0: The number of times the words “energy,” “renewables,” “climate,” or “low-carbon” were mentioned in the speeches at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, on Tuesday (according to Slate‘s tally and accompanying “word cloud”).
40: The number of times “God” was mentioned in the speeches at the above GOP Convention.
35: The number of times the word “Economy” was mentioned.
$1.5 trillion: The US-dollar amount in additional tax revenue that Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers predict would be raised by a $20 per ton carbon levy in America, while also resulting in a 20 per cent cut in US greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, according to a major new economic study.
8.8 billion: The US-dollar amount that hurricanes and thunderstorms in the US alone have cost insurers in the first half of 2012, according to an unpublished Munich Re study obtained by DW. The study finds that the annual number of natural disasters worldwide has increased dramatically since 1980, when 50 severe storms were expected per year. That number has risen to between 100 and 150 in recent years. In the first six months of 2012 alone, 61 severe storms have been recorded.
In the first half of 2012, hurricanes and thunderstorms in the US cost insurers about $8.8 billion. In the same period, about 85 percent of the worldwide insured losses were caused by a series of tornados and brush fires in the US. And tropical storm Isaac could drive the company’s overall losses sky high.
430 billion: The Pounds Sterling amount China’s burgeoning low-carbon markets are worth a year, according to a report by the UK Energy and Climate Change (ECC) committee, published Wednesday.
800,000: The US-dollar amount that automaker General Motors expects to save annually on electricity at its Spring Hill Manufacturing complex in Tennessee by upgrading to high-efficiency lighting and wireless controls.
54.5: The number of miles per gallon that US cars and light trucks (model years 2017-2025) will be required to achieve under a new standard finalised by the Obama administration on Tuesday. The Guardian reports that the rule, “strongly opposed by Republicans and some car makers,” is expected to nearly double the fuel efficiency of American cars and light trucks by 2025.
17 billion: The US-dollar amount that global desalination equipment orders are forecast to rise to by 2016 (growth that would see them triple over five years) driven by breakthroughs in energy savings and demand by cities and industry.
5.3: The total gigawatt amount that demand for solar PV in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to reach in Q4 2012, according to the forecasts of California-based market research firm NPD Solarbuzz – that’s more than 50 per cent of calendar-year 2012 APAC demand in one quarter.
7: The average annual per cent reduction in cost per watt of solar cells since 1980, according to PV Magazine‘s Super Solar Facts infographic.
