[GWSG] Stopping leaks; a big leak; a model of compassion; time of usage rule; slr relocation support; thermal expansion x 2

[Tilley, Al]

1.  The Obama administration has announced for comment new rules which would require capturing methane which would otherwise have been vented or flared from oil and gas extraction operations on federal lands.  http://www.climatecentral.org/news/rules-would-cut-methane-vented-public-lands-19947?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+climatecentral%2FdjOO+Climate+Central+-+Full+Feed  Pennsylvania is pursuing measures to limit natural gas leaks.  http://powersource.post-gazette.com/powersource/policy-powersource/2016/01/19/State-wants-to-crack-down-on-emissions-at-shale-well-sites/stories/201601190173



2.  The Aliso Canyon methane leak has boosted CA's emissions by about 25%.  It is not expected to be capped until late next month.  http://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-porter-ranch-greenhouse-20160124-story.html  The 2-4% leakage level for natural gas reported in the story is far behind independent estimates, which are more likely to be in the 9-10% range.  Also, methane (natural gas is mostly methane) is about 85 times stronger than CO2 over a twenty-year period, which is an appropriate timescale to estimate feedback potential; the 25 times stronger figure quoted in the story, which is conventional in mainstream media and corporate literature, is less useful for human purposes and derives from rounding down the 100-year equivalent estimate of 28-36.  (Methane converts to CO2 over time.  The figures for the conversion rate vary because the actual conversion rates vary, particularly with hydroxyl concentrations.)  http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/10/22/3582904/methane-leaks-climate-benefit-fracking/



3.  Christiana Figueres credits Zen monk Thich Nhat Hanh with sustaining her in her leadership of climate negotiations through his practice of compassion which, for example, includes Nazis as well as their victims.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/thich-nhat-hanh-paris-climate-agreement_us_56a24b7ae4b076aadcc64321?ir=Business&section=us_business  That might sound sentimental until you read where the monk established his meditation hall.  Former gas stations might make good neighborhood meditation and worship centers, and corporate offices from former fossil fuel corporations could well serve as cathedrals and training monasteries.



4.  FERC's demand response rule requiring utilities to compensate customers for reducing their energy use during peak hours has been upheld by the Supreme Court.  One effect will be to encourage solar and wind energy, which is most abundant during peak hours.  http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/01/25/3742352/ferc-demand-response-ruling/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cptop3



5.  Relocation forced by sea level rise is already hitting Alaskan communities, but the federal government has no program of support.  It is a growing problem and we should act to deal with it.  http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0125-herrmann-climate-refugees-20160125-story.html



6.  A German study suggests that sea level rise due to thermal expansion has been underestimated by half.  http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/26/sea-level-rise-from-ocean-warming-underestimated-scientists-say  ?

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