[GWSG] Last Beach; ice sheet lakes; <2C; new nuke; CA rain vs. drought; 55% for Austin; big & windy tower

[Tilley, Al]

1.  Orrin Pilkey and Andrew Cooper describe the futility of armoring a beach with sea walls in their book The Last Beach.  Coastal development only makes the inevitable retreat from a rising sea more difficult and costly.  http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/dec/15/worlds-beaches-being-washed-away-coastal-development

2.  The lakes of melt water which form on the surface of the Greenland ice sheet in summer are likely to double in area and move inland by 2060, leading to a greatly increased melt rate.  The lakes have not yet been included in models.  http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/dec/15/greenland-ice-melt-underestimated-study-says

3.  Two degrees C of warming may well be too much, as many scientists have warned.  The limit was set partly to avoid melting of the polar ice sheets.  A group of nations have begun a study of the issue and plan to release a report this summer.  (Subs. req’d.)  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/16/science/earth/is-a-two-degree-limit-on-global-warming-off-target.html?emc=edit_th_20141216&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=43628374

4.  The Brookings Institution has issued an essay describing current projects to develop advanced nuclear energy.  Thanks to Henry Thomas for the link.  http://www.brookings.edu/research/essays/2014/backtothefuture?utm_campaign=Brookings+Brief&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=15297169&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--fOp7y84EAMy-h1TF7IzeRBSWNOD_P9kII-SWa8SU52yZIvFaLlpsEs89efm7rD0R-BjUh4c1snrtc7S3tAbeppJt7Rg&_hsmi=15297169#<http://www.brookings.edu/research/essays/2014/backtothefuture?utm_campaign=Brookings+Brief&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=15297169&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--fOp7y84EAMy-h1TF7IzeRBSWNOD_P9kII-SWa8SU52yZIvFaLlpsEs89efm7rD0R-BjUh4c1snrtc7S3tAbeppJt7Rg&_hsmi=15297169>  (The article is naïve about renewable energy and a little rosy about nuclear potential.  I thought more needed to be said about cost, safety, and time to implementation.  Still—where else have you seen these developing projects discussed?)  More on the topic—subscription required.  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/16/business/energy-environment/betting-on-the-need-scientists-work-on-lighter-cleaner-nuclear-energy.html

5.  The recent rains in CA are welcome but have had little general effect on the drought.  http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-30510263#<http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-30510263>

6.  Austin, TX, plans to get 55% of its power from renewables by 2025.  The plan does not seem to include transportation.  http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/12/16/3603991/austin-texas-renewable-energy-plan/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=cptop3&utm_campaign=cptop3&elq=~~eloqua..type--emailfield..syntax--recipientid~~&elqCampaignId=~~eloqua..type--campaign..campaignid--0..fieldname--id~~

7.  The tallest structure in North America would generate its own wind and enough wind energy to equal the output of the Hoover Dam at less than the cost of natural gas but may fail to acquire funding.  http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/will-the-2250-foot-solar-wind-tunnel-ever-be-more-than-a-pipe-dream?utm_source=Daily&utm_medium=Headline&utm_campaign=GTMDaily
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