[GWSG] Chinese coal; Obama's accord; birds; big batteries; C reduction costs; cheaper solar; Ayn Rand vs. science

[Tilley, Al]

1.   China’s use of coal is declining and may have peaked.  http://cleantechnica.com/2014/08/26/chinas-coal-consumption-finally-decreased/?utm_source=Cleantechnica+News&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=60bcdac191-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_term=0_b9b83ee7eb-60bcdac191-331994013

2.  President Obama is working toward an international climate accord which would be “politically binding” but would sidestep a senate treaty vote, where Republican obstruction makes a 2/3 vote for any significant climate treaty unlikely.  The accord is intended for the Paris talks next year.  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/27/us/politics/obama-pursuing-climate-accord-in-lieu-of-treaty.html?emc=edit_th_20140827&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=43628374&_r=0

3.  Concentrated solar power is causing the deaths of birds.  So much has been made of this in the press that I thought it worth passing on this piece about how many birds are lost to other power sources, and to cats.  We may imagine for ourselves how many birds would be lost if we did not develop renewable power. I wish that all power sources could be rendered innocuous, but I am angered by attempts to use the deaths of birds as a disingenuous propaganda issue.  This line of attack on wind and solar power is not new, and neither is the response, though it gets less coverage.  http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/08/25/3475348/bird-death-comparison-chart/?elq=~~eloqua..type--emailfield..syntax--recipientid~~&elqCampaignId=~~eloqua..type--campaign..campaignid--0..fieldname--id~~
Here’s an article about the impact of climate
disruption and other human interventions on birds in the North Atlantic. http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/2014/aug/wingedwarnings3empty-nests-of-the-north  Finally, and beyond the propaganda, we should do what we can to protect birds from concentrated solar plants.  The linked article describes the problems and some suggested mitigating practices.  http://www.climatecentral.org/news/can-birds-be-protected-from-solar-plants-17943

4.  Al Jazeera supplies an overview of the need for and development of utility-scale batteries.  http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/real-money-with-alivelshi/articles/2014/8/25/the-new-face-of-electricity.html

5.  Avoided health costs can make up for or surpass the cost of carbon reduction policies.  http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2014/cutting-carbon-health-care-savings-0824

6.  A new process for manufacturing silicon solar panels does it 100 times faster and at half the cost of current methods.  The panels are over 20% efficient and could bring the installed price of rooftop solar under $1 per watt.  The method is in the pilot manufacturing phase and Crystal Solar is looking for a plant site in the US. http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/08/researchers-develop-faster-cheaper-way-to-make-solar-cells?cmpid=WNL-Friday-August29-2014

7.  Libertarian ideology is inherently at war with science—that is to say, it is inherently prone to willful and dangerous ignorance.  http://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2014/aug/29/libertarian-ideology-natural-enemy-science
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.unf.edu/pipermail/gwsg/attachments/20140829/aff4061b/attachment.html