How often in today's environmental debates have you read that ""the science is in dispute""-even when there is overwhelming consensus among scientists? Too often, the voice of science is diminished or diluted for the sake of politics, and the public is misled. Now, the most authoritative voice in U.S. science, Science magazine, brings you current scientific knowledge on today's most pressing environmental challenges, from population growth to climate change to biodiversity loss. Science Magazine's State of the Planet 2006-2007 is a unique contribution that brings together leading environmental scientists and researchers to give readers a comprehensive yet accessible overview of current issues. Included are explanatory essays from Science magazine editor-in-chief Donald Kennedy that tie together the issues and explore the relationships among them. Each of the book's 18 chapters is written by the world's leading experts, such as: Joel Cohen on population Peter Gleick on water Daniel Pauly on fisheries Thomas Karl on climate change science Paul Portney on energy and development Elinor Ostrom and Thomas Dietz on commons management Interspersed throughout are Science news pieces that highlight particular issues and cases relevant to the main scientific findings. An added feature is the inclusion of definitions of key terms and concepts that help students and nonspecialists understand the issues. Published biennially, State of the Planet is a clear, accessible guide for readers of all levels-from students to professionals.
Acknowledgments Introduction \ Donald Kennedy
PART I. Living Resources -Life on a Human-Dominated Planet \ Donald Kennedy -Human Population: The Next Half Century \ Joel E. Cohen -Prospects for Biodiversity \ Martin Jenkins -World Fisheries: The Next 50 Years \ Daniel Pauly, Jackie Alder, Elena Bennett, Villy Christensen, Peter Tyedmers, and Reg Watson
PART II. Physical Resources -Preserving the Conditions for Life \ Donald Kennedy -Tropical Soils and Food Security: The Next 50 Years \ Michael A. Stocking -Global Freshwater Resources: Soft-Path Solutions for the 21st Century \ Peter H. Gleick -Energy Resources and Global Development \ Jeffrey Chow, Raymond J. Kopp, and Paul R. Portney -Global Air Quality and Pollution \ Hajime Akimoto -Modern Global Climate Change \ Thomas R. Karl and Kevin E. Trenberth
PART III. The Commons -Managing Our Common Inheritance \ Donald Kennedy -The Tragedy of the Commons \ Garrett Hardin -The Struggle to Govern the Commons \ Thomas Dietz, Elinor Ostrom, and Paul C. Stern -Social Capital and the Collective Management of Resources \ Jules Pretty -Managing Tragedies: Understanding Conflict over Common Pool Resources \ William M. Adams, Dan Brockington, Jane Dyson, and Bhaskar Vira -Global Food Security: Challenges and Policies \ Mark W. Rosegrant and Sarah A. Cline -New Visions for Addressing Sustainability \ A. J. McMichael, C. D. Butler, and Carl Folke -The Burden of Chronic Disease \ C. G. Nicholas Mascie-Taylor and Enamul Karim -The Challenge of Long-Term Climate Change \ K. Hasselmann, M. Latif, G. Hooss, C. Azar, O. Edenhofer, C. C. Jaeger, O. M. Johannessen, C. Kemfert, M. Welp, and A. Wokaun -Climate Change: The Political Situation \ Robert T. Watson -Tales from a Troubled Marriage: Science and Law in Environmental Policy \ Oliver Houck
