State of the World 1987

Fülszöveg

"Our relationship with the earth and its natural systems is changing, often in ways that we do not understand," write Worldwatch Institute President Lester R. Brown and Senior Researcher Sandra Postel. "The scale of humán activities threatens the habitability of the earth itself. A sustainable society satisfies its needs without diminishing the prospects of the next generation. But by many measures, contemporary society fails to meet this criterion." State ofthe World 1987 examines the counterpoint of urgency and uncertainty that has come to dominate world affairs in an age when the environmental consequences of humán activities transcend national boundaries. The report is the fourth in an annual series from Worldwatch assessing worldwide progress toward achieving a sustainable society. Producers of the award-winning NOVA programs on public television are working with the Institute to develop a ten-part documentary series on the State ofthe World reports. The 1987 report assesses... Tovább

Fülszöveg

"Our relationship with the earth and its natural systems is changing, often in ways that we do not understand," write Worldwatch Institute President Lester R. Brown and Senior Researcher Sandra Postel. "The scale of humán activities threatens the habitability of the earth itself. A sustainable society satisfies its needs without diminishing the prospects of the next generation. But by many measures, contemporary society fails to meet this criterion." State ofthe World 1987 examines the counterpoint of urgency and uncertainty that has come to dominate world affairs in an age when the environmental consequences of humán activities transcend national boundaries. The report is the fourth in an annual series from Worldwatch assessing worldwide progress toward achieving a sustainable society. Producers of the award-winning NOVA programs on public television are working with the Institute to develop a ten-part documentary series on the State ofthe World reports. The 1987 report assesses human-caused disruptions of global chemical cycles; evaluates the worldwide reappraisal of nuclear power after the Chernobyl accident; profiles the accelerating urbanization of the world's population; discusses the shift to reliance on markets in a growing number of countries; and advocates new initiatives in recycling materials and raising agricultural productivity. In contrasting State ofthe World 1986 with the State of the Union address, Time' s Hugh Sidey wrote that it was "arguably a more accurate and provocative picture of the globe than the one sketched by the President." Economic activity could be approaching a level where further growth in gross world product costs more than it is worth. By 2000, three out of the five cities with populations of 15 millión or more will be in the Third World. Over two-thirds of the people in most European countries are now against the construction of nuclear plants. More than half the cities in the United States will exhaust their current landfills by 1990. Climate change could carry a global price tag of $200 biliion for irrigation adjustments alone. The existing scientific effort falls short of what is needed to assess the impacts of humán activity on the global environment. For somé of the major adjustments facing humanity, a relatively small number of countries hold the key to success. Vissza