[GWSG] Li/S battery; hopeful Gore; biofuel bust; online maps; solar foes; suing the fossils; jackfruit; declining reefs

[Tilley, Al]

1.  Researchers at the DOE’s Berkeley Lab have developed a lithium-sulfur battery that could power an electric auto with a 300 mile range.  The Li/S battery is cheaper than the lithium-ion battery, does not have the overheating problems, is more environmentally benign, and is long lived.  The lab is now working to scale it commercially.  http://eetd.lbl.gov/newsletter/nl46/eetd-nl46-1-holistic.html

2.  Al Gore is sounding more hopeful on the prospects of dealing with climate change than he did a couple of years ago.  The dropping cost of solar power is one factor.  http://cleantechnica.com/2014/04/19/al-gore-climate-change-crisis/

3.  Cellulosic ethanol made from corn waste is no better than gasoline for carbon emissions, according to a new study.  If the study holds, biofuel from corn stover would not qualify as renewable under EPA guidelines.  http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/apr/20/corn-biofuels-gasoline-global-warming

4.  New online tools are making available local projections for sea level rise, deforestation, water supply, and other climate related matters.  http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/04/20/climate-change-new-online-tools/7739415/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+usatoday-NewsTopStories+%28USATODAY+-+News+Top+Stories%29

5.  Net metering for rooftop solar and state renewable energy standards are under attack in several states by the Koch brothers, utilities, and others.  http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-solar-kochs-20140420,0,7412286.story#axzz2zP9yfShi  The Koch brothers may want to protect their fossil fuel profits, and the utilities presumably want to continue to operate as they are accustomed.  If the Kochs and others like them cling to fossil fuels, we shall try to see we do not go down with them as seems to be their intent.  However, we need the utilities with us as part of the solution to our climate woes.  Peter Sinclair assembles several stories on the threat that renewable energy poses (and is said to pose but does not) to traditional utilities’ business model, and the opportunities that managed distributed power generation offers.  http://climatecrocks.com/2014/04/21/utilities-transformation-or-die-off/
Not all Republicans oppose solar power, and others may discover that opposition is bad for their political future.  http://climatecrocks.com/2014/04/23/republicans-who-oppose-solar-will-be-wiped-out/

6.  Can fossil fuel companies be sued for the damage they have done?  Perhaps.  A paper last fall documented the contributions of 84 companies to anthropogenic warming.  A federal court found that individuals and groups had standing in global warming damage suits.  Groups of lawyers are at work, and some say that they are in a situation similar to that of early litigation against tobacco companies.   http://www.thenation.com/article/179459/want-stop-climate-change-take-fossil-fuel-industry-court#

7.  Jackfruit, smelly but nutritious, is the largest treeborne fruit.  It could replace wheat and corn crops endangered by climate disruption.  http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/apr/23/jackfruit-miracle-crop-climate-change-food-security

8.  “Declining coral reef health is threatening the food security and livelihoods of millions of people living in the coastal tropics, according to a study by University of Queensland researchers.”  http://phys.org/news/2014-04-dying-coral-reefs-threaten-livelihood.html
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