What's New List Serve Post Display

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/



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