[GWSG] Twisty panels; solar power; Grand sOld Party; China-US cities agree; climate migrants in CA and FL; and elsewhere

[Tilley, Al]

1.  Solar panels which track the sun catch 20-40% more energy than stationary panels.  If the panels are comprised of strips which twist properly to follow the sun, they can duplicate the efficiency of sun tracking systems.  http://www.technologyreview.com/news/541191/a-fix-for-maximizing-energy-from-solar-panels-on-slanted-roofs/?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_source=newsletter-weekly-energy&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20150914



2.  Between now and the end of 2016 the US expects to add 1 gigawatt of solar power a month.  Not until 2010 was solar power added at the rate of more than 1 GW a year.  http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/america-will-add-one-gigawatt-of-solar-every-month-between-now-and-the-end?utm_source=Solar&utm_medium=Picture&utm_campaign=GTMDaily

An increasing portion of the new energy is rooftop solar.  http://blog.renewableenergyworld.com/ugc/blogs/2015/09/ever_greater_shareo.html?cmpid=renewable09162015  Joe Biden outlined the administration's plans and goals for developing solar power, and the campaign to oppose that development.  http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/Biden-Calls-Out-Special-Interest-Groups-for-Stifling-Solar-Market-Growth?utm_source=Daily&utm_medium=Headline&utm_campaign=GTMDaily



3.  Joe Romm is outraged that leaders of the Republican Party are working to prevent effective climate action at all levels of government and are planning to do even more in the future.  The Party has not always been so hostile to actions now considered a moral imperative.  http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/09/11/3700163/gop-leaders-embrace-climate-change/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cptop3

A group of ten (now eleven, I have read) Republicans in the House are organizing an attempt to challenge the Party's obstructions by calling for research.  http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/17/republican-congress-climate-change-action-rebellion  The small group are mostly in their last term or otherwise unexposed to Party wrath and their program is weak.  Their bid thus constitutes yet another demonstration of the completeness with which the Republican Party now serves fossil fuel interests.



4.  Beijing and ten other Chinese cities have agreed with Seattle and other major US cities and regions to emissions cuts beyond national commitments.  The agreements include mutual assistance.   http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/15/us-and-chinese-cities-reveal-stronger-pledges-to-cut-emissions



5.  CA's Governor Brown warns about the prospect of waves of climate refugees from the south.  Florida has yet to hear about this problem from its leaders.  This state's problem includes in-state migration from south to north as water supplies and drainage fail south of Lake Okeechobee, and inland migration from the coasts as barrier islands destabilize and low-lying infrastructure floods.  http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/Gov-Brown-Valley-Fire-a-call-to-action-for-6503741.php


6.  The population of Africa is expected to double by mid-century, and the world population to surpass 11 billion by 2100.  Climate change will set increasing numbers of people in motion in the near future (and is already involved in a great deal of migration, arguably including that from Syria).     http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/16/business/international/europe-must-plan-for-immigration-juggernaut.html?_r=0  On climate's role in the Syrian migrations and other current movements:  http://time.com/4024210/climate-change-migrants/   More:  http://insideclimatenews.org/news/13092015/migrant-crisis-syria-europe-climate-change  And finally, from The Guardian:  http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/18/mass-migration-crisis-refugees-climate-change  ?

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