From the Publisher: Jan 2 1989

This week's unorthodox choice of Endangered Earth as Planet of the Year, in lieu of the usual Man or Woman of the Year, had its origin in the scorching summer of 1988, when environmental disasters -- droughts, floods, forest fires, polluted beaches -- dominated the news. By August TIME knew it was no longer enough just to describe familiar problems one more time. "The new journalistic challenge," says managing editor Henry Muller, "was to help / find solutions, and that by definition meant international solutions." So we invited a distinguished group of scientists, administrators and political leaders from five continents to...