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ARB Newsclips for December 17, 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

Air quality takes a turn for the bad.  Air quality briefly soared
into the "very unhealthy" range in Stockton for the third day in
a row Monday, another consequence of a historically dry 2013. 
"Very unhealthy" is the most severe among five levels established
by air quality officials. From 10 a.m. until sometime after noon,
officials recommended that everyone avoid outdoor activity - not
merely those who are elderly or sick, but also those who are
considered healthy.  Posted. 
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20131217/A_NEWS/312170313&cid=sitesearch
 

Otay Mesa Pollution Permit Gets Hearing.  The Environmental
Protection Agency will hold a public hearing this evening on
revisions to a pollution permit application for a proposed power
plant in unincorporated Otay Mesa.  The developer of the Pio Pico
Energy Center has applied for a federal pollution permit used by
regulators to ensure that natural gas turbines will not
significantly degrade air quality in the area.  Posted. 
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/dec/17/tp-otay-mesa-pollution-permit-gets-hearing-public/
 

Wood-burning ban continues with 7th 'Spare the Air' day.  A
wood-burning ban in the Bay Area has extended to a full week
after a seventh-straight "Winter Spare the Air" alert was issued
for Saturday.  The Bay Area Air Quality Management District
issued the alert -- its 11th since the district's Winter Spare
the Air season began Nov. 1 -- because of an ongoing cold weather
pattern that is trapping pollution close to the ground.  Posted. 
http://www.pleasantonweekly.com/news/2013/12/16/wood-burning-ban-continues-with-7th-spare-the-air-day
 
http://www.sanramonexpress.com/news/2013/12/16/bay-area-sees-unprecedented-10th-straight-winter-spare-the-air-alert
 
http://www.contracostatimes.com/breaking-news/ci_24735090/10th-consecutive-spare-air-alert-called-tuesday-bay?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com
http://www.timesheraldonline.com/news/ci_24739071/spare-air-today-is-today
http://www.universityherald.com/articles/6237/20131216/spare-the-air-campaign-continues-bay-area-ban-on-man-made-fires-because-of-cold-weather.htm
  
Chico wood fires banned today; fires discouraged elsewhere.  The
advisory that triggers an indoor wood-burning ban for Chico has
been issued for today by the Butte County Air Quality Management
District.  Residents in Gridley are also discouraged from
starting fires.  In a press release, the agency said residents of
Chico and Gridley are being asked not to use wood stoves or
fireplaces today because of expected poor air quality. Burning
EPA-approved wood stoves or manufactured logs is OK.  Posted. 
http://www.chicoer.com/breakingnews/ci_24738288/chico-wood-fires-banned-today-fires-discouraged-elsewhere


CLIMATE CHANGE

Claims Made That Climate Change Impacts On Los Angeles Only
Partially Mitigated By AB 32 Implementation. Air Resources Board
To Finalize Updated AB 32 Scoping Plan In Early 2014. Under a
business-as-usual scenario, research indicates that Los Angeles
County is on track for less snowfall, hotter temperatures and an
increase in the number of extreme heat days by mid-century, and
these changes are inevitable. Posted.
http://lbbusinessjournal.com/long-beach-business-journal-newswatch/2013-claims-made-that-climate-change-impacts-on-los-angeles-only-partially-mitigated-by-ab-32-implementation.html


Dems aim to elevate work on global warming next year – Boxer.
Senate Democrats will do what they can to push climate change to
the top of the political agenda in the new year, starting with
"big announcements" that could come even before the New Year's
Eve ball drops, Sen. Barbara Boxer said today. The California
Democrat will hold a long-promised hearing Jan. 16 on President
Obama's Climate Action Plan featuring U.S. EPA Administrator Gina
McCarthy. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1059991994/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

DIESEL EMISSIONS

Trucking companies give drivers a way to own their own truck. A
few years ago, the Gardena resident asked his oldest son to be
his partner in the drayage trucking business, which involved
ferrying containers to and from the ports of Long Beach and Los
Angeles with a 1996 Peterbilt truck. Jorge Jr. jumped at the
chance to work with his father, a man who supported a family of
five children with trucking. But the ports enacted a Clean Trucks
Program in 2008 to reduce the number of polluting trucks…Posted.
http://www.sbsun.com/business/20131216/trucking-companies-give-drivers-a-way-to-own-their-own-truck

http://www.presstelegram.com/business/20131216/program-helps-drivers-at-ports-of-la-and-long-beach-own-their-own-trucks


FUELS

Britain Opens Door to More Shale Gas Drilling. The British
government signaled on Tuesday that it was intensifying its
efforts to encourage the development of shale gas production,
with plans to award a new set of shale drilling licenses next
year despite persistent opposition from environmental groups.
“Today marks the next step in unlocking the potential of shale
gas in our energy mix,” Energy Minister Michael Fallon said in a
statement on Tuesday. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/18/business/international/britain-opens-door-to-more-shale-gas-drilling.html?pagewanted=print


Shell aims to lower oil sands emissions with LNG trucks. Oil
sands operator Shell Canada Ltd. announced yesterday that it is
teaming up with manufacturer Caterpillar Inc. to test natural
gas-fueled trucks in northern Alberta. The company said it hopes
to cut its emissions profile at oil sands sites by equipping
mining trucks with engines that run primarily on liquefied
natural gas (LNG). LNG releases less greenhouse gases and harmful
particulates than diesel when burned and is typically less
expensive than oil-based fuels on a per-gallon-equivalent basis.
Posted. http://www.eenews.net/energywire/stories/1059991959/print
BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

MISCELLANEOUS

UW balloons measure particles in atmosphere. The balloon looks
more like an enormous jelly fish when it lifts off. Helium buoys
the top as the rest of its fabric skin hangs limp. It's not a hot
air balloon as we know it, where a pilot uses heat to control
elevation. This balloon fills with gas until it becomes a
100-foot ball floating high above the Earth's surface. Instead of
carrying people, it hauls pricey instruments. And instead of
floating around the state, the balloon bursts about 20 miles up
in the sky, parachuting down instruments that measure particles,
ozone, temperature, altitude and pressure. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/UW-balloons-measure-particles-in-atmosphere-5066974.php


OPINIONS

Climate Change Denial. Re “The Little Treaty That Could” (By
Degrees, Dec. 10): When I read that “some of the same people who
deny global warming now took money from the chemical industry
back then to challenge science,” it occurs to me that our culture
has to consider whether this equates to simple political process
or prostitution. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/17/science/climate-change-denial.html


BLOGS

Amid China’s Bad Air, a Reminder That Smoking Still Kills. As the
recognition of the danger of outdoor air pollution in China
grows, health authorities are trying to use that knowledge to
raise awareness of an even deadlier health threat: smoking. China
has about 350 million smokers, and despite efforts to reduce
consumption, tobacco is still widely consumed, and about half of
adult males are regular smokers, according to surveys. Posted.
http://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/17/amid-chinas-bad-air-a-reminder-that-smoking-still-kills/?_r=0


EPA says average MPG of new cars sold in 2012 hit record.  The US
Environmental Protection Agency has released its annual report
for fuel economy and carbon dioxide emissions trends, and it
shows that 2012 was a banner year for both with average fuel
economy of 23.6 miles per gallon and average CO2 emissions of 376
grams per mile – both all-time records since the figures were
first tracked in 1975. Even better, early figures show that 2013
will continue this trend, and Automotive News reports that the
industry is on pace to meet the 54.5-mpg target in 2025.  Posted.
 http://www.autoblog.com/2013/12/15/epa-average-mpg-new-record-2012/
 

Ozone layer will take five more decades to fully recover. 
Remember when the world came together to save the ozone layer —
even Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher? The Montreal Protocol,
a treaty that went into effect in 1989, curbed the use of CFCs
and other chemicals that tear up the planet’s UV-absorbing sheath
of ozone. But that was nearly a generation ago — and things still
haven’t been fully patched up in the lower stratosphere. Posted. 
http://grist.org/news/ozone-layer-will-take-five-more-decades-to-fully-recover/