This manual, which has been jointly developed by the OECD and Eurostat, aims to provide a firm basis for constructing comparable statistics of the environmental industry.

This study presents a synthesis of 17 country studies on environmental goods and services (EG & S) commissioned by the OECD, UNCTAD and the UNDP. The countries examined are Brazil, Chile, China, Cuba, the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Kenya, Korea, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Thailand and Vietnam. Its aim is to identify determinants of demand for EG & S; to show common themes and experiences in the EG & S markets of different countries; and to draw attention to key trade, environment and development policy linkages. It also seeks to contribute to the exchange of expertise and experience in the area of trade and environment so that liberalisation of trade in EG & S can benefit all countries, developing and developed alike.

Environmental life cycle assessment is often thought of as cradle to grave and therefore as the most complete accounting of the environmental costs and benefits of a product or service. However, as anyone who has done an environmental life cycle assessment knows, existing tools have many problems: data is difficult to assemble and life cycle studies take months of effort. A truly comprehensive analysis is prohibitive, so analysts are often forced to simply ignore many facets of life cycle impacts. But the focus on one aspect of a product or service can result in misleading indications if that aspect is benign while other aspects pollute or are otherwise unsustainable. This book summarizes the EIO-LCA method, explains its use in relation to other life cycle assessment models, and provides sample applications and extensions of the model into novel areas. A final chapter explains the free, easy-to-use software tool available on a companion website. (www.eiolca.net) The software tool provides a wealth of data, summarizing the current U.S. economy in 500 sectors with information on energy and materials use, pollution and greenhouse gas discharges, and other attributes like associated occupational deaths and injuries. The joint project of twelve faculty members and over 20 students working together over the past ten years at the Green Design Institute of Carnegie Mellon University, the EIO-LCA has been applied to a wide range of products and services. It will prove useful for research, industry, and in economics, engineering, or interdisciplinary classes in green design.

This publication contains working papers from the OECD's Joint Working Party on Trade and Environment which consider key issues that have arisen in international discussions over liberalising trade in environmental goods and services. The papers explore various practical issues related to the classification of environmental goods, including "dual use" goods; set out examples of synergies between trade in environmental services and goods; and review the findings of various country studies on this issue undertaken by the OECD and other inter-governmental organisations.

The United States is among the wealthiest nations in the world, but it is far from the healthiest. Although life expectancy and survival rates in the United States have improved dramatically over the past century, Americans live shorter lives and experience more injuries and illnesses than people in other high-income countries. The U.S. health disadvantage cannot be attributed solely to the adverse health status of racial or ethnic minorities or poor people: even highly advantaged Americans are in worse health than their counterparts in other, "peer" countries. In light of the new and growing evidence about the U.S. health disadvantage, the National Institutes of Health asked the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a panel of experts to study the issue. The Panel on Understanding Cross-National Health Differences Among High-Income Countries examined whether the U.S. health disadvantage exists across the life span, considered potential explanations, and assessed the larger implications of the findings. U.S. Health in International Perspective presents detailed evidence on the issue, explores the possible explanations for the shorter and less healthy lives of Americans than those of people in comparable countries, and recommends actions by both government and nongovernment agencies and organizations to address the U.S. health disadvantage.

Nutrient recycling, habitat for plants and animals, flood control, and water supply are among the many beneficial services provided by aquatic ecosystems. In making decisions about human activities, such as draining a wetland for a housing development, it is essential to consider both the value of the development and the value of the ecosystem services that could be lost. Despite a growing recognition of the importance of ecosystem services, their value is often overlooked in environmental decision-making. This report identifies methods for assigning economic value to ecosystem servicesâ€"even intangible onesâ€"and calls for greater collaboration between ecologists and economists in such efforts.