What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for June 10, 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

EIA projects how a price on carbon might affect natural gas,
nuclear and renewable energy. U.S. EPA proposed rules last week
that would require coal-fired power plants to cut carbon dioxide
emissions. States would put together plans to achieve the targets
outlined by EPA, and some of them might choose regional
cap-and-trade mechanisms that places a price on carbon pollution.
Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060001003/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

AIR POLLUTION

Bay Area 'Spare the Air' issued for 2nd day in a row.  Commuters
were urged to avoid driving in the Bay Area on Monday as air
quality authorities issued a Spare the Air Alert for the second
day in a row.  Monday's alert was the fifth in 2014 so far as the
Bay Area Air Quality Management District once again prepares for
unhealthy levels of smog around the region.  Posted. 
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Bay-Area-Spare-the-Air-issued-for-2nd-day-in-a-5537826.php


Valley lawmakers fight to keep pollution cleanup funds. Local
legislators are opposing a proposal that would eliminate funds
promised to help reduce pollution in the Central Valley. In 2012,
the state passed SB 535, which allocates 25 percent of
cap-and-trade revenues to the most disadvantaged communities in
the state. In response, the California Environmental Protection
Agency developed the CalEnviroScreen to measure environmental and
socioeconomic indicators…Posted.
http://www.turlockjournal.com/section/14/article/26072/ 

China’s Environment Goes From Bad to Worse. Each year, China’s
Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) releases a “state of
the environment” report (PDF); it’s a rather grim annual ritual.
For all the talk about China’s new “war on pollution” and money
pouring into wind farms and river cleanup campaigns, the reality
is that, according to most metrics, China’s environmental
situation is getting worse, not better. Posted.
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-06-10/air-water-soil-chinas-environment-gets-worse


Carbon Regs Will Help Your Health More Than the Planet’s. Public
health—through cleaner air—will benefit more from EPA carbon
rules than climate change, and that's O.K. When the White House
rolled out the proposed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
regulations on power-plant carbon emissions on June 2—regs that
will reduce emissions 30% below 2005 levels—President Barack
Obama attended a conference call with a number of public health
groups, including the American Lung Association. Poste.
http://time.com/2839619/carbon-regs-will-help-your-health-more-than-the-planets/


CLIMATE CHANGE

Canada, Australia Prime Ministers Talk Climate Change. Leaders
Say They Are Taking Action But Are Against Measures That Would
Destroy Economies. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his
Australian counterpart, Tony Abbott, said Monday they are taking
action on climate change but are against measures that they say
would destroy their economies. Posted.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/canada-australia-prime-ministers-talk-climate-change-1402343957#printMode


And Even More on Climate Change. Last week, the big news was that
the Obama administration had unveiled a new Environmental
Protection Agency regulation to cut carbon emissions from United
States power plants 30 percent by 2030. But E.P.A. legislation
aside, it has already been a banner year for climate news.
Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/10/science/and-even-more-on-climate-change.html?_r=1
 

Democrats See Winning Issue in Carbon Plan.  He is a Democrat in
a marquee Senate race, pressed by a strong Republican in a state
with a challenging political environment. So when a new proposal
to limit power plant emissions was seen as posing a threat to
allies of the Obama administration, Senator Mark Udall of
Colorado acted quickly: He embraced the plan. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/10/us/democrats-see-winning-issue-in-carbon-plan.html?hpw&rref=us&module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar


In Some States, Emissions Cuts Defy Skeptics. The cries of
protest have been fierce, warning that President Obama’s plan to
cut greenhouse gases from power plants will bring soaring
electricity bills and even plunge the nation into blackouts. By
the time the administration is finished, one prominent critic
said, “millions of Americans will be freezing in the dark.”
Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/07/science/in-some-states-emissions-cuts-defy-skeptics.html


UC President Napolitano forms climate change advice group.
University of California President Janet Napolitano formed an
advisory group that includes several professors and a former Gap
Inc. CEO to help the UC system cut pollution. Napolitano hopes
the University of California will reach carbon neutrality by
2025, meaning the system will cut its own emissions and also pay
to offset them. Posted.
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2014/06/09/uc-president-napolitano-climate-change-gap-fisher.html


Report: US companies preparing for climate change. Businesses
across the U.S. are factoring global warming into their financial
planning, according to a new report by the Carbon Disclosure
Project (CDP). The report, which examines 173 S&P 500 companies
in nine different states, found that all companies expect some
form of regulation to mitigate climate change. Posted.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/208784-report-us-companies-preparing-for-climate-change#ixzz34GGpp0jj


EPA promotes global warming proposal to governors. The head of
the Environmental Protection Agency promoted proposed clean power
plant rules to Western governors Tuesday, framing the plan as a
way to deal with destructive wildfires and floods that have
ravaged the region in recent years. "There are some states that
are really feeling some of the brunt of the changing climate most
dramatically with…Posted.
http://m.idahostatejournal.com/news/state/epa-promotes-global-warming-proposal-to-governors/article_6f6e3847-5e0a-5366-beb7-890a289c4c4f.html?mode=jqm


Wind-blown dust darkening Greenland, increasing melt – study.
Greenland's snowy surface is now darker in the spring than it was
before 2009, suggesting that the ice sheet's melting and
contribution to sea-level rise may be larger than expected,
according to a new study. The research in Nature Geoscience this
week adds to a body of recent research finding that the Arctic's
albedo, or reflectiveness, may decline more sharply than original
estimates. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060001006/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

DIESEL EMISSIONS

CARB Fines Trucking Operation nearly $141,000 for Violating Air
Regulations. When the California Air Resources Board says it is
serious about fining trucking companies for violating state
regulations over air quality it isn’t kidding. Posted.
http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/story/2014/06/carb-fines-trucking-operation-nearly-141-000-for-violating-air-regulations.aspx

http://www.landlinemag.com/Story.aspx?StoryID=27153#.U5cz7fldWSo


FUELS

China’s Clean-Fuel Focus Tests U.S. Coal-Export Lifeline. The
mud-colored air that blankets Chinese cities these days is bad
for the people who live there. It may prove unhealthy for U.S.
coal producers, too. Intense opposition on the U.S. West Coast,
over climate change, rail congestion and damage to Native
American fisheries, already is blocking new export terminals
designed to ship coal across the Pacific Ocean. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-10/china-s-clean-fuel-focus-tests-u-s-coal-export-lifeline.html


The Public Eye: Fight over crude-oil transports through
California intensifies. The fight over the secrecy of crude-oil
rail shipments through California intensified Monday. Responding
to a federal order, BNSF Railway Co. acknowledged in a report to
state safety officials that it’s transporting flammable Bakken
crude oil in California, but it continued to vehemently resist
releasing information about the shipments to the public. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/06/09/6470835/fight-over-crude-oil-transports.html#mi_rss=Our%20Region#storylink=cpy


Diesel and gasoline both in decline this week.  Average retail
pump prices in the U.S. for both diesel and gasoline dropped this
week, according to data tracked by the Energy Information
Administration (EIA), though prices remain elevated compared to
those posted during the same week last year. Diesel declined 2.6
cents to $3.892 per gallon this week, the agency said, which is
4.3 cents per gallon higher compared to the same time period in
2013. Posted.
http://fleetowner.com/fuel/diesel-and-gasoline-both-decline-week

http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=35195. 

GREEN ENERGY

Harry Reid Shapes Energy Regulator With an Eye to Nevada
Industry. The nation's top energy regulator may soon get two new
leaders who share at least one thing in common: the unrelenting
attention of Sen. Harry Reid. As majority leader of the Senate,
the Nevada Democrat is one of the most powerful people in
Washington. Posted.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/harry-reid-shapes-energy-regulator-with-an-eye-to-nevada-industry-1402270520


West Coast demand could push clean energy in Mont. Montana has
room to spare. Ranking above only Wyoming and Alaska in
population density, the aptly named "Big Sky State" is the
fourth-largest in the nation with a population that could squeeze
comfortably into Dallas. It's high and dry, bounded by mountains
to the west that taper into high plains to the east. It's also
very, very windy. These characteristics have sent the
traditionally red state onto something of a renewable energy
boom. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060001008/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

OPINIONS

Tax Credit for Wind Power.  “A Pushback on Green Power” (Business
Day, May 29) explores an important policy debate — how to balance
our environmental and economic goals. Federal subsidies for
renewables like the wind production tax credit need to end. If we
transcend the partisan debate on renewable energy subsidies and
take an objective look at this tax credit, it’s clear that its
time is over. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/10/opinion/tax-credit-for-wind-power.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar


California can expand its water supply and reduce demand.
California has reached “peak water.” We’ve far exceeded the
limits of our renewable and sustainable supply. The current
severe drought has highlighted these limits and shown us the
stark reality of a water system in need of new thinking, new
strategies and new answers.
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/06/10/6470411/viewpoints-california-can-expand.html#mi_rss=Viewpoints#storylink=cpy


Earth Log: Clovis, you're having an air problem. It's Tuesday.
We've gone nine straight days exceeding the federal eight-hour
ozone standard. Let's keep talking about air. Clovis, you're
having an air problem. Aside from the 13 bad days so far for
Clovis, the ozone peak came your way on Monday in this heat wave.
Between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., your monitor showed 112 parts per
billion -- just 13 away from the one-hour or peak ozone
threshold.  Posted.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/06/10/3970327/clovis-youre-having-an-air-problem.html#storylink=cpy


BLOGS

Hurray For EPA Carbon Rules! New carbon rules may be going into
place in America and everyone is worried about the economic
effects. Don’t worry, we’ll be fine. It won’t hurt the economy or
our energy security or our energy reliability. It won’t even
cause a net loss of jobs, just shift them around a bit. But it
will spur alternative energy development and installation
including new nuclear, lower our health care costs, and continue
our fracking craze for gas. Posted.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2014/06/08/hurray-for-epa-carbon-rules/


California’s Blueprint for Meeting (and Exceeding) EPA’s Clean
Power Plan. Even before the Environmental Protection Agency
proposed the nation’s first federal limits on carbon pollution
from power plants last week, naysayers were claiming California’s
longstanding policies to cut emissions and improve energy
efficiency don’t work and have sent electric bills soaring. But
Californians and anyone else taking a close look at the state’s
success know otherwise. Posted.
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/ajackson/californias_blueprint_for_meet.html


Carbon tax should replace cap-and-trade — better emissions
benefit, better economic benefit. In talking about how to
eliminate carbon emissions, I’ve written about three general
methods: Ask for change. Encourage change. Force change. We’re
well beyond asking, so encouragement seems the next step. (Psst:
I’m a fan of force, given the urgency.) Encouraging this kind of
change — eliminating carbon emissions — comes in a couple of
forms. Posted.
http://americablog.com/2014/06/carbon-tax-replace-cap-trade-better-emissions-benefit-better-economic-benefit.html


First-ever offer from EPA to tribes for cleaner diesel vehicles.
Everyone deserves clean air, but the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has never directly offered diesel emission reduction
program assistance to tribal (aka Native American) entities
before. This is what makes a new announcement from the EPA about
a million dollars targeted at reducing emissions from older
diesel engines a bit more interesting than usual. Posted.
http://green.autoblog.com/2014/06/10/epa-offering-1-million-to-help-tribes-clean-up-diesel-vehicles/
 

Doing nothing on climate change could cost auto industry
millions.  When it comes to climate change, the auto industry
will be better served by working with the energy industry on
cleaner energy plants than dealing with more and more severe
weather incidents in the future. That's the finding of a new
study by Business Forward, which says that supporting the EPA's
new rules…Posted.
http://green.autoblog.com/2014/06/09/doing-nothing-on-climate-change-would-cost-auto-industry-million/


Can carbon emissions become a revenue stream? On the heels of
last week's EPA’s new carbon rules proposed by President Obama,
it's time to take a closer look at a potential disruptive
technological breakthrough: Taking CO2 waste streams and turning
them into saleable, value-added feedstocks. Certainly, the
deployment of renewables, energy efficiency, smart grid, and
energy storage technologies…Posted.
http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2014/06/09/can-carbon-emissions-become-revenue-stream


Diesel Engines in Need of an Overhaul, but not Without More
Funding. Despite the well-known health risks from diesel
emissions and the economic consequences of unhealthy air, clean
air projects are often stalled because they lack money.
Fortunately, funding options for transportation-related clean air
initiatives are available at the national, regional, and state
levels. One of the key national sources of funding has been the
Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA)…Posted.
http://blogs.edf.org/texascleanairmatters/2014/06/09/diesel-engines-in-need-of-an-overhaul-but-not-without-more-funding/#sthash.2O6d00qu.dpuf


Four reasons to love Obama’s power plant rules, and three reasons
not to.  It can be hard to know what to think of EPA’s proposal
for regulating CO2 emissions from existing power plants, unveiled
last week. Environmental groups all praised it, but they actually
want stronger rules. Conservatives hate it, but they hate all
environmental regulation, so that doesn’t prove it is strong
enough. Posted.
http://grist.org/climate-energy/four-reasons-to-love-obamas-power-plant-rules-and-three-reasons-not-to/




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