What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for September 20, 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.


CAP AND TRADE

Carbon Trade Seen Losing Globally in Aussie Vote: Energy Markets.
Australia is at risk of breaching a global agreement to cut
greenhouse gases as power markets signal Prime Minister Tony
Abbott will exploit the widest election victory in nine years to
repeal the nation’s carbon system. Electricity futures prices
show the implied costs of emitting a metric ton of carbon in
Australia plunged 18 percent in the two days following the Sept.
7 election, bringing its monthly decline to 55 percent, according
to data compiled by Bloomberg. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2013-09-19/carbon-trade-seen-losing-globally-in-aussie-vote-energy-markets.html

AIR POLLUTION

Obama takes on coal with first-ever carbon limits. Linking global
warming to public health, disease and extreme weather, the Obama
administration pressed ahead Friday with tough requirements to
limit carbon pollution from new power plants, despite protests
from industry and from Republicans that it would mean a dim
future for coal.
The proposal, which sets the first national limits on
heat-trapping pollution from future power plants, would help
reshape where Americans get electricity…Posted.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBAMA_CLIMATE_CHANGE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-09-20-10-08-00


OTHER RELATED STORIES
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/20/usa-energy-emissions-idUSL2N0HG0DM20130920

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-20/new-coal-plants-must-capture-carbon-dioxide-output-epa.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323308504579086983430436084.html?KEYWORDS=carbon
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/21/us/politics/obama-administration-carbon-limits.html?hp&_r=0&pagewanted=print

http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/politicsnow/la-pn-epa-power-plant-emissions-20130920,0,4425244.story

http://www.sacbee.com/2013/09/20/5752123/administration-set-to-propose.html

http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Obama-takes-on-coal-with-first-ever-carbon-limits-4828972.php
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2013/09/20130920-epa.html 
http://www.modbee.com/2013/09/20/2930882/obama-takes-on-coal-with-first.html
 
http://green.autoblog.com/2013/09/20/new-epa-clean-coal-plant-rules-would-cut-co2-emissions-in-half/
 

Citgo to pay penalty resolving environmental violations. Citgo
Petroleum Corp has agreed to reduce air pollution and pay penalty
to resolve environmental violations at refineries in Louisiana
and Illinois, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on
Thursday. The company would pay $737,000 as a civil penalty and
implement projects designed to reduce toxic emissions over the
next five years at its 427,800 barrel per day (bpd) refinery in
Lake Charles, Louisiana, and 174,500 barrel per day (bpd)
refinery in Lemont, Illinois. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/19/us-refinery-operations-citgo-idUSBRE98I0WF20130919


Wood smoke, heavy industry, power generators: air pollution
study.  A study into the sources of air pollution in the Upper
Hunter has been released to the public this afternoon.  The fine
particle characterization study revealed that domestically
produced wood smoke, emissions from heavy industry and power
generation are all contributing factors.  Posted. 
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-20/wood-smoke2c-heavy-industry2c-power-generators3a-air-polluti/4971942


CLIMATE CHANGE

Global warming "hiatus" unlikely to last - draft U.N. report. A
"hiatus" in global warming so far this century is partly caused
by natural variations in a chaotic climate and is unlikely to
last, a draft United Nations report by leading climate scientists
says. 
The 127-page draft, and a shorter summary for policymakers that
is due for release in Stockholm on Sept. 27 after editing, say
factors including a haze of volcanic ash and a cyclical dip in
energy emitted from the sun may also have contributed to a slower
warming trend. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/20/us-climate-ipcc-idUSBRE98J0EB20130920


Europe weighing 40 percent 2030 carbon-cutting goal-EU sources.
European Union regulators are considering doubling the bloc's
target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and setting a
tougher binding goal for renewable energy use, EU sources said.
The European Commission, the EU's executive, outlined new targets
earlier this year but has yet to follow up with a firm
legislative proposal. That is expected around the end of the
year. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/19/eu-climate-idUSL5N0HD3JH20130919


Global warming slows - but scientists not reassured. Scientists
working on a landmark U.N. report on climate change are
struggling to explain why global warming appears to have slowed
down in the past 15 years even though greenhouse gas emissions
keep rising. Leaked documents show there are deep concerns among
governments about how to address the issue ahead of next week's
meeting of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/Global-warming-slows-but-scientists-not-4828479.php


FUELS

France must cut reliance on oil and gas, says Hollande. France
should aim for a 30 percent cut in fossil fuel use by 2030,
President Francois Hollande said in a speech on Friday which
included plans for a carbon tax from 2014 and a tax break on home
insulation to help consumers save energy. Hollande faces a
delicate balancing act as he reconciles demands for more binding
environmental targets from his Green Party coalition partners
with French households and businesses increasingly wary of tax
rises. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/20/us-france-environment-idUSBRE98J08Z20130920


California’s Low-Carbon Fuel Standard Upheld.  A three-judge
federal panel on Wednesday upheld California’s controversial and
first-in-the-nation law requiring fuel-makers to reduce carbon,
that detractors say will lead to much higher prices for diesel
and gasoline. The 2-1 ruling over the low carbon fuel standard,
by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, came
as the judged rejected arguments by fuel producers that it was
discriminatory against out-of-state fuel makers. Posted.
http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/story/2013/09/california-s-low-carbon-fuel-standard-upheld.aspx


VEHICLES

Green Cabs Appear as Bloomberg Prepares to Depart.  The waning
days of any political administration are typically given over, in
large part, to a trumpeting of its successes, real and perceived,
and so it has been in New York, as Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
prepares to depart with all the reluctance of a 6-year-old
leaving Great Adventure.  Last week, city officials invited
reporters on a tour of more than 20 schools that ranked highly on
state tests last spring to show that the Education Department has
done a better job than many believe.  Posted. 
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/nyregion/green-cabs-appear-as-bloomberg-prepares-to-depart.html?_r=0


GREEN ENERGY

White House Renews Support for Energy-Panel Nominee Ron Binz. The
White House said it stands by President Barack Obama’s nominee to
lead the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, who is facing
an uphill battle for confirmation in the Senate. The
administration “absolutely” supports nominee Ron Binz, Josh
Earnest, deputy White House press secretary, told reporters
traveling with Obama to a speech in Missouri today. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2013-09-20/white-house-renews-support-for-energy-panel-nominee-ron-binz.html


U.S. Revives Aid Program for Clean Energy. The Obama
administration has decided to revive a controversial loan
guarantee program at the Energy Department, administration
officials said on Thursday, even as the program remains under
Congressional scrutiny after losing hundreds of millions in
taxpayer money on investments in failed green energy start-ups
like the solar module maker Solyndra. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/business/energy-environment/us-revives-aid-program-for-clean-energy.html


MISCELLANEOUS

California Air Resources Board (CARB) publishes paper on
Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) testing.  California Air
Resources Board (CARB) has published a paper on Selective
Catalytic Reduction (SCR) performance during real-time driving
conditions. The research team used four vehicles, one with
Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) technology and three with SCR
technology.  In typical highway driving conditions, emissions
from the vehicle equipped with EGR technology were found to be
higher than the legal limit while NOx levels from vehicles
equipped with SCR met the standard.  Posted. 
http://www.discoverdef.com/news/2013/9/20/california-air-resources-board-%28carb%29-publishes-paper-on-selective-catalytic-reduction-%28scr%29-testing/


OPINIONS

Born-Again Fracker. Ron Binz faced the Senate Energy Committee on
Tuesday, and the event was something of a miracle. President
Obama's nominee to run the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(FERC) declared heretofore undetected devotion to natural gas and
regulatory restraint. Mr. Binz's nomination is in trouble because
of a record and philosophy hostile toward fossil fuels of any
kind. As recently as March he derided natural gas as a
carbon-heavy "dead end,"…Posted.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324492604579083041465236968.html?KEYWORDS=fuels


Flooding proves we need climate change planning. Two months
before my Colorado community was overwhelmed this week by epic
rains, our state's chief oil and gas regulator, Matt Lepore,
berated citizens concerned about the ecological impact of
hydraulic fracturing and unbridled drilling.  During his speech,
Lepore insinuated that those advocating a first-do-no-harm
posture toward fossil fuel development are mostly affluent and
are therefore unconcerned with the economic impact of their
environmental advocacy. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/article/Flooding-proves-we-need-climate-change-planning-4828383.php


BLOGS

Emissions Rules Unleash Flurry of Indignation, Cheers. Right on
schedule, the Environmental Protection Agency announced strict
new emissions standards for new power plants, one of the
centerpieces of the Obama administration’s plan to curb
greenhouse-gas emissions. (We reported on this last week, and
have a closer look today.) And right on cue, the EPA rulemaking
unleashed a flurry of indignation from Republicans and some
business groups and huzzahs from environmentalists and other
business groups. Posted.
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/09/20/emissions-rules-unleash-flurry-of-indignation-cheers/?KEYWORDS=climate+change


Everything you need to know about the EPA’s carbon limits for new
power plants.  On Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency
proposed new limits on carbon-dioxide emissions for all new coal
and gas-fired power plants built in the United States. It's the
first major piece of the Obama administration's second-term plan
to tackle climate change.  The regulations aren't likely to have
a huge impact in the near future…Posted. 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/20/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-epas-carbon-limits-for-new-power-plants/