I. Global Environmental Problems

U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development - The Country Profiles section of the site contains environmental information provided by countries to the Commission

Global Environmental Protection in the 21st Century - includes a 16-page advocacy report with overview of post-Rio environmental actions, critique of U.S.international environmental policy, charts with data on global temperatures, consumption, water usage, population

EPA Envirofacts - a database containing select U.S. EPA environmental data

EcoNet- provides links to news articles, employment/volunteer opportunities, action alerts and events calendars on domestic and international environmental issues

National Environmental Data Index - provides direct access to environmental data and information from various federal departments and agencies

• A. Climate Change

Environmental Protection Agency Global Warming Site - provides general information on the climate system, impacts, and actions related to global warming

• B. Ozone Depletion

THESEO 2000 Campaign - through experiments and computer modeling, aims to uncover the causes of stratospheric ozone loss over the Arctic and at middle latitudes.

• C. Species Extinction and Loss of Biodiversity

World Wildlife Fund Species at Risk - provides information on endangered species and how to protect them

Promoting Better Logging Practices in Tropical Forests - provides an abstract of a World Bank Development Research Group working paper recommending performance-based renewal conditions for tropical forest concessions

• D. Pollution From Toxic Chemicals and Hazardous Waste

Hazardous Materials Advisory Council Home Page - promotes regulatory compliance and safety in the transportation of hazardous materials/dangerous goods, substances and wastes

World Wildlife Fund's Global Campaign to Reduce the Use of Toxic Chemicals- aims to increase scientific understanding of toxic chemicals and to restrict or ban harmful chemicals

II. Local and Regional Environmental Problems

Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape - lists topics and points of interest, describes the agency and its services

• A. Access to Fresh Water

World Resources Institute: Water and Fisheries - discusses whether future freshwater needs will be met given the current trends

UNDP - World Bank Water and Sanitation Program - helps poor people gain sustained access to improved water and sanitation services

• B. Air Pollution

Pollution Management - provides links to World Bank papers addressing informationon air pollution

• C. Food Security and Agriculture

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - raises levels of nutrition and standards of living, improves agricultural productivity, and betters the condition of rural populations

The Worldwatch Institute - Excellent links on specific environmental topics as well as WRI publications on a range of topics

III. Poverty

Which World? Scenarios for the 21st Century - includes information on a publication by the World Resources Institute, which analyzes trends and scenarios for each of 7 major world regions, combining information on each region's political and cultural patterns, natural resource endowments, and social problems

IV. Synergies and Cliffs: The Non-Linear Consequences of Linear Thinking

Our Stolen Future - official web page of the book exploring the emerging science of endocrine disruption

• A. Synergistic Interactions of Toxins

The Rachel Carson Homestead - provides information on the Rachel Carson Homestead Association, formed to advance the author's environmental ethic described in her book, Silent Spring, warning of the dangers of indiscriminate pesticide use

• B. Environmental Cliffs

Antarctica - a Time magazine article discussing the possibility of sudden and extreme climate change

V. Human Activity and the Environment: The Problem of Scale

• A. Scale: The Relative Size of Human Activity Within the Global Ecosystem

People and Ecosystems: The Fraying Web of Life - a World Resources Institute report on the effect of ecosystem degradation on people's lives and on global ecosystem restoration Global Trends - from the Sustainable Development Information Service, reports that many negative environmental trends continue alongside gains in human development Indicators of Potential Risks to Human Health from Environmental Threats - by the World Resources Institute, describes the methods used to develop the indicators of environmental health by maximizing available dataWRI PowerPoint Slideshow Presentations - provides slideshows on climate change, safe climate & sound business, oil as a finite resource, frontier forests, global trends, and reefs at risk

Population and the Environment - a Population Action International publication, provides data on natural resources and the impact of human population trends on the environment

• B. Physical Limits of the Ecosystem

Net Primary Productivity (NPP) Database - contains documented field measurements of biomass and estimated NPP for terrestrial sites worldwide

VI. Decision-Making in the Face of Scientific Uncertainty

U.S. National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) - provides for the development of better information to address the uncertainty underlying global environmental problems

Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED)  - provides a database of natural disasters around the world