What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for May 27, 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

Three competing plans emerge for spending cap-and-trade fees. 
And now there are three competing plans for spending about $1
billion in cap-and-trade fees on businesses that emit greenhouse
gases, with three weeks to resolve the differences before the
June 15 deadline for enacting a state budget.  Posted. 
http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/05/23/3940961/capitol-alert-three-competing.html


AIR POLLUTION

China to take 5 mln old cars off road in 2014 in anti-pollution
push.  China plans to take more than 5 million ageing vehicles
off its roads this year in a bid to improve air quality, with
330,000 cars set to be decommissioned in Beijing alone, the
government said in a policy document published on Monday. 
Pollution has emerged as an urgent priority for China's leaders
as they try to reverse the damage done by decades of breakneck
growth and head off public anger about the state of the nation's
air, water and soil.  Posted. 
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/26/china-pollution-idUSL3N0OC19720140526


Court sides with EPA on not setting new standard.  A federal
appeals court ruled Tuesday that the Environmental Protection
Agency was justified in not establishing a new air quality
standard for acid rain.  The EPA decided in 2012 after a lengthy
rulemaking proceeding that it needed further scientific study
before it could set a new air quality standard for oxides of
nitrogen and oxides of sulfur.  Posted. 
http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/05/27/3946489/court-sides-with-epa-for-not-setting.html
http://www.modbee.com/2014/05/27/3358771/court-sides-with-epa-for-not-setting.html#storylink=cpy
  

Judges reject greens' challenge to EPA acid rain standards. A
federal appeals court today rejected a challenge from
environmentalists to U.S. EPA's 2012 decision against tightening
air quality standards for pollutants that contribute to acid
rain. Green groups, led by the Center for Biological Diversity
and the National Parks Conservation Association, claimed EPA
violated the Clean Air Act with its April 2012 decision against
strengthening air standards for nitrogen oxides and sulfur
dioxides. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060000213/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

CLIMATE CHANGE

Australia’s Pollution U-Turn Threatening UN Climate Talks.
Australia’s program to rein in pollution is losing momentum, the
latest in a series of setbacks for the international effort to
tackle global warming. With the highest per-capita fossil fuel
emissions among industrial countries, Australia’s participation
in United Nations-led climate talks is seen as crucial to sway
China and India to step up pollution controls... Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-22/australia-s-pollution-u-turn-threatening-un-climate-talks.html
 http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060000172/print BY
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Buying Insurance Against Climate Change.  The third National
Climate Assessment report — released on May 6 by the White House,
and representing the work of more than 240 scientists — warns us
about our hazardous future and offers many good ideas for dealing
with it. But a most important point may be lost in the crowd.
After discussing how to mitigate the coming dangers, the report
says, “Commercially available mechanisms such as insurance can
also play a role in providing protection against losses due to
climate change.” Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/upshot/buying-insurance-against-climate-change.html
 

Governments Await Obama’s Move on Carbon to Gauge U.S. Climate
Efforts.  President Obama is expected to announce on Monday an
Environmental Protection Agency regulation to cut carbon
pollution from the nation’s 600 coal-fired power plants, in a
speech that government analysts in Beijing, Brussels and beyond
will scrutinize to determine how serious the president is about
fighting global warming. The regulation will be Mr. Obama’s most
forceful effort to reverse 20 years of relative inaction on
climate change by the United States…Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/27/us/politics/governments-await-obamas-move-on-carbon-to-gauge-us-climate-efforts.html?hpw&rref=politics&action=click&module=Search®ion=searchResults&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C%5B%22RI%3A11%22%2C%22RI%3A13%22%5D&url=http%3A%2F%2Fquery.nytimes.com%2Fsearch%2Fsitesearch%2F%3Faction%3Dclick%26region%3DMasthead%26pgtype%3DHomepage%26module%3DSearchSubmit%26contentCollection%3DHomepage%26t%3Dqry607%23%2Fair%2Bpollution%2F24hours%2F


Will public opinion shift with new evidence of climate change?
The release of a set of reports recently might be the evidence
that finally pushes the climate change “debate” into the dark
corner of science denial, where it can fester with theories that
the moon landing was a hoax and the earth was made in seven days.
Posted.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/science/2014/05/23/will-public-opinion-shift-with-new-evidence-climate-change/eZ9a167sJklLgIn1XKdFzI/story.html


How much difference can a year make? A lot, where GHGs are
concerned. U.S. EPA's choice of which year to use as a benchmark
for emissions reductions could hold an important clue to how far
the administration will go to curb climate change, experts and
state regulators say. In crafting its highly anticipated
regulation for existing power plants, EPA's pick for a base-line
year could move the needle toward a preference for one of two
priorities: Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060000178/print BY
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Researchers find ancient carbon stored deep beneath Great Plains
– study. Every year, about a quarter of the carbon dioxide coming
from human activities gets absorbed by forests and soils. At
around 10 billion tons per year, this natural sequestration is
kind of a big deal. But until recently, scientists had only
really been paying attention to the carbon getting stored in the
very top layer of soil from about 1 to 3 feet deep. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060000176/print BY
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Climate change definitively linked to decline of iconic trout –
study. Flowing through British Columbia and past the forests and
peaks of Montana's Glacier National Park, the Flathead River is
one of the last strongholds of the threatened cutthroat trout.
The species, with its signature spotty back and blush red belly,
is a favorite of local fly fishermen, but today it swims in about
10 percent of its historical range. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060000179/print BY
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DROUGHT

California drought will hit cost of rice hardest. How will
California’s epic drought hit our grocery bills? Probably not as
hard as we might have feared. That was the consensus of a panel
of food and farming experts assembled for the Sacramento Metro
Chamber of Commerce’s second annual “Perspectives on Agriculture”
luncheon, held Thursday at the Hyatt Regency. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/05/22/6426140/drought-will-make-cost-of-rice.html#mi_rss=Business#storylink=cpy

State water board adopts emergency regulations for Mill, Deer and
Antelope creeks. The California Water Resources Control Board
adopted regulations Wednesday that could lead to the curtailment
of water diversions in Mill, Deer and Antelope creeks. The new
water rules come about from Gov. Jerry Brown's drought relief
package signed March 1. Posted.
http://www.redbluffdailynews.com/news/ci_25828853/state-water-board-adopts-emergency-regulations-mill-deer


FUELS

British Columbia Said to Seek Lower LNG Carbon Emissions. The
British Columbia government is considering a requirement to force
liquefied natural gas terminals to have a carbon footprint at
least one-third below global standards, said two people familiar
with the talks. The government of Canada’s Pacific Coast province
is discussing the proposal with energy companies…Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-26/british-columbia-said-to-seek-lower-lng-carbon-emissions.html


FRACKING

Bad oil news is much ado about very little. Environmentalists are
gleeful at the news reported last week by the U.S. Energy
Information Administration that the amount of recoverable oil
from California’s Monterey Shale formation — predicted to be the
nation’s largest reserve of oil — is a whopping 96-percent below
original production estimates. Posted.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/may/24/bad-oil-news-is-much-ado-about-very-little/


Fracking moratorium heads to state Senate floor. California state
lawmakers moved closer to placing a moratorium on hydraulic
fracturing and other forms of well stimulation last week with a
bill's passage through a key committee. The Senate Appropriations
Committee voted Friday to advance S.B. 1132, by state Democratic
Sens. Holly Mitchell and Mark Leno, to the Senate floor. The bill
is expected to be taken up this week by the full Senate. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/stories/1060000193/print  BY
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VEHICLES

Hyundai Bumps Honda at Top of Greenest Automaker Rankings.
Hyundai Motor Co. (005380)’s quick embrace of downsized engines,
electric hybrids and other anti-pollution technology helped the
company unseat Honda Motor Co. (7267) as the most environmental
automaker, a scientific research group said. Toyota Motor Corp.,
Nissan Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG rounded out the top 5 in the
rankings released today by the Union of Concerned Scientists, a
nonprofit that works on climate change and nuclear-weapon
control. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-27/hyundai-bumps-honda-at-top-of-greenest-automaker-rankings.html

http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_vehicles/what_you_can_do/automaker-rankings-2014.html?print=t

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140527/AUTO01/305270069/Hyundai-unseats-Honda-title-greenest-automaker-U-S-

http://www.autonews.com/article/20140527/OEM05/305279958/hyundai-unseats-honda-for-greenest-automaker-crown-in-u-s-scientists

http://www.freep.com/article/20140527/BUSINESS0104/305270084/1207/BUSINESS01/Union-Concerned-Scientists-name-Hyundai-Kia-greenest-automaker
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2014/05/27/stories/1060000224 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1092327_hyundai-kia-topples-honda-for-ucs-greenest-carmaker-title


EXCHANGE: Electric bikes alternative to gas.  avid Lasley is a
big fan of electric bicycles — up to a point. "It's not a
religion. I don't ride it much in the winter," said Lasley, who
uses his customized electric bicycle to commute between his
north-end Springfield home and work at the U.S. Post Office on
Wabash Avenue. But humming along — electric bikes barely even hum
— at speeds up to 20 mph saves big bucks on gasoline, especially
with prices this spring bouncing around either side of $3.75 a
gallon in the Springfield market. Posted.
http://www.modbee.com/2014/05/27/3358408/exchange-electric-bikes-alternative.html#storylink=cpy


'Fast food' stops for electric cars’ Electric cars have
supposedly been the future of transport for decades, but most of
us still don't use them. Prices have dropped and designs have
improved, but the transition is hampered by an infrastructural
chicken and egg problem: What comes first, cars or charging
stations? The answer, surprisingly, may come from the…Posted.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2014/05/27/ozy-charging-stations-electric-cars/9624017/


GREEN ENERGY

Applying the Lessons of Politics to Green Power.  Over the years,
Tom Matzzie — by working as a political operative on John Kerry’s
2004 presidential campaign and on building the antiwar movement
that helped usher President Obama into office — became convinced
that the key to creating change was to make it easy for people to
participate. But it was not until 2010, as he navigated the
complexities of buying and installing solar panels on his home
here, that he thought to apply those lessons to renewable energy.
Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/27/business/energy-environment/applying-the-lessons-of-politics-to-green-power.html?hpw&rref=science&action=click&module=Search®ion=searchResults&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C%5B%22RI%3A11%22%2C%22RI%3A13%22%5D&url=http%3A%2F%2Fquery.nytimes.com%2Fsearch%2Fsitesearch%2F%3Faction%3Dclick%26region%3DMasthead%26pgtype%3DHomepage%26module%3DSearchSubmit%26contentCollection%3DHomepage%26t%3Dqry607%23%2Fgreen%2Benergy%2F24hours%2F
 

Turbines Popping Up on New York Roofs, Along With Questions of
Efficiency.  A dozen construction workers gathered around a
flatbed truck in Long Island City, Queens, one recent Tuesday,
marveling at the final piece of a new 15-story apartment building
they had just finished assembling. As a mobile crane hoisted the
20-foot-long black contraption over Pearson Street, many of the
workers used their phones to film its ascent. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/27/nyregion/turbines-pop-up-on-new-york-roofs-along-with-questions-of-efficiency.html?ref=earth


Wind power sees itself on fast track to benefit from new EPA
rules. Some of the nation's top greenhouse gas-emitting states --
including Texas, Illinois and California -- are better positioned
to meet new U.S. EPA regulations targeting utility-sector carbon
dioxide emissions because they are early and aggressive adopters
of wind power, according to a new analysis by the American Wind
Energy Association. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060000181/print BY
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Innovation funds key to breaking global climate agreement impasse
– report. International agreements and policies to fight climate
change should focus on research and development rather than
embattled current carbon emission caps, taxes and regulations,
according to a report released by the Center for Clean Energy
Innovation.
The report argues that, given weak economies and low political
will, governments will not enforce a carbon price that is high
enough to actually change the market for either developed or
developing economies. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060000229/print BY
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MISCELLANEOUS

CARB to hold free informational meeting for Truck and Bus Reg
compliance.  Truck drivers around southern California have an
opportunity next week to get personalized help in complying with
the state’s Truck and Bus Regulation.  The California Air
Resources Board will hold two informational sessions on Thursday,
May 29 at the Double Tree Hotel in Ontario, Calif.  The first
session is scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The second
session is scheduled to run from 2 to 4:30 p.m.  Posted. 
http://www.landlinemag.com/Story.aspx?StoryID=27078#.U4S6DYUvAk8


OPINIONS

Memorial Day 2050.  Of the many things being said about climate
change lately, none was more eloquent than the point made by Gov.
Jay Inslee of Washington State in the Showtime series “Years of
Living Dangerously,” when he observed: “We’re the first
generation to feel the impact of climate change and the last
generation that can do something about it.” Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/opinion/sunday/friedman-memorial-day-2050.html?hp&rref=opinion&assetType=nyt_now&assetType=nyt_now&_r=0
 

‘A Climate Crisis Is Also a Health Crisis.’  Climate change
effects extend far beyond the very real and urgent crisis faced
by California communities that are running out of water (“Climate
Issues Moved to Fore in California by Governor,” news article,
May 20).
Millions of Californians now rely on groundwater contaminated by
agricultural runoff and industrial chemicals. Drought-related
dust and wildfires intensify asthma, respiratory diseases and
Valley Fever. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/27/opinion/a-climate-crisis-is-also-a-health-crisis.html?_r=0


Americans’ Varied Views of ‘Global Warming’ and ‘Climate Change’
Anthony Leiserowitz, the director of the Yale Project on Climate
Change Communication, has distributed a note summarizing the
findings of “What’s In A Name? Global Warming vs Climate Change,”
an interesting new study of Americans’ perceptions of the two
dominant shorthand phrases used to describe the building human
influence on the climate system. Posted.
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/27/americans-varied-views-of-global-warming-and-climate-change/


AB 32: California businesses appreciate state's environmental
planning. Business people are, by nature, careful planners. Most
executives wouldn't think of starting a venture without a
business plan, detailed budgets and thoughtful growth plans. It's
important to have the kind of information available that helps
businesses decide how to invest and grow. Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_25818678/ab-32-california-businesses-appreciate-states-environmental-planning

http://www.insidebayarea.com/News/ci_25818678/AB-32:-California-businesses-appreciate-states
  
http://www.contracostatimes.com/News/ci_25818678/AB-32:-California-businesses-appreciate-states
  

Fracking offers benefits in strictly-regulated California. After
reading the Sierra Club's outrageously inaccurate attack on
energy production, one would think that hydraulic fracturing is
the root of all evil. The truth is, hydraulic fracturing is a
safe and proven energy extraction technique that has been used
without incident for more than half of a century in California,
and arbitrary bans on oil production threaten our state's energy
independence. Posted.
http://www.montereyherald.com/opinion/ci_25838802/bob-martin-fracking-offers-benefits-strictly-regulated-california


The colour of pollution. The air is getting cleaner, but less so
for non-whites. BEFORE the Clean Air Act was passed in 1970 many
Americans led shorter, sicker lives because of pollution.
White-collar workers in Gary, Indiana, a steel town, often went
to work with an extra shirt because the first one looked too
dirty by midday. Posted.
http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21602735-air-getting-cleaner-less-so-non-whites-colour-pollution


BLOGS

Americans’ Varied Views of ‘Global Warming’ and ‘Climate Change.’
 Anthony Leiserowitz, the director of the Yale Project on Climate
Change Communication, has distributed a note summarizing the
findings of “What’s In A Name? Global Warming vs Climate Change,”
an interesting new study of Americans’ perceptions of the two
dominant shorthand phrases used to describe the building human
influence on the climate system. “Global warming” clearly better
captures the essence of the issue, across a wide range of
societal sectors, according to the report. Posted.
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/27/americans-varied-views-of-global-warming-and-climate-change/?action=click&module=Search®ion=searchResults&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C%5B%22RI%3A11%22%2C%22RI%3A13%22%5D&url=http%3A%2F%2Fquery.nytimes.com%2Fsearch%2Fsitesearch%2F%3Faction%3Dclick%26region%3DMasthead%26pgtype%3DHomepage%26module%3DSearchSubmit%26contentCollection%3DHomepage%26t%3Dqry607%23%2Fclimate%2Bchange%2F24hours%2F


After decades, dirty power plant to get clean. Three years ago,
the operators of one of the nation's dirtiest coal-fired power
plants warned of "immediate and devastating" consequences from
the Obama administration's push to clean up pollution from coal.
Faced with cutting sulfur dioxide pollution blowing into downwind
states by 80 percent in less than a year…Posted.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20140527/us--dirtiest-power-plant/

Let Them Eat Carbon. In the 1980s, encountering regulatory
restrictions and public resistance to smoking in the United
States, the giant tobacco companies came up with a particularly
effective strategy for sustaining their profit levels: sell more
cigarettes in the developing world, where demand was strong and
anti-tobacco regulation weak or nonexistent.  Now, the giant
energy companies are taking a page from Big Tobacco’s playbook. 
As concern over climate change begins to lower the demand for
fossil fuels in the United States and Europe…Posted.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-t-klare/let-them-eat-carbon_1_b_5396954.html


Electric-Car Rally Celebrates 'Sociability Run' 100 Years Ago
Today. Modern electric cars like the Tesla Model S and Nissan
Leaf are slowly getting better-known to consumers today, but
their history stretches back much further. This year marks the
100th anniversary of Washington D.C's original "Electric
Sociability Run" of 1914, and local enthusiasts are planning a
commemorative re-creation set to take place June 7. Posted.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1092256_electric-car-rally-celebrates-sociability-run-100-years-ago-today


Top 10 Electric Vehicles With the Longest Driving Range. What
good is an electric vehicle if you need to plug it in every time
you need to go the grocery store? It wasn’t long ago that people
actually had these concerns about battery-powered cars. These
days, you won’t have a problem making it to the store and back
even if you live 50 miles away from the nearest grocer. (But if
that’s the case, you have bigger problems than which car to buy.
Posted.
http://wallstcheatsheet.com/automobiles/top-10-electric-vehicles-with-the-longest-driving-range.html/?a=viewall#ixzz32wlYwY5X


Towering roadside poem sucks pollution out of the air [w/video]. 
It isn't just governments and automakers working on reducing air
pollution. Creating surface coatings that can absorb nitrogen
oxides, usually titanium dioxide, has been a focus of several
companies in several countries, and their products have been used
on architectural tile, roofing tile and paving in England and The
Netherlands. Posted.
http://green.autoblog.com/2014/05/27/men-women-drive-and-enjoy-their-evs-differently/
 

New Iranian law could boost EVs, hybrids. A change in Iranian
trade law could help promote the sale of hybrid and electric
vehicles. EVs and hybrids with engines 2.5-liters or smaller are
no longer subject to import tariffs, reports the Tehran Times.
Iran intends to completely eliminate car import tariffs within
two years, according to Iranian Member of Parliament Ali Alilou,
who has also urged the government to stop pumping money into the
auto industry. Posted.
http://green.autoblog.com/2014/05/25/new-iranian-law-could-boost-evs-hybrids/
 

Men, women drive and enjoy their EVs differently.  That bad habit
some men have of seeing how far they can go when the "empty" fuel
light is on? Many challenge their electric vehicles in the same
way. Some things don't change. Men and women approach driving
plug-in vehicles differently, according to a report by the UC
Davis Institute of Transportation Studies. Posted.
http://green.autoblog.com/2014/05/27/men-women-drive-and-enjoy-their-evs-differently/


Cities End Free Rides at Electric Vehicle Charging Stations.
Initially, cities across the country offered free use of their
charging stations, but more are moving toward a pay model to
recoup maintenance and electricity costs. Consumers trading in
gas guzzlers for plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles may find
fewer places for free juice, as California cities such as
Pleasant Hill and Martinez make motorists pay to use public
charging stations. Posted.
http://www.govtech.com/transportation/Cities-End-Free-Ride-at-Electric-Vehicle-Charging-Stations.html






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