[GWSG] More Arctic C; Doha bust; coral in danger; solar figures; good grid; sewer heat; IPCC misses; aliens & cc; 17% by2020

[Tilley, Al]

1.  A new report indicates that Arctic permafrost holds more carbon than we had supposed.  It also appears to be more readily released.  http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/12/ticking-arctic-carbon-bomb-may-b.html

2.  The Doha conference produced no major agreements.  http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/09/us-climate-talks-process-idUSBRE8B808N20121209

3.  The US is moving to list 66 species of coral as endangered.   http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-1201-endangered-corals-20121201,0,6170665.story

4.  “The State of the Industry: 2013” on page 6 in Solar Today provides such info as the average cost of installed pv in the US after incentives ($3/watt) and comparative figures for non-renewable energy sources.   http://www.omagdigital.com/publication/?i=136002&page=1

5.  A U of Delaware study of power use history in a grid representing 1/5 of the US energy supply finds that a combination of solar and wind power, with power storage through batteries and fuel cells, could supply power at today’s levels and today’s prices 99.9% of the time.  http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112746128/wind-solar-cost-effective-energy-121112/

6.  Sewage is about 60° F (because it contains a lot of heated water from showers, dishwashers, and such).  That can be used to heat incoming water in the winter and cool buildings in the summer.  The energy savings are significant.  http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2012/12/121211-sewage-heat-recovery/

7.  The IPCC has underestimated emissions growth, Arctic melting, sea level rise, and global heat increases.  It has ignored melting permafrost and tipping points.  A Climate Central article summarizes the failures and provides explanations.  http://www.climatecentral.org/news/ipcc-predictions-then-versus-now-15340?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+climatecentral%2FdjOO+Climate+Central+-+Full+Feed

8.  The odds that you know someone who believes that aliens walk among us are 20 times your chances of finding a climate scientist who does not consider that humans are altering the climate.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/neil-wagner/climate-change-consensus-_b_2273715.html

9.   Even without congressional action the Obama administration has a good chance of meeting or even exceeding the Copenhagen target of a 17% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 (on a 2005 base).  After that a carbon tax is our best bet for a speedy transition to a renewable energy base.  http://e360.yale.edu/feature/without_congress_theres_still_a_path_to_us_progress_on_climate/2600/
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