| Summary, etc. |
As the world enters the last decade of the century, the environmental problems facing human society have moved to center stage. This, the Worldwatch Institute's seventh annual assessment of the earth's health, comes at a time when many vital life support systems are being undermined. While awareness of the issues has soared in recent years, no country has yet embarked on the ambitious turnaround strategies needed to make today's societies sustainable.<br/><br/>State of the World 1990 focuses on major policy initiatives needed to stabilize the climate, improve air quality, and reduce poverty. A wholesale reordering of government priorities is suggested, including the conversion of military industries into enterprises that promote a sustainable society. In keeping with the mood entering a new decade, the 1990 edition is more forward-looking than ever.<br/><br/>In the last chapter, the authors describe the outlines of a sustainable society. It is not enough, they believe, to implement policies piecemeal, so they have provided a vision to guide policy reforms. A society that meets its needs without consuming the resource base of future generations would be efficient in all senses, powered by renewable energy sources rather than fossil fuels, relying on less damaging agricultural practices, and using recycled materials for many purposes. Other chapters of State of the World 1990 focus on the problem of rising seas, the precarious food situation now facing the world, emerging water scarcities and their threat to agriculture, and<br/><br/>the role of the bicycle in transportation systems. State of the World is now translated into all major languages, including Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish, and sells over 100,000 copies annually in English alone. In the absence of any official annual assessment by the United Nations, this book is now given semi-official status by many national governments and international agencies. It is also used in over 1,000 U.S. college and university courses ranging from geography to political science. As The New York Review of Books recently pointed out, State of the World "deals with calamitous events rationally and constructively, and always offers logical solutions." |
