[GWSG] Ships' emissions cut; SLR in Jacksonville; de-educating FL; Eversource bails; IRA after a year; H2O short in Europe

[Tilley, Al]

1. 2020 regulations have cut the amount of sulfur coming from ships’ stacks by 80%. That has meant cleaner air, but, because sulfur reflects sunlight, it has also meant hotter surface temperatures for the planet. Some take it as an unintended experiment in geoengineering.  https://www.science.org/content/article/changing-clouds-unforeseen-test-geoengineering-fueling-record-ocean-warmth?utm_source=sfmc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ScienceAdviser&utm_content=distillation&et_rid=17155387&et_cid=4847916

2. Jacksonville, FL (my home) has resolutely ignored the sea level rise which is now producing regular tidal flooding. This opinion piece in the Florida Times-Union delivers some straight talk about what is ahead for us (the first such talk most fellow residents will have read) and profiles our denial. The copious comments document it. https://www.yahoo.com/news/climate-advocate-river-run-unless-090442042.html

3. In another documentation of FL’s climate denial, Governor DeSantis has approved for use in the state’s schools a collection of films from Prager U (so-called) which “compare climate activists to Nazis, portray solar and wind energy as environmentally ruinous and claim that current global heating is part of natural long-term cycles.” In the usual projective style of the US right wing, DeSantis purports to be protecting children from indoctrination. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/10/florida-ron-desantis-climate-vidoes-school-curriculum

4. The American Gas Association has been active in preventing the energy transition by casting doubt on the unhealthy effects of using gas, by opposing efficiency standards, by working for preemption laws to prevent local governments from banning fossil fuels in new buildings, and by generally spreading misinformation. Now Eversource, New England’s largest utility, has left the group in order to pursue decarbonization. Thanks to Josh Melko for the good news. https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/08/08/eversource-american-gas-association-aga-decarbonization-cliamte-preemption-natural-gas

5. A year of the Inflation Reduction Act has led to major gains in the energy transition. One of the impediments is delivering the new energy, with problems in permitting and infrastructure. (Where is topic number six?) https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/11/biden-climate-bill-inflation-reduction-act

6. Europe is threatened with water shortage as groundwater reserves dry up. https://climatecrocks.com/2023/08/11/could-europe-run-out-of-water/

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.unf.edu/pipermail/gwsg/attachments/20230811/4cf076c7/attachment.htm>