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newsclips -- CARB Newsclips for August 29, 2017
Posted: 29 Aug 2017 13:48:22
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 meeting at the time and place noted below to consider updates to ARB’s Enforcement Policy. DATE: September 28, 2017 TIME: 9:00 a.m. LOCATION: California Environmental Protection Agency Air Resources Board Byron Sher Auditorium, 2nd Floor 1001 I Street Sacramento, California 95814 The draft Enforcement Policy may also be obtained from ARB’s website at: https://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/policy2017.htm ____________________________________ 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. 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 espańol 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 ______________________________ AIR POLLUTION How should Los Angeles and Long Beach ports clean the air? The mayors of Los Angeles and Long Beach have promised to get to near zero emissions at the nation’s busiest port complex – but just how to achieve that ambitious goal is still being debated. Now the public will get a chance to weigh in. On Wednesday, port officials will hold one of the few public meetings before a rare joint meeting of the two commissions that run the Long Beach and Los Angeles ports. A vote on the final draft of a $14 billion clean air plan will take place in November. http://www.dailynews.com/article/20170828/NEWS/170829509 Grid Study Resurrects Debate Over Utility Air Pollution Permits. The Energy Department’s electric grid study is reviving debate over possible changes to Clean Air Act permitting requirements, underscoring industry arguments that the regulations limit coal-fired power plants’ ability to improve efficiency. The grid study commissioned by Energy Secretary Rick Perry, released Aug. 23, makes a number of suggestions to boost baseload power, including changes to wholesale energy markets to better value the reliability and resiliency that supporters argue coal and nuclear provide. https://www.bna.com/grid-study-resurrects-n73014463779/ Air Quality Worsens Throughout The Region. Growing fires -- fueled by hotter, dryer weather -- have led to deteriorating air quality through much of the region. Many communities have air readings in the Unhealthy range. Here are some representative Air Quality Index readings from around the region, as of Monday morning ... http://ijpr.org/post/air-quality-worsens-throughout-region#stream/0 CLIMATE CHANGE Governments face 'wave of legal action' over climate change inaction as natural disasters worsen, activists warn. A "wave of legal action" over climate change has already begun and cases will become more likely to succeed as the scientists get better at attributing extreme weather events to global warming, activists have warned. Writing in the journal Nature Geoscience, lawyers from ClientEarth in London and Earth & Water Law in Washington DC said events previously regarded as “acts of God” could increasingly land humans with a bill for damages. http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change-sue-governments-companies-legal-action-warning-natural-disasters-clientearth-a7917106.html How Hurricane Harvey is tied to the California heat wave. A high-pressure system is lingering over California and the western region, causing extreme heat. This system is expected to continue through the week, bringing record-breaking temperatures with it. This high-pressure system is also keeping Tropical Storm Harvey from moving inland. As long as the system remains, Harvey will continue its downpour of rain, making it one of the nation’s most powerful storms. http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/08/29/how-hurricane-harvey-is-tied-to-the-california-heat-wave/ Southampton Town Officials Close To Getting State Climate Certification. Southampton Town may soon get special state certification for its environmental efforts, opening the doorway for future grant funding. New York State’s Climate Smart Communities Certification Program helps local governments reduce their carbon footprint through a recognition rating system. Southampton Town is already registered as a “climate-smart community” under the program but has yet to become certified—a status that only 15 municipalities in the state have achieved, including East Hampton Town last year. http://www.27east.com/news/article.cfm/General-Interest-Southampton/531531/Southampton-Town-Officials-Close-To-Getting-State-Climate-Certification VEHICLES California looks to boost electric-car rebate program. California would spend up to $3 billion under a bill to widely expand its fledgling consumer rebate program for zero-emission vehicles. The state has already spent nearly $450 million in subsidies, but the Los Angeles Times reported that so far, the rebates haven't boosted sales much. In 2016, of the just over 2 million cars sold in the state, only 75,000 were pure-electric and plug-in hybrid cars. To date, out of 26 million cars and light trucks registered in California, just 315,000 are electric or plug-in hybrids. http://www.kcra.com/article/california-looks-to-boost-electric-car-rebate-program/12108618 Renault-Nissan and Dongfeng partner to build electric cars for China. Another major automaker is setting up a dedicated joint venture to build EVs for the growing demand in China, joining Ford and Volkswagen: This time, it’s Nissan-Renault, which will work with China’s Dongfeng Motor, an automaker it partnered with last year to open its first factory in China. Automakers from outside China basically need a local dancing partner in order to make and sell vehicles in the country, without incurring huge import taxes that would basically render their operations unsustainable. https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/29/renault-nissan-and-dongfeng-partner-to-build-electric-cars-for-china/?ncid=mobilenavtrend GREEN ENERGY Can California get 100 percent of its electricity from renewables? The City Council threw its weight Monday behind legislation that would require California to deliver 100 percent of its electricity from renewable and carbon-free sources by 2045. The ambitious goal is the focus of Senate Pro Tem Kevin De Leon’s bill introduced in May. The bill passed the state Senate, but needs approval from the Assembly and Gov. Jerry Brown. http://www.dailynews.com/article/20170828/NEWS/170829497 Thousands give up control of home thermostats during a heat wave. During this week’s heat wave, utilities will urge residents to ease up on the air conditioning. But in a growing number of Southern California homes, smart thermostats are changing the temperatures automatically. The energy-saving tactic is made possible by the growing popularity of so-called smart thermostats, home temperature control devices that are connected to WiFi. That makes it possible to control home heating and cooling systems from afar. http://www.scpr.org/news/2017/08/28/75111/thousands-give-up-control-of-home-thermostats-duri/ OPINIONS Spending cap-and-trade funds: Give priority to most vulnerable. Now that it’s reconvened, the state Legislature faces critical decisions about where and how to spend over $1 billion raised by the state’s cap-and-trade program to fight climate change. Those decisions will affect the lives, health and jobs of millions of Californians, and will have an outsized impact on those facing pollution and poverty. http://capitolweekly.net/cap-and-trade-spending-vulnerable-priority/ Global Warming Didn’t Cause Hurricane Harvey. Here’s What Did. The rain is still falling, and lives are still very much at risk in Houston. It’s early to be talking about the role of climate change in the awful events unfolding in Texas. But at this moment—when the world is watching and the U.S. president and majority party in Congress are in deep denial about the reality of global warming—we think it is appropriate to restate what current science tells us. http://fortune.com/2017/08/29/hurricane-harvey-global-warming/ If Donald Trump won't tackle climate change, then Chicago will. While the Trump administration is dropping the mantle of leadership on climate change, American cities from coast to coast are picking it up. From small towns to metropolises and from the coasts to the heartland, Republican and Democratic mayors are united in common cause to curb emissions, shrink our carbon footprints and fight for a greener future. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/29/if-donald-trump-wont-tackle-climate-change-then-chicago-will Electric cars aren't perfect but are a good option. Kudos to Herman Ackerman (“Electric vehicle owners still getting a free ride,” Aug. 26) for reminding us about subsidy and tax issues related to road repairs. Ackerman is correct that electric vehicle owners are getting subsidies that reduce the cost of their vehicles and will be charged only a token $100 per year in lieu of gas taxes. http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/sd-electric-cars-tesla-utak-letters-20170828-story.html BLOGS Port of Long Beach (California) Accomplishes Significant Air Pollution Reductions. Through its Clean Air Action Plan, the Port of Long Beach in California has managed to greatly reduce local air pollution levels, according to the most recent annual Emissions Inventory. Altogether, the Port of Long Beach has managed to reduce local diesel particulate matter air pollution by 88%, and nitrogen oxide air pollution by 56%. Local greenhouse gas emissions were also reduced by 22% — all compared to 2005 levels. https://cleantechnica.com/2017/08/29/port-long-beach-california-accomplishes-significant-air-pollution-reductions/ Why Are Electric Cars and Public Charging Like Hot Dogs and Buns? Despite the world being full of technological advancement, we still have ways to improve. Electric cars, as an example, are nowhere as easy to charge as taking a gasoline-powered car to a gas station for a fill. What occurs in minutes for one, might take nearly an hour (or longer) for the other. The real problem comes when figuring out how to deal with the sudden influx of new electric cars and not enough chargers. So what needs to come first, the chicken or the egg? http://www.thedrive.com/sheetmetal/13873/why-are-electric-cars-and-public-charging-like-hot-dogs-and-buns Bloomberg: Electric Cars Are Everywhere Except Here, Now. Today, EVs make up only fraction of total car sales worldwide (about ~777,000 out of 92 million registrations in 2016), but more and more markets are exceeding 1% market share, and we are now entering the 2nd generation of the modern-day plug-in vehicle – more mainstream offerings, which are more affordable, with longer ranges (the Tesla Model 3, Chevrolet Bolt EV/Opel Ampera-e, Renault ZOE Z.E. 40 and upcoming Nissan LEAF in September to name just a few). http://insideevs.com/electric-cars-are-everywhere-except-here/ Harvey adds new urgency to climate change debate. Climate scientists looking to assign blame for Hurricane Harvey say that climate change is not likely to be a direct cause of the devastating storm. But global warming has undoubtedly played a role in the storm and its historic precipitation, since warmer seas fuel higher-volume storms, scientists say. http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/348317-scientists-global-warming-drove-up-harvey-rainfall-totals