[GWSG] Att. General conspiracy; batteries coming; Honda's turbines; N FL's flooding; hurricane breeder; zero by 2050; Stern advice

[Tilley, Al]

1.  A NY Times investigation finds that Republican attorneys general in at least a dozen states are collaborating individually and collectively with fossil fuel interests to challenge the EPA emissions regulations.  They have received more than $16 million this year in campaign donations in return.  The tactic is unprecedented, according the author of a forthcoming book on the role of attorneys general in national policy making.  A flood of campaign money beginning in 2000 has produced the first Republican majority of attorneys general in modern history.  Subs. req’d.  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/us/politics/energy-firms-in-secretive-alliance-with-attorneys-general.html?emc=edit_tnt_20141206&nlid=43628374&tntemail0=y&_r=0

2.  The gigantic battery factory now under development by Tesla will crank out stationary batteries for rooftop pv as well as auto batteries.  Utilities should rethink their standard business model.  http://climatecrocks.com/2014/12/08/why-batteries-freak-the-electric-industry/

3.  Honda is installing wind turbines in Brazil and the US to meet its goal of cutting factory emissions 30% by 2020.  http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/08/wind-turbines-will-power-honda-car-plant/?utm_source=Cleantechnica+News&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=be997c229f-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_term=0_b9b83ee7eb-be997c229f-331994013

4.  Some coastal communities in Northeast Florida are already suffering from sea level rise and more are beginning to anticipate rising waters.  http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2014-12-08/story/sea-level-dilemmas-quietly-swelling-first-coast  We are likely to be in for faster rises than represented in the story, but it matters more that people begin to take the situation seriously than that their projections for sea level rise rate be quite accurate.  All that changes as time goes on will be the schedule.  If the plans are in the process of being implemented they can more easily be accelerated than begun.  The counties in the South Florida Climate Compact argued over projections for two years before adopting the Army Corps of Engineers projections as at least plausible minima; the Regional Community Institute of North Florida learned by the example and began with the Corps estimates.

5.  El Niño conditions suppress hurricanes in the North Atlantic, but a new study concludes that two or three years later the extra heat stored in the Northwest Pacific leads to a run of stronger storms.  http://summitcountyvoice.com/2014/12/07/study-says-east-pacific-hurricanes-peak-2-3-years-after-el-nino/

6.  A draft agreement at the Lima talks calls for an end to the fossil fuel industry by 2050 with a goal of zero emissions for 2050 and negative emissions by 2100.  http://www.theguardian.com/environment/planet-oz/2014/dec/08/goal-to-end-fossil-fuels-by-2050-surfaces-in-lima-un-climate-documents

7.  Nicholas Stern urged the Lima conference to aim for a dynamic agreement to support international cooperation rather than a binding treaty.  The agreement should emphasize that “a low-carbon economy can be highly attractive.”  http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/08/nicholas-stern-new-climate-change-approach-needed/?utm_source=Cleantechnica+News&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=6c87b87689-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_term=0_b9b83ee7eb-6c87b87689-331994013
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