Over time, scientists, technologists, and resource managers in affluent countries have devised and institutionalized methodologies for exploiting and managing natural resources in their own environments with considerable success. In doing so, they have provided models, at least of development and affluence, that the less developed countries seek…

Describes Monroe Community College's interdisciplinary liberal arts program, the Human Ecology Project, which explores the problems of energy and resource depletion and social and ecological imbalances; increases students' self-reliance in food, energy, shelter, and health care; and examines holistically the interrelationships of technology,…

Reports on a study into the awareness of conservation issues, and the enhancement thereof, as a result of visiting interpretive facilities in three South African nature reserves. Results indicate a statistically significant increase in awareness at all three reserves, although the levels of awareness were low. (TW)

Discusses the nature and consequences of organisms' adaptation to new environments, including examples of adaptation and tolerance, aliens, adventives and invaders, vacant niches, arrival and fate of an adventure, hybridization with native organisms, and invasion without introduction by humans. (DS)

Presents a student study of the growing conditions of the Water Hyacinth and its effect on the food chain. Describes the different phases of the project including fieldwork, a public awareness survey, public involvement, control programs, and conclusions. A vignette describes beneficial uses of the Water Hyacinth. (MCO)

Teachers in Tennessee are using the Classroom Ecological Inventory (CEI) to prepare students with mild disabilities for moves into mainstream settings. The CEI was field tested as part of the Peabody Reintegration Project and involves observation of the regular classroom, regular teacher interview, comparison of the special and regular classrooms,…

Describes the conceptual framework and three core courses of the certificate program in Preventive Engineering and Social Development at the Centre for Technology and Social Development at the University of Toronto. Preventive approaches examine how technology fits into, interacts with, and depends on human life, society, and the biosphere to…

Discusses sustainable school design and its benefits to the environment, offering examples of illustrative schools. Provides suggestions on site selection (such as using smaller sites and recycling existing buildings), sharing facilities with the community, and construction elements that improve environmental impact (such as flexibility,…

This book was developed to highlight the risks that confront societies, and to indicate the most promising avenues for preemptive policies and actions. The document contains chapters on: (1) the emergence of change; (2) analyzing demographic factors; (3) assessing the future of urbanization; (4) reassessing nuclear power (including an analysis of…

Intended to be a source of information on the nature and significance of health effects related to chemical disposal, this document is the final report of the Executive Scientific Panel on Health Aspects of the Disposal of Waste Chemicals. The panel, which was organized by the Universities Associated for Research and Education in Pathology…

One of the main activities assigned to the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is to review the world environmental situation to insure that emerging environmental problems of wide international significance receive appropriate and adequate consideration by governments. Accordingly, UNEP has assessed the state of…

The psychometric integrity of a measure of ecological stress in families with children who are handicapped was investigated using bootstrap factor analytic logic and the FACSTRAP program. The instrument is known as the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress--Friedrich short form. Subjects included both parents (N=132) in each of 66 intact families.…

While the open oceans remain relatively unpolluted, many coastal areas are suffering from oil, sewage, industrial wastes, and agricultural run-off. This document presents some of the key facts related to these kinds of water pollution. It focuses on the major sources of contamination in the world's seas, and provides an overview of how these…

Describes Ocean Thermal Energy Conservation (OTEC) as a method for exploiting the temperature difference between warm surface waters of the sea and its cold depths. Argues for full-scale demonstrations of the technique for producing energy for coastal regions. (TW)

Discussed are the costs of deriving energy from the earth's natural reserves of salt. Argues that, as fossil fuel supplies become more depleted in the future, the environmental advantages of salinity power may prove to warrant its exploitation. (TW)