'Innovation, Global Change and Territorial Resilience is indeed a timely contribution addressing the challenges that the global economy poses for local, regional and national economies. In the current situation, resilience is instrumental and innovation is the key mechanism to get there. In this volume, an impressive line-up of international authorities in the field – from across Europe and beyond – present highly valuable insights, models and hypotheses on innovation dynamics and activities in current day economics, as well as policy analysis and advice.' – Anders Malmberg, Uppsala University, Sweden the critical message of this book is that in the current context of global change, local and national territories have to upgrade their resilience in terms of improving both their competitiveness and capability to innovate. Localized creativity, small high-tech entrepreneurship, related innovation platforms, social capital embedded in dynamically open territorial communities and context-specific though continuously upgrading policy platforms are all means to face new challenges and to promote increased absorptive capacity within local and national territories. the contributors illustrate that these capabilities are much needed in the current globalized economy as a path towards sustainability and for creating new opportunities for their inhabitants. They analyse the challenges and development prospects of local/regional production systems internally, across territories, and in terms of their potential and territorial connectivity which can help exploit opportunities for proactive policy actions. This is increasingly relevant in the current climate in which the balanced allocation of resources and opportunities, particularly for SMEs, cannot be expected as the automatic result of the working of the market. Exploring conceptual and methodological aspects, and documenting original accounts of innovative territories, this book will be of great interest to academics, students and researchers within the fields of economics, industrial organization, and technology and innovation.

This book is a summary of the main research results and the presentations given at the final conference of the WAVES Program on June 25-26, 2001 in Fortaleza (Brazil). Global climatic change will most likely affect natural resources and human living conditions in semi-arid regions. The authors present disciplinary as well as integrative methods to assess these impacts considering the interactions between climate variability and change, water availability, land-use systems, and quality of life.

This report is intended to promote a dialogue between the scientific community and the government officials who will lead our nation in the coming years on global change research. The first section of the report is a brief description of the challenges and proposed responses needed from the highest levels of the government and the second provides more detailed discussion and is directed to agency-level issues and responses. The last section is a detailed bibliography that lists many of the specific reports on which the views outlined here are ultimately based.

'The consensus on global warming and its effects are now almost unanimous. Even those politicians with serious denial issues are converting. That said, the question becomes: How well does this book deal with urban sprawl and climate change? Professor Ruth is a master at organizing thought (and of creative thought... but an editor most needs the former). He has pulled together a very impressive list of experts from good institutions and organized their contributions to this subject in a meaningful, useful way. I think the coverage of the issue is both very competent and complete.' - Bruce Hannon, University of Illinois, Urbana, US This innovative volume systematically brings together two strands of applied research that, to date, have been carried out separately - 'smart growth' research and climate change adaptability research. By providing theory, models, and case studies from North America, Oceania and Europe, the book creates synergies between the two strands, reconciles differences, and provides insights for decision-makers at national and local levels.

Climate Change: Evidence and Causes is a jointly produced publication of The US National Academy of Sciences and The Royal Society. Written by a UK-US team of leading climate scientists and reviewed by climate scientists and others, the publication is intended as a brief, readable reference document for decision makers, policy makers, educators, and other individuals seeking authoritative information on the some of the questions that continue to be asked. Climate Change makes clear what is well-established and where understanding is still developing. It echoes and builds upon the long history of climate-related work from both national academies, as well as on the newest climate-change assessment from the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It touches on current areas of active debate and ongoing research, such as the link between ocean heat content and the rate of warming.

Climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for-and in many cases is already affecting-a broad range of human and natural systems. The compelling case for these conclusions is provided in Advancing the Science of Climate Change, part of a congressionally requested suite of studies known as America's Climate Choices. While noting that there is always more to learn and that the scientific process is never closed, the book shows that hypotheses about climate change are supported by multiple lines of evidence and have stood firm in the face of serious debate and careful evaluation of alternative explanations. As decision makers respond to these risks, the nation's scientific enterprise can contribute through research that improves understanding of the causes and consequences of climate change and also is useful to decision makers at the local, regional, national, and international levels. The book identifies decisions being made in 12 sectors, ranging from agriculture to transportation, to identify decisions being made in response to climate change. Advancing the Science of Climate Change calls for a single federal entity or program to coordinate a national, multidisciplinary research effort aimed at improving both understanding and responses to climate change. Seven cross-cutting research themes are identified to support this scientific enterprise. In addition, leaders of federal climate research should redouble efforts to deploy a comprehensive climate observing system, improve climate models and other analytical tools, invest in human capital, and improve linkages between research and decisions by forming partnerships with action-oriented programs.