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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><font face="Calibri">1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>An ACEEE scoring of 16 nations on energy efficiency placed Germany first, the US thirteenth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font></span><a href="http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/Global-Ranking-for-Energy-Efficiency-US-Near-Bottom-Germany-Near-Top?utm_source=Daily&utm_medium=Headline&utm_campaign=GTMDaily"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><font color="#0563c1" face="Calibri">http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/Global-Ranking-for-Energy-Efficiency-US-Near-Bottom-Germany-Near-Top?utm_source=Daily&utm_medium=Headline&utm_campaign=GTMDaily</font></span></a><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><font face="Calibri"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><font face="Calibri">The report itself:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font></span><a href="http://aceee.org/portal/national-policy/international-scorecard"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><font color="#0563c1" face="Calibri">http://aceee.org/portal/national-policy/international-scorecard</font></span></a><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p><font face="Calibri"> </font></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><font face="Calibri">2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>In under 3 minutes the Rocky Mt. Institute explains why solar and wind ramp up so quickly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>For one thing, if you build a natural gas plant it will produce a certain amount of energy every year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>If you build a pv factory, it will produce energy producers every year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font></span><a href="http://climatecrocks.com/2014/07/18/why-solar-is-taking-over/"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><font color="#0563c1" face="Calibri">http://climatecrocks.com/2014/07/18/why-solar-is-taking-over/</font></span></a><font face="Calibri"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><u><font color="#0563c1">
</font></u></span></span></span><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In under 4 minutes, Amory Lovins goes on to explain why we need not wait for cheap bulk energy storage to transition to renewables.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></span></font><a href="http://climatecrocks.com/2014/07/19/the-myth-of-energy-storage-vs-baseload/"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><font color="#0563c1" face="Calibri">http://climatecrocks.com/2014/07/19/the-myth-of-energy-storage-vs-baseload/</font></span></a><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p><font face="Calibri"> </font></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><font face="Calibri">3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Stress from climate disruption can lead to cooperation as well as conflict.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Examples are the international cooperation over water supply from the Colorado and Mekong rivers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The article begins by questioning some of the links claimed between climate stress and conflict.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font></span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diana-liverman/what-if-climate-change-tr_b_5599886.html"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><font color="#0563c1" face="Calibri">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diana-liverman/what-if-climate-change-tr_b_5599886.html</font></span></a><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p><font face="Calibri"> </font></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><font face="Calibri">4.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Based on a new study <u>State of the Climate in 2013</u>, the head of NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center says that “the climate is changing more rapidly now than it has at any time in the historical record.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>“More than 400 scientists from 57 countries contributed to the report.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font></span><a href="http://news.sciencemag.org/climate/2014/07/report-climate-changing-more-rapidly-any-point-record"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><font color="#0563c1" face="Calibri">http://news.sciencemag.org/climate/2014/07/report-climate-changing-more-rapidly-any-point-record</font></span></a><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><font face="Calibri"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Further details from the report:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></font></span><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/07/18/3461677/noaa-state-of-the-climate-warmer/"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><font color="#0563c1" face="Calibri">http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/07/18/3461677/noaa-state-of-the-climate-warmer/</font></span></a><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p><font face="Calibri"> </font></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><font face="Calibri">5.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>The BRICS nations have established a bank with $100 b to fund infrastructure and sustainable development.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></font><a href="http://blueandgreentomorrow.com/2014/07/20/brics-100bn-sustainable-development-bank-launched-by-worlds-largest-developing-economies/"><font color="#0563c1" face="Calibri">http://blueandgreentomorrow.com/2014/07/20/brics-100bn-sustainable-development-bank-launched-by-worlds-largest-developing-economies/</font></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p><font face="Calibri"> </font></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><font face="Calibri">6.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>While melting permafrost releases methane and contributes to heating, a thermokarst lake over millennia becomes a net carbon sink.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font><a href="http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/47608"><font color="#0563c1" face="Calibri">http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/47608</font></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p><font face="Calibri"> </font></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><font face="Calibri">7.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Google Street View cars are now equipped with methane sensors, and some Google city maps are already indicating methane releases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font><a href="http://blogs.nature.com/news/2014/07/google-maps-methane-leaks.html"><font color="#0563c1" face="Calibri">http://blogs.nature.com/news/2014/07/google-maps-methane-leaks.html</font></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p><font face="Calibri"> </font></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><font face="Calibri">8.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>WA State just lowered the cost of its residential solar power by standardizing and simplifying the permitting process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font><a href="http://grist.org/news/washington-state-just-lopped-up-to-2500-off-the-cost-of-solar-panels-heres-how/?utm_source=syndication&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed"><font color="#0563c1" face="Calibri">http://grist.org/news/washington-state-just-lopped-up-to-2500-off-the-cost-of-solar-panels-heres-how/?utm_source=syndication&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed</font></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><font face="Calibri">
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