[GWSG] DOT, not FDOT; smart grid pilot; archaea; Chinese FiT; MIT upside down tower; WAIS instability, to music

[Tilley, Al]

1.  On July 3 I reported that the Department of Transportation “now requires that climate change mitigation and adaptation be integrated into transportation planning.”  Thanks to Lad Hawkins for forwarding the DOT’s June 2011 “Policy Statement on Climate Change Adaptation,”  which requires such planning of “DOT modal administration,” but only “encourages state, regional, and local transportation agencies to consider climate change impacts in their decision making, as well.”  Lad remarks that this is curious since states use a lot of federal money for highways.

2.  A pilot program in Houston using new grid technology and smart meters with displays in people homes led 71% of the participants to practice greater energy economy.  97% say they will continue to use it. http://www.energy.gov/news/10444.htm

3.   Archaea, an oceanic single celled microbe which was identified only in 1992 and is the most abundant organism on the planet, could account for a significant part of the oceans’ nitrous oxide production.  N₂0 is a potent greenhouse gas.  http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/333033/title/Marine_microbes_prove_potent_greenhouse_gas_emitters

4.  China has adopted a national feed-in tariff for solar energy.  It is initially set to buy energy at $.18/kWh and will go down a bit for projects approved after next July.  http://www.environmental-finance.com/news/view/1895

5.  MIT has developed a new design for concentrating solar power with molten salt storage.  Instead of putting the focal point at the top of a tower, it is near the ground, greatly reducing the costs for plumbing and equipment.  The best case cost for such power is $.07/kWh.  http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/03/idUS411434760020110803

6.  A Nature article warns of the instability of the West Antarctic ice sheets.  http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/v4/n8/abs/ngeo1194.html?lang=en?WT.ec_id=NGEO-201108   More details, and a recording of Richard Alley singing about the WAI:  http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2011/08/antarctic-ice-and-future-sea-level-rise-big-questions.ars
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