The Global Environment

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". The initiative for this project was taken by IBM Japan as part of IBM's commitment to good corporate citizenship. The invited participants present and exchange ideas on many of the topics relevant to the fate of our planet. Examples are taken from a wide variety of human activities (agriculture, energy, industry ...) as well as natural physical processes. The book thus provides necessary and stimulating reading for all those concerned about the preservation of a habitable 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 -- Knowled…