Peter Brown's career has concentrated on the uses of philosophy to think critically about the goals of society. Since the 1980s this work has centered on the deterioration of Earth’s life support capacity, and the thought systems that facilitate and legitimate this decline. He is the author of Restoring the Public Trust: A Fresh Vision for Progressive Government in America, and The Commonwealth of Life: Economics for a Flourishing Earth, and Ethics for Economics in the Anthropocene; co-author of Right Relationship: Building a Whole Earth Economy; and co-edited/authored Water Ethics: Foundational Readings for Students and Professionals, and Ecological Economics for the Anthropocene: An Emerging Paradigm. Professor Brown is Principal Investigator of "Economics for the Anthropocene: Re-grounding the human/Earth relationship", a partnership between McGill, Vermont, and York Universities. Educating PhD students in the foundations of ecological economics, it also offers critical perspectives on neo-classical economics/finance, law, governance and ethics; and first hand experiences on the crises of the Anthropocene: water, energy, climate justice, and all species food security. Professor Brown is involved in conservation efforts in Maryland, Maine, and Quebec. His land is under permanent conservation easements; totally nearly 1000 acres. In 2012 he established a brook trout sanctuary on a threatened stretch of the upper Savage River in Maryland.

Peter Brown’s career has concentrated on the practical uses of philosophy to think critically about the goals of society. Since the 1980s this work has centered on the deterioration of Earth’s life support capacity and the thought systems that facilitate and legitimate this decline.