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CARB Newsclips for March 13, 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    

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) staff has posted the
staff presentation for the Low Carbon Fuel Standard Working
Meeting on March 17, 2017, that will focus on potentially
including alternative jet fuel in the LCFS. The presentation can
be found at:
http://www.arb.ca.gov/fuels/lcfs/lcfs_meetings/lcfs_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
  

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.

CAP AND TRADE

Move to regional cap-and-trade system gaining momentum, says
environmentalist. Federal government says provinces must adopt
some form of carbon price by 2018. Momentum may be shifting in
favour of a cap-and-trade system over a carbon tax to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions in New Brunswick. Environmentalist
Louise Comeau of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick says
comments by Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil are the latest
sign that cap-and-trade…
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/carbon-emissions-cap-trade-ns-nb-1.4019833
 

AIR POLLUTION

New Bill Could Make It Harder For Harris County to Sue Over
Pollution. Right now, plans are moving forward to finally remove
most of the dioxin that has been steadily leaking out the San
Jacinto Waste Pits for decades. But if a recently filed bill
makes it through the 85th Biennial State Legislative Session it
will become nearly impossible for the Harris County…
http://www.houstonpress.com/news/bill-filed-giving-state-ags-office-tceq-right-to-veto-harris-countys-environmental-lawsuits-9265172


CLIMATE CHANGE

EPA to study whether its emissions tests are vulnerable to
cheating. The Environmental Protection Agency's internal watchdog
announced plans to confirm the agency's ability to do the job
it's charged with. Even with a new leader apparently at odds with
its mission, the Environmental Protection Agency continues to
function on some level. On Thursday, EPA administrator Scott
Pruitt said carbon dioxide released by human activity is not a
major cause of climate change…
http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/In-Gear/2017/0312/EPA-to-study-whether-its-emissions-tests-are-vulnerable-to-cheating


In race to curb climate change, cities outpace governments.  As
cities from Sydney to Oslo set more ambitious targets to cut
climate change than national plans, is conflict ahead? Cities
from Oslo to Sydney are setting goals to curb climate change that
exceed national targets, causing tensions with central
governments about who controls policy over green energy and
transport and construction.
http://news.trust.org/item/20170313070633-te7ad/ 

UCSD scientists worry Trump could suppress climate change data. C
San Diego may accelerate plans to preserve its climate data due
to growing concerns among faculty members that the Trump
administration could interfere with their work. Campus officials
intend to discuss what they should do during a March 21 meeting
at the school’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, whose
research has been used for decades to shape climate agreements.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-ucsd-20170311-story.html


In the battle over California climate policies, green projects
are now in the hot seat. Outdated refrigerators arrive at a
Compton warehouse in a funeral procession of defunct appliances.
Workers vacuum out the coolants and ship the chemicals halfway
across the country, where they’re destroyed instead of allowed to
escape into the atmosphere, worsening global warming.
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-offsets-environmental-justice-20170313-story.html


A carbon dividend really can slow fossil fuel use — under these
conditions. How should nations reduce the greenhouse gas
emissions that are changing the Earth’s climate — especially when
every citizen and business has plenty of incentives to keep
driving, turning on the lights, plugging in their devices, and
bumping up the heat or air conditioning? One widely discussed
option is a “carbon dividend”.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/03/13/a-carbon-dividend-really-can-slow-fossil-fuel-use-under-these-conditions/?utm_term=.b9dbe076b09a

 
Meteorologists refute EPA head on climate change. The nation’s
top organization for meteorology is refuting Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt’s recent
comments on the role of carbon dioxide in climate change. Pruitt
questioned mainstream climate science last week, saying in a CNBC
interview, “I would not agree that [carbon dioxide is] a primary
contributor to the global warming that we see.”
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/323654-meteorologists-refute-epa-head-on-climate-change


Vicious circle of drought and forest loss from logging in the
Amazon. Logging that happens today and potential future rainfall
reductions in the Amazon could push the region into a vicious
dieback circle. If dry seasons intensify with human-caused
climate change, the risk for self-amplified forest loss would
increase even more, an international team of scientists finds.
https://yubanet.com/world/vicious-circle-of-drought-and-forest-loss-from-logging-in-the-amazon/


Companies seek to turn captured carbon into concrete, fish food
and even toothpaste. It has been derided as an expensive excuse
to burn coal. But now, carbon capture technology may be leading
to new commercial uses that could end up in your mouth. While
business case questions have swirled over carbon capture and
storage, companies are increasingly looking to turn emissions…
http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/companies-seek-to-turn-captured-carbon-into-concrete-fish-food-and-even-toothpaste-1.3322271

Experts: Global warming effects on Colorado River need to be
taken more seriously. Some water watchers aren’t so worried about
a report that shows global warming has contributed to a
near-20-percent decline in Colorado River flows. Drew Beckwith,
water policy manager for Western Resource Advocates, said that
water authorities in the region are taking climate change…
http://www.havasunews.com/news/experts-global-warming-effects-on-colorado-river-need-to-be/article_fa6caa18-07b3-11e7-bc03-1f479729e62d.html


Ask the Weather Guys: Is carbon dioxide a major contributor to
global warming? Q: Is carbon dioxide a major contributor to
global warming? A: The Earth’s atmosphere is a mixture of many
different gases. Several of these gases are known as “greenhouse
gases” because they share the characteristic of being excellent
absorbers of infra-red radiation. Such gases absorb radiation
emitted by the Earth…
http://host.madison.com/wsj/weather/ask-the-weather-guys-is-carbon-dioxide-a-major-contributor/article_3bfa876d-35c8-5ebb-9c3c-d60669b43a59.html


Europe's aim: Sway, not provoke, Trump on climate. Angela
Merkel's visit this week will test whether U.S. allies can
persuade the president not to blow up their efforts on global
warming. European diplomats are carefully crafting a strategy for
dealing with Donald Trump on climate change, fearful of provoking
a backlash from the mercurial president if they push too hard for
U.S. cooperation.
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/europe-trump-climate-change-235977


Rate of Ocean Warming Has Nearly Doubled Over Two Decades, 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


Wall Street titan changes tone on climate. The deep-pocketed
investment firm BlackRock Inc. today announced a series of steps
to address the financial risks of climate change, decisions that
could send shock waves throughout the private sector.
Studying the disclosure of climate change risks, including
physical risks like rising waters and government policies to cap
greenhouse gas emissions…
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/03/13/stories/1060051374

Will Merkel stand up to Trump on climate change? German
Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to raise climate change
directly and publicly when she meets for the first time with
President Trump tomorrow. Doing so would set Merkel apart from
other world leaders, many of whom have spoken passionately about
tackling climate change...
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/03/13/stories/1060051343 

DROUGHT

Tiny sliver of California remains in severe drought. Conditions
have improved in a small swath of Southern California that was
one of the last areas of severe drought still standing after a
wet winter.  Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Los Angeles counties are
no longer under severe drought, according to last week's U.S.
Drought Monitor report. Recent rainfall improved the outlook for
groundwater in the region…
http://www.ksbw.com/article/tiny-sliver-of-california-remains-in-severe-drought/9126690

DIESEL ACTIVITIES

Diesel emissions: the clues were there. For too long, no one
suspected that any car manufacturer was cheating. Instead it was
thought to be a weakness in the test. It is amazing that the
Volkswagen and diesel emissions scandal was not discovered
earlier. In 2003 nitrogen dioxide alongside London’s Marylebone
Road increased by around 20%.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/12/diesel-clues-were-there-pollution

California Pilot Program Kicks Off to Test Electric Yard Trucks
for Daily Commercial Use. Two Ontario, California, logistics
companies took delivery on four zero-emissions electric yard and
service trucks as part of efforts to reduce air pollution in
Southern California. The four are the first of 27 from BYD Heavy
Industries that will be divided between the two companies.
http://ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=45232 

FUELS

Oil Prices Wavering, Torn Between Growing U.S. Supply and OPEC
Cuts. Resurgence of U.S. shale undermines confidence in OPEC’s
ability to support prices. Oil prices flipped between gains and
losses Monday as investors weighed growing U.S. supply against
OPEC’s plan to restore market equilibrium by cutting production.
Light, sweet crude for April delivery was recently down 15 cents
or 0.3% at $48.34 a barrel…
https://www.wsj.com/articles/oil-prices-pressured-by-growing-u-s-crude-supplies-1489406888


Ethanol, corn leaders in Nebraska optimistic about federal
support. While farmers might be experiencing some heartburn over
the future of the federal Renewable Fuels Standard, Nebraska’s
corn and ethanol leaders say they’re optimistic President Donald
Trump and Congress will support ethanol, an important pillar of
the state’s agricultural industry.
http://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/nebraska/ethanol-corn-leaders-in-nebraska-optimistic-about-federal-support/article_d227f13a-11c4-5bb4-95a1-1b0d5cccd951.html


Hearing shut-in well concerns, BLM rule backers ask why. For
those in favor of keeping the Bureau of Land Management's rule to
curb natural gas releases on public lands, claims that the
regulation would shut in marginal wells are puzzling. Republican
lawmakers, invoking powers granted under the Congressional Review
Act, have proposed a measure to repeal BLM's Methane and Waste
Prevention Rule…
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/03/13/stories/1060051313 

VEHICLES

Behind the Quiet State-by-State Fight Over Electric Vehicles.
When Georgia repealed its generous $5,000 tax credit on electric
vehicles in July 2015, and instead slapped a $200 registration
fee on electric cars, sales quickly tumbled. In the month before
the repeal, nearly 1,300 electric vehicles were sold in the
state. By August, those sales had all but evaporated — to just 97
cars.  
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/11/business/energy-environment/electric-cars-hybrid-tax-credits.html?_r=0


Relief for car companies is coming, but how much? Relief for car
companies facing stringent emissions and fuel economy standards
could come regardless of whether the Obama-era rules are
scrapped. Automakers are nearing victory on long-standing
requests that regulators ease requirements for tailpipe emissions
and fuel economy set by U.S. EPA and the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA).
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/03/13/stories/1060051347

GREEN ENERGY

Tesla’s Elon Musk Sets Sights on Australia—Via Twitter. Musk
tweets that battery technology can help solve the country’s
energy problems, leading to a Sunday phone call with the prime
minister.  Tesla Inc.’s Elon Musk has set his sights on
Australia, betting his company’s battery technology can help
solve the country’s energy problems and save it from a repeat of
the blackouts…
https://www.wsj.com/articles/teslas-musk-offers-solutions-for-australias-electricity-woes-1489319373

Solar energy pioneer has seen industry boom. When Gay Canough
founded Extraterrestrial Materials Inc., or ETM Solar Works, the
company was focused on retrieving solar energy from space by
mining asteroids and putting solar rays in orbit.
It was also run out of her basement. Now, Canough says she has
"come back to earth," focusing on solar energy that falls on the
planet…
http://www.pressconnects.com/story/news/local/2017/03/13/endicott-solar-energy-pioneer-industry-boom-etm/98205016/


Tesla's solar energy plant in Hawaii flips the 'on' switch.
Tesla, SolarCity, and Kauai Island Utility Cooperative unveiled
the completed solar and energy-storage facility last week. The
facility can provide solar power on demand, 24 hours a day, says
Tesla. Even before Elon Musk engineered Tesla's acquisition of
SolarCity, the two companies were collaborating.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/In-Gear/2017/0313/Tesla-s-solar-energy-plant-in-Hawaii-flips-the-on-switch

Can the Golden State go 100% green? California's Senate leader
wants the Golden State to shift to 100 percent renewable
electricity by 2045, pushing it to lead the country in grabbing
that green power goal. Environmentalists are cheering California
Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin de León's (D) plan to double,
and accelerate, the state's current renewables mandate of 50
percent by 2050.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060051344/search?keyword=california

Power purchasing driving renewables boost more than mandates.
State mandates are becoming less important drivers for renewable
energy as the market reorients itself around corporate power
purchases and other mechanisms like community power aggregation,
a new analysis from financial services firm Moody's Investors
Service has found.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/03/13/stories/1060051345 

MISCELLANEOUS

How big SF would be if it were as dense as other cities. Should
the city welcome greater density to protect open space? Is San
Francisco too dense? Not dense enough? The debate rages on among
urban planners, open-space advocates, real estate developers,
smart-growth proponents and NIMBYs. High urban density is often
associated with walkability, a cosmopolitan culture and easy
transit.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/How-SF-compares-to-other-cities-in-density-10993207.php


Q&A: Kim Stanley Robinson Explains How He Flooded Manhattan. His
new book, New York 2140, explores the interplay of climate change
and global finance on a warmer, wetter future world. In his
latest book, New York 2140 (Orbit Books, 2017), the acclaimed
novelist Kim Stanley Robinson presents a dark-but-hopeful vision
for humanity a dozen decades from now, on an Earth radically
altered by climate change.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/q-a-kim-stanley-robinson-explains-how-he-flooded-manhattan/


OPINIONS

Will California spend more on water projects? 'It all depends on
how thirsty the governor is,' De León says. If there ever was a
politically ripe time to spend lavishly on water projects, this
is it. But Sacramento Democrats are settling for a drop in the
bucket.
Spillways got washed out at giant Oroville Dam, forcing more than
100,000 people to flee their homes.
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-skelton-water-bond-proposal-20170313-story.html


We can find water solutions together. The Bee’s editorial, “A
flood policy for both deluge and drought” (March 5), poses an
interesting question that has stymied policymakers for more than
a decade relative to genuine statewide water solutions:“ Could
the state kill two birds with one stone by spending judiciously
on flood easements in places such as the undeveloped farmland…
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/california-forum/article137357703.html#storylink=cpy


These California Ranchers Welcome Trump’s Policies … Here’s Why.
This week marks the halfway point of President Trump’s first 100
days in office. During that time, he’s taken aim at environmental
policies on air pollution, water pollution and climate hange
inspiring many Californians to protest. On the other hand, some
Trump supporters in rural parts of the state are…
https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2017/03/13/these-california-ranchers-welcome-trumps-policies-heres-why/


BLOGS

Curbing climate change has a dollar value — here's how and why we
measure it. President Trump is expected to issue an executive
order soon to reverse Obama-era rules to cut carbon pollution,
including a moratorium on leasing public lands for coal mining
and a plan to reduce carbon emissions from power plants.
http://www.econotimes.com/Curbing-climate-change-has-a-dollar-value--heres-how-and-why-we-measure-it-585839


The Ethanol Industry Braces for Impact. Last week the Renewable
Fuels Association (RFA) reported that President Trump is
preparing to direct the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to
make a big change to the country’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).
The change is one that has been long sought by refiners, but it
has been resisted by the country’s biofuel industry.
http://www.financialsense.com/robert-rapier/ethanol-industry-braces-impact




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