Worldwatch Reports and Papers
Author: Samuel S. Myers, MD, MPH
ISBN 13: 978-1-878071-92-7
Paperback
50 pages
Over the past two-to-three hundred years, humanity’s ecological footprint has ballooned to such an extent that we are now fundamentally altering the planet. We have transformed the Earth’s land surface and altered the function of its ecosystems, and we are triggering the rapid loss of both terrestrial and marine life. We are also profoundly changing our planet’s climate. It is increasingly apparent that the breadth and depth of the changes we are wreaking on the environment are imperiling not only many of the other species with which we share the ecological stage, but the health and wellbeing of our own species as well.
Authors: Jane Earley and Alice McKeown
July 2009
ISBN 13: 978-1-878071-90-3
Paperback
50 pages
Over the last decade, biofuels have been championed in the United States as a new source of income for rural communities, as a way to reduce dependence on foreign oil, and most recently as a solution to the country's energy and climate change problems. These latter concerns are now the main driver behind the promise of biofuels, leading the United States and other governments across the world to encourage greater production and use. But as the market for biofuels expands, so too do the social, economic, and environmental impacts.
Authors: Sara J. Scherr and Sajal Sthapit
June 2009
ISBN 13: 978-1-878071-91-0
Paperback
50 pages
Land makes up a quarter of Earth’s surface, and its soil and plants hold three times as much carbon as the atmosphere. More than 30 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions arise from the land use sector. Thus, no strategy for mitigating global climate change can be complete or successful without reducing emissions from agriculture, forestry, and other land uses. Moreover, only land-based or “terrestrial” carbon sequestration offers the possibility today of large-scale removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, through plant photosynthesis.
Author: Christopher Flavin
December 2008
ISBN 13: 978-1-878071-87-3
Paperback
52 pages
Technologies available today, and those expected to become competitive over the next decade, will permit a rapid decarbonization of the global energy economy. New renewable energy technologies, combined with a broad suite of energy-efficiency advances, will allow global energy needs to be met without fossil fuels and by adding only minimally to the cost of energy services.
Author: Michael Renner
October 2008
ISBN 13: 978-1878071-86-6
Paperback
60 pages
The pursuit of so-called "green jobs"—employment that contributes to protecting the environment and reducing humanity's carbon footprint—will be a key economic driver of the 21st century. "Climate-proofing" the global economy will involve large-scale investments in new technologies, equipment, buildings, and infrastructure, which will provide a major stimulus for much-needed new employment and an opportunity for retaining and transforming
existing jobs.
Author: Brian Halweil
September 2008
ISBN 13: 978-1878071-85-9
Paperback
50 pages
From Asia to North America, people
are eating more seafood, either
because it’s the most affordable form
of protein (as in many poorer
nations) or because it’s the latest health food
trend (as in many wealthy nations). But as the
demand for fish rises, populations of both
marine and freshwater species are being overexploited,
resulting in stagnant or declining
catches from many wild fisheries.
Authors: Eric Martinot and Li Junfeng
November 2007
ISBN 13: 978-1-878071-83-5
Paperback
50 pages
China’s need for secure, affordable,
and environmentally sustainable
energy for its 1.3 billion people is
palpable. In 2006, China’s energy use
was already the second highest in the world,
having nearly doubled in the last decade, and
its electricity use is growing even faster, having
doubled since 2000. With both energy-intensive
industry and high-tech manufacturing,
China now serves as factory to the world.
Authors: Michelle Allsopp, Richard Page, Paul Johnston, and David Santillo
September 2007
ISBN: 978-1-878071-81-1
Paperback
56 pages
Uniquely among the universe’s known planets, the Earth is a sphere dominated by watery oceans. They cover 70 percent of its surface and are home to a myriad of amazing and beautiful creatures. Life almost certainly originated in the oceans, yet the biological diversity of marine habitats is threatened by the activities of one largely land-based species: us. The activities through which humans threaten marine life include overfishing, use of destructive fishing methods, pollution, and commercial aquaculture.
June 2007
Michael Renner and Zoë Chafe
ISBN: 1-878071-82-3
ISBN: 978-1-878071-82-8
56 pages
In Beyond Disasters: Creating Opportunities for Peace, Michael Renner and Zoë Chafe examine the recent experiences of Indonesia’s Aceh province, Sri Lanka, and Kashmir, among others, and suggest ways to better integrate disaster and conflict responses.
The authors note that the human toll taken by natural disasters is increasing, adding to the list of deadly challenges faced by poor communities and countries worldwide. Recorded disasters nearly doubled between 1987 and 2006, while the number of people affected by these disasters increased more than 10 percent. Women, children, and the elderly are among those most vulnerable.
The report concludes that the intersection of disasters, conflict, and peacemaking requires interdisciplinary responses from governments, international donors, and civil society.
At a time when global fishing regulations have proven ineffective in protecting fish populations, Catch of the Day is a refreshing reminder that we are not doomed to face an ocean wasteland "inhabited primarily by sea slime and jellyfish." Rather, a public that better understands the state of the world's oceans can be a driving force in helping governments pass legislation to ban destructive fishing, mandate seafood labels, decrease consumption of endangered fish, and create sustainable marine preserves.
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