[GWSG] Compost & biochar; N FL petition; used batteries; bogus searches; methane explosions; Still In; beyond Trump

[Tilley, Al]

1.  Strengthening the microbial system of soil through composting can significantly increase the amount of carbon it can sequester, as well as rendering it more fertile and drought resistant.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/brand-connect/ucdavis/a-climate-change-solution-beneath-our-feet/  Other biological methods of sequestering carbon include reforestation and biochar. https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/may/05/negative-emissions-tech-can-more-trees-carbon-capture-or-biochar-solve-our-co2-problem



2.   If you are from North Florida, you might be interested in a petition for climate change action plans for the region.  The drive is being organized by Todd Sack, Co-Chair of the Environment and Health Committee, Physicians for Social Responsibility.  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1czO-YgcCKRD8sgGUNfp-3fQGKyAEGAv5tVNxmkP6jeA/viewform?edit_requested=true



3.  Renault, BMW, and Nissan have announced plans to employ used EV batteries as home power storage systems.  The new units, expected to last ten years, will be about 30% cheaper than currently available storage.  https://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/3011239/renault-and-powervault-team-up-to-turn-ev-batteries-into-home-storage



4.  I have a standing search with Microsoft under a predictable collection of prompts-sustainability, resilience, climate change, sea level rise, renewable energy, and so forth. For some time now it has been of limited use since most of the links have been to propaganda sites. (Today's hits for "global warming" are from iotwreport.com, the WA Post, Climate Change Dispatch, tapnewswire.com, and Bloomberg. I don't know how the WAPO and Bloomberg got in there; they usually don't.) How could such obscure right-wing sites, offering their usual garbage, have dominated the algorithms which are supposed to yield significant search results? I have been blaming Microsoft, but I should have blamed the Mercers.  https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/06/how-the-trump-russia-data-machine-games-google-to.html



5.  12,000 years ago as Arctic ice sheets melted, methane explosions created large and small craters which are still leaking methane.  The current melting of ice sheets in the West Antarctic and elsewhere could lead to similar methane releases.  https://cleantechnica.com/2017/06/05/massive-12000-year-old-methane-blowout-craters-arctic-ocean-still-venting-methane-research-finds/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IM-cleantechnica+%28CleanTechnica%29  PhysOrg supplies further information highlighting methane hydrates as the source of the releases.  https://phys.org/news/2017-06-domes-frozen-methane-blow-outs.html



6.  A coalition of cities, states, companies, investors, and colleges representing 120 million Americans and $6.2 trillion of the US economy has pledged to observe the Paris agreement.  We Are Still In welcomes new members.  http://www.businessinsider.com/we-are-still-in-group-represents-62-trillion-of-the-us-economy-plans-to-stay-in-paris-agreement-2017-6



7.    Naomi Oreskes sketches the twenty-year history of Republican opposition to dealing with climate change to make the point that getting rid of Trump will not open the way for action.  "And the only way to fix it is to change the Republican party, or to vote Republicans out of office."  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jun/05/republican-party-climate-change-policies-donald-trump  ?

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