[GWSG] Nextgen solar; N2O threat; climate a health danger; Army climate report; EIB steps away from fossils; going off and on gas

[Tilley, Al]

1. The next generation of solar cells may use a new material developed at Purdue U. Organic-inorganic perovskites promise to increase efficiency by over 50% while being stable, easier to manufacture, and more environmentally benign. https://techxplore.com/news/2019-11-material-highly-efficient-solar-cells.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter



2. Research in a region of the North Pacific suggests that acidification could lead to a greatly increased production of nitrous oxide, about 300 times as powerful a greenhouse gas as CO2. https://phys.org/news/2019-11-nitrous-oxide-emissions-pacific-ocean.html



3. A study in the Lancet warns that the climate crisis poses a serious and continuing threat to health, particularly for children. Air pollution is the largest single factor. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-health/climate-change-exposes-future-generations-to-life-long-health-harm-idUSKBN1XN2WQ?utm_campaign=Carbon%20Brief%20Daily%20Briefing&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20newsletter



4. An interagency report commissioned by the Joint Chiefs of Staff foresees that we are faced with severe consequences of the climate crisis within the next two decades. The report, Implications of Climate Change for the US Army, describes both domestic and international threats. It recommends protecting the new fossil fuel reserves of the Arctic (!) and calls for the military to play a major role in preserving order in the US itself. The report was released in August.  https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/mbmkz8/us-military-could-collapse-within-20-years-due-to-climate-change-report-commissioned-by-pentagon-says



5. The European Investment Bank, the largest public bank in the world, has voted to cease funding fossil fuel projects which do not meet new stringent standards as of 2021. Before that date it will consider only projects already under consideration.  “The decision to prioritise renewable and efficient energy follows a policy promise by the incoming European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, to turn the EIB into a ‘climate bank’, unlocking a potential €1tn in funds to help move Europe’s economy toward cleaner energy.” Under the new rules projects must produce a kilowatt hour of energy with no more than 250 grams of CO2 emissions. That may leave room for some new technologies. Further exceptions for severely stressed economies which are having difficulty making the energy transition are also written into the new policy. A bank executive calls it a “first step.”  https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/15/european-investment-bank-to-phase-out-fossil-fuels-financing



6. Though disheartening amounts of money are going into developing more methane usage in the US, an encouraging number of cities and utilities are choosing not to incur the expense and climate destruction  of undertaking new gas facilities.  https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/rethinking-future-investments-in-natural-gas-infrastructure

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.unf.edu/pipermail/gwsg/attachments/20191115/7a5fe038/attachment.html>