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CARB Newsclips for May 19, 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

http://www.publicnow.com/view/F4C85CBCEC42A6E0DB9646545B138857764AF43E?2017-05-18-00:01:17+01:00-xxx7686
 

_________________________________

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) staff invites you to
participate in the third meeting in an ongoing series of public
working meetings to discuss Co-processing of biogenic feedstocks
at conventional petroleum refineries. Topics include (1) pathway
application and evaluation of the carbon intensity of renewable
fractions, (2) quantifying and reporting the renewable fuel
volumes, and (3) monitoring and verification under the Low Carbon
Fuel Standard (LCFS).
The next meeting will be held at the following time and
location:

DATE: Friday, June 2, 2017
TIME: 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.
LOCATION: Sierra Hearing Room, 2nd Floor
ADDRESS: California Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters
Building
1001 “I” Street
Sacramento, California 95814

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


_______________________________________

Dept. of Public Health Webinar & Webcast
TOPIC:  	Public Health Dimensions of Oil and Gas Production in
California. 
DATE:  	Tuesday, May 23, 2017
TIME:  	1:00 to 4:00 pm PDT (WEBINAR & WEBCAST)
LOCATION:  CalEPA, Sierra Hearing Room, 2nd Floor
           	1001 I Street, Sacramento, California

WEBINAR - register here:
https://cdph.webex.com/cdph/onstage/g.php?MTID=ed68c92894d8105b772615a49bbb6bacf
   

WEBCAST Option:  http://video.calepa.ca.gov    

_____________________________________________

Staff from the California Department of Transportation, the
California Air Resources Board, the California Energy Commission,
and the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development
invite you to participate in workshops to discuss implementation
of the California Sustainable Freight Action Plan (Action Plan).

The workshops will be held at the locations and on the dates
noted below.  The agencies will follow the same format and show
the same presentation at each of the workshop locations.    

LOS ANGELES:  May 30, 2017

SAN DIEGO:       May 31, 2017 

For more information on the California Sustainable Freight Action
Plan including upcoming workshops, please visit the webpage at
http://www.casustainablefreight.org/        
_________________________

The California Air Resources Board in collaboration with the
South Coast Air Quality Management District and the Los Angeles
Department of Water and Power, is holding a free professional wet
cleaning demonstration workshop.   

The free workshop will be held on Sunday, June 11, 2017 from
2:00PM - 4:00PM in
Los Angeles.  Doors open at 1:45 PM.

Venue: London Cleaners, 1073 Gayley Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90024. 

Space is limited.  Register early at
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/free-professional-wet-cleaning-demonstration-workshop-for-dry-cleaners-tickets-33498967313
    
 
or by searching for "wet cleaning workshop" on Eventbrite at:
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    

__________________________

Low vapor pressure-volatile organic compounds (LVP-VOCs) are a
set of VOCs currently exempted for VOC content based on a
combination of boiling point, vapor pressure, and/or elution time
from a GC-column. This work explores evaporation rates and
secondary pollutant formation from a series of individual
LVP-VOCs associated with consumer products, select generic
consumer products that include these LVP-VOCs, and several
hydrocarbon solvents. For more go to the announcement at:
http://www.arb.ca.gov/research/seminars/cocker/cocker.htm        
    

CAP AND TRADE

Majority vote on cap and trade? No, thank you, governor's office
says. Gov. Jerry Brown’s top advisor says he won’t accept
anything less than a two-thirds vote to extend California’s
cap-and-trade program for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The
higher threshold is needed to insulate the program from legal
challenges.
http://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-ca-essential-politics-updates-majority-vote-on-cap-and-trade-no-1495153400-htmlstory.html


AIR POLLUTION

Dirty diesel: why ships are the worst offenders. Ships belch out
most of their sulphurous toxins far from land, but they could
still be responsible for 60,000 deaths each year.  In all the
controversy over toxic air pollution from diesel cars, little is
heard of a worse source of pollution – shipping. Large
ocean-going ships tend to use bunker fuel, the world’s dirtiest
diesel fuel – a toxic..
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/may/18/dirty-diesel-ships-worst-offenders-pollutionwatch

CLIMATE CHANGE

Thanks to global warming, Antarctica is beginning to turn green.
Researchers in Antarctica have discovered rapidly growing banks
of mosses on the ice continent’s northern peninsula, providing
striking evidence of climate change in the coldest and most
remote parts of the planet. Amid the warming of the last 50
years, the scientists found two different species of mosses
undergoing…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/05/18/thanks-to-global-warming-antarctica-is-starting-to-turn-green/?tid=pm_business_pop&utm_term=.72439178aedf
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/05/19/stories/1060054785


China, Japan extract combustible ice from seafloor. Commercial
development of the globe’s huge reserves of a frozen fossil fuel
known as “combustible ice” has moved closer to reality after
Japan and China successfully extracted the material from the
seafloor off their coastlines. But experts said Friday that
large-scale production remains many years away…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/china-japan-extract-combustible-ice-from-seafloor/2017/05/19/cba12336-3c5a-11e7-a59b-26e0451a96fd_story.html?utm_term=.b1a52ddb2873


Early heat wave breaking records in Northeast US cities. Heat
records were burning up Thursday in cities in the Northeast as
the region gets a summer preview. The mercury reached 92 degrees
in Boston shortly after noon Thursday, breaking the old record of
91 degrees for May 18 set in 1936, according to the National
Weather Service.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/energy-environment/early-heat-wave-breaking-records-in-northeast-us-cities/2017/05/18/cdce42ea-3c2f-11e7-a59b-26e0451a96fd_story.html?utm_term=.2638d8680cf0


Rising sea levels could mean twice as much flood risk in Los
Angeles and other coastal cities. The effects of rising oceans on
coastal flooding may be even worse than we thought. Scientists
have found that a mere 10 to 20 centimeters of sea-level rise —
which is expected by 2050 — will more than double the frequency
of serious flooding events in many parts of the globe, including
along the California coastline.
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-sea-level-floods-20170518-story.html


Study: inspiring action on climate change is more complex than
you might think. 
People have to grasp how climate change impacts them, and we need
to value environmentally sound behavior. We know humans are
causing climate change. That is a fact that has been known for
well over 100 years. We also know that there will be significant
social and economic costs from the effects.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2017/may/19/study-inspiring-action-on-climate-change-is-more-complex-than-you-might-think


Fed up with climate change, trees are moving north and west. It's
getting so hot that even the trees are heading north. Man-made
climate change — including warmer temperatures and deviations in
rainfall patterns — appears to be one of the reasons tree
populations in the eastern U.S. are shifting north and, more
surprisingly, west, according to new research.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/sciencefair/2017/05/18/trees-moving-west-and-north/101836832/


Energy Companies Urge Trump To Remain In Paris Climate Agreement.
Trump recently signed an executive order aiming to roll back
President Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan but did not address the
Paris agreement. European Union leaders aren't the only ones who
are imploring Trump to keep the U.S. as part of the largest
climate agreement in history.
http://www.npr.org/2017/05/18/528998592/energy-companies-urge-trump-to-remain-in-paris-climate-agreement


Don't bet on CO2 removal to meet climate goals, scientists say.
Pulling carbon dioxide out of the sky will be necessary to keep
the world on target to meet international climate goals, and
scientists say we need to start now. The questions are how and at
what scale. In an article published online yesterday in the
journal Science, two scientists laid out their case for
"right-sizing" carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere.
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/05/19/stories/1060054814


FUELS

Industry prods Trump team for quick relief from Obama rule.
Industry and environmental groups are gearing up for another
round of fighting over an Obama-era plan to slash methane
emissions from oil and gas operations on public lands. The
American Petroleum Institute this week urged Interior Secretary
Ryan Zinke to postpone compliance deadlines for venting and
flaring restrictions under…
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/05/19/stories/1060054811

Hydrogen cars ready to move beyond Calif. Refilling stations for
hydrogen-powered cars are coming to the East Coast this year,
opening up driving options that up until now have been possible
only in California. The Golden State has 30 hydrogen stations,
with plans to extend to 100 by 2020, and it is the only state
where fuel-cell vehicles like the Toyota Mirai and Honda Clarity
FC have been sold so far.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/05/19/stories/1060054833 

VEHICLES

Toyota, Nissan, others get behind fuel cell push in Japan. Japan
is backing a push for pollution-free vehicles that run on
hydrogen and planning to build more hydrogen fueling stations so
that fuel-cell vehicles on roads will grow to 40,000 by 2020,
from the current handful. The collaboration on fuel cells,
announced Friday, brings together 11 companies, including
automakers Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/toyota-nissan-others-get-behind-fuel-cell-push-in-japan/2017/05/19/6930e2ba-3c5d-11e7-a59b-26e0451a96fd_story.html?utm_term=.d0e333b931d0


Carmakers ask for less testing, no spot checks. Automakers are
asking U.S. EPA to stop spot-checking the emissions levels of
certified vehicles. The request is one of dozens of technical
demands two trade associations, Global Automakers and the
Association of Automobile Manufacturers, submitted to the agency
following its request for ideas on how to streamline regulations.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/05/19/stories/1060054852 

VW RECALL

U.S. regulators approve VW diesel fix for 84,000 vehicles. The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources
Board on Friday announced approval of a fix for about 84,000
older Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) diesel vehicles that can emit excess
emissions. Volkswagen, the world's largest automaker, agreed last
year to offer to buy back up to 475,000 2.0-liter diesel vehicles
that had been sold in the United States or offer fixes if
regulators approved.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-idUSKCN18F1TL


Fiat Chrysler in talks with government over diesels. Fiat
Chrysler says it’s in discussions with the U.S. Department of
Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over claims
the company cheated on diesel emissions tests. The EPA said in
January that FCA was using software that allowed diesel vehicles
to emit more pollution on the road than they do in emissions
tests.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/fiat-chrysler-in-talks-with-government-over-diesels/2017/05/18/e2920262-3bde-11e7-a59b-26e0451a96fd_story.html?utm_term=.53a35fc604ba

Fiat Chrysler to Modify 100,000 Vehicles After Accusations of
Emissions Cheating. Fiat Chrysler said on Friday that it would
modify around 100,000 diesel vehicles in an effort to reach a
settlement with United States regulators, as separate academic
studies provided mounting evidence that the carmaker had
installed software meant to evade emissions standards.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/19/business/energy-environment/fiat-chrysler-diesel-emissions.html?_r=0

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2017/05/19/fiat-chrysler-epa-justice-department-diesel/101872668/

http://www.freep.com/story/money/2017/05/19/fiat-chrysler-hopes-new-epa-application-clear-diesel-emissions-dispute/332329001/

http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/news/fiat-chrysler-rolls-new-emission-software-diesel-vehicles-article-1.3179396


GREEN ENERGY

Report: Vistra Energy makes bid to acquire Dynegy in Texas power
move. A Dallas-based company that emerged from the bankruptcy of
Energy Future Holdings is reportedly pursuing an acquisition of
Houston-based power generator Dynegy. Vistra Energy is making a
bid to acquire Dynegy, according to a report by The Wall Street
Journal. Dynegy shares soared 23% in afternoon trading to $8.94.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/05/19/dynegy-vistra-energy/101871030/


NYS Exposed: Residents have little say in fight over wind energy
farm. The people of a western New York community are confronting
developers, the state, and each other over plans for a major new
wind energy project. Just last week, the developer brought in
stakeholders for a get together behind closed doors, but a
provision of state law may mean local elected leaders…
http://www.whec.com/news/wind-energy-farm-fight-residents-say/4489028/


BLOGS 

Where a solar roof works and where it doesn’t. This is not a
one-size-fits-all product. Last week, Tesla and Tesla’s newly
purchased solar-panel company SolarCity announced that they’d be
taking pre-orders at $1,000 a pop for installations of their new
solar roof product. The solar roof is made up of tiles—some that
produce solar power and some inert—that look just like regular
roof tiles.
https://arstechnica.com/business/2017/05/where-a-solar-roof-works-and-where-it-doesnt/


Long-Distance Electric Car Charging Problems Will Boost Plug-In
Hybrids. One of the unintended consequences of the electric car
revolution will be a painful doubling or tripling in
long-distance journey times as the charging structure is
overwhelmed, according to consultancy Frost & Sullivan. This will
also mean that there is a great future for plug-in hybrid
gasoline electric vehicles because of their…
https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilwinton/2017/05/19/long-distance-electric-car-charging-problems-will-boost-plug-in-hybrids/#44d014da5f39


Climate change could slash staple crops: Study. Extreme weather
and temperature swings are estimated to cut production of major
crops by 23 percent over the 30 years, scientists warn. Climate
change, and its impacts on extreme weather and temperature
swings, is projected to reduce global production of corn, wheat,
rice and soybeans by 23 percent in the 2050s, according to a new
analysis.
http://www.dailyclimate.org/tdc-newsroom/2017/may/climate-change-could-cut-into-major-crop