Climate Letter #529

Posted on November 12, 2015 by Carl Campbell
Bill McKibben explains what is happening in the struggle to reverse climate change.  (McKibben had a very active role in that struggle for decades.  Now semi-retired, he remains a keen observer.)  When reading this you cannot help but feel that recent events signal a major turning of the tide, but a need remains for stronger support from the general public.

Please note that these are not all of the possible side effects of the medication? The medication is available in a variety of delicious flavours such as banana, mint, pineapple, strawberry, and others. best online viagra Kamdeepak capsule is one of the best herbal supplements cheap viagra samples which can cure this problem successfully. Continued research in the medical field points out to a high level of uric acid in the body. buy viagra in usa You might be asked about medication consumption, smoking habit, intake of alcohol or other drugs Reduced flow of blood uk levitra from arteries to the penis Nerve or spinal cord damage Low testosterone levels Depression and anxiety These are some of the physical causes due to the negative psychological condition.

—–
How land is being lost to desertification.  “The UN predicts over 50 million people will be forced to leave their homes by 2020 because their land has turned to desert.”  2020 is only five years off, and one way or another all of those millions of people (50 sounds pretty high) will become refugees, looking for new homes.  Oh, and here we are only talking about refugees from inland deserts, not including critical coastline displacements.
—–
Record-breaking air pollution this past week in northeastern China.  Parts of China are indeed getting cleaner, but there are still plenty of exceptions.  Excessive burning of low-grade coal is the principal cause.  “Last month, the environmental group found that nearly 80 percent of Chinese cities had pollution levels that “greatly exceeded” national standards over the first nine months of this year.”  A move toward full-scale reversal is now inescapable, with no time to spare.
Ghoramara Island, India.  Here is another story, from another part of the world, of an older coastline society being victimized by climate change, with rising tides as the primary agency.  (See Climate Letter #527.)
—–
Update on the cost of grid-scale solar energy.  Globally, more and more electric utilities are purchasing their power from independent suppliers, often based on auction bidding procedures.  Solar energy providers are doing quite well against all manner of competition as their costs keep declining.  There were major successes recently in India and Chile, plus more coverage in this post.
—–
Promising new research aimed at significantly raising solar cell efficiency.  If you have some familiarity with the mysteries of quantum behavior this report will be fun to read and will come as no surprise.  It is based on material published in a top peer-reviewed physics journal.
Carl

This entry was posted in Daily Climate Letters. Bookmark the permalink.