Word: betterment
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...effect of excess carbon dioxide (CO2) and other gases generated by industry and agriculture had crossed the line from theory into fact. By itself, Hansen's bold assertion was dramatic enough. But the unusual string of weather-related disasters that struck the world last summer could not have been better timed to drive his point home. The heat waves, droughts, floods and hurricanes may be previews of what could happen with ever increasing frequency if the atmosphere warms 3 degrees F to 8 degrees F by the middle of the next century, as some scientists predict...
...social tinkering can be. The nation launched its "one-family, one- child" policy in 1979. The aim: to contain population at 1.2 billion by the year 2000. In pursuit of that goal, local authorities have offered such incentives as a monthly stipend until the sole child turns 14 and better housing. Penalties for violating the policy have included dismissal from government jobs and fines of up to a year's wages for urban workers. China's effort has had some distressing consequences. Women have been coerced into having abortions, and there have been reports of female infanticide by parents determined...
Perhaps no one is better prepared for hot, dry summers than Israel's farmers. The Israelis, using drip irrigation and other techniques, have made plants bloom on land that has been barren for millenniums. Portions of the arid Negev, an area once written off as largely uncultivable, today grow fruit, flowers and winter vegetables eagerly sought by European markets. Through a process known as "fertigation" -- dripping precise quantities of water and nutrients at the base of individual plants -- crops can be grown in almost any soil, even with brackish water...
...climate changes caused by man, are so profound that if allowed to progress too far, they could prove to be overwhelming. Simple prudence suggests that taking forceful preventive action now -- to save energy, to curb pollution, to slow population growth, to preserve the environment -- will give humanity a much better chance of adapting to whatever comes in the future...
...land and water are not in any better shape. The riverbed of the Neva, which meanders beside the magnificent Hermitage in Leningrad, is covered with a thick layer of oil. Ill-advised dam construction and inappropriate irrigation projects have caused the level of the Aral Sea to drop 40 ft. It is possible that this body of water, the world's sixth largest sea, will not exist in 20 years. Siberia, once pristine, is laced with wastes from steel, chemical and coal industries. Worrisome numbers of dead sturgeon are floating atop the polluted Volga River, threatening the Soviets' prestigious caviar...