This ninth annual edition of Vital Signs takes the world’s pulse by compiling a wide-ranging collection of trends that identify both problems and progress in the quest for a sustainable society. It highlights both alarming situations and encouraging developments. Part One is a comprehensive presentation of the key indicators in areas such as food, agriculture, energy, atmosphere, economics, transport and the military. Part Two provides in-depth special feature articles on: environmental features, such as transgenic crops and paper recycling; economic features, such as environmental taxes and corporate mergers; and social features, such as tuberculosis, prisons and women in politics.