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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 4, NUMBER 4, APRIL 1991

NEWS...
NEWS NOTES

Item #d91apr74

Regional research centers were planned at a December 1991 IGBP workshop in Bellagio, Italy. IGBP Rep. No. 15 describes the proposal, which gives initial priority to external funding for centers in developing regions. (See Reports/General, this Global Climate Change Digest issue--Apr. 1991.)

Item #d91apr75

Earth Summit is the short name for the 1992 U.N. Conference on Environment and Development, to be held in Rio de Janeiro. A brochure explaining the issues at stake, international preparations and the role of nongovernmental participants was published in March 1991

Item #d91apr76

U.S. interagency research is the topic of two recent articles in Science. "It Ain't Broke, but Why Not FCCSET?" (J. Palca, pp. 737-738, Feb. 15, 1991) explains how global change is the first of several programs to be organized through the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering and Technology. "Learning from an Acid Rain Program" (L. Roberts, pp. 1302-1305, Mar. 15, 1991) is an extensive analysis of the accomplishments and failings of the National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program, and how the global change research program may be repeating one of its mistakes: pursuit of scientific excellence at the expense of policy relevance.

Item #d91apr77

A National Water Information Clearinghouse is the topic of workshops on Apr. 23 and May 21, 1991, organized by the U.S. Geological Survey.

Item #d91apr78

"Future Lessons in Energy Security May Come from the Weather, Not the Gulf," Global Environ. Change Rep., pp. 1-3, Mar. 15, 1991. A discussion with input from several international experts of a little-studied problem: energy systems with the lowest greenhouse gas emission are also the most vulnerable to climate change itself.

Item #d91apr79

"Third World Muscles in on Climate Treaty," C. Anderson, P. Aldhous, Nature, p. 727, Feb. 28, 1991. In a little-noticed maneuver late last year, developing nations increased their clout in climate treaty negotiations by moving the treaty process out of the U.N. Environment Program into the General Assembly, where they have more influence. Another indication of increasing influence is the flap raised by India at the February climate convention meeting.

Item #d91apr80

"Historians Probe Geophysics in Seattle," J.R. Fleming, Eos, pp. 122-123, Mar. 12, 1991. Summarizes several papers presented at an October meeting of the History of Science Society, which included a session Climatic Change in Historical Perspective.

Item #d91apr81

"Government Tax on Petroleum Products Aims to Influence Environmental Behavior," Intl. Environ. Rptr., pp. 129-130, Mar. 13, 1991. Includes discussion of a proposal by the German environment ministry to establish a CO₂ tax, to achieve the country's goal of reducing CO₂ emissions at least 25% by 2005.

Item #d91apr82

"Deforestation of Amazon Forest Falls Almost 30 Percent in 1990..," ibid., pp. 142-143. This conclusion results from analysis of Landsat satellite images by Brazil's National Space Institute. (See also New York Times, p. C4, Mar. 26; Science, p. 1425, Mar. 22.)