[GWSG] Solar vs. ethanol; execs on climate; climate bills; privatizing water; cautonary tales; fracked water in TX

[Tilley, Al]

1. It would be at least 20 times more efficient (and, by a second measure, 70 times) to produce energy by taking farmland devoted to growing grain for ethanol and covering it with solar panels. Farmers make 2-3 times as much leasing land for solar power as they do growing corn on that land. That should help farmers stay in business when we cease using ethanol (though I hope they will also consider growing more organic vegetables). https://climatecrocks.com/2022/01/22/solar-much-more-efficient-use-of-land-vs-ethanol/



2. A Deloitte poll of top executives from 21 countries finds that 79% believe that we have reached a point where we must either act on climate or lose the opportunity to act—a tipping point. 97% are already feeling negative impacts of the climate crisis, two-thirds are “very concerned,” and about the same number expect that climate will have a high or very high impact on their companies in the next three years. 88% believe that we can limit the impacts of the crisis through appropriate action. https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2022/01/20/650282.htm



3. According to a report by the consulting firm McKinsey, it will take investments of $9.2 trillion a year to limit heating to 1.5C. “There will only be a sustainable economy, we won’t have any other kind.” One comment on the report is that it tabulates the upfront costs without applying the benefits of the transition to a net zero economy. The report anticipates that one side effect of the transition would be to force countries to work together, resolving old conflicts. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jan/25/transformation-global-economy-net-zero-mckinsey



4. The growing water supply crisis in the US as we compromise our aquifers has drawn the attention of corporations who are trying to privatize public water services in dozens of communities. Public opposition is also growing. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/25/corporate-vultures-americans-fearing-higher-water-bills-fight-takeovers



5. The corporations should be reminded of Bolivia, which solved an attempt to privatize their water supply by throwing out the consortium headed by Bechtel Corporation and the authorities who supported them. Floridians might remember that Jeb Bush as governor once floated the idea of selling Florida’s water supply to Enron but was deterred by the advice of a counsellor: “They’re going to hand us our ass on this one, Jeb.” (As I remember from Michael Grunwald’s 2006 book The Swamp.)  Our local government in Jacksonville was involved in a corrupt attempt to privatize our public utility. Exposure by our local newspaper did them in.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochabamba_Water_War



6. Fracking in Texas can produce ten times as much polluted waste water as it does oil. The ruined water is pumped back into the ground. It doesn’t go away, as earthquakes remind us, and compromises water supplies. https://www.desmog.com/2022/01/24/earthquakes-permian-oilfield-wastewater-west-texas/?utm_campaign=Carbon%20Brief%20Daily%20Briefing&utm_content=20220125&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20Daily

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