Ethanol: Train Wreck Ahead? (journal article)
by Robbin S. Johnson and C. Ford Runge
from Issues in Science & Technology, Vol. 24 No. 1, Fall 2007, pp. 25 - 30
"The article reports that government policy is stoking unsustainable growth of the corn-based fuel. The new vogue in energy policy is plant-derived alternative fuels. The current policy bias toward corn-based ethanol has driven a run-up in the prices of staple foods in the U.S. and around the world, with particularly hurtful consequences for poor consumers in developing countries. U.S. ethanol policies rig the market against alternatives based on the conversion of cellulosic inputs such as switchgrass and wood fibers. Moreover, the environmental consequences of corn-based ethanol are far from benign, and indeed are negative in a number of important respects."

Polishing Belgium's Innovation Jewel (journal article)
by Fientje Moerman
from Issues in Science & Technology , Vol. 24 No. 1, Fall 2007 pp. 45 - 50
"The article presents information on the Flanders region, situated in the northern part of Belgium. The region is a natural meeting point for knowledge and talent, attracted by its highly skilled population, splendid cultural heritage, outstanding quality of life, excellent research, and easy accessibility. Its capital city Brussels doubles as the capital of Belgium and the headquarters of the European Union. Its open economy is dominated by the service sector and by small and medium-sized enterprises. The primary activities in the services sector are education, business services, and health care."

Indian innovation (journal article)
by R. Chidambaram
from Issues in Science & Technology, Vol. 24 No. 1, Fall 2007 pp. 59 - 62
"The article discusses several innovation programs in India. The country is on a rapid economic growth trajectory that will make it a developed country sooner or later. The key for India in sustaining its economic development over a long period is to become scientifically advanced, and ultimately to become a global innovation leader. India has been investing in the S&T infrastructure for innovation. India has a large rural population, and the government has made a concerted effort over the years to develop technology that can contribute to rural economic development."

Exploring a carbon tax for Australia [book]
John Humphreys & Centre for Independent Studies (Australia)

Argues the a carbon tax would be "more efficient, effective, simple, flexible and transparent" than carbon trading.

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Eating fossil fuels : oil, food and the coming crisis in agriculture
Dale Allen Pfeiffer
Finds that the current methods of fossil-fuel based agriculture are not sustainable, and recommends the transition to localized agriculture.
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The Last oil shock : a survival guide to the imminent extinction of petroleum man [book]
Author: David Strahan

Argues that the decline in oil and gas production will provoke a world economic crisis, and that governments are doing little to prevent it.

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Oil Information, 2007 edition
International Energy Agency (IEA)

"Part II, World Oil Developments, provides summary tables of world oil market developments, with time series back to 1971. Part III, Detailed OECD Oil Data, provides in tabular form, a more detailed and comprehensive picture of oil supply, demand and end-use consumption for the OECD by region and individual countries. Part IV, Historical Series shows time series of major oil flows for all years beginning in 1977 and ending in 2006, where data are available."

Electricity Information, 2007 edition
International Energy Agency (IEA).

"Part I of the publication provides a short overview of the world electricity developments, Part II of the publication provides a corresponding statistical overview of developments in the world and OECD electricity and heat market. Part III provides, in tabular form, a more detailed and
comprehensive picture of the power and heat industry developments for OECD 30 Member countries." - introduction.

Insurance against Catastrophic Climate Change: How Much Will an Emissions Trading Scheme Cost Australia? (journal article)

by Philip D. Adams

from The Australian Economic Review, Vol. 40 No. 4, pp. 432–452

" ...If a worthwhile reduction in risk costs 50 per cent of income, then living with the risk may be
preferable. But if it costs 1 per cent of income, then taking the insurance policy may be the
best option. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the possible cost in the context of an emissions trading scheme (ETS) for Australia."

Genetic ethics and "superbabies" (journal article)
by Patrick Tucker
from Futurist, Vol. 42 No. 1, January 2008, pp. 18-19
"This article focuses on ethical issues associated with the use of genetic engineering to improve the health of human as well as his/her other capabilities. In the next few years, researchers believed that science will be able to recognize and eliminate congenital diseases across the world. It is also expected that genomics may allow people to change their own DNA, and in the process, improve his/her athletic prowess or brain power. There are several types of genetic enhancement, and one of which is somatic gene modification."

Sharing, privacy and trust in our networked world: a report to the OCLC membership
Online Computer Library Center (OCLC)

We know that privacy is important to users, and to librarians, but we also know that sharing and open access matter.

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Library 2.0 : a guide to participatory library service
Michael E. Casey & Laura C. Savastinuk

Gives practical advice on how to improve library services using web 2.0 technology and describes a service model of constant and purposeful change, evaluation and user participation.

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Thinking globally, acting locally living personally (journal article)

by Cynthia G. Wagner

from Futurist, Vol. 41 No. 6, Nov 2007, pp.54-58

"The article discusses the highlights of the World Future Society conference titled "WorldFuture 2007: Fostering Hope and Vision for the 21st Century" held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, from July 29 to 31. Among the topics discussed in detail include global warming, terrorism and poverty. "Reason" magazine science correspondent Ronald Bailey cited improving agricultural productivity as a success story in the U.S. According to anthropologist Helen Fisher, women are gaining in economic power, health, literacy and other measures of progress."

Is Clean Coal Feasible? (journal article)
by Patrick Tucker
from Futurist, Vol. 41 No. 6, Nov 2007, pp.8-9
"This article focuses on the technology of carbon capture and storage (CCS), seen by government officials and scientists as the ideal way to reduce the carbon emissions from power plants. It describes how the CCS technology would allow the public to meet its energy needs at the same time as cutting carbon emissions. It discusses the effort of the U.S. and Great Britain to invest in the development of a CCS power plant. It outlines the various obstacles to CCS implementation and the arguments against CCS implementation."

Our water mark : Australians making a difference in water reform
Victorian Women’s Trust & Watermark Australia

"Outlines a set of guiding principles and the ranges of actions we can take to conserve this precious resource, wherever we live, whatever we do." - page 5.

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Environmental management systems : general guidelines on principles, systems and supporting techniques
Standards Australia & Standards New Zealand

Provides guidance on the establishment, implementation, maintenance and improvement of an environmental management system (EMS) and its coordination with other management systems.

Now available in Library & Research Services' Ref Standards Collection.

Global trends in R&D spending (journal article)
by Dirk Pilat
from Issues in Science & Technology, Vol. 24 No 1 Fall 2007, pp. 85-88
"The article discusses international trends in research and development (R&D) spending. Increased spending is found in most of the 30 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), including the major industrialized countries of Europe, Japan and the U.S. The combined R&D expenditure of China, Israel, Russia, and South Africa was equivalent to almost 22% of that of OECD countries in 2005, up from 9% in 1995, and these countries attract a growing share of investment by foreign affiliates."

Is Stern Correct? Does Climate Change Require Policy Intervention? (journal article)
by Paul H. Jensen and Elizabeth Webster
from Australian Economic Review Vol. 40 No.4, pp. 421–431
"In this Policy Forum, we provide an assessment of the Stern Review and its critics. In
doing so, we focus on the key aspects of Stern’s model and how they shape his policy conclusions.
We concentrate our attention on whether policy intervention on climate change is necessary
(and if so, how much), as opposed to what any policy intervention should look like."

From National to International Climate Change Policy (journal article)

by Warwick J. McKibbin
from Australian Economic Review Vol. 40 No. 4, pp. 410–420
"Climate change policy is a classic case where international cooperation is essential. Climate
change is partly caused by the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from all sources. Thus to address this problem all major emitting countries will need to be involved in a
solution."

The Post-Scientific Society (journal article)
by Christopher Hill
from Issues in Science & Technology Fall 2007, Vol. 24 No. 1, pp. 78-84
"The article discusses the continued economic success of the U.S. There are growing indications that new innovation-based wealth in the United States is arising from something other than organized research in science and engineering. The emergence of the post-scientific society poses a fresh round of challenges to the U.S. The task of innovation policy is to ensure that the nation has a coherent, well-managed, and well-funded set of private and public institutions that function well as a national innovation system (NIS.)"