In January 2002 I decided to start an annual update of the world's population and of resources critical to human survival. Some data, like population estimates and grain production, are relatively easy to check on. For other data the quality of the information is quite uneven, or statistics are only updated every few years. That said, the tables below contain the best guesses of where we are with population, fisheries, forests, grain and fresh water. For all these resources, the amount available per person is going down as a result of the continued increase in human population. That is because the resource is essentially fixed (Internal Renewable Water Resources), because growth in the resource is leveling off (world grain production), or because of decline in the resource (overharvested fish and forests).

POPULATION World Population Clock :
http://blue.census.gov/cgi-bin/ipc/popclockw

MARINE FISHERIES (FAO and World Resources Institute) FAO Report:

FORESTS FAO State of the World's Forests 2001:

GLOBAL GRAIN HARVESTS USDA Grain: World Markets and Trade (in metric tons, PDF file):
for recent data - all data in metric tons:

INTERNAL RENEWABLE WATER RESOURCES
World Resources: http://www.wri.org/wri/wr-98-99/
and US Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idbnew.html

Countries and populations with less than 1000 cubic meters of internal renewable water resources (rainfall). The 1000 cubic meters includes water required for meeting a person's food, domestic and industrial needs. Lack of rainfall can be made up by taking water from rivers running through a country, by pumping groundwater or by importing grain instead of growing it.

BioRegional Quiz: What is the population of Columbia, of Boone County, of Missouri and of the U.S.?

JOB OF THE MONTH: Research Internship, Salmon Restoration - Evergreen Funding Consultants; Seattle, WA. Responsibilities: Research Intern will be working with the non-profit agency: The Shared Strategy for Puget Sound, to protect and restore salmon runs across the region and to evaluate the economic impacts of salmon recovery on Puget Sound farming. The main responsibility will be to research actions which will reduce the costs of salmon recovery to farmers. The intern will help to identify and evaluate current regional programs and also research programs in other areas that may be adaptable to the project. Duties will include extensive web-researching, in addition to conducting interviews in person and over the phone. The research intern will also help to draft interim and final project reports and may have the opportunity to present findings to regional salmon recovery professionals. Status: Part-time Internship; Start date is flexible (January-February); Position will last 3-6 months; Schedule is flexible and requires 15-30 hours per week. Qualifications: Excellent organizational skills; ability to work with minimal supervision; strong policy researching skills; strong written and verbal skills; be comfortable conducting interviews in persona and over the phone. Salary: Monthly stipend of $500-$1,000, depending on hours worked. Application Procedure: Email cover letter and resume to Nick Pearson at: npearson@evergreenfc.com

Special Events/Classes/Programs/Talks
FIRE IN THE GRASSLANDS: Saturday January 10, 9 - noon, Park Office. Friends of Rock Bridge Memorial S.P. will be sponsoring a session on fire as a management tool in grasslands, then superintendent Scott Schulte will be leading a controlled burn of a section of grassland. Wear old clothes and sturdy shoes.
VIDEO BRUNCH: January 10. Sponsored by Missouri Wild Ones. Plan to bring a brunch item. For more info & directions and to RSVP for event email: wildonesmo@yahoo.com.
THE GEOLOGY OF ROCK BRIDGE MEMORIAL STATE PARK: Saturday February 14, 9 - noon. Friends of Rock Bridge Memorial S. P. will be sponsoring a hike to look at geologic landforms of the park and clean up graffiti. Joe Engeln will be offering a chance to learn about the geologic history of the park.
PLANT PROPAGATION WORKSHOP: February 9, 7:00pm. Led by Ann Wakeman and sponsored by the Hawthorn Chapter of the Missouri Native Plant Society and Wild Ones. For info call Paula at 573-474-4225.
SPRING THAW! : February 23, 1-3 pm @ ShakespeareÕs Pizza. Sponsored by the Community Garden Coalition. Enjoy free pizza and heirloom seed and catalog swapping. Master gardeners will be on hand to answer questions, also an opportunity to explore volunteer options within the group.

MU Organization Meetings and Contact Information
ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS: http://www.missouri.edu/~jesse105/committees/pages/environmental.htm
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES EXEC COM: 882-7116
RECYCLING COMMITTEE: 882-3091
STUDENT SIERRA CLUB: 882-7116 Wednesdays at 7:30 pm, meet in 200 A&S (winter semester)

Organization Meetings and Contact Information
AUDUBON SOCIETY; 874-3904 / columbia-audubon.missouri.org Meet 3rd Wed 7:30 pm, USGS, 4200 New Haven
BOONE COUNTY SMART GROWTH COALITION; http://smartgrowth.missouri.org/, 1st Wednesdays 7:15 Boone Co Govt Ctr.
CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE LIVING; 875-0539 or http://peaceworks.missouri.org/
CHOUTEAU GROTTO; http://chouteau.missouri.org/, Meet 1st Wed, 7 pm, Community Room of the Boone Electric Coop
COLUMBIA FOOD CIRCLE; 882-7463 or email hendricksonm@missouri.edu for information.
COLUMBIA PUBLIC WORKS VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS; 874-6271 or http://www.ci.columbia.mo.us/dept/pubw/
COMMUNITY STORMWATER PROJECT: http://www.GoColumbiaMo.com/PublicWorks/StormWater/cswp.html
ENV EDUCATION WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES: http://www.conservation.state.mo.us/teacher/workshops/
FRIENDS OF ROCK BRIDGE STATE PARK; 874-0171 or http://rockbridge.missouri.org/ Meet 4th Tuesdays, 7 pm
GREENBELT COALITION; 442-4789 or http://greenbelt.missouri.org Meet 1st Tuesdays, 7 pm, Outdoors Bldg, 200 Old 63 S.
MISSOURI NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY; npshawth@hotmail.com Meet every other second Monday (Jan, Mar, May, July, Sept, Nov) at 7:00 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Church, 2615 Shepard Blvd, Columbia, MO.
MISSOURI RIVER COMMUNITIES NETWORK; 443-0292 or http://mrcn.missouri.org/
PEDNET COALITION; email: pednet@pednet.org or http://www.pednet.org
ROCK BRIDGE MEMORIAL STATE PARK; 449-7402 or http://rockbridge.missouri.org
SHOW ME CLEAN STREAMS COALITION; (573) 751-4115 ext 3169 or www.mostreamteam.org
SIERRA CLUB; 443-4401 or http://sierra.osage.missouri.org Meet 3rd Tuesdays 7:30 pm Hillel Foundation, 1107 University Ave
WILD ONES; 499-3749 or email wildonesmo@yahoo.com, http://wildones.missouri.org Meetings 2nd Saturdays. Call for location

Answer to BioRegional Quiz: Based on the 2000 census, Columbia's population was 84,531 (0.0013 % of world population), Boone County's population was 135,454 (0.0021%), Missouri's population was 5,595,211 (0.088%)and the U.S. population was 281,421,906 (4.4%).

Feedback - Got an opinion? If we have space, we will consider publishing it. Submit it by email (envstudy@ missouri.edu), snail mail (Environmental Studies, 211 Lowry , MU, Columbia MO 65211), or call Jan Weaver to talk about it (882-7116). MU Environmental Network News is published by MU's Environmental Studies Initiative. All opinions expressed are the responsibility of the editor. Any part of this newsletter may be copied for distribution but please give us credit.