A CLIMATE OF DESPAIR. (cover story)

Focuses on the response of international governments to global warming, as of April 2001. Decision of United States President George W. Bush to abandon the 1997 Kyoto Protocol; Response of Japan and of the European Union, which is willing to ratify the protocol without U.S. participation; Terms of the protocol, including reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases; Scientific evidence of global warming; Predicted impacts of climate change; Government programs which address this issue; Alternative energy development. INSET: How to Ward Off Disaster.