[GWSG] Old and dangerous mines; N American pledge; it's time to act; G-20 fails at consensus; the role of education

[Tilley, Al]

1.  The 140 abandoned coal mines in Pennsylvania leak as much CO2 to the atmosphere as a small power plant.  Coal may be going, but should not be forgotten.  http://e360.yale.edu/digest/abandoned_coal_mines_co2_small_power_plant/4751/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+YaleEnvironment360+%28Yale+Environment+360%29



2.  Mexico is joining Canada and the US in a pledge to generate half their electricity from non-carbon productive sources (including nuclear) nine years from now.  http://grist.org/news/north-america-pledges-to-deliver-50-percent-zero-carbon-energy-in-less-than-a-decade/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=daily-horizon



3.  Thirty-one US scientific societies have addressed a joint letter to congress advising them that it is time and past time to take strong action on climate.  http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/06/30/3794271/science-groups-climate-change/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cptop3&utm_term=1&utm_content=52&elqTrackId=447a988d249546c9a636cb9d03e813e1&elq=b20049cd78bb48c4b87d1d200769a44e&elqaid=30665&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=5934



4.  The G-20 meeting of representatives of major economies has failed to agree on a deadline for ending subsidies of fossil fuels.  Saudi Arabia is a major blocker.  (Surely it is time for tactical economic isolation of such countries.)  https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/richest-nations-fail-to-agree-on-deadline-to-phase-out-fossil-fuel-subsidies/2016/07/01/7db563fb-42f0-46c8-bea4-2fcfc0f48c69_story.html



5.  Societies which have faced changing conditions have always relied on grandmothers and grandfathers with a long perspective.  We are facing a period of rapid change and institutions destabilized by climate through such effects such as sea level rise, changes in habitats, and diminution of species diversity.  Our political, religious, and economic leaders have been partially effective but are unlikely to have the vision to lead us to the kind of world in which we can be at home, playing our role in a continuing whole.  Our colleges and universities are uniquely equipped to play the role of elders who can guide us through, if they are wise enough to see their role.  Stephen Mulkey had dedicated his efforts to shaping education for that great task.  https://environmentalcentury.net/2016/07/01/higher-education-in-the-environmental-century/#more-2601  ?

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