[✔️] October 19, 2021 - Daily Global Warming News Digest.

Tue Oct 19 07:13:01 EDT 2021

/*October 19, 2021*/

/[isn't burning coal an act of environmental terrorism?  Coal is a 
suicide bomb that is too convenient to reject -- we are unwilling buyers 
of a product that kills us all. ]/
*Climate Security Fellows Report 2021*
THE CENTER FOR CLIMATE & SECURITY
EXPLORING THE SECURITY RISKS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
By Esther Sperling

These are unprecedented times. The world continues to battle the 
COVID-19 pandemic, while democracies and economies around the globe are 
tested. Through it all, climate change is destabilizing natural and 
social systems, and driving new security risks. It has never been more 
important to engage the next generation of leaders on addressing these 
systemic risks.

The Climate and Security Advisory Group (CSAG), a project of the Center 
for Climate and Security, founded the Climate and Security Fellowship to 
do just that. The 2019-2020 Climate and Security Fellows are a 
distinguished group of professionals, all with one thing in common: a 
desire to address the security threats of climate change. They are 
emerging leaders in their respective fields of study and bring the 
necessary diversity of perspectives and backgrounds to address such 
wicked problems.

A self-selected group of Fellows wrote briefers on emerging climate 
security vulnerabilities. Each chose a topic that they felt was 
underrepresented in the current literature and deserved further 
examination. Our hope is that these briefers will spark a broader 
conversation on these vital security concerns.

I want to thank the Climate and Security Advisory Group for their 
support and thank all of the climate and security experts who briefed 
this cadre of fellows including: Hon. Sharon Burke, Hon. John Conger, 
Col. Mike Gremillion, USAF, Hon. Sherri Goodman, Dr. Rod Schoonover, and 
Joan VanDervort. Congratulations to the 2019-2020 class of Fellows. We 
look forward to watching their careers progress, and to their guidance 
of the next generation of leaders!

Esther Sperling, Co-Founder and Program Director, CSAG Climate and 
Security Fellowship Program
*https://climateandsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Climate-Security-Risk-Briefers_Climate-and-Security-Fellows-Program_October-2021-1.pdf*
https://climateandsecurity.org/

/[  video lecture from the Oxford Climate Society gives a geeky overview 
of the IPCC report ]/
*State of the Climate: Updates from the IPCC*
Oct 11, 2021
Lisa Schipper
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quBcj0d26PE

[News from China]
*Stunningly cheap solar to power China’s pivot away from coal*
Michael Mazengarb - -19 October 2021
Plunging costs of solar and battery technologies could underpin China’s 
pivot away from coal, with new research showing that by 2060 almost half 
of China’s electricity needs could be supplied by super cheap solar 
power, helping the world’s largest emitter achieve its decarbonisation 
goals.

New research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of 
Sciences, estimated that by 2060 more than 43 per cent of China’s 
electricity could be supplied by solar projects.

Critically, the researchers predicted that these solar supplies could be 
provided at a price below US 2.5 cents per kilowatt-hour – even after 
energy storage is accounted for – significantly undercutting China’s 
existing supplies of coal power.

The analysis, undertaken by researchers at Harvard University’s School 
of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Tsinghua University in Beijing, 
said that previous assessments of China’s future electricity system had 
underestimated the potential cost reductions for solar energy and 
battery storage technologies.

“The results of the study suggest that solar plus storage could serve as 
a cost-competitive and grid-compatible source for a carbon neutrality 
power system in China,” the research paper says.

“The decline in costs for solar power and storage systems offers an 
opportunity for solar-plus-storage systems to serve as a 
cost-competitive source for the future energy system in China.”..

Such cheap supplies of solar energy would likely see coal pushed out as 
China’s primary source of electricity, with the cost of coal-fired 
generation currently within the range of US 3.6 to 6.5 cents per 
kilowatt-hour.

“The findings highlight a crucial energy transition point, not only for 
China but for other countries, at which combined solar power and storage 
systems become a cheaper alternative to coal-fired electricity and a 
more grid-compatible option,” Gilbert Butler Professor of Environmental 
Studies at the Harvard, Michael B. McElroy said.

The researchers found that the significant cost advantages of solar 
energy technologies in the Chinese electricity market would allow for a 
vast amount of energy storage capacity to be added to the system to 
support the high solar penetration, while remaining cost competitive.

At 43.2 per cent solar penetration, the researchers found supplies of 
solar electricity would remain cheaper than coal generation even after 
accounting for up to 7.2 petawatt-hours of energy storage capacity that 
would need to be built to maintain reliable supplies...
- -
The researchers found there was virtually no limit to the amount of 
solar capacity that could be built within China, with a theoretical 
maximum capacity of 99.2 petawatt-hours – more than twice China’s energy 
consumption across all sources.

The researchers said that this immense potential provides China with a 
strong opportunity to decarbonise a large proportion of its energy use 
through electrification, shifting more of its energy use in industry, 
transport and construction onto the electricity system.

“Our research shows that if costs continue to decline, especially for 
storage, there could be opportunities to power vehicles, heat or cool 
buildings, or to produce industrial chemicals, all using solar energy. 
This would extend the climate and environmental benefits of solar energy 
far beyond the power sector as traditionally conceived,” Tsinghua 
University’s Shi Chen said.

China has seen surging demand for electricity as its economy continues 
to grow and the pace of industrial activity in the world’s 
second-largest economy – and largest greenhouse gas emitter – accelerates.

Most of China’s current supplies of coal have been provided by coal 
fired generators, but a growing share has been supplied by renewable 
energy sources.

The research comes as the Morrison government debates its own climate 
policies, grabbing with how to respond to mounting pressure to adopt a 
net zero emissions target for 2050, with a desire amongst some within 
the coalition government to protect Australia’s fossil fuel industries.

China is the second-largest buyer of Australian coal, but last year 
announced a commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2060, and will 
begin cutting its coal consumption from 2026.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/stunningly-cheap-solar-to-power-chinas-pivot-away-from-coal/

/[ open and easy presentations of energy solutions now and proposed  ] /
*Renewable Baseload Power from a single desert location. Enough for 7 
million homes!*
Oct 17, 2021
Just Have a Think
Baseload renewable power is the holy grail of our sustainable energy 
future and, according to some naysayers, an impossible dream. One UK 
company begs to differ, and they've just announced a £16 billion project 
that will be generating 3.6GW of solar, wind and battery capacity in 
South Morocco for an average of 20 hours a day, transmitted directly 
into the UK via subsea HVDC cables, by 2027. Could this be the most 
ambitious renewable energy project yet?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJunxkln578

/[ following the money ]/
*Bitcoin-mining power plant raises ire of environmentalists*
By MICHAEL HILL - Associated Press Oct 16, 2021
An obstacle to large-scale bitcoin mining is finding enough cheap energy 
to run the huge, power-gobbling computer arrays that create and transact 
cryptocurrency. One mining operation in central New York came up with a 
novel solution that has alarmed environmentalists. It uses its own power 
plant...

Greenidge Generation runs a once-mothballed plant near the shore of 
Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region to produce about 44 megawatts to 
run 15,300 computer servers, plus additional electricity it sends into 
the state’s power grid. The megawatts dedicated to Bitcoin might be 
enough electricity to power more than 35,000 homes...

Proponents call it a competitive way to mine increasingly popular 
cryptocurrencies, without putting a drain on the existing power grid...
- -
Bitcoin miners unlock bitcoins by solving complex, unique puzzles. As 
the value of Bitcoin goes up, the puzzles become increasingly more 
difficult, and it requires more computer power to solve them. Estimates 
on how much energy Bitcoin uses vary.

Greenidge said it mined 729 bitcoins over three months ending Sept. 30. 
The value of cryptocurrency fluctuates, and on Friday, one bitcoin was 
worth over $59,000.Environmentalists see the plant as a climate threat.
https://apnews.com/article/bitcoin-mining-new-york-power-plant-climate-change-516dbd319394a6a30f83d94947abad20

/[ video of history of an environmental victory, the Montreal Protocol ]/
*The nightmare future humanity avoided*
Oct 15, 2021
Simon Clark
The Montreal Protocol was designed to save the ozone layer, but it may 
have ended up saving the planet. Learn more about how the atmosphere 
absorbs radiation with Brilliant! https://www.brilliant.org/simonclark

A new paper this year examined the "world avoided" via the Montreal 
Protocol, and came to some shocking conclusions. It turns out that the 
ozone layer collapsing could have set in motion a disastrous sequence of 
events, creating a climate that hasn't been seen on Earth for 25 million 
years within just one century. Just as well we listened to the 
scientists on this one, eh?

The previous video in this series: https://youtu.be/vxKcqM5aSA4
This video is about the nightmare future humanity avoided by passing the 
Montreal Protocol limiting emission of CFCs. In signing the Montreal 
Protocol, the UN unintentionally avoided a hellish future climate with 
CO2 concentrations of 900ppm by the year 2100. As well as a destroyed 
ozone layer with a surface irradiated by UV light, this avoided future 
featured a climate choked with carbon dioxide, with plant life 
struggling to photosynthesise. The Montreal Protocol was designed to 
protect the ozone, but ended up potentially saving the planet, it's 
atmosphere, and biosphere. This video is similar to other videos by 
Kurzgesagt, Veritasium, and Smarter Every Day...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtI27ODuukg

/[ clever video ]/
*Sea level rise: Uncertain Climate Future [with DrGilbz]*
Oct 15, 2021
ClimateAdam
What will the Sea Level Rise of tomorrow look like? The truth is there's 
still a big range of possibilities, and scientists are struggling to pin 
down the processes that come into play. But one thing is clear: to stay 
safe, we need to stop emitting as soon as possible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zp8uSAcYgM

[Cryology --  we've underestimated the rate of ice melting  - rheology = 
deformations and flow of liquids and solids ]
*Sea Level Rise Seminar, 2021-04-27: Stef Lhermitte*
Jun 9, 2021
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies
Sea Level Rise Seminar, 2020-04-27
Speaker: Stef Lhermitte
Topic: State and fate of Antarctica’s gatekeepers: ice shelf instability 
from a remote sensing and modelling perspective

Overview: Mass loss from the Antarctic Ice Sheet is the largest 
uncertainty in current sea level rise projections and this uncertainty 
is largely related to the response of ice shelves. Ice shelves are the 
gatekeepers of Antarctica as they buttress the contribution of grounded 
ice to sea level rise. Although several processes have been identified 
that are key for future ice shelf instability and retreat, assessing how 
much, how fast ice shelf instability will contribute to future sea level 
rise remains a major uncertainty as many of the processes (e.g. 
hydrofracturing, basal melting, damage feedbacks) are not well 
understood or quantified. In this presentation, Stef Lhermitte will 
discuss the role of satellite remote sensing and modelling in assessing 
these processes by showing examples in the Amundsen Sea Embayment and 
other outlet glaciers in Antarctica with large consequences for global 
sea level.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZCzr4q2IE4

/[ The news archive - looking back ]/
*On this day in the history of global warming October  19, 1992*

  October 19, 1992: In the third presidential debate, President George 
H. W. Bush accuses Democratic challenger Bill Clinton and his running 
mate, Senator Al Gore, of pandering to "the spotted owl crowd or the 
extremes in the environmental movement" by supporting an increase in 
fuel efficiency standards. Clinton defends the idea of raising fuel 
efficiency standards; in addition, he states, "We also ought to convert 
more vehicles to compressed natural gas. That's another way to improve 
the environment."

(26:30-29:00)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCGtHqIwKek

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