[GWSG] Past ag warming; EFI CC study; SLR expectations; CC and hurricanes; Guterres warns and convenes; China's promise; CA's targets; vertical farms

[Tilley, Al]

1. By about 5,000 years ago early farming appears to have added enough carbon dioxide and methane to the atmosphere to reverse a trend to a significantly cooler climate. We seem to have lodged the planet in an indefinitely protracted warm interglacial period. (With the threat, obviously, of an intolerably hot one.) https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/09/180906141507.htm
Ancient farmers spared us from glaciers but profoundly changed Earth's climate<https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/09/180906141507.htm>
www.sciencedaily.com
New evidence shows that ancient farming practices led to a rise in the atmospheric emission of the heat-trapping gases carbon dioxide and methane -- a rise that has continued since, unlike the trend at any other time in Earth's geologic history.



2. Ernest Moniz, Secretary of Energy under President Obama, is leading the Energy Futures Initiative to explore methods of capturing carbon, including direct air capture, reforestation, and biochar. The initiative includes former DOE officials and is served by an advisory board comprised of an array of government and industry figures. (I do not know how to reconcile the statement that they intend to study reforestation with the described intent to avoid studying land use.) https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060096409
[https://www.eenews.net/image_assets/2018/09/image_asset_39827.jpg?1536604452]<https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060096409>

CLIMATE: Moniz group launches 'substantial' CO2 air capture project<https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060096409>
www.eenews.net
A think tank led by former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced today it is developing a federal plan to promote technologies for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.


The Energy Futures Initiative itself has already produced several reports. https://energyfuturesinitiative.org/news/2017/6/20/ernest-moniz-introduces-the-energy-futures-initiative
Ernest Moniz Introduces the Energy Futures Initiative — EFI<https://energyfuturesinitiative.org/news/2017/6/20/ernest-moniz-introduces-the-energy-futures-initiative>
energyfuturesinitiative.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 21, 2017 The Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) is a new not-for-profit organization dedicated to driving innovation in energy technology, policy and business models. EFI offers analytically-based, technology-informed, all-of-the-above solutions on a range of energy policy


The Initiative is sketched on their home site. https://energyfuturesinitiative.org/
[http://static1.squarespace.com/static/58ec123cb3db2bd94e057628/t/590e3bc96b8f5b01a7fe2d0e/1494105036409/efilogo.png?format=1000w]<https://energyfuturesinitiative.org/>

EFI<https://energyfuturesinitiative.org/>
energyfuturesinitiative.org
driving opportunities through energy innovation, technology and policy learn more



3. Calcium carbonate deposits in the sea caves of Mallorca from the last interglacial period indicate that if we warm by 1.5-2C the sea level will rise 2-6 meters and stabilize there. Work on the project continues. https://phys.org/news/2018-09-scientists-stable-sea-interglacial.html
[https://3c1703fe8d.site.internapcdn.net/newman/gfx/news/2018/unmusfscient.jpg]<https://phys.org/news/2018-09-scientists-stable-sea-interglacial.html>

Scientists find stable sea levels during last interglacial<https://phys.org/news/2018-09-scientists-stable-sea-interglacial.html>
phys.org
Visualize the following: The Earth's climate swings between cold glacial and warm interglacial periods; the last glacial interval was about 20,000 years ago; sea level was about 126 meters (413 feet) below modern sea level at that time; and the Holocene, which represents the last 12,000 years of climatic change, is an interglacial period.



4. David Nolan, Chair of Atmospheric Sciences at the U of Miami, answers basic questions about global warming and hurricanes. Basically, we do not yet know whether to expect more or stronger hurricanes as we heat up, though we do know to expect more extreme rainfall. https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/hurricane-florence-raises-questions-about-link-between-climate-change-severe-ncna908296
[https://media4.s-nbcnews.com/j/newscms/2018_37/2561261/180910-hurricane-florence-mn-1515_dbc19637f73988a75ee0bd123d0e5090.1200;630;7;70;5.png]<https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/hurricane-florence-raises-questions-about-link-between-climate-change-severe-ncna908296>

Hurricane Florence raises questions about link between climate change, severe storms<https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/hurricane-florence-raises-questions-about-link-between-climate-change-severe-ncna908296>
www.nbcnews.com
Storm expert David Nolan explains what we know and what we're still trying to figure out.


Jeffrey Kiehl, James Hansen, and other scientists warn that warming in the past appears to have led to superstorms, and that sea level rise intensifies the damage from storms surges. https://climatecrocks.com/2018/09/10/climate-warming-and-superstorms-our-past-is-the-future/
[http://img.youtube.com/vi/160zc_F8-ns/0.jpg]<https://climatecrocks.com/2018/09/10/climate-warming-and-superstorms-our-past-is-the-future/>

Climate Warming and Superstorms – Our Past is the Future<https://climatecrocks.com/2018/09/10/climate-warming-and-superstorms-our-past-is-the-future/>
climatecrocks.com
Above, discussion of what new climate research says about storms in warm eras of the past. Below, Jeffrey Kiehl of National Center for Atmospheric Research discusses the paleo-evidence for heat-fue…



5. In advance of the climate conference in Katowice, Poland, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warns that we have little time left to act if we are to keep our chances low of incurring runaway warming. “Nothing less than our future and the fate of humankind depends on how we rise to the climate challenge,” Guterres said. He will convoke a special climate summit meeting in New York next September. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/sep/11/fossil-fuel-dependence-poses-direct-existential-threat-warns-un-chief
[https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/d26ecad40c8a04ae012d1a75333d515e5101a263/2065_871_1513_908/master/1513.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&usm=12&fit=crop&crop=faces%2Centropy&bm=normal&ba=bottom%2Cleft&blend64=aHR0cHM6Ly9hc3NldHMuZ3VpbS5jby51ay9pbWFnZXMvb3ZlcmxheXMvZDM1ODZhNWVmNTc4MTc1NmQyMWEzYjYzNWU1MTcxNDEvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&s=0224f039da0112bb05c8a74a294e6f5c]<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/sep/11/fossil-fuel-dependence-poses-direct-existential-threat-warns-un-chief>

Fossil fuel dependence poses 'direct existential threat', warns UN chief<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/sep/11/fossil-fuel-dependence-poses-direct-existential-threat-warns-un-chief>
www.theguardian.com
A rapid global shift to clean energy is needed to prevent runaway climate change, says António Guterres



6. In an address last October Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed “to build an ecological civilization that will benefit generations to come.” Since then China has move decisively toward a carbon-free energy supply. While economic expansion could well lead to an ecological disaster, it remains possible that China will build an economy rooted in traditional Chinese values of ecological harmony. https://ensia.com/voices/ecological-civilization/
[https://ensia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Voices_China_Main3.jpg]<https://ensia.com/voices/ecological-civilization/>

Can China really lead the way to an “Ecological ...<https://ensia.com/voices/ecological-civilization/>
ensia.com
If president Xi Jinping’s ecological vision turns out to be more than mere rhetoric, it could have a profound effect on humanity’s future.



7. Governor Brown has signed into law the state’s resolve to supply 60% renewable energy by 2030 and to become carbon-free by 2045. CA then intends to become net-negative for greenhouse gasses. https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/its-official-gov-brown-signs-100-clean-energy-into-law?utm_medium=email&utm_source=Daily&utm_campaign=GTMDaily#gs.HC5zYIs
[https://www.greentechmedia.com/assets/content/cache/made/content/images/articles/California_State_Capitol_Sunrise_Shutterstock_XL_500_334_80.jpg]<https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/its-official-gov-brown-signs-100-clean-energy-into-law?utm_medium=email&utm_source=Daily&utm_campaign=GTMDaily#gs.HC5zYIs>

It’s Official: Gov. Brown Signs 100% Clean Energy Into Law<https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/its-official-gov-brown-signs-100-clean-energy-into-law?utm_medium=email&utm_source=Daily&utm_campaign=GTMDaily#gs.HC5zYIs>
www.greentechmedia.com



8. Cheap computerized vertical farms are now a reality for fast-growing vegetables such as leafy greens. (They are still energy pigs.) http://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2018/07/this-is-roquette-science/
[http://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/food-computer2.jpg]<http://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2018/07/this-is-roquette-science/>

This Is Roquette Science | Anthropocene<http://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2018/07/this-is-roquette-science/>
www.anthropocenemagazine.org
The latest world-changing idea for agriculture sprouted three years ago, not from a field but from a computer lab. In 2015, Caleb Harper, an MIT Media Lab research scientist, wowed the audience at a TED Conference in Geneva with his vision for personal food computers: automated, indoor hydroponic gardens capable of downloading and replicating the conditions needed to create perfect parsley ...



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