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Global Climate Change Digest
A Guide to Information on Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depletion
Published July 1988 through June 1999

FROM VOLUME 1, NUMBER 6, DECEMBER 1988

REPORTS

Item #d88dec14

World Resources 1988-89--An Assessment of the Resource Base that Supports the Global Economy, 372 pp., Nov. 1988. World Resour. Inst. and Internat. Inst. Environ. & Devel., in collaboration with U.N. Environ. Prog. Order from Basic Books, POB 350, Hagerstown MD 21741 (800-638-3030); $15.25 paper, $29.65 cloth.

The second in a series to be issued biennially, intended to contribute to management of the world's resources by providing an independent, nongovernmental perspective. Following a 14-page executive summary in Part I, Part II is devoted to individual resource areas like atmosphere and climate, energy, forests and rangelands, oceans and coasts, plus two general chapters on global systems and cycles, and policies and institutions. Part III covers rehabilitating and restoring degraded lands. Part IV gives resource data tables corresponding to the topics in Part II. This issue also includes a special regional focus on Asia.

Item #d88dec15

Energy Policy Statement: A Call to Action for the Next President and Congress, Environ. & Energy Study Inst., 10 pp., Oct. 1988. Order from EESI, 122 C St. NW, S. 700, Washington DC 20001 (202-628-1400); $10.

The board of directors of EESI, an independent, non-partisan public policy organization, approved this statement unanimously to encourage decisive action by the government on a new energy policy to counter global warming, and also international economic competition, other forms of air pollution, and threatened energy security. Most important of four categories of action is energy efficiency. This can be improved greatly through: taxes on fuels that produce carbon dioxide; giving priority to energy efficiency in acid rain control proposals; shifting energy production subsidies from nuclear sources to renewable ones and efficiency development; new standards for transportation efficiency; accelerated research and development. The other three general categories are alternative energy sources and fuel switching, reversing forest destruction, and leadership in developing international initiatives.

Item #d88dec16

The Changing Atmosphere--Challenges and Opportunities, 24 pp., Oct. 1988. Issued by American Meteor. Soc. (45 Beacon St., Boston MA 02108; 617-227-2425) and Univ. Corp. Atmos. Res.

Presents specific recommendations to the new administration for assessing and preparing for climate changes, and for protecting life and property from severe weather events, made by a professional society (AMS) and a consortium of universities (UCAR). The U.S. must join with other nations to develop the observational database, computer models and necessary understanding to anticipate the course of climate-related events, estimate the impacts of changes, and prepare for them. Completion of existing programs to improve warnings, acquisition of supercomputers and enhancement of severe storm research programs are necessary for protection from severe weather. These investments are top priorities because they will be repaid in avoided costs, and are justified despite the need for federal deficit reduction.

Item #d88dec17

Climate Change: A Primer, N.J. Rosenburg, 19 pp., 1987 (reprinted 1988). Resour. for the Future, 1616 P St. NW, Washington DC 20036 (202-328-5000), single copies free; multiple copies $2 ea.

Item #d88dec18

A Primer on Climate Change: Mechanisms, Trends and Projections (RR86-04), N.J. Rosenburg, 67 pp., 1986; $3.

The first text is aimed at nonscientists and is drawn from the second, a fully referenced technical discussion paper. The former defines and characterizes climate; explains the workings of the climate system (radiation and energy balance) and human effects on it through greenhouse gases and land use change; then discusses whether climate is changing, agriculture as a sensitive indicator, and what the future holds.

Item #d88dec19

A Matter of Degrees: The Potential for Controlling the Greenhouse Effect, I.M. Mintzer, 57 pp., April 1987. World Resour. Inst. (Washington, D.C.) Order from WRI Pubs., POB 620, Holmes PA 19043; $11.50.

A comprehensive analysis of the impacts of policy changes and new technologies on the buildup of greenhouse gases, based on computer model calculations. Four scenarios were analyzed; of these, the basic scenario represents no major efforts to alter present trends, while the slow buildup scenario represents the adoption of strong policies to improve energy efficiency, introduce solar energy, arrest deforestation and limit CFC emissions. In the basic scenario the earth's temperature will be committed to an increase of 2.9-8.6 ·C by the year 2075. However, the strong measures represented in the slow buildup scenario substantially offset this increase, if adopted within the next decade.

Item #d88dec20

A Regional Model of Long-Term Wetland-Forest Dynamics (WP-87-63), M.Ya. Antonovsky, F.Z. Glebov, M.D. Korzukin, 51 pp., 1987.

Internat. Inst. Appl. Sys. Analysis, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria; US $7.

Under current conditions, the characteristic time for succession from forest to bog in the boreal forests of the USSR, Scandinavia and Canada is about 100 years, but with greenhouse warming succession rates may be considerably altered. This may have significant impact on the forest sector, and models must be developed to determine likely future outcomes.