[GWSG] Venice votes; superfund menace; slippery bowls; health benefit; Heliogen; pass/fail; oversupplied

[Tilley, Al]

1. Venice’s government offices were flooded two minutes after the regional council rejected a package of measures to counter the climate crisis. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/venice-flooding-council-is-flooded-moments-after-rejecting-climate-change-measures/



2. Superfund sites are the most heavily polluted locations in the country. At least 60% are vulnerable to the effects of the climate crisis and require action, according to a report by the Government Accounting Office. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/superfund-sites-gao-government-watchdog-warning-vulnerability-climate-change-today-2019-11-18/



3. LESS is a super slippery toilet coating developed at Penn State which cuts the water needed for a flush in half, and slides away bacteria too. The coating process takes five minutes. Our looming water shortage is eased. https://phys.org/news/2019-11-slippery-toilet-coating-cleaner-flushing.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter



4. The transition to renewable energy will cut illness from air pollution by 80%. As of 2050, five million fewer people will suffer an early death. The same study warns that biofuels require 100 times more land than solar power.  https://phys.org/news/2019-11-renewables-power-health-impact-percent.html



5. The startup company Heliogen uses artificial intelligence and mirrors to create a concentrating solar oven capable of forging steel and manufacturing glass and cement. It may also create hydrogen for fuel on an industrial scale, replacing the natural gas now used as a source. The venture is backed by Bill Gates. https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/heliogens-tech-could-unlock-renewable-110105563.html



6. Bill McKibben reminds us that our attempt to cope with the climate crisis is a pass or fail test (where B+ is F), and it’s timed. Time is short. (And we don’t know exactly how short, or quite what the passing grade is. Makes us nervous.) https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/20/climate-crisis-its-now-or-never-to-avert-catastrophe



7. We are producing twice as much fossil fuel as we can burn and still hold heating to 1.5C. “We’re in a deep hole – and we need to stop digging.” https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/20/fossil-fuel-production-on-track-for-double-the-safe-climate-limit

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