There is both the natural and human environment and the environment that results from the interaction between them. Changes in any of these environments can have positive or negative effects.

On the one hand, we have trends which portend environmental disaster in the not too distant future. On the other, affirmative changes in development policy can result in a society in a mutually beneficial relationship with nature.

Society has the means to change the ways it does things. There are ways to develop our economies and improve human lives without destroying or eroding the environment in which we live. We even have the ability to improve, not just preserve, the natural environment. Trends are not written in stone.

Given 200 years time, it is entirely possible that changes in policies and actions taken can result in positive outcomes. Trends can be altered or even reversed. Human beings have the ability to change the environment in a manner beneficial to all.

Climate Change

There is no lack of information on the web regarding 'climate change' or 'global warming'. There is not much that I can add other than point out some of the more reliable sources of information.

Of immediate interest, a report from McKinsey & Co. shows that the United States could reduce greenhouse gas emissions (a leading cause of global warming) up to one-half by 2030 at manageable costs to the economy.

Information from the United Nations and climate scientists on global warming trends and policy initiatives can be found at earthwire.org and realclimate.org, respectively. Climateprediction.net is a project to produce a forecast of the future climate using people around the world who agree to give time on their computers. The study, “National Security and the Threat of Climate Change,” explores ways projected climate change is a threat multiplier in already fragile regions, exacerbating conditions that lead to failed states — the breeding grounds for extremism and terrorism.

Envisat, the largest Earth Observation spacecraft ever built, was launched by the European Space Agency in 2002 to provide continuous observation and monitoring of the Earth's land, atmosphere, oceans and ice caps, including insights into factors contributing to climate change. NASA’s Earth Observatory provides a place on the Internet where the public can obtain new satellite imagery and scientific information about our home planet. The focus is on Earth’s climate and environmental change.

The United Nations is taking a lead in the quest for a solution to current trends in climate change. The Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change was not signed by the USA, the major national source of the greenhouse gases causing the change. The Global Carbon Project (GCP) was established in 2001 with the scientific goal of developing a complete picture of the global carbon cycle.

Those interested in countering global warming may want to check out a website sponsored by an organization called Environmental Defense. A UN Report describes the dangers of inaction.