This 1987 Worldwatch Institute Report focuses on the relationship between the economy and its environmental support systems. This major initiative adds a new dimension to global educational efforts to raise public awareness of both the long standing and the newly emeroent environmental issues that now confront the entire world. The task of the series is highlight the risks that confront societies and to indicate the most promising avenues for preemptive policies and actions. Soil conservation energy efficiency materials recycling and population stabilization--a few of the themes emphasized--can broaden the options open to societies and enhance the prospects of the next generation. Chapter titles include: 1) Thresholds of Change 2) Analyzing the Demographic Trap 3) Assessing the Future of Urbanization 4) Reassessing Nuclear Power 5) Electrifying the Third World 6) Realizing Recyclings Potential 7) Sustaining World Agriculture 8) Raising Agricultural Productivity 9) Stabilizing Chemical Cycles 10) Designing Sustainable Economies and 11) Charting a Sustainable Course.