[GWSG] Babcock Ranch; sustainable communities; where to go?; waste & CH4 reduction; impediments; battery support; 40% in 2021

[Tilley, Al]

1. 12 miles NE of Fort Myers, FL, is Babcock Ranch, solar powered and designed to provide natural drainage for its 2000 homes. Ian passed over it after devastating Fort Myers Beach. Babcock Ranch lost some trees and roof shingles, but the power stayed on and major floods did not develop. It is now providing shelter to people from other areas. Thanks to Ed Brock (and CNN) for the inspiring story. https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/02/us/solar-babcock-ranch-florida-hurricane-ian-climate/index.html

2. Even solar farms and low impact development offer little protection to communities on barrier islands. https://climatecrocks.com/2022/10/02/get-out-of-florida-lessons-from-ian/
Hurricane Ian’s threat to coastal communities is much more dramatic but not functionally different than that posed by sea level rise. Generally speaking, and using the high sea level rise estimates from NOAA, barrier islands are likely to be destabilized in the next decade or two. Recovery from Ian should be based not on our current physical situation but on what we anticipate in some reasonable planning horizon—at least 50 years, and 150 makes more sense to me. When we plan those sustainable communities, Babcock Ranch should influence the plans for power and drainage. The diverse, mixed-use communities should also provide for the economic, medical, educational, and recreational needs of its citizens. We will need food and water, and connections to the larger community. Time to get busy on that.

3. CNBC reports some cities which are at lower climate risk and which are receptive to new people. Another video remarks on the way rising property insurance rates, even declining possibilities of coverage, may drive us from places we should not be living. https://climatecrocks.com/2022/10/03/destinations-for-climate-migrants/

4. Waste reduction and reforms in the way we collect and treat waste could produce major cuts in methane emissions. https://phys.org/news/2022-10-rubbish-reform-slash-emissions.html

5. A report from a conference at Oxford U on how the world can rid itself of fossil fuels provides insights into the source of continuing emissions and factors which impede the transition to renewable energy. These include the difficulty of securing financing for renewable energy projects and the ease of financing fossils fuels. https://www.carbonbrief.org/fossil-fuels-is-the-world-on-track-for-moving-past-coal-oil-and-gas-production/?utm_campaign=Carbon%20Brief%20Daily%20Briefing&utm_content=20221004&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20Daily

6. Form Energy has raised $450m to support construction of a factory for grid-scale iron-air batteries. The battery can provide days of storage cheaply, and is intended to be coupled with a solar or wind farm. The pilot plant is scheduled to begin operation in 2024.  https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/long-duration-energy-storage/form-energy-wins-450m-to-rust-iron-for-multiday-energy-storage?utm_campaign=canary&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=228449151&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_5qeHay45WLOf9KOYoJl4ogoDeR47acoaQTMdg0cTcP5423Qx-ohZ44kg9wuhSd4nBs-TU0BHWmi3dZYyt_ILplNsJwA&utm_source=newsletter

7. In 2021, 40% of US power was produced from non-fossil fuel sources. Notice the steepening curves in the graph. Commercial methane is an obvious target, and one way to turn off the gas is to replace its peaking plants with cheap energy storage. See the previous item.   https://cleantechnica.com/2022/10/05/in-2021-40-of-the-electricity-produced-in-the-united-states-was-derived-from-non-fossil-fuel-sources/

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