E D I T O R' S  N O T E

  Surely everyone has heard about global warming, the alarming trend instilling fear that eventually we'll all be baked like chickens in an oven. If only it were that easy. Although scientists and environmentalists have already seen plenty to make us worry, no one can say definitively what will be the final effects of a build-up of the so-called "greenhouse gases." And not knowing the end result makes it more difficult to convince government and industry to do something about it.

  International efforts to take action have started, but they have been slowed primarily by economic concerns. How often have we heard that excuse when talking about lack of action to protect the environment? In our timely cover story, Solomon Ioannou takes a look at the implications climate control will have on environmental trainers in the region. As with all environmental legislation, capacity builders will play a major role in making sure governments and industry are able to carry out the goals they set for themselves.

  In a similar vein, the article on page 6 begins our look at another trend that will require trainers to prepare themselves: the eastward expansion of the European Union. Agenda 2000, the framework for admitting new members that was adopted by the European Commission this summer, sets out a number of environmental points that could serve as a sort of training shopping list for anyone involved in bringing the CEE countries up to Western standards. Look forward to more coverage of this issue in coming editions of Insight.

  Getting back to the current issue, perhaps we should have labeled it the "opportunity" edition. Along with the above-mentioned articles, we present some of the findings of an NGO needs assessment published earlier this year. It appears NGOs want training almost as much as they want more funding.

  Finally, I would like to thank our intern, Dirk Amtsberg. You may notice that he researched and wrote a large portion of the articles for this issue. A recent university graduate from Germany, Dirk did an incredible amount of work during his three-month stay with us, including reporting from the 6th EMTC Network meeting in Sinaia, Romania (see the brief on this page and the article on page 8).

  As always, I hope that by reading Insight, you'll find interesting, lively and relevant articles that further our mission - to link and support environmental training institutions and specialists working in Central and Eastern Europe. Please take a moment to let us know how we're doing.

Reuben J. Stern  
Editor