This paper discusses six steps which must be taken on a global level to put society on a sustainable path. Of the various steps none is more important than bringing population growth to a halt. The official United Nations medium-level population projects, used by planners throughout the world, show world population reaching some 10.5 billion…

As the world enters the last decade of the 20th century, the environmental problems facing human societies have been given increased emphasis in world policy debates. The goal of the Worldwatch Institute is to help raise the level of public understanding of global environmental threats to the point where the public will support policies needed to…

There are more people being affected by environmental change than ever before. The deterioration of the earth's physical condition appears to be accelerating. This sixth in a series of annual reports is a collection of 10 essays detailing the major threats to global environmental security and possible responses to them. Included are: (1) "A World…

Twenty-two facets of the world population problem are explored. The topics are economic, social, ecological, and political in nature and generally portray the stresses and strains associated with continued population growth in a world inhabited by four billion people. These aspects of the population problem are discussed: literacy, oceanic…

American economic analysts will better understand current economic trends if they investigate economic problems in light of the expanding global economy. Reasons for the failure of economists to explain the simultaneous existence of rapid inflation and high unemployment include preoccupation with economic indicators, short-term forecasts, and…

The third of three annual assessments concentrating on the relationship between the world economy and its environmental support systems, this edition expands earlier themes on how economic demands of a world population approaching 5 billion affects the earth's natural systems and resources to embrace threats to security as well. The first of 11…

Population growth and resource depletion are discussed. The need is stressed for policy makers to understand how population projections relate to the carrying capacity of the earth's basic biological systems. Because the earth's resources are limited, it is essential that policy makers in developed and developing nations be able to analyze the…

The purpose of this book is to examine the interaction of the world's ecological, economic, and social systems. It is divided into 12 chapters, with the first chapter providing an introduction and overview. Chapter two assesses the dimensions of the ecological stresses being put on the environment, specifically, the world's oceans, forests,…