[GWSG] Freed wind; trikes; fee and dividend; Doha success; hotter & wetter; 2030; 333 mos.; Arctic weather; MN solar

[Tilley, Al]

1.  The American Wind Energy Association has suggested to congress that their production tax credit be phased out over the next 5 years.  By that time they anticipate that the industry will be independently viable and require no further direct subsidies.  http://www.awea.org/issues/federal_policy/upload/AWEA-PTC-Letter-to-Committee-Leadership.pdf

2.  100,000 covered electric tricycles are being manufactured for urban use in the Philippines.   They cost about $1.20 a day to run, less than half the fuel costs of their gasoline counterparts.  http://www.iol.co.za/scitech/science/environment/philippines-gives-green-light-to-electric-tricycles-1.1439939#.UMm6tZPjk7V

3.  Jim Hansen, a life-long conservative, argues that an escalating fee on carbon, collected at the point of origin and returned to the general population per capita as a dividend, with no money returning to the government or to corporations, is the best way to keep fossil fuels in the ground.  http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/2012/20121213_StormsOfOpa.pdf  A recent article supports Hansen’s general position by observing that capping emissions can hamper innovations in energy use efficiency.  http://www.sciencemag.org/content/338/6113/1398.2.short

4.  While the Doha conference produced no major agreements, it did accomplish what it set out to do.  For example, the distinction between developing and developed nations no longer controls negotiations.  http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/dec/14/doha-climate-conference-success

5.  A study by the U of Tennessee indicates that by mid-century the eastern US will be hotter and 35% wetter.  http://www.utk.edu/tntoday/2012/12/17/ut-study-predicts-extreme-climate-eastern/

6.  The National Intelligence Council has released “Global Trends 2030.”  Climate change is likely to drive increasing migrations, further constrain natural resources, and exacerbate international tensions in the near future.  http://www.scribd.com/doc/115962650/Global-Trends-2030-Alternative-Worlds

7.  November was the 333rd straight month with global temperatures above the 20th Century average.  http://www.climatecentral.org/news/november-was-333rd-straight-month-with-above-average-temps-15361?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+climatecentral%2FdjOO+Climate+Central+-+Full+Feed

8.  Arctic storms should move north as the climate warms.  That would have the effect of slowing the thermohaline circulation.  http://www.climatecentral.org/news/arctic-storms-the-climate-danger-nobodys-talking-about-15363?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+climatecentral%2FdjOO+Climate+Central+-+Full+Feed  The thermohaline circulation influences the health of the oceans generally and plays a role in global climate.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermohaline_circulation

9.  Community solar projects allow individuals to invest in a solar farm and profit from the sale of energy to a utility.  If their investment returns the amount of power they use, they are at net zero energy use.  The investment also makes financial sense—even in a low solar resource state such as Minnesota.  You might think of it as a long term bond.  http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2012/12/minnesotas-first-community-solar-project-doubles-down-on-local?cmpid=WNL-Wednesday-December19-2012
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