The transmitter and receivers Energous brings to my office can send power to two devices that require less than 10 watts of power at a distance of up to 15 feet; eventually, Energous says, it will be able to charge more gadgets at a time.
This debate about whether there will be 1 or 2 meters of sea level rise by 2100, however, pales in comparison to the numbers for the long-term outlook. The last time the planet was steadily 2 degrees C warmer than pre-industrial times, some 120,000 years ago, sea levels were 5 to 10 meters higher than today.
Scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute estimate that sea levels around the islands are rising at a rate of about three-quarters of an inch annually, and that the islands will be underwater in the next 20 to 30 years.f carbon emissions continue unchecked, a recent survey of experts concluded, sea levels may rise about three feet by 2100. That could inundate most of Kiribati by the end of the century, and the islands, home to some 100,000 people, are already feeling the impact.