[GWSG] Arctic melt; slr models; renewable energy use & targets; Danish drainage; heavier blizzards; cost of C; Chinese coal

[Tilley, Al]

1.  The ice cap of a Norwegian Arctic island has thinned by 160 feet in two years.  “It is a very large signal.”   http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/an-arctic-ice-cap%e2%80%99s-shockingly-rapid-slide-into-the-sea/ar-AA8wgqG?ocid=AARDHP

2.  Updates make it easier to model the destabilization of Antarctic ice at historic sea level rise rates.  The historical record and models have been seriously at variance in sea level rise projections, with the historic rise faster than the models have predicted.   http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/01/updated-ice-sheet-model-matches-wild-swings-in-past-sea-levels/

3.  A record low bid of $59 per MWh has been accepted for a 100 MWh project in Saudi Arabia; even lower prices for commercial solar are expected in India, which has a target of 100 gigawatts of solar power (97 GW of that new) by 2020.  China has the same target.  http://cleantechnica.com/2015/01/25/india-propose-global-collaboration-solar-power-rd-cut-costs/?utm_source=Cleantechnica+News&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=010aa251b3-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_term=0_b9b83ee7eb-010aa251b3-331994013  India is also expected soon to set a goal of 100 GW of wind energy by 2022. http://cleantechnica.com/2015/01/25/india-plans-100-gw-wind-energy-capacity-2022/?utm_source=Cleantechnica+News&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=010aa251b3-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_term=0_b9b83ee7eb-010aa251b3-331994013

4.  China, the US, and India are world’s worst sources of greenhouse gases.  Development of large commercial solar is at a standstill in the US as federal subsidies for solar expire at the end of 2016, and the time lead for commercial development has outrun the deadline.  (Subs. req’d.)  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/26/business/worry-for-solar-projects-after-end-of-tax-credits.html?hpw&rref=science&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well

5.  The National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s report of 2013 data makes it clear that renewable energy is growing energetically, with Asia leading the world in adoption rate and manufacturing.  The US has great opportunities both in increasing renewable energy supply and in improving the efficient use of what we already produce, about half of which is wasted.  http://cleantechnica.com/2015/01/26/7-interesting-global-renewable-energy-trends-from-nrel-charts-galore/

6.  While India and the US have not signed an agreement on climate action such as the one between the US and China, President Obama’s visit to India did produce some significant advances, and India’s initiatives on renewable energy indicate that they are moving toward an agreement at the Paris talks in December.  http://climatecrocks.com/2015/01/26/now-india/

7.  After a disastrously heavy rainfall, a Copenhagen neighborhood decided that the usual plumbing projects were too costly and instead devised a plan of natural drainage.  The whole of Copenhagen may follow suit, neighborhood by neighborhood.  http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/1/26/copenhagen-worlds-first-climate-adjusted-neighborhood.html  Some form of sustainable drainage should probably characterize most climate adaptation programs.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_Drainage_System

8.  Generally, atmospheric water vapor increases 4% for every 1° rise in average temperature.  With more moisture above us, precipitation, including snowfall, can become heavier.  Warming makes blizzards worse.  http://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/global-warming-could-make-blizzards-worse/ar-AA8BUlv?ocid=AARDHP

9.  Models of the economic cost of warming have omitted including the impact of warming on economic growth.  When that is included, the models support quick and vigorous action to moderate warming.  http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2015/jan/26/climate-change-could-impact-poor-much-more-than-previously-thought

10.  Chinese coal production began falling last year, with further decreases expected.  http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/27/china-coal-production-falls-for-first-time-this-century
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