[GWSG] Adapt and mitigate; biggest offshore wind; big plastics; Miami's C-neutral goal; Davos news; net-zero remodeling

[Tilley, Al]

1. Greg Mullins, a former commissioner of Fire and Rescue in New South Wales, Australia, warns that adaptation to a changed world is a necessary but not a sufficient response. We must cease our contributions to destructive change by ceasing to burn fossil fuels. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jan/20/i-tried-to-warn-scott-morrison-about-the-bushfire-disaster-adapting-to-climate-change-isnt-enough



2. Orstead, formerly Danish Oil and Natural Gas, will complete Hornsea One, the world’s largest offshore wind farm, this year in the North Sea off the English coast. Its 174 giant turbines will power a million homes; each turn of a rotor will power a home for a day. https://cleantechnica.com/2020/01/20/hornsea-one-will-power-millions-of-uk-homes/?utm_source=CleanTechnica+News&utm_campaign=94fe9aab44-Daily+Email+CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b9b83ee7eb-94fe9aab44-331994013



3. As we move to renewable energy sources, big oil expects to find new markets by producing more and more plastic. “The World Economic Forum predicts plastic production will double in the next 20 years.” Plastic becomes “a kind of subsidy for fracking.” Banning single-use plastics, as China and others are doing, would coveronly 5% of the current production.   https://e360.yale.edu/features/the-plastics-pipeline-a-surge-of-new-production-is-on-the-way

It will not be enough to take away oil’s market by shifting to renewables for the power system and transportation. The only way to stop fossil fuel emissions appears to be direct interference with the industry’s right to exist.



4. Miami has set a goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. (Supply your own cute comment about how readily this will be accomplished—the goal still displays an admirable impulse.) https://phys.org/news/2020-01-miami-ambitious-emissions-goal-carbon.html



5. Rolling and updated coverage of the Davos conference captures Greta Thunberg’s speeches and the reactions to Trump’s pledge to plant a trillion trees, among other matters. https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2020/jan/21/davos-2020-donald-trump-greta-thunberg-climate-mark-carney-wef-day-one-live



6. Even an old home, on a small budget, can be nudged toward energy efficiency, even net-zero carbon emissions. Most of the ideas in this Canadian article will apply to more southern homes as well. https://ensia.com/features/net-zero-energy/

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