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ARB Newsclips for June 23, 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

Australia’s Abbott Revives Proposal to Scrap Carbon-Price Levy.
Australia re-introduced a bill today to repeal a carbon-price
mechanism brought in by the previous Labor government ahead of a
power shift in the Senate, which has previously rejected the
levy’s removal. “Repealing the carbon tax will reduce the cost of
living, make jobs more secure and improve the competitive
position of our country,” Prime Minister Tony Abbott told
parliament in Canberra today. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2014-06-22/australia-s-abbott-revives-efforts-to-scrap-carbon-price-levy.html


OTHER RELATED STORIES
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2014/jun/23/australian-pm-introduces-bill-to-repeal-carbon/#ixzz35U1te3Oo


AIR POLLUTION

Summer, with wildfires as wild card, brings ozone concerns. 
Brace yourself, Bakersfield. Saturday is officially the first day
of summer, and the change of seasons will undoubtedly bring
significant shifts in weather and air quality. This is how it
works: Longer, hotter days in the valley bring more stagnant air
and a corresponding buildup of ground-level ozone, the main
component of smog. Posted.
http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/local/x2071376363/Summer-with-wildfires-as-wild-card-brings-ozone-concerns


Study may explain how pollution causes heart disease. Scientists
and clean air advocates are well aware that fine particles in the
air, known as PM2.5, are correlated with deaths from
cardiovascular disease.  A study out this month in the journal
"Environmental Research" may shed light on something that wasn't
as well known — the mechanism by which particulate matter causes
the disease.
http://www.scpr.org/news/2014/06/20/44852/study-may-explain-how-pollution-causes-heart-disea/


CLIMATE CHANGE

Justices limit existing EPA global warming rules. The Supreme
Court on Monday placed limits on the sole Obama administration
program already in place to deal with power plant and factory
emissions of gases blamed for global warming. The justices said
that the Environmental Protection Agency lacks authority in some
cases to force companies to evaluate ways to reduce carbon
dioxide emissions. Posted.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SUPREME_COURT_GREENHOUSE_GASES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


OTHER RELATED STORIES

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/23/us-usa-court-climatechange-idUSKBN0EY1L920140623

http://online.wsj.com/articles/supreme-court-reins-in-some-of-epas-greenhouse-gas-efforts-1403534416

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/supreme-court-limits-epas-ability-to-regulate-greenhouse-gas-emissions/2014/06/23/c56fc194-f1b1-11e3-914c-1fbd0614e2d4_story.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/24/us/justices-with-limits-let-epa-curb-power-plant-gases.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C[%22RI%3A9%22%2C%22RI%3A14%22
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/06/23/supreme-court-greenhouse-gas/8567453/
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101781498 
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060001767/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY  

Obama EPA Gets Partial Court Win on Climate-Change Permits. The
U.S. Supreme Court partially upheld one of President Barack
Obama’s early efforts against climate change, saying the
Environmental Protection Agency had authority to impose new
permitting requirements on some power plants and factories. The
permitting rules apply when facilities are built or expanded.
They are separate from the administration’s more comprehensive
climate-change regulations…Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-23/obama-epa-gets-partial-court-win-on-climate-change-permits-2-.html
 
http://www.bloomberg.com/video/supreme-court-backs-epa-on-climate-change-permits-Ukf0KayQTFejURjMPxLHxg.html
 

Heat & Repeat: Globe breaks May temperature record. Federal
records show the globe hit a record high for heat in May, driven
by warm ocean waters. May's average temperature on Earth of 59.93
degrees Fahrenheit beat the old record set four years ago. In
April, the globe tied the 2010 record for that month. Records go
back to 1880. Georgia Tech climate scientist Kim Cobb and other
experts say there's a good chance global heat records will keep
falling…Posted.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SCI_WARMEST_MAY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


US mayors to vote on climate change resolution. U.S. mayors
gathered in Texas will decide whether to endorse a call for
cities to use nature to fight the effects of climate change.
Attendees of the U.S. Conference of Mayors are set to vote Monday
on a resolution encouraging cities to use natural solutions to
"protect freshwater supplies, defend the nation's coastlines,
maintain a healthy tree cover and protect air quality," sometimes
by partnering with nonprofit organizations. Posted.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MAYORS_CLIMATE_CHANGE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


OTHER RELATED STORIES
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2014/jun/23/us-mayors-to-vote-on-climate-change-resolution/#ixzz35U1DUeMF


Democrats use climate change as wedge issue on. When President
Obama stood before students in Southern California a week ago
ridiculing those who deny climate science, he wasn't just road
testing a new political strategy to a friendly audience. He was
trying to drive a wedge between younger voters and the Republican
Party.
http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Democrats-use-climate-change-as-wedge-issue-on-5570165.php


Debate rages on what ruling means for power plant curbs. Today's
Supreme Court ruling that limited some of U.S. EPA's permitting
program for greenhouse gases raised a big question: What does it
mean for hot-button proposals for curbing heat-trapping emissions
from power plants? The decision handed down by a divided high
court barely touched on the use of the Clean Air Act's Section
111(d), which EPA is using to regulate carbon from power plants.
Posted. http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060001799/print
BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

Scientists pinpoint drivers behind extreme weather in new study.
In the messy, chaotic atmosphere of our planet meanders the jet
stream, a wiggly belt of air circling the mid-latitudes. As the
belt moves south, it pulls cool air from the Arctic toward the
tropics. Then it switches direction, pulling warm air from the
tropics toward the poles. Sometimes, in response to natural
climate patterns, the jet stream becomes abnormally wavy. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060001743/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

Cutting pollution saves lives, but climate change could undermine
health gains, research shows. In his pitch for new greenhouse gas
emissions restrictions earlier this month, President Obama argued
that proposed U.S. EPA rules would rapidly yield health benefits.
The smokestacks that produce the biggest chunk of the country's
carbon dioxide also release black carbon, sulfur and nitrogen
oxides, ozone and volatile organic compounds, the president
observed. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060001763/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY


Bay Area agencies agree to consider GHG impacts of transportation
plan. Bay Area agencies have agreed to update the region's
long-term transportation plan with a new analysis of its impact
on greenhouse gas emissions, settling a lawsuit with local
environmental groups. The agreement requires the Association of
Bay Area Governments and the Metropolitan Transportation
Commission, which developed a transportation plan for the region
through 2040…Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060001771/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

DROUGHT

Pain of California’s water shortage is spreading. Outingdale is
one of the first communities in Northern California to know what
the worst drought since 1977 really feels like. Residents have
been told by the El Dorado Irrigation District, their water
provider, to consume no more than 68 gallons of water per person
per day. That’s about one-third of the state average. Their use
is being monitored by water meters at each home. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/06/22/6502072/pain-of-californias-water-shortage.html


Marin water managers: Residents saving more than what state says.
Marin's two largest water agencies report their customers have
done slightly better than other Bay Area residents in conserving
water since Gov. Jerry Brown called for a 20 percent voluntary
cutback in January. Even so, the state's data would suggest a
poor level of compliance in Marin. But local water managers say
the numbers don't paint an entirely accurate picture. Posted.
http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_26013125/marin-water-managers-residents-saving-more-than-what


California Drought: Snowmelt's path shows impact from Sierra to
Pacific. When a single snowflake falls peacefully atop a Sierra
peak, it begins a turbulent journey to help quench the thirst of
a drought-stricken state. In most years, Sierra snow provides a
third of California's water supply. But it is by far the least
reliable portion — and now, after three years of historically low
snowfall, tensions are soaring over how we share the shrinking
bounty of this great frozen reservoir. Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/drought/ci_26009266/california-drought-snowmelt-path-shows-impact-sierras-pacific


Water war bubbling up between California and Arizona. Once upon a
time, California and Arizona went to war over water. The next
water war between California and Arizona won't be such an amusing
little affair. And it's coming soon. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-20140620-column.html


FUELS

California city pursues gas-pump warning labels. The San
Francisco Bay Area city of Berkeley is moving forward with plans
to put climate-change warning labels on gas pumps in what could
be the first such requirement of its kind in the nation. The
city's community environmental advisory commission called on the
city manager last week to draft an ordinance for the labels.
Posted.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GAS_PUMPS_CLIMATE_CHANGE_LABELS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Exxon, Chevron Sued by Pennsylvania Over Gas Additive. Exxon
Mobil Corp. (XOM) and Chevron Corp. (CVX) were among oil
companies accused by Pennsylvania of polluting groundwater with a
gasoline additive in lawsuits similar to ones brought by New York
City, New Hampshire and Vermont. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-20/exxon-chevron-sued-by-pennsylvania-over-gas-additive.html


European Coal Drops to 4-Year Low as Credit Suisse Cuts Forecast.
European thermal coal fell to the lowest in more than four years
as Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) cut its price forecast for the
fuel. The bank lowered its third-quarter price outlook for
Australian and European coal by 6.3 percent to $75 a metric ton,
and cut its fourth-quarter forecast by 12 percent to $75. Supply
is expected to outweigh demand in the seaborne market through at
least 2015…Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2014-06-23/european-coal-drops-to-4-year-low-as-credit-suisse-cuts-forecast.html


Asia Soaks Up Excess Oil. As U.S. Production Increases and
Imports Drop, Oil-Exporting Nations Find Another Outlet. Asia
will be able to absorb increasing amounts of crude oil not needed
by the U.S. in the years ahead, providing an important outlet for
oil suppliers in several regions. With new technology having
unlocked vast quantities of North American crude and natural gas
previously trapped in shale rock beds…Posted.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/asia-is-soaking-up-oil-displaced-from-the-u-s-1403239125#printMode

 
VEHICLES

More S.J. drivers opting for electric.  Ready to consider an
electric car? You won't be alone. Not anymore. Although
significant roadblocks still hinder electric vehicle ownership in
the San Joaquin Valley, new statistics show a surge in buyers
over the past two years. During that time, in San Joaquin County
alone, motorists have pocketed more than half a million dollars
in state rebates by purchasing 260 fully electric or plug-in
hybrid vehicles. Posted.
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140621/A_NEWS/406210328/0/SEARCH
 

San Diego nonprofit steers clean-car rebates.  Massachusetts is
borrowing from California's clean-technology playbook to increase
consumer interest in plug-in electric cars. The Commonwealth will
rely on the California Center for Sustainable Energy,
headquartered in San Diego, to oversee state-funded rebates
toward battery powered cars and other vehicles that leave behind
little or no air pollution. Posted.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jun/23/energy-nonprofit-expands-reach/


GREEN ENERGY

U.K. Plans Rules for Capacity Market, Contracts-for-Difference.
The U.K. proposed further rules for how the country’s incentives
for low-carbon electricity and a planned capacity market will
work as part of a program to reform the electricity market.
Secondary legislation fleshing out government reforms of the
power market that were approved in last year’s Energy Act were
put before Parliament today…Posted. 
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-23/u-k-plans-rules-for-capacity-market-contracts-for-difference.html


Initiative for renewable power in S.F. is stalling. In his first
month in office, Mayor Ed Lee assembled a team of energy experts
to help San Francisco meet its ambitious goal of having all
electricity in the city come from renewable sources by the end of
2020. But over the past year, Lee has overseen the evisceration
of a renewable power program that clean-energy advocates,
analysts and that task force say is critical to San Francisco
meeting its goal. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Initiative-for-renewable-power-in-S-F-is-stalling-5571354.php


California law would fast-track residential solar panel
installations. Installing solar panels in California will get a
lot less complicated if the state Senate votes Wednesday to pass
a bill to speed up the permitting process that can often drag on
for months. Assembly Bill 2188, drafted by South Bay Assemblyman
Al Muratsuchi, would force cities to process permits for small,
residential solar installations within five business days.
Posted.
http://www.sbsun.com/environment-and-nature/20140622/california-law-would-fast-track-residential-solar-panel-installations


Smog and the lack of a business model make China's urban solar
energy outlook murky. With a goal to demonstrate the use of
renewable energy, Greenpeace was giving some serious thought to
installing solar panels on their building's rooftop when the
environmental group rented a training center two years ago in
Beijing. A Chinese solar panel producer was eager to help with
the system installation. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060001765/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

MISCELLANEOUS

Environment, economy linked at new UN assembly. The first-ever
United Nations Environmental Assembly opened in Kenya on Monday,
as more than 150 high-level delegations began a weeklong
examination of the intersection between global economic progress
and the environment. The environment is no longer a niche topic
backed by a passionate minority, Achim Steiner, the head of the
U.N. Environmental Program…Posted.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AF_KENYA_ENVIRONMENT_SUMMIT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


OTHER RELATED STORIES
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jun/23/environment-economic-linked-at-new-un-assembly/
 

 At School, Turning Good Food Into Perfectly Good Compost.  One
by one, the children at Public School 30 on Staten Island dumped
their uneaten bananas into a bin in the back of their raucous
cafeteria, each greenish-yellow missile landing with a thud.
Thud. Thud. John Sullivan, 9, a fourth grader, said bananas “make
my stomach hurt.” Julianna Delloso, 6, a first grader, said “they
taste funny.” And Joseph Incardone, 7, also in first grade, was
almost gleeful as he explained why he, too, had chucked his
unpeeled banana. “I didn’t like it,” he said. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/23/nyregion/at-new-york-city-schools-turning-good-food-into-perfectly-good-compost.html
  

OPINIONS

The Coming Climate Crash. Lessons for Climate Change in the 2008
Recession
There is a time for weighing evidence and a time for acting. And
if there’s one thing I’ve learned throughout my work in finance,
government and conservation, it is to act before problems become
too big to manage. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/22/opinion/sunday/lessons-for-climate-change-in-the-2008-recession.html


The Big Green Test. On Sunday Henry Paulson, the former Treasury
secretary and a lifelong Republican, had an Op-Ed article about
climate policy in The New York Times. In the article, he declared
that man-made climate change is “the challenge of our time,” and
called for a national tax on carbon emissions to encourage
conservation and the adoption of green technologies. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/23/opinion/paul-krugman-conservatives-and-climate-change.html


BLOGS

Too Hot to Handle. Hot weather kills more Americans than all
other natural disasters combined, and the casualties continue to
climb despite decades of warnings about how to recognize the
signs of heat stress and take prompt corrective action. With
climate change, some experts predict ever-worsening summer heat
waves and even more related illnesses and deaths. Posted.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/23/too-hot-to-handle/ 

Cleaner Air Linked to Fewer Deaths.  Air quality has improved
significantly in the past 20 years because of federal and state
laws and regulations, and researchers in North Carolina have
found an associated decline in rates of death from respiratory
disease. A study, published Monday in The International Journal
of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, analyzed mortality
trends for emphysema, asthma and pneumonia from 1993 to 2010,
along with changes in air pollution levels as measured monthly.
Posted.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/23/cleaner-air-linked-to-fewer-deaths/?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C[%22RI%3A9%22%2C%22RI%3A14%22]
 

Two Climate Analysts Weigh the Notion of a ‘Good’ Path in the
Anthropocene.  I’m just catching up with reactions from two
climate and sustainability analysts (Michael Tobis and Curt
Stager) to my recent talk charting a “good” path through the age
of us, the Anthropocene, and Clive Hamilton’s blunt critique.
Posted.
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/22/two-climate-researchers-weigh-the-notion-of-a-good-path-in-the-anthropocene/?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C[%22RI%3A9%22%2C%22RI%3A14%22]
 

Assembly Democrats fear gas price increase, urge change in
environmental policy. Business-friendly Democrats in the state
Assembly are urging the Brown administration to back off
implementation of a greenhouse gas reduction measure that is
expected to result in higher gas prices starting next year. In a
letter to Mary Nichols, chairwoman of the California Air
Resources Board, 16 Assembly Democrats last week urged delaying
or changing a planned expansion of the state's cap-and-trade
program to transportation fuels. Posted.
http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2014/06/assembly-democrats-fear-gas-price-increase-urge-change-in-environmental-pol.html#storylink=cpy


California’s Cap and Trade a Versatile Tool for Environmental
Policies.  Governor Brown signed a budget last week that lays out
for the first time how to invest the millions from California’s
landmark cap-and-trade program ($734 million so far). California
has shown another way that cap-and-trade is like the Swiss army
knife of environmental policies: a versatile tool known for its
usefulness and adaptability. Posted.
http://blogs.edf.org/californiadream/2014/06/23/californias-cap-and-trade-a-versatile-tool-for-environmental-policies/#sthash.nFEsV9nb.dpuf


Why a Carbon Tax Is Better Than Obama’s Cap and Trade. This
weekend, former Treasury secretary Hank Paulson weighed in at the
New York Times about the need for more urgent action on the
climate front, and described how various indicators of how
quickly climate change is taking place, such as the speed of
Arctic and Antarctic ice melt, are moving much faster than models
had predicted. Paulson, who has long been an ardent
conservationist (and in contrast to his alpha Wall Street male
standing, lives modestly), made a forceful pitch for carbon
taxes. Posted.
http://www.economonitor.com/blog/2014/06/why-a-carbon-tax-is-better-than-obamas-cap-and-trade/#sthash.zLRfr22o.dpuf


Forget 'Cars and Coffee,' the future is cars ON coffee.  For many
of us, coffee runs our lives. Without the bitter, caffeinated
brew, most of us wouldn't be able to get up in the morning or
avoid fading in the afternoon. Now, new research from the
University of Bath suggests we might want to get our cars as
hooked on java as we are. Regardless of the variety of coffee
used, the UK institution has found that coffee grounds are a
great source to create biodiesel. Posted.
http://www.autoblog.com/2014/06/21/coffee-powered-cars-bath-university-uk-study/


The Turning Point: New Hope for the Climate. In the struggle to
solve the climate crisis, a powerful, largely unnoticed shift is
taking place. The forward journey for human civilization will be
difficult and dangerous, but it is now clear that we will
ultimately prevail. The only question is how quickly we can
accelerate and complete the transition to a low-carbon
civilization. Posted.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-turning-point-new-hope-for-the-climate-20140618#ixzz35Ue7DdcR


Renewable Energy Won't Cause Electric Utility 'Death Spiral':
Study. Beware the idea of a "death spiral," heralded by some as
the inevitable result for electric utilities of mass adoption of
renewable energy sources--particularly solar. Under this
scenario, advances in renewable energy will allow consumers to
generate more of their own power. As more customers leave the
network, the theory goes, companies will be forced to raise rates
to cover fixed costs--like power-transmission
infrastructure--forcing even more people away. Posted.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1092809_renewable-energy-wont-cause-electric-utility-death-spiral-study


Controlling Dust With Curtain Walls. Controlling dust and other
airborne particulate in a facility is essential for quality
control and, more importantly, is a matter of safety. Any company
involved in a process handling operation or generating
particulate matter will benefit from dust control practices.
Woodworking, painting, powdered ingredients/spice mixing and
packaging, ceramic cutting/grinding, powdered chemical processing
and packaging are just a few of the applications for which it is
critical. Posted.
http://www.chem.info/articles/2014/06/controlling-dust-curtain-walls
 
 



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