[GWSG] The Oyster; CO2 graphic; wetlands; slr will vary; 2030 damage; Cancun talks; OR to lose coal; feeding Africa; acid oceans

[Tilley, Al]

1.  The Oyster is a Swiss-Swedish wave power machine which has just been capitalized for a second, commercial version.  A buoyant flap anchored offshore at a depth of 10 meters, it uses wave motion to drive an on-shore generator with water pressure.  The Oyster 2 provides 800 kw of power (a cluster of three power one 2.5 mw generator) and is designed to be deployed in farms producing 100 mw or more.   http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2010/11/abb-backs-oyster-wave-machine?cmpid=WNL-Wednesday-December1-2010  More on the Oyster: http://www.aquamarinepower.com/

2.  This interactive graphic from the Washington Post allows you to watch the change in carbon emissions by the G-20 countries from 1950-2007.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/climate-change/global-emissions.html?sid=ST2010112905586

3.  An article in Geophysical Research Letters examines the conditions under which wetlands could adapt to at least slow sea level rise.  One factor is sedimentation, which allows a wetland to add elevation.  The report seems not to address the conditons under which new wetlands could form in once dry areas.    http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/10120214-many-coastal-wetlands-likely-disappear-this-century.html

4.  Gravity, winds, and other factors will mean an uneven distribution of sea level rise.  The topic will have a chapter in the next IPCC report.  http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,732303,00.html

5.  A report presented to the UN talks at Cancun estimates that in twenty years, by 2030, unmitigated climate change will cause a million deaths a year (up from the current 350,000) and impoverish the earth by $275 billion a year in damages (up from the current $130 billion).  http://blogs.forbes.com/eco-nomics/2010/12/03/5-million-deaths-from-climate-change-pedicted-by-2020/?boxes=techchanneltopstories

6.  The UN talks at Cancun continue next week.  Here’s a report on the (lack of) progress so far.  http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/dec/03/cancun-climate-change-conference-roundup

7.  Oregon’s last coal power plant will close in 2020.  The stated reason is the cost of environmental controls.  The closing is in response to a suit by the Sierra Club and others.    http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2010/12/oregon_regulators_recommended.html

8.  A new book from Harvard’s Calestous Juma describes how Africa could feed itself within a generation.  From the last chapter: "The ability to adapt to climate change will possibly be the greatest test of our capacity for social learning." http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-africa-food-20101202,0,976200.story

9.  A UN report calls ocean acidification a threat to the world’s food security.  The ocean’s pH has fallen 30% since pre-industrial level in the most rapid change in ocean chemistry for the past 65 million years.  http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE6B16MD20101202