United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Information Resources
Management
(PM-211A)
INTERNATIONAL
UPDATE
December 1991
220N91012
DEC 19 1991
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
LIBRARY, REGION V
NEW BOOKS
Chien, Eugene. Working Towards
Environmental Quality in the 21st
Century. Taipei, Taiwan: Environmental
Protection Administration; 1991. TD1715
T28W67
Coombs, Constance, ed. Worldwide
Government Directory: With
International Organizations, 1991.
Washington, DC: Belmont Publications,
1991. REFJF251.W671991
Environmental Data Report. United
Nations Environment Programme, 1991.
REFJ2H541.15 M64E58
1, Richard A. A Guide to African
International Organizations. London H.
Zell, 1990. REFJX1995f671990
Haas, Peter M. Saving the Mediterranean:
The P itics of International
Environmental Cooperation. New York:
Columbia Press, 1990. HC244J 29W324
1990
Molitor, Richard. International
Environmental Law: Primary Materials.
Boston: Kluwer Law and Taxation
Publishers, 1991. REFK3583 1571991
Pierce, John C. Public Knowledge and
Environmental Politics in Japan and the
United States. Boulder, CO: Westview
Press, 1989. REFTD1713 Y571991
Seredich, John, ed. Your Resource
Guide to Environmental Organizations.
Irvine, CA: Smiling Dolphin Press, 1991.
HC465.E5P83 1989
GLOBAL ASSEMBLY OF WOMEN OFFERS
ENVIRONMENTAL SUCCESS STORIES
The Global Assembly, sponsored by
the Senior Women's Advisory Group on
Sustainable Development to the Executive
Director of the United Nations
Environment Programme, held in Miami
on November 4-8, brought together 600
women from around the world to consider
the issues, concerns, and controversies
surrounding environmental degradation.
The focus of the Assembly was the
presentation of environmental success
stories by more than 200 women. These
stories were chosen because they were
affordable, repeatable, sustainable and
were carried out at the grassroots level by
ordinary citizens.
The women who spoke came from the
Himalayan mountain ranges of Nepal to
the rainforests of Brazil. They designed
environmentally conscious small-scale
projects including smokeless stoves, solar
cookers and solar greenhouses. They
played a role in campaigns against
Mexico Environmental
Review
Now Available
On October 17, the U.S. Trade
Representative's office released
"Review of U.S./ Mexico Environmental
Issues" [draft] This document outlines
environmental conditions in the U.S./
Mexico Border Area. INFOTERRA
has one copy for public review.
Copies can be obtained by calling the
US Trade Representative's office at
(202)395-3230. They will give 1 (one)
copy to each person while the report
is available.
environmentally destructive projects such as
the Bataan nuclear power plant in the
Philippines and the hazardous waste dumps
in Alabama and Arkansas.
In the opening address, Dr. Mustafa
Tolba, Director of the United Nations
Environment Programme, noted that through
this Assembly, women were challenging the
world to listen to their important messages
and to make use of their capacities in
activities to protect the environment.
Recommendations from the Assembly
will be presented at the United Nations
Conference on Environment and
Development to be held in Rio de Janeiro in
June.
Global Assembly documents, including
success stories, are available in the
Headquarters Library from INFOTERRA
Staff. - Linda Spencer
INFOTERRA DIRECTORY
NOW AVAILABLE
The INFOTERRA/USA Directory of
Environmental Sources lists 445 national
information sources which have agreed
to provide environmental information to
international requestors. Each entry
contains contact information, fields of
environmental expertise, and a
description of services.
The sources are grouped by the type
of organization originating the
information: Federal, State or local
government, academic or non-
governmental interest groups. For ease
of access, both alphabetical and subject
indexes are provided. For more
information or a copy of the Directory.
contact INFOTERRA at FTS 260-5917.
INFOTERRA/USA National Focal Point
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USER-FRIENDLY SOFTWARE ANSWERS
ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTIONS
The Department of Agricultural Engineering at Purdue
University and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region
V have developed 15 public domain software programs aimed
at educating users on specific environmental issues. The
programs being currently distributed deal mostly with water
issues: drinking water, water conservation, groundwater,
wastewater treatment and septic systems. Other programs
include pesticide and fertilizer handling practices, soil erosion,
and geologic site evaluation.
Interactive Programs
The software programs range from a text-oriented
monochrome tutorial to a high resolution color
graphics interactive format, depending on the
program and the user's hardware. For
instance, "Principles and Design of On-Site
Waste Disposal with Septic Systems," is one
of the original menu-driven tutorials that
teaches the user the principles involved in
the construction of a residential septic tank.
For each step, the screen displays an explanation of the
concept at work accompanied by cross-section diagrams.
Instruction is provided on methods to distinguish between a
well-drained soil and a saturated one, and guidelines are
provided on how to locate draining trenches. Local sources of
information are suggested.
All the programs require an IBM-compatible PC with a hard
disk, EGA or VGA graphics. Most recommend the use of a
mouse. Since the information in the programs is public domain,
the text and graphics are replaceable and can be translated and
tailored to different site conditions. The first six programs have
already been translated into Arabic for use in the Middle East
The more recent programs permit the user to log in his/her own
data and obtain a computer-calculated result to his/her search.
Free Distribution
The high quality and flexibility of the software
programs (and the fact that they can be copied and
distributed freely) account for their increasing
popularity in the international community.
They have been requested by UNESCO, the
Budapest Center and 72 posts of the US
Information Agency world-wide. The 12
additional programs scheduled to be
completed in 1992 deal with agricultural
wastes, siting of hazardous waste,
petroleum storage, wastewater treatment systems, and use of
pesticides.
For more information on the programs, contact Mike Blanl
or Karen Holland at USEPA Region V, Water Division,
(FTS) 886-0123 or (FTS) 886-0238. - Lili Vivanco
i
NEW AND NOTEWORTHY
Recent Journal Articles of Interest
Bilger, Burkhard. "Earth Summit: Can
100 Heads of State Hammer Out
Solutions to Our Environmental
Problems? Who Will Pick Up The Tab?"
Earthwatoh. November 1991. Vol. 11,
No. 1. pp. 12-13.
Darling, Juanita, et al. "The Free - Trade
Dilemma: The Environmental Costs of A
U.S. Mexico Pact." [Four Part Series]
Los Angeles Times. November 17,1991
-November20,1991.
Dawkins, Kristin. "Ugly Americans
Obstruct Plans for a Cleaner Earth" In
These Times. October 30,1991.
Dyer, Gwynne. "Environmental
Warfare in the Gulf." Ecodccision.
September 1991. No. 2. pp. 21-31.
French, Hilary. "The EC:
Environmental Proving Ground."
World Watch. November/December
1991. Vol. 4, No. 6. pp. 26-33.
Holdgate, Martin W. et. al. "War, Law
and the Environment." [Special
Report] KJCN Bulletin. September
1991. Vol. 22, No. 3.
Laird, John. "South-East Asia's
Trembling Rainforests." Our Planet
November 1991. Vol. 3, No. 4. pp.
4-9.
Maciewicz, Andrea. "Bush Promotes a
Grand Plan: Enterprise for the
Americas." Business International.
November 18,1991.
"Mexico Reaffirms its Commitment with
the Protection of the Environment in its
Northern Border." PR Newswire.
October 24, 1991.
Revkin, Andrew. 'The Lonely Prophet
of the World Environmental Movement."
[Jose Lutzenberer, Brazil's Minister of
the Environment] Audubon. November/
December 1991. Vol. 11, No. 11. pp.
97-100.
1
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