The Global Environment

Plenary Lecture: Research and Policy on the Environment in Japan.- Impact of Climatic Change on Agriculture from the Viewpoint of East Asia.- The Global Climate Protection Strategy of the Enquete-Commission of the German Parliament.- The Global Warming Issue - A Social Scientist's View.- The Tropical Forest Ecosystem: Reviewing the Effects of Deforestation on Climate and Environment.- Energy and Atmospheric Environment in Post-Communist Countries: The Case of Poland.- Influence of a Global Warming on the Risk of Forest Fires in the French Mediterranean Area.- Sustainable Green Energy, CO2 Neutral, an Answer for Rich and Poor Alike?.- International Cooperation for "A Little Breathing Space".- The Role of the Ocean in Climate and Climate Change.- Mankind's Greenhouse Effect: Is It Already Here?.- Strategies for Environmentally Sound Economic Development: A Framework for Interdisciplinary Collaboration.- Conjectures About the Chances of Ultimate Global Sustainability.- The World of Perceptions Versus the World of Data: Notes Towards Safe-Failing the Energy Equation.- Environment Protection and Economic Development.- Abating Global Warming for Fun and Profit.- Knowledge and Action for Preserving the Global Environment.- Panel Discussion.- Conclusions and Recommendations of the Working Groups.- Concluding Remarks.- Index of Contributors.

The Global Environment offers a rare opportunity to survey the work and opinions of leading sociologists, economists and natural scientists as they face the challenge of uniting to determine "what should be done". Examples are taken from a wide variety of human activities (agriculture, energy, industry, ...) as well as natural physical processes. Each of these informative and clearly written essays is authored by a leading expert in this multidisciplinary field. The book thus provides necessary and stimulating reading for all those concerned about the preservation of a habitable global environment and should appeal to many general readers.