Environment and Assessment - Böcker

This study investigates the extent of the pollution of the Mediterranean Sea with respect to the four bordering EC countries Spain, France, Italy and Greece. The environmental pressures and economic impacts are examined and the institutional/legal framework is described, together with all the necessary environmental expenditures. Separate chapters are devoted to each of the four countries, after an initial section summarizing the major commonalities. These chapters are organized in parallel formats so that it is possible to examine the same topic, country-by-country. Extensive references are provided for the reader who is not familiar with Mediterranean pollution. For specialists the book provides a useful overview of adjacent fields other than their own speciality; for policy-makers the chapters provide sufficient foundations for decision-making, for the investment planner and banks it provides budget and investment needs; and for the private sector it gives an insight into the possibilities for corporate applications of environmental technologies.

There is a complex relationship between the environment and the development of tourism, which this book discusses. Specialists from several disciplines pay attention to the challenges of sustainable tourism, devoting their full attention to cultural, regional and policy issues. This is a revised edition that has been expanded to 22 contributions, with inclusion of the cultural element. All chapters have been updated to include new data and information added to the existing body of literature in the last seven years up to 1999. It includes new developments and new insights into the relationship between tourism and the environment.

This study investigates the extent of the pollution of the Mediterranean Sea with respect to the four bordering EC countries - Spain, France, Italy and Greece. The environmental pressures and economic impacts are examined and the institutional/legal framework is described, together with all the necessary environmental expenditures. Separate chapters are devoted to each of the four countries, after an initial section summarizing the major commonalities. These chapters are organized in parallel formats so that it is possible to examine the same topic, country-by-country. Excellent references are provided for the reader who is not familiar with Mediterranean pollution. For specialists the book provides a useful overview of adjacent fields other than their own speciality; for policymakers the chapters provide sufficient foundations for decision-making, for the investment planner and banks it provides budget and investment needs; and for the private sector it gives an insight into the possibilities for corporate applications of environmental technologies.

There is a complex relationship between the environment and the development of tourism, which this book discusses in a thorough and informative manner. Specialists from several disciplines pay attention to the challenges of sustainable tourism, devoting their full attention to cultural, regional and policy issues. This is a revised edition that has been expanded to 22 contributions, with inclusion of the cultural element. All chapters have been updated to include new data and information added to the existing body of literature in the last 7 years. It includes new developments and new insights into the relationship between tourism and the environment. An invaluable sequel to the first edition.

In 1962 Rachel Carson warned of the consequences of man's pollution in her book Silent Spring, a book that some feel marks the real beginning of our environmental awareness. Silent Spring told of the consequences of our increasing pesticide use to birds. Almost 30 years after her warning, the western Arabian Gulf experienced its "silent spring" when approximately 100,000 to 250,000 waterbirds died, along with millions of other organisms, due to the massive oil spill that resulted due to Gulf war. The magnitude of our environmental problems has continued to grow during the last thirty years to a point where even the "doomsday" environmentalists could hardly have envisioned back in 1962. It seems the death of yet uncounted thousands of humans was not sufficient for Saddam Husain. His desire for power and infamy led him to unleash environmental war on mankind. At the end of the Gulf war he set ablaze the oil fields of Kuwait and released more oil into the sea than had been spilled at any time throughout history. These actions were despicable and an affront to civilized man. A quality environment should be a right of all mankind, and to wage war by deliberately polluting the earth cannot be tolerated.

The issue of maintaining a balanced relationship between tourism and the environment has received considerable attention since the 1970s. However, only in the 1980s and 1990s did it become a topic of systematic academic inquiry and research, distinguished from the broader area of the environmental impacts of recreation and leisure activities. This volume dwells on the environmental and economic impacts of tourism and is divided as follows: Part 1: Introduction and Overview Part 2: Tourism and the Environment: General Considerations Part 3: Regional Issues Part 4: Economic Issues Part 5: Policy Issues The work is complemented by a subject index.

This book is the result of a research project entitled "Reference function for Global Air Pollution/C0 " initiated by RIVM. It deals with the description 2 of a computer simulation model of the greenhouse effect. This model, IMAGE, tries to capture the fundamentals of the complex problem of climate change in a simplified way. The model is a multidisciplinary product and is based on knowledge from disciplines as economics, atmospheric chemistry, marine and terrestrial biogeochemistry, ecology, climatology, and glaciology. This book might be of interest for anyone working in the broad field of climate change. Furthermore, it can be useful for model builders, simulation experts, mathematicians etc. A PC version of the model will become avail­ able free of charge. Requests can be sent to the author. Although being the only author of this book, I could never have written it without the help of many other people. First of all I would like to thank Koos Vrieze, originally a colleague at RIVM, later my professor. Without his inspiring attitude I would have never finished this thesis. I am also very grateful to RIVM for giving me the opportunity to write this thesis. lowe many thanks to Hans de Boois and Rob Swart for their support and assis­ tance during the research. Furthermore, I would like to thank my trainees who have substantially contributed to the contents of this book.