Worldwatch Institute, a research organization based in Washington, D.C., compiles and publishes information on worldwide environmental problems; it also suggests solutions and alternative courses of action. The Institute was founded in 1975 by Lester R. Brown, with financial assistance from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Brown is now its president and director of research; chairman of the board is former Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman. Membership is $25 annually. The fee helps support the Institute's research and publications, which members receive, but there are no avenues for membership participation within the Institute.

The Institute has published the State of the World report annually since 1984; sales in recent years reached $200,000. It is issued in 26 languages and is used as a textbook in over 600 colleges in the United states alone. The publication examines such topics as global warming, water and air quality, and the environmental impact of social policies. In 1990, State of the World was produced as a 10-part series on public television, a joint venture with the producers of Nova. The 1992 edition describes "a planet at risk" and warned that "the policy decisions we make during this decade will determine" the quality of life for future generations.

Six to eight other Worldwatch papers are published each year, and over a hundred monographs have been issued on specific subjects. Worldwatch magazine is published in several languages, and the Environmental Alert series targets particular environmental issues.

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Worldwatch Institute, 1776 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. USA 20036-1904 (202) 452-1999, Fax: (202) 296-7365, Email: worldwatch@worldwatch.org,