the cause of sustainability, Lester Brown is in a class by himself." David Suzuki said: "Lester Brown is one of humanity's great eco-warriors, constantly updating the state of the planet while ceaselessly seeking solutions and a path to sustainability. Breaking New Ground is an inspirational story of what one person is capable of achieving. Every aspiring activist will find much to learn from Lester Brown's life story." The Great Transition: Shifting from Fossil Fuels to Solar and Wind Energy (2015) The book covers the rapid growth of a global energy revolution that uses renewable sources. Countries are replacing coal and nuclear power as their energy sources and moving toward renewable energies. While solar energy was originally developed for small-scale residential use, today major utility-scale solar projects are being built globally. Single wind farm complexes in some countries will produce as much electricity as several nuclear power plants. New transport systems in countries like China are also