QUICK NEWS, December 23: REPUBLICANS LED FROM BEHIND; WHERE THE WIND IS; TOMORROW’S SOLAR COMING CLOSER
REPUBLICANS LED FROM BEHIND Poll: Post Paris Deal, Most Republicans Back Action On Climate Change
Jacky Nagelen, December 22, 2015 (Reuters via Newsweek)
“A majority of U.S. Republicans who had heard of the international climate deal in Paris said they support working with other countries to curb global warming and were willing to take steps to do so, according to a [Deccember 22] Reuters/Ipsos poll…The desire for action is notable for an issue that has barely made a ripple on the campaign trail among 2016 Republican presidential candidates…though Democratic candidates, such as Hillary Clinton, have welcomed it...More than half, or 58 percent, of Republicans surveyed said they approved of U.S. efforts to work with other nations to limit global warming…Forty percent said they would support a presidential candidate who did so…[Sixty-eight percent] either somewhat or strongly agree that they are willing to take individual steps…Republicans surveyed were split on whether they would support a candidate who believes climate change is primarily man-made, with 30 percent saying they would vote for such a candidate and 27 percent saying they would not…Republicans were less enthusiastic about fighting climate change than Democrats, but more willing to address it than the party's presidential candidates. Ninety-one percent of Democrats approve of the United States taking action…” click here for more
WHERE THE WIND IS Wind Energy Is Actually Booming in the US. You Just Have to Look for It.
December 22, 2015 (VICE News)
“…Wind now accounts for 70 gigawatts of the nation's generation capacity, which is enough to power 19 million households. Fifty thousand turbines are now in operation in the United States and costs have dropped 66 percent in the last six years…Wind energy contributes as much as 5 percent of the nation's electrical supply and…73,000 jobs across 50 states…Wind energy generation is highest in the Midwest, the Great Lakes region, and the Northeast, with big boosts occurring in the Southeast. Job creation has been distributed across the country even in regions without wind turbines…[M]anufacturing the blades and other components of wind energy systems is employing 20,000 people nationwide. …Three states — Iowa, South Dakota, and Kansas — already get over 20 percent of their electricity from wind power…” click here for more
TOMORROW’S SOLAR COMING CLOSER Solar energy from discarded car batteries; A new MIT development could benefit both the environment and human health.
Nancy W. Stauffer, December 22, 2015 (MIT News)
“MIT researchers have developed a simple procedure for making a promising type of solar cell using lead recovered from discarded lead-acid car batteries…As new lead-free car batteries come into use, old batteries would be sent to the solar industry rather than to landfills. And if production of this new, high-efficiency, low-cost solar cell takes off…manufacturers’ increased demand for lead could be met without additional lead mining and smelting. Laboratory experiments confirm that solar cells made with recycled lead work just as well as those made with high-purity, commercially available starting materials…Much attention in the solar community is now focused on [this] emerging class of crystalline photovoltaic materials called perovskites. The reasons are clear: The starting ingredients are abundant and easily processed at low temperatures, and the fabricated solar cells can be thin, lightweight, and flexible — ideal for applying to windows, building facades, and more. And they promise to be [15% to 20% efficient, which matches today’s silicon-based solar cells]…”click here for more
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