Two-thirds of what we waste could be reused without important changes in our life-styles. One benefit of recycling would be the diminishing contribution of raw materials prices to inflation. For a sustainable resource policy there are three basic components: waste reduction, waste separation, and waste recovery. The first can be met by producing…

This paper, one of a series published by the Worldwatch Institute to identify and focus attention on global problems, is adapted from the author's book, "Rays of Hope: The Transition to a Post-Petroleum World." The author examines the current energy problems of the world, and determines that the energy patterns of the past are not the prologue to…

Focusing on the need for energy to sustain economic development on a long-term basis, the document examines energy options of the post-petroleum era in developing nations. Nuclear power and solar power are the most important among proposed alternative energy sources. Limited applicability of nuclear technology to the Third World is discussed.…