[GWSG] GW history; CO2 & ice; passiv; CO2 up; $4 b. retrofit; hotter, drier, & hungrier; hotter poles; clueless talks; <$1/watt

[Tilley, Al]

1.  Reuters supplies a thumbnail sketch of the developing knowledge of global warming. http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/12/01/us-climate-history-idUKTRE7B02DA20111201  For the full story, see Spencer Weart’s The Discovery of Global Warming, Revised and Expanded Edition (Harvard UP, 2008).

2.  An article in Science reports that the Antarctic ice sheet formed 33 million years ago when atmospheric CO2 dropped 40%.  The upper limit for ice sheet formation is 600 ppm of CO2.  (350 ppm is the best current figure for preserving what we have; the present level is 397 ppm.) http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112433569/decrease-in-co2-levels-linked-to-polar-ice-sheet-formation/index.html

3.   Passive house construction techniques, developed in Germany, add about 10% to construction costs but mean small or no utility costs.  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/realestate/zero-energy-construction-crosses-the-ocean.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

4.  Global CO2 emissions rose 5.9% in 2010 as total emissions increased at a record level, and have risen 49% since 1990 when the Kyoto Protocol went into effect.  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111204144648.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Ftop_news%2Ftop_environment+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Top+News+--+Top+Environment%29

5.  President Obama and former President Clinton jointly announced a $4 billion program to support energy efficiency renovations in an array of government and industrial buildings.  Thanks to Brian Paradise for the topic.  http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/12/02/we-cant-wait-president-obama-announces-nearly-4-billion-investment-energ

6.  Evidence is gathering that we are becoming a hotter, drier planet, one less hospitable to agriculture.  http://wwwp.dailyclimate.org/tdc-newsroom/2011/12/climate-drought

7.  Arctic heating has been double that of the global average.  “Record-setting changes” in the Arctic may already be having effects elsewhere, making it easier for arctic winds to reach further south in the winter.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/unusual-winter-weather-may-be-connected-to-rapid-arctic-climate-change-report-warns/2011/12/04/gIQAUdQYUO_blog.html

8.  The Scientific American observes that climate negotiations have not kept pace with what we are learning about the changing climate.  http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=climate-negotiations-fail  The Durban talks appear to lack the urgency appropriate to our situation.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16080539

9.  A study at Queen’s University finds that the cost of solar power is often overestimated.  Prices have fallen.  The newer panels lost only .1-.2% of their capacity yearly, instead of the 1% usually assumed.  The bulk price for solar panels in the world market is now under $1 a watt.  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111207132916.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29
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