[GWSG] Energy review; Dash's advice; FL's utilities face solar; Australian heat; ocean bottoms sagging

[Tilley, Al]

1. A review of the advances of clean energy in 2017 lists the decline of coal, falling prices for renewables, improving grid management, and the advances in power storage. https://insideclimatenews.org/news/03012018/clean-power-renewable-energy-jobs-technology-grids-policy-2017?utm_source=InsideClimate+News&utm_campaign=e3b8abd787-Weekly+Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-e3b8abd787-326454481



2. Jan Dash has some suggestions for handling obstructive tactics from a member of a climate audience.

"Regarding the art of responding to climate contrarians/deniers/faux-skeptics: the main point is that your target is the listening audience. Nothing you say will have the slightest effect on the denier. The usual contrarian attack (ever since the Frank Luntz memo) is against mainstream climate science. In that case, the best strategy IMO is if possible to cut off the denier Gish Gallop after 30 seconds, saying something like: "I recommend that those interested look at the one-line responses to these standard fallacies on the Skeptical Science website". The link is https://skepticalscience.com/argument.php . If the attack is on denigrating climate impacts, a fast response would be that global warming is (among other things) making extreme weather events like hurricanes worse. If the contrarian attack is on mainstream climate economics or policy, the responses are related to risk management. Usually the contrarian doesn't understand or refuses to acknowledge risk management. Finally I might say "What if you're wrong? What will you tell your grandchildren".



"A big drawback in debating a climate contrarian is that having the debate at all makes it look like there is a real debate. I don't do it any more, after multiple attempts trying it.



"I also advise not using a microphone for audience questions to avoid climate deniers monopolizing the discussion. A better way to handle audience questions is to use 3x5 cards and pencils passed out to the audience at the start, with the questions handled by a moderator."



Jan gave an interview to the Huffington Post last summer, Why We Need to Act on Climate Change Now. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-we-need-to-act-on-climate-change-now_us_597e4a3fe4b09982b73765be

The second edition of Jan's book Quantitative Finance and Risk Management, A Physicist's Approach, includes a chapter on climate. https://smile.amazon.com/Quantitative-Finance-Risk-Management-Physicists/dp/9814571237/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1515363062&sr=1-1&keywords=jan+dash+quantitative+finance+and+risk+management He is managing editor of The Climate Portal among other occupations. http://climate.uu-uno.org/



3. Florida provides a case study of the difficulties in the way of utilities as they cope with the falling price of solar power. One factor not yet widely recognized is the drop in cooling required when a roof is partially shaded by a pv array. Utilities are pulled both to preserve investor profits, and to follow the economic gradients of ever-cheaper solar power with storage. https://cleantechnica.com/2018/01/07/florida-energy-efficiency-solar-energy-regulatory-backwardness-sunshine-state-part-6-will-sun/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IM-cleantechnica+%28CleanTechnica%29



4. Temperatures in Australia are reaching "life-threatening levels," hot enough to melt a stretch of asphalt highway. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/07/world/australia/heat-wave.html?emc=edit_tnt_20180107&nlid=43628374&tntemail0=y&_r=0



5. As glaciers melt and the mass of the oceans increases, the seabed sinks, concealing about 8% of the actual sea level rise. https://www.sciencealert.com/bottom-ocean-literally-sinking-under-weight-melting-glaciers-climate-change ?

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