[GWSG] Oceans; MOOC; PIG calves; Ant. slr; look west; Aussies, Canandians gather; Sen. talks; banking coal; new maps; I talk

[Tilley, Al]

1.  A UN report on the health of the oceans finds that acidification is proceeding faster than previously thought, and that the types of changes in progress tend to amplify one another.  http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/scientists-warn-hot-sour-breathless-oceans-20882695
More on acidification, said perhaps to be the most rapid in 300 million years:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24904143#<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24904143>

2.  Shelley Edson thought that others might be interested in a free UC-San Diego MOOC which begins in January: Climate Change in Four Dimensions.  The dimensions are the natural sciences, technology, social science, and the humanities.  https://www.coursera.org/ucsd

4.  Pine Island Glacier in the Antarctic has calved an iceberg as big as Singapore.  http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/stories/massive-antarctic-iceberg-sets-sail

5.  Circumpolar winds in the Antarctic are expected to increase during this century, moderating local sea level rise.  That could moderate disintegration of ice sheets in the Western Antarctic, though it is unclear if the increasing warmth of the oceans will offset the stabilizing effect.  It may even be that lower waters locally might contribute to the speed of ice flow into the ocean.  http://www.nature.com/news/changing-winds-dampen-antarctic-sea-level-rise-1.14189

5.  Homes in Austin, Texas, with west-facing solar panels produced 49% more electricity in the afternoon during peak demand than did homes with south-facing panels.  The westward panels also produced slightly more overall energy.  http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/are-solar-panels-facing-the-wrong-direction?utm_source=Daily&utm_medium=Headline&utm_campaign=GTMDaily

6.  About 60,000 people demonstrated in Australia against a government threat to repeal the tax on carbon.  http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/17/climate-rallies-draw-thousands

7.  More than 130 protests were held Saturday in Canada on climate.  They focused on plans to pipe oil from Canadian tar sands.  http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/17/climate-rallies-draw-thousands

8.  Senator Sheldon Whitehouse just delivered his 50th weekly address to the Senate on climate issues.  He also attends the weekly briefings for senators attempting to keep up with developments.  “The political will is there, we just haven’t marshalled it yet.”   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/13/sheldon-whitehouse-climate-change_n_4269090.html
  More on the Senator’s speeches:  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-13/one-senator-s-war-against-climate-change.html

9.  In the last eight years, banks have put $159 billion into coal mining, many of them claiming at the same time to be in support of efforts to moderate climate change, according to a report delivered at the UN Warsaw climate conference.  http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/11/16/20-banks-under-fire-un-climate-change-report.html

10.  A new mapping project with higher regional resolution traces the loss of forest cover in the last 12 years.  http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-map-global-forest-loss-tropics-20131115,0,5914139.story#axzz2ksAZnThm

11.  I gave an interview on climate to On Point, running on Channel 25, a local ABC affiliate.  It will repeat midnight tonight (Sunday) and be carried on On Point’s web page.   http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/politics/onpoint/default.aspx
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