[GWSG] More ice?; cold air; pressed air; CO2 from air; pv from grocieries; permit costs; utilities as papers; US isolated?

[Tilley, Al]

1.  A study modeling Arctic sea ice at the Max Planck Institute indicates that an irreversible loss of sea ice in the region is unlikely this century.  http://www.nature.com/nclimate/2011/110301/full/nclimate1053.html

2.  An energy storage system using liquid air is being piloted by a British energy company.  The recovery efficiency is 50-70%.  http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20928014.800-power-of-cool-liquid-air-to-store-clean-energy.html

3.  Researchers in Sweden say that storing brake energy as compressed air is cheaper for a hybrid auto than storing it in a battery.  http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/mar/02/air-hybrid-cars-electric-cheaper

4.  Georgia Tech’s Christopher Jones and his team are working on a process using amines to capture CO2 from ambient air.  http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/onepercent/2011/02/green-machine-sucking-co2-out.html

5.  England’s third largest supermarket chain is selling 2.1 kilowatt solar power systems for around $16,000, installed.  http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110302/lf_nm_life/us_sainsburys_solar

6.  Germany’s solar installation costs are significantly lower than in the US.  One factor is standardized permitting.  Local permitting difficulties can add $2,500 to the cost of a 5 kilowatt US home installation.   http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/sunrun/

7.  An investment counselor’s look at utilities in the context of growth in distributed solar power raises interesting possibilities and issues.  Utilities are in somewhat the position of newspapers a few years ago when the internet blossomed: increasing debt, decreasing market.  They have options, though, that the papers do not.  http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2011/02/will-distributed-solar-drive-utilities-into-bankruptcy?cmpid=WNL-Wednesday-March2-2011

8.  Given the climate cranks, crooks, and ideologues now controlling US legislation, the country may well find itself in quarantine from negotiations on climate.  US climate scientists, and their contributions to our awareness, will suffer from lack of support by their government.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/richardblack/2011/02/us_climate_cuts_threaten_isolation.html
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