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CARB Newsclips for March 10, 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

Please consider the following news release from the California
Air Resources Board:
http://www.arb.ca.gov/newsrel/newsrelease.php?id=900 

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) invites you to
participate in a public workshop on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2017-18
Funding Plan for Low Carbon Transportation Investments, Air
Quality Improvement Program (AQIP), and the potential $25 million
Volkswagen settlement funds for zero-emission vehicle (ZEV)
aspects of vehicle replacement programs. The meeting will be held
at the following time and place:

Date:        Thursday, April 6, 2017
Time:        9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Place:       Cal/EPA Headquarters Building
             Coastal Hearing Room, Second Floor
             1001 I Street
             Sacramento, California 95814

A meeting notice for the workshop is posted at: 
https://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/aqip/meetings/meetings.htm   
                                                                 
                                           
Staff at the California Air Resources Board (ARB) invites you to
participate in a workshop on updates to Senate Bill 375 regional
passenger vehicle greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets
for California's Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO).
The workshops will be held at the locations and dates below, and
will follow the same format and presentation. 

FRESNO:  March 14, 2017 

For more information on these workshops, visit the ARB SB 375
website and see the meeting notice at:
https://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/sb375/meetings/meetings.htm  

On March 14, 2017, at 1:30 pm, the California Air Resources Board
(CARB) staff is providing an online training webinar to discuss
tool changes, clarifications, and guidance document updates for
Electric Power Entities for 2016 data reported in 2017.   The
session will include a staff presentation and time for
questions.

Slides for the webinar will be posted at the following link prior
to the start time:
http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/reporting/ghg-rep/guidance/guidance-training.htm
    

The GHG reporting regulation and additional information are
available here:
http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/reporting/ghg-rep/ghg-rep.htm  

Updated guidance documents will be posted prior to the webinar. 
In addition, updated Excel reporting workbooks for Electric Power
Entities (EPE) will be posted prior to the webinar at the
following link: 
https://www.ccdsupport.com/confluence/display/calhelp/Reporting+Form+Instructions#EPE
 

One or more workshops/meetings have been scheduled and are now
located in ARB's Workshop Calendar Please go to:
http://www.arb.ca.gov/app/calendar/cur_evnt.php?type=workshops   
        
which links to meeting details, including: 

March 14, 2017: SB 375 Targets Update Workshop March 14, 2017.
more info  https://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/sb375/meetings/meetings.htm 
         

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
       

Request for Proposal (RFP):  Data Monitoring, Collection, and
Analysis for Projects Granted under Fiscal Year (FY) 2014-15 Air
Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) and Low Carbon Transportation
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) Investments. 

The California Air Resources Board is seeking a contractor to
monitor, collect, and analyze data for heavy-duty vehicle,
off-road equipment, and bulk ship projects granted under AQIP and
Low Carbon Transportation GGRF Investments, as identified in the
fiscal year (FY) 14-15 Funding Plan approved by the Board in June
2014.  The contractor shall collect and monitor vehicle and
facility data, as applicable, such as vehicle specifications and
performance data, as well as capital costs and operation and
maintenance data for vehicles and facilities. 

RFP Information: The Data Monitoring, Collection, and Analysis
for Projects Granted under FY 14-15 AQIP and Low Carbon
Transportation GGRF Investments RFP advertisement is available
at: 
https://caleprocure.ca.gov/pages/Events-BS3/event-search.aspx    
 
(Event ID 0000004538).  In order to submit a response, please
register on the Cal eProcure website at:
https://caleprocure.ca.gov/pages/     

The final date for the proposal submission is Friday, March 24,
2017, 3:00 p.m., Pacific Standard Time.

AIR POLLUTION

Under Pressure, Air District Says It’s Still Investigating
Vallejo Fumes. Facing pressure from state legislators, Vallejo
residents and environmentalists, local air regulators are
reversing course and now say they are still trying to figure out
what caused an unbearable odor that sickened scores of Vallejo
residents and prompted a shelter-in-place order last September.
https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/03/09/bay-area-air-district-baaqmd-says-it-is-still-investigating-vallejo-fumes/


Despite gains, Toronto’s air pollution still causing serious
health problems. Toronto Public Health says that levels of major
pollutants in the air have become stagnant after years of
decline, with traffic emissions being the greatest source. The
summer of 2016 was the first in Matthew Beaudry’s young life when
fears of air pollution triggering his severe asthma didn’t stop
him from playing outside.
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/03/10/despite-gains-torontos-air-pollution-still-causing-serious-health-problems.html


CLIMATE CHANGE

Fearing Trump threat to state emissions law, California lawmakers
plan a fight. The Trump administration could move at any time to
revoke California’s right to impose stricter auto emissions
standards than the federal government does, and the state’s
senators are already mounting a fight. Congressional sources are
hearing conflicting information on whether and when the
Environmental Protection Agency will revoke California’s waiver. 
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article137539733.html#storylink=cpy


EPA chief: Carbon dioxide not primary cause of warming. The new
chief of the Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday he
does not believe that carbon dioxide is a primary contributor to
global warming, a statement at odds with mainstream scientific
consensus and his own agency. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said
measuring the effect of human activity on the climate is "very
challenging"…
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_PRUITT_GLOBAL_WARMING?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


OTHER RELATED STORIES
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/03/09/on-climate-change-scott-pruitt-contradicts-the-epas-own-website/?utm_term=.b5f208325786

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/03/10/fact-check-scott-pruitt-climate-change-epa/99003010/

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/mar/9/scott-pruitt-turns-epa-away-from-climate-change-ag/

http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/epa-chief-doubts-scientific-consensus-that-carbon-dioxide-is-behind-global-warming/

http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/323312-sanders-rips-pruitt-over-co2-comments

http://www.newsweek.com/scott-pruitt-global-warming-epa-carbon-emissions-565984

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/09032017/scott-pruitt-epa-donald-trump-climate-change-denial-co2-global-warming

http://www.ibtimes.com/co2-climate-change-human-activity-causes-global-warming-science-shows-epas-scott-2505773

http://time.com/4696658/scott-pruitt-epa-carbon-climate-change/ 

Statoil to cut greenhouse emissions by a fifth by 2030. Norwegian
oil and gas producer Statoil said on Thursday it aims to cut its
annual carbon dioxide emissions by about a fifth from current
levels by 2030 as part of global efforts to limit climate change.
It set a goal of cutting 3 million tons of carbon dioxide by 2030
from its 2017 emissions and also said it planned to reduce
emissions per barrel of oil produced…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-statoil-emissions-idUSKBN16G1KC

G-20 Poised to Signal Retreat From Climate-Change Funding Pledge.
Finance ministers for the U.S., China, Germany and other members
of the Group of 20 economies may scale back a robust pledge for
their governments to combat climate change, ceding efforts to the
private sector. Citing “scarce public resources,” the ministers
said they would encourage multilateral development banks to
raise…
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-09/g-20-document-shows-governments-retreating-from-climate-funding

What Slashing the EPA's Budget by One-Quarter Would Really Mean.
The agency's funding would fall to its lowest point since the
Ford administration, and climate change efforts, some little
known, are expected to suffer deeply. The Trump Administration's
proposed slashing of the Environmental Protection Agency's budget
threatens to reduce the agency's resources to levels not seen
since its formative days…
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/09032017/environmental-protection-agency-scott-pruitt-donald-trump-climate-change


Ocean Warming Has Surged Since 1992, Study Says. The world's
oceans have warmed at twice the rate of previous decades and the
extra heat has reached deeper waters, finds data stretching back
to 1960. The rate of ocean warming has nearly doubled since 1992
compared with the previous three decades. And the warming has
reached deeper waters, scientists reported Friday.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/10032017/global-warming-oceans-climate-change-noaa


Earth's oceans are warming 13% faster than thought, and
accelerating. Our new study improves estimates of the rate of
ocean warming - a critical component of climate change. New
research has convincingly quantified how much the Earth has
warmed over the past 56 years. Human activities utilize fossil…
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2017/mar/10/earths-oceans-are-warming-13-faster-than-thought-and-accelerating


Climate policy must protect children’s rights, UN panel hears.
High level panel at the UN Human Rights Council hears that a
child rights centred approach to climate change is “overdue”.
Governments must do more to protect the human rights of children
as they try to tackle climate change, representatives of the UN
and its member states have told high-level panel in Geneva this
week.
http://www.climatechangenews.com/2017/03/10/climate-policy-must-protect-childrens-rights-un-panel-hears/


Proposed NOAA cuts would disarm coasts facing rising seas,
scientists say. A proposed White House budget for the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration could put coastal
communities throughout the nation at a major disadvantage as they
struggle to adapt to threats from sea-level rise, severe storms
and other climate-related events, scientists and other experts
said.
http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/national/proposed-noaa-cuts-would-disarm-coasts-facing-rising-seas-scientists-say-20170310


U.S. void in climate pact helps China be a 'superpower'.  A U.S.
exit from the Paris Agreement on climate change would damage more
than international relations. It would also cede a huge economic
opportunity to China and other global competitors, according to a
recent high-ranking Energy Department official. 
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060051270/feed 

National Science Foundation climate research vulnerable to cuts.
Democrats say they fear GOP lawmakers will gut the National
Science Foundation's climate change research using new
legislation passed into law this year. The bipartisan legislation
enacted in January established a policy stating that the NSF must
consider the intellectual merit of projects…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/03/10/stories/1060051272 

GHGs dropping as renewables soar. Increased renewable energy
generation led to a drop in greenhouse gas emissions in
Australia, a new study says. In the last three months of 2016,
the country's emissions fell by 3.57 million metric tons. The
report states that the reduction — the largest since
record-keeping began in 2001 — was a direct result of
record-breaking hydropower and wind power…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/03/10/stories/1060051238 

Bill calls for tapping federal data to boost building codes.
Bipartisan House legislation would direct the Commerce Department
to gather a "consistent, authoritative set of climate
information" to prepare homes and infrastructure for extreme
weather. Sponsored by Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.), H.R. 1464
attempts to bolster climate resilience by providing data on
disaster forecasts and warming-related trends…
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/03/10/stories/1060051295 

DROUGHT

When Is a Drought Over? A Wet California Wants to Know. The
Hollywood Reservoir is nestled in a basin surrounded, usually, by
dusty brown hillsides, broken up by the occasional dry wisp of
shrubbery. Not these days. After yet another burst of rain the
other day, the hills were transformed into lush fields of
knee-high grass, spotted with purple flowers. And the reservoir?
As high as it has been in years. In Northern California, snow
could be seen on top of Mount Diablo outside San Francisco last
weekend.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/10/us/california-drought-snowpack.html?_r=1


After near-record Northern California storms, signs of El Niño
rise. If you don’t think California has seen enough rain this
year, just wait. There may be more to come.
Federal forecasters said Thursday that the chances of an El Niño
developing by fall are on the rise — now between 50 and 55
percent —an outlook that could skew the odds in favor of yet
another wet winter.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/After-near-record-Northern-California-storms-is-10991042.php


FUELS

Tillerson has recused himself from Keystone pipeline issues:
State Dept. 
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has recused himself from
issues related to TransCanada Corp's application for a permit for
the Keystone XL pipeline, the State Department said in a letter
on Thursday to the environmental group Greenpeace.
"He has not worked on that matter at the Department of State…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-transcanada-keystone-tillerson-idUSKBN16G384
 

We're a little closer than before to a solar-fueled vehicle.
Scientists are developing a practical method to convert water and
sunshine into fuel — a key step in someday powering cars with the
sun. Experts have long been experimenting with techniques to
create solar fuels, which allow all the advantages of
conventional fossil fuels along with the environmental benefits
of renewable energy.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/03/10/stories/1060051241 

VW RECALL

Volkswagen pleads guilty in US diesel emissions scandal.
Volkswagen pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy and obstruction of
justice in a brazen scheme to get around U.S. pollution rules on
nearly 600,000 diesel vehicles by using software to suppress
emissions of nitrogen oxide during tests. The German automaker
has agreed to pay $4.3 billion in civil and criminal penalties…
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_VOLKSWAGEN_EMISSIONS_SCANDAL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


OTHER RELATED STORIES
https://www.wsj.com/articles/volkswagen-pleads-guilty-to-criminal-charges-in-emissions-cheating-scandal-1489161238

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2017/03/10/volkswagen-pleads-guilty-diesel-emissions-cheating-dieselgate/
http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/10/volkswagen-to-plead-guilty-in-emissions-scandal-friday-lawyer.html
 

The Latest: Judge to take time before VW sentence. Volkswagen has
pleaded guilty in a scandal related to diesel emission tests, but
a federal judge in Detroit wants more time to study the deal.
Judge Sean Cox wasn't ready to immediately sentence VW on Friday.
Instead, he says he wants to study the agreement negotiated…
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_VOLKSWAGEN_EMISSIONS_SCANDAL_THE_LATEST?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


GREEN ENERGY

Wind Power Blows Through Nuclear, Coal as Costs Drop at Sea.
Water and electric power plants don’t mix well naturally, unless
you add some wind. Water tends to corrode and short out circuits.
So what’s happening in the the renewable energy industry, where
developers are putting jumbo-jet sized wind turbines into stormy
seas, is at the very least an engineering miracle.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-09/wind-power-blows-through-nuclear-coal-as-costs-plunge-at-sea


West Coast Utility Regulators Reaffirm Clean Energy Commitment.
This week, utility regulators from the West Coast reaffirmed a
commitment made in 2006 to support efforts to reduce carbon
pollution and expand the development of low-carbon technologies
in the energy industry.
http://solarindustrymag.com/west-coast-utility-regulators-reaffirm-clean-energy-commitment


Regulators put a new value on N.Y.'s distributed energy. New York
energy officials have said they want to bring legions of small
clean-energy units onto the grid. They want these units to
function just like power plants, but cut pollution and relieve
congestion on the grid. But to make that real, they have to
define the value of these values. Yesterday, they took a crack at
it.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/03/10/stories/1060051269 

Clean energy programs vulnerable to Trump's budget ax. Budget
cuts to the Department of Energy's renewable and efficiency
programs could have a devastating impact, advocates said this
week. The Trump administration won't release details of its
fiscal 2018 budget until next week, but many stakeholders expect…
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/03/10/stories/1060051297 

MISCELLANEOUS

House committee passes two EPA science bills. The House Science
Committee on Thursday approved two bills to reform how the
Environmental Protection Agency conducts scientific research. 
The committee, led by Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), approved a
bill requiring the EPA to publicly release scientific research it
uses to write regulations.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/323161-house-committee-passes-two-epa-science-bills


OPINIONS

This climate lawsuit could change everything. No wonder the Trump
administration doesn’t want it going to trial. A groundbreaking
climate lawsuit, brought against the federal government by 21
children, has been hailed by environmentalists as a bold new
strategy to press for climate action in the United States. But
the Trump administration, which has pledged to undo Barack
Obama’s climate regulations, is doing its best to make sure the
case doesn’t get far. 
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/03/09/this-climate-lawsuit-could-change-everything-no-wonder-the-trump-administration-doesnt-want-it-going-to-trial/?utm_term=.81809aa6dd11


Trump’s Climate Views: Combative, Conflicting and Confusing.
Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency,
drew criticism on Thursday for saying that carbon dioxide was not
a primary contributor to global warming, contradicting years of
established science. But his boss, President Trump, has similarly
raised doubts about the cause of global warming…
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/10/climate/donald-trump-global-warming-views.html?_r=0


Angelenos want to fight climate change by building more livable
neighborhoods. Our leaders need to get on board. To the editor:
The issue isn’t that our state climate change goals are too
ambitious — our regional and local governments just aren’t
equipped for the challenge. (“California won't meet its climate
change goals without a lot more housing density in its cities …
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/readersreact/la-ol-le-climate-change-density-housing-20170310-story.html


Gov. Brown, turn on our state beach showers.  After a thankfully
long, wet season, one of the last weekends of Southern
California’s winter promises to be a warm and clear one, with
temperatures even along the coast heading into the low 80s. That
means lots of locals will head to the beaches Saturday and Sunday
to reacquaint themselves with the Pacific Ocean at our back door.
http://www.dailynews.com/opinion/20170309/gov-brown-turn-on-our-state-beach-showers


Climate change denier leading the EPA? So long, fish. At long
last, the whining voices of a mere "staggering majority" of
scientists are being drowned out by a sensible non-scientist
named Scott. This hero's full name is Scott Pruitt, and he's the
new head of the Environmental Protection Agency. He made
headlines Thursday by boldly stating that carbon dioxide
emissions — which for decades…
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/huppke/ct-pruitt-epa-carbon-dioxide-huppke-20170310-story.html


With deniers at the helm, we need responsible climate leadership
in Texas and beyond.  With the confirmation of Scott Pruitt to
head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the path ahead for
our climate is clearer -- or perhaps dirtier -- than ever. With
his reported ties to oil and gas corporations, Pruitt is set to
defang the EPA in line with the 14 lawsuits he brought against
the agency as Oklahoma attorney general.
http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2017/03/10/need-climate-leadership-texas-beyond


BLOGS

Want to Gut Emission Rules? Prepare for War With California. The
Golden State is ready for a fight—and it’s got a well-stocked
arsenal. In its ongoing jihad against federal regulations, the
Trump administration has indicated some interest in targeting the
ones that attempt to fight climate change. First in its sights: a
funky law that gives the state of California the right to make
its own rules on automotive emissions.
https://www.citylab.com/politics/2017/03/want-gut-emission-rules-prepare-war-california/519225/


Interview: preparing for climate and disaster migration. As sea
levels rise, lands dry out, and disasters linked to natural
hazards become more common, more and more people are going to be
forced to move. Are we prepared? Atle Solberg: My name is Atle
Solberg, I work for the Platform on Disaster Displacement. The
objective of the Platform on Disaster Displacement is to
follow-up on the work started…
https://www.opendemocracy.net/beyondslavery/safepassages/atle-solberg/interview-preparing-for-climate-and-disaster-migration


Now under attack, EPA’s work on climate change has been going on
for decades. The Trump administration intends to roll back two
pillars of the Obama administration’s climate policy –
regulations to limit carbon emissions from vehicles and power
plants. Under President Obama, the Environmental Protection
Agency was central to these regulations.
http://theconversation.com/now-under-attack-epas-work-on-climate-change-has-been-going-on-for-decades-74065


Toxic Priorities: Switching cleanup rules, state risks leaving
homes contaminated. Struggling with what officials call the
largest and most expensive toxic contamination in California
history, embattled state regulators have changed the formula for
assessing the level of lead-laced soil in residential areas—a
move that could result in a significant number of homes falling
off the priority cleanup list.
https://calmatters.org/articles/toxic-priority-hed-here/?utm_source=CALmatters+Newsletter&utm_campaign=e96bd1b702-170308




California is in a drought emergency.
Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.