An ice-rock avalanche in the Kazbek region sheared off almost the entire Kolka Glacier and devastated the Genaldon valley. The satellite images show the region before (July 22, 2001) and after (October 6, 2002) the ice-rock avalanche of September 20, 2002.

For the second half of the 20th century (red line), the average recurrence interval for a sea-level height of a given value is less than half the value for the first half of the 20th century (blue line).

Mineral fuels for electricity and heat generation take primarily two forms: fossil fuels in the form of oil, natural gas and coal, and uranimum ore for nuclear power. Oil and gas are distributed in different belts, primarily in the North Sea, Caucasus and Northern Russia. Coal in different forms is still an important fuel resource and resources are distributed over the region. Uranium resources are primarily in Ukraine and Central Asia.

Hydropower, generating electricity through turbines, represents a clean and renewable energy source, but not without problems. Dams and reservoirs disrupt the natural flow, and may increase siltation and evaporation, in addition to severe impacts for wildlife, for instance migrating fish. The gross theoretical capability, presented in this map, represents a calculation based on the topography and precipitation in the countries, and is the amount ...

The political map and landscape in Europe has changed drastically in the period of 1957-2007. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the European Communities was formed in 1957 by the treaty of Rome, with six signatories. This was a time with considerable poltical tension between the Eastern Bloc (Warsaw pact, COMECON and associated countries) on one side, and NATO on the other. Through time, the communities expanded with the associated EFTA c...

The Western part of the Eurasian continent, has some of the most populated and fertile parts of the World. Central Europe is densely populated, with few remaining fragments of undisturbed habitat, except for the mountain ranges. In the north - Scandinavia and Northern Russia, there is the taiga belt, with vast expanses of confierous forest, and further north, there is tundra and glaciers. Central Asia and Caucasus is a diverse region, with desert...

The averages of the scenarios in the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) are presented in this figure, for the year 2090, with the surface temperatures over land, the size of the polar ice cap, and the outer limits of permafrost. This map features shipping routes in addition - as the sea ice is decreasing, the potential for developing shipping in the Arctic increases.

Solar insolation, the quantification of energy per surface area on the ground, can be used as an indicator for the potential for solar energy. This map presents solar insolation in Europe and neighboring countries, calculated to annual averages from monthly averages 1983 - 1993.

Hydropower, generation of electricity from dams in rivers, represents the majority of the energy produced, so far, with waste incineration - both from municipal and industrial sources, as a distant second. Other energy sources, such as biomass, windpower and solar power represents a very little share of the renewable energy produced so far. Energy consumption has been increasing in the region, since the 1990s, and with it the emissions of greenho...

While many countries have shown indifference to environmental commitments made at Rio, the summit significantly helped legitimise environmental issues in political agendas worldwide: over 50 countries currently have national constitutions recognizing the rights of citizens to a healthy environment and many have national legislation to protect the environment.

Water availability in developing countries (with and without arid climates) has declined by about 65 percent since the 1960s and continues to do so. Forecast indicate that water will become very scarce by 2020.

The highest levels of land degradation is in Europe. Specifically degraded soils are found especially in semi-arid areas (Sub-Saharan Africa, Chile), areas with high population pressure (China, Mexico, India) and regions undergoing deforestation (Indonesia).

In 1992 76 million people living in urban areas were exposed to air pollutant concentrations exceeding WHO guidelines. In developing countries 1.9 million people die each year because of indoor air pollution exposure and 500,000 die as a result of outdoor pollutant levels.

Poor people all over Africa are vulnerable to droughts and floods since many depend on rainfed agriculture as their main means of subsistence and often live in degraded areas susceptible to rainfall variation (cleared of trees and vegetation).

Soil degradation is a key global environmental indicator. Trans-border pollution in Europe has become a serious international and environmental problem. Sulphur emissions from industry in Eastern Europe is one of the most environmentally damaging problem that faces countries today.

In Niger, one of the world's poorest countries, people are far more concerned about the availability of food than its quality. In some areas, particularly in August and September when one crop runs out and the next is not ready to harvest, people eat very little – some days nothing at all.

In many of the world’s largest cities (Beijing, Calcutta, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, etc.) WHO World Health Organization) air quality guidelines are not met. In 1996 global emissions of carbon dioxide were nearly four times the 1950 total.

Over the last 30 years increasing numbers of people have been affected by severe flooding, drought and variable climate in the Sahel. Millions of Africans have sought refuge from these disasters. These peoples have often had to settle on marginal areas; where some have faced social tensions with new neighbouring communities.

In 1997 alone haze caused by air pollutants from fire spread for more than 3,200 kilometers, covering six Southeast Asian countries. In the Malaysian state of Sarawak, air pollution reached one the highest recorded indices at 839 g/m3 (levels over 301 g/m3 are equal to smoking 80 cigarettes a day).

Women are responsible for most household work (and in many parts of the world the majority of agricultural production), but women’s rights to own land or control resources are constrained, often by traditional customs and religious laws.