What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for August 13, 2013. 

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.

AIR POLLUTION

Cutting soot and methane may not give hoped-for climate help. A
U.S.-led drive to reduce soot and other heat-trapping air
pollutants worldwide is less promising than hoped as a new front
in the fight against climate change, according to a study
published on Monday. Frustrated by failure to agree a broad
international deal to limit global warming, about 30 nations have
joined the U.S. initiative to limit short-lived air pollutants as
a new way to curb temperature rises, protect health and aid crop
growth. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/12/climate-pollution-idUSL6N0G93N820130812

http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059985927/print  BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY
 
Company fined for smog-forming compounds in 'Gorilla Snot' hair
gel. You might wonder what ingredient in a Mexican-made hair gel
called Moco de Gorila - or Gorilla Snot - got its distributor in
trouble with the law. It’s probably not what you’re thinking. It
was the styling product’s smog-forming compounds that prompted
California air regulators to take action against Midway Importing
Inc. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-hair-gel-gorilla-snot-smog-fine-20130812,0,4492820.story


Air pollution takes toll on China's tourism. China, one of the
most visited countries in the world, has seen sharply fewer
tourists this year — with worsening air pollution partly to
blame. Numbers of foreign visitors have declined following
January's "Airpocalypse," when already eye-searing levels of smog
soared to new highs. Tourists have been put off by news about
smog and other problems, said Frano Ilic of travel agency
Studiosus in Munich, Germany. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Air-pollution-takes-toll-on-China-s-tourism-4727645.php

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/air-pollution-takes-toll-chinas-tourism-19943515
 
http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/08/13/3438199/air-pollution-takes-toll-on-chinas.html
http://www.modbee.com/2013/08/13/2860160/air-pollution-takes-toll-on-chinas.html#storylink=cpy
   

CA wildfire brings smoky air concerns to N. Nevada. Health
district officials in northern Nevada are closely monitoring air
quality concerns after a smoky haze from a wildfire in the Tahoe
National Forest more than 60 miles away descended along the
eastern Sierra front from Reno to Carson City. The Washoe County
Health District's most recent samples Monday showed small
particulates from the smoke at the upper end of the "moderate"
level…Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/CA-wildfire-brings-smoky-air-concerns-to-N-Nevada-4726468.php

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2013/aug/12/ca-wildfire-brings-smoky-air-concerns-to-n/#ixzz2brydb0R8


Bill To Increase Fines for Big Air Polluters Moves Forward. The
Chevron oil refinery fire forced 15,000 people to seek medical
help. Under current law such a violation would result in a
$10,000 dollar fine. Democratic Senator Loni Hancock says the
legislation she’s authored would increase the fine to
100-thousand dollars. “The incidents like this that dramatically
impact entire communities have no higher penalty ceilings than
incidents that effect only a very few people,” says Hancock.
Posted.
http://www.capradio.org/8464?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CapitalPublicRadioLatestNewsRSS+%28Capital+Public+Radio%3A+Latest+News+RSS%29
 

Air Quality Advisory in Placer County due to American Fire. 
Placer County, CA August 12, 2013, The Placer County Public
Health Officer and Placer County Air Pollution Control District
are issuing this joint Air Quality Advisory to notify the public
of poor air quality conditions due to smoke from the American
Fire, 17 miles north-east of Foresthill.  Posted. 
http://www.rocklintoday.com/news/templates/community_news.asp?articleid=11911&zoneid=4
http://roseville-ca.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/american-fire-in-tahoe-causes-poor-air-quality-in-placer-county


CLIMATE CHANGE

Timing a Rise in Sea Level. Thirty-five years ago, a scientist
named John H. Mercer issued a warning. By then it was already
becoming clear that human emissions would warm the earth, and Dr.
Mercer had begun thinking deeply about the consequences. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/13/science/timing-a-rise-in-sea-level.html


Power grid increasingly vulnerable to severe weather, report
says. Americans can expect more major power outages because of
severe weather driven by climate change, a federal report says. A
decade after a vast power outage shut down the Northeast, the
electricity grid remains "highly vulnerable" to blackouts because
of extreme weather fueled by climate change, a report by the
White House and the Energy Department concludes. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-electricity-grid-20130813,0,1693730.story


Climate change is ‘an immediate and growing threat,’ report says.
Rising ocean waters. Bigger and more frequent forest fires. More
brutally hot summer days. These aren’t the usual predictions
about global warming based on computer forecasts. They’re changes
already happening in California, according to a detailed new
report issued today by the California Environmental Protection
Agency. Posted.
http://www.sbsun.com/environment-and-nature/20130812/climate-change-is-an-immediate-and-growing-threat-report-says


One Greenland melt dynamic may not be as bad as feared.
Scientists know that the Greenland ice sheet is contributing to
rising sea levels, but many of the details about how its ice is
driving drastic change remain a mystery. A new study aims to fill
in a piece of the puzzle by concluding that the gliding of ice on
meltwater that has seeped through to bedrock is not a significant
factor with sea-level rise. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059985931/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

FUELS

World's largest cellulosic ethanol plant starts up in Italy. An
Italian company has opened the world's largest cellulosic ethanol
plant and aims to export the technology to as many as 25 other
locations in the next four years. Beta Renewables, a $350 million
joint venture of chemical company Gruppo Mossi & Ghisolfi and
capital investment firm TPG, says its plant in Crescentino,
Italy, is the first to produce cellulosic ethanol on a commercial
scale at a price competitive with corn ethanol and gasoline.
Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059985910/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

VEHICLES

Toyota exec: Camry will stay as US top-selling car. Toyota will
not relinquish the Camry's spot as America's most popular car
this year, a top executive told industry analysts on Tuesday.
Senior Vice President Bob Carter said the company will sell more
than 400,000 of the midsize cars in 2013, enough to fend off a
challenge from the Honda Accord and other models in the most
competitive part of the U.S. auto market. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/business/energy/article/Toyota-exec-Camry-will-stay-as-US-top-selling-car-4728262.php


Downtown Stockton Alliance shifts to new plug-in electric
vehicles for maintenance fleet.  The Downtown Stockton Alliance
has switched to an all-electric fleet of maintenance vehicles. A
nearly $100,000 grant from the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution
Control District allowed the switch to the new Polaris Ranger
buggies, which may be small, but are capable of hauling up to
1,700 pounds in cargo.    They're even four-wheel drive.  Posted.
 http://stockton-central.news10.net/news/business/191083-downtown-stockton-alliance-shifts-new-plug-electric-vehicles-maintenance-fleet


HIGH-SPEED RAIL

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to unveil 720 mph ‘Hyperloop’
designs today
Real-life “Iron Man” CEO Elon Musk, who has conquered space
travel and pollution-free land vehicles, will reveal designs for
a mysterious 720 miles-per-hour “hyperloop” transportation system
today. He’s previously called the system a cross between a
“Concorde, a railgun, and an air hockey table.” Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/13/idUS84031480920130813 
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059985935/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

Everything you ever wanted to know about Elon Musk’s Hyperloop
super train. Inventor, philanthropist, billionaire, and titan of
industry Elon Musk unveiled a 57-page plan yesterday for a
super-speed train that would take passengers between LA and San
Francisco in just 30 minutes. We previewed it, and we covered it.
But there’s a lot more to know about the Hyperloop — a high-speed
train-in-a-tube that makes all other high-speed trains look like
they’re stuck in first gear…Posted. 
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/13/idUS407255039620130813


GREEN ENERGY

Trina Solar to supply panels to Sempra Energy's Nevada project.
Chinese solar panel maker Trina Solar Ltd said it would supply
1.1 million solar panels to Sempra Energy's 345-megawatt (MW)
Copper Mountain Solar 3 project in Nevada. Trina Solar's bigger
rival, U.S.-based First Solar Inc , had earlier clinched deals to
supply panels to two other solar plants developed by Sempra
Energy -- 150-MW Copper Mountain 2 and 58-MW Copper Mountain 1.
Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/13/trinasolar-supplydeal-idUSL4N0GE2RN20130813


RIVERSIDE COUNTY: Water district plugs in to solar power. 
Western Municipal Water District ceremonially “plugged into the
grid” in July, contributing power generated by solar panels at
the district’s El Sobrante Operations Center and celebrating in
near 100-degree weather. The 916-kilowatt solar power system is
soaking up the sun and also holding electricity costs at bay,
delivering an expected savings of up to $4.6 million over the
next two decades. Posted.
http://www.pe.com/local-news/local-news-headlines/20130812-riverside-county-water-district-plugs-in-to-solar-power.ece

 
Paramount Solar acquired by SolarCity in $120M deal. SolarCity
has acquired Granite Bay-based Paramount Solar in a $120 million
deal, with Paramount Equity CEO Hayes Barnard to join SolarCity
as chief revenue officer once the sale closes. Under the deal,
SolarCity paid $116.3 million in stock in Paramount Energy
Solutions LLC, which does business as Paramount Solar, and the
rest in cash. Previously, Paramount Solar was majority owned by
Guthy-Renker LLC. Posted.
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2013/08/13/paramount-solar-acquired-by-solarcity.html?ana=e_sac_bn


MISCELLANEOUS

High-speed monitors keep watch over today's 'much more
complicated' grid. By the end of next year, more than 1,000 new
ultra-high-speed monitoring devices will be in place across the
United States and Canadian electric power network. Called phasor
measurement units (PMUs), the tools provide time-stamped measures
of grid conditions in milliseconds to reveal threats to the
grid's stability that would be hidden from standard, slower
monitors. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/stories/1059985939/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

OPINIONS

COLUMN-Fracking battle holds unflattering mirror up to Britain:
Kemp.  The village of Balcombe in West Sussex has become the
focal point for protests against hydraulic fracturing in Britain.
But Balcombe is also a fascinating microcosm of the
contradictions besetting Britain's policies on energy and
economic development. Like households across the rest of the
country, Balcombe's residents use rather a lot of fossil fuels.
In fact, they use more fossil fuels than most. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/13/column-britain-fracking-idUSL6N0GE2OO20130813


Air Travel Is Worse Than a Hummer With Wings. Why does air travel
get left out of the mix when we’re talking about reducing our
carbon footprint? One could argue, because cars matter more --
they’re the largest single contributor to climate change in the
transportation sector. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-12/air-travel-is-worse-than-a-hummer-with-wings.html


Letters: Climate change in California. Re "Climate change affects
state, report says," Aug. 11. Accompanying the article was a
photograph of a snowless Tuolumne Meadows in January. At 8,600
feet in elevation, Tuolumne's snow cover in January averages
almost 5 feet. So a dearth of snow is not just unusual, it's
alarming. Tuolumne is the watershed for most of San Francisco's
water supply…Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/letters/la-le-0813-tuesday-climate-change-california-20130812,0,912472.story


China's coal burning threatens world air quality. Re "Beijing air
quality" (Ask Scoopy, Aug. 12): Scoopy advises us that Beijing's
air quality is two to three times worse than World Health
Organization recommendations. In fact, "The Great Pall of China"
hangs over hundreds of millions of people and a huge air mass of
the Asian continent as the result of China's virtually
unregulated coal burning for energy and manufacturing. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/08/13/5644152/the-great-pall-of-china.html#storylink=cpy


BLOGS

Should California scrap its high-speed rail boondoggle and
replace it with this?  Elon (Tesla Motors/Space-X) Musk's
Hyperloop -- a futuristic pneumatic tube that could get
passengers from LA to SF in half an hour. Details here. Who
remembers pneumatic tubes in downtown Redding stores back in the
day? Wasn't there one in Dicker's? Dunno if I'd want to ride in a
closed tube at near the speed of sound...could be claustrophobic.
 Posted. 
http://blogs.redding.com/mbeauchamp/archives/2013/08/should-californ-1.html
  

Ozone hole could be making global warming worse.  It’s like Lord
Voldemort joining forces with The Penguin.  Two of the globe’s
most epic environmental threats appear to be ganging up on us:
The hole in the ozone layer could be hastening global warming. 
Yes, the hole in the ozone layer. It still exists, though it has
been getting smaller because the world rightly panicked and began
phasing out the use of CFCs in the 1980s.  Posted. 
http://grist.org/news/ozone-hole-could-be-making-global-warming-worse/