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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 6, NUMBER 12, DECEMBER 1993

REPORTS...
GENERAL INTEREST AND POLICY

Item #d93dec128

Preparing for an Uncertain Climate--Summary (OTA-O-563), U.S. Off. Technol. Assessment, 63 pp., Sep. 1993 (released Dec. 1993). For free copy or information on the full report contact OTA, U.S. Congress, Washington DC 20510 (202-224-8996).

Examines the ability of natural-resource-based systems (coastal areas, water resources, agriculture, wetlands, preserved lands, forests) to adapt to climate change. Considers means by which adaptation can be enhanced by public policy (modifying management, advancing research and technology, disseminating information, legislative actions).

The more than 100 policy options suggested take account of the great uncertainty involved, and address four major concerns: geographical and institutional fragmentation, inadequate communication of climate risk, the lack of contingency planning, and science or policy information gaps. A subset of options are identified as potential "first steps" because, for example, they address urgent issues that bear on future decisions or are beneficial because of reasons unrelated to climate change.

Concludes that the $1.4 billion U.S. Global Change Program, in its present form, will not provide decision makers with the information necessary for responding to climate change. Emphasizing physical science, it does not address natural resource management or ecosystem-level effects, and does not provide practical policy guidelines for mitigation or adaptation.

Item #d93dec129

Joint Statement on Population by the World's Scientific Academies, 15 pp., Oct. 1993. Drafted by the U.S. Nat. Acad. of Sci., Royal Soc. London, Swedish Acad. Sci., and Indian Nat. Sci. Acad. (See News.) Available in the U.S. from Intl. Off., Nat. Res. Council, 2101 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington DC 20418 (202-334-2800).

Item #d93dec130

Abandoned Seas: Reversing the Decline of the Oceans (Worldwatch Paper 116), P. Weber, 66 pp., Nov. 1993, $5.00 + $3 shipping. Worldwatch Inst., 1776 Mass. Ave. NW, Washington DC 20036 (202-452-1999).

Chemical and other forms of pollution threaten the health of ocean ecosystems, in turn threatening the biological pump by which marine photosynthesis absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, releases oxygen, and helps to maintain climate stability. Discusses how to set priorities for local, regional and global action by drawing links between ocean protection and the broader goals of sustainable development.

Item #d93dec131

State of the World 1994, L.R. Brown et al., 350 pp., Jan. 1994, $10.95. Available in 27 languages, or on computer disk with added data for $89. Worldwatch Inst. (address immed. above).

Topics covered in this eleventh annual installment include redesigning the forest economy, reshaping the power industry, reinventing transport, rebuilding the World Bank, salvaging the seas, and computing for the Earth.

Item #d93dec132

Cross-Border Technology Transfer To Eliminate Ozone-Depleting Substances, Nat. Acad. Eng., 95 pp., 1992, no charge. Nat. Acad. Eng. Prog. Off. (NAS 049), 2101 Constitution Ave., Washington DC 20418 (202-334-1650).

Based on an international workshop (Irvine, Calif., Apr. 1991). Identifies many issues discussed concerning impediments to technology transfer, and presents various perspectives and suggestions from the meeting.

Item #d93dec133

Environmental Indicator Bulletin--Stratospheric Ozone Depletion (SOE Bull. 93-2), 4 pp., Nov. 1993. No charge from State of the Environ. Reporting--Publications, Environ. Canada, Ottawa ON K1A 0H3, Can. (fax: 613-941-9646).

Concise update of the Canadian supply of ozone-depleting substances, global atmospheric concentrations of CFC-11 and CFC-12, stratospheric ozone levels over Canada in recent years, and related information.