Plainly, Asia and the rest of the world could be facing a major struggle to ensure that the impoverished of Planet Earth wouldn't be written off by a group of American experts, no matter how brilliant and well-meaning they may be.
But part of the problem with the definition - I mean, as an example - is that if you look at Mars - if Mars - if we discovered a Mars-sized object out beyond the orbit of Pluto, it couldn't be a planet, because over the age of the solar system it wouldn't have time to clear its orbit.
But first, we haven't heard the last about the ignominious vote last month to strip Pluto of its place in our solar system - kicked out of the planetary lineup by a group of astronomers because it doesn't fit the new definition of what a planet is.
Yet one can't help but think that if the millions spent on such meetings were available to microcapitalists of the sort that Hernando de Soto of Peru tries to vest with private-property rights in struggling parts of the planet, we wouldn't have call for many more Sustainable Development summits.
But here it was, the early creep of 2013, and the planet now discussing an old tattoo of a football coach whose team wasn't in the playoffs.
We really don't know what sort of composition a planet the size of Kepler-22b would have.
Because investor dollars now roam the planet at the speed of light, central bankers can't fool around with money supplies the way they used to.
"To have 100 billion cars on the planet that aren't being used is a total waste of materials, gas, petrol, metals, " Frigstad explained.
But that doesn't mean the whole planet is open to the kind of reporting we do.
Officials in developing nations can't agree about which types of save-the-planet projects deserve the required un stamp of approval.
Scientists said they launched the satellite from midair to save money, compared with an expendable rocket launched from the ground, because it doesn't take as much fuel to break free of the planet's gravity.
Chiang Mai lets down its hippie hair at this market with lots of ethnic chic accessories, undyed cotton T-shirts and "save the planet" canvas tote bags.
Well, now another group of astronomers, many of whom are in favor of keeping Pluto a planet, is challenging that new definition, saying it doesn't set clear criteria for what makes a planet.
"When you've got a planet that's nearest warmest levels on record, that doesn't mean every part of the world is going to be the warmest ever, " said Jeff Masters, director of meteorology for Weather Underground.
CNN: Extreme weather: Get ready to see more of it, scientists say
Biodiversity, coral reefs, wetlands and trash-free seas aren't just terms on a page they are environmental imperatives that dictate the future of the planet.
At this moment I wasn't just looking down at the Earth but I was looking at a planet hanging in the blackness of space.
"What it shows isn't surprising, but it obviously has very important implications for the future well-being of the planet, " Allan told CNN.
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