What's New List Serve Post Display

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 Resources Board (ARB) staff invites you to
participate in an ongoing series of public working meetings to
discuss:  (1) changes to the pathway carbon intensity application
and evaluation process, (2) improvements to reporting and credit
generation processes, and (3) the integration of third-party
verification requirements under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard
(LCFS). The next two meetings will be held at the California
Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters Building as
follows:

Monday, April 17, 2017, 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.
•             Fossil and Renewable Natural Gas, Including
Biomethane From
Dairy and Livestock Operations

Monday, May 15, 2017, 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.
•             Biodiesel and Renewable Diesel

Today’s notice is intended to confirm the dates, provide the
times and location, and supply instructions on how to participate
(in-person, over the phone, or webcast).  This information along
with discussion papers and other materials for review will be
posted at
http://www.arb.ca.gov/fuels/lcfs/lcfs_meetings/lcfs_meetings.htm
.
 
AIR POLLUTION

It’s not just climate: EPA hints that it could roll back Obama’s
smog rule.
The Trump administration has given its strongest indication to
date it may not stand in the way of lawsuits aimed at undoing
Obama-era environmental protections for smog-forming pollutants.
In a court filing, the Environmental Protection Agency sought on
Friday to postpone oral argument in a case involving an Obama-era
standard limiting an air pollutant that forms smog, arguing it
needs “adequate time to fully review” the rule.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/04/07/trumps-epa-makes-first-moves-on-obama-era-smog-protections/?utm_term=.84c165cf7268


Related:
http://www.scpr.org/news/2017/04/11/70664/smog-rule-may-be-next-on-trump-s-chopping-block/


Trump may change or scrap Obama ozone standard.
The Trump administration is considering whether to change the
national ozone standard set by the Obama administration in 2015,
a court filing reveals. On Friday evening, U.S. EPA filed a
motion seeking to postpone next week's oral arguments over the
standard, saying the new administration is "closely scrutinizing"
whether the agency should "reconsider the rule or some part of
it."
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/04/10/stories/1060052869


Tracking Air Quality Block By Block.
A local environmental advocacy group last week launched a
first-of-its kind monitoring project, installing air quality
sensors in the densely packed neighborhoods near this city’s port
to give the people who live and work there on-the-ground readings
of pollutants that can seriously injure their health.
http://californiahealthline.org/news/tracking-air-quality-block-by-block/


Students learn about San Juan County’s air quality.
Islanders are about to find out exactly what is in the air they
are breathing. Samuel Garson, a science teacher at Friday Harbor
High School, and his junior and senior AP environmental class are
on a quest to test air quality.
http://www.sanjuanjournal.com/life/students-learn-about-san-juan-countys-air-quality/


Epic Fight Over Diesel Pollution And California’s Future Clean
Air Authority
Governor Jerry Brown swore last December that if the federal
government stopped collecting crucial climate data, the Golden
State would launch its own satellite. Repeatedly since then
California leaders have vowed to continue their pursuit of clean
air and climate progress, no matter how the Trump administration
proceeds.
http://www.kpbs.org/news/2017/apr/11/lawyer-hopes-undo-california-diesel-law-help-trump/

CAP AND TRADE

Carbon Emissions Trading Scheme Upheld in CA.
California’s cap-and-trade system, which allows companies to
purchase carbon credits through an auction or a secondary market,
is not an illegal tax, a state appeals court has found. The
system, because of voluntary participation and the purchase of a
specific thing of value, preclude a finding that the auction
system has the hallmarks of a tax, said Judge Elena J. Duarte.
https://www.environmentalleader.com/2017/04/carbon-emissions-trading-scheme-upheld-ca/


California's Cap-and Trade Program Wins in Court, Program's
Future Still Unclear
For climate policy advocates, California has been a kind of
sanctuary state, unflagging in its commitment to ambitious
mitigation strategies even as the Trump Administration moves to
unwind programs at the federal level.
http://www.natlawreview.com/article/california-s-cap-and-trade-program-wins-court-program-s-future-still-unclear


CLIMATE CHANGE

What’s at Stake in Trump’s Proposed E.P.A. Cuts.
What is at stake as Congress considers the E.P.A. budget? Far
more than climate change. The Trump administration’s proposed
cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency budget are deep and
wide-ranging. It seeks to shrink spending by 31 percent, to $5.7
billion from $8.1 billion, and to eliminate a quarter of the
agency’s 15,000 jobs.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/10/climate/trump-epa-budget-cuts.html


Trump's energy review blocks Group of Seven from consensus.
Top energy officials from the Group of Seven industrial nations
failed to agree on language for a joint declaration on Monday
because of the U.S. administration's review of policies related
to climate change and the reduction of greenhouse gases. Italy's
economic development minister, Carlo Calenda, told a news
conference that those areas remained "key priorities for other
G-7 countries and the EU" but that the United States "reserves
its position" while the review is underway.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_ITALY_G7_ENERGY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

U.S. scuppers G7 bid to find joint stance on energy and climate.
The U.S. administration of Donald Trump on Monday scuppered
efforts by the Group of Seven industrialized countries to reach a
common stance on energy when it asked for more time to work out
its policies on climate change. Trump signed an order in March to
undo climate change regulations drawn up under his predecessor
Barack Obama, calling into question U.S. support for an
international deal to fight global warming.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-g7-energy-u-s-idUSKBN17C1F3 

China may take lead on fighting climate change.
With climate change seemingly absent from the agenda, the weekend
meeting between President Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi
Jinping underscored that the U.S. has all but abandoned its
status as the international leader on global warming and ceded
that position to China. Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi said nothing
publicly about past commitments between the two nations to work
together to fight climate change, and there seems to be a growing
understanding among Chinese officials that their country may now
have the responsibility — and a key economic opportunity,
activists say — to become the global leader on the issue.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/9/china-may-take-lead-on-fighting-climate-change/


Related:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/chinas-xi-outshines-trump-as-the-worlds-future-energy-leader/

New York, California Lead State Efforts on Climate Change as
Trump Retreats.
It’s a precarious time for federal climate change action in the
U.S., to say the least. Just last week, a sweeping executive
order signed by President Trump moved to roll back the Obama
administration’s flagship Clean Power Plan to curb greenhouse gas
emissions from power plants—the latest in a series of efforts by
Congress and the White House to repeal various Obama-era rules.
But even as the Trump administration continues reversing federal
environmental regulations, state governments are stepping up as
the nation’s new front line of defense against climate change. 
http://www.newsweek.com/new-york-california-state-efforts-climate-change-trump-retreats-580704


Great Barrier Reef Hit By Bleaching For The Second Year In A
Row.
For the second consecutive year, aerial surveys show severe coral
bleaching in the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia.
While severe bleaching events have occurred three other times in
the past 20 years — in 1998, 2002 and 2016 — this year marks the
first time it's known to have happened two years in a row.
Scientists say the damage is caused by higher water temperatures
due to global warming.
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/04/10/523254085/great-barrier-reef-hit-by-bleaching-for-the-second-year-in-a-row


The Single Shining Hope to Stop Climate Change.
Science is under attack at the very moment when we need it most.
President Donald Trump’s March 28 executive order went much
further than simply throwing a lifeline to fossil fuels, as
industry-funded congressional climate change–deniers have done in
the past. It intentionally blinded the federal government to the
impacts of climate change by abolishing an interagency group that
measured the cost of carbon to public health and the environment.
Now, the government won’t have a coordinated way to account for
damages from climate change when assessing the costs and benefits
of a particular policy.
http://time.com/4731632/climate-change-2020-trump/ 

Climate change: Turbulence to get a whole lot worse on
airplanes.
A scary new study has warned one of the worst things about flying
is about to get much worse: turbulence. Bouts of turbulence that
are strong enough to toss passengers around the cabin could
become up to three times more common - and it's all thanks to
climate change, according to news.com.au. Scientists at the
University of Reading in the UK have carried out a first-ever
study into the relationship between anthropogenic climate change
and clear-air turbulence.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/news/article.cfm?c_id=7&objectid=11835733


Allergies will be even more miserable in the future — thanks to
global warming.
It’s spring in California: the birds are chirping, the flowers
are blooming, and my sinuses are so swollen they might just pop
right out of my face. I’m one of the 36 million or so Americans
lucky enough to suffer from seasonal allergies. And experts tell
me that I might suffer from this eye-itching, sinus-pounding
misery even more in the future. Warming global temperatures may
lead to longer blooming seasons, and rising CO2 levels could help
weeds and trees grow more, and faster. That could mean more
allergy-causing pollen, according to a growing crop of studies.
This is especially bad news for people with allergic asthma, who
can suffer from life-threatening attacks. 
http://www.theverge.com/2017/4/10/15203522/allergies-hay-fever-seasonal-spring-pollen-global-warming-climate-change


DIESEL ACTIVITIES

San Joaquin Valley farmers might get state financial help for
off-road mobile ag equipment.
Farmers and ranchers in the San Joaquin Valley that trade up old
off-road mobile agricultural equipment to new, cleaner operating
models might eventually get some financial help from the
California Air Resources Board. The trade-up pilot project is
expected to aid CARB in its efforts to assess the feasibility of
a new, multi-step type of equipment incentive intended for owners
of high-emitting mobile agricultural equipment in the San Joaquin
Valley Air Basin that may not qualify for existing voluntary
incentive funding such as the Carl Moyer Program, Environmental
Quality Incentives Program, and others and for which new
equipment purchases are not practical.
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=32422 

GREEN ENERGY

Renewable energy tax credits challenge markets.
In the spring and fall, the wind blows so hard at night that wind
turbines supply all of the power that Texas needs in the wee
hours of the morning. More surprising is that all of that wind
means the price of electricity turns negative. That's right,
electric power is not just free, but generators have to pay the
grid operator to take their electricity.
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/columnists/tomlinson/article/Renewable-energy-tax-credits-challenge-markets-11058236.php


Renewable energy production in South Australia at 50 per cent,
eight years ahead of schedule.
Green energy production in South Australia has reached record
levels, with the state poised to meet its 50 per cent renewable
energy target almost eight years ahead of schedule. Latest
figures obtained from sources including the Australian Energy
Market Operator indicate SA has derived 53 per cent of its
electricity in the past 12 months from sun and wind.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/sa-power-crisis-renewable-energy-production-in-sa-at-50-per-cent-eight-years-ahead-of-schedule/news-story/2e3a6fcb3c40a0ca61b25eba87206d68

Silicon Valley Clean Energy launches with 100% carbon-free
power.
A new "community choice" agency began providing cleaner energy to
Californians last week. Silicon Valley Clean Energy says it
provides 100 percent carbon-free energy to 11 cities in
California. Most of its energy comes from renewables such as wind
and solar, while the remainder comes from large-scale hydropower.
The agency is one of the latest players in the "community choice"
movement, which is picking up steam in the Golden State as an
alternative to traditional utilities' hegemony.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/04/10/stories/1060052833 

SoCalGas eyes injection of 'renewable natural gas' into
pipelines.
A $100 million project on track for completion this spring will
inject "renewable natural gas" derived from organic waste into
Southern California Gas Co.'s pipeline system for the first time.
The landmark project is part of the state's push to harness
methane emitted at farms and landfills as an alternative to
fossil fuels for transportation, heating and power generation.
http://marketintelligence.spglobal.com/our-thinking/news/socalgas-eyes-injection-of-renewable-natural-gas-into-pipelines


California is getting so much power from solar that wholesale
electricity prices are turning negative.
The extraordinary success of solar power in some pockets of the
world that combine sunshine with high investment in the
technology mean that governments and energy companies are having
radically to rethink the way they manage—and charge
for—electricity. California is one such a place.
https://qz.com/953614/california-produced-so-much-power-from-solar-energy-this-spring-that-wholesale-electricity-prices-turned-negative/


Massachusetts requests supply of Canadian renewable energy.
A request by the state of Massachusetts for a supply of clean,
renewable electricity could give a boost to proposals to carry
Canadian renewable energy to southern New England via proposed
transmission lines in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. There are
a handful of proposals across the three states designed to help
energy-hungry states Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut
make use of the renewable energy available in Canada and experts
say the Massachusetts request gives a huge boost to those
efforts.
http://globalnews.ca/news/3366788/massachusetts-canadian-renewable-energy/


Mayor Emanuel Announces City Buildings to be Powered by 100
Percent Renewable Energy by 2025.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) CEO Forest
Claypool, Chicago Park District CEO Mike Kelly, Chicago Housing
Authority (CHA) Eugene Jones, Jr., Fleet and Facility Management
Commissioner David Reynolds, and City Colleges of Chicago (CCC)
leadership today announced their commitment to move their
buildings’ electricity use to 100 percent renewable energy by
2025. When implemented, Chicago will be the largest major city in
the country to have a 100 percent renewable energy supply for its
public buildings.
https://enewspf.com/2017/04/10/mayor-emanuel-announces-city-buildings-powered-100-percent-renewable-energy-2025/


Getting Green Energy for Less in Underserved Communities.
In the past, some energy providers have claimed that fossil fuels
are needed to keep electricity costs low for the poorest
consumers. But research has shown this “cheap” energy comes at a
high price for the poor and minorities that are most susceptible
to the effects of pollution. The  Energy Efficiency for All
published a study in 2016, which found that the vast majority of
families living under 80% of the poverty line struggle to afford
energy month-to-month.
http://www.theenergycollective.com/ryank/2401949/getting-green-energy-less-underserved-communities


VEHICLES

Ford says hybrid police car catches bad guys, saves gas too.
The next time the cops chase you down for speeding, they could be
driving a fuel-efficient gas-electric hybrid. Ford Motor Co.,
which sells more police vehicles in the U.S. than any other
automaker, says it will offer a police pursuit version of the
hybrid Fusion midsize sedan, in response to requests from cities
nationwide. 
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_FORD_HYBRID_POLICE_CAR?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Related articles:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-10/warning-to-crooks-new-ford-cop-car-may-be-green-but-it-s-fast


Diesel cars CAN improve air quality and ‘tackle climate change’,
claims industry group.
Diesel cars can help to improve air quality and play a positive
role in the fight against climate change, a key motor industry
group has claimed. In light of the raft of new taxes and
regulations being slapped on diesel vehicles, the Society of
Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) have released a report to
champion the fuel.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/motors/3297351/diesel-cars-can-improve-air-quality-and-tackle-climate-change-claims-industry-group/


Amazon Finds There's Nothing Foolish in Fuel Cells.
Victims of tech hype should be a bit wary of Elon Musk’s
dismissal of hydrogen fuel cells as "fool cells." A figure as
iconic in the tech industry, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, appears
to disagree. Amazon has acquired the right to buy 23 percent of
Plug Power, a Latham, New York-based company that went public
back in 1999, has never made a profit, and was until recently a
penny stock. Plug Power shares almost doubled in price
immediately after the Amazon announcement.
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-04-06/amazon-finds-there-s-nothing-foolish-in-fuel-cells


SF Goodwill Puts 11 Electric Trucks On the Road.
The San Francisco Goodwill will start using electric trucks as
part of a test project that aims to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District announced
Friday. The project, which is product of the Goodwill's
partnership with the BAAQMD, the California Air Resources Board,
the Center for Transportation and the Environment and BYD Corp.,
will bring 11 electric trucks to Goodwill locations in San Mateo,
San Francisco and Marin counties.
https://patch.com/california/san-francisco/sf-goodwill-puts-11-electric-trucks-road

http://www.worktruckonline.com/news/photos/267346/byd-trucks-partners-with-goodwill/34748.aspx
(photo montage)

Huntington to install second electric vehicle charging location.
Huntington officials are set to install a public electric vehicle
charging station at Town Hall as part of a statewide clean-energy
initiative. Town officials purchased the station to meet one of
the conditions for inclusion in the state’s Clean Energy
Communities initiative, which will make the town eligible to
apply for $250,000 in state funding for future energy projects.
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/huntington-to-install-second-electric-vehicle-charging-location-1.13373472


MISCELLANEOUS

California attorney general requests documents on EPA chief.
California's attorney general announced Friday he is seeking
documents that could show conflicts of interest and ethics
violations by the man President Donald Trump appointed to lead
the Environmental Protection Agency, the latest episode in the
ongoing feud between Golden State officials and the Trump
administration.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CALIFORNIA_PRUITT_RECORDS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


California's environmental crusaders helped save our state. Now,
they face down Trump.
It did not begin well for Alicia Rivera, who carried a stack of
fliers as she made her way around the parking lot of a Wilmington
shopping center. The first person she approached brushed past
her, uninterested in her spiel about polluted air in the harbor
area’s smokestack neighborhoods. The next guy shook his head; he
didn’t want the flier calling residents to an April 29 climate
change march protesting the planned expansion of the nearby
Tesoro refinery. 
https://flipboard.com/@flipboard/flip.it%2FsgMK1h-californias-environmental-crusaders-hel/f-e751774395%2Flatimes.com


Dear Earth Talk, what is meant by “environmental justice”?
Environmental justice is defined by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) as “the fair treatment and meaningful
involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national
origin or income, with respect to the development, implementation
and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies.”
In layperson’s terms, it means making sure specific groups of
people don’t bear a disproportionate burden from potential and
existing environmental threats.
http://smdp.com/dear-earth-talk-what-is-meant-by-environmental-justice/160383
	

OPINIONS

California Fights Back.
When Donald Trump threatened on the campaign trail to deport
every single immigrant living in the country illegally, bring
back offshore drilling and reverse the anti-pollution policies
that help clear smoggy skies, Californians immediately understood
that our state would be disproportionately affected — and
disproportionately harmed — by the reckless policies he was
hoping to enact.
http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-ed-california-fights-back/ 

Quora: Trump’s Policies Will Only Accelerate Climate Change.
Climate change will accelerate slightly under Donald Trump, and
our ability to mitigate the damage will decrease significantly.
Here’s the thing about climate change: it’s potentially very
“teetery.” What I mean by that is that our climate was, until
very recently (geologically, of course), really well balanced.
Heat in and heat out were nearly the same, and so the temperature
on this planet was remarkably constant and predictable over time.
Constant and predictable will hereafter be referred to as “good”
for simplicity’s sake. 
http://www.newsweek.com/quora-question-how-will-trump-affect-climate-change-579765


Courts Jump on Revenue Raising Bandwagon.
Tax and revenue increases are piling up on Californians–passed by
voters, approved by legislators, and now the courts are getting
into the act. On the same day that the legislature passed the $52
billion gas tax, California’s Third District Court of Appeal on a
2 to 1 vote upheld a lower court ruling that businesses paying
for auction allowances in the cap-and-trade program were not
being subjected to an illegal tax. 
http://www.foxandhoundsdaily.com/2017/04/courts-jump-revenue-raising-bandwagon/


BLOGS

Climate Change Is Ruining Farmers’ Lives, But Only A Few Will
Admit It.
When Christina Carter started growing vegetables 12 years ago,
she looked forward to winters because they offered her the chance
to recover from the strenuous growing and harvesting seasons.
That’s no longer the case. Summers are hotter and stormier than
they used to be, and fall never seems to come. A true winter also
seems to be a thing of the past, but that doesn’t mean spring
won’t bring the occasional surprise hailstorm.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/climate-change-farmers_us_58e3c1d8e4b0d0b7e16502d5


Farmers could lead the way on climate action. Here’s how. 
 President Trump, congressional Republicans, and most American
farmers share common positions on climate change: They question
the science showing human activity is altering the global climate
and are skeptical of using public policy to reduce greenhouse gas
pollution. But farmers are in a unique position to tackle climate
change. We have the political power, economic incentive, and
policy tools to do so. What we don’t yet have is the political
will.
http://grist.org/article/farmers-could-lead-the-way-on-climate-action-heres-how/


Electrek green energy brief: California ‘cap and trade’ not a
tax, tax credit worth 29GW of green energy, more.
Solar and wind tax credit extension worth 29GW of utility scale
wind/solar from 2016-2020 – Another interesting number, $23B in
economic activity in the USA from wind and solar in 2017. Roughly
– $5B will be given to solar power installations in the form of a
federal 30% tax credit. There will be $25B’ish in solar power
sales in the USA in 2017.
https://electrek.co/2017/04/10/california-can-trade-tax-credit-flow-battery/