[GWSG] <$.03/kWh; 1m installations; FL's reef going; CH4 scale; GOP vs. satellites; Espinosa to succeed Figueres; Arctic weather

[Tilley, Al]

1.  The unsubsidized price for commercial pv solar energy has dropped below $.03/kWh in the bidding for an 800 MW plant in Dubai.  (US projects now regularly drop below 3c/kWh, but enjoy subsidies.)  Wind energy dropped to below 3c/kWh earlier this year in bids for a project in Morocco.  The costs of fossil fuel energy are much higher, even ignoring social costs.   http://reneweconomy.com.au/2016/solar-prices-plunge-to-new-lows-as-dubai-auction-nets-under-3ckwh-84894



2.  It took forty years to reach a million solar installations in the US, but the industry plans to reach two million in two years.  http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2016/05/us-celebrates-one-million-solar-installations.html?cmpid=renewablesolar0532016&eid=291059574&bid=1392826



3.  Florida's 300-mile coral reef, the only one in the continental US, is disintegrating from ocean acidification decades earlier than expected.  http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/05/160502-reef-florida-acidification-fish-miami/



4.  Since methane has its major effect on climate within a few decades of entering the atmosphere, it makes little sense to measure its warming effect on the current widely-used 100-year scale.    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/05/02/why-were-still-so-incredibly-confused-about-methanes-role-in-global-warming/



5.  Attacks on climate science from congressional Republicans have weakened our system of weather satellites to the extent that our knowledge of the state of polar sea ice is endangered.  The extent of sea ice influences the albedo of the region and the weather system in general.  In the Antarctic, sea ice has a direct effect on the course of glaciers to the sea.  (Then there are hurricanes to watch.)  Peter Sinclair's video runs an illuminating nine minutes, featuring clips of our leaders working to spare us knowledge, and, in one case, bragging about success.  https://climatecrocks.com/2016/05/03/defunding-our-eyes-on-the-planet/



6.  Mexico's Patricia Espinosa takes over the leadership of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change from Christiana Figueres in July.  Espinosa helped develop the Paris agreement, and Figueres has provided passionate and effective leadership.  http://www.climatechangenews.com/2016/05/03/mexican-ambassador-named-as-next-un-climate-chief/?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=cb84495a9c-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-cb84495a9c-326454481



7.  EcoWatch provides three links to stories about the impact of reduced sea ice on weather in this hemisphere, and on the record early melting in Greenland this year.  http://ecowatch.com/2016/05/03/arctic-ice-melt-weather-patterns/  ?

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