For the past three decades scientists with the Intergovernmental Panel  on Climate Change have been releasing major reports about the global climate.  For today, they express more certainty about what is really happening and why.

  Now the scientists delivered some grim news. Humans, they wrote in the  report, made public on Monday, that we have poured so much of the green house gases into  the atmosphere over the last century-plus that no matter what happens  now, the world will keep warming until at least until 2050, reaching 1.5  degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming, the ambitious  limit that was a goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement, well before that,  perhaps even by the end of this decade. 

What does this mean for us?  It means we have to develop adaptation strategies for CC.

 A   trillion-dollar bet on clean energy   

This does not come as a surprise, but it is certainly welcome news.  This past week President Biden’s economic  team announced it is finalizing plans to invest between $3 trillion   and $4 trillion in spending and tax credits to lift the economy!   This attention by the administration emphasis that the tackling of climate change and shifting to  clean energy will be the focus of the package.

Scientific reports are now aligning with the efficiency and low costs of kelp farms as a carbon sink.  Harvard University led research driving this home.  Reference:  http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2019/how-kelp-naturally-combats-global-climate-change/

Great to hear this new year can be one of where mankind's better side rises to the occasion.  The targets from the Paris summit are likely not to be met and we need to be more assertive in going after actions to slow the rate of CC acceleration.  It was clear from our discussion over 7 years ago after the Rome conference, that we had gone past the point of no return.  Yet, take heart as we certainly can mitigate the effects of CC by taking concerted steps.  Just look at how the pandemic had a positive effect on the environment.  We can succeed in making CC less stressful.  

The UN secretary general has called on all countries to declare a climate emergency.

António Guterres was speaking at a virtual summit on the fifth anniversary of the Paris climate agreement, 

He  criticised rich countries for spending 50% more of their pandemic  recovery cash on fossil fuels compared to low-carbon energy.

Over 70 world leaders are due to speak at the meeting organised by the UK, UN and France.

Mr  Guterres said that 38 countries had already declared a climate  emergency and he called on leaders worldwide to now do the same

What are we not understanding of the impacts of wildfires?  The apparent immediate destruction by the fires themselves and the choking smoke are obvious.  What is missed is that the toxins from the building materials that are burned and disseminated by the winds are not going away.  Rather they get into the water system, flora and fauna over time.  Further a surprising theory we have developed is that the actual fire retardant chemicals change over time in the soil substrate to become an accelerant for future fires that hit that area.  

A study by  glaciologist Michalea King said the sobering findings of 6 meter rise should spur  governments to prepare for sea-level rise, adding "things that happen in  the polar regions don't stay in the polar regions".   My research has the coastal impacts at the ratio of 1" rise causing up to 6 mile inundation for lowland areas.  This ratio is influenced by geological substrate and of course, elevation changes. 

Apartments are “an important new focus” for German company Sonnen in this article from Verge.

Three thousand Californian apartments will be linked up  to solar panels and batteries — meaning they might never experience a  power outage again, no matter what California’s utility companies do.  The project, planned by German energy storage company Sonnen, will be  spread across seven apartment complexes — the largest of its kind.

Virtual power plants can offer California residents reliability 

The connected set of solar panels and batteries form  what’s called a “virtual power plant.” Besides making sure the whole  community can run on backup solar power during blackouts, these VPPs  also reduce strain on the grid — because VPPs store their energy  on-site. What’s more, they can be tapped to provide energy during demand  peaks. 

“As I look out my window I can see [wildfire] smoke right  now and I was warned about power outages last week,” says Ryan Hledik,  principal at research consultancy Brattle Group who focus on distributed  energy technologies and lives in California’s Bay Area. As fire seasons  grow more intense and outages become more frequent, virtual power plants can offer California residents some reliability, he says.

The first apartment complex to be retrofitted will be  417-unit Heron Pointe in Fresno, a city in the heart of California’s  agricultural region. Rent for a one-bedroom unit at Heron Pointe starts  at $1,094 according to its website, which describes the complex as a  “luxury,” “retreat style setting.” That cost falls in line with the  average rent for a similar-sized apartment in Fresno — not exactly  cheap, but not outrageously priced either. Fresno is still one of the  most affordable cities to rent a home in California, and rent for a similar unit can be double that in Los Angeles or San Francisco.

Apartment-based VPPs make solar energy and storage more  affordable for a lot of people, at least in theory. A renter wouldn’t  have to buy a house and spend tens of thousands of dollars more to  install their own solar panels. Instead, they would go through the same  process of applying for and renting an apartment as they would with any  other unit without solar panels. The solar energy comes along with the  unit the way a refrigerator might. 

If this article interests you,  drop us a line for a focused environmentally sound solution for you.

This BBC article relates the opportunities yet to be fully tapped on the food and fuel alternatives of seaweed.  I have always been a proponent of kelp farms.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-53610683

Amazing article in the NY Times about the raging wildfires. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/09/us/fires-oregon-california-live-updates.html

Even here in Seattle we are faced with the debilitating affects of the smoke.   With this degree of  devastation and widespread hazardous smoke, are you safe 'standing pat'?   Wildfires do not stop at property boundaries. One has to be proactive  and implement pre-fire risk reduction, on a variety of fronts.  This  will help communities adapt to wildfires and their effects.  Fire  adaptation means communities take mitigation actions so they can live  with wildfire without harm and without extensive wildfire suppression  efforts. Let our Team provide you with the options and plans that best fit your needs.    

"California, Oregon and Washington -- we are all in the soup of  cataclysmic fire, and the reason we are in the same soup is because the  grass is so dry, the temperature is so hot and the winds are so heavy,"  Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said after touring wildfire damage this week.

"And these are conditions that are exacerbated by the changing climate that we are suffering."

 Another example of why  we need to take the steps now to be prepared for the trauma of climate  change impacts.  We can help you plan and implement a strategy to  succeed, whether you are a business, city or community.  We have the  science and engineering ready for  you 

Whether it be as a result of wildfires, extended droughts, coastal flooding from sea level rise, there are unmistakable clues to the effects of climate change in forcing people to flee.  Relocations and preparations for such certainties are required.  We can provide that guidance and strategies for preparation and adaptation.  Whether  it be revised zoning requirements, ensuring a source for lightweight relocatable structures or other steps, we can be there to guide your contingencies.  

 On our website I have  talked about the sea level rise this year on pace to exceed 1" and inundations both for now and going  forward.  What may help others best see the impacted areas is this NOAA  site for tracking the rise.  
https://lnkd.in/gTJeK2K  

How can farming adapt to the challenges of a changing climate?  We have studied the  gaps in traditional thinking about farmers’ adaptations and propose a  new way to assess a farm’s vulnerability to climate change. This new  framework is a first step toward preparing agriculture for an uncertain  future.   Are you curious yet?   

 Overseas they started the process.  The O Bahn is a good step forward in travel without fossil fuels.  Check out the link below:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X89WSVjyBRw

One of our team members actually has a version for urban and interstate use that is a major advancement.  Are you curious to hear more?  If so, drop us a line today.