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  • Book
  • © 2013

Vital Signs, Volume 20

The Trends That Are Shaping Our Future

Editors:

  1. Worldwatch Institute

    1. Worldwatch Institute, Washington, USA

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  • Includes the most up-to-date information on a diverse range of trends relating to the environment
  • The twentieth volume in the successful Vital Signs series
  • Places data in a global context, tracking worldwide trends in agriculture and food production, freshwater, oceans and fisheries, and climate and energy

Part of the book series: Vital Signs (VISI, volume 20)

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Table of contents (28 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xv
    PDF

  2. Energy and Transportation Trends

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
      PDF

    2. Growth in Global Oil Market Slows

      • Shakuntala Makhijani
      Pages 2-5

    3. Global Coal and Natural Gas Consumption Continue to Grow

      • Matt Lucky, Reese Rogers
      Pages 6-10

    4. China Drives Global Wind Growth

      • Mark Konold, Samantha Bresler
      Pages 11-14

    5. Hydropower and Geothermal Growth Slows

      • Evan Musolino
      Pages 15-18

    7. Fossil Fuel and Renewable Energy Subsidies on the Rise

      • Alexander Ochs, Eric Anderson, Reese Rogers
      Pages 22-24

    8. Continued Growth in Renewable Energy Investments

      • Evan Musolino, Xing Fu-Bertaux
      Pages 25-28

    9. Auto Production Roars to New Records

      • Michael Renner
      Pages 29-32

  3. Environment and Climate Trends

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 33-33
      PDF

  4. Food and Agriculture Trends

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 45-45
      PDF

    2. Global Grain Production at Record High Despite Extreme Climatic Events

      • Danielle Nierenberg, Katie Spoden
      Pages 46-48

    3. Disease and Drought Curb Meat Production and Consumption

      • Laura Reynolds, Danielle Nierenberg
      Pages 49-52

    4. Farm Animal Populations Continue to Grow

      • Danielle Nierenberg, Laura Reynolds
      Pages 53-56

    5. Aquaculture Tries to Fill World’s Insatiable Appetite for Seafood

      • Katie Spoden, Danielle Nierenberg
      Pages 57-61

    7. Organic Agriculture Contributes to Sustainable Food Security

      • Catherine Ward, Laura Reynolds
      Pages 66-68
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About this book

From meat consumption to automobile production to hydropower, Vital Signs, Volume 20 documents over two dozen trends that are shaping our future in concise analyses and clear tables and graphs. The twentieth volume of the Worldwatch Institute series demonstrates that while remarkable progress has been made over the past year, much remains to be done to get the planet on a more sustainable track.

Worldwide, people are waking up to the realities of a resource-constrained planet: investments and subsidies for renewable energy have reached new heights, consumers are slowly shifting away from meat-heavy diets, and new employment structures like co-operatives are democratizing the global economy. Yet with over 1 billion people lacking access to electricity, natural disasters that are more costly than ever before, and an adherence to the factory farm model of food production, it is clear that many obstacles loom on the horizon.

Covering a wide range of environmental, economic, and social themes, Vital Signs, Volume 20 is the go-to source for straightforward data and analyses on the latest issues facing an increasingly crowded planet. By placing each trend within a global framework, Vital Signs, Volume 20 identifies the solutions we need to transition toward a more sustainable world.

This book will be especially useful for policymakers, environmental nonprofits, and students of environmental studies, sustainability, or economics.

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Keywords

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Editors and Affiliations

  • Worldwatch Institute, Washington, USA

    Worldwatch Institute

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About the editor

Founded in 1974 by farmer and economist Lester Brown, Worldwatch was the first independent research institute devoted to the analysis of global environmental concerns. Worldwatch quickly became recognized by opinion leaders around the world for its accessible, fact-based analysis of critical global issues. Now under the leadership of population expert and author Robert Engelman, Worldwatch develops innovative solutions to intractable problems, emphasizing a blend of government leadership, private sector enterprise, and citizen action that can make a sustainable future a reality.
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