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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Calibri">1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>A new study finds that sea level rise in the last century was 30% less than thought, but that the acceleration since 1990 was larger, which implies that projections must be raised to match the newly calculated rate of increase.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font></font><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/study-sea-level-rise-accelerating-more-once-thought-181516361.html"><font color="#0563c1" size="3" face="Calibri">http://news.yahoo.com/study-sea-level-rise-accelerating-more-once-thought-181516361.html</font></a>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Calibri">2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>“Planetary Boundaries: Guiding Human Development on a Changing Planet” discusses five boundaries to a world similar to the one in which we developed—that is, a near-Holocene environment. The boundaries are not tipping points but warn of their approach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>The eighteen authors of the Science article focus on the core boundaries of climate change and biosphere integrity, discussing five regional boundaries with global implications.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>The primary analyzed factor of the climate change boundary is radiative forcing; for biosphere integrity, two factors: the extinction rate and a Biosphere Intactness Index.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Other boundaries are discussed and proposed factors critiqued.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>The goal is to update an approach first published in 2009 to provide quantified measures of planetary health.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>We have already transgressed several planetary boundaries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font></font><a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2015/01/14/science.1259855"><font color="#0563c1" size="3" face="Calibri">http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2015/01/14/science.1259855</font></a><font size="3"><font face="Calibri"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Calibri">The approach should be of great use in determining courses of action at a regional level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>The Guardian provides a good general discussion of the article and a related one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font></font><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/15/rate-of-environmental-degradation-puts-life-on-earth-at-risk-say-scientists"><font color="#0563c1" size="3" face="Calibri">http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/15/rate-of-environmental-degradation-puts-life-on-earth-at-risk-say-scientists</font></a><font size="3"><font face="Calibri"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>The Washington Post summary discussion is also worth reading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font></font><a href="http://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/scientists-human-activity-has-pushed-earth-beyond-four-of-nine-%e2%80%98planetary-boundaries%e2%80%99/ar-AA8ddtt?ocid=AARDHP"><font color="#0563c1" size="3" face="Calibri">http://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/scientists-human-activity-has-pushed-earth-beyond-four-of-nine-%e2%80%98planetary-boundaries%e2%80%99/ar-AA8ddtt?ocid=AARDHP</font></a><font size="3"><font face="Calibri"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>I would be glad to receive comments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
For a hostile treatment of the article, see Andrew Revkin’s New York Times story, which now includes a rebuttal by the Science authors, rendering it useful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font></font><a href="http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/15/can-humanitys-great-acceleration-be-managed-and-if-so-how/"><font color="#0563c1" size="3" face="Calibri">http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/15/can-humanitys-great-acceleration-be-managed-and-if-so-how/</font></a><font size="3"><font face="Calibri">
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Calibri">3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I have maintained a hope that over some lucky night big oil will decide their financial future lies with renewable energy and solve many of the world’s problems with a great shift of capital.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>A British environmentalist with many years’ experience of working with BP and Shell says to put hopes elsewhere, at least for the near future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>The companies know what they do and they intend to keep doing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font></font><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/15/it-is-impossible-todays-big-oil-companies-adapt-climate-change-jonathon-porritt"><font color="#0563c1" size="3" face="Calibri">http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/15/it-is-impossible-todays-big-oil-companies-adapt-climate-change-jonathon-porritt</font></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><font size="3" face="Calibri">
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