The Big Picture
Here you can get a quick but comprehensive overview of the current state of the planet.
Excellent video overview of our current status: Human growth has strained the Earth's resources, but as Johan Rockstrom reminds us, our advances also give us the science to recognize this and change behavior. His research has found nine "planetary boundaries" that can guide us in protecting our planet's many overlapping ecosystems. TEDtalk
A seminal study last fall in Nature put climate in perspective of 10 biophysical systems crucial to human health -- and it found biodiversity loss more troubling than any other Link
Earth Policy Institute's excellent Eco-Economy Indicators
Big Picture, Small Planet excellent short video overview by Medard Gabel, creator of online World Game by Buckminster Fuller. Short animated video on hunger
2009 State of the Planet from National Geographic (video)
Gapminder brilliantly allows you to visualize world demographic trends
If the earth were 100 people video
Top 10 polluted places Time Magazine version.
Executive Summary of 2009 State of the Future report. Previous Executive Summary of 2008 .
AAAS Atlas of Population & Environment
UCSC Atlas of Global Inequality
List of US environmental laws and versions in plain English, for example, Clean Air Act.
Earth
Video overview Click on State of the Earth link in left navigation bar. 2009?
Air (More in-depth content)
Fire (metaphorically, Global Warming)
Al Gore TEDTalk 20 min. video
Water (More in-depth content)
CBS News segment 1/10
video overview Click on State of the Earth link in left navigation bar, then water.
How farms create Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico (good overview)
E-waste (see also Consumption and Chemicals)
11/08 CBS 60 Minutes segment (video)
Overview from the National Resources Defense Council
Want to know more? Check out these general environmental websites:
Some environmental organizations
United Nations environmental info
Environmental Clearinghouse has info on a variety of topics.
Books
Ecosystems and human well-being By Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Program et al. 2005 Very detailed
Humanity's Footprint : momentum, impact, and our global environment / Walter K. Dodds New York : Columbia University Press, c2008 McHenry Stacks - GF75 .D65 2008 Link
Magazines/Journals
(must be logged into UCSC computer to access)
Online Courses
Environmental Health from Johns Hopkins University gives a good overview of different kinds of exposures to different toxins and their effects.
