UNEP/GEMS Environment Library
9 primary works
Book 6
Most large-scale human activities affect our water supplies, often leaving people with substandard drinking water. This is especially true in developing countries, exposing many to the risk of water-borne infection and causing high rates of infant mortality. This volume is intended to publicize the issues in plain language, working on principles that raising awareness may be one of the most effective ways of slowing down pollution.
Book 7
The Impact of Ozone-Layer Depletion
by United Nations Environment Programme
Published 1 January 1992
The ozone layer that has shielded the Earth from damaging ultraviolet radiation is diminishing due to the use of ozone-layer depleting substances such as CFCs. On the basis of phase-out dates laid down in the Montreal Protocol, it will take until around 2130 for these man-made compounds to disappear from the atmosphere. The effects of the thinning ozone layer include health problems such as skin cancer and cataracts, damage to marine food chains and crops, and the potential for increased global warming. Since the ozone hole over Antarctica was discovered, international scientific and political recognition of this problem has been encouraging.
Book 8
Places as far apart as Australia and North America, Peru and India are affected by recurrent climactic anomalies known as El Nino. Originating in the Pacific region, El Nino effects a reversal in the direction of winds and ocean currents, and changes in ocean temperature between Indonesia and the Pacific coast of South America. These climactic changes regularly result in torrential rain and floods in the Pacific coastal countries of South America, and other less predictable results elsewhere.
Book 9
Book 10
Ths closely-related issues of greenhouse gas emission, global warming and climate change have recently come to the top of the environmental agenda. Human activities have increased atmospheric concentrations of greeenhouse gases to such an extent that we are committed to future warming over and above any natural temperature increases that may be taking place. This would disrupt ecosystems both on land and in the ocean. This volume summarizes our current state of knowledge on climate change and its possible consequences. It is designed to present the issues to a wide audience in the hope that by raising public awareness, the potential effects of climate change may be minimized.
Book 11
Global Biodiversity
by Brian Groombridge, M.D. Jenkins, and United Nations Environment Programme
Published 1 January 1993
The 1990s seen a remarkable increase in appreciation of the links between the state of ecosystems and the state of humankind. This publication explores the key global issues of biodiversity. It examines the relationships between humankind and biodiversity, covering salient features of human impacts on the environment from the earliest hominines onward, and the uses currently made of elements of biodiversity. The text looks at the trends in condition of the main ecosystem types and the species integral to them and outlines some fundamental aspects of material cycles and energy flow in the biosphere.
Book 12
The Pollution of Lakes and Reservoirs
by United Nations Environment Programme
Published 1 January 1994
Most of the Earth is water, most of that of little use to humans: 97 per cent is salt water, and of the fresh water, 69.6 per cent is frozen, and 30.1 per cent stored in underground reservoirs. The water in rivers and lakes is one of the Earth's most precious resources. Most of the world's population depends on it for their supply of domestic, irrigation and industrial water. However, many lakes and rivers are threatened with many forms of pollution and ecological disturbances. This publication documents the state of the world's lakes and reservoirs and suggests ways of managing them better.
Book 13
The Impacts of Climate on Fisheries
by United Nations Environment Programme
Published 1 January 1994
Book 15
Of the limited volume of freshwater available to us, some 97 per cent (excluding permanently frozen water) is stored underground. More than 1500 million people rely on this groundwater for their drinking water. Farmers all over the world use it to irrigate their crops. In arid areas, where rainfall is low, groundwater may be the only source of water for the human population. As populations grow, the pressure on groundwater resources increases. It is also being polluted by poor sanitation systems and chemical fertilizers. This publication explains the importance of groundwater and actions that can be taken to protect it.