What's New List Serve Post Display

CARB Newsclips for August 15, 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 Air Resources Board (ARB or Board) will conduct a public
hearing at the time and place noted below to consider approving
for adoption the proposed amendments to California Evaluation
Procedures for New Aftermarket Catalytic Converters. 

DATE:                    September 28, 2017

TIME:                    9:00 A.M.

LOCATION:         California Environmental Protection Agency
                	       Air Resources Board
                	       Byron Sher Auditorium
                	       1001 I Street
                	       Sacramento, California  95814
Electronic submittal:  
              http://www.arb.ca.gov/lispub/comm/bclist.php      

______________________________

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) invites you to
participate in a public workshop to begin discussing concepts for
minimizing community health impacts from seaports, railyards, and
warehouses/distribution centers.   

Workshops will be held at the locations and dates shown below.
Both workshops will follow the same format and present the same
material.

LOS ANGELES
Tuesday, August 29, 2017, (1:00 – 3:00 pm) Junipero Serra
Building
320 West 4th Street, Los Angeles, California 90013

SACRAMENTO (also webcast)
Wednesday, September 6, 2017, (1:00 – 3:00 pm) California
Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters, Sierra Hearing
Room
1001 I Street, Sacramento, California 95814

For more information on this workshop, please see the meeting
notice at:  https://www.arb.ca.gov/gmp/sfti/FreightFacility.htm  
     

______________________________

Northern California Truck Owners and Operators -- You’re invited
to attend a One-Stop Truck event in Santa Rosa on Wednesday,
August 30. At this event, you’ll be able to get help with all of
your CARB compliance questions, get up-to-date info on truck
rules, learn about financial incentives to help purchase new
trucks, visit with vendors, and check out the latest clean
trucks.

Here's what you will find at this One-Stop event: 
• One-on-one compliance assistance (Asistencia en español
disponible)
• Enforcement inspection demo
• Truck and bus and off-road regulation overview • New technology
options for compliance • Funding options for on-road trucks • CHP
Inspection update • Industry vendors & local agency booths •
Clean vehicle/technology displays
For more information and to sign up to attend, please visit our
One Stop Truck Event webpage:
www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/truckstop/azregs/onestop.htm   or call the
Diesel Hotline at 866-634-3735   

______________________________  

CAP AND TRADE

Mathis seeks farmers' input on cap-and-trade. On July 27, the
California Air Resources Board adopted revisions to the state's
cap-and-trade program passed by lawmakers a week earlier. While
many large businesses are in support of AB 398, family-owned
farmers remain skeptical about the state's efforts to lower
greenhouse gases. Assemblyman Devon Mathis (R-Visalia)…
http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/story/news/2017/08/15/mathis-seeks-farmers-input-cap-and-trade/561375001/


Carbon offsets help lower emissions — study. A new study
examining the efficacy of paying to preserve forests finds that
carbon offsets do produce genuine emissions reductions. The
study, published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the
Environment by three Stanford University researchers, examines
California's carbon offset program. It allows businesses to fund
forest preservation in lieu of turning in some of their
allowances…
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/08/15/stories/1060058772

https://phys.org/news/2017-08-carbon-offsets-wide-ranging-environmental-benefits.html


AIR POLLUTION

Air pollution ups stress hormones, alters metabolism. Breathing
dirty air causes stress hormones to spike, new research suggests,
which could help explain why long-term exposure to pollution is
associated with heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and a shorter
life span. Dr. Haidong Kan of Fudan University in Shanghai,
China, and colleagues looked specifically at the health effects
of particulate matter (PM)…
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-pollution-stress-hormones-idUSKCN1AV1VK


Mapping West Oakand pollution, block by block. West Oakland has
had an air pollution problem for years, and it’s taken a toll on
residents. Emergency room visits for asthma are highly
concentrated in West Oakland and Emeryville, but they drop off
dramatically when you get to other parts of Oakland. A new study
is bringing this variation into focus. Researchers mounted air
quality monitors on Google Street View cars…
http://kalw.org/post/mapping-west-oakand-pollution-block-block#stream/0

Air pollution: Are you better off in your car or on the sidewalk?
Anyone walking along Capital Boulevard or Six Forks Road during
morning rush hour is likely to get a lungful of engine exhaust,
but they won’t be as bad off as the people in the passing cars.
That’s one of the takeaways from a study of the exposure of
drivers to pollution done by scientists at Duke University…
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/traffic/article167253582.html#storylink=cpy


APES pollution control still up in the air. After years of
dithering, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is
finally trying to force a North Portland used-oil recycling
refinery, American Petroleum Environmental Services, to construct
and install air pollution control equipment at its plant near the
Expo Center. Last December, the agency ordered the plant to
install the equipment…
http://portlandtribune.com/pt/9-news/369082-251681--apes-pollution-control-still-up-in-the-air


CLIMATE CHANGE

California Hopes ‘Healthy Soil’ Will Fight Climate Change.
California lawmakers are enlisting farmers’ help in pulling
carbon dioxide out of the air and storing it in their soil.
California’s $7.5 million Healthy Soils initiative will pay
farmers up to $50,000 if they adopt "carbon farming" practices,
including applying compost on rangeland to increase carbon
retention capacity.
http://www.kpbs.org/news/2017/aug/14/california-hopes-farmers-healthy-soil-will-fight-c/


The Trump Administration Doesn’t Understand Climate Change and
This Federal Report Proves It. “I’m not a believer in man-made
global warming” is just the beginning. There’s little doubt: The
climate is changing, human activity is accelerating the process,
and the U.S. is already feeling its effects, according to an
expansive climate report that dozens of government scientists
drafted.
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2017/08/the-trump-administration-doesnt-understand-climate-change-and-this-federal-report-proves-it/
 

Around the Island: Acting locally to fight climate change. As an
island city, nearly every home and business in Alameda could be
affected by climate change and rising sea levels, which threaten
our environment, native wildlife and public health. We have dry
spells that reduce our fresh water availability and storms that
have a costly and lingering impact on our community.
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/08/15/around-the-island-acting-locally-to-fight-climate-change/


Montreal Protocol is helping U.S. on climate — study. A reduction
of superwarming gases required by the Montreal Protocol has taken
a big bite out of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, but other
categories of emissions have remained about the same, according
to a new study by NOAA. The results of the study, derived from
air samples taken regularly from 32 sites across the nation…
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/08/15/stories/1060058752


FUELS

Trump administration takes key step to rolling back auto fuel
standards. The Trump administration has begun the process of
rolling back tough fuel standards for America's car and light
truck fleet. The Environmental Protection Agency and the
Transportation Department have opened the public comment period
on the rewriting of standards for greenhouse gas emissions for
cars and light trucks for model years 2022-2025.
http://www.scpr.org/news/2017/08/14/74667/trump-administration-takes-key-step-to-rolling-bac/


VEHICLES

You could get up to $20,000 off the price of an electric car — if
you live in San Diego. The city’s power company offers $10,000
off the price of BMW i3 or Nissan Leaf on top of other state and
federal incentives. California already has some of the most
generous incentives to get an electric car, but people living in
San Diego are being further enticed to go the plug-in route.
Through September 30th, San Diego Gas & Electric will…
https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/14/16127106/bmw-i3-nissan-leaf-electric-car-rebates-san-diego


GREEN ENERGY

Unlikely allies try to sway White House before trade decision. In
an event matching the upside-down politics of 2017, some
ideologically right-wing voices are allied with the solar
industry's main lobby group in a trade case that could shape the
future of solar power. Consider this: The American Legislative
Exchange Council is on the same team as the Solar Energy
Industries Association, solar's main trade group.
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/08/15/stories/1060058772


MISCELLANEOUS

Judge Rules Monterey County 2016 Wildlife Control Agreement
Needed Environmental Review. A Monterey County Superior Court
judge has ruled that the county should have conducted an
environmental review of its contract with the U.S. Department of
Agriculture last year to kill wild animals that threaten human
activities. Superior Court Judge Lydia Villareal, in a decision
issued on Aug. 9…
http://www.sfgate.com/news/bayarea/article/Judge-Rules-Monterey-County-2016-Wildlife-Control-11819598.php

Federal climate agencies operating without Trump nominees. In the
seven months since President Trump took office, his
administration hasn't nominated a head to either of the nation's
premier climate science agencies. NOAA and NASA conduct the bulk
of climate research in the United States and collect and
disseminate essential data for scientists across the globe.
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/08/15/stories/1060058770


ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Consortium wants to fix 'environmental injustice' in Wedgewood.
Residents of the pollution-plagued Wedgewood community met with
scientists and professors Saturday to discuss ways of restoring
health and prosperity to their neighborhood. The meeting was
helmed by a coalition of community-based organizations and
historically black colleges and universities called the HBCU-CBO
Gulf Coast Equity Consortium.
http://www.pnj.com/story/news/2017/08/15/consortium-wants-fix-environmental-injustice-wedgewood/561279001/


OPINIONS

Should Assembly GOP leader Mayes resign? The California
Assembly’s Republican leader has been under fire from
conservatives since he and seven other party members voted with
Democrats last month to extend a major environmental program.
Should Assemblyman Chad Mayes resign as Republican leader? That’s
our Question of the Week for readers.  The controversy stems from
the passage of Assembly Bill 398…
http://www.pe.com/2017/08/15/should-assembly-gop-leader-mayes-resign/


Fighting climate change at the cap-and-trade level. Only if all
states in our region ascribe to the Regional Greenhouse Gas
Initiative or RGGI, we can make a real dent in the climate change
problem. And if that seems grand, then I ask you: who else will?
Our federal government, when not embroiled in cartoonish
scandals, touts the very outdated carbon fuel technology that
kicked off this entire problem! States must lead…
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bs-ed-rr-rggi-states-20170814-story.html


LETTER: Time for a wakeup call on climate change. Thanks to the
APP for the article of August 13 titled “Five signs that climate
change is starting in New Jersey”.  This article should be a
clarion call to action by the public and elected leaders.
Unfortunately, because of our current combustion of fossil fuels,
we are already committed to a changing climate…
http://www.app.com/story/opinion/readers/2017/08/15/letter-time-wakeup-call-climate-change/564899001/
   

BLOGS

Understanding alternative reasons for denying climate change
could help bridge divide. Mainstream criticism of people who deny
climate change essentially portrays climate skeptics as being out
of touch, ignorant or somehow incapable of understanding the
facts about climate change. However, an early look at ongoing
work by a University of Kansas researcher examines alternative
reasons for climate change denial…
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170815095049.htm 

CARB meetings to allow input on incentive program. A series of
community meetings and a state-wide webcast scheduled this month
in California offer HVAC&R stakeholders a chance to promote an
HFC-reduction refrigerant incentive program that has been on the
state’s agenda since last year. The meetings (see below), which
will be held under the auspices of the California Air Resources
Board (CARB)…
http://www.ammonia21.com/articles/7790/carb_welcomes_input_on_ghg_reduction_funding


California Republicans battle one another over cap-and-trade.
After months of quarreling between establishment and progressive
Democrats, the California Republican Party now has an internal
struggle over the recent extension of the state’s cap-and-trade
program. [LA Times] On July 17, eight Republican legislators,
including Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham (R-San Luis Obispo),
broke rank…
https://calcoastnews.com/2017/08/california-republicans-battle-one-another-cap-trade/


Nigel Lawson admits claim that global temperatures have fallen
was false. Global Warming Policy Foundation concedes that the
Tory peer's supposedly official figures were wrong and produced
by a right-wing think tank. A claim by Britain’s leading climate
science sceptic, Nigel Lawson, that the world’s average
temperature has fallen in the past 10 years…
http://www.sfgate.com/news/bayarea/article/Judge-Rules-Monterey-County-2016-Wildlife-Control-11819598.php