[GWSG] $.058/kwh; HFC plan; health & food; IEA stopgap; NYC to adapt; algaic oils; zinc battery; Dark Snow

[Tilley, Al]

1.  A New Mexico utility has signed a 25 year power purchase agreement with First Solar for a 50 megawatt solar installation at $.0579/kilowatt-hour, cheaper than new coal.  http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/06/new-mexico-approves-miniscule-ppa-for-states-biggest-solar-plant
New solar installations made up nearly half of the new energy in the US for the first quarter of this year, and were up 33% from the same quarter last year. http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/06/residential-demand-spurs-us-solar-installations-in-1q13?cmpid=WNL-Wednesday-June12-2013

2.  The US and China have agreed on a plan to cut the global use of HFCs, potent greenhouse gasses.  http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/06/08/us-usa-china-environment-idINBRE9570EX20130608

3.  As the Arctic warms, diseases spread north.  http://wwwp.dailyclimate.org/tdc-newsroom/2013/06/arctic-disease  Vector diseases are gaining ground among children in Pakistan thanks to climate disruption.  http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-4-182680-Climate-change-may-be-making-children-sick   Heat can bring higher ozone levels and with them respiratory ills.  http://www.mantecabulletin.com/section/1/article/76080/   American farmers are faced with adapting to a change they have been propagandized into denying (or our food supply is that much more diminished). http://grist.org/article/tough-spot-for-farmers-adapting-to-change-you-cant-believe-in/?utm_campaign=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&sub_email=atilley%40unf.edu

4.  The International Energy Agency has proposed a package of stopgap actions designed to buy time while an international climate agreement is being negotiated.  Actions include developing carbon capture technology, increasing energy efficiency, controlling methane leaks, and ceasing subsidies for fossil fuels.  The object is to avoid the 2° of warming threshold.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22845425   Emissions in 2012 set a record but did show some encouraging trends.  http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2013/jun/11/climate-change-carbon-emissions-iea-silver-lining

5.  A New York City report anticipates that by 2050 the city will have the climate of Birmingham and two feet of sea level rise.  http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/11/us-usa-newyork-heat-idUSBRE95A01A20130611?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews
The report projects 4-8” of sea level rise by 2020.  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/11/nyregion/new-york-city-faces-increasing-risk-from-climate-change-new-data-show.html?_r=0  New York has announced a $20 billion climate adaptation plan.  http://news.yahoo.com/nyc-lays-20-billion-plan-combat-climate-change-180254585.html

6.  Cellana of San Diego has contracted to deliver commercial quantities of Omega 3 oil and fuel oil from their algae-based process. Production is intended to begin in two years.  The production facility is in Hawaii.  http://www.kpbs.org/news/2013/jun/07/san-diego-based-algae-biofuel-strikes-milestone-de/

7.  Start-up EOS plans to market a zinc-based utility scale battery sufficiently cheap and durable to replace natural gas in a hybrid arrangement with solar power.  http://www.technologyreview.com/news/515076/cheap-batteries-for-backup-renewable-energy/?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_source=newsletter-weekly-energy&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20130610

8.  A scientific team is funding their Dark Snow project with internet crowd sourcing.  The team will study the effect of black carbon deposits on projections of Arctic melting and thus of sea level rise.  http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2013/jun/12/greenland-darkening-ice-climate-science
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