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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for June 18, 2014
Posted: 18 Jun 2014 14:38:58
ARB Newsclips for June 18, 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 RESOURCES BOARD Environmental Law Institute hails Calif. and head of its air agency. California and the leader of its air agency have been awarded this year's Environmental Achievement Award by the nonpartisan Environmental Law Institute. The institute said the Golden State and Mary Nichols, chairwoman of its Air Resources Board, earned the award through their "preeminent, pathbreaking leadership role in initiating and implementing innovative and effective environmental protection and enhancement programs." Posted. http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060001521/ CAP AND TRADE California lawmaker hopes for stop to potential gas-price hike. A state Assembly member is telling people in her district who are worried about gas prices to write to state air quality officials and to Gov. Jerry Brown to urge a stop or delay to a pollution rule set to take effect next year. Assembly member Kristin Olsen, R-Modesto, and others said that rule amounts to a “hidden tax” and will be responsible for a price spike of at least 12 cents more per gallon in the new year. Posted. http://www.kcra.com/news/california-lawmaker-hopes-for-stop-to-potential-gasprice-hike/26540574#ixzz350NmxUdr ‘Cap-and-trade’ revenues to support Californian high speed programme. The California state budget for 2014-15 includes a commitment to provide a further $250m for the planned San Francisco – Los Angeles high speed rail project. The contribution would be provided using revenues accrued by the state’s emissions trading scheme. Posted. http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/cap-and-trade-revenues-to-support-californian-high-speed-programme.html AIR POLLUTION Is it safe? While home is where most of us feel secure, it can also be a dangerous place, filled with pollutants in the form of allergy-causing dust mites, pests or mold that can make living there sick. The good news is that people often feel better once the source is removed. Preventing and taking care of issues that can cause people to feel ill is often a simple fix. Posted. http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jun/17/tp-is-it-safe/ Air pollution linked to cognitive decline in later years. The tiny particles in vehicle exhaust and other sources of air pollution may hasten cognitive decline in older adults, according to a new U. S. study. “We decided to examine the link between air pollution and cognitive function in older adults because there is growing evidence that fine particulate matter air pollution affects brain health and development, but relatively little attention has been given to what this means for the aging brain,” said Jennifer Ailshire, who co-wrote the report. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/18/us-pollution-aging-cognitive-function-idUSKBN0ET1NM20140618 Indonesia's "haze" pollution defences not enough, says green group. Indonesia's promises to tackle the upcoming annual "haze" season with a $30 million fund and limited military equipment have been called into question by experts anticipating worse pollution levels than last year due to the El Nino weather pattern. Indonesia has failed in previous attempts to stop the regional haze, with last year giving the worst pollution readings since 1997. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/18/indonesia-haze-idUSL4N0OZ0ZW20140618 CLIMATE CHANGE Merced climate meeting set. The first of five focus group meetings to discuss Merced’s plan to reduce greenhouse gases is scheduled to take place Thursday. The roughly three-hour meeting is open to the public and starts at 1:30 p.m. in the Sam Pipes Room of the Merced Civic Center, 678 W. 18th St. The meeting will be an introduction to the city’s programmatic climate action plan, geared to help new developers reduce emissions. Posted. http://www.modbee.com/2014/06/17/3396147/merced-climate-meeting-set.html#storylink=cpy Republican EPA chiefs to Congress: Act on climate. Top environmental regulators for four Republican presidents told Congress on Wednesday what many Republican lawmakers won't: Action is needed on global warming. In a congressional hearing organized to undermine Republican opposition to President Barack Obama's environmental proposals, Senate Democrats asked the heads of the Environmental Protection Agency for Richard Nixon, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan to discuss the risks from climate change. Posted. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GLOBAL_WARMING_CONGRESS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/06/18/3983599/republican-epa-chiefs-to-congress.html#storylink=cpy Berkeley may consider gas pump warnings about global warming. Berkeley may become the first city in the nation to require warning stickers on gas pumps that inform consumers that the state has concluded that CO2 emissions contribute to global warming. Two citizen panels — the Energy Commission, followed by the Community Environmental Advisory Commission last week — have approved the concept of the stickers, which would be affixed to gas pump handles. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-berkeley-gas-pump-warnings-20140617-story.html FRACKING California releases revised fracking regulations. California oil regulators have released updated rules governing well stimulation jobs including hydraulic fracturing. The revisions announced Tuesday are a continuation of the draft rules released last year. Operators would have to perform real-time seismic monitoring during fracking and other oil recovery techniques. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/California-releases-revised-fracking-regulations-5558866.php VEHICLES Massachusetts pushing to expand electric car use. Massachusetts drivers buying or leasing new electric cars can begin applying for rebates from the state worth up to $2,500, according to Gov. Deval Patrick's administration. Department of Energy Resources Commissioner Mark Sylvia said the $2 million Massachusetts Offers Rebates for Electric Vehicles program will let electric car owners or lease-holders receive a rebate on vehicles purchased on or after Wednesday. Posted. http://www.modbee.com/2014/06/17/3395689/massachusetts-pushing-to-expand.html#storylink=cpy GREEN ENERGY SolarCity Is Acquiring a Start-Up, Silevo, to Build Panels. SolarCity, the fast-growing provider of rooftop solar electricity systems, is moving into the panel manufacturing business, acquiring a start-up and planning to build one of the world’s largest module factories in Buffalo, executives said on Tuesday. The move into manufacturing, a business that has proved deadly for many other upstart American solar companies, is intended to help the company bring the cost of the electricity it sells below that of fossil fuels, even after subsidies phase out. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/18/business/energy-environment/solarcity-acquiring-a-start-up-to-build-panels.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C[%22RI%3A7%22%2C%22RI%3A13%22] http://www.sbsun.com/business/20140617/elon-musks-solarcity-announces-plans-to-acquire-solar-cell-producer-silevo Energy firm NRG expands solar foothold. A new, 50-acre solar power plant in the Imperial Valley desert has been completed by a Carlsbad-based division of power generator NRG Energy, the company confirmed Tuesday. The array of photovoltaic panels in the town of Brawley -- dubbed Community 1 Solar Generating Facility -- stands on property leased from San Diego State University's Imperial Valley Campus, which hopes to use the facility as a teaching tool. Posted. http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jun/17/energy-giant-nrg-carlsbad/ Tesla said to be eyeing Salton Sea's lithium. A Tesla Motors employee recently visited the Imperial Valley while the automaker considers Southern California as a potential source of lithium for batteries, a board member of the Imperial Irrigation District said Tuesday. Tesla is looking to secure additional sources of lithium as the Palo Alto-based electric car maker moves forward with plans for its "Gigafactory," the world's biggest plant to produce lithium-ion batteries. Posted. http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/environment/2014/06/18/tesla-motors-salton-sea-lithium/10724795/ Sustainable energy hub for Asia launched. The Asian Development Bank and two U.N. agencies launched a hub Wednesday to mobilize investments and innovation to bring clean energy to the Asia Pacific region, where more than 600 million people lack electricity and 1.8 billion use firewood and charcoal at home. Energy demand is soaring in the region on the back of economic and population growth, and the ADB said that by 2035 developing countries in the region will account for 56 percent of global energy use, up from 34 percent in 2010. Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/sustainable-energy-hub-for-asia-launched/2014/06/18/45a38dae-f6e5-11e3-9e63-ec28e320b8bf_story.html L.A. councilman wants to put ground-based solar arrays on pause. Worried solar farms could overtake prized patches of open space, a Los Angeles councilman is asking the Department of Water and Power board to put off allowing new arrays that are mounted on the ground -- part of its Feed-In Tariff program -- until the city can make sure they mesh with neighborhoods. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-solar-clash-feed-in-tariff-20140618-story.html OPINION Dan Walters: Budget keeps Gov. Brown’s bullet train alive, but what now? The Legislature kept Gov. Jerry Brown’s pet bullet train project alive by allocating $250 million from “cap-and-trade” greenhouse gas fees on business in the new state budget. It also agreed to give the project 25 percent of future fees, whatever they may be – somewhat less than the one-third the governor had sought. So it means that the bullet train is on track? Hardly. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2014/06/17/6491122/dan-walters-budget-keeps-gov-browns.html#storylink=cpy BLOGS Ford made three big mistakes in calculating MPG for 2013 C-Max Hybrid. It's been a rough time for the official fuel economy figures for the Ford C-Max Hybrid. When the car was released in 2012, Ford made a huge deal about how it would beat the Toyota Prius V, which was rated at 42 combined miles per gallon, 44 city and 40 highway. The Ford? 47 mpg across the board. Posted. http://green.autoblog.com/2014/06/17/ford-made-three-big-mistakes-mpg-for-2013-c-max-hybrid/ This magic bus recharges while you dig for your fare. Electric buses are great, but you have to deal with all of those wires strung through half the city, making urban kite flying a dangerous proposition at worst and an opportunity to develop lightning-like super powers at best. And while being a real-world Black Vulcan would, admittedly, be rad, (you’d never run out of juice for your Palm Pilot, for instance), an OSHA workplace study shows that less than one in 50 people who are electrocuted develop super powers. Posted. http://grist.org/list/this-magic-bus-recharges-while-you-dig-for-your-fare/ California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.