Ministries-Government of Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal

- Prime Minister
- Cabinet Secretarial
- Ministry of Agriculture & Coopertives
- Ministry of Culture Tourism & Civil Aviation
- Ministry of Defence
- Ministry of Education & Sports
- Ministry of Finance
- Ministry of Foreign Affair
- Ministry of Forest & Soil Conservation
- Ministry of General Administration
- Ministry of Health & Population
- Ministry of Home Affairs
- Ministry of Housing & Physical Planning
- Ministry of Industry, Commerce & Supplies
- Ministry of Information & Communication
- Ministry of Labour & Transport Management
- Ministry of Land Reform & Management
- Ministry of Law & Justice & Parliament
- Ministry of Local Development
- Ministry of Peace & Re-Construction
- Ministry of Physical Planning & Construction
- Ministry of Environment, Science & Technology
- Ministry of Water Resource
- Ministry of Women, Children & Social Welfare

Embassies in NEPAL

- Embassy of Australia
- Embassy of British
- Embassy of Danish
- Embassy of Finland
- Embassy of French Republic
- Embassy of Japan
- Embassy of Malaysia
- Embassy of Norwegian
- Embassy of Pakistan
- Embassy of Thailand
- Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt
- Embassy of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
- Embassy of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Srilanka
- Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany
- Embassy of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
- Embassy of the Peoples Republic of China
- Embassy of the Republic of India
- Embassy of the republic of Korea
- Embassy of the Russian Federation
- Embassy of the State of Israel
- Embassy of the Union of Myanmar
- Embassy of The United State of America (USA)

NEPALESE Embassies Abroad

- Bangladesh, People’s Republic of
- Belgium
- China, People’s Republic of
- Egypt, Arab Republic of
- France, Republic of
- Germany, Federal Republic of
- India, Republic of
- Japan
- Malaysia
- Myanmar, Union of
- Pakistan, Islamic Republic of
- Qatar, State of
- Russia
- Saudi Arabia
- Sri Lanka
- Thailand
- United ARAB Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States of America
- United Nations

VISA Application Forms of U.S.A.

-DS 156
-DS 157
-DS 158

Major Peaks of Nepal:

Peaks.............................Height in Meters
Mt. Everest (8,848)
Kanchanjanga (8,586)
Lhotse (8,516)
Yalung Kang (8,505)
Makalu (8,463)
Lhotse middle (8,413)
Chooyu (8,201)
Dhaulagiri (8,167)
Manaslu (8,163)
Annapurna (8,091)

Nuptse (7,855)

Ganesh Himal (7,429)
Langtang (7,234)
Gauri Shankar (7,134)
Api (7,132)
Machhapuchre (7,059)
Kanijiroba (6,883)
Ama Dablam (6,812)
Bhairav (6,799)

EVEREST ROUTE

Entry/Exit Points in Nepal:

Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu
Kakarvitta, Jhapa (Eastern Nepal)
Birgunj, Parsa (Central Nepal)
Kodari, Sindhupalchowk (Northern Border)
Belahia, Bhairahawa (Rupandehi, Western Nepal)
Jaminaha, Nepalgunj (Banke, Mid Western Nepal)
Mohana, Dhangadi (Kailali, Mid Western Nepal)
Gadda Chauki, Mahendranagar (Kanchanpur, Far Western Nepal)

Places to SEE in NEPAL

- Kathmandu: Machchendranath Temple, Akash Bhairav Temple, Hanumandhoka (Kathmandu Durbar Square), Temple of Kumari, Kasthamandap, Ashok Vinayak, Jaishi Dewal, Tudikhel, Marttyr’s Memorial Gate, Bhadrakali Temple, Singha Durbar, Narayanhity Museum, Kaisar Library, Budhanilkantha, Balaju Water Gardens, Swayambhunath, The National Museum, Natural History Museum, Pashupatinath Temple, Guheswari Temple, Chabahil Stupa, Chandra Vinayak.

- Outskirts of Kathmandu: Bouddhanath, Gokarna, Sankhu, Sundarijal, Kirtipur, Chobhar, Shekha Narayan, Dakshinkali.

- Patan: Patan Durbar Square, Patan Museum, Krishna Mandir, Mahaboudhha, Hiranya Varna Mahavihar, Khumbheshwor, Jagatnarayan Temple, Rudra Varna Mahavihar, The Ashoka Stupas, Achheswor Mahavihar, Temple of Machchendranath and Minnath, The Zoo, Patan Industrial Estate.

- Outskirts of Patan: Bajra Barahi, Godavari, Phulchowki.
- Bhaktapur: Bhaktapur Durbar Square, The National Art Gallery, Nyatapole Temple, Bhairavnath Temple, Dattatraya Temple, Dattratraya Square

- Outskirts of Bhaktapur: Surya Vinayak, Thimi, Changu Narayan, Khokana, Panauti, Namo Budhha, Timal Narayan, Palanchowk Bhagawati.

- Hill Resorts: Nagarkot, Dhulikhel, Kakani, Daman.

- Eastern Sites: Biratnagar, Barahachhetra, Hile, Antu Danda, Basantapur, Namche Bazaar.

- Western Sites: Pokhara Valley, Gorkha, Bandipur, Tanhu, Limbini, Mukinath and Jomsom, Sirubari, Tansen, Khaptad.

- Central Sites: Chitwan, Devghat, Tatopani, Helambu, Gosaikunda, Charikot, Janakpur, Dhanusadham, Nuwakot.

River opened for Rafting in Nepal:

River-Sector
Arun_Tumlingtar-Chatara
Balephi_Chanaute-Chere
Bheri_Birendranagar-Chisapani
Bhotekoshi_Baseri-Bar
Budhigandaki_Arughat-Mugling
Dudhkoshi_Jorsalle-Chatara
Kaligandaki_Galeshwar-Tiger Tops
Karnali_Bankhet-Chisapani
Maryangdi_Ngadi-Bimalnagar
Seti Karnali_Deura-Chisapani
Seti_Damauli-Tiger Tops
Sunkoshi_Dolalghat-Chatara
Sunkoshi_Lamosangu-Dolalghat
Tamakoshi_Busti-Chatara
Tamor_Basantapur-Chatara
Trisuli_Trisuli-Narayanghat

UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Nepal:

A. UNESCO World Heritage Sites (Cultural)
1. Kathmandu Durbar Square,
2. Patan Durbar Square,
3. Bhaktapur Durbar Square,
4. Pashupati Nath Temple,
5. Swayambhu Nath,
6. Bouddha Nath
7. Changu Narayan Temple &
8. Lumbini

B. UNESCO World Heritage Sites (Natural)
1. Chitwan National Park
2. Everest National Park

National Parks of Nepal
1. Bardia National Park
2. Khaptad National Park
3. Langtang National Park
4. Makalu-Barun National Park
5. Rara National Park
6. Shey-Phoksundo National Park
7. Shivapuri National Park

WildLife Reserves of Nepal
1. Koshi_Tappu Reserve
2. Parsa Reserve
3. Sukla Phanta Reserve

Hunting Reserve of Nepal
1. Dhorpatan

Conservation Areas of Nepal
1. Annapurna Conservation Area
2. Manaslu Conservation Area
3. Kanchenjunga Conservation Area

TOURISM RELATED ASSOCIATIONS IN NEPAL

Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN)
Board of Airline Representatives in Nepal (BARN)
Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and IndrastiesFreight Forwarders Association of Nepal (FFAN)
Handicraft Association of Nepal Himalayan Rescue Association Nepal (HRAN)
Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN)
Nepal Association of Rafting Agents (NARA)
Nepal Association of Tour Oeprators (NATO)
Nepal Association of Travel Agents (NATA)
Nepal Entrepreneurs Association of Tourism (NEAT)
Nepal Incentive and Convention Association (NICA)
Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA)
Non-Star Hotel Association Of Nepal (NSHAN)
Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)-Nepal Chapter
Restaurant & Bar Association of Nepal (Reban)
Thamel Tourism Development Committee (TTDC)
Tourist Guide Association of Nepal (TURGAN)
Trekking Agents Association of Nepal (TAAN)

Health Tips

Common Injuries/Sickness Fever When a person’s body temperature is above normal, (98.3° F), we say she/he has a fever. Fever itself is not a disease, but a sign of many different diseases. When a person has a fever 98.3° F. -Uncover him/her completely. -Give a paracetamol to reduce the body temperature.

-Ask him/her to drink plenty of fluids.

-Put a soaked handkerchief on his/her forehead, if Temperature is >102° F. Burns To help ease the pain and lessen damage caused by a minor burn, put the burned part in cold water at once. No other treatment is needed. Take aspirin in case of pain. It is very important to keep the burn site as clean as possible. Protect it from dirt, dust and files. Dehydration Dehydration results when the body loses more liquid than it takes in. Anybody suffering from diarrhea is in danger of dehydration.

Symptoms

-Little or no urine, the urine is dark yellow. -Dry mouth -Sunken, tearless eyes -Sudden weight loss. Vomiting It often occurs due to stomach upset and it is one the signs of many different problems.

To Control Vomiting

-Eat nothing while vomiting is severe.

-Give him/her lots of liquids and ORS to drink. If vomiting doesn’t stop for a long time, give him/her antiemetices like promethazine metoclopramide. Headache and Migraines Headache can be tension headache or due to migraine. Simple headache can be relieved by taking a paracetamol. Severe headache due to migraine is usually associated with nausea and vomiting. It can be relieved by avoiding aggravating factors and taking aspirin/analgesics. Poisoning Many children die from swallowing things that are poisonous. To protect your children, keep all poisons out of reach of children.

If you suspect poisoning, do all following immediately.

-Make the person vomit.

-Give him/her a lot of liquid, boiled eggs or flour mixed with water keep giving him/her these. Foods and try to empty his/her bowels. Nose Bleeding When the nose bleeding occurs:

-Bend your head backwards, raising your nose higher.

-Pinch the nostril until bleeding stops.

-Don’t blow your nose for sometime. Cold and Flu Cold and Flu are common viral infections. One can get rid of them after a certain period of time without any medication. Common Symptoms are Fever, Headache, Muscle ache, Cough, Runny nose, Sore Throat. For clod and flu, one has to drink plenty of fluid and take enough rest. Conjunctivitis This is a painful eye disease. It means inflammation of conjunctiva of the eye. One can use warm water to clean the eyelids followed by antibiotic (choramphenicol or ciprofloxacin) ointment and drops. If the mentioned symptoms aren’t relieved by these majors and persist for longer time, one should consult doctor immediately.

Major Disease

-Cancer

-Diabetes

-Hepatitis ‘B’

-Hypertension

-Malaria

-Meningitis

-Leprosy

-Tuberculosis

-Typhoid

Fever Keeping Yourself Healthy Eating Sensibly In order to increase the capacity to fight against different diseases, balanced diet plays a vital role. Hence, right amount of food containing required amount of calories, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals can help you live a healthy life. Take Enough Exercise Exercising regularly can help a person a lot to be physically fit and mentally alert. Regular exercise can prevent you from many health problems, i.e. back pain, heart and ling diseases, etc. To take exercise, simply you can take part in sporting activities and aerobic exercise, jogging, swimming and cycling. Visit Doctor “Prevention is better than Cure” Visiting a doctor from time to time can help a person get rid of many diseases. If you have any doubts on the health then visit a doctor immediately.

Alternative Medications To keep oneself physically and mentally fit, following are some of the popular alternative ways that are being practiced these days:

- Acupuncture

- Counseling and Psychiatric Treatment

- Fasting - Health Clubs

- Massage and Spas

- Meditation and Retreats

- Reiki Healing

- The Art of living

- Vipassana

- Yoga

Watch your Weight

A person having normal weight according to his height and age has a good health and long life in comparison to the people having over weight and underweight. To remain fit and fine physically, one has to eat balanced diet and take a regular exercises.

Remember!

Coldest Place: Antarctica has several climates, all cold but differing considerably in severity. East Antarctica’s high plateau region yields the lowest year-round temperatures due to its relatively high elevation. The world’s lowest yearly air temperatures, typically –88°C (–126°F), are recorded in late August at Russia’s Vostok station. In coastal regions latitude is more significant than elevation. The higher the latitude—that is, the closer to the pole—the lower the average temperatures. The west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula and the neighboring islands has the mildest climates, with average January temperatures above freezing.

Country with most Lakes: Canada contains more lakes and inland waters than any other country in the world. In addition to the Great Lakes on the American border (all partly within Canada except Lake Michigan), the country has 31 lakes or reservoirs of about 1,300 sq km (about 500 sq mi) in area. Canada’s two largest lakes are Lakes Superior and Huron, at 82,100 sq km (31,700 sq mi) and 59,600 sq km (23,000 sq mi), respectively. About one-third of Lake Superior and about three-fifths of Lake Huron are in Canada. The largest lakes wholly within Canada are Great Bear, at 31,790 sq km (12,270 sq mi), and Great Slave, at 28,570 sq km (11,030 sq mi), both in the Northwest Territories. Each of these immense lakes is larger than either Lake Erie or Lake Ontario. Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba, at 24,390 sq km (9,417 sq mi), also compares in size with Lake Erie and is much larger than Lake Ontario. Other very large bodies of freshwater are Lake Athabaska and Reindeer Lake in Saskatchewan and the Smallwood Reservoir in Newfoundland and Labrador. Also significant in size are Nettilling Lake on Baffin Island, Lakes Winnipegosis and Manitoba in Manitoba, Lake Nipigon and Lake of the Woods in Ontario, and Lake Melville in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Deepest Freshwater Lake: Baikal, Lake, lake, southern Siberian Russia; with a maximum depth of 1637 m (5371 ft), it is the deepest lake in the world and is estimated to contain approximately one-fifth of all the earth's fresh surface water. The lake has an area of 31,500 sq km (12,200 sq mi), and it has about 1963 km (about 1220 mi) of shoreline, making it the third largest lake in Asia, and the largest freshwater lake, in terms of surface area, on the Eurasian continent. The crescent-shaped lake is 636 km (395 mi) long and varies in width from about 14 to 80 km (about 9 to 50 mi). The lake is fed by the Selenge, Barguzin, and Verkhnaya Angara rivers and by more than 300 mountain streams. The only outlet is the lower Angara, which flows west from the lake into the Yenisey River. The Baikal, Barguzin, and other mountain ranges surround the lake, rising on all shores except the southeastern Selenge delta. Lake Baikal has several islands, the largest of which is Olkhon. Nizhneangarsk and Listvyanka are ports on the lake. Baikal is known for the remarkable clarity of its waters and for the great diversity of its plant and animal life; the majority of species found in the lake are endemic. The sturgeon, salmon, and freshwater-seal fisheries of the lake are valuable, and large quantities of other fish are also caught. Petroleum wells and mineral and hot springs are found in the vicinity. The southern shores of the lake are inhabited by the Buryats.

Deepest Ocean: Pacific Ocean, largest and deepest of the world's four oceans, covering more than a third of the earth's surface and containing more than half of its free water. It is sometimes divided into two nominal sections: the part north of the equator is called the North Pacific; the part south of the equator, the South Pacific. The name Pacific, which means peaceful, was given to it by the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan in 1520.

Deepest Point (Oceanic): Mariana Trench, depression in the floor of the Pacific Ocean, the deepest seafloor depression in the world. It is located just east of the Mariana Islands in the western part of the ocean basin. The Mariana Trench is an arc-shaped valley extending generally northeast to southwest for 2,550 km (1,580 mi); its average width is 70 km (40 mi). The Mariana is one of many deepwater ocean trenches formed by the geologic process of subduction (see Plate Tectonics). Near its southwestern extremity, 340 km (210 mi) southwest of the island of Guam, is the deepest point on earth. This point, the Challenger Deep, is estimated to be 11,033 m (36,198 ft) deep. The Challenger Deep was named after HMS Challenger II, the vessel of those who discovered the point in 1948.

Highest Mountain Region: Himalayas, also Himalaya (Sanskrit for “abode of snow”), mountain system in Asia, forming a broad continuous arc for nearly 2600 km (1600 mi) along the northern fringes of the Indian subcontinent, from the bend of the Indus River in the northwest to the Brahmaputra River in the east. The Himalayas range, averaging 320 to 400 km (200 to 250 mi) in width, rises sharply from the Gangetic Plain. North of this mountain belt lies the Tibetan Plateau (Qing Zang Gaoyuan). The Himalayas form the earth’s highest mountain region, containing 9 of the 10 highest peaks in the world. Among these peaks are the world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest (8848 m/29,028 ft), which is on the Nepal-Tibet border; the second highest peak, K2 or Mount Godwin Austen (8,611 m/28,251 ft), located on the border between China and Jammu and Kashmīr, a territory claimed by India and Pakistan; the third highest peak, Kānchenjunga (8,598 m/28,209 ft) on the Nepal-India border; Makālu (8481 m/27,824 ft) on the Nepal-Tibet border; Dhaulāgiri (8,172 m/26,811 ft) and Annapūrna 1 (8,091 m/26,545 ft) in Nepal; Nanga Parbat (8,125 m/26,657 ft) in the Pakistani-controlled portion of Jammu and Kashmīr; and Nanda Devi (7817 m/25,645 ft) in India.

Highest Navigable Lake: Titicaca, Lake, lake, east central South America, the highest navigable lake in the world (about 3,810 m/12,500 ft above sea level). Extending from southeastern Peru to western Bolivia, it is 196 km (122 mi) long with an average width of 56 km (35 mi). The surrounding region was one of the seats of early Native American civilization; it contains many architectural remains, some of which predate the Incan period.

Highest Point: The height of Mount Everest has been determined to be 8,850 m (29,035 ft). The mountain’s actual height, and the claim that Everest is the highest mountain in the world, have long been disputed. But scientific surveys completed in the early 1990s continued to support evidence that Everest is the highest mountain in the world. In fact, the mountain is rising a few millimeters each year due to geological forces. Global Positioning System (GPS) has been installed on Mount Everest for the purpose of detecting slight rates of geological uplift.

Highest Region: With an average elevation of 4,900 m (16,000 ft), Tibet is the highest region on earth. For this reason, it is sometimes called the Roof of the World. Most of the people in Tibet live at elevations ranging from 1,200 m (3,900 ft) to 5,100 m (16,700 ft). Tibet is also one of the world’s most isolated regions, surrounded by the Himalayas on the south, the Karakoram Range on the west, and the Kunlun Mountains on the north.

Highest Temperature (Death Valley): The summer temperatures in Death Valley, one of the hottest regions known, exceed 52° C (125° F) and rarely fall below 21° C (70° F). The National Weather Service recorded 57 ° C (134° F) in 1913, the highest temperature ever recorded in the United States. Average rainfall in a normal year is 50 mm (2 in). Sandstorms and dust whirlwinds of several hours' duration are common.

Highest Wind Velocity: Washington, Mount, mountain in northern New Hampshire, the highest in the northeastern United States. Mount Washington rises 1,917 m (6,288 ft) above sea level and forms part of the Presidential Range of the White Mountains. Forests cover its slopes to an elevation of 1,000 m (3,200 ft), beyond which it is bare and rocky. Mount Washington is noted for its scenery and for excellent skiing conditions, particularly at Tuckerman Ravine on the southeastern slope. A weather station and observation and information center are located at the summit, which may be reached by trail, automobile, and cog railway; the Appalachian National Scenic Trail crosses the upper slopes of the mountain. One of the highest recorded wind velocities—372 km/h (231 mph)—was observed on top of Mount Washington in 1934. The peak was first scaled in 1642; in 1784 the American clergyman and pioneer Manasseh Cutler climbed the mountain and is believed to have named it. Largest Desert: Sahara, great desert area, northern Africa, the western portion of the broad belt of arid land that extends from the Atlantic Ocean eastward past the Red Sea to Iraq. The entire desert, the largest in the world, is about 1,610 km (about 1,000 mi) wide and about 5,150 km (about 3,200 mi) long from east to west. The total area of the Sahara is more than 9.1 million sq km (more than 3.5 million sq mi), of which some 207,000 sq km (some 80,000 sq mi) consist of partially fertile oases.

Largest Inland Sea: Caspian Sea (ancient Caspium Mare or Hyrcanium Mare), saltwater lake in southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia, the largest inland body of water in the world. The Caspian Sea is bordered on the west by Azerbaijan and Russia, on the northeast and east by Kazakhstan, on the east by Turkmenistan, and on the south by Iran. It extends about 1210 km (about 750 mi) in a northern and southern direction and about 210 to 436 km (about 130 to 271 mi) in an eastern and western direction. It has an area of 371,000 sq km (143,000 sq mi). The Caspian coastline is irregular, with large gulfs on the east, including Krasnovodsk Gulf and the very shallow Garabogazköl Gulf, which acts as an evaporation basin and is the site of a major chemical plant that extracts salts from the deposits.

Largest Island: Greenland (Greenlandic Kalaallit Nunaat; Danish Grønland), island which is an internally self-governing part of Denmark, situated between the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans. Greenland lies mostly north of the Arctic Circle and is separated from the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, on the west, primarily by Davis Strait and Baffin Bay, and from Iceland, on the east, by the Denmark Strait. The largest island in the world, Greenland has a maximum extent, from its northernmost point on Cape Morris Jesup to Cape Farewell in the extreme south, of 2,660 km (1,650 mi). The maximum distance from east to west is 1,300 km (800 mi). The entire coast, which is deeply indented with fjords, is roughly estimated at 44,000 km (27,000 mi). The total area of Greenland is 2,170,000 sq km (836,330 sq mi), of which 1,834,000 sq km (708,000 sq mi) is ice cap. The capital and largest city is Nuuk.

Largest Jungle: To be classified as a rain forest, a forest must have a closed canopy, in which the treetops, or crowns, touch each other, creating a shaded forest interior. In addition, temperature and rainfall must be high and relatively even throughout the year. Forests that meet these criteria are found flanking the equator in South and Central America, Asia, Africa, and Australia. In South America, a vast, forested area of the Amazon River basin in Brazil and neighboring countries is by far the largest rain forest in the world. It encompasses more than 3.5 million sq km (about 1.4 million sq mi)—about half of the total global rain forest cover. The larger of two large rain forests in Asia is centered along the Malay Archipelago, including the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, and the Republic of the Philippines. The other main rain forest in Asia is found primarily on the island of New Guinea and in northern Australia. In Africa, most of the rain forest is concentrated along the Atlantic coast and the Congo River Basin.

Smallest Country: Vatican City, independent state, under the absolute authority of the pope of the Roman Catholic church. It is an enclave within Rome, Italy, with an area of 44 hectares (110 acres). The smallest independent country in the world, Vatican City was established in 1929 under terms of the Lateran Treaty, concluded by the Italian government and the papacy after many years of controversy. This treaty was superseded in 1984 by a new concordat, which, like its predecessor, recognized the full sovereignty of the Holy See (the jurisdiction of the pope) within the state of Vatican City.

Tallest tree: Redwood National Park, national park, located in northwestern California, established in 1968. The world’s tallest tree (112 m/367 ft) is located here. The park encompasses a 64-km (40-mi) strip of scenic Pacific coastal territory and contains virgin forests of ancient redwood trees (Sequoia sempervirens). Heavy rainfall has produced a luxuriant vegetation that includes ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, Sitka spruce, and, in places, an underbrush of azalea and rhododendron. The park preserves an undisturbed coastline of bluffs, beaches, rocky inlets, and lagoons. The park’s boundaries were expanded in 1978 and designated a World Heritage Site in 1980. Area, 45,499 hectares (112,430 acres).

Earth

Earth (planet), one of nine planets in the solar system, the only planet known to harbor life, and the “home” of human beings. From space Earth resembles a big blue marble with swirling white clouds floating above blue oceans. About 71 percent of Earth’s surface is covered by water, which is essential to life. The rest is land, mostly in the form of continents that rise above the oceans. Earth’s surface is surrounded by a layer of gases known as the atmosphere, which extends upward from the surface, slowly thinning out into space. Below the surface is a hot interior of rocky material and two core layers composed of the metals nickel and iron in solid and liquid form. Unlike the other planets, Earth has a unique set of characteristics ideally suited to supporting life as we know it. It is neither too hot, like Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, nor too cold, like distant Mars and the even more distant outer planets—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and tiny Pluto. Earth’s atmosphere includes just the right amount of gases that trap heat from the Sun, resulting in a moderate climate suitable for water to exist in liquid form. The atmosphere also helps block radiation from the Sun that would be harmful to life. Earth’s atmosphere distinguishes it from the planet Venus, which is otherwise much like Earth. Venus is about the same size and mass as Earth and is also neither too near nor too far from the Sun.

But because Venus has too much heat-trapping carbon dioxide in its atmosphere, its surface is extremely hot—462°C (864°F)—hot enough to melt lead and too hot for life to exist. Although Earth is the only planet known to have life, scientists do not rule out the possibility that life may once have existed on other planets or their moons, or may exist today in primitive form. Mars, for example, has many features that resemble river channels, indicating that liquid water once flowed on its surface. If so, life may also have evolved there, and evidence for it may one day be found in fossil form. Water still exists on Mars, but it is frozen in polar ice caps, in permafrost, and possibly in rocks below the surface. For thousands of years, human beings could only wonder about Earth and the other observable planets in the solar system. Many early ideas—for example, that the Earth was a sphere and that it traveled around the Sun—were based on brilliant reasoning. However, it was only with the development of the scientific method and scientific instruments, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, that humans began to gather data that could be used to verify theories about Earth and the rest of the solar system. By studying fossils found in rock layers, for example, scientists realized that the Earth was much older than previously believed. And with the use of telescopes, new planets such as Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto were discovered. In the second half of the 20th century, more advances in the study of Earth and the solar system occurred due to the development of rockets that could send spacecraft beyond Earth. Human beings were able to study and observe Earth from space with satellites equipped with scientific instruments. Astronauts landed on the Moon and gathered ancient rocks that revealed much about the early solar system. During this remarkable advancement in human history, humans also sent unmanned spacecraft to the other planets and their moons. Spacecraft have now visited all of the planets except Pluto. The study of other planets and moons has provided new insights about Earth, just as the study of the Sun and other stars like it has helped shape new theories about how Earth and the rest of the solar system formed. As a result of this recent space exploration, we now know that Earth is one of the most geologically active of all the planets and moons in the solar system. Earth is constantly changing. Over long periods of time land is built up and worn away, oceans are formed and re-formed, and continents move around, break up, and merge. Life itself contributes to changes on Earth, especially in the way living things can alter Earth’s atmosphere. For example, Earth at one time had the same amount of carbon dioxide in its atmosphere as Venus now has, but early forms of life helped remove this carbon dioxide over millions of years. These life forms also added oxygen to Earth’s atmosphere and made it possible for animal life to evolve on land. A variety of scientific fields have broadened our knowledge about Earth, including biogeography, climatology, geology, geophysics, hydrology, meteorology, oceanography, and zoogeography. Collectively, these fields are known as Earth science. By studying Earth’s atmosphere, its surface, and its interior and by studying the Sun and the rest of the solar system, scientists have learned much about how Earth came into existence, how it changed, and why it continues to change. EARTH, THE SOLAR SYSTEM, AND THE GALAXY Earth is the third planet from the Sun, after Mercury and Venus. The average distance between Earth and the Sun is 150 million km (93 million mi). Earth and all the other planets in the solar system revolve, or orbit, around the Sun due to the force of gravitation. The Earth travels at a velocity of about 107,000 km/h (about 67,000 mph) as it orbits the Sun. All but one of the planets orbit the Sun in the same plane—that is, if an imaginary line were extended from the center of the Sun to the outer regions of the solar system, the orbital paths of the planets would intersect that line. The exception is Pluto, which has an eccentric (unusual) orbit. Earth’s orbital path is not quite a perfect circle but instead is slightly elliptical (oval-shaped). For example, at maximum distance Earth is about 152 million km (about 95 million mi) from the Sun; at minimum distance Earth is about 147 million km (about 91 million mi) from the Sun. If Earth orbited the Sun in a perfect circle, it would always be the same distance from the Sun. The solar system, in turn, is part of the Milky Way Galaxy, a collection of billions of stars bound together by gravity. The Milky Way has armlike discs of stars that spiral out from its center. The solar system is located in one of these spiral arms, known as the Orion arm, which is about two-thirds of the way from the center of the Galaxy. In most parts of the Northern Hemisphere, this disc of stars is visible on a summer night as a dense band of light known as the Milky Way. Earth is the fifth largest planet in the solar system. Its diameter, measured around the equator, is 12,756 km (7,926 mi). Earth is not a perfect sphere but is slightly flattened at the poles. Its polar diameter, measured from the North Pole to the South Pole, is somewhat less than the equatorial diameter because of this flattening. Although Earth is the largest of the four planets—Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars—that make up the inner solar system (the planets closest to the Sun), it is small compared with the giant planets of the outer solar system—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. For example, the largest planet, Jupiter, has a diameter at its equator of 143,000 km (89,000 mi), 11 times greater than that of Earth. A famous atmospheric feature on Jupiter, the Great Red Spot, is so large that three Earths would fit inside it. Earth has one natural satellite, the Moon. The Moon orbits the Earth, completing one revolution in an elliptical path in 27 days 7 hr 43 min 11.5 sec. The Moon orbits the Earth because of the force of Earth’s gravity. However, the Moon also exerts a gravitational force on the Earth. Evidence for the Moon’s gravitational influence can be seen in the ocean tides. A popular theory suggests that the Moon split off from Earth more than 4 billion years ago when a large meteorite or small planet struck the Earth. As Earth revolves around the Sun, it rotates, or spins, on its axis, an imaginary line that runs between the North and South poles. The period of one complete rotation is defined as a day and takes 23 hr 56 min 4.1 sec. The period of one revolution around the Sun is defined as a year, or 365.2422 solar days, or 365 days 5 hr 48 min 46 sec. Earth also moves along with the Milky Way Galaxy as the Galaxy rotates and moves through space. It takes more than 200 million years for the stars in the Milky Way to complete one revolution around the Galaxy’s center. Earth’s axis of rotation is inclined (tilted) 23.5° relative to its plane of revolution around the Sun. This inclination of the axis creates the seasons and causes the height of the Sun in the sky at noon to increase and decrease as the seasons change. The Northern Hemisphere receives the most energy from the Sun when it is tilted toward the Sun. This orientation corresponds to summer in the Northern Hemisphere and winter in the Southern Hemisphere. The Southern Hemisphere receives maximum energy when it is tilted toward the Sun, corresponding to summer in the Southern Hemisphere and winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Fall and spring occur in between these orientations. EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE The atmosphere is a layer of different gases that extends from Earth’s surface to the exosphere, the outer limit of the atmosphere, about 9,600 km (6,000 mi) above the surface. Near Earth’s surface, the atmosphere consists almost entirely of nitrogen (78 percent) and oxygen (21 percent). The remaining 1 percent of atmospheric gases consists of argon (0.9 percent); carbon dioxide (0.03 percent); varying amounts of water vapor; and trace amounts of hydrogen, nitrous oxide, ozone, methane, carbon monoxide, helium, neon, krypton, and xenon. Layers of the Atmosphere The layers of the atmosphere are the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, the thermosphere, and the exosphere. The troposphere is the layer in which weather occurs and extends from the surface to about 16 km (about 10 mi) above sea level at the equator. Above the troposphere is the stratosphere, which has an upper boundary of about 50 km (about 30 mi) above sea level. The layer from 50 to 90 km (30 to 60 mi) is called the mesosphere. At an altitude of about 90 km, temperatures begin to rise. The layer that begins at this altitude is called the thermosphere because of the high temperatures that can be reached in this layer (about 1200°C, or about 2200°F). The region beyond the thermosphere is called the exosphere. The thermosphere and the exosphere overlap with another region of the atmosphere known as the ionosphere, a layer or layers of ionized air extending from almost 60 km (about 50 mi) above Earth’s surface to altitudes of 1,000 km (600 mi) and more. Earth’s atmosphere and the way it interacts with the oceans and radiation from the Sun are responsible for the planet’s climate and weather. The atmosphere plays a key role in supporting life. Almost all life on Earth uses atmospheric oxygen for energy in a process known as cellular respiration, which is essential to life. The atmosphere also helps moderate Earth’s climate by trapping radiation from the Sun that is reflected from Earth’s surface. Water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere act as “greenhouse gases.” Like the glass in a greenhouse, they trap infrared, or heat, radiation from the Sun in the lower atmosphere and thereby help warm Earth’s surface. Without this greenhouse effect, heat radiation would escape into space, and Earth would be too cold to support most forms of life. Other gases in the atmosphere are also essential to life. The trace amount of ozone found in Earth’s stratosphere blocks harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. Without the ozone layer, life as we know it could not survive on land. Earth’s atmosphere is also an important part of a phenomenon known as the water cycle or the hydrologic cycle. See also Atmosphere. The Atmosphere and the Water Cycle The water cycle simply means that Earth’s water is continually recycled between the oceans, the atmosphere, and the land. All of the water that exists on Earth today has been used and reused for billions of years. Very little water has been created or lost during this period of time. Water is constantly moving on Earth’s surface and changing back and forth between ice, liquid water, and water vapor. The water cycle begins when the Sun heats the water in the oceans and causes it to evaporate and enter the atmosphere as water vapor. Some of this water vapor falls as precipitation directly back into the oceans, completing a short cycle. Some of the water vapor, however, reaches land, where it may fall as snow or rain. Melted snow or rain enters rivers or lakes on the land. Due to the force of gravity, the water in the rivers eventually empties back into the oceans. Melted snow or rain also may enter the ground. Groundwater may be stored for hundreds or thousands of years, but it will eventually reach the surface as springs or small pools known as seeps. Even snow that forms glacial ice or becomes part of the polar caps and is kept out of the cycle for thousands of years eventually melts or is warmed by the Sun and turned into water vapor, entering the atmosphere and falling again as precipitation. All water that falls on land eventually returns to the ocean, completing the water cycle. EARTH’S SURFACE Earth’s surface is the outermost layer of the planet. It includes the hydrosphere, the crust, and the biosphere. A Hydrosphere The hydrosphere consists of the bodies of water that cover 71 percent of Earth’s surface. The largest of these are the oceans, which contain over 97 percent of all water on Earth. Glaciers and the polar ice caps contain just over 2 percent of Earth’s water in the form of solid ice. Only about 0.6 percent is under the surface as groundwater. Nevertheless, groundwater is 36 times more plentiful than water found in lakes, inland seas, rivers, and in the atmosphere as water vapor. Only 0.017 percent of all the water on Earth is found in lakes and rivers. And a mere 0.001 percent is found in the atmosphere as water vapor. Most of the water in glaciers, lakes, inland seas, rivers, and groundwater is fresh and can be used for drinking and agriculture. Dissolved salts compose about 3.5 percent of the water in the oceans, however, making it unsuitable for drinking or agriculture unless it is treated to remove the salts. B Crust The crust consists of the continents, other land areas, and the basins, or floors, of the oceans. The dry land of Earth’s surface is called the continental crust. It is about 15 to 75 km (9 to 47 mi) thick. The oceanic crust is thinner than the continental crust. Its average thickness is 5 to 10 km (3 to 6 mi). The crust has a definite boundary called the Mohorovičić discontinuity, or simply the Moho. The boundary separates the crust from the underlying mantle, which is much thicker and is part of Earth’s interior. Oceanic crust and continental crust differ in the type of rocks they contain. There are three main types of rocks: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. Igneous rocks form when molten rock, called magma, cools and solidifies. Sedimentary rocks are usually created by the breakdown of igneous rocks. They tend to form in layers as small particles of other rocks or as the mineralized remains of dead animals and plants that have fused together over time. The remains of dead animals and plants occasionally become mineralized in sedimentary rock and are recognizable as fossils. Metamorphic rocks form when sedimentary or igneous rocks are altered by heat and pressure deep underground. Oceanic crust consists of dark, dense igneous rocks, such as basalt and gabbro. Continental crust consists of lighter-colored, less dense igneous rocks, such as granite and diorite. Continental crust also includes metamorphic rocks and sedimentary rocks. C Biosphere The biosphere includes all the areas of Earth capable of supporting life. The biosphere ranges from about 10 km (about 6 mi) into the atmosphere to the deepest ocean floor. For a long time, scientists believed that all life depended on energy from the Sun and consequently could only exist where sunlight penetrated. In the 1970s, however, scientists discovered various forms of life around hydrothermal vents on the floor of the Pacific Ocean where no sunlight penetrated. They learned that primitive bacteria formed the basis of this living community and that the bacteria derived their energy from a process called chemosynthesis that did not depend on sunlight. Some scientists believe that the biosphere may extend relatively deep into Earth’s crust. They have recovered what they believe are primitive bacteria from deeply drilled holes below the surface. D Changes to Earth’s Surface Earthquake survivors who have felt the earth move beneath them have intimate experience with the powerful geologic forces that shape the surface of the Earth. They know there is no such thing as terra firma. Geologist Haraldur Sigurdsson, professor of volcanology at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, answers a wide array of questions about the geology of the Earth and other planets, including a penetrating discussion of the relationship between volcanoes and earthquakes. Earth’s surface has been constantly changing ever since the planet formed. Most of these changes have been gradual, taking place over millions of years. Nevertheless, these gradual changes have resulted in radical modifications, involving the formation, erosion, and re-formation of mountain ranges, the movement of continents, the creation of huge supercontinents, and the breakup of supercontinents into smaller continents. The weathering and erosion that result from the water cycle are among the principal factors responsible for changes to Earth’s surface. Another principal factor is the movement of Earth’s continents and seafloors and the buildup of mountain ranges due to a phenomenon known as plate tectonics. Heat is the basis for all of these changes. Heat in Earth’s interior is believed to be responsible for continental movement, mountain building, and the creation of new seafloor in ocean basins. Heat from the Sun is responsible for the evaporation of ocean water and the resulting precipitation that causes weathering and erosion. In effect, heat in Earth’s interior helps build up Earth’s surface while heat from the Sun helps wear down the surface. EARTH’S INTERIOR arth is made up of a series of layers that formed early in the planet’s history, as heavier material gravitated toward the center and lighter material floated to the surface. The dense, solid, inner core of iron is surrounded by a liquid, iron, outer core. The lower mantle consists of molten rock, which is surrounded by partially molten rock in the asthenosphere and solid rock in the upper mantle and crust. Between some of the layers, there are chemical or structural changes that form discontinuities. Lighter elements, such as silicon, aluminum, calcium, potassium, sodium, and oxygen, compose the outer crust. The interior of Earth plays an important role in plate tectonics. Scientists believe it is also responsible for Earth’s magnetic field. This field is vital to life because it shields the planet’s surface from harmful cosmic rays and from a steady stream of energetic particles from the Sun known as the solar wind.

AIDS

AIDS Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), human viral disease that ravages the immune system, undermining the body’s ability to defend itself from infection and disease. Caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), AIDS leaves an infected person vulnerable to opportunistic infections. Such infections are harmless in healthy people, but in those whose immune systems have been greatly weakened, they can prove fatal. Although there is no cure for AIDS, new drugs are available that can prolong the life spans and improve the quality of life of infected people. Human Immunodeficiency Virus The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), principally attacks CD4 T-cells, a vital part of the human immune system. As a result, the body’s ability to resist opportunistic viral, bacterial, fungal, protozoal, and other infection is greatly weakened. Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia is the leading cause of death among people with HIV infection, but the incidence of certain types of cancers such as B-cell lymphomas and Kaposi’s sarcoma is also increased. Neurological complications and dramatic weight loss, or “wasting,” are characteristic of endstage HIV disease (AIDS). HIV can be transmitted sexually; through contact with contaminated blood, tissue, or needles; and from mother to child during birth or breastfeeding. Full-blown symptoms of AIDS may not develop for more than 10 years after infection. Infection with HIV does not necessarily mean that a person has AIDS. Some people who have HIV infection may not develop any of the clinical illnesses that define the full-blown disease of AIDS for ten years or more. Physicians prefer to use the term AIDS for cases where a person has reached the final, life-threatening stage of HIV infection. PREVALENCE AIDS was first identified in 1981 among homosexual men and intravenous drug users in New York and California. Shortly after its detection in the United States, evidence of AIDS epidemics grew among heterosexual men, women, and children in sub-Saharan Africa. AIDS quickly developed into a worldwide epidemic, affecting virtually every nation. By 2002 an estimated 38.6 million adults and 3.2 million children worldwide were living with HIV infection or AIDS. The World Health Organization (WHO), a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN), estimates that from 1981 to the end of 2002 about 20 million people died as a result of AIDS. About 4.5 million of those who died were children under the age of 15. CAUSE AIDS is the final stage of a chronic infection with the human immunodeficiency virus. There are two types of this virus: HIV-1, which is the primary cause of AIDS worldwide, and HIV-2, found mostly in West Africa. On its surface, HIV carries a protein structure that recognizes and binds only with a specific structure found on the outer surface of certain cells. HIV attacks any cell that has this binding structure. However, white blood cells of the immune system known as T cells, which orchestrate a wide variety of disease-fighting mechanisms, are especially vulnerable to HIV attack. Particularly vulnerable are certain T cells known as CD4 cells. When HIV infects a CD4 cell, it commandeers the genetic tools within the cell to manufacture new HIV virus. The newly formed HIV virus then leaves the cell, destroying the CD4 cell in the process. No existing medical treatment can completely eradicate HIV from the body once it has integrated into human cells. The loss of CD4 cells endangers health because these immune cells help other types of immune cells respond to invading organisms. The average healthy person has over 1,000 CD4 cells per microliter of blood. In a person infected with HIV, the virus steadily destroys CD4 cells over a period of years, diminishing the cells’ protective ability and weakening the immune system. When the density of CD4 cells drops to 200 cells per microliter of blood, the infected person becomes vulnerable to any of about 26 opportunistic infections and rare cancers, which take advantage of the weakened immune defenses to cause disease. HOW HIV INFECTION SPREADS Scientists have identified three ways that HIV infections spread: sexual intercourse with an infected person, contact with contaminated blood, and transmission from an infected mother to her child before or during birth or through breastfeeding. A Sex with an Infected Person HIV transmission occurs most commonly during intimate sexual contact with an infected person, including genital, anal, and oral sex. The virus is present in the infected person’s semen or vaginal fluids. During sexual intercourse, the virus gains access to the bloodstream of the uninfected person by passing through openings in the mucous membrane—the protective tissue layer that lines the mouth, vagina, and rectum—and through breaks in the skin of the penis. In the United States and Canada, HIV is most commonly transmitted during sex between homosexual men, but the incidence of HIV transmission between heterosexual men and women has rapidly increased. In most other parts of the world, HIV is most commonly transmitted through heterosexual sex. B Contact with Infected Blood Direct contact with HIV-infected blood occurs when people who use heroin or other injected drugs share hypodermic needles or syringes contaminated with infected blood. Sharing of contaminated needles among intravenous drug users is the primary cause of HIV infection in eastern Europe, particularly in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, and Moldova. Epidemics of HIV infection among drug users have also emerged in Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan in Central Asia. Less frequently, HIV infection results when health professionals accidentally stick themselves with needles containing HIV-infected blood or expose an open cut to contaminated blood. Some cases of HIV transmission from transfusions of infected blood, blood components, and organ donations were reported in the 1980s. Since 1985 government regulations in the United States and Canada have required that all donated blood and body tissues be screened for the presence of HIV before being used in medical procedures. As a result of these regulations, HIV transmission caused by contaminated blood transfusion or organ donations is rare in North America. However, the problem continues to concern health officials in sub-Saharan Africa. Less than half of the 46 nations in this region have blood-screening policies. By some estimates only 25 percent of blood transfusions are screened for the presence of HIV. WHO hopes to establish blood safety programs in more than 80 percent of sub-Saharan countries by 2003. C Mother-to-Child Transmission HIV can be transmitted from an infected mother to her baby while the baby is still in the woman’s uterus or, more commonly, during childbirth. The virus can also be transmitted through the mother’s breast milk during breastfeeding. Mother-to-child transmission accounts for 90 percent of all cases of AIDS in children. Mother-to-child transmission is particularly prevalent in Africa, where the number of women infected with HIV is ten times the rate found in other regions. Studies conducted in several cities in southern Africa in 1998 indicate that up to 45 percent of pregnant women in these cities carry HIV. D Misperceptions About HIV Transmission The routes of HIV transmission are well documented by scientists, but health officials continually grapple with the public’s unfounded fears concerning the potential for HIV transmission by other means. HIV differs from other infectious viruses in that it dies quickly if exposed to the environment. No evidence has linked HIV transmission to casual contact with an infected person, such as a handshake, hugging, or kissing, or even sharing dishes or bathroom facilities. Studies have been unable to identify HIV transmission from modes common to other infectious diseases, such as an insect bite or inhaling virus-infected droplets from an infected person’s sneeze or cough. SYMPTOMS Without medical intervention, AIDS progresses along a typical course. Within one to three weeks after infection with HIV, most people experience flu-like symptoms, such as fever, sore throat, headache, skin rash, tender lymph nodes, and a vague feeling of discomfort. These symptoms last one to four weeks. During this phase, known as acute retroviral syndrome, HIV reproduces rapidly in the blood. The virus circulates in the blood throughout the body, particularly concentrating in organs of the lymphatic system. The normal immune defenses against viral infections eventually activate to battle HIV in the body, reducing but not eliminating HIV in the blood. Infected individuals typically enter a prolonged asymptomatic phase, a symptom-free period that can last ten years or more. While persons who have HIV may remain in good health during this period, HIV continues to replicate, progressively destroying the immune system. Often an infected person remains unaware that he or she carries HIV and unknowingly transmits the virus to others during this phase of the infection. When HIV infection reduces the number of CD4 cells to around 200 per microliter of blood, the infected individual enters an early symptomatic phase that may last a few months to several years. HIV-infected persons in this stage may experience a variety of symptoms that are not life-threatening but may be debilitating. These symptoms include extensive weight loss and fatigue (wasting syndrome), periodic fever, recurring diarrhea, and thrush, a fungal mouth infection. An early symptom of HIV infection in women is a recurring vaginal yeast infection. Unlike earlier stages of the disease, in this early symptomatic phase the symptoms that develop are severe enough to cause people to seek medical treatment. Many may first learn of their infection in this phase. DIAGNOSING AIDS Physicians prefer to differentiate between people who have HIV infection and those who have AIDS. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), based in Atlanta, Georgia, recommends that physicians reserve the diagnosis of AIDS for HIV-infected individuals whose CD4 count falls below 200 cells per microliter of blood. A diagnosis of AIDS can also be made without confirmation of CD4 levels if someone who has no other reason for immune system damage develops an opportunistic disease. TREATMENT While no medical treatment cures AIDS, in the relatively short time since the disease was first recognized, new methods to treat the disease have developed rapidly. Health-care professionals focus on three areas of therapy for people living with HIV infection or AIDS: antiretroviral therapy using drugs that suppress HIV replication; medications and other treatments that fight the opportunistic infections and cancers that commonly accompany HIV infection; and support mechanisms that help people deal with the emotional repercussions as well as the practical considerations of living with a disabling, potentially fatal disease. PREVENTION With a vaccine for AIDS years away and no cure on the horizon, experts believe that the most effective treatment for AIDS is to prevent the occurrence of HIV infection. Health officials focus public education programs on altering risky behaviors linked to HIV transmission, particularly unsafe sexual practices and needle-sharing by intravenous drug users. Safe-sex campaigns sponsored by health clinics, social centers, schools, and churches encourage sexual abstinence or monogamy (sexual relations with only one partner). Education programs instruct about the proper way to use condoms to provide a protective barrier against transmission of HIV during sexual intercourse. Needle-exchange programs, which provide clean needles to drug users, enable intravenous drug abusers to avoid sharing HIV-contaminated needles. Needle-exchange programs have been widely criticized because they seem to condone illicit drug use. However, numerous U.S. government-funded studies have indicated that such programs reduce HIV transmission without promoting greater drug use. To reduce the accidental transmission of HIV during medical procedures, both the United States and Canada have established strict guidelines for health-care settings, including the use of protective clothing and proper instrument disposal. In the United States, the effectiveness of public education programs that target people at risk for HIV infection was well demonstrated in the gay community of San Francisco, California, in the 1980s. In 1982 and 1983, 6,000 to 8,000 people in San Francisco became infected with HIV. The gay community rallied to promote condom use and advocate monogamy through extensive education programs and public health advertisements geared for gay men. These public education programs were credited with reducing the number of gay men in San Francisco who became HIV infected. By 1993 the number of new infections declined to 1,000, and by 1999, fewer than 500 people were infected each year. Public education about AIDS has also proven effective in other countries. Uganda was one of the first African countries to report cases of HIV infection. The first cases of AIDS were reported there in 1982, and by the late 1980s Uganda had one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the world. The Ugandan government was one of the first countries to set up a partnership with WHO to create a national AIDS control program called the AIDS Information Centre (AIC). The AIC has established extensive education programs promoting condom use and other methods to prevent HIV from spreading further. The program has also worked with community organizations to change social behaviors that increase the risk of HIV infection. The AIC promotes its message using innovative drama, song, and dance programs, a particularly effective communication method for African communities. AIC established confidential HIV testing services that provide same-day results and community counseling programs. As a result of Uganda’s quick response to the AIDS epidemic, the number of HIV infected people in that country has declined significantly since 1993, during a time when most other African nations faced a frightening increase in the incidence of HIV infection. Public health officials have learned that education programs that teach and reinforce safe behaviors through a series of meetings are more effective than one-time exposure to public-health information provided in a class lecture, magazine article, advertisement, or pamphlet. Education programs tailored to reflect specific ethnic and cultural preferences prove even more effective. For example, the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network creates HIV education programs that fight the common misperception among the indigenous peoples of Canada that AIDS is primarily a disease of white, affluent people. Among indigenous communities, the network promotes programs that use colloquial language to increase awareness about safe sex practices and needle use.

INTERPOL

(International Criminal Police Organization) or Interpol, intergovernmental body established to promote mutual cooperation between police authorities around the world and to develop means of effectively preventing crime. Founded in Vienna in 1923 and reconstituted in 1946, Interpol, is strictly nonpolitical and is forbidden to undertake any activities of a religious, racial, or military nature. The majority of countries (177 in 1997) belong to Interpol, and only government-approved police bodies may hold membership. The general assembly meets annually to decide policy and to elect the executive committee, consisting of a president, three vice presidents, and nine delegates, all of different nationalities. The general secretariat, based in Lyons, France, is the permanent administrative headquarters. It coordinates the international activities of member countries, holds a library of international criminal records, and organizes regular meetings at which delegates can exchange information on police work. Interpol is financed by contributions from member countries.

FBI

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), chief investigative agency of the United States federal government and a division of the U.S. Department of Justice. The FBI is charged with investigating violations of most federal criminal laws and with protecting the United States from foreign intelligence and terrorist activities. It also provides services to other law enforcement agencies, including fingerprint identification, laboratory analysis of criminal evidence, police training, and access to a centralized crime information database. Because of its broad mandate, the FBI is one of the most powerful and controversial agencies in the government. The bureau traces its origins to 1908, when the attorney general appointed a small group of investigators within the Department of Justice. The FBI has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. The agency is led by the FBI director, who reports to the attorney general of the United States. The director is nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate. The director may serve a maximum term of ten years. By tradition, the director of the FBI is not replaced when a new president takes office. The FBI has 56 field offices located in major U.S. cities and one field office in Puerto Rico. The field offices, in turn, oversee approximately 400 satellite offices in smaller cities and towns known as resident agencies. Outside the United States, the FBI has 44 foreign liaison offices, also called legal attaché offices, or legats for short. The FBI has about 28,000 employees. Nearly 12,000 are special agents, who have the authority to make arrests and use firearms. The rest are professional support personnel, a category that includes chemists, psychologists, language specialists, computer specialists, attorneys, clerical workers, and many other types of employees. The FBI’s annual budget is approximately $3 billion dollars and is appropriated by the Congress of the United States. FBI headquarters comprises 13 divisions: the Administrative Services Division, the Counterintelligence Division, the Counterterrorism Division, the Criminal Investigative Division, the Criminal Justice Information Services Division, the Cybercrime Division, the Finance Division, the Information Resources Division, the Investigative Technologies Division, the Laboratory Division, the Records Management Division, the Security Division, and the Training Division. An assistant director heads each division, and four executive assistant directors supervise groups of divisions. The headquarters also includes a number of offices, including the Office of Public and Congressional Affairs, the Office of Professional Responsibility, the Office of the General Counsel, and the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity.

FIFA

The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is the worldwide governing body of soccer. FIFA governs all levels of soccer, including professional play, Olympic competitions, and youth leagues. The organization also governs the sport’s premier event, the World Cup, an international competition held every four years pitting national teams from 32 countries against one another.

(UFO)

Unidentified Flying Object (UFO), any object or light, reportedly sighted in the sky, that cannot be immediately explained by the observer. Sightings of unusual aerial phenomena date back to ancient times, but UFOs (sometimes called flying saucers) became widely discussed only after the first widely publicized U.S. sighting in 1947. Many thousands of such observations have since been reported worldwide.

At least 90 percent of UFO sightings can be identified as conventional objects, although time-consuming investigations are often necessary for such identification. The objects most often mistaken for UFOs are bright planets and stars, aircraft, birds, balloons, kites, aerial flares, peculiar clouds, meteors, and satellites. The remaining sightings most likely can be attributed to other mistaken sightings or to inaccurate reporting, hoaxes, or delusions, although to disprove all claims made about UFOs is impossible.

From 1947 to 1969 the U.S. Air Force investigated UFOs as a possible threat to national security. A total of 12,618 reports was received, of which 701 reports, or 5.6 percent, were listed as unexplained. The air force concluded that “no UFO reported, investigated, and evaluated by the Air Force has ever given any indication of threat to our national security.” Since 1969 no agency of the U.S. government has had any active program of UFO investigation.

In 1997 the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) admitted that the U.S. military had deceived the American public in an effort to hide information about high-altitude spy planes. These planes, the Lockheed U-2A and the Lockheed SR-71, accounted for over half of the UFO reports during the late 1950s and 1960s.

Some persons nevertheless believe that UFOs are extraterrestrial spacecraft, even though no scientifically valid evidence supports that belief. The possibility of extraterrestrial civilizations is not the stumbling block; most scientists grant that intelligent life may well exists elsewhere in the universe. A fully convincing UFO photograph of a craftlike object has yet to be taken, however, and the scientific method requires that highly speculative explanations should not be adopted unless all of the more ordinary explanations can be ruled out.

UFO enthusiasts persist, however, and some persons even claim to have been abducted and taken aboard UFOs. (A close encounter of the third kind is UFO terminology for an alleged encounter between humans and visitors from outer space.) No one has produced scientifically acceptable proof of these claims.

(UNESCO)

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), agency of the United Nations established in 1946 to encourage collaboration among nations in the areas of education, science, culture, and communication. Through such cooperative endeavors, UNESCO hopes to encourage universal respect for justice, laws, human rights, and fundamental freedoms. The organization’s founding statement declares that “peace must therefore be founded, if it is not to fail, upon the intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind.”

More than 180 nations belong to UNESCO. The agency has its headquarters in Paris, France, and operates educational, scientific, and cultural programs and exchanges from 60 field offices worldwide. Projects sponsored by UNESCO include international science programs; literacy, technical, and teacher-training programs; regional and cultural history projects; and international cooperation agreements to secure the world’s cultural and natural heritage and to preserve human rights.

United Nations (UN)

INTRODUCTION
United Nations (UN), international organization of countries created to promote world peace and cooperation. The UN was founded after World War II ended in 1945. Its mission is to maintain world peace, develop good relations between countries, promote cooperation in solving the world’s problems, and encourage respect for human rights.

The UN is an alliance of countries that agree to cooperate with one another. It brings together countries that are rich and poor, large and small, and have different social and political systems. Member nations pledge to settle their disputes peacefully, to refrain from using force or the threat of force against other countries, and to refuse help to any country that opposes UN actions.

UN membership is open to any country willing to further the UN mission and abide by its rules. Each country, no matter how large or small, has an equal voice and vote. Each country is also expected to pay dues to support the UN. As of 2003 the UN had 191 members, including nearly every country in the world.

The UN’s influence in world affairs has fluctuated over the years, but the organization gained new prominence beginning in the 1990s. It was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001. Still, the UN faces constant challenges. It must continually secure the cooperation of its member nations because the organization has little independent power or authority. But getting that support is not always easy. Many nations are reluctant to defer their own authority and follow the dictates of the UN.

PURPOSES OF THE UNITED NATIONS
The UN today has the same basic purpose and structure as it did when it was founded in 1945. Its primary purpose—and greatest benefit to its members—is to maintain world peace. That, in turn, helps encourage business and international trade. In addition to that primary mission, the UN serves its member countries in a variety of other ways. The UN provides a forum for countries to promote their views and settle conflicts without violence. It allows countries to cooperate to solve world problems, such as poverty, disease, and environmental degradation. It serves as a symbol of international order and global identity. It promotes and coordinates economic and social progress in developing countries, with the idea that such problems create sources of conflict that can lead to war. The UN helps coordinate the work of hundreds of agencies and programs, both within its own organization and outside it. It also collects and publishes international data.

STRUCTURE OF THE UNITED NATIONS
The UN’s charter established six distinct bodies that serve different functions: (1) the General Assembly, (2) the Security Council, (3) the Secretariat, (4) the Economic and Social Council, (5) the International Court of Justice, and (6) the Trusteeship Council.

(NATO)

INTRODUCTION
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), regional defense alliance created by the North Atlantic Treaty signed on April 4, 1949, at the beginning of the Cold War. NATO has its headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. The original purpose of NATO was to defend Western Europe against possible attack by Communist nations, led by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The original signatories were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Greece and Turkey were admitted to the alliance in 1952, West Germany in 1955, and Spain in 1982. In 1990 the newly unified Germany replaced West Germany as a NATO member.

After the formal end of the Cold War in 1991, NATO reached out to former members of the Warsaw Pact, the Communist military alliance created in 1955 by the USSR to counter NATO. In 1999 former Warsaw Pact members Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic became members of NATO, bringing the total membership to 19 nations. In 2002 Russia, once the USSR’s largest republic, became a limited partner in NATO as a member of the NATO-Russia Council. The same year NATO invited the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, formerly part of the USSR, to join, along with Slovenia, formerly part of Communist Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria, Romania, and Slovakia, once part of Czechoslovakia. These countries were expected to become members of NATO in 2004. Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and Romania were all former Warsaw Pact members.

NATO's purpose is to enhance the stability, well-being, and freedom of its members through a system of collective security. Members of the alliance agree to defend one another from attack by other nations. Over the years the existence of NATO has led to closer ties among its members and to a growing community of interests. The treaty itself has provided a model for other collective security agreements.

International Organization

INTRODUCTION

International Organization, membership group that operates across national borders for specific purposes. Scholars of international relations consider international organizations to have growing importance in world politics. Examples of international organizations include the United Nations (UN), the World Bank (see International Bank for Reconstruction and Development), the International Committee of the Red Cross, and Greenpeace.

Most international organizations operate as part of one or more international regimes. An international regime is a set of rules, standards, and procedures that govern national behavior in a particular area. Examples of international regimes include arms control, foreign trade, and Antarctic exploration. International organizations are often central to the functioning of an international regime, giving structure and procedures to the “rules of the game” by which nations must play. For example, the World Trade Organization (WTO), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the European Union (EU) are key organizations that define the international trade regime.

TYPES OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
International organizations fall into two main categories: intergovernmental organizations and nongovernmental organizations. Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) have national governments as members. Hundreds of IGOs operate in all parts of the world. Member nations have created each of these organizations to serve a purpose that those nations find useful. Membership can range from as few as two member nations to virtually all nations. The UN and its various agencies are IGOs. So are most of the world’s economic coordinating institutions, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) seeks to coordinate the production and pricing policies of its 12 member states. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) seeks to regulate the flow of nuclear technology to developing nations. The WTO helps negotiate and monitor agreements among 128 nations to lower trade barriers. Military alliances, such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), and political groupings, such as the Arab League, and the Organization of African Unity are also IGOs. In general, regional IGOs have experienced more success than global ones, and those with specific purposes have worked better than those with broad aims.

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are private organizations whose memberships and activities are international in scope. NGOs do not possess the legal status of national governments. However, the UN and other international forums recognize many NGOs as important political institutions. Examples of NGOs include the Roman Catholic Church, Greenpeace, the International Olympic Committee, and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Although multinational corporations (MNCs) share many characteristics of NGOs, they are not international organizations because they do not coordinate the actions of members for mutual gain.

(WTO)

World Trade Organization (WTO), international body that promotes and enforces the provisions of trade laws and regulations. The World Trade Organization has the authority to administer and police new and existing free trade agreements, to oversee world trade practices, and to settle trade disputes among member states. The WTO was established in 1994 when the members of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), a treaty and international trade organization, signed a new trade pact. The WTO was created to replace GATT.

The WTO began operation on January 1, 1995. GATT and the WTO coexisted until December 1995, when the members of GATT met for the last time. Although the WTO replaced GATT, the trade agreements established by GATT in 1994 are part of the WTO agreement. However, the WTO has a significantly broader scope than GATT. GATT regulated trade in merchandise goods. The WTO expanded the GATT agreement to include trade in services, such as international telephone service, and protections for intellectual property—that is, creative works that can be protected legally, such as sound recordings and computer programs. The WTO is also a formally structured organization whose rules are legally binding on its member states. The organization provides a framework for international trade law. Members can refer trade disputes to the WTO where a dispute panel composed of WTO officials serves as arbitrator. Members can appeal this panel’s rulings to a WTO appellate body whose decisions are final. Disputes must be resolved within the time limits set by WTO rules.

All of the 128 nations that were contracting parties to the new GATT pact at the end of 1994 became members of the WTO upon ratifying the GATT pact. By 2002 the WTO had 144 members, and about 30 other countries had applied for membership, including Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam.

The WTO is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is controlled by a general council made up of member states’ ambassadors who also serve on various subsidiary and specialist committees. The ministerial conference, which meets every two years and appoints the WTO’s director-general, oversees the General Council.

Since its creation, the WTO has attracted criticism from those concerned about free trade and economic globalization. Opponents of the WTO argue that the organization is too powerful because it can declare the laws and regulations of sovereign nations in violation of trade rules, in effect pressuring nations to change these laws. Critics also charge that WTO trade rules do not sufficiently protect workers’ rights, the environment, or human health. Some groups charge that the WTO lacks democratic accountability because its hearings on trade disputes are closed to the public and press. WTO officials have dismissed arguments that the organization is undemocratic, noting that its member nations, most of which are democracies, wrote the WTO rules and selected its leadership. WTO supporters argue that it plays a critical role in helping to expand world trade and raise living standards around the world.

Criticism of the WTO reached an apex in late 1999, when more than 30,000 protesters disrupted a WTO summit in Seattle, Washington. The protesters called for reforms that would make the organization more responsive to consumers, workers, and environmentalists. The summit failed in its goal to set an agenda for a new round of global trade talks, largely because of disagreements between industrialized and developing nations. However, in 2001 at a summit in Doha, Qatar, WTO members overcame their differences and agreed to an agenda for a new round of talks. Among other goals, the talks were to focus on reducing trade barriers and lowering tariffs.

(NAFTA)

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), pact that calls for the gradual removal of tariffs and other trade barriers on most goods produced and sold in North America. NAFTA became effective in Canada, Mexico, and the United States on January 1, 1994. NAFTA forms the world’s second largest free-trade zone, bringing together 365 million consumers in Canada, Mexico, and the United States in an open market. The largest free-trade zone is the European Economic Area (which includes the members of the European Union and the European Free Trade Association), which also became effective in 1994.

NAFTA was built upon a 1989 trade agreement between the United States and Canada that eliminated or reduced many tariffs between the two countries. NAFTA called for immediately eliminating duties on half of all U.S. goods shipped to Mexico and gradually phasing out other tariffs over a period of about 14 years. Restrictions were to be removed from many categories, including motor vehicles and automotive parts, computers, textiles, and agriculture. The treaty also protected intellectual property rights (patents, copyrights, and trademarks) and outlined the removal of restrictions on investment among the three countries. Provisions regarding worker and environmental protection were added later as a result of supplemental agreements signed in 1993.

In December 1992 NAFTA was signed by the leaders of the three countries—Brian Mulroney of Canada, Carlos Salinas de Gortari of Mexico, and George H. W. Bush of the United States. After a lengthy debate, the legislatures in all three countries approved NAFTA in 1993. In the United States, the debate over NAFTA divided members of both the Democratic and Republican parties and ignited fierce opposition from environmental and labor groups. Many feared that jobs would be lost because the agreement would facilitate the movement of U.S. production plants to Mexico, where plants could take advantage of cheaper labor and lax enforcement of environmental and workers’ rights laws. Environmental groups were concerned that pollution and food safety controls would be more difficult to enforce and could be challenged and eliminated on the grounds that they were trade barriers. In response to these concerns, two supplemental agreements were added to the formal treaty; one addressed labor issues and the other environmental issues. Subsequently, the Congress of the United States narrowly approved NAFTA in November 1993.

The most innovative yet controversial aspects of NAFTA are its environmental provisions, which are included in the agreement itself as well as in a separate Supplementary Agreement on the Environment. These provisions make NAFTA the most environmentally conscious trade agreement ever negotiated. The Supplementary Agreement established a Commission on Environmental Cooperation (CEC), composed of senior environmental officials from each North American country. All three countries are prohibited from relaxing their environmental regulations in order to attract additional investment, and both citizens and governments are permitted to file complaints with the commission if they believe that a country is not enforcing its own environmental laws.

NAFTA’s environmental impact has been mixed. On the one hand the CEC created an action plan to phase out four dangerous pollutants in North America and established systems to improve the monitoring of various measures of environmental quality. It has also investigated a number of complaints, but the results have been inconclusive. There has been measurable improvement in the enforcement of environmental laws in Mexico, but that country’s economic problems have made it difficult for many smaller firms to improve their environmental performance. As a result both air and water pollution remain serious problems in Mexico. NAFTA’s most conspicuous failure has been the lack of significant improvement in environmental conditions along the Mexican-American border, in large measure due to the unwillingness or inability of the American and Mexican governments to devote adequate financial resources to address this critical challenge. On balance, American environmentalists have been disappointed by the impact of NAFTA’s “green” provisions.

Formal negotiations to expand NAFTA to include Chile began in 1995, but the administration of President Bill Clinton was unable to conclude them. Shortly after assuming office in January 2001, President George W. Bush announced his support for the creation of a “Free Trade Area of the Americas” that would include virtually all countries in the Western Hemisphere. Many trade experts believe that such an agreement is likely to prove difficult to negotiate.

Red Cross

INTRODUCTION
Red Cross, international humanitarian agency dedicated, in time of war, to alleviating the sufferings of wounded soldiers, civilians, and prisoners of war. In time of peace, it renders medical aid and other help to people afflicted by major disasters such as floods, earthquakes, epidemics, and famines and performs other public service functions.

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement consists of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), a group of up to 25 Swiss citizens, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the more than 160 national Red Cross societies; and the Geneva-based International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (known until 1993 as the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies) which coordinates peacetime activities of the national societies. The International Conference of the Red Cross, usually held every four years in different countries, brings together representatives of the Red Cross organizations and those governments that have ratified the Geneva conventions. In 1986 the Movement's name was changed to include the Red Crescent, the organization's name in most Muslim nations.

HISTORY
Initiative for founding the Red Cross came from the 19th-century Swiss philanthropist Jean Henri Dunant. Appalled by the almost complete lack of care for wounded soldiers, he appealed to the leaders of nations to found societies devoted to the aid of the wounded in wartime. Five Swiss citizens formed a committee, which later became the ICRC, and issued a call for an international conference, which was held in Geneva in October 1863 and was attended by delegates from 16 nations. Another conference was held in Geneva the following year, and official delegates of 12 nations signed the first Geneva Convention, laying down rules for the treatment of the wounded and for the protection of medical personnel and hospitals. It was also at this meeting that the famous symbol of the movement, the white flag bearing a red cross, was adopted. (This symbol was later modified in non-Christian countries.) The principles enunciated in the first Geneva Convention were subsequently revised and amended at conferences held in 1906, 1929, and 1949. In 1977 additional protocols were added to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 to protect all non-combatants in all types of conflicts, international as well as domestic.

Over the decades the ICRC and the Federation have sent representatives and aid to many countries around the world to help detainees, prisoners of war, and refugees of war, political upheaval, or civil strife. The federation also assists victims of natural and man-made disasters.

Dunant was a corecipient of the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901. The ICRC has been awarded three Nobel Peace Prizes, in 1917, 1944, and 1963; it shared the 1963 prize with the League of Red Cross Societies.

Greenpeace, international environmental organization dedicated to preserving the earth's natural resources and its diverse plant and animal life. The organization campaigns against nuclear weapons testing, environmental pollution, and destructive practices in fishing, logging, and other industries.

Greenpeace was founded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in 1971 by members of the Don't Make a Wave Committee, a small group opposed to nuclear weapons testing by the United States military in Alaska. The group renamed itself Greenpeace to reflect the broader goal of creating a green and peaceful world.

Greenpeace won fame for its daring exploits calculated to attract media attention to environmental issues. Greenpeace members in rubber rafts have disrupted whaling expeditions by positioning themselves between the whales and hunters' harpoons. They used similar tactics in Newfoundland and Labrador to protest the clubbing of baby harp seals, whose soft white fur is highly valued by clothing manufacturers. The organization is well known for scaling corporate skyscrapers and factory smokestacks to hang protest banners.

Greenpeace's aggressive style has often led to conflicts with corporations, local authorities, and even national governments. In 1985 the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior, on a voyage to protest French nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific, sank in a New Zealand port, and the crew photographer, Fernando Pereira, drowned. Investigations revealed that the ship had been deliberately sabotaged with explosives planted by undercover agents of the French military. The resulting scandal rocked the highest levels of the French government, leading to the resignation of Defense Minister Charles Hernu and the dismissal of Admiral Pierre Lacoste, director of the French Secret Service.

During the 1990s Greenpeace has been troubled by internal disagreements over political strategy. Some members want to persist with a militant approach, emphasizing civil disobedience and physical confrontation. Other members, including the organization's leaders, are convinced that Greenpeace must work cooperatively with the companies and industries that have been its targets in the past.
Greenpeace has about 3 million dues-paying members and more than 40 offices in 30 countries. Its international headquarters are in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

(EU)

INTRODUCTION
European Union (EU), organization of European countries dedicated to increasing economic integration and strengthening cooperation among its members. The European Union headquarters is in Brussels, Belgium.

The European Union was formally established on November 1, 1993. It is the most recent in a series of European cooperative organizations that originated with the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) of 1951, which became the European Community (EC) in 1967. The members of the EC were Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and Spain. In 1991 the governments of the 12 member states signed the Treaty on European Union (commonly called the Maastricht Treaty), which was then ratified by the national legislatures of all the member countries. The Maastricht Treaty transformed the EC into the EU. In 1995 Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined the EU, bringing the total membership to 15 nations.

The EU has a number of objectives. Its principal goal is to promote and expand cooperation among member states in economics and trade, social issues, foreign policy, security and defense, and judicial matters. Another major goal has been to implement Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), which established a single currency for EU members. With the exception of EMU, which went into effect in 1999, progress toward these goals has been erratic. Various factors have limited the EU’s ability to achieve its goals, including disagreements among member states, external political and economic problems, and pressure for membership from the new democracies of Eastern Europe.

Blue Cross

INTRODUCTION
Blue Cross And Blue Shield, network of companies that provide health insurance to people in the United States and Puerto Rico. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, based in Chicago, Illinois, governs the various health insurance organizations that carry its name. Member health insurance companies are operated locally, but they must abide by standards established by the national association. Historically, Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurers have been nonprofit organizations that receive tax-exempt status.

More than 71 million people are members of Blue Cross and Blue Shield health insurance plans. Most Blue Cross and Blue Shield organizations negotiate contracts with local hospitals and physicians to offer services to individuals who have paid premiums (fees) individually or through their employers.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield health insurance plans offer a broad spectrum of coverage options, including fee-for-service plans (also known as indemnity plans) and managed care plans. Fee-for-service plans allow members to visit any doctor or hospital for medical services. Managed care plans require members to visit designated physicians and include health maintenance organizations (HMOs), preferred provider organizations (PPOs), and point-of-service plans (POSs) (see Health Insurance: Types of Plans in the United States). Blue Cross and Blue Shield organizations also administer services for Medicare, a government program that provides coverage for elderly people and for people with certain disabilities

MERGER OF BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD
Originally, Blue Cross covered the cost of hospital care and Blue Shield paid for physician care, but both groups eventually covered all health-care costs. The two groups established similar policies in the health-care industry, and subsequently some Blue Cross and Blue Shield organizations began to merge in the late 1970s. In 1982 the National Association of Blue Shield Plans merged with the Blue Cross Association. The new group changed its name to the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

A major shift in the health-care industry began in the mid-1980s, when many people switched from fee-for-service plans to managed care services. Managed care plans, which were first introduced in the 1970s, covered more health-care services than fee-for-service plans. Many employers started using managed care plans because they emphasized preventive care and were generally less expensive. To retain employer-sponsored groups, Blue Cross and Blue Shield organizations began offering more types of managed care plans.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
Throughout the 1990s Blue Cross and Blue Shield organizations faced financial difficulties due to the spread of for-profit health-care organizations. Blue Cross and Blue Shield chapters remained nonprofit groups that enrolled subscribers regardless of their individual risk of illness. Its competitors, which used experience rating, were able to recruit more members by charging lower premiums to people with a low risk of illness. Enrollment in Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans dropped drastically in the early 1990s, and many chapters closed.

In 1994 the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association abolished its requirement that its member groups remain nonprofit organizations. In 1996 Blue Cross of California merged with a for-profit managed care company, WellPoint Health Networks, becoming the first chapter to relinquish its tax-exempt status. During the late 1990s a number of Blue Cross and Blue Shield chapters followed suit and merged with for-profit insurance providers or created new for-profit subsidiaries.