Earth systems. Conversely, the responses of the oceans and their marine
biological resources to global warming are complex and imperfectly understood.
Phenomena such as the North Atlantic Oscillation and the El Nin o-Southern
Oscillation and the ecological consequences of industrial fishing are analysed.
The fourth article also looks at atmosphere—ocean interactions but with its focus
on coastal zones. This is by Robert Nicholls of the Flood Hazard Research
Centre at Middlesex University and deals with the vulnerability of human
populations to sea-level rises. The fact that the majority of the world’s population
live within 50 miles of the coast and that coastal populations are growing at twice
the global average underlines the importance of the assessment of climate change
impacts. In the fifth of the articles Martin Parry and Matthew Livermore of the
University of East Anglia review the possible effects of climate change on global
agricultural yield potential, on cereal production, food prices and the implications
for changes in the number of hungry people in the world. These authors show
how modelling may be used to predict the effects of climate change, including
quantitative estimates of how the additional numbers of people at risk of hunger
depend on the possible mitigation strategies used. The wider issues of human
health are the focus of the sixth article, written by Michael Ahern and Tony
McMichael of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. These
include respiratory illnesses arising from air pollution, both indoor and outdoor,
microbial diseases carried by water-borne organisms, toxic chemical contaminants
in food and the adverse effects of increased ultraviolet radiation associated with
stratospheric ozone depletion. Both direct and indirect health effects of climate
change are reviewed and consideration is given to the increased risk of conflict
which arises when natural resources, such as water, become scarce. The concept
of global environmental public goods and services is examined in relation to
human health.
The seventh and final article is by Frans Berkhout of the Science and
Technology Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex. This
analyses corporate environmental performance and presents some results from a
study of European companies which illustrate the growing concerns of businesses
with corporate social responsibility. Environmental performance indicators are
scrutinized and the relationship between environmental and financial performance
is examined with the aid of results from a specific study ‘Measuring Environmental
Performance of Industry (MEPI)’ carried out at SPRU. This article will be of
particular interest to industrial managers for its examination of profits and
environmental performance and to policymakers for its analysis of policy
conclusions drawn from the MEPI study.
The causes and consequences of global environmental change are many and
varied. We believe this collection of reviews by a set of distinguished and
authoritative contributors provides a balanced overview of this vast subject area.
It will be found of particular value by environmental scientists, industrial
managers, policymakers and students seeking a readable but factually detailed
and reliable review of global warming and other current issues consequent on
environmental change.
Ronald E. Hester
Roy M. Harrison
Preface
vi
biological resources to global warming are complex and imperfectly understood.
Phenomena such as the North Atlantic Oscillation and the El Nin o-Southern
Oscillation and the ecological consequences of industrial fishing are analysed.
The fourth article also looks at atmosphere—ocean interactions but with its focus
on coastal zones. This is by Robert Nicholls of the Flood Hazard Research
Centre at Middlesex University and deals with the vulnerability of human
populations to sea-level rises. The fact that the majority of the world’s population
live within 50 miles of the coast and that coastal populations are growing at twice
the global average underlines the importance of the assessment of climate change
impacts. In the fifth of the articles Martin Parry and Matthew Livermore of the
University of East Anglia review the possible effects of climate change on global
agricultural yield potential, on cereal production, food prices and the implications
for changes in the number of hungry people in the world. These authors show
how modelling may be used to predict the effects of climate change, including
quantitative estimates of how the additional numbers of people at risk of hunger
depend on the possible mitigation strategies used. The wider issues of human
health are the focus of the sixth article, written by Michael Ahern and Tony
McMichael of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. These
include respiratory illnesses arising from air pollution, both indoor and outdoor,
microbial diseases carried by water-borne organisms, toxic chemical contaminants
in food and the adverse effects of increased ultraviolet radiation associated with
stratospheric ozone depletion. Both direct and indirect health effects of climate
change are reviewed and consideration is given to the increased risk of conflict
which arises when natural resources, such as water, become scarce. The concept
of global environmental public goods and services is examined in relation to
human health.
The seventh and final article is by Frans Berkhout of the Science and
Technology Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex. This
analyses corporate environmental performance and presents some results from a
study of European companies which illustrate the growing concerns of businesses
with corporate social responsibility. Environmental performance indicators are
scrutinized and the relationship between environmental and financial performance
is examined with the aid of results from a specific study ‘Measuring Environmental
Performance of Industry (MEPI)’ carried out at SPRU. This article will be of
particular interest to industrial managers for its examination of profits and
environmental performance and to policymakers for its analysis of policy
conclusions drawn from the MEPI study.
The causes and consequences of global environmental change are many and
varied. We believe this collection of reviews by a set of distinguished and
authoritative contributors provides a balanced overview of this vast subject area.
It will be found of particular value by environmental scientists, industrial
managers, policymakers and students seeking a readable but factually detailed
and reliable review of global warming and other current issues consequent on
environmental change.
Ronald E. Hester
Roy M. Harrison
Preface
vi