[GWSG] Small stimulus so far; EPA: biomass?; DEVap ac; oceans approach tipping; CO2 2.7 mya; rains to advance

[Tilley, Al]

1.  Little of the stimulus bill’s $747 billion has gone to support clean energy, though substantial money remains to be allocated as grants and loan guarantees. http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2010/06/stimulus-bill-funds-still-not-reaching-cleantech?cmpid=WNL-Friday-June18-2010

2.   The EPA is deciding whether to include biomass power generation as renewable (and is likely not to include it).  Some studies conclude that biomass power generation is likely to result in destruction of forests, and that claims of carbon neutrality ignore the generation of particulate matter from combustion.  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/19/science/earth/19biomass.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

3.  DEVap air conditioning, developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, cuts up to 90% of ac energy consumption by combining evaporative cooling with removing moisture through desiccants. http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/25623/

4.    A joint US-Australian study published in Science confirms that the world’s oceans are suffering irreversible damage from heat and acidification, threatening to reach a tipping point beyond which lies a great extinction event.  http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65H0LI20100618?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29  An abstract of the article:  http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/328/5985/1523  The article is part of a special section, The Changing Oceans.  An Introduction to the section:  http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/328/5985/1497

5.  An article in Science describes a CO2-linked global pattern of climate change which stretches back for 2.7 million years.  Thanks to Tom Larson for the item.  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science_and_environment/10342318.stm

6.  A British study indicates that precipitation patterns would not react to a drop in CO2 levels for several decades.  The heated oceans would continue to release more moisture to the atmosphere in that time.  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science_and_environment/10335587.stm