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newsclips -- CARB Newsclips for September 14, 2017.

Posted: 14 Sep 2017 14:47:34
CARB Newsclips for September 14, 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 (CARB or Board) will conduct a
public meeting at the time and place noted below to consider
updates to CARB’s Enforcement Policy. 

DATE:		 September 28, 2017
TIME:		 9:00 a.m.
LOCATION: 	 California Environmental Protection Agency
                 California Air Resources Board
                 Byron Sher Auditorium, 2nd Floor
                 1001 I Street
                 Sacramento, California 95814

The draft Enforcement Policy may also be obtained from CARB’s
website at:
https://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/policy2017.htm     

____________________________________

The California Air Resources Board (CARB 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
                	       California Air Resources Board
                	       Byron Sher Auditorium
                	       1001 I Street
                	       Sacramento, California  95814
Electronic submittal:  
              http://www.arb.ca.gov/lispub/comm/bclist.php       
  

________________________________________________________  

CAP AND TRADE

Hearing on cap-and-trade spending deal gets testy. Gov. Jerry
Brown and legislative leaders may have reached a deal on spending
$1.5 billion in cap-and-trade revenue, but some Democrats still
have concerns. Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara)
wondered during a budget hearing on Wednesday how much of the
appropriations "were designed to meet certain expectations" of
different interest groups…
http://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-ca-essential-politics-updates-cap-and-trade-funding-1505321233-htmlstory.html


AIR POLLUTION

Air Pollution From Industry Plagues Houston In Harvey's Wake. On
the first sunny day in Houston after about 50 inches of rain,
residents in the east Houston community of Manchester emerged
from their homes and gave thanks that their neighborhood had been
spared in the floods.
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/09/14/550472740/air-pollution-from-industry-plagues-houston-in-harveys-wake


Bay Area air regulators cite Russian diplomats for mysterious
smoke over now-shuttered consular office. Russian diplomats were
cited this week for violating Bay Area burning restrictions after
smoke was seen billowing from their consular office in San
Francisco, a day before it was closed under federal order.
Regulators with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District do
not know what diplomats were burning that produced the thick,
black smoke…
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-smoke-russian-consulate-san-francisco-20170913-story.html


Pruitt endorses bid to ease regs for some industries. U.S. EPA
Administrator Scott Pruitt is offering broad-brush support for a
legislative package that would undercut existing air quality
requirements for a select few industries. The four bills — which
got a hearing yesterday from the House Energy and Commerce
Subcommittee on Environment — would carve out exemptions or
extend compliance deadlines from…
https://www.eenews.net/eedaily/2017/09/14/stories/1060060627 

CLIMATE CHANGE

Monster Storms Change Coastlines, Not Minds on Climate Change.
Back-to-back hurricanes fueled by warm Atlantic waters may have
altered the coasts of Texas and Florida, but there’s no
indication they are shifting the politics of climate change.
“We cannot ignore that carbon emissions are causing our ocean
temperatures to get warmer, which is fueling more powerful
hurricanes,"…
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-14/monster-storms-change-coastlines-not-minds-on-climate-change


New York City to Require Big Buildings to Cut Carbon Emissions.
New York City will require large buildings to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions, as part of the city’s goal of cutting total
emissions 80 percent by 2050. Mayor Bill de Blasio is calling on
owners to reduce their use of fossil fuels and boost
energy-efficiency…
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-14/new-york-city-to-require-big-buildings-to-cut-carbon-emissions


Some good news about global warming for once — plants are
speeding up their use of carbon. As carbon dioxide continues to
build in the atmosphere — thanks to the burning of fossil fuels —
scientists are busy figuring out how life on earth is adapting to
its effects. And now, new research reinforces the idea that the
world’s plant life is adjusting in a subtle, but deeply
significant, way.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/09/14/some-good-news-about-global-warming-for-once-plants-are-speeding-up-their-use-of-carbon/?utm_term=.aca2ab7b20a0


McCain resumes his quest for climate change action. The senator
bucks his party on climate change, after years of silence. On
Sunday, Sen. John McCain said it’s time to sit down again and
figure out some “common-sense solutions” to climate change. The
Arizona Republican made his cautious remarks on CNN when asked
why others in his party act as if climate change is not real.
http://www.hcn.org/articles/sen-john-mccain-resumes-his-quest-for-action-on-climate-change


Exxon's Records Refusal Rejected on Appeal in Climate Probe.
Exxon Mobil Corp. can’t refuse to turn over accounting records
sought by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who is
probing whether investors were misled about the possible impact
of climate change on the company’s business, the state’s top
court ruled.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/exxons-records-refusal-rejected-on-appeal-in-climate-probe/ar-AArPWqM


Island leaders say Irma devastation shows costs of warming. The
monster hurricane that ripped through the Caribbean last weekend
is stirring up old divisions about compensation for poor
countries that bear the brunt of climate-driven damage.
Hurricane Irma struck the region as a Category 5 storm, killing
at least 37 people and decimating small islands like St. Martin,
Barbuda, and Turks and Caicos.
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/09/14/stories/1060060649


DIESEL ACTIVITIES

Renewable diesel use in California moves to fast track. Renewable
diesel sounds like a contradiction in terms. But planners for the
Capitol Corridor trains, which run between the Bay Area and the
Sacramento region, see it as a way to slash climate-warming
emissions. “It’s pretty exciting for our industry,” said Jim
Allison, manager of planning for the Capitol Corridor Joint
Powers Authority.
http://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Renewable-diesel-use-in-California-moves-to-fast-12195892.php


FUELS

Computing more efficient biofuel production. A new computational
method to rapidly screen the effects of point mutations in
bacteria has the potential to make biofuel production more
efficient. The conversion of fibrous plant waste such as corn
stalks and wood shavings into fermentable simple sugars is a
basic requirement of biofuel production, but the process is far
from simple. Bacteria must break down tough leaves, stems and
other cellulosic matter resistant to degradation to turn them
into usable fuel.
http://biofuels-news.com/display_news/12879/computing_more_efficient_biofuel_production/


Methane leak bill passes, seeks renewables, storage, efficiency.
Clean energy and power storage won boosts yesterday in a bill
passed by California's Legislature, one triggered by the massive
methane leak at the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage site.
S.B. 801 from state Sen. Henry Stern (D) orders the Los Angeles
Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to maximize energy
efficiency, renewable energy and conservation.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/09/14/stories/1060060643 

VEHICLES

As German Election Looms, Politicians Face Voters’ Wrath for Ties
to Carmakers. Sometimes it is hard to tell where the German
government ends and the auto industry begins. Daimler and
Volkswagen’s top lobbyists were once close aides to Chancellor
Angela Merkel. The foreign minister, Sigmar Gabriel, used to sit
on Volkswagen’s supervisory board.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/13/business/germany-diesel-election.html


Would you buy an electric car if you could use the carpool lane
alone? How can California convince more drivers to go electric?
Perhaps by letting them take the carpool lane. Assembly Bill 544,
which was sent to the governor’s desk on Wednesday, would extend
through 2025 a decal program that allows low-emission cars into
high-occupancy vehicle lanes, even when the driver is riding
solo. It passed the Assembly on a 51-10 vote.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article173208651.html#storylink=cpy


GREEN ENERGY

California clean energy proposals face demise as opposition fails
to yield. California has grown accustomed to setting benchmark
after benchmark on environmental policies, but ambitious efforts
to spread renewable energy around the state and the region could
grind to a halt this week. One proposal, Senate Bill 100 from
Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles), would
phase out fossil fuels for…
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-california-clean-energy-stall-20170914-story.html


California’s clean-energy bill is in trouble. A major
clean-energy bill championed by California’s Senate leader is
languishing in the state Assembly and may not get a vote in the
final days of this year’s legislative session. Senate President
Pro Tem Kevin de León’s SB 100, a commitment to generating 100
percent of the state’s electricity from clean-energy sources by
the end of 2045…
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/09/13/californias-clean-energy-bill-is-in-trouble/

. 
World's largest brewer to buy wind farm's electricity.
Anheuser-Busch InBev, the parent company of Budweiser and the
world's largest brewer, has agreed to purchase electricity from a
wind farm in Oklahoma. The brewer struck the deal with Enel Green
Power, which is constructing the 298-megawatt Thunder Ranch wind
farm in the northern part of the state.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/09/14/stories/1060060685 

MISCELLANEOUS

Smoking pot or tobacco at California beaches could soon be
illegal under bills headed to Gov. Brown. California parks and
beaches would be off-limits to those smoking tobacco or
marijuana, or using electronic cigarettes, under legislation sent
to Gov. Jerry Brown by state lawmakers Wednesday. The Legislature
approved similar bills by “…
http://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-ca-essential-politics-updates-smoking-including-pot-would-be-barred-1505343548-htmlstory.html


OPINIONS

GOP denies climate change, America pays the price. The frequency,
intensity and duration of weather-related events is in fact
rising. To deny what's already occurred is the highest form of
ignorance. Let’s check in with two of America’s foremost experts
on climate change. It’s a hoax, President Trump has said,
invented by the Chinese. It’s a plot by the media and retailers
to gin up fear…
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2017/09/14/trump-limbaugh-scott-pruitt-deny-climate-change-america-pays-price-paul-brandus-column/663405001/


Climate change hurts our low-income communities. There are few
places as close to the roots of climate change as my hometown,
Richmond, Calif. Trapped next to the Chevron Refinery, I see
plumes of pollution streaming into the air each time I look out
my window. In fact, it wasn’t until college that I realized that
the city’s alarm-system, tested routinely every month, was unique
to my upbringing.
http://www.sfexaminer.com/climate-change-hurts-low-income-communities/


Scott Pruitt criticizes Obama as 'environmental savior,' moves
EPA away from climate change. Few Trump administration agency
chiefs have moved as decisively to implement an agenda as Scott
Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency,
and he's quite clear about what he wants to do. He calls it a
"back to the basics" agenda…
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/scott-pruitt-criticizes-obama-as-environmental-savior-moves-epa-away-from-climate-change/article/2634253


Clean energy crucial for California. Look around lately and it’s
hard to ignore evidence of chaos fueled by our changing climate.
From the barrage of hurricanes in the Atlantic to the raging
wildfires and heat waves throughout the West, climate change is
here already and it refuses to be ignored. In the last week,
everyone from Miami’s Republican mayor to Pope Francis has
affirmed the need for swift action.
http://capitolweekly.net/clean-energy-california/ 

Invest cap-and-trade funds in Gold Line light-rail extension:
Guest commentary. California lawmakers should support the recent
request made by state Senators Anthony Portantino and Connie
Leyva and Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez to utilize
cap-and-trade program funds to complete the Foothill Gold Line
light-rail project from Glendora to Montclair. It would a wise
investment with guaranteed dividends.
http://www.sgvtribune.com/opinion/20170914/invest-cap-and-trade-funds-in-gold-line-light-rail-extension-guest-commentary


Democratic priorities collide, as legislators side with unions
over high-tech companies that are driving California’s economy.
In a Meet the Press interview in March, Gov. Jerry Brown blasted
the Trump administration’s threat to cut off funds to California
if it becomes a “sanctuary state” for illegal immigrants. “We’re
the innovation capital, high-tech, agriculture, $40 to $50
billion industry.
https://spectator.org/unions-threaten-states-one-economic-bright-spot/


Clean Energy Leads to Clean Air for California. The Los Angeles
region is home to some of the worst air quality in the country.
During the long, hot days of summer, Angelenos face continued
unhealthy air days. It’s not just a problem for our region.
Ninety percent of Californians live in areas that experience poor
air quality at some point during the year. That cannot continue.
The American Lung Association’s State of the Air Report 2017
showed that California cities are among the most polluted in the
country.
http://www.foxandhoundsdaily.com/2017/09/clean-energy-leads-clean-air-california/


BLOGS

Ethanol to Gasoline Switch Raises Nanoparticles in Air. Using
ethanol instead of gasoline as a car fuel can reduce emissions of
ultrafine particles by a third, which benefits human health and
the environment, according to a new study. The research, carried
out in Sao Paulo, Brazil, found that environmental concentrations
of particles with a diameter of 7-100 nanometers (nm) increase by
30 per cent when higher prices of ethanol forces…
http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/52503 

Harvey and Irma aren’t natural disasters. They’re climate change
disasters. If you’re like me, you can’t stop yourself from
watching the weather these days. And if you’re like me, you can’t
help but think: Holy shit, it’s here. Back-to-back hurricane
catastrophes have plunged the United States into a state of
national crisis. We’ve already seen one worst-case scenario in
Texas:…
http://www.salon.com/2017/09/14/harvey-and-irma-arent-natural-disasters-they-are-climate-change-disasters_partner/


If Halting Climate Change Means Slowing The Economy, So Be It. If
GDP goes down while other measures of well-being increase, what
have we truly lost? What does climate change have to do with
economic growth? Canada's prime minister and premiers signed a
deal in December to "grow our economy, reduce greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions and build resilience to the impacts of a changing
climate."
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/david-suzuki/if-halting-climate-change-means-slowing-the-economy-so-be-it_a_23206631/

California Is Going To Use Cap And Trade Revenue To Fund Clean
Buses, Trucks, And Cars. California Governor Jerry Brown is
serious about climate change. He is the picking up the slack that
President Trump left behind when he got out of the Paris Climate
Change Agreement. Brown is hosting his own climate change summit
in California in 2017, and several political leaders and
environmentalists…
http://norcal.news/news/24023-california-going-use-cap-and-trade-revenue-fund-clean-buses-trucks-and-cars


County Reduces Emissions Equal to Removing 6.500 Cars From Roads.
County staff, residents and businesses have made strides reducing
global warming pollution, as called for in the County’s Energy
and Climate Action Plan. Working together, the County and
community have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated
30,605 metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent.
https://www.edhat.com/news/county-reduces-emissions-equal-to-removing-6500-cars-from-roads


California to Take Up Crucial Clean Energy Reform in January.
California’s legislature made significant clean energy progress
in 2017, but one box will remain unchecked as it moves to
September recess—enhancement and integration of the Western
electric grid. By not authorizing changes in how the grid is
managed, this session, lawmakers are delaying a prime opportunity
to reduce utility bills…
https://www.nrdc.org/experts/ralph-cavanagh/california-take-crucial-clean-energy-reform-january


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