What's New List Serve Post Display
Below is the List Serve Post you selected to display.
newsclips -- CARB Newsclips for September 7 & 8,2017
Posted: 08 Sep 2017 15:59:49
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: Staff of the California Air Resources Board (CARB or Board) invites you to participate in a webinar on Tuesday, September 19, 2017 to discuss the South Coast Incentive Measure. The webinar will be conducted by CARB staff to discuss the concept of an incentive measure for on-road heavy-duty vehicles operating in the South Coast Air Basin. The webinar will be casted from this link: https://global.gotowebinar.com/join/6641329892664621570/910670298 The webpage and hearing notice is available at this link: https://www.arb.ca.gov/planning/sip/imp2016sip/imp2016sip.htm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- California Air Resources Board (CARB) staff invites you to participate in the Refinery Investment Credit Pilot Program (RICPP) workshop to discuss potential amendments to the RICPP under LCFS to make credit calculations simpler and workable for a wide-range of refinery investment projects. The RICPP is designed to encourage GHG reduction projects at refineries. The RICPP provides credits for GHG reductions at refineries. The workshop will be held at the following time and location: Date: Thursday, September 14, 2017 Time: 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Location: Coastal Hearing Room, Second Floor Address: Cal/EPA Headquarters Building 1001 "I" Street Sacramento, California 95814 Staff presentation and a staff discussion paper will be posted before the workshop here: http://www.arb.ca.gov/fuels/lcfs/lcfs_meetings/lcfs_meetings.htm The California Air Resources Board (CARB) invites you to participate in community meetings to discuss concepts to control pollution from large freight facilities including seaports, railyards, and warehouses/distribution centers. CARB staff are co-hosting the following meetings to talk with residents living in communities near seaports, railyards, warehouses, and distribution centers about regulatory actions already underway and the development of new concepts to reduce the air pollution and health impacts from freight. Community Meetings will be held at the locations and dates shown below. The meetings will begin with a brief welcome and overview of the issues at hand, then convene with multiple breakout sessions where participants can gather in smaller groups to discuss their views and raise questions with CARB staff. SAN JOAQUIN Monday, September 18, 2017, (6:00 – 8:00 pm) David Head Center 10300 San Diego Street, Lamont, CA 93241 LONG BEACH Tuesday, September 19, 2017, (6:00 – 8:00 pm) Long Beach Main Library 101 Pacific Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90822 INLAND EMPIRE Wednesday, September 20, 2017, (6:00 – 8:00 pm) Jessie Turner Health & Fitness Community Center 15556 Summit Avenue, Fontana, CA 92336 OAKLAND Monday, September 25, 2017, (6:00 – 8:00 pm) West Oakland Senior Center 1724 Adeline Street, Oakland, CA 94607 SAN DIEGO Location and date TBD For more information on this workshop, please see the meeting notice at: https://www.arb.ca.gov/gmp/sfti/FreightFacility.htm. ______________________________________________________________________ AIR POLLUTION Dutch judge orders government to do more on air pollution A Dutch judge on Thursday ordered the government to do more to rein in air pollution, a victory for activists who filed a civil case seeking measures to ensure cleaner air. According to a written summary of the decision, the civil judge in The Hague ordered the government to draw up a plan to ensure that Dutch air quality meets European Union standards "in the shortest possible time." A Cheap, Accurate Machine-Learning Microscope Could Help Cut Air Pollution Researchers from UCLA have created a mobile device called c-Air that measures air quality in a cost-effective way. The device uses a mobile microscope connected to a smartphone and a machine-learning algorithm to analyze and determine the size and concentration of pollutants it detects in the air. https://futurism.com/a-cheap-accurate-machine-learning-microscope-could-help-cut-air-pollution/ Experts: Much of Harvey-Related Air Pollution was Preventable Huge releases of hazardous air pollutants during Hurricane Harvey could’ve been prevented if companies had simply shut down their plants ahead of time or used more advanced emission controls, experts say. https://www.texasobserver.org/early-shut-downs-upgrades-could-have-avoided-millions-of-pounds-of-pollutants-released-during-harvey/ Air pollution takes a toll on solar energy Air pollution is a drag for renewable energy. Dust and other sky-darkening air pollutants slash solar energy production by 17 to 25 percent across parts of India, China and the Arabian Peninsula, a new study estimates. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/air-pollution-takes-toll-solar-energy The air in your home is more polluted than you think. Here's how to test and clean it. Most people don't think much about indoor air quality, but they should. It can be a matter of sickness or health – or at least comfort or discomfort. "I think people are interested, but on the other hand, they don’t do these little tasks to keep their own air clean," said Mary Farrell, a senior editor at Consumer Reports, which has conducted testing of air purification systems. http://www.courier-journal.com/story/tech/science/environment/2017/09/07/indoor-air-quality-test-and-clean-home/525934001/?cookies=&from=global First measurements of iodine in the Arctic reveal questions about air pollution. New measurements of molecular iodine in the Arctic show that even a tiny amount of the element can deplete ozone in the lower atmosphere. This is surprising because iodine is so scarce in the Arctic snowpack compared to its close relatives and known ozone-killers, chlorine and bromine. Less than one part per trillion of iodine is enough to have a significant effect on ozone concentration in the lower atmosphere, according to a study published Sept. 5 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://phys.org/news/2017-09-iodine-arctic-reveal-air-pollution.html Dutch judge orders government to do more on air pollution. A Dutch judge on Thursday ordered the government to do more to rein in air pollution, a victory for activists who filed a civil case seeking measures to ensure cleaner air. According to a written summary of the decision, the civil judge in The Hague ordered the government to draw up a plan to ensure that Dutch air quality meets European Union standards "in the shortest possible time." The ruling also banned the government from taking any measures that could lead to new breaches of air quality guidelines. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_NETHERLANDS_CLEAN_AIR?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Related articles: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/dutch-judge-orders-government-air-pollution-49677772 CAP & TRADE Quebec proposes carbon caps through 2030 The Quebec-California carbon market, which began 2017 on shaky ground, appears ready to close it with solid gains and an eye focussed on a clear future. Quebec has just released its proposed annual caps for regulated industries for the period 2021 to 2030... http://www.ecolog.com/issues/ISArticle.asp?aid=1004037098&PC=EN&issue=09082017 CLIMATE CHANGE EIA urges CARB to fund refrigerant incentives The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), a Washington, D.C.-based NGO, is pushing California to fund a low-GWP refrigerant incentives program that was proposed but not adopted last year. http://www.r744.com/articles/7829/eia_urges_carb_to_fund_refrigerant_incentives Hurricanes Are Sweeping The Atlantic. What's The Role Of Climate Change? Hurricane Irma is hovering somewhere between being the most- and second-most powerful hurricane recorded in the Atlantic. It follows Harvey, which dumped trillions of gallons of water on South Texas. And now, Hurricane Jose is falling into step behind Irma, and gathering strength. http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/09/08/549280066/hurricanes-are-sweeping-the-atlantic-whats-the-role-of-climate-change France's Macron calls for efforts to tackle climate change. French President Emmanuel Macron kicked off his first official visit to Greece on Thursday with a call for concerted efforts to tackle climate change, after Hurricane Irma slammed into the northern Caribbean with deadly force. Irma, the strongest Atlantic Ocean hurricane on record, has affected French, British and Dutch Caribbean territories. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_GREECE_FRANCE_MACRON?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Related articles: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/frances-macron-calls-efforts-tackle-climate-change-49676951 What caused Hurricane Irma? Did climate change cause this Category 5 tropical storm? Hurricane Irma, like Hurricane Harvey, was not caused by climate change. But the horrifying destruction it has sent across the Atlantic might have been. Scientists say that asking whether global warming was the reason for the extreme weather is the wrong question. Instead, we should be focusing on how global warming has helped turn the hurricanes into even more destructive forces than they ever would have been before. http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/irma-climate-change-what-cause-hurricane-global-warming-caribbean-florida-a7933721.html Big Oil must pay for climate change. Now we can calculate how much. As communities in coastal Texas and Louisiana confront the damage wrought by Hurricane Harvey, Irma, fueled by abnormally warm waters, is barreling into the Caribbean and threatening Puerto Rico and Florida. We know that the costs of both hurricanes will be enormous and that climate change will have made them far larger than they would have been otherwise. How much larger? Careful studies will take time but the evidence that climate change is warming ocean waters, increasing both sea level and the risk of extreme precipitation in these regions is well established. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/07/big-oil-must-pay-for-climate-change-here-is-how-to-calculate-how-much The Energy 202: Why climate change deniers mistrust hurricane forecasts too. This week, one of the most popular radio hosts in the country issued a dire warning about Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 storm barreling its way through Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Though it could diverge from its predicted path, modeling from meteorologists say the storm will most likely crash into South Florida over the weekend. The ominous warning from conservative fire starter Rush Limbaugh was this: Don't trust those meteorologists. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2017/09/07/the-energy-202-why-climate-change-deniers-mistrust-hurricane-forecasts-too/59b032be30fb04264c2a1d13/?utm_term=.66f693cf55c7 Senate bucks Trump on some climate funding. Senate appropriators will consider a State Department and Foreign Operations spending bill today that would not fund the United Nations' Green Climate Fund, but that appears to leave the door open for other climate-related aid and diplomatic work. The fiscal 2018 bill, which receives a full committee markup today, would allow the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development to move ahead with projects that would have been covered under the now-defunct Global Climate Change Initiative in the Obama years. https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/09/07/stories/1060059943 Trevor Noah Says ISIS Could Trick Deniers Into Acknowledging Climate Change. By now, Trevor Noah said, it seems obvious that climate change is causing the catastrophic hurricanes that continue to sweep across the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean. Fed up with those who deny artificial climate change, he hatched a plan to change their minds. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/07/arts/television/trevor-noah-climate-change-irma.html PG&E Awards $200,000 in Grants to Support Local Climate Change Resilience Planning. Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) today announced the first two recipients of its Better Together Resilient Communities grants – a program created to support local initiatives to build greater climate resilience throughout Northern and Central California. PG&E will award $100,000 each to the University of California, Merced, and the Karuk Tribe of California for projects designed to help communities prevent and prepare for increasing wildfire risk through building healthy and resilient forests and watersheds. http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170906006561/en/PGE-Awards-200000-Grants-Support-Local-Climate DIESEL EMISSIONS CA legislators propose $1 billion to remove dirtiest diesel trucks. The state of California has officially launched its legislative push for stricter heavy-duty truck and bus emission regulations. Following calls for the state to use its recently-extended carbon cap-and-trade program to fund updates to fleets of semi trucks and other commercial vehicles, four state senators have stepped forward with an official proposal. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1112492_ca-legislators-propose-1-billion-to-remove-dirtiest-diesel-trucks SoCal School District Latest to Adopt Electric Buses. Colton Unified School District east of Los Angeles is joining a growing number of student transporters in testing ZEVs as it prepares to employ two Type-C, all-electric school buses from Creative Bus Sales and Starcraft into route service this month. The Starcraft eQuest XL school buses displayed this summer at industry conferences such as the STN EXPO feature all-electric powertrains from Motiv Power Systems, who also provide the electric system for the Trans Tech SSTe Type-A school bus. http://www.stnonline.com/news/latest-news/item/8903-socal-school-district-latest-to-adopt-electric-buses VEHICLES and MOTORCYCLES How Electric Vehicles Are Changing The Auto Landscape. As automakers gather at the Frankfurt Auto Show next Thursday, an unprecedented transformation of the $1.8 trillion auto industry is already underway, whether it has been fully embraced by the industry or not. In addition to the new models and concept cars that will be on display at the show, the proverbial elephant will also be in the room, or convention hall, as you like. At Frankfurt this year, the impending threat of electric vehicles (EVs) to the internal combustion engine (ICE) will be on everyone’s mind. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackperkowski/2017/09/07/how-electric-vehicles-are-changing-the-auto-landscape/#73e866d46f19 BMW joins Jaguar in boosting electric car models. The German luxury carmaker said that by 2025 it plans 12 all-electric models, and 13 hybrid versions. BMW's first electric Mini will be released in 2019. BMW's announcement follows an earlier one from Jaguar Land Rover. JLR said every vehicle line launched from 2020 will have an all-electric or hybrid version, the first of which would be the Jaguar I-Pace, to go on sale in 2018. http://www.bbc.com/news/business-41179332 The most beautiful car ever made has gone electric. Car buffs debate everything and usually agree on nothing. But on one matter there is consensus: The Jaguar E-Type is the most beautiful car ever crafted by human hands on Earth. The elegant, sporty Jag was produced for a surprisingly long time, from 1961 to 1975. Seeing one in the flesh is as showstopping now as it was when Lyndon Johnson was president. No less an authority than Enzo Ferrari pronounced it the best-looking vehicle of all time. http://www.businessinsider.com/jaguar-reveals-electric-e-type-zero-2017-9 An infrastructure for charging electric vehicles takes shape. A NEW phrase, “range anxiety”—the fear that an electric vehicle (EV) will run out of power before it reaches a charging-point—entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013. At the time a Nissan LEAF, the world’s best-selling EV, could travel only 120km between charges. A car with a full tank of fuel will travel 650-800km between refills. A motorist relying on batteries has to find a public charger, a rare sight in 2013, or plug in at home to cover the same distance. Range anxiety has not gone away as EVs have advanced. But the problem now feels much more soluble. https://www.economist.com/news/business/21728671-reliable-network-should-not-prove-insurmountable-roadblock-infrastructure-charging Goldman: How to play the electric vehicle boom. Goldman Sachs predicts electric vehicles will have dramatic implications on the auto industry supply chain during the coming decades. "After more than 100 years, it seems that an auto industry dominated by internal combustion engines is nearing an end," analyst Kota Yuzawa wrote in a note to clients Wednesday entitled "Electric Vehicle Boom: ICE-ing the Combustion Engine." https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/06/goldman-how-to-play-the-electric-vehicle-boom.html Nissan Leaf electric car goes further with one-pedal driving. The new Leaf can travel about 50% further on a single charge than its predecessor, according to the firm. But it still falls short of the ranges offered by other recent electric cars from Tesla and General Motors. Other updates include a new one-pedal driving system, auto-parking tech and a more modern design. http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-41170144 FUELS Consequences of drought stress on biofuels. Plant-derived sustainable fuel sources could contribute to near-term U.S. energy security and independence. However, weather conditions could greatly affect crop yields. In this study, researchers examined the effect of weather on biofuel production by comparing switchgrass and corn stover harvested after a year of major drought and after 2 years of normal precipitation. They found that the plants produced more sugar, but the sugar changed during pretreatment and produced toxic compounds rather than the desired fuels. https://phys.org/news/2017-09-consequences-drought-stress-biofuels.html Is This Country About To Revive Biofuels? Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo researchers found the use of ethanol in vehicles reduces pollution by significantly lowering the number of nanoparticles emitted. Levels of ultrafine particulate matter in São Paulo City, Brazil, increased by up to 30 percent at times when ethanol prices rose and its consumption fell. http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Is-This-Country-About-To-Revive-Biofuels.html Renewable Fuel Standard Ready for an Overhaul? Last week, a coalition of environmental groups led by Mighty Earth urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reduce production mandates for food crop-based biofuels. In recent the years, the EPA has called for incremental boosts in annual biofuel production, including 1.928 trillion gallons this year. The coalition voiced its concerns as the EPA announced the conclusion of a comment period inviting feedback from the business community and the general public. The EPA has proposed a modest 40 million gallon decrease in volume for bio-based transport fuel for 2018. http://www.triplepundit.com/2017/09/renewable-fuel-standard-ready-overhaul/ CLEAN ENERGY Dan Kammen on renewable energy, kids and cars and, yes, I-M-P-E-A-C-H Kammen, who is a professor and chair of the Energy and Resources Group and a professor in the Goldman School of Public Policy at Berkeley, recently talked with Vox.com about his resignation, his not-so-hidden message — and, especially, the state of renewable energy in the United States. http://news.berkeley.edu/story_jump/dan-kammen-on-renewable-energy-kids-and-cars-and-yes-i-m-p-e-a-c-h/ Germany To Help India With Grid Integration Of Renewable Energy India will receive help from one of the leading renewable energy generators in the world for integration of the large number of renewable energy projects the former expects to install over the coming years. https://cleantechnica.com/2017/09/08/germany-help-india-grid-integration-renewable-energy/ Frentz Pushing For Renewable Energy Mandate Now that Minnesota has already reached its goal of 25% renewable energy, some lawmakers want to push it even further. A bipartisan group of legislators want to challenge the energy industry even more, by upping energy creation from 50% renewable sources. http://www.keyc.com/story/36317241/frentz-pushing-for-renewable-energy-mandate http://www.brainerddispatch.com/news/4324521-50-percent-renewable-energy-2030-minnesota-proponents-say Related: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/clean-energy-sector-jobs-illinois-and-missouri-are-rising#stream/0 Wind turbine manufacturers are dipping toes into energy storage projects. Danish company Vestas Wind Systems is one of the biggest makers of wind turbines in the world, recently surpassing GE’s market share in the US. But as the wind industry becomes more competitive, Vestas appears to be looking for ways to solidify its lead by offering something different. Now, the company says it’s looking into building wind turbines with battery storage onsite. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/09/wind-turbine-manufacturers-are-dipping-toes-into-energy-storage-projects/ MISCELLANEOUS Your solar panels could power the neighborhood during a blackout. A new set of algorithms could make it possible for renewable energy-generating homes to not only access their power reserves during outages, but share their resources with their neighbours -- a move which could play a significant role in disaster relief efforts. https://www.engadget.com/2017/09/06/your-solar-panels-could-power-the-neighborhood-during-a-blackout/ OPINION Christine Todd Whitman: How Not to Run the E.P.A. I have been worried about how the Environmental Protection Agency would be run ever since President Trump appointed Scott Pruitt, the former attorney general of Oklahoma, to oversee it. The past few months have confirmed my fears. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/08/opinion/how-not-to-run-the-epa.html?_r=0 With climate change upon us, where’s the safest place in California to live? Last week, as Los Angeles burned, San Francisco baked, Houston reeled amid biblical flooding and the Florida Keys braced for Hurricane Irma, David W. Titley picked up his phone on the other side of the country and cut to the chase. “Forty north,” the Penn State University meteorology professor of practice told me, almost before I’d asked the question. “I’d basically look at being north of that.” http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/california-forum/article171601007.html