The Population Reference Bureau has released the 2006 World Population Data Sheet. The publication offers a concise summary of some of the most important demographic indicators that are currently shaping population growth. This edition gives particular focus to driving factors of international migration.

Climate change poses significant threats to the economic and social stability of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The findings of a new report, Up in smoke? Latin America and the Caribbean, confirm the observable effects of climate change in the region and emphasize the potentially dire consequences of future impacts, particularly on those already living in poverty.

The United States population is expected to pass 300 million before the end of 2006. Although constituting only five percent of the global population, the U.S. emits more carbon dioxide, consumes more paper and other forest products, and produces more municipal waste than any other country. A new report by the Center for Environment and Population (CEP) quantitatively demonstrates the relationship between current national population trends, unprecedented resource consumption, and observable environmental degradation.

This week at "The Global Importance of the Boreal Forest: Migratory Birds and the Paper Industry" conference of the Taiga Rescue Network, World Resources Institute and its partners in Global Forest Watch released three reports featuring detailed forest frontier maps of Alaska, Canada, and the Russian Far East.

According to the latest Doing Business report, 213 regulatory reforms made in 112 countries over the past year reduced the cost and effort of legal and administrative compliance for businesses. The annual report, co-authored by the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), ranks 175 economies based on the relative ease of doing business.

A recent report from the World Conservation Union (IUCN) makes clear how the preservation and wise management of ecosystems can reduce the impact of extreme natural events on both lives and livelihoods.

Less than one percent of the water on Earth is in lakes, rivers, wetlands, and shallow aquifers that are available for human use. The annual replenishment of these systems constitutes the renewable water supply; humans consume approximately 10 percent of this supply annually. Yet only 15 percent of people worldwide live in relative water abundance.

Water experts from around the world are meeting this week at the World Water Week conference in Stockholm to address diverse social and environmental issues related to water resources, including the critical role of water management in efforts to reduce poverty, environmental degradation, disease, and hunger.

Last week, the Center for Global Development launched its annual Commitment to Development Index--a ranking of how well 21 "rich" countries support the economic and social development of poorer nations through their policies and actions. Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden placed highest overall.

The global AIDS community convened in Toronto, Canada this week for the XVI International AIDS Conference. Over 24,000 researchers, international leaders, and activists from more than 170 countries are participating in the week-long summit.