[GWSG] C club; heat x100k; gas as a must; poem; gas vs. ebola; Apollo program; 90% local; Floating Farms

[Tilley, Al]

1.  The US congress is impeding global attempts to deal properly with climate.  A $25/ton tax on CO2 emissions would start us on track, and is probably passable in most advanced nations, but would probably not pass in the US.  If other nations went ahead and formed a climate club by passing the C tax, and then imposed a 4% tariff on imports from nations which did not control carbon, it could have a closely similar effect by adding $44 bn/year in tariffs to the already pressing US motivation to get on with the energy transition.  Yale's William Nordhaus proposed the carbon club in an article this April; such a move has been discussed in the European Union for years, and its fans have included France, host to the approaching climate talks.  (Subs. required.)  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/03/business/energy-environment/climate-deal-badly-needs-a-big-stick.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimesscience&_r=1



2.  The carbon emitted by burning gasoline, coal, or natural gas produces 100,000 times more heat in the climate system than the heat produced at the time it is burned, and the heat added to the atmosphere can be felt within a few months.  http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/burning-coal-is-hot-the-global-warming-produced-is-even-hotter/



3.  Exxon, and other fossil fuel corporations, are trying to sell natural gas as a positive contribution to moderating climate disruption.  The general theme is that we "must" now turn to natural gas.  (There is also a new willingness to see a carbon tax.)  I used to hear that coal "must" be part of our energy supply.    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-02/exxon-ceo-says-europe-should-see-climate-benefits-of-shale-gas   A Grist article documents that the strategy is not restricted to Exxon.  http://grist.org/news/big-oil-tries-to-make-itself-over-as-big-gas/?utm_campaign=daily_feed&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter



4.  The Guardian has been printing a climate poem a day.  David Sergeant's "A Language of Change" seems an apt comment on the preceding two items.  http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/04/a-climate-change-poem-for-today-a-language-of-change-by-david-sergeant



5.  A juxtaposition suitable to the preceding poem is Peabody Energy's attempt to sell burning coal as a positive response to the Ebola crisis in Africa.  http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/may/19/peabody-energy-exploited-ebola-crisis-for-corporate-gain-say-health-experts



6.  A prestigious British group proposes a global Apollo program to bring about a global transition to renewable energy by 2025.  The cost would be about $230 bn, financed by donations of .02% of GNP for ten years by nations joining the initiative.  The strategy is to render renewables cheaper than fossil fuels in every country, and is based on the success of the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors.  The group plans to introduce their idea at the G7 meeting next week.  http://ecowatch.com/2015/06/03/power-world-renewables-apollo/?utm_source=EcoWatch+List&utm_campaign=9da80c8fdc-Top_News_6_4_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_49c7d43dc9-9da80c8fdc-85965093



7.  A U of California study concludes that the US could be fed with food grown 90% locally.  We would have to disassemble existing corporate agriculture.  http://grist.org/list/90-percent-of-our-diets-could-be-local-but-only-if-we-nix-big-ag/?utm_campaign=daily_feed&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter



8.  Smart Floating Farms has designed a three-story floating farm capable of producing 8000 tons of vegetables and 1700 tons of fish a year.  Florida (among others) ought to be interested.    http://ecowatch.com/2015/05/26/solar-floating-farm/?utm_source=EcoWatch+List&utm_campaign=c2e8ee08ca-Top_News_5_31_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_49c7d43dc9-c2e8ee08ca-85965093
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