[GWSG] Wildlife adaptation plan; cleaner cement; Beaufort Gyre; NASA on warming; cool roofs plan; wind lens; corporate adapatation plans

[Tilley, Al]

1.  A US National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy has been released for public comment.  The strategy adopts 7 goals (see the fact sheet).  One plan among many is to pay farmers on the Great Plains to take land out of production in order to restore prairies as a habitat for stressed species.  Another is to provide “well-connected networks of conservation areas to allow for the movement of species in response to climate change,” a project already well underway (page 54).    http://www.wildlifeadaptationstrategy.gov/

2.  Alkali-activated cement cuts carbon emissions by 95% and was used to build the pyramids.  Two scientists from Drexel University believe they have produced a commercially viable version.  Cement production is thought to contribute 5% of carbon emissions.  http://wwwp.dailyclimate.org/tdc-newsroom/2012/01/green-cement

3.  The Beaufort Gyre in the Arctic Ocean has accumulated 10% of the fresh water in the Arctic Ocean, fed largely by Siberian rivers.  An article in Nature Geoscience anticipates that a reversal of wind could release this water into general circulation, slowing the Gulf Stream.  http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/22/us-climate-arctic-pool-idUSTRE80L0MD20120122  More detail, including a 4 minute interview with one of the scientists on the project:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16657122  The effects of a major slowdown or cessation of the stream would reach far beyond the cooling of Europe mentioned in the news items (though the release of the Gyre’s water is not said necessarily to trigger a large change in the stream).  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shutdown_of_thermohaline_circulation  The most extreme result would be an oceanic anoxic event, now thought to have generated most of the world’s oil deposits as a byproduct of mass extinctions.  This is a test of your taste for irony.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceanic_anoxic_event

4.  Deirdre Irwin sends this link to a NASA summary, including animation, of global warming since 1884.  http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2011-temps.html

5.  The Global Cool Cities Alliance offers a cool roofs and pavements tool kit.  A cool roof can make a 15% difference in an electric bill for air conditioning by significantly reducing energy usage and therefore, until we achieve a transition to renewable energy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  Imagine the public education impact of a growing number of white roofs.  The tool kit outlines a campaign plan.  Thanks to Tom Larson for the link.  http://coolrooftoolkit.org/

6.  Scientists at Kyushu University have developed a wind lens, a circular rim for a wind turbine which greatly improves its efficiency.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_lens

7.  Corporate climate change adaptation plans include hardening utilities against sea level rise, preparing for changes in agriculture, and withdrawing insurance risk from coastal areas.  http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2012/01/23/coming-shift-climate-preparedness?utm_source=GreenBuzz&utm_campaign=3407947bc1-GreenBuzz-2012-01-24&utm_medium=email
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