What's New List Serve Post Display

CARB Newsclips for June 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 Large Spark-Ignition Engine Fleet Requirements Regulation
(LSI Regulation) requires specific equipment be initially
reported to the California Air Resources Board (CARB or Board) by
June 30, 2017 and labeled by July 30, 2017. The LSI Regulation
reporting user guides, importing equipment guides, the amended
regulation language, and other useful LSI regulation information
are available at https://www.arb.ca.gov/lsi  

The Air Resources Board (ARB) announces the launch of its new
California Dairy and Livestock GHG Reduction Working Group (Dairy
Working Group) and Subgroup list serves that will provide
interested stakeholders with up-to-date information about current
activities and processes.  Sign-up for the main Dairy Working
Group process List Serve:
https://www.arb.ca.gov/listserv/listserv_ind.php?listname=dairy  


CAP AND TRADE

Gov. Brown in 'thick' of negotiations on cap and trade.
California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) and lawmakers still aim to reach
a deal this summer to extend the state's cap-and-trade system
through 2030. Speaking at a conference presented by the clean
energy trade group Advanced Energy Economy, state Senate
President Pro Tempore Kevin de León (D) said lawmakers and the
governor are "in the thick of negotiations right now"…
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/06/22/stories/1060056422


Conservative climate plan could shield oil companies. A provision
in a high-profile carbon tax plan could insulate companies that
release greenhouse gases from lawsuits.
The plan by the Climate Leadership Council, a group of Republican
statesmen and economists, would place a $40 tax on each ton of
carbon dioxide and roll back existing climate regulation.
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/06/22/stories/1060056423


AIR POLLUTION

Take a Look at the States Sending the Most Carbon Into the Air. A
recent report distributed by a diverse group including Ceres,
Bank of America Corp., the Natural Resources Defense Council and
electricity suppliers Entergy Corp. and Exelon Corp. offers a
state-by-state breakdown of carbon-dioxide emissions from power
plants. Here are the highlights:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-21/take-a-look-at-the-states-sending-the-most-carbon-into-the-air


London Mayor Seeks Pollution-Free Transport System by 2050.
London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan called for the city’s entire transport
network to operate with zero greenhouse-gas emissions by the
middle of the century under a 3.3 billion-pound ($4.2 billion) a
year program aimed at reducing dangerous levels of pollution.
Transport for London will gradually expand the city’s planned
ultra-low emissions zone…
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-21/london-mayor-seeks-pollution-free-transport-system-by-2050


State fines three companies for violating cargo handling
equipment air quality rules. The California Air Resources Board
has fined three companies $726,250 for failing to comply with the
state’s cargo handling equipment regulation, which sets emission
standards for a range of equipment used mostly at ports and
railyards, including gantry cranes, yard trucks, and forklifts.
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=32798 

Air pollution tied to survival odds for liver cancer patients.
For people diagnosed with liver cancer, living in an area with
heavy air pollution from industry, traffic or smoke is linked to
lower odds of survival, a California study finds. The association
between levels of tiny particles known as PM 2.5 in the air and
death from liver cancer or from any cause was strongest for
people…
http://www.businessinsider.com/r-air-pollution-tied-to-survival-odds-for-liver-cancer-patients-2017-6

California Has Worst Air Quality in the U.S. A new report
indicates that California has the worst air pollution of any
state in the country. The American Lung Association’s State of
the Air 2017 report on air pollution says California has the
highest ozone levels of any state. The study was done analyzing
levels of ozone and particle pollution in counties across the
country.
http://kfrog.cbslocal.com/2017/06/22/california-worst-air-pollution/
https://cleantechnica.com/2017/06/21/california-named-us-state-worst-air-quality-yet/
 

Precedent-setting cap on oil refinery emissions delayed. Bay Area
air regulators on Wednesday postponed adopting the nation’s first
limits on greenhouses gases from oil refineries because of
complaints that the public wasn’t given enough time to review
11th-hour changes. With both environmentalists and oil company
workers complaining of insufficient notice, the Bay Area Air
Quality Management District board agreed to wait…
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/06/21/precedent-setting-cap-on-oil-refinery-emissions-delayed/


D.C. Circuit sets argument date in long-running ozone case. The
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has
scheduled Sept. 14 oral arguments on two long-running lawsuits to
U.S. EPA's implementation of its 2008 ozone standard. The suits,
both filed two years ago, challenge various aspects of the
agency's state implementation plan requirements…
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/06/22/stories/1060056449 

CLIMATE CHANGE

NYC Weatherman Quits TV to Save Europe From Climate Change. Mike
Favetta is heading to Italy to help companies cope with a
changing planet. On the afternoon of June 1 in New York,
meteorologist Mike Favetta was celebrating his last day working
for local 24-hour TV station News 12 at his favorite spot in the
Bronx's vanishing Little Italy.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-21/nyc-weatherman-quits-tv-to-save-europe-from-climate-change


A major climate change study was canceled because of climate
change. Scientists from the University of Manitoba set out to
measure how climate change would impact sea ice in Hudson Bay, in
northeastern Canada. Their goal was to help prepare local marine
industries and the coast guard for what lay ahead. Unfortunately,
as you can see in the video above, severe ice conditions caused
by climate change…
https://qz.com/1010657/a-major-climate-change-study-was-canceled-because-of-climate-change/


Council approves resolution on Paris climate accord. In the first
voting session of the 2017-19 City Council, the body voted 9-1
today to recognize that global warming is occurring and that San
Antonio will work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
San Antonio joins other cities across the U.S. in the Mayors
National Climate Action Agenda by its adoption and support of the
Paris Agreement…
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Council-approves-resolution-on-Paris-climate-11239709.php

Global warming struggle is like fight to end slavery — Gore.
Former Vice President Al Gore compared humanity's struggle
against global warming to moral movements of the past, including
the abolition of slavery in the U.S., the fight against apartheid
in South Africa, the suffrage movement and gay rights. He
insisted the climate change fight can be won, given the pace of
renewable energy expansion.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/06/22/stories/1060056443 

Energy CEOs tell Pruitt they want carbon regulation. U.S. EPA
Administrator Scott Pruitt asked utility CEOs about replacing the
Clean Power Plan. Gage Skidmore/Flickr
Dozens of power industry executives who flew to Washington for a
Monday meeting with U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt had three
minutes apiece to tell him whether they want to replace the Clean
Power Plan.
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/06/22/stories/1060056398


Conservative climate plan could shield oil companies. A provision
in a high-profile carbon tax plan could insulate companies that
release greenhouse gases from lawsuits.
The plan by the Climate Leadership Council, a group of Republican
statesmen and economists, would place a $40 tax on each ton of
carbon dioxide and roll back existing climate regulation.
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/06/22/stories/1060056423


Perry says 'I don't mind being skeptical' on warming. Energy
Secretary Rick Perry reasserted his skepticism about climate
change yesterday when lawmakers pressed him to explain the
impacts that people are having on global temperatures.
Speaking to the Senate Energy and Water Development and Related
Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee…
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/06/22/stories/1060056421


Dems ramp up post-Paris messaging, action plans. Democrats are on
a messaging blitz today, highlighting the response at the
federal, state and local level to President Trump's bombshell
announcement about U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.
The NewDEAL, a national network of progressive state and local
leaders, and the New Democrat Coalition, which includes 61
members of Congress…
https://www.eenews.net/eedaily/stories/1060056406/search?keyword=calif


HEATWAVE

No Heat Safety Rules Yet For Indoor Workplaces. California
requires employers in several outdoor industries to take extra
precautions on hot days to protect their workers, but the state
has yet to establish heat safety rules for indoor workplaces. 
Paola Laverde is with the state's workplace safety agency,
Cal/OSHA. 
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2017/06/21/there-are-rules-to-protect-outdoor-workers-during-hot-weather-what-about-indoor-employees/


DIESEL ACTIVITIES

Companies fined for selling illegal truck aftermarket parts. The
California Air Resources Board says it has reached settlements
with Derive Systems Inc., and Hypertech Inc. to resolve
violations of the California Health and Safety Code related to
the advertising and sales of illegal aftermarket performance
parts in California, especially tuner products made for diesel
pick-up truck engines...
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=32800 

FUELS

Zinke pledges to enforce Obama-era methane rule amid rewrite. The
Trump administration will enforce an Obama-era regulation aimed
at restricting harmful methane emissions from oil and gas
production, even as it seeks to rewrite the rule to be more
industry-friendly, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said Tuesday.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/zinke-pledges-to-enforce-obama-era-methane-rule-amid-rewrite/2017/06/20/367e3c14-55f3-11e7-840b-512026319da7_story.html?utm_term=.74afe151e88f


BLM methane rule delay has NM businesses and lawmakers at odds
(again). While the state's Democratic lawmakers are fighting in
the District of Columbia to keep Obama-era energy policies in
place, New Mexico business leaders said the Environmental
Protection Agency is on the right track with its plan to delay
for two years Bureau of Land Management methane rules meant to
curb methane emissions from oil and gas wells.
http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2017/06/22/blm-methane-rule-delay-has-nm-businesses-and.html


Enough tall oil for biofuels, biomaterials and energy use, study
concludes. International energy and climate consultancy Ecofys
has completed a new study into crude tall oil (CTO) availability,
current usage, whether the feedstock creates additional demand
for land, and if the use of CTO in advanced biofuels can have a
distortive effects on markets.
http://biofuels-news.com/display_news/12501/enough_tall_oil_for_biofuels_biomaterials_and_energy_use_study_concludes/


VEHICLES

The U.K. Wants to Lead World in Driverless and Electric Vehicles.
The U.K. government plans to invest more than 800 million pounds
($1 billion) in new driverless and zero-emission vehicle
technology as it seeks to boost its economy while leaving the
European Union. Investment in research and new recharging
infrastructure is intended to make Britain a “leader” in electric
and autonomous vehicles…
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-21/u-k-seeks-to-lead-world-in-driverless-and-electric-vehicles


VW RECALL

Interpol seeks five ex-VW managers over emissions fraud, report
says. The U.S. has issued international arrest warrants for five
former Volkswagen managers accused of wrongdoing in connection
with the carmaker's diesel emissions-cheating scandal,
Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported on Thursday. The five ex-managers
and developers, including two executives under former CEO Martin
Winterkorn…
http://www.autonews.com/article/20170622/OEM02/170629914/interpol-seeks-five-ex-vw-managers-over-emissions-fraud-report-says


GREEN ENERGY

The $123 Billion Question Hanging Over Renewable Energy.
Different standards, lack of regulator hinder assessments. The
green-bond market has boomed on the allure of investments that
help the environment. Now, the industry is trying to show that
the reality matches these ambitions. Advisers and rating
companies are starting to track the environmental effect of
projects funded by green bonds, such as the impact on air
pollution.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-22/green-bond-mania-spurs-demand-to-back-up-climate-saving-promises


The Energy 202: Trump takes on wind energy, talks solar-powered
border wall in Iowa speech. On Wednesday evening, an evidently
gleeful President Trump gave a campaign-style speech in Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, in which he attacked some of his favorite objects
of ire in front of diehard fans, including Democrats, the Russia
investigation and the news media. 
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2017/06/22/the-energy-202-trump-takes-on-wind-energy-talks-solar-powered-border-wall-in-iowa-speech/594aaf07e9b69b2fb981ddef/?utm_term=.9ca59e2249f0


California invested heavily in solar power. Now there's so much
that other states are sometimes paid to take it. On 14 days
during March, Arizona utilities got a gift from California: free
solar power. Well, actually better than free. California produced
so much solar power on those days that it paid Arizona to take
excess electricity its residents weren’t using to avoid
overloading its own power lines.
http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-fi-electricity-solar/#nt=oft12aH-1la1


The Rise Of Wind Energy Raises Questions About Its Reliability.
Steven Somsen's farm got a new addition last year, breaking up
fields of wheat and soybeans that span as far as the eye can see
from his rural North Dakota home. "We ended up with some towers
on our property," he says, nodding toward the giant, spinning,
white wind turbines dotting the farmland around his house.
http://www.npr.org/2017/06/22/532763718/the-rise-of-wind-energy-raises-questions-about-its-reliability

EDF Renewable Energy Signs Wind & Solar PPAs To Supply 600
Megawatts. Energy company EDF Renewable Energy has this week
reportedly signed two separate Power Purchase Agreements for
solar and wind energy projects that together total 600 megawatts.
On Wednesday, US independent power producer EDF Renewable Energy
announced that it had signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)
agreement…
https://cleantechnica.com/2017/06/22/edf-renewable-energy-signs-wind-solar-ppas-supply-600-mw/


Trina Solar Modules Now Producing Electricity At India’s 2nd
Largest Solar Power Project. Trina Solar recently issued a press
release boasting of the fact that its solar modules have started
feeding electricity to the grid in India from a large-scale
project of SB Energy, a joint venture company of Softbank,
Foxconn Technology and Bharti Enterprises. The project, with a
capacity of 455 megawatts (DC), is perhaps the…
https://cleantechnica.com/2017/06/22/trina-solar-modules-now-producing-electricity-indias-2nd-largest-solar-power-project/


Brooklyn homeowners sell green energy to neighbors. Solar power,
or so-called green energy, appeals to Brooklyn homeowner Michael
Guerra. A few years ago, he installed solar panels on the roof of
his Park Slope brownstone. "Electricity only gets more expensive
over time, and it just seemed to me to be a one-time investment
in order to cap my cost," he said.
http://www.fox5ny.com/news/262992155-story 

Industry scrambles to build projects before tax window closes.
The wind industry is scrambling to exploit a federal tax
incentive well before it disappears in 2020, according to
industry insiders. Under a deal reached in Congress in 2015, the
production tax credit is shrinking every year until it vanishes
at the end of the decade. 2016 was the last full year to get the
PTC's full value; projects this year can claim 80 percent.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/06/22/stories/1060056420 

Trump’s solar wall plans need a clean view. US president Donald
Trump’s suggestion to add solar panels to a wall he wants built
along the border with Mexico may require some unexpected
cooperation from America’s southern neighbor to make it a reality
– Mexico will have to agree to help keep it clean. Mr. Trump said
on Wednesday in Iowa that the structure…
http://www.thenational.ae/business/energy/trumps-solar-wall-plans-need-a-clean-view


MISCELLANEOUS

Trump hire for key enviro office scorns climate 'alarmists'. A
staunch critic of federal rules who has written passionate
rebukes against "climate alarmism" has been hired for a top job
in the White House's environmental office. Mario Loyola is the
new associate director of regulatory reform at the White House's
Council on Environmental Quality. He previously worked at the
Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty…
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/06/22/stories/1060056397


OPINIONS

Who needs Paris? U.S. is well on its way to lower emissions with
economic, technological changes. Even as President Trump was
withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris climate deal,
environmentalists — and former President Barack Obama — said it
didn’t matter, and the U.S. was locked into a low-emissions
future anyway. With the dust of the decision settling, analysts
have taken a closer look and say it’s still possible, though
difficult…
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jun/21/paris-climate-goals-attainable-without-us-governme/


Ninth Circuit Court To California: You Can't Always Get What You
Want. America’s most regulation-friendly court, the United States
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, stunned the public on May
10th by acceding to a Trump Administration request for additional
time to consider whether a state agency, the California Air
Resources Board (CARB), should have unprecedented power to
materially impede interstate commerce.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2017/06/22/ninth-circuit-court-to-california-you-cant-always-get-what-you-want/#2d174d166d4e


BLOGS

Mayor debuts green transport plan, as London faces air pollution
warning. Wide-ranging new strategy promises huge expansion of
cycle network and the delivery of a zero emission transport
network by 2050. With perfect timing, the unveiling of the Mayor
of London's wide-ranging new transport strategy yesterday
coincided with the triggering of an emerging air quality alert…
https://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/3012420/mayor-debuts-green-transport-plan-as-london-faces-air-pollution-warning


Electric vehicles inefficient way to reduce CO2 emissions: study.
Subsidizing electric and hybrid cars would not only cost Canadian
citizens a fortune, but would also ultimately provide little
environmental improvement, according to a recent study by the
Montreal Economic Institute. Subsidizing the purchase of electric
cars in Canada is an inefficient way to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions…
https://phys.org/news/2017-06-electric-vehicles-inefficient-co2-emissions.html#jCp


Canadian Oil And Gas At Risk Under Stricter Emissions Rules,
Study Finds. It is among the most exposed industries, says
think-tank. A study by financial think-tank Carbon Tracker says
Canadian oil and gas companies rank among some of the most
exposed to climate policy risk. The report is part of an effort
to increase disclosure on climate risks in the industry by
looking…
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/06/21/canadian-oil-and-gas-at-risk-under-stricter-emissions-rules-stu_a_22509182/


That Tesla Battery Emissions Study Making the Rounds? It's Bunk.
No, making a Tesla battery does not equal eight years of driving
an internal combustion car. If you're predisposed to hate
electric cars, then there's a wonderful story making the rounds
that'll support your worldview. It claims that the production of
Tesla battery produces carbon emissions equivalent to driving an
internal-combustion vehicle for eight years—8.2, to be precise.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/hybrid-electric/news/a27039/tesla-battery-emissions-study-fake-news/


States Taking Lead on Reducing Methane Emissions. Methane, the
primary component of natural gas, is a potent greenhouse gas.
While it does not last as long as carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere, methane absorbs more energy and consequently has a
100-year global warming potential 28 to 36 times greater than
that of CO2. The major sources of methane emissions…
http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/id=1202790746332/States-Taking-Lead-on-Reducing-Methane-Emissions?slreturn=20170522153046