New Study Documents Major Risks To Earth's "Vital Signs"

Date: June 20, 2002

Source: News Room

The Earth's "vital signs" weakened in 2001, but consumers can play a critical role in improving the planet's health, according to the results of an annual study published last week documenting more than 50 social, economic, and environmental trends around the world. The study, "Vital Signs 2002: The Trends That Are Shaping Our Future"--produced by The Worldwatch Institute, a Washington D.C.-based independent organization researching on issues of environmental and social policy--found economic recession, increasing use of fossil fuels, and continued population growth to be some of the more worrying trends identified during 2001. The study stressed that an increasing volume of toxic waste was being created by the haphazard disposal of new technologies. More than 2.9 million tons of "e-waste" ended up in U.S. landfills in 1997, and this figure is expected to rise rapidly by 2004, as tens of millions of cell phones and an estimated 315 million computers are discarded,according to Worldwatch.

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