[GWSG] Renewable stats; Atlantic slowdown; EU: trading+tax; Permian fossils; divesting coal; Saudi Arabia 2 ways; 16' of slr

[Tilley, Al]

1.  Renewable energy now accounts for 17% of US energy generating capacity, and all of the new capacity in April is renewable.  Solar has grown tenfold in the past five years and now accounts for 1% of capacity, and more if rooftop solar were not partially ignored as government statistics do.  http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2015/05/wind-and-solar-account-for-100-percent-of-new-us-generating-capacity-in-april.html?eid=291059574&bid=1080751



2.  A slowdown in the circulation of heat by ocean currents to the North Atlantic appears to be triggering a change in the regional climates influenced by the Atlantic which could last for decades, according to a study published in Nature.  Effects will include drier summers in the British Isles, drought in the Sahel, and accelerated sea level rise in the NE US.  http://phys.org/news/2015-05-global-climate-verge-multi-decadal.html



3.  European Union countries are employing both carbon trading and carbon taxes as tools to lower emissions.  The combination allows regional flexibility and complementary coverage of carbon sources.  http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/27/eu-carbon-tax-idUSL5N0YF0HU20150527



4.  The great extinction at the end of the Permian ca. 252 mya may well have been caused by the burning of fossil fuels in the volcanic fields of the Tunguska sedimentary basin.  Most species perished.  We are outdoing the pace of change in that era.  http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/may/27/threat-islamic-state-fossil-fuel-burning



5.  Norway's $900bn sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest such fund, is divesting from coal.  It has been one of the top ten investors in that industry.  The move promises to trigger other divestments.  French insurance company AXA (which acquired Equitable Life a few years ago) also divested from coal in the past week. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/may/28/norway-fund-could-trigger-wave-of-large-fossil-fuel-divestments-say-experts



6.  Saudi Arabia plans to become a major wind and solar producer and says that it intends to phase out fossil fuel consumption sometime before the middle of the century.  It is also ramping up oil production.  https://news.vice.com/article/saudi-arabia-says-its-ditching-fossil-fuels-kinda?utm_source=vicenewsemail&utm_medium=email&utm_term=News_EN&utm_campaign=webdev%20test%20-%20FULLY%20REFACTORED



7.  Dennis Bushnell, head scientist at NASA's Langley Research Center, spoke in Jacksonville FL May 29.  Among many matters, he shared his opinion that in light of the studies of the recent pace of mass loss in the Antarctic and the historical ten feet contributed by the Antarctic to sea level rise in a century, we should recall James Hansen's calculation that sixteen feet of sea level rise might be expected this century.  Thanks to the North Florida USGBC for organizing the talk.  The material on the Antarctic is linked in the May 5 mailing of this list.
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