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newsclips -- CARB Newsclips for February 22, 2017.
Posted: 22 Feb 2017 15:14:51
CARB Newsclips for February 22, 2017. This is a service of the California Air Resources Board’s Office of Communications. You may need to sign in or register with individual websites to view some of the following news articles. CARB BUSINESS The California Air Resource Board has posted an updated Notice of Upcoming Low Carbon Fuel Standard Credits Release for Non-Metered Residential Electric Vehicle Charging. http://www.arb.ca.gov/fuels/lcfs/workgroups/elect/022217notice.pdf Wet Cleaning Demonstration California Air Resources Board is collaborating with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District and California Cleaners Association in holding a free professional wet cleaning demonstration workshop. The free workshop will be held on Friday, February 24, 2017 from 2:00PM - 4:00PM in Turlock. Doors open at 1:45 PM. Venue: Carr's Cleaners, 500 E. Main Street, Turlock, CA 95380. Space is limited. Register early at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/free-professional-wet-cleaning-demonstration-workshop-for-dry-cleaners-tickets-23108818097?aff=es2 or by searching for "wet cleaning workshop" on http://www.eventbrite.com. For more details about the workshop, please visit ARB's Non-Toxic Dry Cleaning Incentive Program (AB998) website at: http://www.arb.ca.gov/toxics/dryclean/ab998.htm LCFS Workshop on inclusion of jet fuels The California Air Resources Board will hold a working meeting on the subject of including jet fuel under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard. https://www.arb.ca.gov/fuels/lcfs/lcfs_meetings/031717mtgnotice.pdf CAP AND TRADE Lawmakers use threat of Trump to pitch carbon taxes. Michael Barrett, a Democratic Massachusetts state senator, reckons that few of his colleagues had ever heard of a state carbon fee when he first proposed it in 2013. Today, he has 62 co-sponsors. Not only that, Senate leadership has made the proposal a priority for the coming legislative session. Barrett is hardly alone. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/02/22/stories/1060050383 AIR POLLUTION Ex-air quality workers say district illegally lowered fines for polluters. Two former Bay Area Air Quality Management District employees say district managers destroyed records showing that major polluters were given big breaks in the fines they should have received. In a claim to be filed Wednesday with the district and the state, a precursor to a potential lawsuit in Superior Court… http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Ex-air-quality-workers-say-district-illegally-10949383.php Oakland warehouse fire: City says open dump site is ‘secure’. Calling an open-air dump site filled with charred debris from December’s fatal Ghost Ship fire “a secure facility,” a spokesman now says the city is responsible for the dumping of materials there. The dump site, next to a city soccer field off Oakport Street, is being investigated by regional air-quality regulators who told this news organization last week… http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/02/22/oakland-warehouse-fire-city-says-open-dump-site-is-secure/ Bay Area Might Adopt World’s First Regional Oil-Refinery Emissions Caps Gov. Brown's administration poised to take official position on proposal, which could stop Canadian tar sands from coming into local refineries. But that position is uncertain. On May 17, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District will consider a proposal that would make the San Francisco Bay Area the world's first region to place limits on oil refineries' overall greenhouse-gas and particulate-matter emissions. http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/web/Content?oid=5307846 Environmental groups want the governor to veto wood-burning bill. Clean air activists want Gov. Gary Herbert to veto a bill that would prevent the state from regulating wood smoke used to cook food. Representatives of both HEAL Utah and Breathe Utah are opposed to HB65, which has already passed the House and Senate. The bill would require the state Division of Air Quality (DAQ) to permit wood burning… http://www.sltrib.com/news/4968179-155/environmental-groups-want-the-governor-to CLIMATE CHANGE How an Interoffice Spat Erupted Into a Climate-Change Furor. A few weeks ago, on an obscure climate-change blog, a retired government scientist named John Bates blasted his former boss on an esoteric point having to do with archiving temperature data. It was little more than lingering workplace bad blood, said Dr. Bates’s former co-workers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/20/business/energy-environment/climate-change-dispute-john-bates.html?_r=0 For Islanders In Lake Superior, Warmer Winters Mean They Can't Drive. For Michael Childers, ice makes getting around a little easier. When it's thick enough, the ice on Lake Superior creates a makeshift road between Bayfield, Wis., and Madeline Island, the small resort island where Childers and about 250 others live year-round. But for the second year in a row, warmer winters… http://www.npr.org/2017/02/22/516437877/for-islanders-in-lake-superior-warmer-winters-mean-they-cant-drive?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=09cbee804b-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-09cbee804b-327747457 Panel defeats bill allowing alternative science theories. South Dakota lawmakers on Wednesday defeated a bill that would have allowed teachers to address strengths and weaknesses of scientific theories like evolution and climate change. The House Education Committee voted to send the bill to the 41st day, effectively killing the proposal, on an 11-4 vote. The decision came after almost an hour and a half of testimony. http://www.argusleader.com/story/news/politics/2017/02/22/panel-defeats-bill-allowing-alternative-science-theories/98242068/ Climate change harms hot spots of ocean life. A new study finds that the six ocean hot spots that teem with the biggest mix of species are also among those getting hit hardest by global warming and industrial fishing. An international team looked at more than 2,100 species of fish, seabirds, plankton and marine mammals to calculate Earth’s six “hot spots” of marine biodiversity… http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/environment/2017/02/22/climate-change-harms-hot-spots-ocean-life/98261886/ http://www.kbtx.com/content/news/In-hot-water-Climate-change-harms-hot-spots-of-ocean-life-414523863.html Oil Industry, in Court, Claims Ignorance about CO2. Industry attorney tells judge he "does not know" what atmospheric CO2 levels are, even though data from scientists worldwide are crystal clear. The lead attorney for U.S. manufacturers and oil and gas companies on a climate change lawsuit didn't know the answer to a measurement fact when asked in court two weeks ago, court papers show. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/oil-industry-in-court-claims-ignorance-about-co2/?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=09cbee804b-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-09cbee804b-327747457 Climate scientists face harassment, threats and fears of 'McCarthyist attacks'. Researchers will have to deal with attacks from a range of powerful foes in the coming years – and for many, it has already started. A little less than seven years ago, the climate scientist Michael Mann ambled into his office at Penn State University with a wedge of mail tucked under his arm. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/feb/22/climate-change-science-attacks-threats-trump The guilt of record warmth in Chicago — climate change? While enjoying Tuesday's warm weather in Chicago, Yashira Massey couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. In a plaza near NBC Tower, the 33-year-old from the Austin neighborhood ate a burrito bowl between doctors' appointments, watching as her 20-month-old daughter, Sophiya, ran about without a coat. Massey said she's fearful of what the record-breaking warmth means for the future… http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-warm-weather-met-0222-20170222-story.html Killer whales are ‘terrorizing’ narwhal as melting Arctic ice gives them easier access to prey. A study has concluded that the increased presence of killer whales in Arctic waters is intimidating narwhal into drastically changing their behaviour. It’s another symptom of how climate change is remaking the delicate northern environment. http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/killer-whales-are-terrorizing-narwhal-as-melting-arctic-ice-gives-them-easier-access-to-prey Small ponds provide large amounts of emissions. Scientists have identified an unlikely contributor to climate change: small ponds. A new study has found that these ponds, which play a surprisingly large role in the planet's carbon cycle, lose the ability to absorb carbon dioxide as temperatures increase. Instead, they begin spitting out methane. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/02/22/stories/1060050380 Senate leader cites climate in call for infrastructure spending. California's Senate leader yesterday cited climate change in announcing a push for more spending to shore up the state's crumbling flood management infrastructure. California Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin de León said the recent rain and snowstorms buffeting the state, coming immediately after a five-year drought, were the result of climate change. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/02/22/stories/1060050391 DIESEL ACTIVITIES CARB, Highway Patrol to Conduct Emissions Inspections by Calif. Port. In its latest announcement, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) says it will be working alongside the California Highway Patrol to conduct inspections on heavy-duty trucks traveling in and around the Port of Oakland. According to the agency, this effort is part of CARB’s ongoing enforcement campaign to ensure that clean air requirements are understood and that big rigs… http://ngtnews.com/carb-highway-patrol-to-conduct-emissions-inspections-by-port-of-oakland VEHICLES Auto Makers Ask EPA’s Pruitt to Reverse Fuel-Economy, Emissions Decision. Companies seek to take advantage of President Donald Trump’s pledge to roll back regulations. Auto makers asked the Environmental Protection Agency to undo the Obama administration’s decision to lock in future stringent fuel-economy and emissions standards, as the companies seek to take advantage of President Donald Trump’s pledge to roll back regulations. https://www.wsj.com/articles/auto-makers-ask-epas-pruitt-to-reverse-fuel-economy-emissions-decision-1487738674 http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/320681-automakers-ask-epa-head-to-withdraw-obama-decision-on-emissions http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/02/22/stories/1060050394 VW RECALL Volkswagen boss says firm in Europe 'misled nobody' over emissions. MPs on transport select committee attack Paul Willis for failing to give straight answers as he says there is ‘no legal basis’ for compensation claims. MPs have reacted with incredulity after the boss of Volkswagen told them the company in Europe had done nothing wrong and “misled nobody”, despite having agreed a multibillion-dollar settlement in the US… https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/feb/21/volkswagen-boss-says-company-misled-nobody-over-emissions-rigging-scandal GREEN ENERGY Solar startup sheds light on political donors. Attention, political donors: We know about your solar panels. Or at least a California technology company does. By combining the records of the Federal Election Commission with satellite data, it claims to have discovered exactly who among America's Democratic and Republican donors have solar panels on the roof. http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/02/22/stories/1060050371 MISCELLANEOUS Worst flooding in 100 years hits San Jose, forcing 14,000 to evacuate. San Jose was hit by what officials described as the worst flooding in 100 years as the Coyote Creek, which runs through the heart of the city, overflowed, inundating neighborhoods and forcing thousands to flee. About 14,000 residents in large swath of central San Jose were under mandatory evacuations orders. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-san-jose-floods-20170222-story.html Governor Brown announces CalEPA appointments. Christiana Tiedemann, 59, of Berkeley, has been appointed deputy secretary for law enforcement and counsel at the California Environmental Protection Agency. Tiedemann has served as supervising deputy attorney general at the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General since 1989. Christine Hironaka, 29, of San Francisco, has been appointed deputy secretary for legislative affairs at the California Environmental Protection Agency. https://www.gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=19691 OPINIONS If we can't even raise the measly gas tax, things don't look good with climate change. To the editor: This headline might as well be, “Why fixing climate change won’t be easy.” (“'This is the worst I have seen': California's roads are in dire shape, says former Caltrans director,” Feb. 12) The inability of American or even progressive California legislators to raise the measly, unchanged-in-a-quarter-century gasoline tax even by pennies is appalling when we consider that this is a tax on http://www.latimes.com/opinion/readersreact/la-ol-le-gas-tax-fixing-roads-20170221-story.html The Challenges of Replacing HFC Refrigerants with Low-Global-Warming-Potential Fluids. Many modern-day refrigerants are hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which have attracted attention recently as being a potent greenhouse gas. HFC’s are widely used in air conditioning systems and their usage is anticipated to rise, with their negative impact on global warming also being predicted to increase. http://www.azocleantech.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=633 BLOGS Climate change tied to nation's infrastructure needs. In what’s become a troublingly common occurrence, the combination of extreme weather and crumbling infrastructure threatened the residents of another American community in California not long ago. Extensive rainfall in Northern California damaged the spillway of the Oroville Dam – the nation’s tallest – and threatened numerous communities below the dam with massive flooding. http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-environment/320630-climate-change-tied-to-nations-infrastructure-needs More than 500 Leaders Call for Doubling Strength of America’s Best Regional Climate and Clean Air Program. 546 health professionals, businesses, academics, elected officials, conservation, consumer and environmental groups and community leaders from nine states in the Northeast called on their Governors to strengthen the nation’s best regional climate and clean air program, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). http://www.environmentamerica.org/news/ame/more-500-leaders-call-doubling-strength-america%E2%80%99s-best-regional-climate-and-clean-air Red State Rural America Is Acting On Climate Change – Without Calling It Climate. President Donald Trump has the environmental community understandably concerned. He and members of his Cabinet have questioned the established science of climate change, and his choice to head the Environmental Protection Agency, former Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, has sued the EPA many times and regularly sided with the fossil fuel industry. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/red-state-rural-america-is-acting-on-climate-change_us_58ad95aee4b0d818c4f0a3fa The state water board missed the mark. The state water board has egg—or should I say mud—all over its collective face. Earlier this month, board members refused to lift the drought restrictions on Californians. By keeping them in place until the traditional review time in April, they ignored pleas from water agencies to eliminate the restrictions now. Board members refused to lift the restrictions despite January rains… http://www.pleasantonweekly.com/blogs/p/2017/02/21/the-state-water-board-missed-the-mark What Your TV Meteorologist Likely Thinks Of Climate Change. I am a scientist so I need data. When a controversial topic comes up, I usually look for what the data says. Last week, an article in the Boston Globe examined the topic of climate change and broadcast meteorologists. While the article addressed some key points, I noticed that the headline suggested that "many meteorologists" question climate change science. http://www.forbes.com/sites/marshallshepherd/2017/02/22/what-your-tv-meteorologist-likely-thinks-of-climate-change/#c1087736a0c8 California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.