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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Calibri">1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Orrin Pilkey and Andrew Cooper describe the futility of armoring a beach with sea walls in their book The Last Beach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Coastal development only makes the inevitable retreat from a rising sea more difficult and costly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/dec/15/worlds-beaches-being-washed-away-coastal-development"><font color="#0563c1" face="Calibri">http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/dec/15/worlds-beaches-being-washed-away-coastal-development</font></a>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Calibri">2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>The lakes of melt water which form on the surface of the Greenland ice sheet in summer are likely to double in area and move inland by 2060, leading to a greatly increased melt rate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>The lakes have not yet been included in models.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/dec/15/greenland-ice-melt-underestimated-study-says"><font color="#0563c1" face="Calibri">http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/dec/15/greenland-ice-melt-underestimated-study-says</font></a><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Calibri">3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Two degrees C of warming may well be too much, as many scientists have warned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>The limit was set partly to avoid melting of the polar ice sheets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>A group of nations have begun a study of the issue and plan to release a report this summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>(Subs. req’d.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></font><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/16/science/earth/is-a-two-degree-limit-on-global-warming-off-target.html?emc=edit_th_20141216&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=43628374"><font color="#0563c1" face="Calibri">http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/16/science/earth/is-a-two-degree-limit-on-global-warming-off-target.html?emc=edit_th_20141216&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=43628374</font></a><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Calibri">4.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>The Brookings Institution has issued an essay describing current projects to develop advanced nuclear energy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Thanks to Henry Thomas for the link.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
</font><a href="http://www.brookings.edu/research/essays/2014/backtothefuture?utm_campaign=Brookings+Brief&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=15297169&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--fOp7y84EAMy-h1TF7IzeRBSWNOD_P9kII-SWa8SU52yZIvFaLlpsEs89efm7rD0R-BjUh4c1snrtc7S3tAbeppJt7Rg&_hsmi=15297169"><font color="#0563c1" face="Calibri">http://www.brookings.edu/research/essays/2014/backtothefuture?utm_campaign=Brookings+Brief&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=15297169&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--fOp7y84EAMy-h1TF7IzeRBSWNOD_P9kII-SWa8SU52yZIvFaLlpsEs89efm7rD0R-BjUh4c1snrtc7S3tAbeppJt7Rg&_hsmi=15297169#</font></a><font face="Calibri"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>(The article is naïve about renewable energy and a little rosy about nuclear potential.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>I thought more needed to be said about cost, safety, and time to implementation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Still—where else have you seen these developing projects discussed?)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>More on the topic—subscription required.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
</font><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/16/business/energy-environment/betting-on-the-need-scientists-work-on-lighter-cleaner-nuclear-energy.html"><font color="#0563c1" face="Calibri">http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/16/business/energy-environment/betting-on-the-need-scientists-work-on-lighter-cleaner-nuclear-energy.html</font></a><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Calibri">5.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>The recent rains in CA are welcome but have had little general effect on the drought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font><a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-30510263"><font color="#0563c1" face="Calibri">http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-30510263#</font></a><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Calibri">6.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Austin, TX, plans to get 55% of its power from renewables by 2025.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>The plan does not seem to include transportation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/12/16/3603991/austin-texas-renewable-energy-plan/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=cptop3&utm_campaign=cptop3&elq=~~eloqua..type--emailfield..syntax--recipientid~~&elqCampaignId=~~eloqua..type--campaign..campaignid--0..fieldname--id~~"><font color="#0563c1" face="Calibri">http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/12/16/3603991/austin-texas-renewable-energy-plan/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=cptop3&utm_campaign=cptop3&elq=~~eloqua..type--emailfield..syntax--recipientid~~&elqCampaignId=~~eloqua..type--campaign..campaignid--0..fieldname--id~~</font></a><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Calibri">7.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>The tallest structure in North America would generate its own wind and enough wind energy to equal the output of the Hoover Dam at less than the cost of natural gas but may fail to acquire funding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font><a href="http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/will-the-2250-foot-solar-wind-tunnel-ever-be-more-than-a-pipe-dream?utm_source=Daily&utm_medium=Headline&utm_campaign=GTMDaily"><font color="#0563c1" face="Calibri">http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/will-the-2250-foot-solar-wind-tunnel-ever-be-more-than-a-pipe-dream?utm_source=Daily&utm_medium=Headline&utm_campaign=GTMDaily</font></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><font face="Calibri">
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