[GWSG] PHD under discussion; renewables ruling in US; 15 minutes of SLR; low-C concrete

[Tilley, Al]

1. The George Washington U Global Food Institute held the first Food and Agriculture Food summit in collaboration with the Culinary Institute of America on Oct. 28th. Attendees and panelists included legislators, scientists, chefs, farmers, teachers, social workers, and other policy influencers. The summit undertook to assess the state of food policy in the US; a major focus was food insecurity. The Planetary Health Diet was introduced by Roy Steiner, senior vice-president of the Rockefeller Foundation Food Initiative, as a way to solve “the ongoing climate, nutrition, and hunger crises in a sustainable, ethical, and culturally appropriate manner.” Other panels, including some with meat industry representatives, took up the discussion with enthusiasm. Steiner saw the major difficulty as a motivation problem. He suggested that we frame the diet in “a vision of the future that we want.” https://www.nycfoodpolicy.org/op-ed-inside-the-first-food-and-agriculture-policy-summit-the-debates-that-happened-and-those-that-didnt/
2. The US Energy Information Agency reports that “during the first nine months of 2025 and for the past year, solar and battery storage have dominated growth among competing energy sources, while fossil fuels and nuclear power have stagnated.” In the coming year, renewables and battery storage (excluding small-scale solar) are expected to increase US capacity by 67,806 MW, while commercial methane’s increase will be 3,836 MW. Coal capacity is expected to decrease by 5,857 MW and oil’s by 6 MW. Renewables now provide 26% of US energy (from the article linked at the foot of this one). https://electrek.co/2025/12/01/eia-solar-storage-fossil-fuels-september-2025/
3. PBS has published a 15 minute video on sea level rise. We are headed for rise; if we cut our emissions and draw down carbon for secure storage, we could limit the rise and adapt to it. Presently we are headed for levels which would make adaptation quite difficult. The presentation is conservative but sound, a good conversation starter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg7x6mlD5Js
4. Cement production is responsible for 8% of carbon emissions. Two-thirds of that carbon comes from limestone used to make cement. Massachusett’s Sublime Systems has developed a way to make concrete without carbon-bearing minerals. Microsoft has placed an order for 623,000 tons of Subline Cement.  https://triplepundit.com/2025/sublime-systems-cement-carbon-dioxide-emissions/?utm_source=TriplePundit&utm_campaign=b737fb2cf3-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_11_01_01_26_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-1524d1597f-380239237
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