The global cost of disasters is growing: The economic burden of disasters is intensifying. While the direct costs of disasters averaged $70–80 billion a year between 1970 and 2000, between 2001 and 2020 these annual costs grew significantly to $180–200 billion. But the real cost is far higher. Disaster costs …
Scientists have been warning about the danger from global warming for almost 20 years and our national and international governance systems have failed to deliver policies to effectively address this planetary emergency. After reviewing the reasons of the failure of our political, social and economic systems to make an effective …
This report warns that industrialised nations must pay billions of pounds to help poorer countries tackle global warming if millions of people around the world are not to be consigned to endless poverty.
This World Disasters Report focuses on how women, the elderly, minorities and people with disabilities are discriminated against in disasters. It says aid agencies and governments should make more effort to avoid discrimination in their relief and recovery programmes.
This publication provides stimulating analysis on future scenarios of energy use, which focus on a range of technologies that are expected to emerge in the coming years and decades. There is now universal recognition of the fact that new technologies and much greater use of some that already exist provide …
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) is a ground-breaking study on how humans have altered ecosystems, and how changes in ecosystem services affect human well-being, both now and in the future. Integrating findings at the local, regional, global scales and from alternative intellectual traditions, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment presents a stark …
This publication provides stimulating analysis on future scenarios of energy use, which focus on a range of technologies that are expected to emerge in the coming years and decades. There is now universal recognition of the fact that new technologies and much greater use of some that already exist provide …
This report addresses three major threats to the safety and security of cities, which are: urban crime and violence; insecurity of tenure and forced evictions; and natural and human-made disasters. It analyses worldwide conditions and trends with respect to these threats and pays particular attention to their underlying causes and …
The global debate over who should take action to address climate change is extremely precarious, as diametrically opposed perceptions of climate justice threaten the prospects for any long-term agreement. Poor nations fear limits on their efforts to grow economically and meet the needs of their own people, while powerful industrial …
Rising energy prices, geopolitics and concerns over the impacts of green house gas emissions on climate change are increasing the demand for biofuel production. This paper explores the land and water implications of increased biofuel production globally and with special focus on these two important countries, using the WATERSIM model. …
This report presents the results of a survey on "Reporting the Business Implications of Climate Change in Sustainability Reports". This is a survey to catalogue types of reporting on climate change and was conducted by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and KPMG's Global Sustainability Services. The survey found that while …
This volume is the seventh in a series of books documenting the annual John H. Chafee Memorial Lecture on Science and the Environment.The lecture was delivered at the 7th National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment: Integrating Environment and Human Health on February 1, 2007, in Washington, DC.
Livestock production has become a major envioronmental management challenge. When its full commodity chain is included, the sector contributes to global warming, causes stress on land by grazing, increases demand for water for feed crop production and leads to water pollution by animal waste and chemicals 80 per cent of …
In October 2006, the World Health Organisation (who) released new guidelines challenging governments around the world to improve air quality in their cities. The recommended limits of pm10, ozone and sulphur dioxide have been substantial lowered. The prescribed standards are far tougher than the those in vogue in many parts …
• The global potential for renewable energy is 20,000 times than that of the daily consumption of atomic and fossil energy. In 2005, non-hydro renewables generated only 2 per cent of world's net generation of 4.06 trillion kilowatt-hour (kwh) • At present, there are two principle methods employed by governments …
monsoon distribution in the country is significantly influenced by irrigated agriculture. Scientists are now trying to figure out how vegetation and atmosphere interact and how it affects the spatial distribution of rainfall. A paper published in the July 21 issue of Geophysical Research Letters (Vol 33, No 14) said that …
What does the ubiquitous auto-rickshaw and the plush aeroplane have in common, other than getting us from one place to another? The auto-rickshaw, as India's largest manufacturer Rahul Bajaj will tell you, is the symbol of democratic mobility - it provides transport for large numbers of people at what he …
I first met Madhusudan Katti in Mundanthurai, southern Tamil Nadu, more than 10 years ago when he was collecting field data for his PhD on migratory warblers. Madhu, now at the California State University in Fresno, and his collaborators in the Central Arizona Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research Project
The World Trade Organization (wto) was supposed to be the driver of free trade in a globalised economy. But this does not seem to be the case. Regional trade agreements (rtas) seem to be ruling the roost. Two hundred ninety rta s are now in force. rtas are popular among …
