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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Calibri">1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>An article in Nature Climate Change reports that ozone interactions can reduce surface heating by 20% after 75 years of global warming and should be included in climate models.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font></font><a href="http://phys.org/news/2014-12-highlights-key-role-ozone-climate.html"><font color="#0563c1" size="3" face="Calibri">http://phys.org/news/2014-12-highlights-key-role-ozone-climate.html</font></a>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Calibri">2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>A Citigroup report observes that the US-China climate accord means trillions of dollars in losses for the oil and coal industries by 2030.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>It also attacks the industry notion that coal is the means of lifting the economies of poor nations, which are much more likely to pursue a policy of “everything but coal.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>CCS is too expensive and is likely to lead to stranded assets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></font></font><a href="http://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/china-us-climate-deal-delivers-4-5-trillion-blow-big-oil-coal-82211"><font color="#0563c1" size="3" face="Calibri">http://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/china-us-climate-deal-delivers-4-5-trillion-blow-big-oil-coal-82211</font></a><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Calibri">3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>After the Fukushima flooding and meltdown the Nuclear Regulatory Commission ordered inspections of nuclear plants for flood protection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>90% of the inspections found “long-standing violations.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Florida’s St. Lucie plant reported none.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
However, on January 9 a heavy rain overwhelmed storm drains and poured 50,000 gallons of water through electrical passages which had been missing seals for 30 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>The core cooling pumps would have been flooded if the reactor had tripped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Florida Power and Light was not fined.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
</font></font><a href="http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060009671"><font color="#0563c1" size="3" face="Calibri">http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060009671</font></a><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Calibri">4.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>The melt rate of the glaciers in the Amundsen Sea of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet has tripled over the last decade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font></font><a href="http://news.agu.org/press-release/west-antarctic-melt-rate-has-tripled/"><font color="#0563c1" size="3" face="Calibri">http://news.agu.org/press-release/west-antarctic-melt-rate-has-tripled/</font></a><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Calibri">5.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Soitec has used a multi-junction cell to set a record of 46% efficiency in converting sunlight into energy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font></font><a href="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/12/soitec-announces-46-percent-efficient-solar-cell?cmpid=WNL-Wednesday-December3-2014"><font color="#0563c1" size="3" face="Calibri">http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/12/soitec-announces-46-percent-efficient-solar-cell?cmpid=WNL-Wednesday-December3-2014</font></a><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Calibri">6.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Next year the US Navy will test a system of vanadium-flow batteries to provide power flow control for a medium sized solar cell installation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>They are expected to become more cost effective (and much faster in response time) than fossil fuels for the task, and can meet grid-scale needs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Similar systems are already being installed in India.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Vanadium-flow batteries may be the technological winner in the competition for a standard power storage system in the transition to renewable energy.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Thanks to Tom Larson for the topic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font></font><a href="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/12/new-navy-smart-microgrid-project-will-test-vanadium-flow-battery-storage?cmpid=WNL-Wednesday-December3-2014"><font color="#0563c1" size="3" face="Calibri">http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/12/new-navy-smart-microgrid-project-will-test-vanadium-flow-battery-storage?cmpid=WNL-Wednesday-December3-2014</font></a><font size="3"><font face="Calibri"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Wikipedia on the battery:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></font></font><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanadium_redox_battery"><font color="#0563c1" size="3" face="Calibri">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanadium_redox_battery</font></a><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Calibri">7.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>The Bank of England is conducting an enquiry into the risks of a carbon bubble causing an economic crash because fossil fuels must be left in the ground to avert a climate catastrophe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>While the concept of the carbon bubble has been around for years, this is the first public investigation by a regulator.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font></font><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/dec/01/bank-of-england-investigating-risk-of-carbon-bubble"><font color="#0563c1" size="3" face="Calibri">http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/dec/01/bank-of-england-investigating-risk-of-carbon-bubble</font></a><font size="3"><font face="Calibri"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Peter Sinclair has assembled some sources enlarging on the subject.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font></font><a href="http://climatecrocks.com/2014/12/03/finance-community-waking-up-to-the-carbon-bubble/"><font color="#0563c1" size="3" face="Calibri">http://climatecrocks.com/2014/12/03/finance-community-waking-up-to-the-carbon-bubble/</font></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><font size="3" face="Calibri">
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