[GWSG] C extractor; CPP loss unmourned; coal economics; orphan oil wells; colder US winters; slow cleanup

[Tilley, Al]

1. A new process uses liquid gallium to convert CO2 to oxygen and sheets of useful carbon. The process is 93% efficient, relatively cheap, and works at room temperature; it is being commercialized. The process seems most applicable to exhaust streams. https://phys.org/news/2021-10-liquid-metal-proven-cheap-efficient.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly-nwletter

2. Steve Cohen of Columbia U’s Earth Institute observes that the blocking of the Clean Power Program from the administration’s reconciliation bill need not mean giving up on accelerating the energy transition. In fact, punishing reluctant utilities through fines might have done more harm than good. If we can support the means of transition (such as grid refitting) and such tools as a national green bank and state renewable power targets we may achieve satisfactory progress. https://phys.org/news/2021-10-decarbonization.html

3.  A Harvard study found that at below 2.5 cents/kilowatt-hour, solar power plus storage is sufficiently cheaper than coal power to ensure a move away from coal in China. https://reneweconomy.com.au/stunningly-cheap-solar-to-power-chinas-pivot-away-from-coal/

4. 81,000 orphan oil wells have been documented in the US. The total may be 30 times higher. They are all likely to be leaking methane and polluting groundwater. The REGROW act would initiate a program to deal with them. https://cleantechnica.com/2021/10/19/edf-magill-university-document-81000-orphan-oil-gas-wells-in-us/

5. A modelling study indicates that a slow AMOC (which has recently been forecast) would cause more extremely cold winter weather in the US. https://phys.org/news/2021-10-ocean-currents-extreme-winter-weather.html

6. If we were to succeed in ceasing carbon emissions, increased rock weathering would form carbonates and water would remove them to the oceans, cleansing the atmosphere.  56 million years ago at the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum when volcanoes led to a greenhouse event like the one now underway recovery of the atmosphere took 20-50,000 years. (We could speed this up through a good carbon capture and sequestration program. Kelp permaculture cleanses the oceans as well.) https://phys.org/news/2021-10-quickly-climate-recover.html

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