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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for March 6, 2014
Posted: 06 Mar 2014 14:19:12
ARB Newsclips for March 6, 2014. 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 Germany Calls for Carbon-Market Overhaul Start Five Years Early. Germany said an overhaul of the European Union’s carbon market to automatically tighten supply should begin at the latest in 2016, five years earlier than proposed by the bloc’s regulatory arm. The 28 EU nations began talks last month on the plan to introduce a stability reserve mechanism for the $72 billion emissions trading system. Posted. http://www.businessweek.com/printer/articles/691987?type=bloomberg AIR POLLUTION House backs bill to block EPA power plant rule. The Republican-controlled House moved Thursday to block President Barack Obama's plan to limit carbon pollution from new power plants, an election-year strike at the White House aimed at portraying Obama as a job killer. Ten coal-state or Southern Democrats joined with Republicans to approve the bill, 229-183. Supporters said the measure was part of a strategy to fight back against what they call the Obama administration's "war on coal." Posted. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CONGRESS_POWER_PLANTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT OTHER RELATED STORIES http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/House-backs-bill-to-block-EPA-power-plant-rule-5292535.php http://www.modbee.com/2014/03/05/3224605/house-gop-moves-to-block-epa-rules.html#storylink=cpy China takes aim at pollution after years of growth. Huge chunks of concrete and broken machinery are all that is left of a cement plant that once spewed clouds of pollution over China's most polluted province, Hebei. Demolished in December, the factory was one of 35 closed or torn down in Pingshan County as part of the government's drive to clear up China's notoriously smoggy skies. Combatting pollution has shot up the agenda of the ruling Communist Party…Posted. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_CHINA_POLLUTION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Gasping Australians Flee Beijing-Style Smog as Coal Mine Burns. A coal mine fire burning for almost a month is forcing residents of an Australian town from their homes after pollution more than 22 times above recommended safe levels triggered a health alert. Firefighters are pumping as much as 84,000 liters of water a minute, the equivalent of about two Olympic-size swimming pools an hour, onto the burning mine at GDF Suez’s Hazelwood power station in Victoria state, according to local authorities. Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2014-03-06/gasping-australians-flee-beijing-style-smog-as-coal-mine-burns.html L.A. Supervisor Molina proposes 'toxic threat strike team' Decrying the slow response of state agencies to the public health threat posed by a Vernon battery recycler and other polluting facilities, Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina on Wednesday called for the creation of a county “toxic threat strike team” that could take action when the state fails to do so. The plan calls for county public health officials, prosecutors, fire department officials and others to identify the most dangerous facilities in the most pollution-burdened neighborhoods. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-toxic-threat-strike-team-20140305,0,4761219,print.story At night, the ocean cleanses smoggy air, study suggests. The ocean doesn’t just moderate temperatures and influence weather in some of the world’s biggest cities; it also has the power to cleanse the air, new research suggests. At night, the sea surface can absorb and remove up to 15% of smog-forming nitrogen oxides that build up in polluted air in coastal cities like Los Angeles, according to a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-ocean-smog-nitrogen-oxides-sink-20140305,0,6000295,print.story U.S. Trade Deals From the 90's Set Up China as a Pollution Haven. Even while trade agreements brokered under Clinton helped China's economy to boom and brought Americans cheap goods, both nations have paid dearly. China's plans to build remote industrial coal complexes to power its economy are putting the country on a trajectory to wipe out global gains in tackling climate change, scientists fear. But other nations share responsibility for China's fossil fuel binge and the toxic air people breathe as a result—especially the United States. Posted. http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20140306/us-trade-deals-90s-set-china-pollution-haven Environmental activists monitoring pollution from Phillips 66 refinery in Wilmington. Dwight Peleti lives a stone’s throw from the Phillips 66 Wilmington refinery, a sprawling complex of smokestacks, holding tanks and round-the-clock petroleum operations. Just before Peleti’s father died of complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, he complained that his breathing became especially labored when refinery chemical odors worsened, as they do from time to time. Posted. http://www.dailybreeze.com/business/20140305/environmental-activists-monitoring-pollution-from-phillips-66-refinery-in-wilmington CLIMATE CHANGE Infrastructure threatened by climate change poses a 'national crisis' The nation's aging infrastructure makes up an interconnected web of systems that are alarmingly vulnerable to the shocks of climate change, according to a report released today that will inform the National Climate Assessment, to be made public next month. The difficulty of strengthening the systems that support the American economy…Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059995655/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY Many central U.S. hardwood species vulnerable to climate impacts. The United States' central hardwood forests -- an area that stretches from southern Indiana and Illinois into the Missouri Ozarks -- face a number of stressors, from invasive species to urban development and overgrowth due to fire suppression. Roads, power lines and other infrastructure crisscross the region, fragmenting forests and limiting regrowth. Now add to that list the steady encroachment of climate change. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059995652/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY Global warming slows down Antarctica’s coldest currents, poses huge threat. The cold currents, called the Antarctic Bottom Water, are basically cold, briny, underwater rivers flowing from the underwater edge of the Antarctic continent north toward the equator, very close to the seafloor. They carry oxygen, carbon, and many nutrients to the depths of the ocean, and play a huge role in the survival of creatures which live close to the seafloor. Posted. http://www.zmescience.com/ecology/climate/global-warming-antarctica-current-06032014/#6OfJX0ao7QoPXr1c.99 DROUGHT Placer County pools spared for now from drought measures. The latest rains have spared a summer of swimming in Placer County – for now. A month ago, Placer County Water Agency officials were poised to order strict conservation measures, including a blanket ban on filling new or existing swimming pools. But after several days of storms, water officials are having second thoughts. “It’s still a bit early to outline a full-scale prescription of any reductions until we get greater context in this month,” said PCWA General Manager David Breninger. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2014/03/06/6212686/placer-county-pools-spared-for.html##storylink=cpy Pair of McNerney bills target water conservation. Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Stockton, responding to California's impending drought, introduced two bills this week aimed at water conservation. If passed, both would have nationwide impact. "Everyone can agree that using water more efficiently makes sense," McNerney said in a written statement announcing the legislation. The two bills: » The Water Efficiency Improvement Act: This legislation would provide up to a $2,000 tax credit for individuals and businesses that purchase the Environmental Protection Agency's WaterSense products. Posted. http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140306/A_NEWS/403060317 DIESEL EMISSIONS UPS to buy 1,000 propane-powered delivery trucks. United Parcel Service Inc. said Wednesday it would invest $70 million to add 1,000 propane-powered delivery trucks to its fleet. The trucks, which can travel up to 200 miles on a tank of propane, will replace gasoline- and diesel-powered trucks used primarily in rural areas in Louisiana and Oklahoma, UPS said. Other states are pending. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-ups-1000-propane-trucks-20140305,0,5661369,print.story FUELS U.S. Hopes Boom in Natural Gas Can Curb Putin. The crisis in Crimea is heralding the rise of a new era of American energy diplomacy, as the Obama administration tries to deploy the vast new supply of natural gas in the United States as a weapon to undercut the influence of the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, over Ukraine and Europe. The crisis has escalated a State Department initiative to use a new boom in American natural gas supplies as a lever against Russia, which supplies 60 percent of…Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/06/world/europe/us-seeks-to-reduce-ukraines-reliance-on-russia-for-natural-gas.html?hpw&rref=world&action=click&module=Search®ion=searchResults%230&version=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fquery.nytimes.com%2Fsearch%2Fsitesearch%2F%3Faction%3Dclick%26region%3DMasthead%26pgtype%3DHomepage%26module%3DSearchSubmit%26contentCollection%3DHomepage%26t%3Dqry815%23%2Fclimate%2Bchange%2F24hours%2F GREEN ENERGY REDLANDS: A lesson in going green. Redlands takes pride in its green initiatives, which include changing streetlights to energy-efficient LEDs, switching its fleet of trash trucks to alternative fuels and encouraging the installation of solar panels atop warehouses. But it still could take a lesson from Palm Springs, members of the Redlands Sustainability Network heard this week. Posted. http://www.pe.com/local-news/san-bernardino-county/san-bernardino-county-headlines-index/20140305-redlands-a-lesson-in-going-green.ece New financing option for home solar energy. A new twist in solar financing is coming to California. Mosaic, an Oakland-based solar finance start-up, is partnering with established rooftop solar installer RGS Energy to provide zero-deposit loans to homeowners who want to buy a solar energy system. The loans will be backed by small-investor capital from Mosaic's online crowdsourcing platform, which already funnels money to moderate sized solar arrays on farms, grocery stores, military housing and schools from coast to coast. Posted. http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/mar/05/mosaic-solar-option/ Largest U.S. grid operator could switch to 30% renewables with no ill effects – study.With adequate investment in expanded transmission capacity, states in the PJM Interconnection could get up to 30 percent of their electricity from renewable resources -- primarily large-scale wind and solar -- in 2026 without a detrimental effect on grid reliability, a study led by GE Energy Consulting concluded. The good news for consumers is that under every scenario envisioned in the study commissioned by PJM, fuel costs in the regional transmission organization (RTO) would be lower…Posted. http://www.eenews.net/energywire/stories/1059995625/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY MISCELLANEOUS When General Electric leaves Fort Edward, pollution remains. There is a bitter joke going around Fort Edward these days. After seven decades, General Electric is closing its capacitor factory this fall, taking 200 good-paying jobs from this economically struggling Washington County community to a town in Florida called Clearwater. A visitor had been in town for less that an hour when he first heard this from a resident: "Did you hear that GE is moving to Clearwater?...Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/When-General-Electric-leaves-Fort-Edward-5292275.php ARB Chairman Mary D. Nichols to Give Keynote Address at ALI CLE's Climate Regulation Program Focusing on Clean Air Act & California's AB32. American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education (ALI CLE) is pleased to announce its upcoming program, Navigating Climate Regulation on Dual Tracks: The Promises and Pitfalls of AB32 and the Clean Air Act that will take place on March 14 at UCLA's Robin and Albert Carnesale Commons in Los Angeles, California. Posted. http://www.power-eng.com/marketwired/2014/03/6/arb-chairman-mary-d-nichols-to-give-keynote-address-at-ali-cle-s-climate-regulation-program-focusin.html Climate Action Plan the subject of community meeting on Monday. The city's draft of a Climate Action Plan will be the subject of a community meeting and workshop from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Monday in the south hall of the Stockton Civic Memorial Auditorium. The goal of the proposed Climate Action Plan is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 10 percent below 2005 levels by the year 2020, as required by Assembly Bill 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006…Posted. http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140305/A_NEWS/140309923/0/SEARCH OPINIONS Termites and better biofuels. Every time I fill my gas tank, I see the notice on the pump that explains part of the fuel I’m buying is ethanol. Ethanol is alcohol, a type of biofuel rather than fossil fuel. While biofuels can be good to promote national energy independence and possibly help with greenhouse gas emissions, the ethanol in our gasoline is made from corn. (The starch in the corn is broken down into sugars that are then fermented into alcohol.) With corn ethanol, we are essentially putting food into our gas tanks…Posted. http://www.turlockjournal.com/section/26/article/24512/ BLOGS A Climate Analyst Clarifies the Science Behind California’s Water Woes. There’s no question that residents of California and much of the West face a collision between high water demands driven by growth and outdated policies and a limited and highly variable water supply. But that reality hasn’t stopped heated arguments from springing up in recent days over the cause or causes of California’s continuing epic drought. Posted. http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/06/a-climate-analyst-clarifies-the-science-behind-californias-extreme-drought/?_php=true&_type=blogs&action=click&module=Search®ion=searchResults%230&version=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fquery.nytimes.com%2Fsearch%2Fsitesearch%2F%3Faction%3Dclick%26region%3DMasthead%26pgtype%3DHomepage%26module%3DSearchSubmit%26contentCollection%3DHomepage%26t%3Dqry815%23%2Fclimate%2Bchange%2F24hours%2F&_r=0 Will State Legislatures Join Congress And Cut Green Energy Incentives? What’s happening in Kansas could be happening in your state. It’s not completely clear that the efforts to rollback the statewide renewable energy requirements there — and in 16 other states — will succeed. But it is obvious that, nationally, the tax preference given to renewables is fading. Here’s the parallel: Most free market planners are opposed to mandatory statutes that require utilities to offer certain amounts of green energy. Posted. http://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2014/03/05/will-state-legislatures-join-congress-and-cut-green-energy-incentives/ A Fuel-Efficient Big Rig From Walmart That Looks Like a Smushed Corvette. Efficiency counts when you have one of the world’s largest commercial truck fleets. That’s why Walmart has developed a new big rig that uses a radical design to increase airflow and cut fuel use. It’s called the WAVE, which stands for Walmart Advanced Vehicle Experience. It’s a concept truck and trailer that previews the future of long-haul freight, and it’s designed by Walmart in partnership with Peterbilt, Great Dane Trailers, and Capstone Turbine. Posted. http://www.wired.com/autopia/2014/03/walmart-big-rig/ China’s “war on pollution” may end up accelerating global warming. This week, the Chinese government vowed to launch a “war on pollution.” Public enemy number one will have to be coal-fired power plants, whose emissions kill more than a quarter-million people a year, according to Greenpeace. In fact, a coal industry forum this week declared that China’s coal consumption will peak by 2020 (link in Chinese), and then start falling by 0.4% annually thereafter. Posted. http://qz.com/184860/chinas-war-on-pollution-may-end-up-accelerating-global-warming/#184860/chinas-war-on-pollution-may-end-up-accelerating-global-warming/ California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.