[GWSG] Grid changer; CO2x2; a hot Arctic; retreat cheaper; a green emergence; endangered mortgages

[Tilley, Al]

1. The zinc-air batteries developed by Canadian firm Zinc8 for utility-scale power storage are five times cheaper than lithium-ion batteries, can’t explode, and can hold days of power. The impacts include simplification of grid design and obviation of the need for peaking plants.  https://climatecrocks.com/2020/06/18/batteries-r-us-storage-problem-vanishing/



2. Because permafrost is thawing more deeply than we had thought we may have to double estimates of potential carbon release. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-stocks-vulnerable-carbon-high-permafrost.html



3. We have long expected that the poles would heat faster than the rest of the planet. The Arctic appears to be far ahead of schedule. https://www.ecowatch.com/siberia-100-degrees-2646222137.html?rebelltitem=4#rebelltitem4



4. Proactive buyouts of flood-prone homes in Nashville have been three times as cheap as flood control measures would have been. Coastal areas might take notice. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-proactive-home-buyouts-financial-benefits.html



5.  Greenhouse gas emissions are rising, despite the limitations imposed by the corona virus. Future emissions hang on whether we engineer a green emergence from the pandemic. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-pandemic-greenhouse-gas-emissions.html



6. The 30-year mortgage was devised during the depression to make it more possible to own a home. It is endangered by climate risks. “If climate change makes coastal homes uninsurable, Dr. Becketti wrote, their value could fall to nothing, and unlike the 2008 financial crisis, ‘homeowners will have no expectation that the values of their homes will ever recover.’” Banks are busy shifting endangered property to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, where the taxpayers bear the risk. Interest-only mortgages are becoming more popular as people become aware that their homes may not hold value.    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/19/climate/climate-seas-30-year-mortgage.html?utm_campaign=Carbon%20Brief%20Daily%20Briefing&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20newsletter

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