In the face of the global financial and economic crisis, Germany has addressed many urgent social, political and economical challenges of our times. Bold projects and ideas like the "Energiewende", waste cycle management, concepts for growth in saturated markets, and demographic change have been put on the agenda. Both German and international experts share their insights into the future laboratory Germany and outline the emerging cornerstones of a green economy which may soon turn out to be yet another export hit.This volume is published in honor of Klaus Töpfer's 75th birthday. He is a vocal advocate and leading pioneer of feasible and prudent future scenarios.