HomeMy WebLinkAboutCFE agenda 030915AGENDA
Commission for the Environment
March 9, 2015
7:30 D.m.
Richard Whitted Meeting Facility (Room 250)
300 West Tryon Street, Hillsborough
Time Item Title
7:30 I. Call to Order
7:32 II. Additions or Changes to Agenda
7:35 III. Approval of Minutes — February 9 (Attachment 1)
7:40 IV. Reports
➢ Intergovernmental Parks Work Group (Wegman)
➢ Orange Unified Transportation Board (Saunders)
➢ NC Clean Tech Summit (Bouma)
7:50 V. County installs new DC Fast Charger stations
Bouma (Orange County Sustainability Coordinator) will provide an overview of the County's
recent installation of DC Fast Charger stations for electric vehicles. (Attachment 2)
8:10 VI. Committee Meetings
The CFE will consider a draft schedule for developing articles for public outreach on subjects
from the State of the Environment report. The CFE will then break out into its standing
committees (Air & Energy, Land, Water) to continue work on priority tasks. (Attachments 3 -4)
8:45 VII. Updates and Information Items
Staff and /or CFE members will provide updates on the following items:
➢ Commercial food waste recyclers in Orange County (Attachment 5)
➢ Hydrilla -borne bacteria affecting bald eagles (Attachment 6)
➢ County may propose $125M bond (Attachment 7)
➢ Orange County Proposed Legislative Agenda 2015 (Attachment 8)
➢ Criminal charges filed against Duke Energy for coal ash spills (Attachment 9)
➢ House bill would require incineration of sewage sludge (Attachment 10)
➢ 8,000 acres protected around Jordan Lake (Attachment 11)
➢ New Tesla battery will power your home (Attachment 12)
➢ Planetary boundaries guiding human development (Attachment 13)
➢ 4th graders to receive one -year pass to national parks (Attachment 14)
➢ Your electric vehicle may not be so green (Attachment 15)
9:00 VIII. Adjournment
Nextmeefings; April 13 (Solid Waste Admin. Building — Chapel Hill)
May 11 (Whiffed Building — Hillsborough)
CFE Meeting Ground Rules (Adopted 9112111)
1. Keep to agenda topic under discussion
2. Share relevant information
3. One person speaks at a time after recognition by the Chair
4. Everyone is invited to participate in discussions / no one person should dominate
discussions
5. Strive to reach consensus first before voting
Activities the CFE expects to carry out in 2015:
• Continue to update the Orange County State of the Environment 2014 report
• Convene an Energy Task Force (or equivalent work group) to improve the County's
ability to foster local sustainable energy production and energy efficiency strategies
• Recommend ways to reduce the County's "carbon footprint" and implement the
County's Environmental Responsibility Goal
• Help with public outreach and management efforts related to hydrilla in Eno River
• Help initiate the development of a comprehensive conservation plan for Orange Co
• Collaborate with NC Botanical Garden and others to identify significant roadside
habitat for native plants; ask NCDOT and other utilities to protect those roadside
habitats [authorized by BOCC June 2012]
• Co- sponsor the annual DEAPR photography contest (The Nature of Orange)
• Help plan for and participate in DEAPR's annual Earth Day event
Concerns or emerging issues the CFE has identified for 2015:
• The CFE will continue to advocate for an expansion of the County's commercial food waste
pickup and composting services to reduce food waste in the solid waste stream
• The CFE remains interested in developing incentives for increasing energy efficiency in new
construction [January 2012 memo to Planning Board]
• The CFE will strive to learn more about environmental justice matters and incorporate
relevant information and considerations in the State of the Environment 2014 report
• The CFE will follow closely the Solid Waste Advisory Group's discussions of how to improve
the handling and disposal of Orange County's solid waste, and will advocate for better long-
term solutions
• The CFE will continue to advocate for increased efforts to gather information related to water
resources in Orange County and will continue to increase public awareness and
understanding of water supply sources, related concerns, and what steps can be undertaken
to maintain or improve the quantity and quality of Orange County water supply resources
• The CFE will continue to address, as appropriate, the critical environmental issues for Orange
County as enumerated on page 3 of the 2014 State of the Environment report, which include
potential adverse effects from a) invasive, non - native, plant and animal species; b) reductions
in State -led collection of water resources data; c) potential drilling for natural gas in the Deep
River basin; d) urban sprawl; and CFE support for e) the responsible deployment of clean and
appropriately -sited renewable energy and reductions in energy use to help fight climate
change
Attachment 1
Orange County
Commission for the Environment
DRAFT Meeting Summary
February 9, 2015
Orange County Solid Waste Administration Building, Chapel Hill
PRESENT: Jan Sassaman (Chair), May Becker, Peter Cada, Tom Eisenhart, Loren Hintz, David
Neal, Bill Newby, Jeanette O'Connor, Sheila Thomas - Ambat, Lydia Wegman, and David Welch
ABSENT: Donna Lee Jones, Rebecca Ray, Gary Saunders
STAFF: Rich Shaw, Tom Davis, Brennan Bouma, David Stancil
GUESTS: Penny Rich (County Commissioner), Eric Gerringer, Muriel Williman, Lynne Gronback
I. Call to Order – Sassaman called the meeting to order at 7:35 pm.
11. Additions or Changes to Agenda – Sassaman changed the order of Items III and IV.
IV. Welcome New Member – Sassaman introduced two guests: Commissioner Penny Rich
and Lynne Gronback, science teacher at Cedar Ridge High School. Sassaman then
welcomed Tom Eisenhart to the commission. Eisenhart said he is a Ph.D. candidate in
the Department of Chemistry at UNC, but his educational background includes studies in
both the technical and social science aspects of sustainability. He served on the
Renewable Energy Special Projects Committee at UNC.
III. Minutes – Sassaman asked for comments on the January 12 meeting summary.
O'Connor motioned to approve; seconded by Wegman. Approved unanimously.
V. Composting of Food Waste – Sassaman introduced Eric Gerringer and Muriel
Williman —both with the Orange County Solid Waste Management Department.
Gerringer provided an overview of the County's Recycling Program, including recent
enhancements to the urban and rural curbside recycling. He described current efforts to
compost commercial and residential food waste. The collection of commercial food
waste from 35 sites (mostly restaurants and grocery stores) is handled by Brooks
Contracting. Participants must produce at least one ton per month. Three new sites were
added in the past year. Gerringer said 1,500 tons of food waste and other compostable
organic matter is diverted from the landfill disposal each year. He said residential
collection is currently available at the Walnut Grove convenience center, and in 2016
collection will also be available at the Eubanks Road facility.
Wegman asked what problems are there with the commercial program, and requested a
list of participants. Gerringer said there is contamination of the food waste, which
requires education and monitoring for quality control. Thomas - Ambat asked how
contaminants are removed. Gerringer said plastics, foil and other materials are removed
upon inspection. He said he will provide a list of participants in the program.
Becker noted that the CFE had sent a resolution of its support for expanding the food
waste collection and composting to the BOCC, and hoped something would result from
that action. Gerringer said the program is fully funded at the present time; there is room
Attachment 1
for more participation and they've not had to turn down any prospective sources. He
noted, however, that the budget for next year will be developed soon. Commissioner
Rich said the Solid Waste Advisory Group (SWAG) would be looking into the program
beginning this coming Friday's meeting (February 13).
Finally, Gerringer said the University of North Carolina collects 50 tons of food waste
each month from three cafeterias on campus. Commissioner Rich noted that the County
is discussing a partnership with UNC and the hospital on all recyclables.
Williman provided an overview of the Solid Waste department's education and outreach
services, including her efforts to reduce the amounts of solid waste at special events
such as Hog Day, Festifall, and Farm to Fork. She described recent progress with the
recycling in the Chapel Hill - Carrboro City School system.
Wegman asked if there was anything the CFE could do to help. Gerringer and Rich
invited CFE members to attend the SWAG meetings and to participate in the discussion.
Hintz added that the CFE could also help by publicizing solid waste recycling programs
as part of the CFE's forthcomina public outreach efforts.
CFE members thanked Gerringer and Williman for their presentations
VI. Hydrilla in the Eno River – Davis presented information about hydrilla, an invasive
submerged aquatic weed that is infesting portions of the Eno River. Davis described the
problems caused by hydrilla and the difficulties with getting rid of it from ponds and
waterways. He said it has been a problem at Lake Orange since the early 1990s and
was first documented in Eno River State Park in 2005. A 2013 survey found that about
25 miles of the river contained hydrilla -15 miles of which had "heavy infestation."
Davis said he is a member of the Eno River Hydrilla Management Task Force, a group
of federal, state, and local government representatives that have been working since
2007 to evaluate and address this situation. The available options include no action,
physical removal, biological control, and the use of EPA - approved herbicides.
Davis reported the task force is preparing a two -year pilot study to evaluate the use of
EPA - approved herbicide to manage hydrilla in a section of the Eno River below
Hillsborough's drinking water intake at Lake Ben Johnston. He has organized a public
information open house to be held on April 29 at the Whitted Building in Hillsborough.
He asked the CFE to help with the public outreach effort to educate citizens about
hydrilla and to invite them to the public information meeting. O'Connor asked what are
the sources of hydrilla in the Eno and would this herbicide treatment have any lasting
effect. Davis said the likely sources are residential aquariums, boat paddles, or boat
trailers. He said this is a pilot study to determine the effectiveness of the treatments. If it
works then it could be one of the options to help manage this aquatic weed. Other CFE
members asked questions about the proposed study. Shaw noted that the Water
Resources Committee had identified hydrilla as a topic for public outreach, using the
information contained in the SOE report. The CFE thanked Davis for his presentation.
VII. Public Outreach – CFE members continued their discussion of ways to convey
information from State of Environment report to the general public. Sassaman asked
each committee to identify its initial topic and who will prepare the draft article.
2
Attachment 1
Weqman reported she had spoken with Mark Schultz, editor of the Chapel Hill News,
about including the CFE's series of articles in his newspaper. She said Schultz is willing
to publish articles of 550 to 600 words. Shaw said the News of Orange County will also
include the articles, but he is not yet sure of the length. Shaw will report back on this.
Before breaking out into the committees, Sassaman asked Shaw if there was anything
particularly noteworthy to discuss from the update and information items.
IX. Updates and Information Items — Information on the following subjects was provided in
the meeting package: a) Earth Evening (April 24), b) County delivers recycling roll cars
to rural service, c) County to install additional electric vehicle charging stations, d)
Hillsborough historic district eases process for solar panels, e) Leaks persist at coal ash
ponds, f) OWASA annual report to Orange County, g) NC Botanical Garden hires new
director, h) covering parking lots with solar panels, i) the social cost of carbon due to
climate change, and j) cities setting targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Shaw asked CFE members to consider helping with the County's Earth Evening event to
be held on April 24 at River Park in Hillsborough.
VIII. Committee Meetings - Sassaman asked members to break into committees to identify
its initial topic and who will prepare the draft article. Each of the standing committees
met for about 20 minutes.
X. Adjournment — Sassaman adjourned at approximately 9:15 pm.
Summary by Rich Shaw, DEAPR Staff
3
ORANGE COUNTY
WIAZITWITMAC117111 •
Meeting Date: April 15, 2014
IW11 Mae
4
SUBJECT: DC Fast Charger Electric Vehicle Station Licensing Agreement with Brightfield
Transportation Solutions
DEPARTMENT: Asset Management Services, PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/ N) No
Department of Environment,
Agriculture, Parks &
Recreation, County Attorney
ATTACHMENT(S):
1) Site Locator
2) Typical Installation Illustrative
3) Licensing Agreement
[ 9 L11 a a 0M 4 a rerc*71 M re
INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jeff Thompson, 919-245-2658
David Stancil, 919-245-2522
John Roberts, 919-245-2318
1) Approving a Licensing Agreement and associated Easements granted to Brightfield
Transportation Solutions for electric vehicle "DC Fast Charger" fueling station
construction and operations at The Justice Facility parking lot in Hillsborough, NC and
the Skills Development Center parking lot in Chapel Hill, NC;
2) authorizing the Chair to sign all necessary documents upon final review of the County
Attorney.
BACKGROUND: Orange County is a leader in North Carolina (among both the public and
private sectors) in developing and offering for use electric vehicle charging stations to its
residents and stakeholders.
In 2011 the Board of County Commissioners authorized staff to secure an $83,540 grant with
the United States Department of Energy and its Carolina Blue Skies & Green Jobs Initiative for
the installation of 16 "Level 2" electric vehicle charging stations. These funds were accepted in
November 2011, and the 16 stations were successfully installed in 2012. Attachment 1, "Site
Locator", illustrates where these charging stations are installed and publicly available. The
Agenda Abstract for the November 15, 2011 grant acceptance and installation authorization can
be found at h1!Q-//www.co.orat1 nc.us/OC(,,',.LERKS/111115.�itrri -see Item 5-i.
_ . . ........ __� g . . ..... .
The installations of these charging stations have seen significant growth in use and popularity
as plug-in electric vehicles become more mainstream and popular with consumers. This growth
in use is a significant objective of the grant. Because of this demonstrated success and growth,
3
assisted by Orange County's vision and leadership, the Carolina Blue Skies Initiative suggested
that Orange County be considered for private sector partnership with Brightfield Transportation
Solutions ( "Brightfield ") for the licensing agreement where Brightfield would finance, install and
operate two "DC Fast Charger" electric vehicle stations - one near the Eno River Farmers
Market in Hillsborough, NC, and one near the Chapel Hill /Orange County Visitors Center and
Orange County Skills Development Center in Chapel Hill, NC. The existing "Level 2" stations
will provide a complete electric vehicle charge in approximately 6 to eight hours, depending on
the charging system of the vehicle. The DC Fast Charger station technology allows for a full re-
charge in approximately 30 minutes to one hour. This technology will allow for owners of
electric vehicles to visit areas for much shorter time frames to receive a full charge - something
that is appealing to most electric vehicle owners, especially those visiting and spending dollars
within Orange County.
The County's proposed contribution to this initiative is only the conveyance of a utility easement
for the locations of the property. Brightfield will permit, design, install, and own the facilities and
will charge a nominal fee for the charging service. Brightfield will offer the County and its local
government partners (Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough, Orange County Schools and Chapel
Hill - Carrboro City Schools, and OWASA) a discount to these charging services should these
entities invest in the plug -in electric vehicles now and into the future.
The Agreement stipulates the parking areas as not exclusive to electric vehicles; however, they
would be include signage as electric vehicle charging areas.
The licensing arrangement proposes a nine year term upon the final commissioning of the
stations, with a mutually agreed option for a five year renewal period of the license and /or a
mutually agreed buyout provision of the stations at the end of the license term. The full
proposed licensing agreement is provided at Attachment 3.
If the licensing agreement is approved, the Board of County Commissioners will be presented
the utility easements for approval after Brightfield secures all of the necessary regulatory
approvals for the development.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no cost to the County for this licensing agreement. Should the
County exercise its mutually agreed buyout option at the end of the term, the County would
purchase the facilities for a negotiated fair market value at that time.
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board:
1) approve a Licensing Agreement and grant the associated Easements to Brightfields
Transportation Services, LLC for electric vehicle "DC Fast Charger' fueling station
construction and operations at The Justice Facility parking lot in Hillsborough, NC and
the Skills Development Center parking lot in Chapel Hill, NC;
2) authorize the Chair to sign all necessary documents upon final review of the County
Attorney.
Attachment 1
III I illill liiilliillzlii� 11 •
Attachment
ORANGE COUNTY
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, AGRICULTURE,
PARKS AND RECREATION
MEMORANDUM
To:
Commission for the Environment
From:
Rich Shaw
Date:
March 4, 2015
Subject:
Articles for Public Outreach (State of the Environment Report 2014)
The CFE has discussed various ways of conveying information from the State of the
Environment report to the general public. One method is newspaper articles.
In February CFE members agreed to develop monthly articles for publishing in the Chapel Hill
News and The News of Orange County. The articles could then be reformatted for other forms
of printed and electronic media.
The following is a proposed calendar for writing and publishing the articles:
DRAFT Calendar for 2015
Topic
SOE
Committee (Lead)
Completion
Publication
H drilla in the Eno
pp. 69 -70
Water Cada /Davis
March 15
early Aril
Solarize projects
N/A
Air & Energy Neal /Bouma
Aril 15
early May
Pollinator Issues
pp. 43 -44
Land O'Connor /Shaw
May 15
earl une
Potential effects of
fracking in Orange Co.
pp. 71 -72
Water (__/Davis)
June 15
early July
WISE program
N/A
Air & Energy /Bouma
July 15
early Au
Terrestrial invasives /
choosing native spp.
pp. 43 -44
Land Resources
Hintz /Shaw
Aug 15
early Sept
Water conservation
pp. 47- 54
Water /Davis
Sept 15
early Oct
Barriers to solar
development
N/A
Air Est Energy
/Bouma
Oct 15
early Nov
Land conservation
. 37 -42
Land We man/Shaw
Nov 15
early Dec
Reconsider schedule for 2016 (change to quarterly?)
Environment, Agriculture, Parks and Recreation
PO Box 8181 /306 -A Revere Road
Hillsborough, NC 27278
(919) 245 -2510
Attachment 4
CFE Committee Priorities
(as of February 2015)
Air and Energy Resources Committee
(May Becker, Tom Eisenhart, David Neal, Bill Newby, Gary Saunders, Jan Sassaman)
1. GHG Emissions Inventory - Update the County 2005 greenhouse gas emissions inventory.
(First determine whether it will be feasible & worthwhile to perform a complete update.)
2. Green Building — Help County implement a rebate on permit fees for green construction.
3. Climate Change - Educate county residents about climate change, alternative energy sources
and efficiency, and steps to reduce their (and the county's) carbon footprint.
4. Energy Efficiency - Partner with Piedmont Electric Membership Corp. to take advantage of
USDA program for low- interest loans for energy efficient upgrades for its members /owners.
5. RENEW Group — Proceed with the creation of the planned Renewable Energy and Efficiency
Work Group (utilizing the current CFE / Air & Energy Committee structure).
Water Resources Committee
(Peter Cada, Donna Lee Jones, Rebecca Ray, Sheila Thomas- Ambat)
Invasive Species — Educate the public about invasive species of concern, their extents/
locations, and what steps can be taken to address them.
2. Surface and Ground Water Quality - Increase the collection of data for surface and ground
water quality; increase public education so it might lead to more funding for data collection.
3. Water Supply - Increase public education of our water supply, and what steps can be taken to
improve /maintain quality and quantity of water supplies into the future.
Land Resources Committee
(Loren Hintz, Jeanette O'Connor, Lydia Wegman, David Welch)
1. Comprehensive Conservation Plan - Initiate development of a comprehensive conservation
plan for Orange County, to be used by Lands Legacy program and others to protect natural
areas and wildlife habitat. Consider ways to ensure conservation land is distributed equitably
throughout the county so that everyone has reasonable access to enjoy these areas.
2. Native Plant Habitats - Renew collaboration with NC Botanical Garden and others to identify
significant roadside habitat for native plants; then ask NCDOT and other utilities to eliminate
the use of herbicides to manage vegetation in those special roadside habitats.
Native Landscaping - Educate the public (homeowners /businesses) on reasons to choosing a
diversity of regionally native species for landscaping and other ways to promote biodiversity
in the home landscape.
4. 2016 Bond Package - Advocate for including land conservation (i.e., support for Lands
Legacy program) as part of the planned bond package for 2016; take the lead in educating the
public about why protected space and natural areas are important for Orange County.
Food Waste Recycling Establishments in Orange County
(as of February 2015)
411 West
Bagel Bar
Breadmen's
Carol Woods
Carolina Brewery
Carolina Inn
Chapel Hill Catering Company
Fosters Market
Granville Towers
Harris Teeter, Chapel Hill North
Harris Teeter, U -Mall
Hillsborough Barbeque Company
IFC Homeless Shelter
K &W Cafeteria
Mama Dips Kitchen
Margaret's Cantina
Oishii
Piedmont Food & Ag Processing
Center
Queen of Sheba
Red Lotus
Rizzo Center
Squids Seafood Restaurant
The Lantern
The Pig
Top of the Hill
UNC Hospital
Victoria Park Florist
Vimala's
Weaver St. Market - Carrboro
Weaver St. Market - Food House
Weaver St. Market - Hillsborough
Weaver St. Market - Southern Village
Whole Foods
Weathervane Restaurant
Eric Gerringer I Recycling Programs Manager) Orange County Recycling
Orange County Solid Waste Management Department 11207 Eubanks Roadl P.O. Box 17177
1
Chapel Hill, NC 27516 1 Office 919.968 -2788 1 Fax 919.932.2900
killer.
After 20 years of testing determined that
the bacterium had never before been record-
ed, and the brain lesions it
causes had never before been
found before that night in
a' 1994, Wilde recently gave her
discovery a name: Aetoktho-
nos hydrillicola: The Greek
i�tts'. 4
word "aetokthonos 99 means
Wilde "eagle killer," and it is named
for its ability to quickly kill
the birds of prey. It's the latest threat to a
raptor that is starting to flourish after being
removed from the endangered species list.
Across the South, near reservoirs full of
invasive plants from Asia called hydrilla,
eagles have been stricken by the bacteria,
This sick coot floats in hydrilla at J. Strom Thurmond Reservoir, an Army Corps of
Engineers impoundment on the Savannah River on the South Carolina- Georgia line.
Possible i ?
Stopping the spread of Aetokthonos hydrillicola might not be easy, but one idea involves releasing
grass- eating carp into affected lakes, a tactic that was successful in'Lake Murray in South Carolina,
where 64,000 carp ate 3,880 acres of the invasive plant over two years. Unfortunately, this non-
native, sterile carp consumes other desirable water plants important for fish and wildlife habitat.
PHYS.ORG /NEWS
which go straight to their brains. Eagles Georgia whose study of the topic was
prey on American coots, which dine almost recently published in the journal Phytotaxa.
exclusively on hydrilla. In Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, South Caroli-
Before now, reservoirs that serve up a na'and North Carolina, coots, shorebirds,
buffet of this plant were considered benefi- `ducks and eagles are dying by the dozens
cial because they helped fuel the annual mi- from the incurable lesions.
gration of coots from Canada to Florida and "We're attracting them to places where
beyond, while also feeding eagles. But now they're going to die, and that's not a good
the reservoirs are "death traps," said Wilde, thing," Wilde said.
an assistant professor at the University of SEE EAGLES, PAGE 3C
eagle A bald in Georgia:
Bacteria r �• 4 �' y�, �, ��: r •
�
Y
A
1.
F
�'
��•y.,�jF,�%�,.: ?fin.
1 �F
p.
Y � a
This sick coot floats in hydrilla at J. Strom Thurmond Reservoir, an Army Corps of
Engineers impoundment on the Savannah River on the South Carolina- Georgia line.
Possible i ?
Stopping the spread of Aetokthonos hydrillicola might not be easy, but one idea involves releasing
grass- eating carp into affected lakes, a tactic that was successful in'Lake Murray in South Carolina,
where 64,000 carp ate 3,880 acres of the invasive plant over two years. Unfortunately, this non-
native, sterile carp consumes other desirable water plants important for fish and wildlife habitat.
PHYS.ORG /NEWS
which go straight to their brains. Eagles Georgia whose study of the topic was
prey on American coots, which dine almost recently published in the journal Phytotaxa.
exclusively on hydrilla. In Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, South Caroli-
Before now, reservoirs that serve up a na'and North Carolina, coots, shorebirds,
buffet of this plant were considered benefi- `ducks and eagles are dying by the dozens
cial because they helped fuel the annual mi- from the incurable lesions.
gration of coots from Canada to Florida and "We're attracting them to places where
beyond, while also feeding eagles. But now they're going to die, and that's not a good
the reservoirs are "death traps," said Wilde, thing," Wilde said.
an assistant professor at the University of SEE EAGLES, PAGE 3C
eagle A bald in Georgia:
Bacteria r �• 4 �' y�, �, ��: r •
�
Y
This sick coot floats in hydrilla at J. Strom Thurmond Reservoir, an Army Corps of
Engineers impoundment on the Savannah River on the South Carolina- Georgia line.
Possible i ?
Stopping the spread of Aetokthonos hydrillicola might not be easy, but one idea involves releasing
grass- eating carp into affected lakes, a tactic that was successful in'Lake Murray in South Carolina,
where 64,000 carp ate 3,880 acres of the invasive plant over two years. Unfortunately, this non-
native, sterile carp consumes other desirable water plants important for fish and wildlife habitat.
PHYS.ORG /NEWS
which go straight to their brains. Eagles Georgia whose study of the topic was
prey on American coots, which dine almost recently published in the journal Phytotaxa.
exclusively on hydrilla. In Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, South Caroli-
Before now, reservoirs that serve up a na'and North Carolina, coots, shorebirds,
buffet of this plant were considered benefi- `ducks and eagles are dying by the dozens
cial because they helped fuel the annual mi- from the incurable lesions.
gration of coots from Canada to Florida and "We're attracting them to places where
beyond, while also feeding eagles. But now they're going to die, and that's not a good
the reservoirs are "death traps," said Wilde, thing," Wilde said.
an assistant professor at the University of SEE EAGLES, PAGE 3C
eagle A bald in Georgia:
Bacteria r �• 4 �' y�, �, ��: r •
MEW
COURTESY OF BRIGETTE
( [
BOND
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: March 3, 2015
Action Agenda
Item No. 5 -d
SUBJECT: Orange County's Proposed 2015 Legislative Agenda
DEPARTMENT: County Commissioners PUBLIC HEARING: (Y /N) Yes
ATTACHMENT(S):
1) Public Hearing Notice
UNDER SEPARATE COVER
2) Proposed Orange County 2015
Legislative Matters Resolution on
Statewide Issues with Exhibits
3) NCACC 2015 -16 Adopted Legislative
Goals
INFORMATION CONTACT:
Commissioner Bernadette Pelissier, 245-
2130
Commissioner Renee Price, 245 -2130
Greg Wilder, County Manager's Office,
919- 245 -2300
PURPOSE: To:
1) Conduct a public hearing on Orange County's potential legislative items for
the 2015 North Carolina General Assembly Session;
2) Close the public hearing and review and discuss the Legislative Issues Work
Group's (LIWG) proposed 2015 legislative package and any other potential
items for inclusion in Orange County's legislative agenda package for the
2015 North Carolina General Assembly Session;
3) Consider approval of one proposed legislative matters resolution on
Statewide Issues; and
4) Consider identifying three to five specific items from the entire package to
highlight for priority discussion at the March 23, 2015 meeting with Orange
County's legislative delegation.
BACKGROUND: The North Carolina General Assembly convened on Wednesday, January 14,
2015. In past years the Board of Commissioners has appointed two Commissioners to serve
on a Legislative Issues Work Group (LIWG) to work with staff to develop a proposed legislative
package for the County. Based on the work of the LIWG, the BOCC has then reviewed and
approved packages of legislative items to pursue for the respective North Carolina General
Assembly sessions. Commissioners Bernadette Pelissier and Renee Price are serving on the
2015 LIWG and have worked with staff on the proposed 2015 legislative package which is
attached.
At its February 17, 2015 regular meeting, the Board had been scheduled to approve an item on
the Consent agenda noting tonight's (March 3rd) public hearing on Orange County's proposed
2015 legislative agenda. With the cancellation of the February 17th meeting, staff alternatively
published a Press Release alerting the public regarding tonight's public hearing. Staff also
subsequently published the public hearing notice in three different local newspapers detailing
tonight's public hearing. The notice of the public hearing was also posted on the County's
website and on Facebook and Twitter.
After closing the public hearing, the Board will likely want to review and discuss the LIWG's
proposed 2015 legislative package items and any other items as may be addressed during the
public hearing. The Board will then need to consider the legislative matters resolution based on
the public hearing and Board discussion.
The proposed legislative matters resolution (Attachment 2) for Board consideration addresses a
broad range of statewide issues.
Following consideration of the resolution, and in preparation for its March 23, 2015 meeting with
Orange County's legislative delegation, the Board may want to consider identifying three to five
specific items from the entire package to highlight for priority discussion.
The work of the Legislative Issues Work Group to this point is based on the current information
available for the 2015 General Assembly Session. The issues addressed by the Group may
evolve and change over the session and require additional attention by the Group and Board of
Commissioners. New issues may also arise necessitating additional review.
For reference purposes only, staff has provided the North Carolina Association of County
Commissioners ( NCACC) 2015 -16 Adopted Legislative Goals (Attachment 3) which were
adopted by NCACC in late January 2015. Some of the items in the legislative matters
resolution regarding statewide issues (Attachment 2) generally coincide with NCACC's goals
and those items are noted in the resolution accordingly.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact associated with holding a public hearing
other than the newspaper advertisement costs which were included in the approved FY 2014 -15
budget.
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends the Board:
1) Conduct a public hearing on Orange County's potential legislative items for
the 2015 North Carolina General Assembly Session;
2) Close the public hearing and review and discuss the Legislative Issues Work
Group's (LIWG) proposed 2015 legislative package and any other potential
items for inclusion in Orange County's legislative agenda package for the
2015 North Carolina General Assembly Session;
3) Approve the proposed legislative matters resolution on Statewide Issues; and
4) Consider identifying three to five specific items from the entire package to
highlight for priority discussion at the March 23, 2015 meeting with Orange
County's legislative delegation.
3
Attachment 1
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE
FOR
Tuesday, March 3, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.
A public hearing will be held on Orange County's potential legislative agenda for the 2015 North
Carolina General Assembly Session. The issue areas to be addressed include:
• Revenue and Taxation • Mental Health • Transportation Responsibility
• Smart Start and NC Pre -K • Broadband • Bond Referendum for Education
• Jail /Inmate Reimbursement • E -911 Funds • Preservation Trust Fund Support
• Agriculture /Solar Energy • Use Value Program • Concealed Weapons in Parks
• Classification of Flavored Alcoholic Beverages • Solid Waste Programs/Recycling Authority
• County Civil Rights Ordinance — Additional Authority • Sales Tax Distribution
The Board of Commissioners welcomes all comments on all items as may be introduced or addressed
at the public hearing. The meeting is open to the public and will be held on Tuesday, March 3, 2015
at the Whitted Meeting Facility at 300 West Tryon Street in Hillsborough beginning at 7:00 p.m. If
you need additional information or would like to provide written comments, please contact Greg
Wilder at 919- 245 -2300 or ocboccgoran e� countync.gov.
RES - 2015 - 010
NORTH CAROLINA
ORANGE COUNTY
4
DRAFT Attachment 2
RESOLUTION REGARDING
LEGISLATIVE MATTERS
BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Commissioners of
Orange County that the Board hereby requests the Senator and
Representatives representing Orange County take the following
positions on legislation regarding the following Statewide
matters:
1) * Revenue Options for Local Government - Support
legislation that authorizes any local government to
enact any revenue source that is presently available to
one or more local governments in the state. Local
governments have experienced significant budget cuts in
recent years. Providing flexibility regarding revenue
options to fund local government services will allow
local governments to tailor their respective funding
plans based on individual needs and goals;
2) * Oppose any shift of state transportation
responsibilities to counties - Oppose legislation to
shift the state's responsibility for funding
transportation construction and maintenance projects to
counties. Counties cannot afford to assume costs for
An item denoted with a " *" generally coincides with a similar North
Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) 2015 -16 Legislative
Goal.
5
maintaining secondary roads and /or funding expansion
projects. Unlike counties in other states, whose
traditional funding responsibilities are secondary
roads, North Carolina counties are responsible for the
administration of local human services programs, and
fund educational operating and capital expenses;
3) * Broadband - Support legislation, funding, and other
efforts to expand broadband capability to the un- served
and under - served areas of the State to enhance quality
of life as well as expand opportunities for jobs
creation, small business development, and growth in
farm enterprises. Orange County opposes legislation
limiting local governments' efforts to provide
broadband and supports legislation and regulations that
would preserve local option and authority where needed
to deploy community broadband systems and ensure
community access to critical broadband services;
4) Smart Start and NC Pre -K - Support legislation to
increase and ensure secure and stable funding, enhanced
quality early care and education, and family access and
benefits in settings public and private. The County
advocates sustaining teacher quality, evidence -based
learning objectives, healthy life styles, and community
engagement. Quality early childhood education has
A
proven to help alleviate the achievement gap, curb the
need for costly services (including special education),
and reduce societal cost by increasing graduation
rates. Recent studies have shown a significant return
on investment for dollars supporting early childhood
programs and services. Orange County Schools and
Chapel Hill - Carrboro City Schools are ardent allies in
ensuring that actions at the state level support local
implementation. Orange County remains strongly
supportive of the Orange County Partnership for Young
Children in the effective administration and evaluation
of services reaching all children throughout the
County;
5) County Jail System /Housing State Inmates Reimbursement
- Support legislation to protect the fiscal viability
of the county jail system by reinstating reimbursement
for state inmates housed in county jails sentenced to
90 days or less and increase the reimbursement rate
for state inmates awaiting post -trial prison transfer;
6) Agriculture /Solar Energy - Support renewable energy
initiatives to create a market for agricultural- sourced
energy credits. Both provide incentives for farmers to
produce renewable energy, which will become
increasingly important to preserving and strengthening
7
the agricultural economy and rural infrastructure as
well as maintaining Orange County's rural heritage and
culture;
7) Authority to Amend the Orange County Civil Rights
Ordinance - Seek legislative action to provide the
County the authority to include sexual orientation and
gender identity as protected classes. The Board of
Commissioners adopted the Orange County Civil Rights
Ordinance in 1994 with the purpose and policy to
promote the equal treatment of all individuals. In
subsequent years, the County has requested, to no
avail, additional legislative authority to amend the
Ordinance to include additional protected classes;
8) * E -911 Funds - Support permanently extending the
authorization to use E911 funds for all public safety
disciplines. Orange County has appreciated past
efforts and supports future initiatives to expand the
uses for these funds within the public safety
disciplines related to emergency communications and
Emergency Medical Services;
9) * Mental Health - Support the current model of public
mental health administration, opposes any further
consolidation, and seeks legislation to ensure that
M
adequate State-funded mental health, developmental
disability, and substance abuse services and facilities
are available at the local level, accessible and
affordable to all residents and that sufficient state
resources fund service provision costs inclusive of
sufficient crisis beds, and to structure appropriate
county participation in governance.;
* Child Care - Seek legislation to reverse changes made
to the childcare subsidy program available to working
families, including the eligibility change of 200% of
the federal poverty level to 133%, which harms many
working parents who are trying to become more financial
self-sufficient, and the provision change that requires
nonparent relatives living with the child to have their
income counted for child care eligibility;
Land, Water and Agricultural Preservation Fund
Support Park, Agricultural Preservation, Clean Water
and other existing trust funds established for the
protection of the State's land, water, biological
resources, agriculture, and special places before they
are irreversibly lost, and requests that these funds
receive additional funding;
n.
9
13) Machinery Act - Support local governments, need for
more flexibility to remedy measurement and /or condition
property appraisal errors related to local property tax
functions. North Carolina property tax law
substantially limits the ability of local governments
to address property tax discrepancies, such as
prohibiting the refund of prior years' taxes paid after
a measurement and /or condition property appraisal error
is discovered. Just as local governments can recoup
prior years' property taxes from owners for
"discoveries ", local governments should likewise be
authorized to refund prior years' taxes paid when
situations such as measurement and /or condition
property appraisal errors are discovered;
14) Homestead Exemption - Support revisions to the
Homestead Exemption provisions of the Machinery Act to
a) provide greater opportunities for low - income
seniors to remain in their homes and not be
displaced due to property tax burdens by
10
approving a one -time ten percent (100) increase
in the income qualification standard; and
maintaining the current provisions which increase
the income qualification standard each year based
on any cost -of- living adjustment made to the
benefits under Titles II and XVI of the Social
Security Act for the preceding calendar year;
b) diminish the discriminatory features of the
current exemption provisions relating to married
couples by establishing graduated income
qualification standards for single individuals
versus married couples; and
c) address the ineffectiveness of the exemption
provisions in communities where property values
increase at substantial rates over short periods
of time by capping the increase in additional
taxes to be paid to the increase in the Consumer
Price Index (CPI) for the preceding year;
15) Bond Referendum for Education - Support a statewide
bond referendum to provide State assistance to meet
public school and community college construction needs
caused by increased enrollment, mandated reduction in
class size and other factors;
11
16) Concealed Weapons in Parks - Seek legislation re-
authorizing counties to fully regulate the carrying of
concealed weapons on county-owned playgrounds and in
county-owned parklands;
17) * Participation in Solid Waste Programs for Recycling -
Authorize counties to require county residents to
impose a fee for the solid waste collection services in
a manner similar to the authority granted to
municipalities. The fee may not exceed the costs of
collection;
18) Sales Tax Distribution Formula - Support legislation
directing that all sales tax be distributed on a per
capita basis; and
19) Classification of Flavored Alcoholic Beverages
(Alcopo2s) - Support legislation to properly classify
flavored alcoholic beverages (alcopops) as distilled
spirits rather than malt beverages.
An item denoted with a 11*11 generally coincides with a similar North Carolina
Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) 2015-16 Legislative Goal.
im
Support continued state funding of Medicaid and
support efforts by the state to provide healthcare access
for all citizens.
PE-4: Seek legislation to repeal the statutory authority
under N.C. G.S. 115C-431(c) that allows local school
boards to file suit against a county board of commis-
sioners over county appropriations for education.
® Oppose any shift of state transportation responsi-
bilities to counties.
® Oppose unfunded mandates and shifts of state re-
sponsibilities to counties.
Core Values 6
Agriculture 7
Environment 8
General Government 1%
Health & Human Services im
Justice & Public Safety
*ublic Education 22
Tax & Finance 26
Legislators Contact Information 3j
AG-1: Support i • and staffing for a;•
Cooperative
ture-related efforts to support the largest economic driver in
North Carolina.
Criminal charges filed against Duke Energy for NC coal ash spills
Misdemeanor counts stem from coal ash spills in 4 N.C. rivers
By Bruce Henderson and Anne Blythe, The Charlotte Observer February 20, 2015
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Federal prosecutors Friday filed criminal charges against Duke Energy
for illegal discharges from ash ponds across North Carolina, where a massive spill a year ago
triggered intense scrutiny of the company's environmental management.
Duke said it has reached a settlement agreement with the federal government over nine
misdemeanor violations of the Clean Water Act. The settlement would end an investigation of its
ash handling that began with a spill into the Dan River on Feb. 2, 2014.
Duke would pay $68.2 million in fines and restitution and $34 million for community service and
mitigation projects. The money will come from shareholders, not customers.
The settlement has to be reviewed and approved by a federal judge. U.S. Attorney Thomas
Walker of the Eastern District, where the cases will be transferred, said he would have no
comment until they come before a judge.
"We are accountable for what happened at Dan River and have learned from this event," Duke
CEO Lynn Good said in a statement. "We are setting a new standard for coal ash management
and implementing smart, sustainable solutions for all our ash basins. Our highest priorities are
safe operations and the well -being of the people and communities we serve."
A criminal bill of information filed in U.S. District Court in Charlotte charges Duke with coal ash
and wastewater discharges from an unpermitted drain at the Riverbend power plant west of
Charlotte. A second, similar count is for the Asheville plant.
A third, filed in Raleigh, alleges a discharge of coal ash and coal ash wastewater from an
unpermitted drainage ditch near the H.F. Lee Steam Electric Plant in Goldsboro into the Neuse
River. The time period for that discharge was no later than Oct. 2010 through the end of 2014.
Other charges are connected to the spill and illegal discharges at the Dan River plant and
maintenance issues at the Cape Fear power plant in Chatham County, Duke said.
The charges say Duke "negligently" discharged the pollutants. Employees failed to "exercise the
degree of care that someone of ordinary prudence would have exercised" and aided and
abetted each other.
The charges are misdemeanors.
Duke revealed a proposed settlement of the charges Wednesday in an earnings report that put
$102 million into a litigation account.
The possibility of criminal charges had hung over the nation's biggest electric utility for a year
A February 2014 spill of 39,000 tons of coal ash turned the Dan River the color of cement. The
spill prompted a public outcry, investigations and — occurring in Eden, the hometown of N.C.
Senate leader Phil Berger — legislators' scrutiny.
Within weeks, a federal grand jury in Raleigh began probing a "suspected felony" involving
Duke's coal ash handling.
Wide- ranging subpoenas to Duke, 18 current or former state environmental regulators and the
utilities commission demanded inspection records, correspondence and enforcement
documents regarding the 108 million tons of ash stored at power plants scattered across the
state.
Advocates accused Duke and the administration of Gov. Pat McCrory, a former Duke Energy
employee, of working together to avoid harsh punishment for the company.
Groundwater contamination apparently from coal ash has been found at each of Duke Energy's
14 North Carolina coal -fired plants. Duke has reported leaks that drain more than 3 million
gallons a day.
The federal charges and settlement sting a fast - growing company that until Feb. 2, 2014, had
largely avoided public embarrassment in recent decades.
The Dan River spill happened months before the Environmental Protection Agency issued the
first national standards on coal ash. And while it was the third - largest spill of the past decade,
Duke's was the only one of the three to result in criminal charges.
The difference? An apparent determination by federal prosecutors that Duke willfully broke the
law.
Dam inspectors repeatedly warned Duke to stay alert for signs of leakage into the 48 -inch
stormwater pipe that broke under an ash pond at the retired Dan River power plant in Eden,
records show.
Only after the pipe broke did Duke learn that it was made of metal, not the much stronger
concrete that the utility had assumed.
The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources says the federal
settlement won't affect state lawsuits over Duke's ash ponds — filed under pressure from
advocacy groups — or investigation of groundwater contamination.
DENR cited Duke for eight violations at seven power plants after the spill but has levied no
fines. In March, DENR cited Duke for violations after the company pumped 61 million gallons of
water from ash ponds into a tributary of the Cape Fear River.
About a dozen environmental groups have been allowed to join the state's four lawsuits, giving
them a say in any settlements regarding 12 of the 14 power plants. The groups have also filed
federal lawsuits against several Duke power plants, all still before the courts.
A $100 million settlement would be second largest under the landmark 1972 Clean Water act if
it were solely a fine. Instead, the settlement is expected to include money for community- service
and mitigation projects.
The Dan River s
The EPA declared the cleanup of the Dan River finished in July, after Duke vacuumed up 3,000
tons of ash and sediment. More than 90 percent of the spilled ash was left in the river. EPA said
removing it would do more harm than good.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, working with North Carolina, Virginia and Duke, is leading
an assessment of the environmental damage. It's likely to end with Duke paying for restoration
projects in the Dan River basin.
A Duke - commissioned study in November found freshwater mussels are thriving in the Dan.
North Carolina's Department of Environment and Natural Resources reported that the river -
bottom bugs and worms at the base of the food chain are also healthy.
Other experts say one year is far too short a time to gauge the long -term effects of the
potentially toxic metals in ash on the river. Metals in the river bottom may recirculate into the
water.
Bruce Henderson
Read more here: http://www.n wsobserver.com/2015/02/20/4570946 criminal - charges ®filed®
aaainst.html ?rh ®1 #storylink =cpy
http : / /obsearthenergy.blogspot.com / 2015 /02/ house -bill- requires- incineration- for.htmI
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
House bill requires incineration for sludge
A Cabarrus County legislator wants to give his county a defense against
Charlotte's sewage sludge, which some of his constituents have rallied against
in recent months.
Rep. Larry Pittman, a Concord Republican, is among the primary sponsors of
the bill filed Tuesday. The bill lets counties that incinerate sludge -- that
would be Cabarrus -- require that sludge be burned before it's spread as
fertilizer on farm fields.
Counties without incinerators could force an "alternate method" of sludge
treatment to reduce disease - carrying pathogens and rodents.
Charlotte Water's opponents in the Rowan - Cabarrus community of Gold Hill
say they're more worried about heavy metals and toxic chemicals tainting soil
and groundwater.
The utility this month withdrew an application to expand its sludge fields by
1,300 acres in Cabarrus, Rowan and Iredell counties. But its existing North
Carolina permit expires March 31 and will have to be renewed, so could
apparently be affected by the sludge bill.
Charlotte Water canceled the request after the state cited a Rowan County
property that would have been included in the expansion for environmental
violations.
Cabarrus County, meanwhile, cranked up a new, $20 million power plant
fueled by sludge last October. The county landfills the ash that's left.
Cabarrus says it would welcome Charlotte's sludge, but the city has said
incineration is not a viable alternative for economic and other reasons.
Pittman's Republican cosponsors are Rep. Carl Ford of Rowan County and Rep.
Michael Speciale of Craven County. The bill now goes to the House Local
Government committee, which Ford co- chairs, and if endorsed there to the
Environment committee.
Pat McCrory, Governor
Donald R. van der Vaart, Secretary
February 13, 2015
State and federal agencies sign agreement to protect 8,000 acres around
Jordan Lake
RALEIGH — State and federal officials have signed an agreement that protects nearly 8,000
acres of environmentally rich land around Jordan Lake, the source of drinking water for much of
the Triangle.
Under the arrangement, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which owns Jordan Lake and the
surrounding property and the state agencies with site management responsibilities in the area,
have agreed to maintain 14 separate parcels of land in their existing condition to avoid any
damage to their unique characteristics.
"Registry agreements are voluntary arrangements developed between landowners and DENR to
manage and protect properties with rare plants, animals or other outstanding natural areas," said
Donald R. van der Vaart, secretary of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural
Resources. `By signing this agreement, DENR and its partners will act to protect this land with
its diverse wildlife and good examples of the large bottomland forests that once dominated the
Triassic Basin."
The Jordan Lake Project includes about 45,000 acres in Chatham, Durham, Orange and Wake
counties, and a large reservoir that serves as the drinking water source for Cary, Apex, Durham
and a host of other Triangle communities. Much of the 8,000 acres included in the registry
agreement is associated with the floodplains and wetlands of the Jordan Lake Project and has
been identified by DENR's Natural Heritage Program as having rare or representative examples
of ecosystems and natural communities, geologic landforms, and habitats for endangered or
threatened plants and animals.
The parties to the registry agreement include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which owns the
land, as well as the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, DENR (through the N.C. Division of
Parks and Recreation), and the N.C. Forest Service — all of which help manage the property.
With permission from landowners, DENR can register and designate areas in North Carolina
with rare or diverse features in order to ensure their protection. These registered natural areas
will continue to be used for educational, scientific, ecological, aesthetic, wildlife, fisheries and
compatible recreational purposes.
"As species need to be able to move around to meet their needs, the large, mostly contiguous
Jordan Lake Project overall is an important conservation area because it helps connect these
high-quality habitats for wildlife," said Scott Pohlman, who works for the state's Natural
Heritage Program and manages the registry program for the state.
A copy of the registry agreement is at:
htlp://portal.ncdenr.org/c/document library/get file? uuid=0442f343-624f-464a-8766-
25d3ca25384c&uouDId=61587.
The Washington Post httnJ/www.washingtonrrost.com/blogs/ the - switch /wrr /2015/02/12 /this - new- tesla-
battery -wil I- grower -your- home - and - maybe- the - electric -grid- too / ?hr�id =z4
This new Tesla battery will power your home,
and maybe the electric grid too
By Brian Fung February 12, 2015
Tesla is working on a battery that can power your home and even help large -scale
utilities store energy more efficiently, according to company chief executive Elon Musk.
On an investor call Wednesday, Musk said the designs for a home or business battery
are already complete and will likely be unveiled to the public "in the next month or
two." Production could be as little as six months away, he added.
"It's really great. I'm really excited about it," said Musk.
While there's no word yet on price, Tesla's battery and charging technology could
ultimately wind up saving you money on your electric bill. Although many of today's
homes draw energy directly from the electricity grid, the spread of cheap solar panels
means it's never been easier to generate some of your own energy. Storing renewables
efficiently has been a big bottleneck for consumers and for utilities alike, but if Tesla's
stationary battery takes off, it could change the way electricity is priced and traded on
a market scale. (For years, it's been many people's dream to sell excess energy back to
the grid.)
For the millions of consumers frustrated with their power companies thanks to
frequent outages and poor customer service, the batteries could be a boon. In general,
the choices for how people power their homes is relatively limited. Most have to rely
exclusively on their local utility providers. Getting a generator can be expensive --
some homeowners pay around $20,000 for back -up generators that run on natural
gas. So Tesla is eyeing a market that might be ripe for innovation.
Morgan Stanley made waves last year when it wrote that Tesla's forthcoming products
in this space could meet a huge market demand.
"There may be a 'tipping point' that causes customers to seek an off -grid approach,"
Morgan Stanley wrote last March. "The more customers move to solar, the remaining
utility customer bill will rise, creating even further "headroom" for Tesla's off -grid
approach."
Tesla is already laying the groundwork to ensure its stationary batteries get as widely
distributed as possible.
"A lot of utilities are working in this space, and we're talking to almost all of them,"
said Tesla's chief technical officer, JB Straubel. "It's early stage stuff and a lot of these
projects are very far out since the procurement cycle for utilities is so long. But this is
a business that certainly is gaining an increasing amount of our attention."
RESEARCH
S Ll S'FA 111114 A 131111 ...11 1"Y
Planetary boundaries: Guiding
human development on a
changing planet
Will Steflegn,' Katherine Richardson, Johan Rc ckstr8m, Sarah. E. Cornell, Ingo Fetzer,
Elena AL Bennett, Reranettc, Baggy;, Stephen R.. Carpenter, Wim de 17nes,
Cyntbia.A. de Wit, Carl. Folke, Dieter Oerte n, Jens; IIehike, Georgina AL Mace,
Linn AL Persso n, Veerabbadrann Ramanatban, Belinda Reyers, Sverker SiMian
INTRODUCTION: There is an urgent need for
a new paradigm that integrates the continued
development of human societies and the main-
tenance of the Earth system (ES) in a resilient
and accommodating state. The planetarybound-
ary (PB) framework contributes to such a
paradigm by providing a science -based analysis
of the risk that human perturbations will de-
stabilize the ES at the planetary scale. Here, the
scientific underpinnings of the PB framework
are updated and strengthened.
RATIONALE: The relatively stable, 11,700 -year-
long Holocene epoch is the only state of the ES
Climate change
Genetic
Biosphere integrity diversib
Functional /
diversity 1/44
Land - system
change
Freshwater use
that we know for certain can support contem-
porary human societies. There is increasing evi-
dence that human activities are affecting ES
functioning to a degree that threatens the re-
silience of the ES —its ability to persist in a
Holocene -like state in the face of increasing
human pressures and shocks. The PB frame-
work is based on critical processes that reg-
ulate ES functioning. By combining improved
scientific understanding of ES functioning with
the precautionary principle, the PB framework
identifies levels of anthropogenic perturbations
below which the risk of destabilization of the
ES is likely to remain low —a "safe operating
7
Novel entities
Stratospheric ozone depletion
Atmospheric aerosol loading
Phosphorus %FI / /% %WIjgllA
Nitrogen Ocean acidification
Biochemical flows
Beyond zone of uncertainty (high risk) Below boundary (safe)
In zone of uncertainty (increasing risk) Boundary not yet quantified
Current status of the control variables for seven of the planetary boundaries. The green zone
is the safe operating space, the yellow represents the zone of uncertainty (increasing risk), and the
red is a high -risk zone. The planetary boundary itself lies at the intersection of the green and yellow
zones. The control variables have been normalized for the zone of uncertainty; the center of the
figure therefore does not represent values of 0 for the control variables. The control variable shown
for climate change is atmospheric CO2 concentration. Processes for which global -level boundaries
cannot yet be quantified are represented by gray wedges; these are atmospheric aerosol loading,
novel entities, and the functional role of biosphere integrity.
space" for global societal development. A zone
of uncertainty for each PB highlights the area
of increasing risk The current level of anthro-
pogenic impact on the ES, and thus the risk to
the stability of the ES, is assessed by compar-
ison with the proposed PB (see the figure).
RESULTS: Three of the PBs (climate change,
stratospheric ozone depletion, and ocean acid-
ification) remain essentially unchanged from
the earlier analysis. Regional -level boundaries
as well as globally aggregated PBs have now
been developed for biosphere integrity (earlier
"biodiversity loss', biogeochemical flows, land -
system change, and freshwater use. At present,
only one regional boundary (south Asian mon-
soon) can be established for atmospheric aerosol
loading. Although we cannot identify a single PB
for novel entities (here de-
fined as new substances,
Pead the hill article, new forms of existing sub-
al III I P: //bujol, stances, and modified life
org /,1.0).,11261 forms that have the po-
tential for unwanted geo-
physical and /or biological
effects), they are included in the PB framework,
given their potential to change the state of the
ES. Two of the PBs— climate change and bio-
sphere integrity —are recognized as "core" PBs
based on their fundamental importance for the
ES. The climate system is a manifestation of the
amount, distribution, and net balance of energy
at Earth's surface; the biosphere regulates ma-
terial and energy flows in the ES and increases
its resilience to abrupt and gradual change.
Anthropogenic perturbation levels of four of
the ES processes /features (climate change, bio-
sphere integrity, biogeochemical flows, and land
system change) exceed the proposed PB (see the
figure).
CONCLUSIONS: PBs are scientifically based
levels of human perturbation of the ES beyond
which ES functioning may be substantially
altered. Transgression of the PBs thus creates
substantial risk of destabilizing the Holocene
state of the ES in which modern societies have
evolved. The PB framework does not dictate
how societies should develop. These are po-
litical decisions that must include considera-
tion of the human dimensions, including equity,
not incorporated in the PB framework Never-
theless, by identifying a safe operating space
for humanity on Earth, the PB framework
can make a valuable contribution to decision -
makers in charting desirable courses for socie-
tal development. Ill
The list of author affiliations is available in the full article online.
*Corresponding author. E -mail: will.steffen @anu.edu.au
Cite this article as W. Steffen et al., Science 347, 1259855
(2015). DOI: 10.1126 /science.1259855
736 13 FEBRUARY 2015 • VOL 347 ISSUE 6223 sciencemag.org SCIENCE
RESEARCH
S 1.1 S'Y'A 11 1114 A 13 11 11 II "i "'Y
Planetary boundaries: Guiding
human development on a
changing planet
Will Steffen,' 2* Katherine Ricban°tlso n,`� Jobagn Rockstriim,' Sarab E. Cornell,'
� ' � Ingo Fetzer,' Elena M. Bennett Re ette Baggy, Steppe R. Carpenter,
Wim de Vnes,71" C',yantlaaa.A. de Wit," C",arl. Folke, " "' Dieter Gertean," Deny; Heinnke," °12,13
, ' �ecaaslalaan Iamanatlan,'� °'7 GeorginaM. Mace ' Linn M. Persso ,°
Belinda Reyers,11"' Sverker Siar]hi "'
The planetary boundaries framework defines a safe operating space for humanity based
on the intrinsic biophysical processes that regulate the stability of the Earth system.
Here, we revise and update the planetary boundary framework, with a focus on the
underpinning biophysical science, based on targeted input from expert research
communities and on more general scientific advances over the past 5 years. Several of the
boundaries now have a two -tier approach, reflecting the importance of cross -scale
interactions and the regional -level heterogeneity of the processes that underpin the
boundaries. Two core boundaries — climate change and biosphere integrity —have been
identified, each of which has the potential on its own to drive the Earth system into a new
state should they be substantially and persistently transgressed.
he planetary boundary (PB) approach (1, 2)
aims to define a safe operating space for
human societies to develop and thrive, based
on our evolving understanding of the func-
tioning and resilience of the Earth system.
Since its introduction, the framework has been
subject to scientific scrutiny [e.g., (3 -7)] and has
attracted considerable interest and discussions
within the policy, governance, and business sec-
tors as an approach to inform efforts toward glob-
al sustainability (3 -10).
In this analysis, we further develop the basic
PB framework by (i) introducing a two -tier ap-
proach for several of the boundaries to account
for regional -level heterogeneity; (ii) updating the
quantification of most of the PBs; (iii) identifying
two core boundaries; and (iv) proposing a regional -
level quantitative boundary for one of the two
that were not quantified earlier (1).
The basic framework: Defining
a safe operating space
Throughout history, humanity has faced environ-
mental constraints at local and regional levels,
with some societies dealing with these challenges
more effectively than others (11,12). More recent-
ly, early industrial societies often used local water-
ways and airsheds as dumping grounds for their
waste and effluent from industrial processes. This
eroded local and regional environmental quality
and stability, threatening to undermine the pro-
gress made through industrialization by damag-
ing human health and degrading ecosystems.
Eventually, this led to the introduction of local
or regional boundaries or constraints on what
could be emitted to and extracted from the en-
vironment (e.g., chemicals that pollute airsheds
or waterways) and on how much the environment
could be changed by direct human modification
(land- use /cover change in natural ecosystems)
(13). The regulation of some human impacts on
the environment —for example, the introduction
of chemical contaminants —is often framed in
the context of "safe limits" (14).
These issues remain, but in addition we now
face constraints at the planetary level, where the
magnitude of the challenge is vastly different.
The human enterprise has grown so dramatically
since the mid -20th century (15) that the relatively
stable, 11,700 -year -long Holocene epoch, the only
state of the planet that we know for certain can
support contemporary human societies, is now
being destabilized (figs. S1 and S2) (16 -13). In
fact, a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene,
has been proposed (19).
The precautionary principle suggests that hu-
man societies would be unwise to drive the Earth
system substantially away from a Holocene -like
condition. A continuing trajectory away from the
Holocene could lead, with an uncomfortably high
probability, to a very different state of the Earth
system, one that is likely to be much less hos-
pitable to the development of human societies
(17,13, 20). The PB framework aims to help guide
human societies away from such a trajectory by
defining a "safe operating space" in which we can
continue to develop and thrive. It does this by
proposing boundaries for anthropogenic pertur-
bation of critical Earth - system processes. Respect-
ing these boundaries would greatly reduce the
risk that anthropogenic activities could inadver-
tently drive the Earth system to a much less hos-
pitable state.
Nine processes, each of which is clearly being
modified by human actions, were originally sug-
gested to form the basis of the PB framework (1).
Although these processes are fundamental to
Earth - system functioning, there are many other
ways that Earth - system functioning could be de-
scribed, including potentially valuable metrics
for quantifying the human imprint on it. These
alternative approaches [e.g., (4)] often represent
ways to explore and quantify interactions among
the boundaries. They can provide a valuable com-
plement to the original approach (1) and further
enrich the broader PB concept as it continues to
evolve.
The planetary boundary
framework: Thresholds, feedbacks,
resilience, uncertainties
A planetary boundary as originally defined (1) is
not equivalent to a global threshold or tipping
point. As Fig. 1 shows, even when a global- or
continental /ocean basin -level threshold in an
Faith- system process is likely to exist [e.g., (20, 21)],
the proposed planetary boundary is not placed
at the position of the biophysical threshold but
rather upstream of it —i.e., well before reaching
the threshold. This buffer between the boundary
(the end of the safe operating space, the green
zone in Fig. 1) and the threshold not only ac-
counts for uncertainty in the precise position of
the threshold with respect to the control variable
'Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, 10691
Stockholm, Sweden. 'Fenner School of Environment and
Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601,
Australia. tenter for Macroecology, Evolution, and Climate,
University of Copenhagen, Natural History Museum of Denmark,
Universitetsparken 15, Building 3, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark.
°Department of Natural Resource Sciences and McGill School of
Environment, McGill University, 21, 111 Lakeshore Road, Ste -
Anne-de- Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada. 5Centre for Studies in
Complexity, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag Xl,
Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa. 6Center for Limnology,
University of Wisconsin, 680 North Park Street, Madison WI
53706 USA. 7Alterra Wageningen University and Research
Centre, P.O. Box 47, 6700AA Wageningen, Netherlands.
8Environmental Systems Analysis Group, Wageningen University,
P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, Netherlands. 'Department
of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry, Stockholm
University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden. 10Beijer Institute of
Ecological Economics, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences,
SE -10405 Stockholm, Sweden. "Research Domain Earth
System Analysis, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact
Research (PIK), Telegraphenberg A62, 14473 Potsdam,
Germany. "International Livestock Research Institute, P.O.
Box 30709, Nairobi, 00100 Kenya. 13CSIRO (Commonwealth
Scientific and Industrial Research Organization), St. Lucia,
QLD 4067, Australia. 14Centre for Biodiversity and
Environment Research (CBER), Department of Genetics,
Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower
Street, London WME 613T, UK. 15Stockholm Environment
Institute, Linnegatan 87D, SE -10451 Stockholm, Sweden.
16Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California
at San Diego, 8622 Kennel Way, La Jolla, CA 92037 USA.
17TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute) University, 10
Institutional Area, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi, Delhi 110070,
India. 18Natural Resources and the Environment, CSIR, P.O.
Box 320, Stellenbosch 7599, South Africa. "Division of
History of Science, Technology and Environment, KTH Royal
Institute of Technology, SE -10044 Stockholm, Sweden.
*Corresponding author. E -mail: will.steffen @anu.edu.au
SCIENCE sciencemag.org 13 FEBRUARY 2015 • VOL 347 ISSUE 6223 1259555 -1
RESEARCH ( RESEARCHARTICLE
v
v
0
cca
v
Process X
Globally mixed, with continental /global threshold
Planetary
Control variable
Safe operating space
Global
feedbacks
W.
W
v
0
Local /regional
a
impacts
Process Y
Heterogeneous, with no continental /global threshold
Planetary
Zone of uncertainty: Increasing risk of impacts
Control variable
Dangerous level: High risk of serious impacts
Local /regional
thresholds
Fig. 1. The conceptual framework for the planetary boundary approach, showing the safe operating space, the zone of uncertainty, the position of
the threshold (where one is likely to exist), and the area of high risk. Modified from (1).
but also allows society time to react to early warn-
ing signs that it may be approaching a thresh-
old and consequent abrupt or risky change.
The developing science of early- warning signs
can warn of an approaching threshold or a de-
crease in the capability of a system to persist
under changing conditions. Examples include
"critical slowing down" in a process (22), in-
creasing variance (23), and flickering between
states of the system (24-26). However, for such
science to be useful in a policy context, it must
provide enough time for society to respond in
order to steer away from an impending thresh-
old before it is crossed (27 28). The problem of
system inertia —for example, in the climate sys-
tem (18) —needs to be taken into account in as-
sessing the time needed for society to react to
early- warning signs.
Not all Earth - system processes included in the
PB approach have singular thresholds at the global/
continental /ocean basin level (1). Nevertheless, it
is important that boundaries be established for
these processes. They affect the capacity of the
Earth system to persist in a Holocene -like state
under changing conditions (henceforth "resilience ")
by regulating biogeochemical flows (e.g., the ter-
restrial and marine biological carbon sinks) or by
providing the capacity for ecosystems to tolerate
perturbations and shocks and to continue func-
tioning under changing abiotic conditions (29, 30).
Examples of such processes are land- system
change, freshwater use, change in biosphere in-
tegrity [rate of biodiversity loss in (1, 2)], and
changes in other biogeochemical flows in addi-
tion to carbon (e.g., nitrogen and phosphorus).
Placing boundaries for these processes is more
difficult than for those with known large -scale
thresholds (21) but is nevertheless important for
maintaining the resilience of the Earth system as
a whole. As indicated in Fig. 1, these processes,
many of which show threshold behavior at local
and regional scales, can generate feedbacks to
the processes that do have large -scale thresholds.
The classic example is the possible weakening of
natural carbon sinks, which could further de-
stabilize the climate system and push it closer to
large thresholds [e.g, loss of the Greenland ice
sheet (18)]. An interesting research question of
relevance to the PB framework is how small -
scale regime shifts can propagate across scales
and possibly lead to global -level transitions (31, 32).
A zone of uncertainty, sometimes large, is as-
sociated with each of the boundaries (yellow zone
in Fig. 1). This zone encapsulates both gaps and
weaknesses in the scientific knowledge base and
intrinsic uncertainties in the functioning of the
Earth system. At the "safe" end of the zone of un-
certainty, current scientific knowledge suggests
that there is very low probability of crossing a
critical threshold or substantially eroding the re-
silience of the Earth system. Beyond the "danger"
end of the zone of uncertainty, current knowl-
edge suggests a much higher probability of a
change to the functioning of the Earth system
that could potentially be devastating for human
societies. Application of the precautionary prin-
ciple dictates that the planetary boundary is set
at the "safe" end of the zone of uncertainty. This
does not mean that transgressing a boundary will
instantly lead to an unwanted outcome but that
the farther the boundary is transgressed, the
higher the risk of regime shifts, destabilized sys-
tem processes, or erosion of resilience and the
fewer the opportunities to prepare for such
changes. Observations of the climate system show
this principle in action by the influence of in-
creasing atmospheric greenhouse gas concentra-
tions on the frequency and intensity of many
extreme weather events (17 18).
Linking global and regional scales
PB processes operate across scales, from ocean
basins/biomes or sources /sinks to the level of the
Earth system as a whole. Here, we address the
subglobal aspects of the PB framework. Rock -
str6m et al. (1) estimated global boundaries on-
ly, acknowledging that the control variables for
many processes are spatially heterogeneous. That
is, changes in control variables at the subglobal
level can influence functioning at the Earth -
system level, which indicates the need to define
subglobal boundaries that are compatible with
the global -level boundary definition. Avoiding
the transgression of subglobal boundaries would
thus contribute to an aggregate outcome within
a planetary -level safe operating space.
We focus on the five PBs that have strong re-
gional operating scales: biosphere integrity, biogeo-
chemical flows [earlier termed "phosphorus (P)
and nitrogen (N) cycles" (1, 2)], land- system change,
freshwater use, and atmospheric aerosol loading.
Table S1 describes how transgression of any of
the proposed boundaries at the subglobal level
affects the Earth system at the global level.
For those processes where subglobal dynamics
potentially play a critical role in global dynamics,
the operational challenge is to capture the im-
portance of subglobal change for the functioning
1259555 -2 13 FEBRUARY 2015 • VOL 347 ISSUE 6223 sciencemag.org SCIENCE
of the Earth system. To do this, we propose the
development of a two -level set of control var-
iables and boundaries. The subglobal -level units
of analysis for these six boundaries are not
identical; they vary according to the role that the
processes play in the Earth system: (i) changes
in biosphere integrity occur at the level of land -
based biomes, large freshwater ecosystems, or
major marine ecosystems as the largest sub-
global unit; (ii) the role of direct, human - driven
land- system change in biophysical climate regu-
lation is primarily related to changes in forest
biomes; (iii) freshwater flows and use occur at
the largest subglobal level in the major river
basins around the world; and (iv) changes in
biogeochemical flows, exemplified by phospho-
rus and nitrogen cycling, aggregate from rela-
tively localized but very severe perturbations
in intensive agricultural zones to affect global
flows of nutrients. We recognize these as crit-
ical regions for Earth - system functioning. Where
appropriate, the updates of the individual bound-
aries (see below) (33) now contain both the glob-
ally aggregated boundary value of the control
variable and its regional distribution function.
Figure 2 shows the distributions and current
status of the control variables for three of the
boundaries where subglobal dynamics are crit-
A Phosphorus
ical: biogeochemical cycles, land - system change,
and freshwater use.
We emphasize that our subglobal -level focus is
based on the necessity to consider this level to
understand the functioning of the Earth system
as a whole. The PB framework is therefore meant
to complement, not replace or supersede, efforts
to address local and regional environmental issues.
Updates of the individual boundaries
Brief updates of all nine of the PBs are given in
this section, and more detailed descriptions of
the updates for three of the PBs that have under-
gone more extensive revision can be found in (33).
The geographical distribution issues discussed
above are particularly important for five of the
PBs, and their control variables and boundaries
have been revised accordingly (Table 1). Figure 3
shows the current status of the seven bounda-
ries that can be quantified at the global level.
Climate change
We retain the control variables and boundaries
originally proposed —i.e., an atmospheric CO2 con-
centration of 350 parts per million (ppm) and an
increase in top -of- atmosphere radiative forcing of
+1.0 W M-2 relative to preindustrial levels (1).
The radiative forcing control variable is the more
C Land - system change
M1 Beyond zone of uncertainty (high risk)
B Nitrogen
RESEARCH ( RESEARCHARTICLE
inclusive and fundamental, although CO2 is im-
portant because of its long lifetime in the atmo-
sphere and the very large human emissions.
Human - driven changes to radiative forcing in-
clude all anthropogenic factors: CO2, other green-
house gases, aerosols, and other factors that
affect the energy balance (IS). Radiative forcing
is generally the more stringent of the two bound-
aries, although the relationship between it and
CO2 can vary through time with changes in the
relative importance of the individual radiative
forcing factors.
Evidence has accumulated to suggest that the
zone of uncertainty for the CO2 control variable
should be narrowed from 350 to 550 ppm to 350
to 450 ppm CO2 (17, IS), while retaining the cur-
rent zone of uncertainty for radiative forcing of
+LO to 1.5 W M-2 relative to preindustrial levels.
Current values of the control variables are 399 ppm
CO2 (annual average concentration for 2014) (34)
and +2.3 W M-2 (1.1 to 3.3 W m 2) in 2011 relative
to 1750 (IS). Observed changes in climate at cur-
rent levels of the control variables confirm the
original choice of the boundary values and the
narrowing of the zone of uncertainty for CO2. For
example, there has already been an increase in
the intensity, frequency, and duration of heat
waves globally (35); the number of heavy rainfall
D Freshwater use
In zone of uncertainty (increasing risk) Below boundary (safe)
Fig. 2.The subglobal distributions and current status of the control variables for (A) biogeochemical flows of P; (B) biogeochemical flows of N; (C) land -
system change; and (D) freshwater use. In each panel, green areas are within the boundary (safe), yellow areas are within the zone of uncertainty (increasing
risk), and red areas are beyond the zone of uncertainty (high risk). Gray areas in (A) and (B) are areas where P and N fertilizers are not applied; in (C), they are
areas not covered by major forest biomes; and in (D), they are areas where river flow is very low so that environmental flows are not allocated. See Table 1 for
values of the boundaries and their zones of uncertainty and (33) for more details on methods and results.
SCIENCE sciencemag.org 13 FEBRUARY 2015 • VOL 347 ISSUE 6223 1259555 -3
RESEARCH ( RESEARCHARTICLE
Table 1. The updated control variables and their current values, along with the proposed boundaries and zones of uncertainty, for all nine planetary
boundaries. In the first column, the name for the Earth - system process used in the original PB publication (R2009, reference 1) is given for comparison.
Earth - system
process
Climate
change
(R2009:
same)
Change in
biosphere
integrity
(R2009:
Rate of
biodiversity
loss)
Stratospheric
ozone
depletion
(R2009: same)
Ocean
acidification
(R2009:
same)
Biogeochemical
flows: (P and
N cycles)
(R2009:
Biogeochemical
flows: (interference
with P and N
cycles))
Control
variable(s)
Planetary boundary
(zone of uncertainty)
Atmospheric CO2 350 ppm CO2 (350 -450 ppm)
concentration, ppm
Energy imbalance +1.0 W m -2 ( +1.0 -1.5 W m -2)
at top -of
atmosphere, W m -2
Genetic diversity: < 10 E /MSY (10 -100 E /MSY)
Extinction rate but with an aspirational goal of
ca. 1 E /MSY (the background
rate of extinction loss). E /MSY =
extinctions per million species -years
Functional diversity:
Biodiversity
Intactness Index (BII)
Note: These are
interim control
variables until more
appropriate ones are
developed
Stratospheric 03
concentration, DU
Carbonate ion
concentration,
average global
surface ocean
saturation state with
respect to aragonite
(�2arag)
P Global: P flow
from freshwater
systems into the
ocean
P Regional: P flow
from fertilizers to
erodible soils
N Global: Industrial
and intentional
biological fixation
of N
Maintain BII at 90% (90 -30 %)
or above, assessed
geographically by biomes /large
regional areas (e.g. southern
Africa), major marine
ecosystems (e.g., coral reefs) or
by large functional groups
<5% reduction from pre-
industrial level of 290 DU
(5 % -10 %), assessed by
latitude
> > -80% of the pre - industrial
aragonite saturation state of
mean surface ocean, including
natural diel and seasonal
variability ( > -80 %- > -70 %)
11TgPyr 1(11- 100TgPyr )
6.2 Tg yr 1 mined and applied to
erodible (agricultural) soils
(6.2 -11.2 Tg yr 1). Boundary is a
global average but regional
distribution is critical for
impacts.
62 Tg N yr 1 (62 -82 Tg N yr 1).
Boundary acts as a global
'valve' limiting introduction of
new reactive N to Earth System,
but regional distribution of
fertilizer N is critical for
impacts.
Current value of
control variable
398.5 ppm CO2
2.3 W m -2
(1.1 -3.3 W m -2)
100 -1000 E /MSY
84 %, applied to
southern Africa
only
Only transgressed
over Antarctica in
Austral spring
(-200 DU)
-84% of the
pre - industrial
aragonite
saturation state
- 22TgPyr 1
- 14TgPyr1
-150 Tg N yr 1
1259555 -4 13 FEBRUARY 2015 • VOL 347 ISSUE 6223 sciencemag.org SCIENCE
Earth - system Control Planetary boundary
process variable(s) (zone of uncertainty)
Land - system
change
(R2009:
same)
Freshwater
use
(R2009:
Global
freshwater
use)
Atmospheric
aerosol
loading
(R2009:
same)
Introduction
of novel entities
(R2009: Chemical
pollution)
Global: Area of
forested land as %
of original forest
cover
Biome: Area of
forested land as %
of potential forest
Global: Maximum
amount of
consumptive blue
water use (km 3yr -1)
Basin: Blue water
withdrawal as % of
mean monthly river
flow
Global: Aerosol
Optical Depth
(ACID), but much
regional variation
Regional: ACID as
a seasonal average
over a region. South
Asian Monsoon
used as a case study
No control variable
currently defined
events in many regions of the world is increasing
(I%); changes in atmospheric circulation patterns
have increased drought in some regions of the
world (I%); and the rate of combined mass loss
from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets is
increasing (36).
Changes in biosphere integrity
We propose a two- component approach, address-
ing two key roles of the biosphere in the Earth
system. The first captures the role of genetically
unique material as the "information bank" that
ultimately determines the potential for life to
RESEARCH ( RESEARCHARTICLE
Global: 75% (75 -54 %) Values
are a weighted average of the
three individual biome
boundaries and their uncertainty
zones
Biome:
Tropical: 85% (85 -60 %)
Temperate: 50% (50 -30 %)
Boreal: 85% (85 -60 %)
Global: 4000 km3 yr 1
(4000 -6000 km3 yr 1)
Basin: Maximum monthly
withdrawal as a percentage
of mean monthly river flow.
For low -flow months: 25%
(25 -55 %); for intermediate -
flow months: 30% (30 -60 %);
for high -flow months: 55%
(55 -85 %)
Regional: (South Asian
Monsoon as a case study):
anthropogenic total (absorbing
and scattering) ACID over
Indian subcontinent of 0.25
(0.25 - 0.50); absorbing
(warming) ACID less than 10%
of total ACID
No boundary currently
identified, but see boundary
for stratospheric ozone for an
example of a boundary
related to a novel entity (CFCs)
continue to coevolve with the abiotic component
of the Earth system in the most resilient way
possible. Genetic diversity provides the long -term
capacity of the biosphere to persist under and
adapt to abrupt and gradual abiotic change. The
second captures the role of the biosphere in
Earth - system functioning through the value, range,
distribution, and relative abundance of the func-
tional traits of the organisms present in an eco-
system or biota (7).
For the first role, the concept of phylogenetic
species variability (PSV) (7 33, 37) would be an
appropriate control variable. However, because
Current value of
control variable
62%
-2600 km3 yr 1
0.30 ACID, over
South Asian
region
global data are not yet available for PSV, we re-
tain the global extinction rate as an interim con-
trol variable, although it is measured inaccurately
and with a time lag. There may be a considerable
risk in using extinction rate as a control variable,
because phylogenetic (and functional) diversity
may be more sensitive to human pressures than
species -level diversity (38). In principle, the bound-
ary should be set at a rate of loss of PSV no greater
than the rate of evolution of new PSV during the
Holocene. Because that is unknown, we must fall
back on the (imperfectly) known extinction rate
of well- studied organisms over the past several
SCIENCE sciencemag.org 13 FEBRUARY 2015 • VOL 347 ISSUE 6223 1259855 -5
RESEARCH ( RESEARCHARTICLE
Climate change
Biosphere Genetic
integrity diversity Novel entities
Functional
diversity
Land - system Stratospheric
change ozone depletion
Atmospheric aerosol
Freshwater loading
use fto
Phosphorus 10117110MINI/
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Nitrogen Ocean acidification ® Beyond zone of uncertainty (high risk)
O In zone of uncertainty (increasing risk)
Biogeochemical flows 0 Below boundary (safe)
0 Boundary not yet quantified
Fig. 3. The current status of the control variables for seven of the nine planetary boundaries. The
green zone is the safe operating space (below the boundary), yellow represents the zone of uncertainty
(increasing risk), and red is the high -risk zone. The planetary boundary itself lies at the inner heavy circle.
The control variables have been normalized for the zone of uncertainty (between the two heavy circles);
the center of the figure therefore does not represent values of 0 for the control variables. The control
variable shown for climate change is atmospheric CO2 concentration. Processes for which global -level
boundaries cannot yet be quantified are represented by gray wedges; these are atmospheric aerosol
loading, novel entities, and the functional role of biosphere integrity. Modified from (1).
million years -about 1 per million species -years
(39) -and add a large uncertainty bound, raising
the boundary to 10 per million species - years. The
risk is that, although the Earth system can tol-
erate a higher -than- background level of extinc-
tions for a time, we do not know what levels of, or
types of, biodiversity loss may possibly trigger non-
linear or irreversible changes to the Earth system.
The second control variable aims to capture the
role of the biosphere in Earth - system functioning
and measures loss of biodiversity components at
both global and biome /large ecosystem levels. Al-
though several variables have been developed at
local scales for measuring functional diversity
[e.g., (40)], finding an appropriate control varia-
ble at regional or global levels is challenging. For
the present, we propose an interim control var-
iable, the Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII) (4I).
BII assesses change in population abundance as a
result of human impacts, such as land or resource
use, across a wide range of taxa and functional
groups at a biome or ecosystem level using pre-
industrial era abundance as a reference point. The
index typically ranges from 100% (abundances
across all functional groups at preindustrial levels)
to lower values that reflect the extent and degree
of human modification of populations of plants
and animals. BII values for particular functional
groups can go above 1000/. if human modifications
to ecosystems lead to increases in the abundance
of those species.
Due to a lack of evidence on the relationship
between BII and Earth - system responses, we pro-
pose a preliminary boundary at 90% of the BII
but with a very large uncertainty range (90 to
30 %) that reflects the large gaps in our knowl-
edge about the BII - Earth - system functioning
relationship (42, 43). BII has been so far applied
to southern Africa's terrestrial biomes only (see
fig. S3 for an estimation of aggregated human
pressures on the terrestrial biosphere globally),
where the index (not yet disaggregated to func-
tional groups) was estimated to be 84 %. BII
ranged from 69 to 91% for the seven countries
where it has been applied (41). Observations across
these countries suggest that decreases in BII ad-
equately capture increasing levels of ecosystem
degradation, defined as land uses that do not al-
ter the land -cover type but lead to a persistent
loss in ecosystem productivity (41).
In addition to further work on functional mea-
sures such as BII, in the longer term the concept
of biome integrity -the functioning and persist-
ence of biomes at broad scales (7)-offers a prom-
ising approach and, with further research, could
provide a set of operational control variables (one
per biome) that is appropriate, robust, and scien-
tifically based.
Stratospheric ozone depletion
We retain the original control variable 103 con-
centration in DU (Dobson units)] and boundary
(275 DU). This boundary is only transgressed
over Antarctica in the austral spring, when 03
concentration drops to about 200 DU (44). How-
ever, the minimum 03 concentration has been
steady for about 15 years and is expected to rise
over the coming decades as the ozone hole is
repaired after the phasing out of ozone - depleting
substances. This is an example in which, after a
boundary has been transgressed regionally, hu-
manity has taken effective action to return the
process back to within the boundary.
Ocean acidification
This boundary is intimately linked with one of
the control variables, CO2, for the climate change
PB. The concentration of free H` ions in the sur-
face ocean has increased by about 30% over the
past 200 years due to the increase in atmospheric
CO2 (45). This, in turn, influences carbonate chem-
istry in surface ocean waters. Specifically, it lowers
the saturation state of aragonite (52_,g), a form of
calcium carbonate formed by many marine orga-
nisms. At Q_n < 1, aragonite will dissolve. No
new evidence has emerged to suggest that the
originally proposed boundary ( >t80% of the pre-
industrial average annual global Q_,g) should
be adjusted, although geographical heterogeneity
in S2_a is important in monitoring the state of
the boundary around the world's oceans (fig. S4).
Currently, Q-,g is approximately equal to 84% of
the preindustrial value (46). This boundary would
not be transgressed if the climate - change bound-
ary of 350 ppm CO2 were to be respected.
Biogeochemical flows
The original boundary was formulated for phos-
phorus (P) and nitrogen (N) only, but we now
propose a more generic PB to encompass human
influence on biogeochemical flows in general. Al-
though the carbon cycle is covered in the climate -
change boundary, other elements, such as silicon
(47 48), are also important for Earth- system func-
tioning. Furthermore, there is increasing evidence
that ratios between elements in the environment
may have impacts on biodiversity on land and in
the sea (49 -51). Thus, we may ultimately need to
develop PBs for other elements and their ratios,
although for now we focus on P and N only.
A two -level approach is now proposed for the
P component of the biogeochemical flows bound-
ary (see also the supplementary materials). The
original global -level boundary, based on the pre-
vention of a large -scale ocean anoxic event, is
retained, with the proposed boundary set at a
sustained flow of 11 Tg P year' from freshwater
systems into the ocean. Based on the analysis of
Carpenter and Bennett (3), we now propose an
additional regional -level P boundary, designed
to avert widespread eutrophication of freshwater
systems, at a flow of 6.2 Tg P year' from fer-
tilizers (mined P) to erodible soils.
Given that the addition of P to regional
watersheds is almost entirely from fertilizers, the
regional -level boundary applies primarily to the
world's croplands. The current global rate of ap-
plication of P in fertilizers to croplands is 14.2 Tg
P year' (5-9, 53). Observations point toward a few
agricultural regions of very high P application
rates as the main contributors to the transgres-
sion of this boundary (Fig. 2 and fig. S5A) and
suggest that a redistribution of P from areas
1259855 -6 13 FEBRUARY 2015 • VOL 347 ISSUE 6223 sciencemag.org SCIENCE
where it is currently in excess to areas where the
soil is naturally P -poor may simultaneously boost
global crop production and reduce the transgres-
sion of the regional -level P boundary (3, 52, 54).
The N boundary has been taken from the com-
prehensive analysis of de Vries et al. (5), which
proposed a PB for eutrophication of aquatic eco-
systems of 62 Tg N year' from industrial and
intentional biological N fixation, using the most
stringent water quality criterion. As for the P
boundary, a few agricultural regions of very high
N application rates are the main contributors to
the transgression of this boundary (Fig. 2 and
fig. S5B). This suggests that a redistribution of N
could simultaneously boost global crop produc-
tion and reduce the transgression of the regional-
level boundary.
Because the major anthropogenic perturba-
tion of both the N and P cycles arises from fertil-
izer application, we can analyze the links between
the independently determined N and P bounda-
ries in an integrated way based on the N:P ratio
in the growing plant tissue of agricultural crops.
Applying this ratio, which is on average 11.8 (55),
to the P boundary (6.2 Tg P year-) gives an N
boundary of 73 Tg N year'. Conversely, applying
the ratio to the N boundary (62 Tg N years) gives
a P boundary of 5.3 Tg P years. The small dif-
ferences between the boundaries derived using
the N:P ratio and those calculated independent-
ly, which are likely nonsignificant differences
given the precision of the data available for the
calculations, show the internal consistency in
our approach to the biogeochemical boundaries.
More detail on the development of the P and N
boundaries is given in (33), where we also em-
phasize that the proposed P and N boundaries
may be larger for an optimal allocation of N (and
P) over the globe.
Land - system change
The updated biosphere integrity boundary pro-
vides a considerable constraint on the amount
and pattern of land- system change in all ter-
restrial biomes: forests, woodlands, savannas,
grasslands, shrublands, tundra, and so on. The
land- system change boundary is now focused
more tightly on a specific constraint: the biogeo-
physical processes in land systems that directly
regulate climate— exchange of energy, water, and
momentum between the land surface and the
atmosphere. The control variable has been changed
from the amount of cropland to the amount of
forest cover remaining, as the three major forest
biomes — tropical, temperate and boreal —play a
stronger role in land surface- climate coupling
than other biomes (56, 57). In particular, we fo-
cus on those land - system changes that can in-
fluence the climate in regions beyond the region
where the land - system change occurred.
Of the forest biomes, tropical forests have sub-
stantial feedbacks to climate through changes in
evapotranspiration when they are converted to
nonforested systems, and changes in the distribu-
tion of boreal forests affect the albedo of the land
surface and hence regional energy exchange. Both
have strong regional and global teleconnections.
The biome -level boundary for these two types of
forest have been set at 85% (Table I and the
supplementary materials), and the boundary for
temperate forests has been proposed at 50% of
potential forest cover, because changes to tem-
perate forests are estimated to have weaker in-
fluences on the climate system at the global level
than changes to the other two major forest
biomes (56). These boundaries would almost
surely be met if the proposed biosphere integ-
rity boundary of 90% BII were respected.
Estimates of the current status of the land -
system change boundary are given in Figs. 2 and
3 and fig. S6 and in (58).
Freshwater use
The revised freshwater use boundary has retained
consumptive use of blue water [from rivers, lakes,
reservoirs, and renewable groundwater stores
(59)] as the global -level control variable and
4000 km3 /year as the value of the boundary.
This PB may be somewhat higher or lower de-
pending on rivers' ecological flow requirements
(6). Therefore, we report here a new assessment
to complement the PB with a basin -scale bound-
ary for the maximum rate of blue water with-
drawal along rivers, based on the amount of water
required in the river system to avoid regime shifts
in the functioning of flow - dependent ecosystems.
We base our control variable on the concept of
environmental water flows (EWF), which defines
the level of river flows for different hydrological
characteristics of river basins adequate to main-
tain a fair -to -good ecosystem state (60 -62).
The variable monthly flow (VMF) method
(33, 63) was used to calculate the basin -scale
boundary for water. This method takes account
of intra - annual variability by classifying flow re-
gimes into high -, intermediate -, and low -flow
months and allocating EWF as a percentage of
the mean monthly flow (MMF). Based on this
analysis, the zones of uncertainty for the river -
basin scale water boundary were set at 25 to 55%
of MMF for the low -flow regime, 40 to 70% for
the intermediate -flow regime, and 55 to 85% for
the high -flow regime (table S2). The boundaries
were set at the lower end of the uncertainty
ranges that encompass average monthly EWF.
Our new estimates of the current status of the
water use boundary— computed based on grid
cell- specific estimates of agricultural, industrial,
and domestic water withdrawals —are shown in
Figs. 2 and 3, with details in figs. S7 and S8.
Atmospheric aerosol loading
Aerosols have well- known, serious human health
effects, leading to about 7.2 million deaths per
year (64). They also affect the functioning of the
Earth system in many ways (65) (fig. S9). Here,
we focus on the effect of aerosols on regional
ocean - atmosphere circulation as the rationale
for a separate aerosols boundary. We adopt aero-
sol optical depth (AOD) (33) as the control var-
iable and use the south Asian monsoon as a case
study, based on the potential of widespread aero-
sol loading over the Indian subcontinent to switch
the monsoon system to a drier state.
RESEARCH ( RESEARCHARTICLE
The background AOD over south Asia is -0.15
and can be as high as 0.4 during volcanic events
(66). Emissions of black carbon and organic car-
bon from cooking and heating with biofuels and
from diesel transportation, and emission of sul-
fates and nitrates from fossil fuel combustion,
can increase seasonal mean AODs to as high as
0.4 (larger during volcanic periods), leading to
decreases of 10 to 15% of incident solar radiation
at the surface (fig. S9). A substantial decrease in
monsoon activity is likely around an AOD of 0.50,
an increase of 0.35 above the background (67).
Taking a precautionary approach toward uncer-
tainties surrounding the position of the tipping
point, we propose a boundary at an AOD of 0.25
(an increase due to human activities of 0.1), with
a zone of uncertainty of 0.25 to 0.50. The annual
mean AOD is currently about 0.3 (66), within the
zone of uncertainty.
Introduction of novel entities
We define novel entities as new substances, new
forms of existing substances, and modified life
forms that have the potential for unwanted geo-
physical and /or biological effects. Anthropogenic
introduction of novel entities to the environment
is of concern at the global level when these en-
tities exhibit (i) persistence, (ii) mobility across
scales with consequent widespread distributions,
and (iii) potential impacts on vital Earth- system
processes or subsystems. These potentially in-
clude chemicals and other new types of engi-
neered materials or organisms [e.g., (65 -71)] not
previously known to the Earth system, as well as
naturally occurring elements (for example, heavy
metals) mobilized by anthropogenic activities.
The risks associated with the introduction of
novel entities into the Earth system are exempli-
fied by the release of CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons),
which are very useful synthetic chemicals that
were thought to be harmless but had unexpected,
dramatic impacts on the stratospheric ozone layer.
In effect, humanity is repeatedly running such
global -scale experiments but not yet applying the
insights from previous experience to new appli-
cations (72, 73).
Today there are more than 100,000 substances
in global commerce (74). If nanomaterials and
plastic polymers that degrade to microplastics
are included, the list is even longer. There is also
a "chemical intensification" due to the rapidly
increasing global production of chemicals, the
expanding worldwide distribution as chemical
products or in consumer goods, and the exten-
sive global trade in chemical wastes (75).
In recent years, there has been a growing de-
bate about the global -scale effects of chemical
pollution, leading to calls for the definition of
criteria to identify the kinds of chemical sub-
stances that are likely to be globally problematic
(76, 77). Persson et al. (73) proposed that there are
three conditions that need to be fulfilled for a
chemical to pose a threat to the Earth system: (i)
the chemical has an unknown disruptive effect
on a vital Earth - system process; (ii) the disruptive
effect is not discovered until it is a problem at the
global scale; and (iii) the effect is not readily
SCIENCE sciencemag.org 13 FEBRUARY 2015 • VOL 347 ISSUE 6223 1259555 -7
RESEARCH ( RESEARCHARTICLE
reversible. The challenge to the research commu-
nity is to develop the knowledge base that allows
the screening of chemicals, before they are re-
leased into the environment, for properties that
may predispose them toward becoming global
problems.
As a first step toward meeting this challenge,
the three conditions outlined above have been
used as the basis for identifying scenarios of
chemical pollution that fulfill the conditions and
as a next step for pinpointing chemical profiles
that fit the scenarios (28). This proposal consti-
tutes a first attempt at adding the Earth - system
perspective when assessing hazard and risk of
chemicals and offers a vision for a systematic ap-
proach to a complex management situation with
many unknowns.
Despite this progress in developing an Earth -
system- oriented approach, there is not yet an
aggregate, global -level analysis of chemical pol-
lution on which to base a control variable or a
boundary value. It may also serve little purpose
to define boundary values and control varia-
bles for a planetary boundary of this complexity.
Nevertheless, there is a potential threat from
novel entities to disrupt the functioning of the
Earth - system and society needs to learn how to
mitigate these unknown risks and manage chem-
icals under uncertainty (28, 73).
Some precautionary and preventive actions
can be considered. These may include a stronger
focus on green chemistry (78), finding synergies
with risk- reducing interventions in other fields
such as occupational health (79), paying more
attention to learning from earlier mistakes (80,
81), and investing in science to better under-
stand and monitor vital Earth- system processes
in order to be able to detect disruptive effects
from novel entities as early as possible.
Hierarchy of boundaries
An analysis of the many interactions among the
boundaries (table S3 and fig. S10) suggests that
two of them — climate change and biosphere
integrity —are highly integrated, emergent system -
level phenomena that are connected to all of the
other PBs. They operate at the level of the whole
Earth system (7) and have coevolved for nearly
4 billion years (82). They are regulated by the
other boundaries and, on the other hand, pro-
vide the planetary -level overarching systems with-
in which the other boundary processes operate.
Furthermore, large changes in the climate or in
biosphere integrity would likely, on their own,
push the Earth system out of the Holocene state.
In fact, transitions between time periods in Earth
history have often been delineated by substantial
shifts in climate, the biosphere, or both (82, 83).
These observations suggest a two -level hierar-
chy of boundaries, in which climate change and
biosphere integrity should be recognized as core
planetary boundaries through which the other
boundaries operate. The crossing of one or more
of the other boundaries may seriously affect hu-
man well-being and may predispose the trans-
gression of a core boundary(ies) but does not by
itself lead to a new state of the Earth system. This
hierarchical approach to classifying the bounda-
ries becomes clearer by examining in more detail
the roles of climate and biosphere integrity in the
functioning of the Earth system.
The climate system is a manifestation of the
amount, distribution, and net balance of energy
at Earth's surface. The total amount of energy
sets the overall conditions for life. In Earth's cur-
rent climate, a range of global surface temper-
atures and atmospheric pressures allows the three
phases of water to be present simultaneously,
with ice and water vapor playing critical roles in
the physical feedbacks of the climate system. The
distribution of energy by latitude, over the land
and sea surfaces, and within the ocean plays a
major role in the circulation of the two great
fluids, the ocean and the atmosphere. These sys-
temic physical characteristics are key spatial de-
terminants of the distribution of the biota and
the structure and functioning of ecosystems and
are controllers of biogeochemical flows.
Biosphere integrity is also crucial to Earth -
system functioning, where the biosphere is de-
fined as the totality of all ecosystems (terrestrial,
freshwater, and marine) on Earth and their biota
(32). These ecosystems and biota play a critical
role in determining the state of the Earth system,
regulating its material and energy flows and its
responses to abrupt and gradual change (7). Di-
versity in the biosphere provides resilience to
terrestrial and marine ecosystems (83, 84). The
biosphere not only interacts with the other plan-
etary boundaries but also increases the capacity
of the Earth system to persist in a given state under
changes in these other boundaries. The ultimate
basis for the many roles that the biosphere plays
in Earth - system dynamics is the genetic code of
the biota, the basic information bank that de-
fines the biosphere's functional role and its ca-
pacity to innovate and persist into the future.
Planetary boundaries in a
societal context
A proposed approach for sustainable develop-
ment goals (SDGs) (85) argues that the stable
functioning of the Earth system is a prereq-
uisite for thriving societies around the world. This
approach implies that the PB framework, or
something like it, will need to be implemented
alongside the achievement of targets aimed at
more immediate human needs, such as provi-
sion of clean, affordable, and accessible energy
and the adequate supply of food. World devel-
opment within the biophysical limits of a stable
Earth system has always been a necessity [e.g.,
(86, 87)]. However, only recently, for a number
of reasons, has it become possible to identify,
evaluate, and quantify risks of abrupt planetary -
and biome -level shifts due to overshoot of key
Earth - system parameters: (i) the emergence of
global - change thinking and Earth - system think-
ing (SS); (ii) the rise of "the Planetary" as a rel-
evant level of complex system understanding
(89 -92); and (iii) observable effects of the rapid
increase in human pressures on the planet (I6).
The PB approach is embedded in this emerg-
ing social context, but it does not suggest how to
maneuver within the safe operating space in the
quest for global sustainability. For example, the
PB framework does not as yet account for the re-
gional distribution of the impact or its histor-
ical patterns. Nor does the PB framework take
into account the deeper issues of equity and cau-
sation. The current levels of the boundary pro-
cesses, and the transgressions of boundaries that
have already occurred, are unevenly caused by
different human societies and different social
groups. The wealth benefits that these trans-
gressions have brought are also unevenly distrib-
uted socially and geographically. It is easy to
foresee that uneven distribution of causation and
benefits will continue, and these differentials
must surely be addressed for a Holocene -like
Earth - system state to be successfully legitimated
and maintained. However, the PB framework as
currently construed provides no guidance as to
how this may be achieved [although some po-
tential synergies have been noted (54)], and it
cannot readily be used to make choices between
pathways for piecemeal maneuvering within
the safe operating space or more radical shifts of
global governance (93).
The nature of the PB framework implies that
two important cautions should be observed when
application of the framework to policy or man-
agement is proposed: boundary interactions and
scale.
Boundary interactions
The planetary boundaries framework arises from
the scientific evidence that Earth is a single,
complex, integrated system —that is, the bound-
aries operate as an interdependent set [e.g.,
(94)] (table S1 and fig. S10). Although a system-
atic, quantitative analysis of interactions among
all of the processes for which boundaries are
proposed remains beyond the scope of current
modeling and observational capacity, the Earth
system clearly operates in well- defined states in
which these processes and their interactions
can create stabilizing or destabilizing feedbacks
(16, 90, 95). This has profound implications for
global sustainability, because it emphasizes the
need to address multiple interacting environ-
mental processes simultaneously (e.g., stabilizing
the climate system requires sustainable forest
management and stable ocean ecosystems).
Scale
The PB framework is not designed to be "down -
scaled" or "disaggregated" to smaller levels, such
as nations or local communities. That said, the
PB framework recognizes the importance of
changes at the level of subsystems in the Earth
system (e.g., biomes or large river basins) on the
functioning of the Earth system as a whole. Also,
there are strong arguments for an integrated ap-
proach coupling boundary definitions at region-
al and global levels with development goals to
enable the application of "PB thinking" at lev-
els (nations, basins, and regions) where policy
action most commonly occurs [e.g., (85, 96)].
This update of the PB framework is one step on
a longer -term evolution of scientific knowledge to
1259855 -8 13 FEBRUARY 2015 • VOL 347 ISSUE 6223 sciencemag.org SCIENCE
inform and support global sustainability goals
and pathways. This evolution is needed more
than ever before; there are severe implementa-
tion gaps in many global environmental policies
relating to the PB issues, where problematic
trends are not being halted or reversed despite
international consensus about the urgency of the
problems. The prospect of tighter resource con-
straints and rising environmental hazards is also
unavoidably turning the focus onto global social
equity and the planetary stewardship of Earth's
life- support system. There is a need for a truly
global evidence base, with much greater integra-
tion among issues, in order to respond to these
global challenges. New research initiatives [e.g.,
Future Earth (www.futureearth.org)] provide evi-
dence that science can respond to this need by
applying Earth - system research to advance a new
generation of integrated global analyses and to
explore options for transformations toward sus -
tainability. This is a clear sign that, as the risks
of the Anthropocene to human well-being be-
come clearer, research is maturing to a point
where a systemic step - change is possible -and
necessary -in exploring and defining a safe and
just planetary operating space for the further
development of human societies.
Methods summary
Our approach to building the planetary bound-
aries framework is described above. We have
implemented the framework through an ex-
pert assessment and synthesis of the scientific
knowledge of intrinsic biophysical processes that
regulate the stability of the Earth system. Our
precautionary approach is based on the main-
tenance of a Holocene -like state of the Earth
system and on an assessment of the level of
human - driven change that would risk destabi-
lizing this state. For the climate change PB, there
is already much literature on which to base
such an assessment. For others, such as strato-
spheric ozone, ocean acidification, extinction
rates, and P and N cycles, we have used estimates
of preindustrial values of the control variable
as a Holocene baseline. Where large, undesira-
ble thresholds exist and have been studied (e.g.,
polar ice sheets, Amazon rainforest, aragonite
dissolution, atmospheric aerosols, and the south
Asian monsoon), quantitative boundaries can be
readily proposed. For others, where the focus is
on erosion of Earth - system resilience, the bound-
aries are more difficult (but not impossible) to
quantify, as reflected in larger uncertainty zones.
We used large -scale assessments of the impacts
of human activities on Earth - system functioning
[e.g., Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(17 18), the International Geosphere- Biosphere
Programme synthesis (16), and chemicals (75, SO)]
as sources of community -level understanding
on which to propose PBs. Our update has also
relied on post -2009 assessments of individual
boundaries by the relevant expert research com-
munities; examples include phosphorus (3), ni-
trogen (5), biosphere integrity (7), freshwater use
(5, 63), and novel entities [with a focus on chem-
icals (28, 73)]. Finally, some new analyses have
been undertaken specifically for this paper: (i) a
freshwater -use PB based on the EWF approach
(33, 63); (ii) the linkage of the phosphorus and
nitrogen boundaries via the N:P ratio in grow-
ing crop tissue (33); and (iii) the use of major
forest biomes as the basis for the land - system
change PB (33).
REFERENCES AND NOTES
1. J. Rockstrom et al., Planetary boundaries: Exploring the safe
operating space for humanity. Ecol. Sec. 14, 32 (2009).
http: / /www.ecologyandsoclety .org /voII4 /Iss2 /art32/
2. J. Rockstrom et al., A safe operating space for humanity.
Nature 461, 472 -475 (2009). doi: 10.1038/461472a;
Amid: 19779433
3. S. R. Carpenter, E. M. Bennett, Reconsideration of the
planetary boundary for phosphorus. Environ. Res. Lett. 6,
014009 (2011). doi: 10.1088/1748 - 9326/6/1/014009
4. S. W. Running, Ecology. A measurable planetary boundary
for the biosphere. Science 337, 1458 -1459 (2012).
doi: 10.112E /sclence.1227620; Amid: 22997311
5. W. de Vries, J. Kros, C. Kroeze, S. P. Seitzinger, Assessing
planetary and regional nitrogen boundaries related to food
security and adverse environmental impacts. Curr. Opinion
Environ. Sust. 5, 392 -402 (2013). doi: 10.1016/
j.cosust.2013.07.004
6. D. Gerten et al., Towards a revised planetary boundary for
consumptive freshwater use Role of environmental flow
requirements. Curc Opinion Environ. Sust. 5, 551 -558 (2013).
doi: 10.101E /j.cosust.2013.11.001
7. G. M. Mace et al., Approaches to defining a planetary boundary
for biodiversity. Glob. Environ. Change 28, 289 -297 (2014).
doi: 10.101E /j.gloenvc ha.2014.07.009
8. V. Galaz, Global Environmental Governance, Technology and
Politics: The Anthropocene Gap. (Edward Elgar, Cheltenham,
UK, 2014).
9. UN GSP (UN High -Level Panel on Global Sustainability),
Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A Future Worth Choosing
(Report for the 2012 Rio +20 Earth Summit, United Nations,
New York, 2012).
10. WBCSD (World Business Council on Sustainable Development),
Action 2020 Overview (WBCSD, Geneva, Switzerland,
http: / /actlon2O2O.org, accessed 18 June 2014).
11. R. Costanza, L. Graumlich, W. Steffen, Eds., Integrated History
and Future of People on Earth (MIT Press, Cambridge,
MA USA, 2006).
12. S. Sorlin, P. Warde, in Nature's End: History and the
Environment, S. Sorlin, P. Warde, Eds. (Palgrave MacMillan,
London, 2009), pp. 1 -19.
13. R. C. Bishop, Endangered species and uncertainty: The
economics of a safe minimum standard. Am. J. Agric. Econ. 61,
10 -18 (1978). doi: 10.2307/1240156
14. T. M. Crowards, Safe minimum standards: Costs and
opportunities. Ecol. Econ. 25, 303 -314 (1998). doi: 10.1016/
S0921- 8009(97)00041 -4
15. W. Steffen, J. Crutzen, I R. McNeill, The Anthropocene: Are
humans now overwhelming the great forces of Nature?
Ambio 36, 614 -621 (2007). doi: 10.1579/0044 - 7447(2007)36
[614:TAAHNOJ2.0.CO;2; Amid: 18240674
16. W. Steffen et al., Global Change and the Earth System: A Planet
Under Pressure (The IGBP Book Series, Springer - Verlag,
Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, 2004).
17. IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), Managing
the risks of extreme events and disasters to advance
climate change adaptation. A special report of Working Groups
I and II of the IPCC. C.B. Field et al., Eds. (Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge, UK (2012). doi: 10.1017/
CB09781139177245
18. IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), Climate
Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Summary for
Policymakers., L. Alexander et al., Eds. (IPCC Secretariat,
Geneva, Switzerland, 2013). doi: 10.1017/CB09781107415324
19. P. J. Crutzen, Geology of mankind. Nature 415, 23 (2002).
doi: 10.1038/415023a; Amid: 11780095
20. K. Richardson, W. Steffen, D. Liverman, Climate Change: Global
Risks, Challenges and Decisions (Cambridge Univ. Press,
Cambridge, UK, 2011).
21. T. M. Lepton et al., Tipping elements in the Earth's climate
system. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 105, 1786 -1793 (2008).
doi: 10.1073/pnas.0705414105; Amid: 18258748
RESEARCH ( RESEARCHARTICLE
22. M. Scheffer et al., Early- warning signals for critical
transitions. Nature 461, 53 -59 (2009). doi: 10.1038/
natureO8227; Amid: 19727193
23. S. R. Carpenter, W. A. Brock, Rising variance: A leading
indicator of ecological transition. Ecol. Lett. 9, 311 -318 (2006).
doi: 10.1111/j.1461- 0248.2005.00877.x; Amid: 16958897
24. 1 Bakke et al., Rapid oceanic and atmospheric changes during
the Younger Dryas cold period. Nat. Geosci. 2, 202 -205
(2009). doi: 10.1038 /ngeo439
25. M. Scheffer et al., Anticipating critical transitions. Science
338, 344 -348 (2012). doi: 10.112E /sclence.1225244;
pmid:23087241
26. R. Wang et al., Flickering gives early warning signals of a
critical transition to a eutrophic lake state. Nature 492,
419 -422 (2012). doi: 10.1038 /nature11655; Amid: 23160492
27. R. Biggs, S. R. Carpenter, W. A. Brock, Turning back from
the brink: Detecting an impending regime shift in time to avert
it. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 106, 826 -831 (2009).
doi: 10.1073/pnas.0811729106; Amid: 19124774
28. M. MacLeod et al., Identifying chemicals that are planetary
boundary threats. Environ. Sci. Technol. 48, 11057 -11063
(2014). doi: 10.1021/es501893m; Amid: 25181298
29. C. S. Holling, Resilience and stability of ecological systems.
Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 4, 1 -23 (1973). doi: 10.1146 /annurev.es.
04.110173.000245
30. C. Folke et al., Resilience thinking: Integrating resilience,
adaptability and transformability. Ecol. Sec. 15, 20 (2010).
www.ecologyandsoclety .org /voII5 /Iss4 /art2O
31. T. P. Hughes, S. Carpenter, I Rockstrom, M. Scheffer,
B. Walker, Multiscale regime shifts and planetary boundaries.
Trends Ecol. Evol. 28, 389 -395 (2013). doi: 10.1016/
j.tree.2013.05.019; Amid: 23769417
32. T. M. Lepton, H. T. P. Williams, On the origin of planetary -scale
tipping points. Trends Ecol. Evol. 28, 380 -382 (2013).
doi: 10.101E /j.tree.2013.06.001; Amid: 23777818
33. Supplementary text, figures, and tables are available on
Science Online.
34. NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration),
NOAA -ESRL Annual CO2 Data, accessed at: http: / /co2now.
org /Current- CO2 /CO2 -Now /annual- co2.htmI (2014).
35. S. E. Perkins, L. V. Alexander, J. Nairn, Increasing frequency,
intensity and duration of observed global heat waves and warm
spells. Geophys. Res. Lett. 39, L20714 (2012). doi: 10.1029/
2012GLO53361
36. A. Shepherd et al., A reconciled estimate of ice -sheet mass
balance. Science 338, 1183 -1189 (2012). doi: 10.1126/
sclence.1228102; Amid: 23197528
37. M. R. Helmus, T. J. Bland, C. K. Williams, A. R. Ives,
Phylogenetic measures of biodiversity. Am. Nat. 169, E68 -E83
(2007). doi: 10.1086/511334; Amid: 17230400
38. S. D'agata et al., Human - mediated loss of Phylogenetic
and functional diversity in coral reef fishes. Corr. Biol.
24, 555 -560 (2014). doi: 10.101E /j.cub.2014.01.049;
pmid:24560574
39. A. D. Barnosky et al., Has the Earth's sixth mass extinction
already arrived? Nature 471, 51 -57 (2011). doi: 10.1038/
nature09678; Amid: 21368823
40. N. W. Mason, F. de Bello, D. Mouillot, S. Pavoine, S. Dray, A
guide for using functional diversity indices to reveal changes
in assembly processes along ecological gradients. J. Veg.
Sci. 24, 794 -806 (2013). doi: 10.1111 /jvs.12013
41. R. J. Scholes, R. Biggs, A biodiversity intactness index. Nature
434, 45 -49 (2005). doi: 10.1038 /natureO3289;
pmid:15744293
42. B. Cardinale, Ecology. Impacts of biodiversity loss. Science
336, 552 -553 (2012). doi: 10.1126 /sclence.1222102;
pmid:22556243
43. D. U. Hooper et al., A global synthesis reveals biodiversity
loss as a major driver of ecosystem change. Nature 486,
105 -108 (2012). doi: 10.1038 /nature11118;pmid: 22678289
44. BAS (British Antarctic Survey), "Antarctic ozone" www.
antarctica.ac.uk/ met /jds /ozone /index.html#data, I Shanklin,
British Antarctic Survey (2013).
45. Royal Society, Ocean Acidification Due to Increasing
Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide. Policy Document 12/05 (The
Royal Society, London, 2005).
46. 1 M. Guinotte, V. J. Fabry, Ocean acidification and its potential
effects on marine ecosystems. Ann. N. V. Acad. Sci. 1134,
320 -342 (2008). doi: 10.119E /annals.14 39.013;pmid: 18566099
47. D. J. Conley, Terrestrial ecosystems and the global
biogeochemical silica cycle. Global Biogeochem. Cycles 16,
681 -688 (2002). doi: 10.1029/2002GBOO1894
SCIENCE sciencemag.org 13 FEBRUARY 2015 • VOL 347 ISSUE 6223 1259555 -9
RESEARCH ( RESEARCHARTICLE
48. F. Vandevenne, E. Struyf, W. Clymans, P. Meire, Agricultural
silica harvest: Have humans created a new loop in the global
silica cycle? Front. Ecol. Environ 10, 243 -248 (2012).
doi: 10.1890/110046
49. S. E. Gress, T. D. Nichols, C. C. Northcraft, W. T. Peterjohn,
Nutrient limitation in soils exhibiting differing nitrogen
availabilities: What lies beyond nitrogen saturation? Ecol. 88,
119 -130 (2007). doi: 10. 1890/0012- 9658(2007)88[119:
NLISEDJ2.0.CO;2; Amid: 17489460
50. H. Hillebrand, V. Lehmpfuhl, Resource stoichiometry and
consumers control the biodiversity- productivity relationship in
pelagic metacommunities. Am. Nat. 178, 171 -181 (2011).
doi: 10.1086/660831; Amid: 21750381
51. C. M. Moore et al., Processes and patterns of oceanic nutrient
limitation. Nat. Geosci. 6, 701 -710 (2013). doi: 10.1038 /ngeo1765
52. G. K. MacDonald, E. M. Bennett, P. A. Potter, N. Ramankutty,
Agronomic phosphorus imbalances across the world's
croplands. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 108, 3086 - 3091(2011).
doi: 10.1073/pnas.1010808108; Amid: 21282605
53. L. Bouwman et al., Exploring global changes in nitrogen and
phosphorus cycles in agriculture induced by livestock
production over the 1900 -2050 period. Proc. Natl. Acad.
Sci. U.S.A. 110, 20882 -20887 (2013). doi: 10.1073/
pnas.1012878108; Amid: 21576477
54. W. Steffen, M. Stafford Smith, Planetary boundaries, equity
and global Sustainability: Why wealthy countries could benefit
from more equity. Curr. Opinion Environ. Sust. 5, 403 -408
(2013). doi: 10.1016 /j.cosust.2013.04.007
55. D. J. Greenwood et al., A unifying concept for the dependence
of whole -crop N : P ratio on biomass: theory and experiment.
Ann. Bot. (Lend.) 102, 967 -977 (2008). doi: 10.1093 /aob/
mcn188; Amid: 18840873
56. P. K. Snyder, C. Delire, J. A. Foley, Evaluating the influence of
different vegetation biomes on the global climate. Clim. Dyn.
23,279 -302 (2004). doi: 10.1007/s00382- 004 - 0430 -0
57. P. C. West, G. T. Narisma, C. C. Barford, C. J. Kucharik,
J. A. Foley, An alternative approach for quantifying climate
regulation by ecosystems. Front. Ecol. Environ 9, 126 -133
(2010). doi: 10.1890/090015
58. EPI (Earth Policy Institute), "Forest cover" www.earthpolicy.
org /indicators /C56 /forests_2012_ (2014).
59. M. Falkenmark, Meeting water requirements of an expanding
world population. Philos. Trans. R. Sec. Lend. B Biol. Sci. 352,
929 -936 (1997). doi: 10.1098/rstb.1997.0072
60. J. S. Wallace, M. C. Acreman, C. A. Sullivan, The sharing of
water between society and ecosystems: From conflict to
catchment -based co- management. Philos. Trans. R. Sec. Lend.
B Biol. Sci. 358, 2011 -2026 (2003). doi: 10.1098/
rstb.2003.1383; Amid: 14728795
61. N. L. Poff et al., The natural flow regime: A paradigm for river
conservation and restoration. BioSci. 47, 769 -784 (1997).
doi: 10.2307/1313099
62. N. L. Poff, J. K. H. Zimmerman, Ecological responses to altered
flow regimes: A literature review to inform the science and
management of environmental flows. Biol. 55,194 -205 (2010).
doi: 10 .1111/j.1365- 2427.2009.02272.x
63. A. V. Pastor, F. Ludwig, H. Biemans, H. Hoff, P. Kabat,
Accounting for environmental flow requirements in global
water assessments. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 18, 5041 -5059
(2014). doi: 10.5194/hess -18- 5041 -2014
64. WHO (World Health Organization), Burden of Disease from the
Joint Effects of Household and Ambient Air Pollution for 2012
(www.who.int /phe /health_topics /outdoorair /databases/
FINAL_ HAP_ AAP_BoD24March2014.pdf, accessed 23 June 2014;
http: / /www.who.int /phe /health_topics /outdoorair /databases /en)
65. 0. Boucher et al., in Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science
Basis. IPCC AR5 WGI report, T. Stocker et al., Eds. (Cambridge
Univ. Press, Cambridge, UK, 2013), chap. 7, pp. 571 -657.
66. M. Chin et al., Multi - decadal aerosol variations from 1980 to
2009: A perspective from observations and a global model.
Atmos. Chem. Phys. 14, 3657 -3690 (2014). doi: 10.5194/
acp -14 -3657 -2014
67. V. Ramanathan et al., Atmospheric brown clouds: Impacts on
South Asian climate and hydrological cycle. Proc. Natl. Acad.
Sci. U.S.A. 102, 5326 -5333 (2005). doi: 10.1073/
pnas.0500656102; Amid: 15749818
68. M. Cole, P. Lindeque, C. Halsband, T. S. Galloway, Microplastics
as contaminants in the marine environment: A review. Mar.
Pollut. Bull. 62, 2588 -2597 (2011). doi: 10.1016 /j
marpolbul.2011.09.025; Amid: 22001295
69. EEA (European Environment Agency), Genetically Modified
Organisms (GMOs): The Significance of Gene Flow Through
Pollen Transfer (Environmental Issue Report 28, European
Environment Agency, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2002).
70. J. A. Ivar do Sul, M. F. Costa, The present and future of
microplastic pollution in the marine environment. Environ. Pollut.
185, 352 -364 (2014). doi: 10.1016 /j.envpol.2013.10.036;
Amid: 24275078
71. R. Kessler, Engineered nanoparticles in consumer products:
Understanding a new ingredient. Environ. Health Perspect. 119,
a120 -a125 (2011). doi: 10.1289/ehp.119 -a120; Amid: 21356630
72. M. Rees, Our Final Century. Will Civilisation Survive the
Twenty -first Century? (Arrow Books, London, 2003).
73. L. M. Persson et al., Confronting unknown planetary boundary
threats from chemical pollution. Environ. Sci. Technol. 47,
12619 -12622 (2013). doi: 10.1021/es4O2501c; Amid: 23980998
74. P. P. Egeghy et al., The exposure data landscape for
manufactured chemicals. Sci. Total Environ. 414, 159 -166
(2012). doi: 10 .101E /j.scitotenv.2011.10.046; Amid: 22104386
75. LINER (United Nations Environment Programme), GCO
Global Chemicals Outlook- Towards Sound Management of
Chemicals (United Nations Environment Programme,
Nairobi, Kenya, 2013).
76. S. Strempel, M. Scheringer, C. A. Ng, K. Hungerbuhler,
Screening for PET chemicals among the "existing" and
"new" chemicals of the EU. Environ. Sci. Technol. 46,
5680 -5687 (2012). doi: 10.1021/es3002713;
pmid:22494215
77. M. Scheringer et al., How many persistent organic pollutants
should we expect? Atmos. Poll. Res. 3, 383 -391 (2012).
doi: 10.5094 /A P R.2012.044
78. K. Sanderson, Chemistry: It's not easy being green. Nature
469, 18 -20 (2011). doi: 10.1038/469018a; Amid: 21209638
79. P. A. Schulte et al., Occupational safety and health, green
chemistry, and Sustainability: A review of areas of
convergence. Environ. Health 12, 31 (2013). doi: 10.1186/1476-
069X-12-31; Amid: 23587312
80. EEA (European Environment Agency), Late Lessons from Early
Warnings: The Precautionary Principle 1896 -2000 (Environmental
Issue Report 22/2001, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2001).
81. D. Gee, Late lessons from early warnings: Toward realism and
precaution with endocrine - disrupting substances. Environ.
Health Perspect. 114 (suppl. 1), 152 -160 (2006). doi: 10.1289/
ehp.8134; Amid: 16818262
82. T. Lenten, A. Watson, A., Revolutions That Made the Earth
(Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford UK, 2011).
83. R. Biggs et al., Toward principles for enhancing the resilience
of ecosystem services. Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour. 37,
421 -448 (2012). doi: 10. 114E /annurev- environ- 051211 - 123836
84. G. S. Cumming, P. Olsson, F. S. Chapin III, C. S. Holling,
Resilience, experimentation and scale mismatches in social -
ecological systems. Landscape Ecol. 28, 1139 -1150 (2013).
doi:10.1007 /s10980- 012 - 9725 -4
85. D. Griggs et al., Policy: Sustainable development goals for
people and planet. Nature 495, 305 -307 (2013). doi: 10.1038/
495305a; Amid: 23518546
86. R. Costanza, Ed., Ecological Economics- The Science and
Management of Sustainability (Columbia Univ. Press,
New York, 1991).
87. C. Folke, in Linking the Natural Environment and the Economy:
Essays from the Eco -Eco Group, C. Folke, T. Kaberger, Eds.
(Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Netherlands, 1991),
pp 77 -94.
88. L. Robin, S. Sorlin, P. Warde, Eds., The Future of Nature,
Documents of Global Change (Yale Univ. Press, New Haven, CT,
2013).
89. U. Heise, Sense of Place and Sense of Planet- The
Environmental Imagination of the Global (Oxford Univ. Press,
Oxford, 2008).
90. M. Scheffer, Critical Transitions in Nature and Society
(Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, NJ, 2009).
91. 1 Masco, Bad weather: On planetary crisis. Sec. Stud. Sci. 40,
7 -40 ( 2010). doi :10.1177/0306312709341598
92. G. Palsson et al., Reconceptualizing the 'Anthropos' in the
Anthropocene: Integrating the social sciences and humanities
in global environmental change research. Environ. Sci. Policy
28, 4 (2013). doi: 10.101E /j.envscl.2012.11.004
93. N. Castree et al., Changing the intellectual climate. Nature
Clim. Change 4, 763 -768 (2014). doi: 10.1038 /nclimate2339
94. 1 M. Anderies, S. R. Carpenter, W. Steffen, J. Rockstrdm, The
topology of non - linear global carbon dynamics: From tipping
points to planetary boundaries. Environ. Res. Lett. 8, 044048
( 2013). doi :10.1088/1748 - 9326/8/4/044048
95. S. E. Cornell, I. C. Prentice, 1 I. House, C. J. Downy,
Understanding the Earth System. Global Change Science for
Application (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 2012).
96. 1 A. Dearing et al., Safe and just operating spaces for regional
social - ecological systems. Glob. Environ. Change 28, 227 -238
(2014). doi: 10.101E /j.gloenvcha.2014.06.012
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank I Foley and N. Ramunkutty for contributions to the
land- system change boundary; A. Pastor for analytical work on the
PB for freshwater; B. Armstrong, C. Butler, T. McMichael, and
A. Woodward for contributions to the novel entities boundary; and
B. Scholes for comments on an earlier version of the manuscript.
Data associated with the paper are located at the Stockholm
Resilience Centre, Sweden (http:/ /www.stockholmresilience.org /
21/ research/ research- programmes /planetary- boundaries.html).
The planetary boundaries research at the Stockholm Resilience
Centre is made possible through a core grant from MISTRA
(Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research). S.E.C.
is supported by the Swedish Research Council, E.M.B. is supported
by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of
Canada and by the Trottier Institute for Science and Public Policy,
R . is supported by a Branco Weiss Fellowship, C.F. is supported
by the Family Erling Persson Academy Programme on Global
Economic Dynamics and the Biosphere, I.F. is supported by the
Stordalen Foundation (Norway), S.S. is supported by the
Riksbanken Jubileumsfond and the Institute for Advanced Study,
Princeton NJ, and S.R.C. and V.R. are supported by
the U.S. National Science Foundation.
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
www.sclencemag. org / content /347/6223/1259855/suppl/DCI
Methods
Figs. S1 to S10
Tables Sl to S3
References (97 -158)
11 August 2014; accepted 8 January 2015
Published online 15 January 2015;
10.1126/science.1259855
1259555 -10 13 FEBRUARY 2015 • VOL 347 ISSUE 6223 sciencemag.org SCIENCE
1111111111111111111111111 Planetary boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing
kallsiAm planet
Will Steffen et al.
Science 347, (2015),
AAA DOI- 10.1126 /science. 1259855
This copy is for your personal, non - commercial use only.
If you wish to distribute this article to others, you can order high - quality copies for your
colleagues, clients, or customers by clicking here.
Permission to republish or repurpose articles or portions of articles can be obtained by
following the guidelines here.
The following resources related to this article are available online at
www.sciencemag.org (this information is current as of February 23, 2015):
Updated information and services, including high - resolution figures, can be found in the online
version of this article at:
http:/ /wwwesciencemage org / contenU347 /6223/1259855.full.htmi
Supporting Online Material can be found at:
http:/ /wwwesciencemage org /content/suppi/ 2015 /01/14 /science. 1259855.DC1.html
A list of selected additional articles on the Science Web sites related to this article can be
found at:
http:/ /wwwesciencemage org / contenU347 /6223/1259855.full.html #related
This article cites 120 articles, 27 of which can be accessed free:
http:/ /wwwesciencemage org / contenU347 /6223/1259855.full.html #ref - list -1
Science (print ISSN 0036 -8075; online ISSN 1095 -9203) is published weekly, except the last week in December, by the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1200 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005. Copyright
2015 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science; all rights reserved. The title Science is a
registered trademark of AAAS.
Let's Get Every Kid in a Park
President Obama is committed to giving every kid the chance to explore America's great outdoors and
unique history. That's why today he launched the Every Kid in a Park initiative, which calls on each of
our agencies to help get all children to visit and enjoy the outdoors and inspire a new generation of
Americans to experience their country's unrivaled public lands and waters. Starting in September, every
fourth - grader in the nation will receive an "Every Kid in a Park" pass that's good for free admission to all
of America's federal lands and waters -- for them and their families -- for a full year.
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
February 19, 2015
As part of President Obama's commitment to protect our Nation's unique outdoor spaces and ensure that
every American has the opportunity to visit and enjoy them, today he will launch an "Every Kid in a
Park" initiative that will provide all fourth grade students and their families with free admission to
National Parks and other federal lands and waters for a full year. He will also announce the creation of
three new National Monuments across the country.
The President will make the announcements near the site of the historic Pullman town in Chicago, a
location iconic for its history of labor unrest and civil rights advances, which will be the City's first
National Park Service unit. He also will announce that he will designate Honouliuli National Monument
in Hawaii, the site of an internment camp where Japanese American citizens, resident immigrants, and
prisoners of war were held captive during World War II, and Browns Canyon National Monument in
Colorado, an historic site of extraordinary beauty with world -class recreational opportunities that attract
visitors from around the globe. Together, these monuments will help tell the story of significant events in
American history and protect unique natural resources for the benefit of all Americans.
Every Kid in a Park
In the lead up to the 100th birthday of the National Park Service in 2016, the President's Every Kid in a
Park initiative is a call to action to get all children to visit and enjoy America's unparalleled outdoors.
Today, more than 80 percent of American families live in urban areas, and many lack easy access to safe
outdoor spaces. At the same time, kids are spending more time than ever in front of screens instead of
outside. A 2010 Kaiser Family Foundation study found young people now devote an average of more
than seven hours a day to electronic media use, or about 53 hours a week — more than a full time job.
America's public lands and waters offer space to get outside and get active, and are living classrooms that
provide opportunities to build critical skills through hands -on activities. To inspire the next generation to
discover all that America's public lands and waters have to offer, the Obama Administration will provide
all 4th grade students and their families free admission to all National Parks and other federal lands and
waters for a full year, starting with the 2015 -2016 school year. The initiative will also:
• Make it easy for schools and families to plan trips: The Administration will distribute
information and resources to make it easy for teachers and families to identify nearby public
lands and waters and to find programs that support youth outings.
• Provide transportation support to schools with the most need: As an integral part of this effort,
the National Park Foundation (NPF) — the congressionally chartered foundation of the National
Park Service — is expanding and re- launching its Ticket to Ride program as Every Kid in a Park,
which will award transportation grants for kids to visit parks, public lands and waters, focusing
on schools that have the most need.
• Provide educational materials: The initiative will build on a wide range of educational programs
and tools that the federal land management agencies already use. For example, NPS has re-
launched a website with over 1,000 materials developed for K -12 teachers, including science
labs, lesson plans, and field trip guides. And a number of federal agencies, including the Bureau
of Land Management, Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, Department of Education, and NPS participate in Hands on the
Land, a national network of field classrooms and agency resources that connects students,
teachers, families, and volunteers with public lands and waterways.
To further support this effort, the President's 2016 Budget includes a total increased investment of $45
million for youth engagement programs throughout the Department of the Interior, with $20 million
specifically provided to the National Park Service for youth activities, including bringing 1 million
fourth -grade children from low - income areas to national parks. This increase will also fund dedicated
youth coordinators to help enrich children and family learning experiences at parks and online.
E "s are here iii^ t0 keep UP,
CHARGED
Your EV may not be so green - but then again, it may.
Posted December 17, 2014 by Charles Morris
Here we go again. A mainstream news source distills (some would say "distorts ") a complex
scientific study into a sensational headline, and the online echo chamber spins the story into a
narrative that's almost the opposite of what the study actually found.
The study, Life Cycle Air Quality Impacts of Conventional and Alternative Light -Duty
Transportation in the United States, conducted by the University of Minnesota, examined the air
pollution impact for different types of vehicle powertrains, including gas, diesel, CNG, ethanol,
hybrid and EV.
Under the headline "Your all- electric car may not be so green," the AP made much of one of the
study's findings — that an EV powered by dirty energy sources causes substantially more air
pollution than does a legacy gas vehicle.
Here's what the study says: "We find that powering vehicles with corn ethanol or with coal -
based or `grid average' electricity increases monetized environmental health impacts by 8o% or
more relative to using conventional gasoline. Conversely, EVs powered by low- emitting
electricity from natural gas, wind, water, or solar power reduce environmental health impacts by
50% or more. Consideration of potential climate change impacts alongside the human health
outcomes described here further reinforces the environmental preferability of EVs powered by
low- emitting electricity relative to gasoline vehicles."
The AP article (which does not actually quote from the study) focuses on the first sentence above
(EVs bad), briefly summarizing the next two sentences (EVs good) at the end of the piece.
Several EV writers, including John Voelcker and Nikki Gordon - Bloomfield, have already written
detailed rebuttals of the AP article. Those few who read the study itself will find that it is far
from an indictment of EVs. Rather, its conclusions serve as a call to continue the trend toward
cleaner sources of electricity.
"Our assessment... of 10 alternatives to conventional gasoline vehicles finds that EVs powered by
electricity from natural gas or wind, water, or solar power are best for improving air quality,
whereas vehicles powered by corn ethanol and EVs powered by coal are the worst," wrote co-
authors Christopher W. Tessum, Jason D. Hill and Julian D. Marshall. "Our findings thus
reinforce the benefit of pairing EVs with clean electricity."
While many eagerly seized on the AP's headline as the complete story (and some didn't even
trouble to include the word "may "), some at the other end of the spectrum will be reluctant to
accept even the assertion that a coal -fired vehicle is dirtier than a gas guzzler. The study does
leave unanswered several questions that bear on this point, including:
The findings seem to contradict an April 2012 study by the Union of Concerned
Scientists, which found that "even when charging an EV with electricity made only from
coal, the dirtiest electricity source, the EV has better emissions than the average new
compact gasoline vehicle." The two studies may not be using the same sets of figures —
the authors of the new study don't specify exactly what they mean by a "gasoline
vehicle." Prius, Hummer, or something in between?
A coal - powered EV may be a dirty beast, but how many such vehicles are out there? The
states with the largest proportion of coal - generated juice (Illinois, Ohio, North Dakota,
West Virginia, and Wyoming) have few EVs. California, home to almost half of the
nation's pure EVs, gets almost all of its electricity from natural gas, nuclear and
renewables. Instead of comparing an ICE vehicle to a hypothetical coal - mobile, would it
be more relevant to compare it to the average EV actually on the road today?
Sources: AP, Green Car Reports, Transport Evolved, National Academy of Sciences, Energy Information
Administration, Union of Concerned Scientists; Images courtesy of Arnold de Leon /Flickr