What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for June 16, 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

Gov. Brown and lawmakers reach deal on spending billions in
carbon cap-and-trade revenues. Billions of dollars in revenues
from California's carbon cap-and-trade auctions will help fund
development of the state's high-speed rail line and pay for
public transit, affordable housing and communities located near
jobs and transportation under a deal struck yesterday.Gov. Jerry
Brown's (D) office and top state lawmakers reached agreement on a
package that carved up $870 million that the state expects to see
in fiscal 2014-15 from its sales of greenhouse gas pollution
permits to businesses. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060001261 

AIR POLLUTION

Barrio Logan grapples with pollution.  In the waterfront
neighborhood of Barrio Logan is a jumble of industry, recycling
centers, homes and schools that has put the community on the map
as one of California’s toxic hot spots. A state environmental
health program calculated that high levels of pollutants such as
diesel and airborne toxins, combined with factors such as poverty
and high asthma rates, ranked Barrio Logan as 99th worst out of
8,035 census tracts in California for pollution risks. Posted.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jun/15/barrio-logan-grapples-with-pollution/


CLIMATE CHANGE
 
At Commencement, Obama Mocks Lawmakers Who Deny Climate Change.
President Obama, appearing emboldened after his recent move to
cut carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants, on Saturday
ridiculed members of Congress who deny climate change or plead
scientific ignorance as an alibi for avoiding an uncomfortable
truth. Speaking in gleefully sarcastic terms to a commencement
ceremony at the University of California, Irvine, Mr. Obama
likened those who deny climate change to people who would have
told John F. Kennedy, at the dawn of the space program, that the
moon “was made of cheese.” Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/15/us/obama-mocks-lawmakers-who-deny-climate-change.html?hpw&rref=us&_r=0&assetType=nyt_now

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jun/15/tp-obama-blasts-climate-change-deniers-as-radical/

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/14/us-usa-obama-climatechange-idUSKBN0EP12J20140614

http://online.wsj.com/articles/president-obama-renews-call-to-combat-climate-change-1402773087?KEYWORDS=climate+change


U.N. climate talks edge towards 2015 emissions deal.  U.N.
climate negotiations made tentative progress on Saturday towards
a text for a 2015 deal to bind all nations to cut greenhouse gas
emissions. The talks, which were heading to a close on Saturday,
drew some 1,900 diplomats from 182 countries to Bonn to line up
what their leaders will be prepared to sign up to next year to
tackle emissions that U.N.-backed scientists say will cause more
severe flooding, droughts and the sea level to rise. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/14/us-un-carbon-idUSKBN0EP11T20140614


Colorado is ahead of the curve on reducing carbon emissions.  At
the beginning of this month, the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) proposed a strategy to cut power plant emissions by 30%
across the entire country. If the rule is implemented in anything
resembling its present form, it will have a dramatic effect on
U.S. energy policy across the entire country. Yet not all states
will share in the consequences equally.  Posted. 
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/colorado-ahead-the-curve-reducing-carbon-emissions

Shaky stats fuel power plant debate.  President Barack Obama's
new pollution limits for power plants have set off an avalanche
of information about what the rules will cost, how they will
affect your health and how far they will go toward curbing
climate change. There's just one problem: Almost none of it is
based in reality. Posted.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CLIMATE_CHANGE_SHAKY_ESTIMATES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


FRACKING

Calif. issues updated frack rules, including disclosure on
quakes.  Oil and gas companies using unconventional drilling
methods in California must report earthquakes of 2.0 magnitude or
greater occurring near their operations, under updated oversight
rules the state issued Friday. The California Department of
Conservation's Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources
(DOGGR) included the mandate as part of revised regulations it
put out in response to S.B. 4., legislation that passed last
year. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/stories/1060001343/  

FUELS

Biodiesel dreams on hold in California.  Just six months ago, the
future burned bright for a Barrio Logan refinery that collects
used cooking oil from hundreds of San Diego-area restaurants and
turns it into motor fuel for standard diesel engines. New Leaf
Biofuel was on pace to produce 5 million gallons a year — the
outcome of years of planning, a hiring spree, state grants and
more than $1 million in private investment. The company provides
fuel to military bases, San Diego city and county governments,
and hundreds of school buses at the San Diego Unified School
District. Posted.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jun/16/biodiesel-dreams-california/


VEHICLES

California online dashboard provides information about PEV
buyers; importance of incentive funds, $130M from California paid
out to date.  A new online tool published by the California Air
Resources Board (ARB) and California Center for Sustainable
Energy offers the general public, researchers, policymakers and
stakeholders the opportunity to learn about who is buying plug-in
electric vehicles (PEVs) in California, and why. The online “EV
Driver Survey Dashboard” offers multiple approaches to analyzing
the data provided by a survey of those who received rebates for
purchasing PEVs.  Posted. 
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2014/06/20140615-calipev.html

GREEN ENERGY

NASA to Launch First Satellite to Chart Levels of Carbon Dioxide
in Atmosphere.  The National Aeronautics and Space Administration
plans to launch July 1 its first satellite dedicated to measuring
carbon dioxide levels in Earth's atmosphere. The $465 million
Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) mission seeks to provide a
more complete picture of human and natural sources of carbon
dioxide globally, as well as sinks where carbon dioxide is
absorbed. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-13/nasa-to-launch-first-satellite-to-chart-levels-of-carbon-dioxide-in-atmosphere.html


How Will Residential Solar Play Out in the U.S.?  When analyzing
the solar industry, one of the biggest questions I ponder is:
What does the future of the residential solar market look like?
Thus far, SolarCity has been far and away the most successful
company, building a footprint that spans 15 states with more
added regularly and the company plans to install as much as 1
gigawatt of solar next year.  Posted. 
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/How-Will-Residential-Solar-Play-Out-in-the-U-S-5556055.php

OPINIONS

Health Care and Climate: President Obama’s Big Deals.  Then
there’s climate policy. The Obama administration’s new rules on
power plants won’t be enough in themselves to save the planet,
but they’re a real start — and are by far the most important
environmental initiative since the Clean Air Act. I’d add that
this is an issue on which Mr. Obama is showing some real passion.
Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/16/opinion/paul-krugman-health-care-and-climate-president-obamas-big-deals.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Aw


BLOGS

Minnesota scores first-in-US statewide EV charging discount rate.
 The Land of 10,000 Lakes is now No. 1 when it comes to cutting
electric-vehicle recharging rates. Minnesota has become the first
state in the union to require investor-owned utilities to offer
consumers discounted rates for EV charging during off-peak hours.
You betcha.
More than 1.3 million households throughout the state will have
the chance to take advantage of off-peak rates when recharging
their plug-ins during hours outside of the 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
timeframe, clean-energy advocate Fresh Energy says. Posted.
http://green.autoblog.com/2014/06/13/minnesota-scores-first-in-us-statewide-ev-charging-discount-rate/


Nissan expands US EV test market for e-NV200 to Portland.  Of
course, it's going to be Portland. Oregon's largest city, known
for its green-friendly vibe and policies, will be where Nissan
will next test of its all-electric e-NV200 cargo van. And we hope
those vans have cup holders for the inevitable java. The Japanese
automaker is working with local utility company Portland General
Electric (PGE) on a six-week trial program. Posted. 
http://green.autoblog.com/2014/06/13/nissan-expands-us-ev-test-market-for-e-nv200-to-portland/


Will EPA’s power plant regulations be stopped in the courts?  The
famous adage that nothing is certain in this world but death and
taxes should probably be amended. At least insofar as politics
and policy are concerned, there is a third inevitability:
lawsuits.  Before they even know the details of a major
environmental regulation, affected industries start looking for
ways to get it thrown out in court.  Posted. 
http://grist.org/climate-energy/will-epas-power-plant-regulations-be-stopped-in-the-courts/


Bikers Suck Down Less Pollution When They Ride In Separated Bike
Lanes.  If you want to encourage cycling in cities, separated
bike lanes are key, say cycling advocates. While hard-core riders
are happy to mix it with motorized traffic, inexperienced
cyclists want the safety and predictability of paths protected by
plant-pots or bollards, or--better--paths that are several feet
from the road.  Posted. 
http://www.fastcoexist.com/3031593/heres-an-idea/bikers-suck-down-less-pollution-when-they-ride-in-separated-bike-lanes


Chinese Outlook for Electric Cars Rosier, Says Nomura.  China’s
wealthy consumers are falling in love with electric vehicles.So
says Japanese investment bank Nomura in a note following a tour
of Chinese companies involved in the electric vehicle business.
Nomura found rising demand for both plug-in hybrid electric
vehicles, like Chinese auto maker BYD ’s Qin hybrid car, which
can run on either gasoline or battery power, and for pure
electric cars such as Tesla Motors Model S. Posted. 





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