QUICK NEWS, November 28, 2016: Pope Talks Climate Change At Trump; Solar Comes To The Mall; The Big Possibilities Of Backyard Wind

Pope Talks Climate Change At Trump Pope urges world leaders not to hobble climate change pact

Philip Pullella w/Roberta Rampton and Robin Pomeroy, November 28, 2016 (Reuters)

“…[Addressing a group of scientists that included theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, Pope Francis urged national leaders] to implement global environmental agreements without delay, a message that looked to be squarely aimed at U.S. President-elect Donald Trump…[It was the Pope’s] strongest speech on the environment since the election of Trump, who has threatened to pull out of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change…Francis, who wrote an encyclical, or papal letter, on the environment last year, took a swipe at those who dispute that climate change is caused by human activity, criticizing ‘the ease with which well-founded scientific opinion about the state of our planet is disregarded’…During the campaign, Trump called climate change a hoax…Last week he appeared to soften his stance…[saying] he was keeping ‘an open mind’ and that there might be ‘some connectivity’ between human activity and global warming…[But then his designated chief-of-staff said] the president-elect still believed climate change was mostly ‘a bunch of bunk’…” click here for more

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Solar Comes To The Mall Solar power store highlights bright potential for clean energy

Ivan Penn, November 26, 2016 (LA Times)

“…Bland’s Solar & Air [is next to the Village Pet Market, two doors down from Trader Joe’s] in a nondescript strip mall…[It] looks a little like a car dealership, only for personal electricity generators from the sun. The unusual storefront is, solar experts say, the largest, most comprehensive solar power showroom in California, with not only panels but also actual rooftops with the systems mounted for potential customers to see…[There are three 5,000-square-foot showrooms in Bakersfield, Templeton, and Clovis and the owners plan new stores in Fresno and an unnamed city] for 2017…[The showrooms sell 50% to 60% of] the 100 solar installations Bland contracts each month…[Bernadette del Chiaro, executive director of the solar association, said the] showroom approach is the direction the industry is headed with the likes of SolarCity merging with Tesla Motors for one-stop home-energy shopping…” click here for more

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The Big Possibilities Of Backyard Wind DOE study confirms vast untapped energy and jobs potential for distributed wind energy systems

Paul Dvorak, November 28, 2016 (Windpower Engineering and Development)

“…[T]he first technical and economic analysis of distributed wind power’s potential in the U.S…[shows] that distributed wind could be installed at millions of locations nationwide and has the technical potential to power the entire U.S. electrical system…Distributed wind typically means smaller wind turbines installed at homes, farms, businesses, and public facilities where they serve to reduce consumer’s electric bills…Distributed wind power’s total addressable resource potential is comparable to wind farms and offshore wind, potentially supporting millions of systems and thousands of gigawatts of power production capacity…[and] exceeds total U.S. electricity demand…Major increases in electricity production (and corresponding rural economic development) from this sector are quite possible, especially with policies that have been successful with solar…” click here for more

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