[GWSG] Shifting risk; tracking recovery funds; 2 docs; kinetic energy storage; measuring oceanic C; land protection app

[Tilley, Al]

1. Banks are shifting the risk of 30-year mortgages to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—that is, to us. The climate crisis is complicating medium-range financial planning. Rhode Island is experimenting with telling people the 30-year risks to property. https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/09/mortgage-lenders-face-increasing-risks-from-sea-level-rise/?ct=t(EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_WEEKLY_083120)

2. Carbon Brief has supplied an interactive tracker for covid-19 recovery funds to be used for carbon emissions reduction projects in the world’s major economies. The grid will be updated regularly. The amount of information is too overwhelming and disorganized for me to absorb, but I plan to return to it as the recovery process moves along and issues arise. The site includes a discussion of the “potentially damaging contributions” which dominate the stimulus programs of 17 economies. We may hope that green spending will return as more long-term stimulus plans are enacted. The site ends with discussions of some of the individual national plans. Thanks to Brian Paradise for the link. https://www.carbonbrief.org/coronavirus-tracking-how-the-worlds-green-recovery-plans-aim-to-cut-emissions

3. Michael Moore’s documentary Planet of the Humans is reported to be so flawed in recognizable ways that I see no reason to watch it.  It’s Okay to Panic, a climate documentary and biographical memoir of the Polish atmospheric physicist and climate activist Szymon Malinowski, is too good to miss. https://cleantechnica.com/2020/09/05/a-tale-of-two-movies/
Here is It’s Okay to Panic. 59”  https://www.itsokaytopanic.org/

4. Gravitricity is piloting energy storage by raising and dropping two 25-ton weights inside the lattice-work tower of a wind turbine. On a much smaller scale, a solar-powered gaming device gets by without a battery if the operator pushes the right buttons.  https://cleantechnica.com/2020/09/04/energy-storage-takes-on-weird-new-forms-as-sparkling-green-future-takes-shape/

5. Taking warmer surface waters into account raises the estimate of the amount of atmospheric carbon which is absorbed by the oceans. We have known that about half of C emissions go to the oceans; the new calculations show that in some times and locations the estimate is low by a half. The correction pulls the calculation of the amount of C sequestered into agreement with direct measurements of the buildup of C in the oceans.  https://phys.org/news/2020-09-ocean-carbon-uptake-widely-underestimated.html

6. A new app allows the calculation of where land needs to be protected to safeguard biodiversity and lower carbon buildup. We already protect about 15% of the land; we need to add another 35% over the next decade. https://news.mongabay.com/2020/09/how-do-we-avert-global-warming-extinctions-and-pandemics-new-app-has-answers/

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