[GWSG] SLR in FL; biogas in Kristianstad; cigua increase; Cancun optimism; biofuel emissions; CA cap & trade; 20 new mw of solar

[Tilley, Al]

1.  The Florida Oceans and Coastal Council was established by the FL legislature in 2005.  http://www.dep.state.fl.us/oceanscouncil/  They have released a draft of their report, Sea Level Rise in Florida.  It sketches the state impact and likely scale of sea level rise in this century.  The report is cautious and conservative, but not irresponsibly so.  In addition to sketching the impact of sea level rise, it lists the efforts completed and underway to deal with the effects of climate change in the state.  Six regional councils from Miami up to Tampa have already undertaken vulnerability studies, and the rest will be required to for the next round of State Evaluation and Appraisal reports.  The NE Florida workshop on the report is scheduled for November 2012.  Thanks to Tom Larson for putting me on to this.   http://www.dep.state.fl.us/oceanscouncil/meetings/files/2010/12-13/SLR_1214.pdf

2.  Kristianstad, Sweden, uses no fossil fuels to heat homes or businesses in this town of 80,000.  It uses biogas from a variety of local sources.  The town is looking to develop more remote supplies to allow it to run transportation as well.  Thanks to Ed Brock and Brian Paradise for forwarding the story. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/11/science/earth/11fossil.html?src=me&ref=gen

3.   Increasing water temperature seems to be increasing poisoning by cigua toxins, ingested by fish and then by those who eat them.  http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-12-poisonous-toxins-caribbean-fish-due.html

4.  A major effect of the Cancun conference was to impart to the gathered representatives a feeling that many nations are embarked on programs leading to a low-carbon world.  http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19861-cancun-analysis-dawn-breaks-on-lowcarbon-world.html?full=true

5.  The greenhouse gas emissions of some biofuels may have been underestimated by 30% or more because calculations failed to provide for the production of methane and carbon monoxide in the combustion process.  http://www.nature.com/nclimate/2010/101214/full/nclimate1024.html

6.  California has adopted the toughest greenhouse gas emissions controls in the US.  The cap and trade system goes into effect in 2012 and will reduce that year’s emissions 15% by 2020.  The emissions allowances are set to decline by 3% a year for the last two years of the program.  8% of a polluter’s emissions may be negated by offsets.  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/17/science/earth/17cap.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail0=y  The target amounts to achieving 1990 emissions levels by 2020.  Governor Schwarzenegger said that since about 2006 green jobs have grown 10 times as fast as in other sectors of the state’s economy.   http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12016137

7.  The Department of the Interior has drafted an environmental impact statement which would open 24 areas of public land in 6 states to the development of solar energy.  http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6BF5MO20101216?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29