Contents of Volume 1,
Number 1, Spring 1995

Editorial

Trends in U.S. Climate During the Twentieth Century

By Thomas R. Karl, Richard W. Knight, David R. Easterling, Robert G. Quayle

The last several decades of weather records for the United States reveal trends that are consistent with the specific expectations of greenhouse warming, although were they to persist, these documented changes in the American record cannot be taken as con clusive evidence for a global effect.

America's Water Supply: Status and Prospects for the Future

By Kenneth D. Frederick

Over 1300 gallons of freshwater are withdrawn each day for each person living in America, counting direct and indirect uses such as irrigation and the production of electric power. Although the U.S. has seemingly abundant supplies, the infrastructure of storage and delivery is growing old, while new factors, including the value of water left in the stream, now weigh heavily in apportioning it.

Past and Present Land Use and Land Cover in the U.S.A.

By William B. Meyer

In 1850, old growth trees still grew on nearly half of America; forest cover of all kinds reached a low point in about 1920, rising to 31% today. Cropland now covers some 22% of the U.S., and urban development about 4%. Roughly half of our original wetl ands have disappeared. Changes in how the land is used are closely coupled with other aspects of the environment.

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