[GWSG] Biden's climate plan; oil & gas lose $1.6t; Grain Belt Express; Gore interview; env. justice; marine investment; Foote's discovery

[Tilley, Al]

1. Joe Biden’s Climate Change Task Force, led by John Kerry and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has made recommendations which led to Joe Biden’s ambitious climate recommendations. The program is more adequate than the one Biden advanced earlier in the campaign, and provides for carbon-free power by 2035, zero emissions from new buildings by 2030, and a goal of net-zero agriculture. https://www.msn.com/en-us/finance/markets/the-biden-sanders-climate-change-policy-pact-8-key-features/ar-BB16B6pW



2. The oil and gas industry has lost about $1.6 trillion in value this year. The crash is not all due to covid-19. It could signal a transition to renewable energy sources. The picture is confused, as this Australia-focused report details.  https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/12/from-covid-19-to-climate-whats-next-after-the-global-oil-and-gas-industry-crash



3.  The proposed Grain Belt Express is an 800 mile high voltage DC transmission line which will carry wind power from Kansas to Illinois and the states between. High voltage DC lines lose little power over distances. The power line is surviving legal obstacles raised by guessable interests. https://cleantechnica.com/2020/07/12/whoosh-wind-power-wins-pipelines-implode-in-fossil-fuel-week-from-hell/



4. Al Gore sees an upside to covid-19. The disruption it causes eases our way to an energy transition. In this interview he speaks especially as an investment manager.  “No worthwhile change comes without a struggle. It’s true that the resistance is often ferocious, but those resisting have the burden of the reality against them.” https://www.wired.com/story/global-warming-inequality-covid-19-and-al-gore-is-optimistic/



5. Black Americans suffer disproportionately both from the burning of fossil fuels and the effects of climate disruption. Climate justice, an active concern for the experiences of all communities involved, must guide climate action. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/our-racist-fossil-fuel-energy-system/ar-BB16G3E4?ocid=msedgdhp



6. A panel of 14 world leaders has concluded that investment in the oceans will be crucial to the energy transitions and will return 5-10 times the investment. The report highlights support for mangroves, clean shipping, offshore wind power, and protein from the ocean as features of a Green Recovery from Covid-19.  https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ocean-investment-could-aid-post-covid-19-economic-recovery/ar-BB16HgsM?ocid=msedgdhp



7. Joseph Fourier’s discovery of the greenhouse effect in 1824 is usually cited as the founding event of modern climate science. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/plugged-in/why-we-know-about-the-greenhouse-gas-effect/  In a five-minute video the BBC describes the role of Eunice Foote, who discovered the heating effects of CO2 and water vapor experimentally in 1856 (before Tyndall). Thanks to Brian Paradise for the show. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=bbc+video+climate+eunice+foote&docid=608042110646485321&mid=09489EE8000FE48292CF09489EE8000FE48292CF&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

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