Reports
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Worldwatch Paper #123: High Priorities: Conserving Mountain Ecosystems and CulturesFebruary 1995 Many people perceive mountains as powerful symbols of pristine wilderness and natural beauty. But these perceptions belie the vulnerabilities of mountain environments and the social marginalization of their peoples. Mountains make up one-fifth of the world’s landscapes and are home to at least one-tenth of the world’s... |
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Worldwatch Paper #122: Budgeting for Disarmament: The Costs of War and PeaceNovember 1994 The first systematic study of global peace and disarmament budgets shows a rapid rise from $2.5 billion in 1989 to nearly $16 billion in 1994, while military budgets dropped 23 percent. Yet peace spending still equals only 2 percent of military spending, according to a new Worldwatch study, "Budgeting for Disarmament: The Costs of War and... |
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Worldwatch Paper #121: The Next Efficiency Revolution: Creating a Sustainable Materials EconomySeptember 1994 Consumer societies can no longer avoid confronting the inefficiency with which they use materials, according to a new Worldwatch Institute study. An overhaul of the materials economy--redesigning products and processes and reducing waste--would create millions of new jobs, while reducing the production of toxic waste and a... |
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Worldwatch Paper #120: Net Loss: Fish, Jobs & the Marine EnvironmentJuly 1994 With fisheries policy fiercely debated from the U.S. Congress to the United Nations, "Net Loss: Fish, Jobs & the Marine Environment," examines the ecological, social and economic crisis in world fisheries. Researcher Peter Weber describes a half- century of unsustainable fishing practices, reliance on exploitive technologies, and self-... |
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Worldwatch Paper #119: Powering the Future: Blueprint for a Sustainable Electricity IndustryJune 1994 New technologies and a more competitive market will severely shake the $800-billion-a-year electric power industry--one of the world's largest--in the next few years, reports the Worldwatch Institute. Pressured by real competition for the first time, some of today's large, debt-burdened power companies may... |
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Worldwatch Paper #118: Back on Track: The Global Rail RevivalApril 1994 A growing world transportation crisis is driving government funding away from building roads and airports and toward a global rail revival. This investment is providing an economic boon to the regions involved. European planners are creating a high-speed rail system connecting every major European city. China plans a $20 billion investment... |
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Worldwatch Paper #117: Saving the Forests: What Will It Take?December 1993 Two thirds of the planet's original forests have been felled, and despite a decade of well-meaning global initiatives, the chainsaw is working faster than ever. To halt deforestation will require no less than restructuring three features of the modern economy: property rights to forests, pricing of forest products, and political power... |
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Worldwatch Paper #116: Abandoned Seas: Resersing the Decline of the OceansNovember 1993 Public concern over the oceans typically focuses on oil spills and the fouling of beaches, but far greater threats are posed by coastal habitat destruction, overfishing, and pollution from industry, farms and households that daily drains into the sea, concludes the author in Abandoned Seas: Reversing the Decline of Oceans. These assaults imperil... |
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Worldwatch Paper #115: Global Network: Computers in a Sustainable SocietySeptember 1993 Faster, cheaper computers, better programs, and rapidly expanding international computer networks are becoming extraordinary tools for environmental protection and sustainable development, according to the author of Global Network: Computers in a Sustainable Society. Computers have made it possible to model the effects of air pollution... |
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Worldwatch Paper #114: Critical Juncture: The Future of PeacekeepingMay 1993 The collapse of Bosnia, far from being a unique horror, may presage many other post-Cold War conflicts unless the international community rapidly strengthens its peacekeeping machinery, concludes Critical Juncture: The Future of Peacekeeping, a study from the Worldwatch Institute, a policy research group based in Washington, D.C. "The... |