- Email: [email protected]
European environmental statistics handbook, European environmental information sourcebook
Reviews
489
fund raising. Morris and Gamache found that in 1992 outsiders’ spending for communicating with the voters differed very little from that of incumbents. Further, the incumbents’ war chests negated the efforts of their opponents, despite the supposed angry electorate. Despite the presence of more women candidates, the authors found that most money went to experienced politicians, regardless of gender, and that while spending for women candidates increased, the same percentage of incumbents lost to women as lost to men. Political consultants were again the real winners; media consultants (pollsters) billed campaigns 42 percent more than in 1990. The authors found that again in 1992: (a) television ad rates are not responsible for the rising costs of campaigns, (b) the two-party system is not being revived by the influx of money, and(c) that the rules on election contributions are not adequately enforced. Morris and Gamache present the data in 33 accompanying tables listing the top 15 or 25 candidate spenders or in some cases recipients in these spending categories. A very informative guide to the tables is provided, and a lucid name and organization index refers the user to both text and table references. Tables list ihe top 90 consultants employed by the candidates for management, direct mail, and promotional mail, and media advice. To investigate how campaign funds are actually spent, the authors set themselves several goals. The first was to determine what the funds bought and, thus, why political campaigns cost so much. The tables ranking those expenditures by category answer that question in great detail. Secondly, the authors describe cases in which campaign funds were used to build and maintain a permanent political machine, set up as a small business operation with expenditures for buildings, computers, investment portfolios, etc. Their study leads them to conclude that the flood of campaign funds into a smooth-running political organization enables incumbents to scare off challengers, although this factor is more important in Senate than House contests. Another chapter demonstrates that the burgeoning political consulting industry has a vested interest in free-flowing campaign funds. Finally, their work continues the research of the 1992 version for comparative purposes. This iteration of Gold-Plated Politics once again exemplifies the usefulness of making the Federal Election Commission’s data machine-readable and readily accessible to the public for analysis. A well thought-out contribution to the debate over campaign financing reform, this timely book is of interest both to students of the electoral process as well as to the general reader.
NOTES 1. Handbook
of Campaign
Spending:
Money
in the 1992 Congressional
Races
(Washington, DC: Congressional
Quarterly Books, 1994).
HELEN HEITMANN IVES American University Library American University Washington, DC 200161 USA
European
Environmental
Statistics Handbook. Compiled by Oksana Newman and Allan Foster. International, 1993.436~. ISBN 1-873477-60-O $90.00 and European EnvironSourcebook. Compiled by Oksana Newman and Allan Foster. London: Gale
London: Gale Research mental Information
Research
International,
1994. 358~. ISBN 1-873477-20-l. $128.00.
Two new works compiled by Oksana Newman and Allan Foster of the Manchester Business School provide easy access to information on the state of the European environment and environmental agencies operating in Europe. The first, the European Environmental Statistics Handbook, as a “comprehensive presentation of statistical materials drawn from governmental and private sources” (introduction) offers a wide range of environmental data for western Europe, as well as some global figures. Depending on the topic, the statistics generally date from the mid-1980s through 1991-1992. Selected tables give earlier data that is useful for comparison. The volume begins with a “Guide to the Subject Matter,” which briefly discusses the relationship between pollution and technology, economics, politics, and institutional issues providing a broad
490
Reviews
context in which to view the subsequent tables. The statistical portion of the volume is organized into 10 chapters, beginning with an overview of the “media” affected by pollutants presenting statistics on air, land, and water resources as well as the current state of the environment in Europe. The second chapter is organized by regions, nations, and cities and presents data with a specific geographic emphasis. The authors note in the introduction that not all tables with geographical breakdowns are included in this section but are integrated in other subject areas. The next three chapters present materials on the costs associated with pollution and pollution control; the effects of pollution including health statistics, environmental degradation, consumer costs, and governmental and private expenditures for pollution control; and general industry and government data. Chapter 6 covering laws and regulations and Chapter 7 covering politics and public opinion provide interesting data on governmental policy, regulatory standards, environmental legislation, political parties, and environmental interest groups as well as public attitudes toward the environment. The last three chapters cover specific pollutants and wastes in more detail-data on the pollution control industry and statistics on pollution abatement methods and solutions. There are two indexes. The first covers subjects, companies, organizations, and government agencies. The second is a geographic index that includes regions, countries, and cities as well as physical features such as oceans and major rivers subdivided by topic. The indexes, combined with the detailed table of contents, provide easy access to specific tables. Appendices include a list of sources by organization and company; the periodical and series consulted; and list of abbreviations and acronyms found in the handbook. By compiling tables from a large number of publications, the handbook provides easy access to a large body of statistics on the state of Europe’s environment. The tables are drawn from many standard reference sources, periodicals, government sources, and environmental organizations. All the tables cite the original data source. Citations to specific print publications generally provide all the necessary information to locate the original source. Citations to organizations are sometimes less clear, however. For example, Table 695: Examples of Lighter Packaging Developments in the UK cites the source as the Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment, with little indication if there is a specific publication from which the information was drawn. As with all compilations combining tables from other sources, the handbook has certain limitations. Among these limitations are availability and consistency of data from country to country. As would be expected in a compilation taking much of its data from national sources, the data presented in any one table is not always available for every geographic area. One instance where this occurs is Table 587: Typical UK Household Waste in a Typical Week. The table presents a breakdown of household waste by type for the UK, but similar tables are not available for all European countries. Furthermore, data from different sources may not be comparable because of methodological differences in data gathering. In addition, as the authors point out in the introduction, the tables are presented without the explanatory text that accompanied the original publication. This type of explanatory material can be critical to interpreting the statistics. The citations to the original source allow the user to compensate for this drawback. For example, Table 33: Land Use-Znternational Comparisons provides data that suggests 54 percent of Canadian land use is considered urban, while figures for France, West Germany, Japan, and the USA are 16,21, 19, and 24 percent, respectively. With a figure so much higher than other industrialized countries, and significantly higher than the world average of 33 percent, users would be advised to consult the original source to determine how these numbers were derived. Despite its limitations, the volume should be considered for inclusion in any library with an interest in international environmental issues, as it provides a wealth of statistical information and, through the table citations, serves as an entry point to a substantial number of works on the European environmnent. The second volume, the European &IUirOFlFnentd Information Sourcehook, complements the statistical volume by providing a comprehensive directory to approximately 1,900 organizations andagencies with interests in environmental issues in Europe. These agencies include: national and international nongovernmental organizations, green parties, research centers, international intergovernmental organizations, and national government agencies. It also includes information on businesses that have a significant impact on the environment or provide environmental services. Each entry includes the organization’s address, phone, fax, organizational aims and objectives or research activities, and geographical coverage. Where applicable, the directory also gives an organization’s major publications and databases. The volume is organized into 11 broad subject categories, each of which is subdivided into more specific areas. The subject areas include: air quality and atmospheric change, agriculture and farming,
Reviews
491
coastal and marine waters, inland waters, waste and recycling, conservation, nonnuclear energy, nuclear energy, health and safety, pollution, businesses and services, and miscellaneous. An additional feature is the list of citations to major works related to environmental issues. These citations include references to other directories, books, conference reports, yearbooks, periodicals, technical reports, and electronic databases for each subject area. These entries provide, as appropriate, the price or subscription rate, frequency, language or languages, database producer and host, and coverage for each item. This section should prove particularly helpful for individuals looking for major print and electronic resources on European environmental issues as well as aid librarians in collection development activities. Appendices include a list of European Information Centres of the European Union, national Correspondence Centres, and online hosts commonly available in Europe. There is also a list of CD-ROM producers and distributors in Europe. Indexes include a geographical index listing organizations, publications, and databases; as well as separate alphabetical indexes for organizations, publications, and databases. A very helpful feature is the list of acronyms in the front of the volume. While the focus of the volume is heavily on the United Kingdom, the other countries of Europe are generally well covered. The volume is well organized, and the combination of the indexes and the detailed table of contents provides easy access to the information, although a more detailed subject index would also have been helpful. Both these volumes fill gaps in the available information on the environment and are recommended for college and university libraries or libraries with a strong interest in environmental issues. HELEN SHEEHY Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16801 USA
Europe and the Global Information
Society: Recommendations to the European Council. Brussels: European Union. High Level Group on the Information Society, 26 May 1994. Accessible from Trans-European Research and Education Networking Association (TERENA) Homepage. URLhttp://www.rare.nl/rare/upturn/docs/bangemann-repo~.html.
A committee appointed to make recommendations on the information society to the Council of Ministers of the European Union for their meeting in Corfu in June 1994 produced this report. The European Council is confronted with the challenge of establishing a Europe-wide infrastructure for what, in the United States, is known as the Information Superhighway, i.e., a high bandwidth electronic network capable of supporting commercial, research, and recreational activities. Failure to achieve the conditions that allow for interconnection and interoperability will adversely affect Europe’s ability to compete in an emerging global marketplace. The first countries to enter the information society will reap the greatest rewards. They will set the agenda for all who must follow. By contrast, countries which temporise, or favour half-hearted solutions, could. in less than a decade, face disastrous declines in investment and a squeeze on jobs. [Chapter I]
The unstated background of this resport is the current situation in which telecommunications and other electronic links are divided into a patchwork of national and sub-national systems, regulated by national governments, often with very different and highly restrictive laws. For instance, British law prohibits the connection to the telephone system of any equipment (e.g., a modem) that has not been approved. Such policies inhibit growth by interfering with market forces in the telecommunications industry. [Modern costs in Britain are artifically high.] Indeed, telecommunications services in European countries are generally in the hands of government monopolies. The report recommends privatizing and dismantling the national monopolies. The High Level Group looks to the private sector to drive and finance the information infrastructure, with the role of the public sector limited to creating the climate in which entrepreneurs can most efficiently work. The call to action is given considerable urgency by the fact that individual European governments are even now reacting in idiosyncratic ways to the coming of the information society. If nothing is done to give coherence to these developments, Europe will end up at a competitive disadvantage.
489
fund raising. Morris and Gamache found that in 1992 outsiders’ spending for communicating with the voters differed very little from that of incumbents. Further, the incumbents’ war chests negated the efforts of their opponents, despite the supposed angry electorate. Despite the presence of more women candidates, the authors found that most money went to experienced politicians, regardless of gender, and that while spending for women candidates increased, the same percentage of incumbents lost to women as lost to men. Political consultants were again the real winners; media consultants (pollsters) billed campaigns 42 percent more than in 1990. The authors found that again in 1992: (a) television ad rates are not responsible for the rising costs of campaigns, (b) the two-party system is not being revived by the influx of money, and(c) that the rules on election contributions are not adequately enforced. Morris and Gamache present the data in 33 accompanying tables listing the top 15 or 25 candidate spenders or in some cases recipients in these spending categories. A very informative guide to the tables is provided, and a lucid name and organization index refers the user to both text and table references. Tables list ihe top 90 consultants employed by the candidates for management, direct mail, and promotional mail, and media advice. To investigate how campaign funds are actually spent, the authors set themselves several goals. The first was to determine what the funds bought and, thus, why political campaigns cost so much. The tables ranking those expenditures by category answer that question in great detail. Secondly, the authors describe cases in which campaign funds were used to build and maintain a permanent political machine, set up as a small business operation with expenditures for buildings, computers, investment portfolios, etc. Their study leads them to conclude that the flood of campaign funds into a smooth-running political organization enables incumbents to scare off challengers, although this factor is more important in Senate than House contests. Another chapter demonstrates that the burgeoning political consulting industry has a vested interest in free-flowing campaign funds. Finally, their work continues the research of the 1992 version for comparative purposes. This iteration of Gold-Plated Politics once again exemplifies the usefulness of making the Federal Election Commission’s data machine-readable and readily accessible to the public for analysis. A well thought-out contribution to the debate over campaign financing reform, this timely book is of interest both to students of the electoral process as well as to the general reader.
NOTES 1. Handbook
of Campaign
Spending:
Money
in the 1992 Congressional
Races
(Washington, DC: Congressional
Quarterly Books, 1994).
HELEN HEITMANN IVES American University Library American University Washington, DC 200161 USA
European
Environmental
Statistics Handbook. Compiled by Oksana Newman and Allan Foster. International, 1993.436~. ISBN 1-873477-60-O $90.00 and European EnvironSourcebook. Compiled by Oksana Newman and Allan Foster. London: Gale
London: Gale Research mental Information
Research
International,
1994. 358~. ISBN 1-873477-20-l. $128.00.
Two new works compiled by Oksana Newman and Allan Foster of the Manchester Business School provide easy access to information on the state of the European environment and environmental agencies operating in Europe. The first, the European Environmental Statistics Handbook, as a “comprehensive presentation of statistical materials drawn from governmental and private sources” (introduction) offers a wide range of environmental data for western Europe, as well as some global figures. Depending on the topic, the statistics generally date from the mid-1980s through 1991-1992. Selected tables give earlier data that is useful for comparison. The volume begins with a “Guide to the Subject Matter,” which briefly discusses the relationship between pollution and technology, economics, politics, and institutional issues providing a broad
490
Reviews
context in which to view the subsequent tables. The statistical portion of the volume is organized into 10 chapters, beginning with an overview of the “media” affected by pollutants presenting statistics on air, land, and water resources as well as the current state of the environment in Europe. The second chapter is organized by regions, nations, and cities and presents data with a specific geographic emphasis. The authors note in the introduction that not all tables with geographical breakdowns are included in this section but are integrated in other subject areas. The next three chapters present materials on the costs associated with pollution and pollution control; the effects of pollution including health statistics, environmental degradation, consumer costs, and governmental and private expenditures for pollution control; and general industry and government data. Chapter 6 covering laws and regulations and Chapter 7 covering politics and public opinion provide interesting data on governmental policy, regulatory standards, environmental legislation, political parties, and environmental interest groups as well as public attitudes toward the environment. The last three chapters cover specific pollutants and wastes in more detail-data on the pollution control industry and statistics on pollution abatement methods and solutions. There are two indexes. The first covers subjects, companies, organizations, and government agencies. The second is a geographic index that includes regions, countries, and cities as well as physical features such as oceans and major rivers subdivided by topic. The indexes, combined with the detailed table of contents, provide easy access to specific tables. Appendices include a list of sources by organization and company; the periodical and series consulted; and list of abbreviations and acronyms found in the handbook. By compiling tables from a large number of publications, the handbook provides easy access to a large body of statistics on the state of Europe’s environment. The tables are drawn from many standard reference sources, periodicals, government sources, and environmental organizations. All the tables cite the original data source. Citations to specific print publications generally provide all the necessary information to locate the original source. Citations to organizations are sometimes less clear, however. For example, Table 695: Examples of Lighter Packaging Developments in the UK cites the source as the Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment, with little indication if there is a specific publication from which the information was drawn. As with all compilations combining tables from other sources, the handbook has certain limitations. Among these limitations are availability and consistency of data from country to country. As would be expected in a compilation taking much of its data from national sources, the data presented in any one table is not always available for every geographic area. One instance where this occurs is Table 587: Typical UK Household Waste in a Typical Week. The table presents a breakdown of household waste by type for the UK, but similar tables are not available for all European countries. Furthermore, data from different sources may not be comparable because of methodological differences in data gathering. In addition, as the authors point out in the introduction, the tables are presented without the explanatory text that accompanied the original publication. This type of explanatory material can be critical to interpreting the statistics. The citations to the original source allow the user to compensate for this drawback. For example, Table 33: Land Use-Znternational Comparisons provides data that suggests 54 percent of Canadian land use is considered urban, while figures for France, West Germany, Japan, and the USA are 16,21, 19, and 24 percent, respectively. With a figure so much higher than other industrialized countries, and significantly higher than the world average of 33 percent, users would be advised to consult the original source to determine how these numbers were derived. Despite its limitations, the volume should be considered for inclusion in any library with an interest in international environmental issues, as it provides a wealth of statistical information and, through the table citations, serves as an entry point to a substantial number of works on the European environmnent. The second volume, the European &IUirOFlFnentd Information Sourcehook, complements the statistical volume by providing a comprehensive directory to approximately 1,900 organizations andagencies with interests in environmental issues in Europe. These agencies include: national and international nongovernmental organizations, green parties, research centers, international intergovernmental organizations, and national government agencies. It also includes information on businesses that have a significant impact on the environment or provide environmental services. Each entry includes the organization’s address, phone, fax, organizational aims and objectives or research activities, and geographical coverage. Where applicable, the directory also gives an organization’s major publications and databases. The volume is organized into 11 broad subject categories, each of which is subdivided into more specific areas. The subject areas include: air quality and atmospheric change, agriculture and farming,
Reviews
491
coastal and marine waters, inland waters, waste and recycling, conservation, nonnuclear energy, nuclear energy, health and safety, pollution, businesses and services, and miscellaneous. An additional feature is the list of citations to major works related to environmental issues. These citations include references to other directories, books, conference reports, yearbooks, periodicals, technical reports, and electronic databases for each subject area. These entries provide, as appropriate, the price or subscription rate, frequency, language or languages, database producer and host, and coverage for each item. This section should prove particularly helpful for individuals looking for major print and electronic resources on European environmental issues as well as aid librarians in collection development activities. Appendices include a list of European Information Centres of the European Union, national Correspondence Centres, and online hosts commonly available in Europe. There is also a list of CD-ROM producers and distributors in Europe. Indexes include a geographical index listing organizations, publications, and databases; as well as separate alphabetical indexes for organizations, publications, and databases. A very helpful feature is the list of acronyms in the front of the volume. While the focus of the volume is heavily on the United Kingdom, the other countries of Europe are generally well covered. The volume is well organized, and the combination of the indexes and the detailed table of contents provides easy access to the information, although a more detailed subject index would also have been helpful. Both these volumes fill gaps in the available information on the environment and are recommended for college and university libraries or libraries with a strong interest in environmental issues. HELEN SHEEHY Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16801 USA
Europe and the Global Information
Society: Recommendations to the European Council. Brussels: European Union. High Level Group on the Information Society, 26 May 1994. Accessible from Trans-European Research and Education Networking Association (TERENA) Homepage. URLhttp://www.rare.nl/rare/upturn/docs/bangemann-repo~.html.
A committee appointed to make recommendations on the information society to the Council of Ministers of the European Union for their meeting in Corfu in June 1994 produced this report. The European Council is confronted with the challenge of establishing a Europe-wide infrastructure for what, in the United States, is known as the Information Superhighway, i.e., a high bandwidth electronic network capable of supporting commercial, research, and recreational activities. Failure to achieve the conditions that allow for interconnection and interoperability will adversely affect Europe’s ability to compete in an emerging global marketplace. The first countries to enter the information society will reap the greatest rewards. They will set the agenda for all who must follow. By contrast, countries which temporise, or favour half-hearted solutions, could. in less than a decade, face disastrous declines in investment and a squeeze on jobs. [Chapter I]
The unstated background of this resport is the current situation in which telecommunications and other electronic links are divided into a patchwork of national and sub-national systems, regulated by national governments, often with very different and highly restrictive laws. For instance, British law prohibits the connection to the telephone system of any equipment (e.g., a modem) that has not been approved. Such policies inhibit growth by interfering with market forces in the telecommunications industry. [Modern costs in Britain are artifically high.] Indeed, telecommunications services in European countries are generally in the hands of government monopolies. The report recommends privatizing and dismantling the national monopolies. The High Level Group looks to the private sector to drive and finance the information infrastructure, with the role of the public sector limited to creating the climate in which entrepreneurs can most efficiently work. The call to action is given considerable urgency by the fact that individual European governments are even now reacting in idiosyncratic ways to the coming of the information society. If nothing is done to give coherence to these developments, Europe will end up at a competitive disadvantage.