[GWSG] Biodiversity slides; EU on biofuels; gas money; 95% clean; RavenBrick; new polls; biggest CS at 100 mw; snakes decline

[Tilley, Al]

1.  Thomas Lovejoy reflects on the third Global Diversity Outlook.  We are not meeting our targets.  We need to include externalities in our economic calculations, and perhaps we need an intergovernmental panel on biodiversity.   http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/02/opinion/02iht-edlovejoy.html

2.    The European Union is set to announce a certification program for biofuels.  It will address carbon footprint, including land use considerations, and collateral impact on such areas as food production.  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/08/business/global/08biofuels.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

3.  According to the International Energy Agency, 29% of the cost of fossil fuels is paid indirectly by government subsidies of the industries.  The G20 nations have pledged to end such subsidies, and the IEA’s chief economist calls it the most significant single policy item in mitigating emissions.  http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?sid=auQsooe_4Lco&pid=20601087

4.  Greenpeace and the European Renewable Energy Council have revised an unusually detailed plan to derive 95% of the world’s energy from renewable sources by 2050.  Costs would be apportioned by a country’s greenhouse gas emissions history and by its ability to pay.  http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6561GK20100607?type=domesticNews&feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews   A link to the third edition of the free report, energy (r)evolution—a sustainable world energy outlook:  http://www.energyblueprint.info/  Earlier editions did not include the 95% renewable power scenario (rendered necessary by current estimates of climate sensitivity) and had less information on financial and employment expectations.  260 pages, but a heartening study to skim.  Necessary policy changes are summarized on p. 12; the first is cessation of subsidies for fossil fuels.  The table on the following page acts as a general summary.

5.  RavenBrick is testing a new window film which darkens as the outside heat goes up, providing more heat from the sun in the winter and less in the summer.  It can cut building energy usage by up to 40% (or so it says—perhaps it means the HVAC bills for glass wall buildings).  http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/08/a-new-twist-on-the-smart-window/?ref=energy-environment

6.  A Stanford poll finds that large and persistent majorities of the American and British public are aware that global warming is occurring and want something done about it.  The article calls into question recent polls which indicate that propaganda on the hacked emails and the alleged IPCC faults has had an impact on public opinion.    http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/09/opinion/09krosnick.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y  A Yale and George Mason poll found closely similar support for action, about 77%.  http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65765U20100608?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

7.  Spain’s Abengoa Solar is constructing a 100 megawatt hybrid natural gas/concentrating solar power plant in Abu Dhabi.  Shams 1 will be the world’s largest concentrating solar installation.  http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100609/wl_mideast_afp/francespainuaealternativesolarcompanytotalabengoa

8.  The first major study of world snake populations finds them in an alarming decline.  http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jun/09/scientists-alarm-snakes