The Environmental Forum

LEAD FEATURE The whole planet depends on the improved health of the Brazilian rainforest, yet there is surprisingly little information on preserving species diversity in the Amazon. That is changing via a unique program that connects local ecosystem health with its global beneficiaries.

CENTERPIECE Climate change will present humanity with a large bill that it must satisfy in order to survive. Yet it is important to remember that the costs are not just financial, not just addressable via creative funding. Suffering on an untold scale will be incalculable.

COVER STORY The administration is pushing more environmental programs to the states, accelerating a long-term trend of delegation. Meanwhile the White House is cutting back on EPA’s budget. Unfortunately, many states are dramatically downsizing their pollution-control agencies at the same time.

TESTIMONY Fifty years ago, new legislation and an environmental amendment to its state constitution led to the creation of Pennsylvania’s environmental Office of Enforcement, a pathbreaking group that proved highly effective in protecting public health and natural resources.

Climate geoengineering was once the province only of a few radical scientists gaming worst-case scenarios. Today, it is a dynamic and rapidly emerging suite of potential responses to climate change. Indeed, deliberate interference in the atmosphere has become a credible option as a consequence of the catastrophic implications of a warmer world. But what are the legal frameworks governing research into geoengineering — and what is the best policy to manage global deployment?