[GWSG] Skewed to heat; blue H BS; AR-6 pt. 3; easy C capture; paths to 0 emissions; crux in Glasgow

[Tilley, Al]

1. A study of warming and cooling patterns in the last 66 million years shows that warming was amplified, perhaps by biological and chemical changes, so that the curves were skewed toward warming. The heat we are adding through burning coal, oil, and gas, and releasing such gasses as methane and chlorofluorocarbons, may be expected to trigger positive feedbacks. https://phys.org/news/2021-08-global-begets-paleoclimate.html

2. The infrastructure bill recently passed by the Senate allocates $8 billion to the production of blue hydrogen. Hydrogen can be produced by splitting water with renewable energy, but the push from the fossil fuel industry is to produce it from commercial gas. That process releases 20% more greenhouse gas than burning coal and 60% more than burning diesel oil. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/12/clean-fuel-blue-hydrogen-coal-study

3. The first part of the IPCC sixth assessment report was published this week. A draft of the third part, which concerns solutions and will be published in March, has been leaked by scientists who fear that it will be watered down by politicians on its way to the public. The leaked draft calls for shutting down coal, oil, and gas production, controlling our diet to benefit the planet, moderating such habits of the wealthy as heavy use of air travel, and generally halving emissions in the next decade, along with other familiar and practical ways to limit heating to 1.5C. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/12/greenhouse-gas-emissions-must-peak-within-4-years-says-leaked-un-report

4. By adding a carbon-capturing chemical to the water in existing cooling towers for large buildings, a start-up called Noya in the San Francisco area can pull carbon from the atmosphere for less than S100 a ton. There are around two million cooling towers in the US.  https://www.fastcompany.com/90665773/this-startup-uses-the-cooling-towers-on-buildings-as-carbon-capture-devices?partner=rss&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=rss+fastcompany&utm_content=rss

5.   Integrated assessment models represent the world’s economy and emissions under various assumptions of change. They show a number of pathways to zero emissions. Much depends on how we will choose to behave. https://www.npr.org/2021/08/14/1027370891/climate-change-solutions-global-warming-computer-models-paris

6. In October the world’s nations will meet in Glasgow for a climate conference to determine what path we will follow. A great deal rides on what the US is able to do. Senator Chris Murphy (Dem., CT): "Does the future of the world ride on what happens in the next few months? Maybe," Murphy said. "I don't think you can overstate how important it is for us to right the ship on US climate policy, because the [countries] we need to listen to us are not going to unless we show we're willing to change our own policy."  https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/14/politics/biden-kerry-climate-change/index.html

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