[GWSG] IL RECs; Greenland melt; German wind; water supply; pop. map; climate risk map; efficient cars; Optical Furnace cells

[Tilley, Al]

1.  Oak Park, IL, has just struck a two-year deal to buy their electricity through Renewable Energy Certificates and save several million dollars in the process.  Thanks for Jack Bizot for the story.  http://www.oakpark.com/News/Articles/10-18-2011/Oak_Park_seals_green_deal_on_electric

2.  In spite of a shorter melting season, the mass loss of the Greenland ice sheet was near record levels this year.  This report sketches the feedback mechanisms which drive the melting.  http://greenland2011.cryocity.org/

3.  Howard Denson sends this story of Germany’s ambitious offshore wind plans, and of the duties of the people who tend the turbines.  http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,792918,00.html

4.  Robert Glennon of Arizona State suggests water reuse, conservation, and higher water costs as ways to handle a water supply diminished by climate change.  (Cisterns might help, too.)  http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/27/us-climate-water-idUSTRE79Q07N20111027  In Pakistan covered ponds are being used to supplement wells and cisterns as water supplies diminish.  http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/pakistan-tackles-water-crisis-with-rainwater-harvesting  In the past century water use has been rising twice as fast as population.  http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/25/us-population-water-idUSTRE79O3WO20111025?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

5.    The Guardian has provided a map of where population will be added by country in 2100.  Africa immediately stands out.  http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/datablog/interactive/2011/oct/26/un-world-population-growth

6.  The Climate Change Vulnerability Index provides a climate risk map and a list of particularly threatened cities.  http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/26/world/europe/cities-climate-threat-report/  Megacities were most at risk, with Dhaka, Bangladesh, most endangered.  Miami was among the high risk cities.  http://www.news24.com/SciTech/News/Megacities-top-climate-change-risk-20111026

7.  The Guardian supplies the top ten most efficient autos, some not available until next year.  http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/gallery/2011/oct/26/top-10-green-cars-in-pictures#/?picture=380947193&index=0

8.  The point at which the utility-scale production of solar power falls to $1 per watt used to be projected for the beginning of 2013.  The Optical Cavity Furnace, which reduces the cost of producing solar cells by 75%, could bring it closer.  http://scienceprogress.org/2011/10/new-solar-technology-you-never-heard-of/
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