[GWSG] Hope for forests; demand management; solar parks; Brazil's drought; EPA report; IPCC report; US gvt. report

[Tilley, Al]

1.  Loss of tropical forests is now more often tied to corporate exploitation than to slash and burn agriculture.  The founder of Mongabay (“the single most depressing site on the Internet”) sees reason for hope in that.  More and more corporations, under pressure from consumers and governments, are adopting policies to limit or eliminate deforestation.  Satellites, drones, and other devices can monitor their performance.  Countries are adopting effective control policies.    http://e360.yale.edu/feature/a_conservationist_sees_signs_of_hope_for_the_worlds_rainforests/2822/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+YaleEnvironment360+%28Yale+Environment+360%29

2.  A controversial study maintains that demand management is more important than power storage to German’s transition to renewables, at least until they hit 60% renewable energy.  http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/10/german-experts-lock-horns-over-storage?cmpid=WNL-Friday-October31-2014

3.  Brazil has initiated solar power by granting contracts for 31 solar parks producing a total of 1,048 megawatts.  Solar parks are essentially neighborhood-sized power stations, a mode of distributed power generation half-way between rooftop solar and large scale plants.  The approach simplifies transmission arrangements.    http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/31/us-brazil-solar-auction-idUSKBN0IK2FB20141031?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews

4.  Part of the impetus for Brazil’s solar push is the current drought there.  The Amazon has lost so much tree cover that it is losing the capacity to influence climate as it has.  http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/oct/31/amazon-rainforest-deforestation-weather-droughts-report

5.  The EPA has released a report warning that the consequences of burning fossil fuel are now upon us.  http://www.theblaze.com/blog/2014/10/31/epa-climate-change-cant-be-stopped-prepare-for-wildfires-hurricanes-rising-seas/

6.  The United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is set to release a Synthesis Report which warns of “severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts for people and ecosystems” but concludes that we can still avoid the worst prospects through effective action to control emissions.  The report is still being edited.  http://www.dw.de/un-warns-of-irreversible-climate-change/a-18027685?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf

7.  The US government has published a report of the vulnerability of 38 agencies to climate change and their plans to cope.  The report also details new plans for reducing emissions from federal sources.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/10/31/38-federal-agencies-reveal-their-vulnerabilities-to-climate-change-and-what-theyre-doing-about-it/
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