<html dir="ltr"><head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=Windows-1252">
<style id="owaTempEditStyle"></style><style title="owaParaStyle"><!--P {
MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px
}
--></style>
</head>
<body ocsi="x">
<div style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; DIRECTION: ltr; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: x-small">
<div></div>
<div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000" size="2" face="Tahoma">
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font size="3"><font face="Calibri">1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>The International Energy Agency calculates that two thirds of the fossil fuels now in reserve must stay in the ground if we are to avoid runaway (that is, catastrophic) climate change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>The temperature at which positive feedbacks take over and we lose the power to mitigate the increasing heat is called the point of Dangerous Anthropogenic Interference (DAI point).
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>James Hansen and others, and now the IEA, have said that to avoid the DAI point we must leave most of our known reserves of fossil fuels unused.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>We should cease fretting about peak oil, new pipelines, and opening the Arctic (or any other region) to fossil fuel companies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We should also cease our growing fossil fuel subsidies and get on with a transition to a sustainable way of life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font></font><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/damian-carrington-blog/2012/nov/12/iea-report-peak-oil"><font color="#0000ff" size="3" face="Calibri">http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/damian-carrington-blog/2012/nov/12/iea-report-peak-oil</font></a><font size="3"><font face="Calibri"><u><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><font color="#0000ff">
</font></span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="COLOR: windowtext; TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none">Carbon Tracker, a London-based analytical team, calculates that burning only 20% of fossil fuels now in reserve would put us over 2°
of warming, which until a few years ago was taken to be the DAI point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>(See the Carbon Bubble tab.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><a href="http://www.carbontracker.org/"><font color="#0000ff">http://www.carbontracker.org/</font></a></span></span></u><span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Since most climate scientists now consider that the DAI point is likely to be lower, 1.5°, the usable reserves should be set lower than the Carbon Tracker’s 1/5 of current reserves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>We are truly at the point for strenuous action if we are to escape the climate trap.
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
<o:p></o:p></font></font></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><o:p><font size="3" face="Calibri"> </font></o:p></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" face="Calibri">2.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>President Obama said in his November 14 news conference that he intends to carry out a program of public education on climate, and that he intends to exercise personal leadership on the issue.
</font><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/nov/14/obama-climate-change-second-term"><font color="#0000ff" size="3" face="Calibri">http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/nov/14/obama-climate-change-second-term</font></a><font size="3"><font face="Calibri"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If the President’s education program does not include making it entirely clear what passing the DAI point would mean, people will not understand why we must do what we must.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span><o:p></o:p></font></font></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><o:p><font size="3" face="Calibri"> </font></o:p></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font size="3"><font face="Calibri">3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>President Obama does not convey to me that he understands the DAI concept himself, nor the urgency it lends to the project of limiting heating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>The people at 350.org do understand, and have some questions for him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></font></font><a href="http://world.350.org/vermont/questions-for-the-president/"><font color="#0000ff" size="3" face="Calibri">http://world.350.org/vermont/questions-for-the-president/</font></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><o:p><font size="3" face="Calibri"> </font></o:p></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font size="3"><font face="Calibri">4.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>The current worldwide epidemic of type 2 diabetes is linked to global warming through malnutrition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font></font><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/blog/diabetes-diseases-climate-change-inequality"><font color="#0000ff" size="3" face="Calibri">http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/blog/diabetes-diseases-climate-change-inequality</font></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><o:p><font size="3" face="Calibri"> </font></o:p></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font size="3"><font face="Calibri">5.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>The Palmer Drought Severity Index has been used to measure the association between global warming and drought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>A study published in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Nature</i> finds the index inadequate to the task.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font></font><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iE3mCoxedy53IGTaYLICWTFIYtBw?docId=CNG.5f5d4d61e54889235995304ae07eb89d.6a1"><font color="#0000ff" size="3" face="Calibri">http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iE3mCoxedy53IGTaYLICWTFIYtBw?docId=CNG.5f5d4d61e54889235995304ae07eb89d.6a1</font></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><font size="3" face="Calibri">
</font></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</font></div>
</div>
</body>
</html>