QUICK NEWS, October 9: Research Shows Feedback Loop Accelerating Climate Change; Solar Growth Leads The World; The Big Opportunity In Wind
Research Shows Feedback Loop Accelerating Climate Change One of the oldest climate change experiments has led to a troubling conclusion
Chris Mooney, October 5, 2017 (Washington Post)
“…[C]limate change doubters and skeptics may be right that computer simulations and data models don’t tell the whole story. A peer-reviewed 26-year record of observational data in Long-term pattern and magnitude of soil carbon feedback to the climate system in a warming world] reinforces fears about the possibility of a climate change “feedback” involving the planet’s soils, one that could pile on top of and substantially worsen the ongoing warming trend triggered by the burning of fossil fuels…Starting in 1991, a team of researchers have been studying the same 18 plots of forest soil in the Harvard Forest in Massachusetts. Six of the plots are entirely undisturbed, representing the natural state of the forest floor; six are artificially heated through underground cables to 5 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit) above the normal temperature; and six are ‘disturbed,’ meaning that they contain heating cables, but the cables are not actually powered, so the temperature is not altered…[The latest update of the findings showed] that 17 percent of the carbon has now been lost from the upper layer of soil of the heated plots over the period of the study. Extrapolating to the scale of the planet, the researchers suggest, that could be a big deal…” click here for more
Solar Growth Leads The World Solar energy is fastest growing source of power
October 4, 2017 (Associated Press via USA Today)
“…[S]olar energy was the fastest-growing source of power last year, accounting for almost two-thirds of net new capacity globally…[T] he rise was due to a boom in photovoltaic panel installations, particularly in China, thanks to a drop in costs and greater support from governments [according to the International Energy Agency’s Renewables 2017]…It is the first time that solar energy growth surpasses any other fuel as a source of power. Coal, in particular, had continued to grow in recent years despite global targets to reduce carbon emissions…[The Agency] said solar panels capacity grew 50% last year, with China accounting for almost half the expansion. The country has become a leader in renewable energy production, with the United States the second-largest market.” click here for more
The Big Opportunity In Wind Wind power will creates jobs, too
Michael Dobie, October 8, 2017 (Newsday)
“…[The five turbine, 30 MW Block Island offshore wind farm, the first ocean wind project in the U.S., went online off Rhode Island] in December…[The builder, Dewepwater Wind, will next build the 90 MW South Fork Wind Farm off New York. It] will be the nation’s first utility-scale wind farm…[and will] feed Long Island’s power-starved East End by the end of 2022…Europe has nearly 3,600 offshore wind turbines in 10 countries with a capacity of more than 12,600 MW…The U.S. Department of Energy says the nation’s ‘technical’ offshore wind capacity is 2,000 gigawatts. All U.S. fossil fuel plants together produce about half that…Most of the new turbines won’t be visible from shore, but even if they did dot the horizon…they’re hardly the visual pollution of] big barges…Wind turbine technician is one of the fastest-growing occupations in the United States…” click here for more
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