[GWSG] C sensitivity estimates; Kemper disaster; CCS prospects; NY's Big U; Mar-a-Lago going down

[Tilley, Al]

1.  During the PETM 56 million years ago, carbon was released to the atmosphere in amounts similar to today's (though our rate of release is greater).  A study of the period indicates that the climate sensitivity to carbon increases with temperature, and is greater than formerly thought.  Burning current stores of fossil fuels could lead to a global heat rise of 10C.  http://climatenewsnetwork.net/past-presents-warning-on-greater-warming/  Independently of the new historical study, estimates of climate sensitivity have generally risen in a series of studies of climate modelling.   https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2016/jul/05/new-research-climate-may-be-more-sensitive-and-situation-more-dire



2.  Southern Company's Kemper project in Mississippi, which broke ground in 2010, is years behind schedule and $4 billion over its $2.5 billion budget.  The project was supposed to demonstrate cost effective carbon capture and sequestration in a coal plant.  Some documentation indicates that fraud and mismanagement by Southern Company are major causes of the difficulty.  The captured carbon was to have been used to enhance oil production.  Gah.  Hayley Barbour ensured that the costs would be passed to the citizens of Mississippi.  Ratepayers are suing Southern Company and the SEC is investigating.  (NY Times; registration may be required.)  http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/05/science/kemper-coal-mississippi.html?emc=edit_th_20160705&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=43628374&_r=0



3.  The Kemper debacle illustrates the situation of trying for energy transition in a states where utilities benefit from monopolies under tight regulation which they control (that is, corrupt public service commissions).  Elsewhere, though, CCS may not be viable anyway.  The administration's Clean Power Plan incorporates CCS and may be legally vulnerable because of it.  http://www.vox.com/2016/7/5/12098504/kemper-ccs-problems-clean-coal



4.  New York City's plans to cope with sea level rise include a Danish design for the Big U, a ten-foot wall around Lower Manhattan.  But there are problems, among them the prospect of greatly increased sea level rise projections, and a lack of long term planning.  http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/can-new-york-be-saved-in-the-era-of-global-warming-20160705?page=6





5.  Among the threatened real estate in South Florida is Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago.  https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/06/donald-trump-climate-change-florida-resort  ?

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