黃天福特聘研究員兼副主任（環境變遷研究中心）

　　While there have been fluctuations in the concentration of atmospheric CO₂ through out geologic time, its rate of increase since the advent of the industrial revolution in about 1750 has been much accelerated. Thus, in the pre-industrial time between 1000 and 1750, the concentration of atmospheric CO₂ varied only within a narrow range of 275 to 285 ppm, and without a definitive systematic increasing trend. In the next 200 years, it increased steadily by some 50 ppm, or at a rate of about 0.25 ppm/year. In the recent years, between 1995 and 2005, that rate of increase has accelerated dramatically to 1.9 ppm/year, or about eight fold of that in those previous 200 years (Forster et al., 2007).

陳章波研究員（生物多樣性研究中心）

　　進了中研院大門，第一個左轉，農科大樓壓迫而來，幸好建築物北側的一排樟樹，柔和了建築物剛強的面貌。幾年前，這裡還是大家黃昏打排球、放鬆身心的好地方，也是紫嘯鶇冬季撫育下一代的好地方。
　　在規劃設計大樓的初期，有考慮周邊大樹的去留，調查、標記了可以原地保留的或需要移植的大樹。不幸其中的一株要原地保留的大樟樹，因為建築設計時設想不夠周密，又在施工時未有妥善移樹計劃下就被移植了，而今它已在死亡邊緣。近日施工單位終於同意以二十幾萬的代價賠償了這一棵樹的命，設計單位也被計一點之處罰，專案管理單位也為督導管理不周道歉。這是一個新的典範，誰對周邊生命漠視，做錯了，就要受到懲罰。