[GWSG] Germany at 56%; peak C?; Denman Glacier; PETM cloudless; accelerating extinctions; more summer, less winter

[Tilley, Al]

1. Germany generated 56% of its energy renewably in the first four months of this year. Fossil fuels accounted for a third of power generation. The story notes that South Australia’s power balance is similar. https://reneweconomy.com.au/graph-of-the-day-germany-reaches-56-renewables-for-2020-2020/



2. We may have passed our peak of carbon emissions. Bringing them to zero lies ahead, but we can take a moment for celebration. Perhaps. Much depends on how we handle the recovery from the coronavirus, and when we recover from Trump. https://www.eenews.net/stories/1063286379?ct=t(RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN)



3. East Antarctica’s Denman Glacier is unstable. Its collapse would expose the deepest land canyon on earth to warm water and threaten to release five feet of sea level rise. Rising polar temperatures have not made much news but should. http://geographical.co.uk/nature/climate/item/3714-climatewatch-contribution-of-melting-polar-ice-to-sea-level-rise-could-be-vastly-underestimated



4. In the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum 56 million years ago a buildup of CO2 slightly less than the present one led to a hotter world without clouds, and to the largest deep-sea extinction event. We appear to be headed for such a world sometime next century without vigorous mitigation. https://www.quantamagazine.org/cloud-loss-could-add-8-degrees-to-global-warming-20190225/



5. The pace of wildlife extinctions is accelerating. The effects will be irreversible as the web of life is frayed. A study has highlighted the regions and species requiring attention most urgently.  https://phys.org/news/2020-06-loss-land-based-vertebrates.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter



6. Summers are longer than they used to be and winters shorter. Maps indicate the regional variations for North America. https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/06/01/summers-are-growing-longer-due-climate-change-while-winters-dramatically-shrink/?utm_campaign=Carbon%20Brief%20Daily%20Briefing&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20newsletter

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