The barometer of change
VITAL Signs responds to the need for information on the trends that are reshaping our world. It surveys 42 global indicators, such as the decline in per capita availability of food and water, economic recession over the past two years, increasing water scarcity and the population increase to outline the challenges facing policy makers.
If current predictions of population growth prove accurate and patterns of human activity on the planet don't change, science and technology may not be able to prevent either irreversible degradation of the environment or continued poverty for much of the world. On the other hand, there are some positive signs, too. The most important among them are the decline in nuclear arsenals, the search for renewable energy sources and heightened concern for the environment: all indicating the movement towards a better world.
The design and content of this volume is based on the assumption that information is the key to intelligent action. This volume, in its own way, provides an inventory of the data available and the gaps. The book has two parts: one on trends for which historical data are available and the other on important trends for which no historical data exist.
Forest damage The topics in the second category include spreading water scarcity, declining marine populations and forest damage from acid rain. A core group of indicators appears in each part, including trends such as nuclear power generation and Third World debt. This category, accounting for perhaps a third of the book, is devoted to trends that change very slowly.