[GWSG] Labelling; Sarasota's goal; Fort Collins's program; Austin's energy system; natural gas a shuck; climate action a moral imperative

[Tilley, Al]

1.  About three quarters of Republicans agree that climate change is happening, but only two thirds agree that global warming is underway. Almost all Democrats hold the opinion that it's on, whichever you call it. A survey by Cornell undergraduates finds that partisan disagreement on climate drops by 30% when the discussion turns from global warming to climate change.  https://phys.org/news/2017-06-climate-global-decreases-partisan-gap.html



2.  Sarasota, FL, has committed to achieving 100% renewable energy by 2045.  The state's other city to make such a commitment is St. Petersburg, joining 34 other US cities.  http://nawindpower.com/two-southern-cities-commit-100-renewables



3.  Fort Collins, CO, has a goal of cutting emissions 80% by 2030 and 100% by 2050.  Following a best practices investigation Fort Collins Utilities has undertaken an impressive renewable energy and efficiency program and has advice for others with similar goals.  https://rmi.org/news/award-winning-efficiency-program-fort-collins/



4.  Austin, TX, has a goal of 55% renewable energy by 2025.  Austin Energy is piloting a solar plus storage project which will evaluate various power storage and management options.  https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/austin-energy-seeks-to-boost-value-with-a-united-fleet-of-solar-and-storage



5.  Using natural gas as part of an emissions reduction program is often based on International Energy Agency projections which are blind to developments in renewable energy technology.  Any investments now in natural gas represents opportunity losses, at best.  http://climatenewsnetwork.net/natural-gas-cannot-help-to-curb-climate-change/?utm_source=Climate+News+Network&utm_campaign=895465d4e2-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_06_22&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1198ea8936-895465d4e2-38803053



6.  Al Gore considers the movement to counter climate change as one of the world's great moral movements, like the struggle against racism.  Archbishop Desmond Tutu has made a similar argument, comparing the climate cause to the struggle against apartheid.  https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/21/al-gore-battle-against-climate-change-like-fight-against-slavery  I elaborated on a similar theme 22 years ago in Plots of Time, arguing that the movement is another of the great landmarks in the emergence of the Other into consciousness.  Gore spoke of climate action as a moral, even a spiritual imperative in his 1992 book Earth in the Balance.  He has not seen a reason to alter that view in the intervening years, and neither have I.  The reactionary resistance to climate action has the same stink as reactions against our other great moral causes. ?

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