[GWSG] Floating wind in CA; biosphere CO2 feedback; new utility model; NOAA toolkit; Time to Choose doc.

[Tilley, Al]

1.  A 765 megawatt floating wind farm has been proposed for the California coast.  Trident Winds will supply enough energy for 200,00 homes if it overcomes technical and regulatory obstacles.  It is expected to be over twice as expensive to build as fixed-foundation wind projects.  https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/jul/31/california-wind-farm-energy-trident



2.  Analysis of bubbles trapped in Antarctic ice cores indicate that for every 1C of warming, the earth's biosphere adds 20 ppm of CO2 in a positive feedback.  The findings reduce the carbon budget, the amount of fuel we can burn without entirely losing the planet to warming.  The good news is that the feedback is weaker than some had predicted.  https://www.theguardian.com/environment/planet-oz/2016/jul/29/antarctic-ice-core-study-has-probably-just-made-the-job-of-cutting-fossil-fuel-emissions-even-more-urgent  (I do not find the carbon budget a useful idea.  We are overdrawn at that bank already-by about 50 ppm, according to the current consensus in the scientific community that 350 ppm of CO2 is the maximum for climate stability.)



3.  Citi Bank foresees that smart analytics, creative software, and near-free renewable energy will transform utilities into primarily energy management companies.  The state of New York's program Reforming the Energy Vision provides a model for the transition.  http://reneweconomy.com.au/2016/solar-wind-storage-and-big-data-why-energy-may-soon-be-free-27165



4.  NOAA has developed an interactive Climate Resilience Toolkit which provides charts of temperature, precipitation, and heating and cooling degree days (a measure of the need for heating and cooling buildings) through 2100 by US location.  (I was successful in searching by city but not by county or zip code.)  http://research.noaa.gov/News/NewsArchive/LatestNews/TabId/684/ArtMID/1768/ArticleID/11807/Climate-change-in-your-county-Plan-ahead-with-a-new-NOAA-tool.aspx



5.  Charles Ferguson's new documentary Time to Choose: Climate Change for Good includes interviews and footage from five continents.  "It's important for people to understand that the corruption, inequality and violence faced by many people the world over are tied to the pollution, waste and destruction that are fueling climate change," Ferguson wrote. "If we solve one, we help solve the other."  http://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change-doc-inspires-hope-time-to-choose-1937930013.html  ?

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