Last Updated:
February 28, 2007

GCRIO Program Overview

Library 
Our extensive collection of documents.

Privacy Policy

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

FROM VOLUME 3, NUMBER 8, AUGUST 1990

REPORTS...
GENERAL INTEREST AND POLICY

Item #d90aug32

A World of Difference: Report of the Task Force on Global Climate Change, Nat. Governors' Assoc., 36 pp., June 1990. Available for $15 (prepaid) from NGA Pubs., 444 Capitol St., S. 250, Washington DC 20001 (202-624-5300).

Over the past year the task force, consisting of the governors of 11 states, held hearings and met with senior scientists and policymakers from several nations and discussed the issue with business and environmental leaders. It concludes that existing understanding warrants immediate steps to offset possible global warming and its impacts. Although these must be carried out internationally, the states have important roles to play because of their authority over utilities, land use, transportation, taxation and other means of effecting change in the environment. Seven key goals are given for the United States in the 1990s including: develop an international agreement on the atmosphere; stabilize CO₂ emissions through energy conservation and efficiency; develop and commercialize alternative energy systems; implement forestry programs; plan and act now to adapt to a changing climate.

Item #d90aug33

Protection of the Environment: A Call for Global Leadership, 36 pp., 1990. Available from Intl. Foundation for the Survival and Development of Humanity: 11 Dupont Cir. NW, 6th Fl., Washington DC 20036 (202-745-1900); Ulitsa Vesnina 9/5, 121002 Moscow, USSR (tel: 241-8243); Tyska Brinken, 11127 Stockholm, Sweden (tel: 46-8-110-503).

Prepared for use at the Moscow Forum on Environment and Development (Global Climate Change Digest, NEWS, Apr. 1990) by an international committee of the Foundation, which was established in 1988 to help solve global problems through catalytic projects having international impact. It focuses on actions that should be taken by the Soviet Union, most of which are relevant to all nations, concerning ozone depletion, global climate change and energy efficiency, deforestation, and other environmental areas. The United States and the USSR should lead in coordinated, international reduction of CO₂ emissions. (See REPORTS/ENERGY POLICY, this Global Climate Change Digest issue--Aug. 1990.)

Item #d90aug34

Available (no charge) from Social Sci. Res. Inst., Univ. Hawaii at Manoa, Porteus Hall 704, Honolulu HI 96822 (fax: 808-942-5710). Comments invited.

Sea Level Rise: Assessing the Scientific Debate, C.B. Jones, 27 pp., Mar. 1989. Synthesizes recent progress on sea level models, atmospheric warming models and sea level measurement, as the first in a series of joint studies with the Pacific Basin Development Council.

Policy Development and Planning for Global Climate Change and Sea Level Rise in the Pacific Islands, M.P. Mamnett, C.B. Jones, W.L. Schultz, 21 pp., 1989. Outlines the approach being taken to address five public policy problems associated with the issue: predictions of catastrophic impact; lack of immediacy; the attitude that "we're not causing it, we can't prevent it"; scientific uncertainty; possible actions.

Item #d90aug35

The Phytosystem as a Sink for Carbon Dioxide (EPRI EN-6786), J.L. Kulp, 32 pp., May 1990. Available from Elec. Power Res. Inst., Res. Rpt. Ctr., POB 50490, Palo Alto CA 94303 (415-965-4081); $25 ($50 overseas).

This preliminary assessment finds that enough land is available for a large-scale program of aggressive reforestation to make a significant contribution toward reducing atmospheric CO₂. Furthermore, demand for wood products will probably grow fast enough to support such a program. Even if only 10% or 20% of atmospheric carbon could be sequestered in this way, the reduced growth of greenhouse gases would provide additional time for either adaptation or development of new technology.

Item #d90aug36

Southern Ecosystem Health and Productivity in a Changing Environment: An Implementation Plan for the Southern Global Change Program, U.S. Forest Service, 59 pp., July 1990 draft. Request from Southern Global Change Prog., 1509 Varsity Dr., Raleigh NC 27606 (919-737-3311).

This initial draft proposes approaches for implementing the goals outlined in the November 1989 Strategic Plan for Research in the Southern United States (Global Climate Change Digest, REPORTS/GENERAL AND POLICY, July 1990). Rather than identifying specific projects, it outlines a general framework for the program; specific project ideas will be solicited from researchers in response to a future request for proposals. Regional participation and coordination with other elements of the U.S. Global Change Research Program are stressed. Comments on the draft plan are requested from the scientific community.

Item #d90aug37

Greenhouse Effect: DOE's Programs and Activities Relevant to the Global Warming Phenomenon (GAO/RCED-90-74BR), Mar. 1990. U.S. General Accounting Office (POB 6015, Gaithersburg MD 20877; 202-275-6241). First five copies free; additional $2 ea.

Reviews efforts by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to fill information gaps on the topic; DOE's program planning and criteria for evaluating global warming research and development; the agency's leadership on the issue and efforts to integrate its activities into energy policy and planning; and changes in policies or programs proposed by agencies or groups for improving energy efficiency or reducing emissions.