QUICK NEWS, December 26: Climate Change Was Impressive In 2017; Get On Board Australia’s Solar Train; France Now Floating Big Wind

Climate Change Was Impressive In 2017 Climate Change Is Happening Faster Than Expected, and It’s More Extreme; New research suggests human-caused emissions will lead to bigger impacts on heat and extreme weather, and sooner than the IPCC warned just three years ago.

Bob Berwyn, December 26, 2017 (Inside Climate News)

“In the past year, the scientific consensus shifted toward a grimmer and less uncertain picture of the risks posed by climate change…[The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change declared that human causation is ‘extremely likely’ and the United States Global Change Research Program concluded there is not a] ‘convincing alternative explanation’…[The Royal Society called the health impacts ‘a deadly tragedy in the making’ and warned it is likelier that impacts have been underestimated that that science has been] overestimating them…[The American Meteorological Society concluded many of this year’s extreme events] would not have been possible without the influence of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions…The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)said recent melting of the Arctic was not moderating and was more intense than at any time in recorded history…” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet

Get On Board Australia’s Solar Train The World’s First Fully Solar-Powered Train Just Left the Station

Lou Del Bello, December 18, 2017 (Futurism)

“…On December 16, a fully solar-powered train took a short but groundbreaking journey in New South Wales, Australia…[The Byron Bay Railroad Company brought] the vintage passenger vehicle back to life to prove that solar power can actually work for transportation…[The train does its 1.9 mile route] solely on solar panels on its roof and at pit stops…The train originally had two diesel engines, of which one has been replaced by batteries and an electric motor. The other will serve as a backup in case of emergency, although the train will keep going under a cloudy sky, too, thanks to a 77kWh battery. The fully solar-powered train holds 100 seated passengers, with room for others to stand, and completes one round-trip journey every hour…Small vehicles are heavy, and the surface suitable for installing solar panels is too small to produce sufficient power…Trains, on the other hand, travel on a fixed route and can be quickly recharged at each stop using electricity generated by static solar panels…Since January 2017, a fleet of wind turbines have provided all the electricity needed to power the Dutch national railway. In July, Indian Railways debuted trains with solar panels on their roofs to power on-board services such as lights and fans…” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet

France Now Floating Big Wind France Hopes to Get More Wind Energy from Its Coasts

December 17, 2017 (Voice of America)

“France recently launched its first floating wind turbine…[The $29.5 million 2 MW Floatgen project is just off the French western coast. It is] France’s first attempt at offshore wind energy: electricity produced by turbines located in the ocean…[The next goal] is 50 much larger offshore turbines that are able to provide electricity to hundreds of thousands of homes…WindEurope predicts France will become Europe’s second biggest wind energy producer by 2030. Germany would remain the largest producer…Currently, wind power produces about 4 percent of France’s electricity…France is one of a few countries testing the use of floating wind turbines…” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet