[GWSG] Arctic drills; Greenland melts; Exxon blathers; CityCar; electric Fit; fires, heat & g.w.; EPA upheld; cheaper solar

[Tilley, Al]

1.  As the Arctic melts and underwater oil becomes more available, the oil companies are calling for the US to take a firmer role in promoting extraction.  The administration appears to be complying.  http://www.eenews.net/public/energywire/2012/06/27/1  The industry is not entirely satisfied with the effort.  http://fuelfix.com/blog/2012/06/28/new-offshore-leasing-plan-focuses-on-development-in-already-explored-gulf-waters/

2.  The Greenland ice sheet appears to be nearing a tipping point at which surface melt lowers reflectivity so that more energy is absorbed, melting more surface area until the entire surface is melting. http://www.climatecentral.org/news/greenland-ice-sheet-reflectivity-near-record-low-research-shows/

3.  The CEO of Exxon Mobil advises that we should work on adapting to climate change rather than give up the fossil fuels which in his view lead to better lives.  He refuses to accept the fearful people who say, “We should stop this.”  (I believe he means stopping greenhouse gas emissions.)  Changing weather patterns and rising sea levels pose engineering challenges we should meet with engineering solutions.  The real problems of the world are poverty and the billions of people who do not benefit from fossil fuels.  http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=exxon-ceo-calls-climate-change-engi   The news here is that Exxon joins other oil companies in acknowledging global warming and advises us to tough it out, which we cannot imaginably do.   Toughing out the collapse of ocean life or, ultimately, the Venus syndrome is not a sane option.  Though Exxon is willing to put us in the hospice to preserve their profits, Let’s solve this, as their ads say, by getting Exxon out of the fossil fuel business.  Engineering can indeed help by constructing a sustainable world.

4.  MIT’s electric CityCar has four little engines, one in each wheel.  It carries two people on urban trips and fits into a single parking space with two other CityCars.  http://cp.media.mit.edu/research/54-citycar  Take a look at the electric bicycle at the end of the second video.

5.  Honda’s electric Fit will become available for lease this month.  It has a longer range, better acceleration, and a lower charging time than other comparable cars and comes with free collision insurance.  http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-autos-honda-fit-20120629,0,2557048.story

6.   Princeton’s Michael Oppenheimer observes that the current fires in the southwest are the image of the kind of climate we are creating; a link at the end of the article observes the same for the heat wave.  http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL2E8HSHDB20120629?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0

7.  A challenge to the court ruling upholding the EPA’s power to regulate carbon emissions is so unlikely to succeed that it may not be offered.   http://www.eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2012/06/27/1  The chances of a carbon tax appear to be rising.  http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/28/us-emissions-court-idUSBRE85R0C120120628?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29    Much is at stake in this year’s elections.  Exxon Mobil and the other fossil fuel interests are spending billions to drag us into their kind of future.

8.  Rooftop retail solar power in Germany is now coming in at $2.24 per watt installed, about half of the US price (though component prices are similar).  Complications abound in the comparison; for once, the chain of responses to the article illuminates it.  http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/German-Solar-Installations-Coming-in-at-2.24-Per-Watt-Installed-U.S-at-4/
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.unf.edu/pipermail/gwsg/attachments/20120701/0a39ce6a/attachment.html