World Enivironmental Issues Brief

  • LARGE AREAS SUBJECT TO OVERPOPULATION
  • INDUSTRIAL DISASTERS
  • POLLUTION (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances)
  • LOSS OF VEGETATION (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification)
  • LOSS OF WILDLIFE
  • SOIL DEGRADATION
  • SOIL DEPLETION
  • EROSION
  • GLOBAL WARMING

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Global Issues Snapshots

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United States

— Current Environmental Issues —
air pollution resulting in acid rain in both the US and Canada; the US is the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels; water pollution from runoff of pesticides and fertilizers; limited natural fresh water resources in much of the western part of the country require careful management; desertification

— Health Indicators —
HIV / AIDS prevalancy rate: 0.6
Fertility Rate: 2.1
Infant Mortality Rate: 6.4
Life Expectancy at Birth: Male: 75.2
Life Expectancy at Birth: Female: 81.0
Life Expectancy at Birth: Total Population: 78.0

— Population —
Population Total: 301,139,947
Population Growth Rate: 0.9

— Economic Indicators —
GDP Real Growth Rate: 3.4
Military Expendatures Percent of GDP: 4.1
Unemployment Rate: 4.8
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5
GDP Per Capita PPP: 43,500
Population Below Poverty Line: 12
    (Definitions of poverty vary considerably among nations.)

— Education and Communications —
Global Issues Snapshots
Global Issues Snapshots
Bordering country: Canada
Bordering country: Mexico

— Background —
Britains American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. The two most traumatic experiences in the nations history were the Civil War (1861-65) and the Great Depression of the 1930s. Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the worlds most powerful nation state. The economy is marked by steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology.