A comprehensive, international program is proposed to help nations optimize and conserve natural resources. The aim of the program is to increase the overall supply of natural resources available to improve the chances for world peace. The energy and material resources of the world are finite. We must live with and adapt to the concept of finite…

Discusses the impact of science and technology on major social problems confronting the Western world. Topics include pollution and ecology, military impact, computer science, and the benefits of science and technology. (Author/MA)

The five articles in this booklet focus on positive social, political, and economic responses to world problems. The first article, "Earthscape: Transitions Toward World Order," by Patricia Mische, outlines major biological, historical, and cultural transformations which the world has undergone since the beginnings of recorded history and…

The conference described in this report convened to provide a forum for exchanging ideas and opinions on the role of the United Nations in global energy management. The conference was one in a series of international meetings (14 have been held to date) to consider how to increase the effectiveness of the United Nations during the 1980s. The…

Discusses the efficient use of energy. Compares reserves and pollutants generated by natural gas, oil, and coal. Points out some alternative energy sources and ways for improving energy efficiency in buildings, industrial processes, and transportation. Describes some problems in developing and developed countries. (YP)

Discussed are some of the relevant social, technological, and economic issues involved with environmental problems in third world countries. The role of developed nations in political and economic development in the third world is addressed. (CW)

This booklet contains a summary of the preparation efforts of the United States for participation in the U.N. Conference on the Human Environment. This conference, the first world-wide effort of governments to consider and act upon the environmental problems of the entire human community, was held in Stockholm in June, 1972. Description is given…

The economic crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa threatens to condemn an entire continent to human misery unless stronger action is taken to control population growth, reverse ecological devastation, eliminate distortions in domestic economic policies, and increase external development finance. Substantial increases in financial assistance to Africa are…

Within the next 25 years each major world problem will continue to grow and challenge the finest minds for equitable solutions. Yet the core world issue, from which most other problems stem, is the maintenance of an equitable and dynamic equilibrium between world populations and world resources. We are faced with a set of challenges stemming from…

Examined are the mandates of the Law of the Sea (LOS) Convention (not ratified by the United States), which set aside approximately two-thirds of the world's oceans as a "common heritage of mankind" to further the establishment of a "new economic order." The convention established an International Seabed Authority designed to…

The infusion of technology into society has created social and environmental problems as well as benefits. Four concerns linked with technology are discussed in this paper: rising unemployment, growing social inequalities, dwindling oil and gas reserves, and potential long-term ecological problems. Indiscriminate transfer of modern labor-saving…

The second of a series of annual reports designed to provide a global assessment of progress toward a sustainable society, this publication monitors changes in the global resource base (land, water, energy, and biological support systems), focusing particularly on how these changes affect the economy. Included in the report are news on innovative…

The book provides an overview of the food situation in developing nations and in the United States as it will be until the end of the 20th century. Specifically, the research focuses on interrelationships among world food needs, resources, and environmental issues. The document is presented in seven chapters. Chapter I presents background on the…

The first of a series of annual reports for policy makers, this publication focuses on evaluating changes in the interplay between the world's changing resource base and the economic system. Following an overview, content is divided into 10 additional chapters covering population stabilization, the world's dependence on oil, soil conservation,…

Although progress has been made in combatting the most visible and easily controlled forms of pollution (exhaust, industrial waste, sewage, etc.), other pollutants have been largely ignored. Pollutants which are uncontrolled and which are increasingly recognized as dangerous include carbon dioxide, toxic substances such as dioxin, mirex, lindane,…