[GWSG] Aerosols' great effect; subsidies of little effect; $.37/watt solar; Li-ion rules; 2' by 2100?; environmental rights; local geoengineering

[Tilley, Al]

1. The microscopic particles which constitute aerosols from the burning of fossil fuels, among other sources, produce benign effects such as rain clouds. They also cool the atmosphere by reflecting sunlight. A new study puts the range of cooling produced by aerosols at .5-1.1C. We may need to study geoengineering to ease us through an energy transition; see the last item below. https://grist.org/article/geoengineering-climate-change-air-pollution-save-planet/



2. A study in Nature concludes that ending subsidies for fossil fuels would have only a small effect on greenhouse gas emissions. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180207140349.htm



3. The price of solar panels has dropped even faster than industry experts foresaw-down to $.37/watt in late 2017, approaching the point where new solar is cheaper than existing fossil fuel and nuclear power generation. Installations are climbing steeply. https://cleantechnica.com/2018/02/11/solar-panel-prices-continue-falling-quicker-expected-cleantechnica-exclusive/



4. Because the lithium ion battery has dominated the market for several years economies of scale and engineering advances make it ever cheaper, and thus less likely to be replaced for most applications. A new liquid metal design may be competitive for some large applications. https://grist.org/article/theres-a-new-contender-in-the-quest-for-the-next-superbattery/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=daily



5. A study of sea level rise using satellite altimeter data indicates that it is accelerating and would reach almost two feet by the end of the century. The study, published in the PNAS, does not take destabilization of the polar ice sheets into account. As the lead author Steve Nerem said, "This is almost certainly a conservative estimate." https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2018/02/13/study-sea-level-rise-is-accelerating-and-its-rate-could-double-in-next-century/?utm_term=.315fd736a635

The Nerem quotation is from the following article. http://www.ibtimes.com/climate-change-accelerating-rise-sea-levels-research-says-2653142

This study is widely reported without mentioning that it neglects to consider the likely behavior of the polar ice sheets. When that is considered, multimeter rises around midcentury have been foreseen. This report of a 2016 address by the late Margaret Davidson, then NOAA's Senior Scientist for Coastal Inundation and Resilience, explains why estimates at that scale are slow to surface.  https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2016/04/12/405089.htm



6. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has issued an advisory opinion that people have a right to a healthy environment. The court addressed climate specifically. The opinion may influence other similar cases now pending in various jurisdictions. "One of the findings in particular surprised and delighted environmental advocates: it says a government is responsible for addressing the impact of an environmental disaster even if it stretches beyond the borders. The court also said governments need to be transparent and share information with each other and the public." https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/02/13/inter-american-climate-rights-colombia/



7. A new study in Nature Geoscience estimates that localized geoengineering to increase the reflectivity of surfaces could drop local temperatures by 3C and global temperatures by .7C. Localized actions such as adopting white roofs and pavements, no-till agriculture, and planned crops are not expected to carry the same dangers as larger scale geoengineering. http://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2018/02/heres-what-localized-geoengineering-might-look-like/ ?

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.unf.edu/pipermail/gwsg/attachments/20180214/30271bc5/attachment.html>