[GWSG] Resiliency in Jax; a moat for St. Augustine; lifting weights; Innolith's new battery; shutting off the gas; koalas functionally extinct

[Tilley, Al]

1. Local interest: the Jacksonville, FL City Council has formed a committee to consider ways to render the city more resilient to flooding, sea level rise, and severe weather. That would amount to an adaptation plan, which implies that they will do a vulnerability study, long resisted by our town leaders. Hogan Creek overflowed in celebration, flooding downtown streets. Thanks to Lad Hawkins for the good news. https://news.wjct.org/post/new-jacksonville-city-council-resilience-committee-address-flooding-sea-level-rise



2. St. Augustine, which completed the first vulnerability study in the region, has just appointed a resiliency officer to deal with the 1.5 feet of sea level rise their study considers possible in the next twenty years. He is planning a moat around the historical quarter.  https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/news/local/st-augustine-creates-full-time-position-to-address-sea-level-rise-and-flooding/77-dc7764b7-7ca0-497b-a92f-c68467ce966c



3. Devices which lift weights store potential energy. Such storage is cheaper than batteries. The stored power is instantly accessible and does not diminish over time. Weight storage systems are robust and long-lived. Pumped water storage is already common. Two new systems use mountains or mineshafts. https://climatenewsnetwork.net/weights-show-the-way-to-cheap-stored-power/



4. Innolith, a Swiss startup, proposes to pilot a lithium battery with enough energy density to increase an electric vehicle’s range from 330 to over 600 miles. The inorganic electrolyte is noncombustible. They hope to have the battery available in three to five years. https://www.intelligentliving.co/600-miles-battery-charge/



5. Methane-based power must be replaced by electricity from renewables if we are to cope with the climate crisis. The industry is not cooperating and will need to be throttled by determined regulation. https://phys.org/news/2019-11-california-ditched-coalis-gas.html



6. The recent bushfires and heatwave have rendered koalas “functionally extinct”—no longer viable in their habitat. https://climatecrocks.com/2019/11/23/following-massive-fires-koalas-now-functionally-extinct/

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