What's New List Serve Post Display

CARB Newsclips for June 23, 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 California Air Resources Board (ARB) staff has posted the
staff presentation for the Workshop on June 26, 2017, that will
focus on the design of a pilot financial mechanism for
dairy-related projects producing low carbon fuels, as required
under SB 1383 (Lara). The presentation can be found at:
http://www.arb.ca.gov/fuels/lcfs/lcfs_meetings/lcfs_meetings.htm.
--------------------------------------------------
Do you own or operate forklifts, sweeps/scrubbers, industrial tow
tractors, or airport ground support equipment?. If so, this
regulation may apply to your business.
For more information please go to the ARB Rulemaking webpage:
https://www.arb.ca.gov/regact/2016/sparkignition2016/sparkignition2016.htm
--------------------------------------------------
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

Xi Jinping Is Set for a Big Gamble With China’s Carbon Trading
Market. As other countries look to China to take the lead in
fighting global warming after President Trump’s rejection of the
Paris climate agreement, President Xi Jinping is pushing ahead
with an ambitious plan to build the world’s largest market for
carbon emissions permits.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/23/world/asia/china-cap-trade-carbon-greenhouse.html

AIR POLLUTION

Tucson-area ozone pollution worst since 2012. The Tucson metro
area's air is suffering its worst ozone pollution since 2012. The
Arizona Daily Star reports (http://bit.ly/2sKacRk ) the region
has exceeded federal standards for ground-level ozone five times
this year. Beth Gorman, a Pima County environmental quality
manager, says officials don't know exactly why the ozone levels
are so high, but typically…
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AZ_TUCSON_POOR_AIR_QUALITY_AZOL-?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District files
suit over alleged open burning violation. A pollution control
district alleges that limited partnership in Fresno violated
regulations regarding open burning. San Joaquin Valley Unified
Air Pollution Control District filed a complaint on May 16 in the
Fresno County Superior Court against Poonia Family Limited
Partnership…
http://norcalrecord.com/stories/511128003-san-joaquin-valley-unified-air-pollution-control-district-files-suit-over-alleged-open-burning-violation


EPA cuts will harm NC’s air and water quality, hurt fishing, says
state agency. Planned staff cuts at the Environmental Protection
Agency, which employs more than 2,000 people in Research Triangle
Park, are seen as the beginning of major cutbacks to scientific
research and pollution enforcement in North Carolina. This week’s
buyout offer to more than 1,200 employees agency-wide comes in…
http://www.heraldsun.com/news/article157827029.html#storylink=cpy

Sadiq Khan: Gove must get a grip on 'life and death' air
pollution crisis. Mayor of London wants urgent meeting with new
environment secretary to press for action on toxic air quality.
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has requested an urgent meeting
with the new environment secretary, Michael Gove, to urge him to
get a grip on Britain’s “life and death” air pollution crisis.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/23/sadiq-khan-michael-gove-life-and-death-air-pollution-crisis


CLIMATE CHANGE

Urban Farming Won't Save Us From Climate Change. Community
gardens serve many purposes. Slowing climate change isn't one of
them. In places such as New York and Boston, the appeal of the
self-sustaining rooftop farm is irresistible. If only enough
unused space were converted to fertile fields, the thinking goes,
local kale and spinach for the masses could be a reality, even in
the most crowded neighborhoods.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-21/urban-farming-won-t-save-us-from-climate-change


Mexico now dependent on US natural gas for hitting emissions
targets. Mexico is becoming increasingly dependent on
U.S.-produced natural gas to keep its lights on and its emissions
low, a Mexican official told U.S. energy regulators in Washington
Thursday at an all-day meeting on energy security.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/mexico-now-dependent-on-us-natural-gas-for-hitting-emissions-targets/article/2626929


Why is China suddenly leading the climate change effort? It’s a
business decision. China watchers and other commentators debate
China’s resolve and capability to fill the political vacuum left
by the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate accord this month.
Why would China be eager to take leadership on climate change?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/06/22/why-is-china-suddenly-leading-the-climate-change-effort-its-a-business-decision/?utm_term=.5b1c9a416c97
 

Climate change threatens to wipe some islands off the map.
Leaders of island nations are worried about future of Paris
agreement to limit emissions. To small island nations where the
land juts just above the rising seas, the U.S. pulling out of the
Paris climate change pact makes the future seem as fragile and
built on hope as a sand castle. Top scientists say it was already
likely that Earth’s temperatures…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/climate-change-threatens-to-wipe-some-islands-off-the-map/2017/06/23/45798a1a-5770-11e7-ba90-f5875b7d1876_story.html?utm_term=.4dbaba297ab9


On Gardening: Healthy Soils Initiative for home gardens. A recent
On Gardening column draw attention to California’s Healthy Soils
Initiative, which is part of “California’s strategy to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions by increasing carbon sequestration in
and on natural and working lands.” The initiative is part of the
state’s Climate Smart Agriculture programs, which include
coordinated work on efficient water usage…
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/lifestyle/20170622/on-gardening-healthy-soils-initiative-for-home-gardens


Melting and cracking – is Antarctica falling apart? Although
fracturing and surface melting on the Larsen C ice shelf might
sound like indicators of climate change, these processes are
natural. Antarctica boasts a great many superlatives: it is the
driest continent, the coldest, the remotest, the windiest and the
highest on average. Right now, during midwinter, it is also the
darkest.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jun/23/melting-and-cracking-is-antarctica-falling-apart-climate-change


California enters the global climate stage. As Trump backs off
climate agreement, California tackles ambitious renewables goal.
Este artículo también está disponible en español aquí. California
is often the first state in the West to test new solutions to
social and environmental problems. These days, the state is at
the fore of a much more ambitious challenge, as it finds its
progressive ideals…
http://www.hcn.org/articles/california-enters-the-global-climate-stage


At their core, environmental issues are women's issues. Susan
Noonan is the president of the Woman's City Club of Greater
Cincinnati. President Trump’s recent announcement to pull the
United States out of the Paris Climate agreement was a major
disappointment to most Americans who believe that climate change
is real and urgent.
http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/contributors/2017/06/23/its-going-take-more-women-leadership-tackle-climate-change/390946001/


Huge Icelandic Eruption Mimics Industrial Emissions. The
Holuhraun lava field explosion of 2014 and 2015 could help
scientists sharpen climate change models. The largest Icelandic
eruption in 230 years offers a unique look into how aerosols
affect the atmosphere—and an international team of researchers
says it could sharpen the way scientists model climate change.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/huge-icelandic-eruption-mimics-industrial-emissions/


CEOs stick with Trump despite Paris withdrawal. When President
Trump made a dramatic declaration to exit the Paris climate
agreement three weeks ago, a question loomed: Would the CEOs who
advise Trump and are staunch advocates of climate change leave
his side? The answer appears to be no. Even as they lend their
names to efforts to fulfill U.S. pledges without Trump, many
continue to engage with the president on his business councils…
https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060056476

Climate change or global warming? One persuades more voters. The
phrases "global warming" and "climate change" are often used
interchangeably, but more voters doubt the existence of global
warming. Most Americans — Democrats and Republicans alike —
believe climate change is happening. Far fewer agree that global
warming is real, according to a new study published yesterday in
the journal Climatic Change.
Democrats…
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/06/23/stories/1060056482


VEHICLES

Tesla in Talks to Set Up Electric Car Factory in Shanghai. Tesla
Motors is in discussions to establish a factory in Shanghai, its
first in China, a move that could bolster its efforts in one of
its major markets even as it further lifts China’s position as a
builder of electric cars. In a statement on Thursday, Tesla said
it needed to set up more overseas factories to make cars that
customers could afford. Such a strategy is a must in China, which
charges steep tariffs for imported cars.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/22/business/tesla-factory-china.html


Chargeway: the best electric-car idea you've never heard of.
Pretty much everyone knows how to put fuel into a conventional
car. You pull up to the pump, open the vehicle's fuel door, put
in a credit card, select diesel or one of three grades of
gasoline, lift the hose, and pump. (In New Jersey and Oregon,
someone else does this for you.)
Electric-car charging isn't quite that simple.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1111182_chargeway-the-best-electric-car-idea-youve-never-heard-of


Eco-Tip: Incentive is for new, used electric cars. A new
incentive program available from Southern California Edison
provides a payment of $450 to owners of new or used plug-in cars.
It covers both all-electric cars (such as the Chevy Bolt) as well
as cars running on electric power before transitioning to a gas
engine (such as the Chevy Volt). Previous rebates, such as the
California Rebate…
http://www.vcstar.com/story/news/local/communities/ventura/2017/06/23/eco-tip-incentive-new-used-electric-cars/422248001/


Report: Consumer Benefits of Increased Efficiency in Light-Duty
Vehicles. The International Council on Clean Transportation
(ICCT) has released a briefing outlining the consumer benefits of
increased efficiency in 2025-2030 light-duty vehicles in the U.S.
As noted in the report introduction, U.S. regulatory agencies
have been conducting a number of studies over the past two years…
https://ngtnews.com/report-consumer-benefits-increased-vehicle-efficiency


GREEN ENERGY

Solar energy powers clean water, business opportunities for
refugees. Sadick Thenest remembers how his 8-year-old daughter
had a narrow brush with death two years ago, when she contracted
cholera after drinking contaminated water. “She was so gaunt,
weak and had terrible diarrhea,” said the refugee from Burundi.
“A slight delay in rushing her to hospital would have meant
something else - but with God’s grace she survived.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-africa-refugees-energy-solar-idUSKBN19E1CB?feedType=RSS&virtualBrandChannel=11563


Trump’s putdown of wind energy whips up a backlash in Iowa.
President Trump’s putdown of wind energy at his Iowa rally was
denounced Thursday across the state, which takes pride in its
position as a national leader in wind generation. Trump was
talking up his support for coal during his speech in Cedar Rapids
on Wednesday night when he said…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/trumps-putdown-of-wind-energy-whips-up-a-backlash-in-iowa/2017/06/22/4e299a9a-578b-11e7-840b-512026319da7_story.html?utm_term=.64777b7b78a1


Groups lose suit seeking to save trees from solar farm.
Environmental groups have lost a lawsuit seeking to block a New
Jersey theme park from cutting down nearly 15,000 trees to make
way for a solar farm. The groups opposed approval granted by the
Jackson Township committee and planning board to allow Six Flags
Great Adventure and KDC Solar to move forward with the project
that…
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jun/23/groups-lose-suit-seeking-to-save-trees-from-solar-/


Scientists debate: could renewable energy entirely replace fossil
fuels in U.S. by 2050? Scientists generally debate their studies
and projections in relatively civil language, but perhaps the
currently adversarial tenor of U.S. politics has spilled over
into science. A 2015 study on the potential for renewable energy
use in the U.S. has now produced not only a stringent attack…
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1111183_scientists-debate-could-renewable-energy-entirely-replace-fossil-fuels-in-u-s-by-2050

A border wall made of solar panels wouldn't actually be good for
the environment. Is this a bright idea? Physically imposing…
aesthetically pleasing… and solar? On Wednesday, President Trump
added a new descriptor to the wall he'd like to see built along
the United States’ southern border.
http://www.popsci.com/border-wall-solar-panels#page-2 

In state where big wind thrives, a scuffle over rooftop solar.
Kansas utilities say solar-owning homeowners are in a class by
themselves. Or they should be. The utilities and staff of the
Kansas Corporation Commission are asking state regulators to
agree, and deem that some sort of new rate structure is
appropriate to ensure utilities can fully recover costs of
maintaining the grid.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/06/23/stories/1060056496 

MISCELLANEOUS

Project gets people in San Francisco bicycling. Volunteers have
given away hundreds of bikes in San Francisco. Bicycles are an
eco-friendly way to get around. But many people do not know how
to ride a bike, and some people cannot afford one. So an
organization in San Francisco’s Excelsior neighborhood came up
with a solution.
https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2017/06/project-gets-people-in-san-francisco-bicycling/


OPINIONS

Review Free juice! Hyundai reimburses electric charging costs to
Ioniq drivers. I have made no secret of my affection for electric
cars. Seduced by their smooth, strong, silent motors, and the
promise of never visiting a gas station again, the battery
electric vehicles represent a real promise for a future of
petroleum-free motoring. But not everyone agrees with me.
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-hyundai-ioniq-review-20170624-story.html


Gov. Brown prepares for a new climate battle, and it probably
will cost you. It’s been miserable out there. Death Valley
reached a deadly 127-degree record. Flights were canceled in
Phoenix because it isn’t safe to take off when the temperature
exceeds 117 degrees. Parts of our valley sizzled at 110. And
there was U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry blathering on CNBC
about how he doubts carbon dioxide and humans cause climate
change… http://www.sacbee.com/article157888664.html#storylink=cpy


Letter: Congress must act on climate change. I recently installed
air-conditioning in a house in the mountains. The lovely couple
had lived there for 50 years without needing it, but the summers
are now getting too hot. It wasn't the time nor place to teach
these Coalville residents about the science of climate change,
but if they read this perhaps they can connect the dots that…
http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/5411862-155/letter-congress-must-act-on-climate


These 9 electric vehicles are fun, durable, and will make your
commute more bearable. Seeing an adult on a scooter or skateboard
isn't as rare of a sighting as it used to be. That's because
scooters and boards are easy last-mile solutions: they're light,
relatively inexpensive, and don't take up a ton of space. There's
really no reason to not go electric, either.
http://www.businessinsider.com/electric-scooters-skateboards-commute-2017-6/#cycleboard-1


When your next breath depends on clean air you favor the Clean
Air Act. The 19th annual “air quality report card” released in
April by the American Lung Association, called “State of the
Air,” showed continued improvement in air quality overall. But I
was especially pleased to see that my own county received an “A”
for ozone pollution and an “A” for particle pollution.
http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/op-ed/article157704919.html#storylink=cpy


Another View: Cap-and trade is improving air, protecting jobs in
California. In her recent Community Voices article, Caroline
Farrell of the Center for Race, Poverty and the Environment
claimed that California legislators are not doing enough to
address air quality and climate change in the Central Valley
(“Salas puts Kern residents’ health on a back burner,” June 16).
http://www.bakersfield.com/opinion/another-view-cap-and-trade-is-improving-air-protecting-jobs/article_b1a23a3f-3c0c-55c5-8fe7-0acc977f59ff.html


BLOGS

Here’s why Big Oil would back a carbon reduction plan. Some of
the biggest oil and gas producers in the country have now
endorsed a plan to tax emissions from their products. Why would
they do that? And why are some environmental activists scorning
corporate support for a climate action plan? On Tuesday the
Climate Leadership Council announced that energy giants Exxon
Mobil, BP, Shell, and Total had joined seven other corporations…
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/339069-heres-why-big-oil-would-back-a-carbon-reduction-plan


As Climate Change Threatens Food Supplies, Seed Saving Is An
Ancient Act Of Resilience. In Norway, a high-tech seed vault
flooded from melting permafrost. In Montana, locals keep their
seeds in the library. On Feb. 26, 2008, a $9-million underground
seed vault began operating deep in the permafrost on the
Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, just 810 miles from the North
Pole.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/as-climate-change-threatens-food-supplies-seed-saving_us_594c8780e4b0326c0a8d074c


Study Shows People Are Hotter On ‘Climate Change’ Than ‘Global
Warming’. For Republicans in particular, it seems to matter what
you call it. A new study finds that language matters when it
comes to people’s perceptions of climate science: More people
said they believe in “climate change” than in “global warming.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/climate-change-global-warming-terms_us_594bea2fe4b01cdedf017597


Will California Overhaul Its Cap-and-Trade Program? Far from
California on the flatlands of Central Arkansas, a group of four
farmers are applying themselves toward growing more
climate-friendly rice. It’s a little-known issue: Rice grows in a
soup of standing water and microscopic organisms.
https://www.laprogressive.com/greenhouse-gases/ 

Why Acting on Climate Change is Good Strategy for India. As PM
Modi sets out to visit the US for his first meeting with
President Trump, the approach of the two leaders on climate
change cannot be more different. President Trump has ceded
leadership on the issue by pulling the US out of the Paris
Agreement earlier this month.
https://www.nrdc.org/experts/why-acting-climate-change-good-strategy-india


Electric vehicles inefficient way to reduce CO2 emissions: Study.
Subsidizing the purchase of electric cars in Canada is an
inefficient way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that is not
cost effective, according to a Montreal Economic Institute study
released Thursday. Montreal: Subsidizing the purchase of electric
cars in Canada is an inefficient way to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions…
http://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/passenger-vehicle/cars/electric-vehicles-inefficient-way-to-reduce-co2-emissions-study/59288391


The trouble with geoengineers “hacking the planet”.
Geoengineering seems to be the new darling idea making the rounds
of the science and technology media. But what is geoengineering?
Loosely speaking, the term refers to deliberate manipulation of
the Earth’s ecosystem so as to achieve some desired climate
effect—usually a cooling to offset the effects of human-caused
global warming.
http://thebulletin.org/trouble-geoengineers-“hacking-planet”10858


Autonomous Vehicles Will Improve Safety, Lower Costs to Drivers.
Ultimately, automated driving systems could usher in a host of
benefits, from improved highway safety to reduced emissions and
congestion. They might also save money, increase productivity and
give more people access to mobility. Visitors to the General
Motors Futurama pavilion at the New York World’s Fair of 1939 saw
something quite amazing: an automated highway system.
http://www.govtech.com/fs/Autonomous-Vehicles-Will-Improve-Safety-Lower-Costs-to-Drivers.html