[GWSG] Hurricanes; law no recourse; CA forests sink no more; Platinum development; g.w. & security; China ready now; new CA RPS

[Tilley, Al]

1.  Kerry Emanuel summarizes the state of opinion on hurricanes for e360.  As sea surface temperatures rise, we may expect fewer hurricanes overall but more big storms.  That is bad news for coastal areas, and then bad news for everyone as the financial hit for expensive coastal homes is spread inland.  http://e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2318

2.  The administration has taken the side of the utilities in a suit brought by 8 states to limit greenhouse gas emission from plants across the South and Midwest.  The administration contends that the states do not have standing, and that emissions control is the proper concern of legislation and regulation, not litigation.  http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-climate-obama-20100919,0,121971.story

3.  Weakened by climate change, Canada’s forests have become a net source of carbon, no longer a sink, and are expected to continue that way for at least another decade.  http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-canada-trees_wittjan02,0,539661.story?goback=%2Egde_141485_member_30015480

4.  A subdivision of 32 LEED Platinum homes (if so certified) in Jerseyville, Illinois, is under construction for families earning under $41,000 a year.  http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2010/09/wind-and-solar-energy-low-income-housing-affordable-renewable-energy?cmpid=WNL-Wednesday-September22-2010  They broke ground Sept. 11.  The name is the Lexington Farms Subdivision, developed by Capstone of St. Louis.  http://www.capstonedev.net/  The homes will be rental units.  This intends to be the first Platinum level project at this scale and income level.   http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/illinois/article_688f3271-9db9-5bb5-9def-5de26a23934c.html

5.  American security experts testified to Congress that the looming threats to our security are not from kinetics—guns, planes, tanks—but from the “creeping vulnerabilities” generated by climate change.  http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE68L5NR20100922?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29  6.

6.  China has called for a binding climate treaty at the talks in South Africa in November 2011.  Their reluctance to enter into a binding agreement has been a roadblock to action.  http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE68N19220100924

7.  California has raised its renewable portfolio energy standard for utilities to 33% by 2020.  http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/09/24/24greenwire-calif-raises-renewable-portfolio-standard-to-3-24989.html?partner=rss&emc=rss  The new standards also set regional targets on time scales up to 2035.  The regulations follow a failure of the legislature to come to agreement on an RPS.  http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/24/MNJD1FIMTQ.DTL