World Watch articles from November 1996

World Watch archives from November 1996

Climate of hope. (international agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions)(Editorial)
November 1, 1996... When the Framework Convention on Climate Change was adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, it seemed as if the world had finally taken responsibility for limiting the billions of, tons of greenhouse gases that are now being added...

The next hurdle in ozone repair. (ozone depletion due to the use of methyl bromide)
November 1, 1996... Early this year, after heated debate, California lawmakers postponed a ban on the use of the pesticide methyl bromide. The issue was safety: activists cited nearly 300 poisoning cases as reason to allow the ban to go into effect in March, as was...

Closing the nutrient loop. (utilizing organic waste for food production instead of throwing them away in landfills)
November 1, 1996... In an urbanizing world, growing some of our food in cities can make our communities both more sustainable and more secure. Every day, an armada of petroleum-fueled trucks, trains, ships, and planes hauls perhaps 20,000 tons of food into New...

Asia is losing ground. (development boom is reducing Asia's farmlands)
November 1, 1996... The development boom is eating away at Asia's cropland. Unless the trend is reversed, the continent's leaders may find themselves facing a new national security problem: food. In 1994, the government of Taiwan decided to break a social rule...

The six floods. (six great waves of resource extraction in the North American continent)
November 1, 1996... In the Pacific Northwest bioregion of the North American continent, six great waves of extractive industry have brought enormous personal wealth - at the cost of ravishing ecological impoverishment. The region's history is a microcosm of the...