STUFF

Greenland ice sheet last year melted the most in over 50 years, when records began: NOAA. Artic sea ice also shrank to its 3rd smallest area on record. The world's alpine glaciers shrank for 20th straight year and '10 was the hottest or 2nd hottest year on record, depending on methodology. Besides exceptional for extreme wx events.

Brown University report: cost of post-9/11 wars will reach $4T. Veterans care will reach $1T in 30-40 yrs. CBO puts cost at $1.8T through '21. But Brown report says $2.3-2.7T already spent. Does our government lie to us? Or is it what is counted? We've lost >6k troops and 2,300 contractors. 550k disability claims filed with VA.

TrimTabs: comps spent $124B in Q1 buying up their own stock. "Insiders" - execs - did not buy. Corp debt also surged in Q1 to highest levels on record, hitting $7.3T for nonfinancials. 50% of their net worth.

WPRT teamed up with GM for NGV development.

NY Gov planning to close Indian Point nuke plant. It is too close to NYC.

4 legislators - G, were they actually in Washington? - called for SEC, EIA, GAO to investigate whether natural gas industry has provided accurate pic of long-term profitability of fracked wells and the amount of gas they can produce.

USDA declared TX drought area a natural disaster. We've had a few lately or what.

Samsung is sueing Apple over IPhone, IPad, IPod. Ah so.

Finally, SPWRA's Simpson, the "Father of US Solar", says the subsidy regimes are fatigued. And reminds us all that there's 3.6M joules in 1kwh. Joule = 1 Newton-meter (E to lift an apple from floor to table). 1 Joule/sec = 1 watt.

Trails.