[GWSG] Battery reuse; CO2's record; mangrove speed limit; bankers urge action; CO2 up; Mulkey's observations

[Tilley, Al]

1. Tesla intends to produce batteries which will last much longer than their cars. This five minute video describes how those batteries could play a significant role in grid battery storage. https://climatecrocks.com/2020/06/02/tesla-the-next-generation/



2. By analyzing fossilized plant tissues a team has found that our carbon dioxide levels are higher than they have been for at least 23 million years. A further finding is that variations in the past are lower than had been thought, indicating that the sensitivity of life forms may be greater because adjustment patterns will not be part of the genetic inheritance. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-today-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide-greater.html



3. Mangroves are unlikely to keep pace with sea level rise unless we control emissions. They store carbon, protect coasts, and serve as sea life nurseries and habitats.  https://phys.org/news/2020-06-mangrove-trees-wont-survive-sea-level.html



4. A group of leading bankers observe that covid-19, the greatest economic dislocation since WWII, gives us an opportunity for climate action. If we fail to take it no one will be able to self-isolate from the climate crisis. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jun/05/world-climate-breakdown-pandemic



5. Atmospheric CO2 rose sharply this year to 417.2 ppm, in spite of covid-19. (Item 2 gives us a chance to correct the WA Post: it’s the highest in at least 23 million years, not 3.)  https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/06/04/carbon-dioxide-record-2020/?utm_campaign=Carbon%20Brief%20Daily%20Briefing&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20newsletter



6. Stephen Mulkey sends this comment on the article in the last mailing concerning the possibility that we have reached peak carbon emissions. The piece appears to confuse peak emissions (Foley’s bathtub continues to overflow, but not at an accelerating pace) and zero emissions (it ceases to overflow and we can begin to deal with the mess).  https://www.eenews.net/stories/1063286379?ct=t(RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN)

“I can’t help but comment about the article in eenews that quotes Zeke Hausfather. In my opinion, this is a misleading headline and terrible science journalism. There are two things wrong with this article: (1) it is emissions from fossil fuels that may have peaked, but this is not to say that emissions have stopped. Although the rate of emissions has gone down and may have peaked, fossil fuels are continuing to be burned. This adds to the overall greenhouse gas burden of the atmosphere. (2) This article completely ignores the emissions that are now on the rise from our decimated and transforming forests and peatlands. Soils too appear to be emitting more as they warm.

“The bottom line: Only one thing matters with respect to disruption of the climate system. This is the total amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at any given moment. This amount will continue to increase.

“Hausfather is with the Breakthrough Institute, which advocates the use of technology to decouple the human enterprise from the flow of energy and materials in nature. Any ecologist will tell you that this is simply absurd, if only from a thermodynamic perspective. The history of the BTI is not reassuring. It began with the hitjob article “The Death of Environmentalism,” which endeared the founders to conservative economists and thinktanks. Members of the Institute are strong advocates of geoengineering. The Keith Group at Harvard is a research and financial entity with a clear conflict of interest in the development of Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) and Solar Radiation Management (SRM). Both of these approaches to solving our dilemma are very dangerous and could change the Earth System to the extent that civilization would become very difficult. To credit Hausfather, he does acknowledge that the current trajectory will be catastrophic for some people and the natural world. This suggests that we can avoid the nasty bits if  we are wealthy and manage well.”

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