[GWSG] 5 hopeful charts; band aids for septic systems; FL in blinders; Google's solar; WAIS dynamic; it's not all giraffes

[Tilley, Al]

1. The Rocky Mountain Institute has compressed the transition to renewable energy into five illustrated concepts. “If the energy transition were a novel, this decade would be its climax.”  https://rmi.org/the-energy-transition-in-five-charts-and-not-too-many-numbers/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=spark&utm_content=spark-a&utm_campaign=2023_05_04

2. Since 2010 the Atlantic has been rising at an average of .5” a year along the US SE coast and in the Gulf. The water table in coastal areas is keeping pace, and septic systems are increasingly compromised. (Also involved, if we looked, would be drainage, water supply, sewer systems, gasoline in buried tanks, and pollutants leaching from brown fields.) A U of Miami student study recommends mound drainage fields and micro septic systems. https://news.miami.edu/stories/2023/05/rising-seas-are-causing-septic-systems-to-fail.html  At the current rate of rise, and with higher rates in prospect, we would barely have time to get the band aids situated before they would be useless. We need to clean up before these coastal areas submerge.

3. Susan Glickman observes that “you can’t adapt your way out of climate change.” We need to stop emitting carbon. Florida is beginning to recognize the risks it is running; it has not yet acknowledged the cause, and the necessary actions to avoid the worst consequences of our burning of fossil fuels. https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2023/05/04/heres-why-sea-walls-alone-wont-save-florida-climate-change-column/

4. Google is joining with EDP Renewables to build 500 megawatts of solar power in 80 communities, part of Google’s plan to be renewably powered by 2030. The plan for the community solar installations includes a commitment to direct at least 10% of the funds to at least 25,000 “high energy-burden” households. By undertaking to supply power from small community solar installations Google intends to avoid the interconnection problems attendant on larger installations.  https://www.theenergymix.com/2023/05/07/google-plans-500-mw-synthetic-community-solar-project/

5. A new study of subglacial lakes in the West Antarctic revealed that the region is more dynamic—more subject to change—than has been supposed. 6,000 years ago the ice sheet had retreated 155 miles from its current boundaries. Nine feet of sea level rise are at stake.  https://www.earth.com/news/antarctic-ice-sheet-was-more-dynamic-than-previously-thought/


6. Parasites can be the glue which holds ecosystems together. They are falling to extinction in alarming numbers, along with bacteria, fungi, and other microbial life forms. An 11 minute video from Scientific American sets the stage for an article on this neglected aspect of biodiversity. https://climatecrocks.com/2023/05/08/extinction-its-not-just-for-charismatic-mammals/

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