[GWSG] CA vs. EPA; AMOC slowing; C impact; delta submerging; also Miami, etc.; marine GHG cut; greenhouses; solar roof tiles

[Tilley, Al]

1. The Trump EPA's attempt to weaken automotive fuel economy will founder on California's strict fuel standards, adopted by a dozen other states. An enabling condition of the US preference for piggy cars and trucks (pushed by the auto industry because the profit margin is bigger) is the artificially low price of gas. A carbon tax would provide a handy cure. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2018/apr/10/epas-war-with-california-proves-america-needs-a-carbon-tax



2. The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation is slower than it has been for at least 1600 years. It has slowed about 15% in the last 150 years, leading to climatic changes, according to two complementary studies in Nature. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/11/critical-gulf-stream-current-weakest-for-1600-years-research-finds

Collapse of the AMOC might yet be (and emphatically should be) avoided by limiting warming to well below 2C. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/13/avoid-at-all-costs-gulf-streams-record-weakening-prompts-warnings-global-warming



3. One effect of the weakening AMOC is that the ocean becomes less effective in taking carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which will increase buildup there and lead to increasing warming. https://www.livescience.com/62283-weakest-atlantic-ocean-circulation.html



4. Sea level rise will outpace the efforts to preserve or increase the wetlands of the Mississippi delta. Louisiana is losing over an acre an hour of land to the ocean, and that rate is expected to increase. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2018/04/11/seas-are-rising-too-fast-to-save-much-of-the-mississippi-delta-scientists-say/?utm_term=.37df9ea486a4



5. In Shorecrest, a northern Miami suburb, a full moon can lead to knee-high flooding. "The flood comes up through storm drains, making it impossible to navigate without encountering the water, which is mixed with sewage and whatever else it picked up along the way." Miami is among other coastal cities making efforts to stay ahead of the rising water. https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/miami-could-cease-to-exist-in-our-childrens-lifetime-e2-80-94-heres-how-the-city-is-trying-to-save-itself/ar-AAvOtXs



6. As an initial strategy, the UN's International Marine Organization has adopted at target of lowering commercial marine greenhouse gas emissions 50% by 2050. The US, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, and Panama prevented a stronger agreement.  https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/13/carbon-dioxide-from-ships-at-sea-to-be-regulated-for-first-time



7. Simple greenhouses made from netting can allow adaptation to the adverse weather that accompanies climate change, as Indian farmers are discovering. https://news.nationalgeographic.com/future-of-food/telangana-india-agriculture-greenhouses/?utm_source=EHN&utm_campaign=973b2a032f-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8573f35474-973b2a032f-99031877



8. The new Tesla solar cell roof is said to be cheaper than a normal asphalt roof. The 3-in-1 Roof offered for delivery in 2019 by a Ft. Lauderdale firm claims to be half the cost of a Tesla roof, to withstand winds of 200 mph, to be much lighter than a regular roof, and to transfer zero heat to the attic as it generates solar power. https://inhabitat.com/new-3-in-1-roof-solar-tiles-power-your-house-for-half-the-price-of-a-tesla-roof/ ?

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