[GWSG] gauging crustaceans; Rockie's flowers; geotinkering; Brazil's water; Duke goes solar?; fracking vs. food

[Tilley, Al]

1.  Saturation rate, a measure of the carbonate content of seawater, is a more direct measure of stress on the larval development of shellfish than is pH.  Stress by carbonate saturation rate can lead pH stress by significant amounts of time.   http://www.climatecentral.org/news/saturation-state-ocean-acidification-18644?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+climatecentral%2FdjOO+Climate+Central+-+Full+Feed



2.   A 23 year experiment in the Rocky Mountains indicates that the capacity of soil to store carbon is already decreasing, which will further increase warming.  As the flowering plants give way to shrubs, the decrease should level out.  http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2015/feb/09/23-year-experiment-finds-surprising-global-warming-impacts-already-underway



3.  A US National Academy of Sciences study of geoengineering possibilities warns that the risks of attempts to reduce the sun's radiation of the earth outweigh the possible benefits, but that carbon removal and sequestration is feasible, if expensive.  The best course is still to reduce carbon emissions.  http://www.climatecentral.org/news/geoengineering-solutions-not-ready-18649?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+climatecentral%2FdjOO+Climate+Central+-+Full+Feed  The report recommends researching geoengineering possibilities.  http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/feb/10/geoengineering-should-not-be-used-as-a-climate-fix-yet-says-us-science-academy



4.  A severe and prolonged drought in Brazil threatens collapse of the water supply system for developed areas.  The nation's scientific community has warned of this effect of deforestation and climate disruption.  http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/feb/11/brazil-drought-ngo-alliance-50-ngos-saving-water-collapse



5.  Duke Energy, the largest utility in the US, has purchased majority interest in a rooftop solar supplier and appears to be embracing distributed solar power.  They have also become involved in financing commercial solar projects.  http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2015/02/duke-energy-takes-equity-stake-in-rec-solar-embraces-distributed-generation?cmpid=WNL-Wednesday-February11-2015



6.  Utilities use more water than all other industries combined.  The oil and gas boom uses water-intensive extraction processes and is in direct competition with agriculture, even in such water-stressed areas as California.  http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/feb/10/us-food-oil-gas-water-shortages



The problems of Rocky Mountain meadows, the world's crustaceans, Brazilian cities, and our food supply could all be solved by an energy transition, and still we think about yet more blindered tinkering with the earth so that we can continue to burn oil, coal, and gas.  Sometimes I am overwhelmed by a sense of our beginningless greed and ignorance, and sometimes I cannot resist saying so.  My mood is lightened by Duke Energy's solar initiative.
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