[GWSG] Peaked oiil; SOTU; 7 desert gigs; cs with storage; Buffet invests; ageing wheat; a future worth choosing; Hansen on cowards

[Tilley, Al]

1.  An article in Nature concluded that easily extracted oil peaked globally in 2005.  Oil is destined to be ever more expensive and ever dirtier as we burn less desirable stocks, such as tar sands oil.  The less we burn the better, and the quicker the transition to renewable energy sources.   http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=has-peak-oil-already-happened

2.  In his State of the Union Address President Obama proposed to broaden production of oil and natural gas.  Of course we need much less of both.  It occurs to me that he is attempting to ease the distress caused by increasing fuel costs as he works through the military and through federal sources open to him to develop renewable resources.  http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Obama-turns-attention-to-energy-in-key-states-2716051.php

3.  The Department of Defense estimates that it could put 7 gigawatts of solar power on its bases in CA and NV alone without compromising military or environmental needs and without paying up front.  http://www.cleanenergyauthority.com/solar-energy-news/dod-could-put-7000-mw-of-solar-on-bases-013012/

4.  BrightSource has announced installation of thermal storage in three of its concentrating solar plants in California.  It will be the world’s largest storage project and allow enough increased efficiency to meet output projections while scrapping plans for a plant.  The process uses half the land of photovoltaic power plants.  http://scienceprogress.org/2012/01/super-hot-salt-a-super-cool-solar-technology-innovation/

5.  Warren Buffet’s MidAmerican Energy Holdings has created a new structure to manage an impressive array of renewable energy resources.  http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2012/01/30/4

6.  Increasing heat can diminish wheat crops 20% by aging the plant prematurely, according to a new study led by Stanford U.  http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/29/us-climate-crops-idUSTRE80S0JG20120129

7.  A UN report from the High Level Panel on Global Sustainability calls for an indication of economic health which shifts from GDP to a measure of the sustainability of an economy.  Other tools under development would remove environmentally damaging subsidies, regulate investments to render their results sustainable, provide affordable renewable energy, and establish a common network to support health and education.  The report will feed into the Rio+20 Summit in June.   It intends to map “a future worth choosing.” http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16775264

8.  In Part 2 of “Cowards in Our Democracies” James Hansen sketches our fossil fuel situation in 2 pages, says why he is not a Democrat, anticipates wrestling Al Gore on a ship bound for the Antarctic, analyzes the smear tactics of fossil fuel strategists, says how he came by an undeclared Rolex and what he plans to do with it, and suggests that among the inheritors of wealth may be “dimwitted galoots.”  http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/2012/20120130_CowardsPart2.pdf  If you are interested in Part 1, it’s linked on his home page.  http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/
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