Vital Signs 2009

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“Vital Signs is absolutely invaluable.”
—Geoffrey Lean, Environment Editor of the Independent on Sunday

April 2009
ISBN: 978-1-878071-88-0
122 pages

Table of Contents

Vital Signs 2009 includes 25 trends in one convenient reference guide. Covers pressing trends in energy, agriculture, transportation, climate, health, the economy, population, and other areas to inform and inspire the changes needed to build a sustainable world.

This sixteenth volume of Worldwatch’s Vital Signs series makes it clear that climate change is both a growing driver of and an increasingly important motivator behind the world’s leading economic, social, and environmental trends

Sample figures from Vital Signs 2009:

Figure 1 Figure 2

"Vital Signs...provides the most straightforward and reliable environmental, economic, and social information available on the entire planet Earth. Vital Signs delivers...facts illuminated by contexts and interconnections, often revealing causes of the problems, and pointing the way towards solutions that work." —Michael Pastore, Epublishers Weekly

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Preface

Food and Agriculture Trends

  • Grain Harvest Sets Record, But Supplies Still Tight
  • Meat Production Continues to Rise
  • Genetically Modified Crops Only a Fraction of Primary Global Crop Production
  • Fish Farming Continues to Grow as World Fisheries Stagnate

Energy and Transportation Trends

  • Coal Use Rises Dramatically Despite Impacts on Climate and Health
  • Oil Consumption Continues Slow Growth
  • Wind Power Continues Rapid Rise
  • Despite Obstacles, Biofuels Continue Surge
  • Another Sunny Year for Solar Power
  • Vehicle Production Rises, But Few Cars are “Green”
  • Nuclear Power Crawling Forward
  • Strong Growth in Compact Fluorescent Bulbs Reduces Electricity Demand
  • One Twelfth of Global Electricity Comes from Combined Heat and Power Systems
  • Bicycle Production Reaches 130 Million Units

Environment and Climate Trends

  • Climate Change Accelerates
  • Carbon Emissions on the Rise But Policies Growing Too
  • Weather-related Disasters Dominate

Global Economy and Resources Trends

  • Global Economic Growth Continues at Expense of Ecological Systems
  • Carbon Markets Gain Momentum, Despite Challenges
  • Jobs in Renewable Energy Expanding
  • Microfinance Surging

Population and Society Trends

  • Peacekeeping Budgets and Personnel Soar to New Heights
  • Fertility Falls, Population Rises, Future Uncertain
  • Child Mortality Drops Below 10 Million
  • Environment a Growing Driver in Displacement of People

 

 

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