What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for April 25, 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.

AIR POLLUTION

China demands more transparency from polluters. China has changed
its environment law for the first time in 25 years, instituting
public oversight of companies and allowing unlimited fines
against persistent polluters, a response to the country's
environmental challenges and demands from the public for action.
The amendments passed by China's legislature Thursday, which go
into effect Jan. 1, took three years to come about and went
through four readings and two rounds of public consultation.
Posted.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_CHINA_ENVIRONMENT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


CLIMATE CHANGE

Australia climate plan leaves emission cuts with government. 
China has changed its environment law for the first time in 25
years, instituting public oversight of companies and allowing
unlimited fines against persistent polluters, a response to the
country's environmental challenges and demands from the public
for action. The amendments passed by China's legislature
Thursday…Posted.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_CHINA_ENVIRONMENT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


El Nino Risk Increases as Pacific Gets Warmer: Carbon & Climate.
The odds are increasing that an El Nino weather system will form
this year, portending drought for Australia and Asia and a warmer
winter in the U.S. Northeast. The U.S. Climate Prediction Center
now says there’s a 65 percent chance the Pacific Ocean warming
pattern will develop after August. It put the odds at 52 percent
last month.  Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-24/el-nino-risk-increases-as-pacific-gets-warmer-carbon-climate.html


Climate Change Onstage: Singing of the Extinction of Fauna. The
drumbeat of dire reports about climate change has grown so
rhythmically regular over the past few years that it’s almost
surprising that someone hasn’t set it to song, at least within
the confines of a musical. That day has now come. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/25/theater/the-great-immensity-gives-environmentalism-its-own-lyrics.html?_r=1
 

China: Legislature Toughens Environmental Law.  The Chinese
legislature decided Thursday to revise the country’s
environmental protection law to allow for stricter punishments
against companies or individuals caught polluting the
environment, according to a report by Xinhua, the state news
agency. Under the new law, expected to take effect next year,
fines against companies would be increased, and company
executives deemed responsible for pollution could be detained for
up to 15 days. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/25/world/asia/china-legislature-toughens-environmental-law.html?ref=earth


Study links California drought to global warming.  While
researchers have sometimes connected weather extremes to man-made
global warming, usually it's not done in real time. Now a study
is asserting a link between climate change and both the
intensifying California drought and the polar vortex blamed for a
harsh winter that mercifully has just ended in many places. 
Posted. 
http://www.contracostatimes.com/News/ci_25636808/Study-links-California-drought-to-global


Calif. cuts part of its greenhouse gas emissions by exporting
them.  A California economist says that the state's landmark,
economywide cap-and-trade system for reducing greenhouse gases
has a fatal flaw that is now emerging. Utilities, and even a
state agency, are ending contracts for electricity from
coal-fired power plants, which have high levels of carbon dioxide
emissions. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059998444/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

Researchers prove they can turn CO2 into rock. After initial
experiments, researchers have demonstrated that they can
permanently sequester carbon dioxide in basalt formations
underground. Basalt reacts with carbon dioxide to form carbonate
minerals, turning the greenhouse gas into immobile rock. The
approach avoids risks of gas leakage, and basalt formations occur
all over the world, making this an attractive option for
controlling emissions. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059998442/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

DROUGHT

Water picture improves for some California towns. While much of
California remains in the grips of extreme drought, spring storms
have eased pressure slightly and reduced the number of rural
communities considered at risk of running dry. In February, the
California Department of Public Health listed 17 mostly rural
water systems as having less than two months water supply in
storage. Posted.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CALIFORNIA_DROUGHT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


For first time in 15 years, drought hits 100% of California.  For
the first time in 15 years, the entire state of California is
experiencing drought, ranging in severity from moderate to
exceptional. That’s the analysis from the National Climatic Data
Center’s most recent drought monitor released this week, which
found that nearly 39% of the country was in drought. That figure
rose by 1% from the previous week. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-california-drought--20140424,0,1853402.story


Santa Cruz Approves Mandatory 25 Percent Water Rationing. The
Santa Cruz City Council has unanimously approved strict new water
rationing rules, calling for 25 percent mandatory cutbacks for
residents, due to the continued statewide drought. Toby Goddard
with the Santa Cruz Water Department said these are the first
mandatory cuts for the city in nearly 25 years. Posted.
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/04/24/santa-cruz-approves-mandatory-25-percent-water-rationing/


Link seen between drought, global warming. While researchers have
sometimes connected weather extremes to man-made global warming,
usually it’s not done in real time. Now a study is asserting a
link between climate change and both the intensifying California
drought and the polar vortex blamed for a harsh winter that
mercifully has just ended in many places. The Utah State
University scientists involved in the study say they hope what
they found can help them predict the next big weird winter.
Posted.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/apr/25/tp-link-seen-between-drought-global-warming/


U.S. Drought Monitor sees more records broken in Calif., Texas.
The drought records just keep on coming. The most recent U.S.
Drought Monitor, released yesterday, shows less than a 1 percent
change in drought area for the contiguous United States. Dry
conditions remain entrenched on more than 38 percent of the
United States with California, Nevada, North Texas and parts of
Oklahoma bearing the worst of the bad conditions. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059998439/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

DIESEL EMISSIONS

CARB approves compliance extensions of emissions regs for small
fleets, owner-operators. The California Air Resources Board voted
April 25 to amend some of its emissions regulations deadlines,
giving owner-operators and small fleets who financially were
unable to comply with the rule some compliance alternatives. The
amendments passed 11-1, though with some changes requested by the
Board, and final versions of the amendments will be produced
within the next few months. Posted.
http://www.ccjdigital.com/carb-approves-compliance-extensions-of-emissions-regs-for-small-fleets-owner-operators/


CARB hears hours of emotional testimony from fleets,
owner-operators on compliance extensions.  Note: CARB voted April
25 to approve the amendments it heard testimony on the day prior.
Click here to read the story on the approved changes.  Proposed
amendments to delay some emissions regulations deadlines and
allow alternate compliance options for small fleet owners were
presented to the California Air Resources Board April 24 to
consider and adopt. Posted.
http://www.ccjdigital.com/carb-to-vote-today-on-compliance-extensions-after-hours-of-trucking-testimony-april-24/


Owner-operators speak passionately for and against CARB
extensions in hearing. California’s Air Resources Board this week
officially unveiled some proposed changes to its Truck & Bus Rule
emissions regulations, which required truck owners with pre-2007
model trucks to either update their equipment or install
particulate matter filters by Jan. 1. Posted.
http://www.overdriveonline.com/owner-operators-speak-for-and-against-carb-extensions-board-to-vote-today/


CARB Approves Full Verification of Carrier Engine Emissions
System. The California Air Resources Board has granted full
verification status to the Carrier Transicold Engine Emissions
System for certain transport refrigeration units (TRU or reefer)
and TRU generator sets (gen sets) with no limits on hours of
accrued operation at time of installation. Posted.
http://www.truckinginfo.com/channel/fuel-smarts/product/detail/2014/04/carb-approves-full-verification-of-carrier-ees-dpf.aspx


California May Ease DPF Rule.  California regulators may relax
rules that currently require smaller fleets to install diesel
particulate filters on older diesel-powered trucks, the Los
Angeles Times reported.  The changes, being considered this week
by the California Air Resources Board, come in response to
pressure from small fleets and tractor-trailer
owner-operators…Posted. 
http://www.ttnews.com/articles/lmtbase.aspx?storyid=2795&t=California-May-Ease-DPF-Rule-


FUELS

Keystone XL pipeline part of larger Senate fight. Alison
Lundergan Grimes is the latest Democratic Senate candidate to
call for building the Keystone XL oil pipeline, but the Kentucky
secretary of state's move doesn't seem to have cost her support
among environmental groups who want to unseat Senate Republican
Leader Mitch McConnell. It's evidence that campaign wrangling
over Keystone XL is about more than the project itself. Posted.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_DEMOCRATS_ENERGY_POLITICS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Major oil and gas firm to list fracking chemicals.  A major
supplier to the oil and gas industry says it will begin
disclosing 100 percent of the chemicals used in hydraulic
fracturing fluid, with no exemptions for trade secrets. The move
by Baker Hughes of Houston is a shift for a major firm; it's
unclear if others will follow suit. Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/nation-world/ci_25630943/major-oil-amp-gas-firm-list-drilling-chemicals


MIT study: higher octane standard fuel in US could lower fleet
fuel consumption & GHG an extra 4.5-6% by 2040.  Offering a
higher-octane gasoline to the consumer market in the US as the
standard grade could deliver an incremental 4.5% to 6% reduction
in fleet fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by 2040,
on top of a projected 26.8% reduction by then in the baseline
case (i.e., without higher octane fuel, but with other projected
vehicle and powertrain technology improvements)…Posted. 
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2014/04/20140424-chow.html 

Making jet fuel out of garbage -- a first. Come 2017, British
Airways could be able to fuel flights from London's City Airport
to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on trash. The
airline has partnered with Washington, D.C.-based Solena Fuels to
make 50,000 metric tons of jet fuel from municipal solid waste
per year. It is the first project in the world to attempt to
convert trash into a drop-in fuel for airplanes. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059998443/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

Enzyme giant forecasts bigger U.S. ethanol production using less
corn. Denmark's Novozymes, the world's biggest maker of
industrial enzymes used in the production of biofuels, forecast
yesterday that U.S. ethanol production will rise slightly this
year to 13.5 billion gallons after a strong start to the year.
The company said its enzyme sales to the bioenergy industry grew
by 34 percent in local currencies in the first quarter of the
year, when ethanol production increased by…Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059998425/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

VEHICLES

Elon Musk Inc. Having friends in Sacramento comes with rich
benefits, especially if you're Silicon Valley billionaire Elon
Musk. The California state Assembly on Thursday approved
legislation to exempt Mr. Musk's SpaceX, a company that
manufactures rockets, from the state's personal property tax,
saving the enterprise $2 million in back taxes and more going
forward. Posted.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304518704579522132810457734


Automakers comply quickly with EPA tailpipe rule, but some greens
aren't celebrating. Automakers on average have reduced the
greenhouse gas footprint of their model year 2012 passenger
vehicles even below the levels required by U.S. EPA's new
tailpipe emissions rules, according to a new report released
today by the agency. The report found that in the first year of
the Obama administration's new fuel economy standards, cars and
light trucks averaged 286 grams of greenhouse gas emissions per
mile…Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1059998486/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

GREEN ENERGY

America’s Energy Boom: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. 
America's energy production and reserves are soaring and
emissions are falling. The boom is fueling tremendous job
creation as hundreds of billions of dollars are spent to keep
production growing and to use cheaper American energy in
manufacturing. This is fueling additional tax revenue for
governments, while making millions of Americans rich and saving
the rest of us a lot of money on our energy bills. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/America-s-Energy-Boom-The-Good-the-Bad-and-5429402.php


Lighting the way. A state environmental award received this week
by Ethan Allen is the latest achievement for a company with a
continued focus on reducing its carbon footprint while helping
its bottom line. The Danbury-based furniture company recently
received a platinum award through the state Department of Energy
and Environmental Protection's Summer Saver program for saving
more than 45 percent of its electricity…Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Lighting-the-way-5428414.php


The Search for Excellence in Wind Power Development. Despite
political wrangling over the extension of tax credits to
encourage renewable energy project development -- namely wind --
the United States recognized 1,032 MW of wind capacity additions
in 2013. This pales in comparison to the 12,885 MW of wind
capacity which was added in 2012, but there has been recent talk
in Congress of renewing the expired tax credits. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/The-Search-for-Excellence-in-Wind-Power-5427092.php


SOLAR POWER: Second big project dedicated.  A vast landscape of
trough-shaped, interconnected mirrors west of Blythe has started
feeding clean energy into the electrical grid after three years
of construction, an event celebrated Thursday in a dedication
ceremony under bright sunshine. The Genesis Solar Energy System
was the second commercial-scale solar plant to go online in the
California desert in the past few months…Posted.
http://www.pe.com/local-news/topics/topics-environment-headlines/20140424-solar-power-second-big-project-dedicated.ece


The future of the green economy lies with the states. This
election cycle, environmentalists will pour over one hundred
million dollars into Red States like Montana in a valiant attempt
to maintain Democratic control in the Senate. This money is being
spent so that, in the best of circumstances, we will have another
two years of bitter, partisan trench warfare in Congress without
any progress. Posted.
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/climate-change-green-economy-future-lies-with-states


BLOGS

Diesel Truck Pollution: The Truth is Lost in the Fumes.  A couple
things about diesel truck pollution: there’s still a lot of it in
California, truck drivers are suffering from it, and most truck
owners oppose rolling back the statewide truck clean-up rule. 
These facts have been obscured by all the fumes emanating from a
tiny but vocal minority of trucktivists who want to do away with
the Air Resources Board measure curbing diesel pollution from
trucks.   Posted. 
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/dbailey/diesel_truck_pollution_the_tru.html





California is in a drought emergency.
Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.