What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for June 26, 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.

CLIMATE CHANGE

UN: Strong odds of El Nino's return by end of year. There's a
strong chance an El Nino weather event will reappear before the
end of the year and shake up climate patterns worldwide, the U.N.
weather agency said Thursday. The El Nino, a flow of unusually
warm surface waters from the Pacific Ocean toward and along the
western coast of South America, changes rain and temperature
patterns around the world and usually raises global temperatures.
Posted.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_UNITED_NATIONS_EL_NINO?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Obama: Climate change steps making a difference.  Appealing for
patience and perseverance from environmental activists, President
Barack Obama claimed progress Wednesday in his second-term drive
to combat climate change but said more must be done to address a
generational problem. One year after unveiling an aggressive
plan, Obama said new emissions limits on power plants, renewable
energy projects…Posted.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBAMA_CLIMATE_CHANGE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Groups seek protection of iconic Alaska tree. Four conservation
groups have petitioned the Interior Department to list an iconic
Alaska tree as threatened or endangered because of climate
change. Yellow cedar for centuries has been carved by Tlingit,
Haida and Tsimshian people for canoe paddles and totem poles.
They could remove a lengthwise strip of bark from a living tree
to use for weaving baskets and hats, and as backing in blankets
because the trees can compartmentalize the damage and heal
themselves. Posted.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_THREATENED_ALASKA_TREE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


OTHER RELATED STORIES
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Groups-seek-protection-of-yellow-cedar-trees-5579108.php

http://www.sacbee.com/2014/06/25/6511842/groups-seek-protection-of-yellow.html
http://www.presstelegram.com/general-news/20140625/groups-seek-protection-of-iconic-alaska-tree


Congress the butt of Obama's climate science jokes. President
Barack Obama lampooned congressional skepticism over climate
change on Wednesday, saying that lawmakers who balk at tackling
air pollution are either blind to science or cowed by extremists.
In a speech to the League of Conservation Voters, the president
enumerated the steps he has taken to slow pollution and rein in
emissions that scientists say have trapped heat in the earth's
atmosphere. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/26/us-usa-obama-climatechange-idUSKBN0F106920140626

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/06/barack-obama-climate-change-108338.html


Historic Greenland ice sheet collapse a cautionary tale for the
future – study. Roughly 400,000 years ago, the Greenland ice
sheet collapsed. According to new research, this collapse could
account potentially for almost half of the 6 to 13 meters of
global sea-level rise witnessed during that period. And while it
occurred almost half-a-million years ago, the collapse is
significant to scientists trying to determine how the planet's
current warming trends could affect the world's ice
sheets…Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060001995/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

Carbon sinks take center stage in nation's capital. 
Agriculture's ability to take in and store carbon dioxide was
both celebrated and downplayed in the nation's capital yesterday.
 A House panel explored how improved grazing practices on public
lands might help sequester carbon, while a new U.S. Geological
Survey report announced by Interior Secretary Sally Jewell
reinforced its earlier findings that forests, not farms, are
America's biggest carbon sink. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060001993/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

DROUGHT

Fruit and vegetable prices going up as California drought
continues. Fresh fruits and vegetable prices will go up an
estimated 6% in the coming months, the federal government said
Wednesday, as California’s ongoing drought continues to hit price
tags in grocery stores across the country.  Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-fruit-and-vegetable-prices-california-drought-continues-20140625-story.html


Legislators lack direction for a water fix. Few issues are more
important to the future of California than providing a reliable
source of water for the state’s growing population. But despite
the sense of urgency caused by this year’s particularly severe
drought, legislators still aren’t sure exactly what to do about
the problem. Posted.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jun/25/legislators-fail-proposed-water-bond-ballot/


Calif. water board to crack down on urban waste.  As many
California farms are left with little or no water this summer
because of drought, state water officials say they’re about to
crack down on urban water users’ wasteful practices. As overall
water use statewide has declined by 5 percent according to a
state survey, water managers say cities have failed to cut their
measured water use by 20 percent as called for by Gov. Jerry
Brown in two drought declarations this year. Posted.
http://www.capitalpress.com/California/20140625/calif-water-board-to-crack-down-on-urban-waste


FUELS

Opponents of renewable energy law ask for U.S. Supreme Court
hearing. Fuel producers are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear
a challenge to California's landmark low carbon fuel standard,
the first of a series of cases seeking to roll back state
renewable energy laws around the country. The court could decide
in the next few days whether to take up a lawsuit brought by a
coalition of ethanol and gasoline producers trying to overturn a
2009 California rule mandating cuts to carbon emissions. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/25/usa-court-energy-idUSL2N0P521L20140625


DuPont Pushes the Green Fuels Agenda. DuPont is a chemicals
giant, but it's also getting ready to become a green fuel giant.
That puts it up there with specialized companies like Solazyme ,
but with the heft of a $60 billion market cap Dow 30 Component.
Green fuels could be a nice niche for DuPont to dominate, if it
gets its technology right. What's DuPont up to, anyway? DuPont is
working on a plant that makes ethanol. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/DuPont-Pushes-the-Green-Fuels-Agenda-5581583.php


Research raises new concerns about climate impact of natural gas.
Natural gas fields globally may be leaking enough methane, a
potent greenhouse gas, to make the fuel as polluting as coal for
the climate over the next few decades, according to a pair of
studies published last week. An even worse finding for the United
States in terms of greenhouse gases is that some of its oil and
gas fields are emitting more methane than the industry does, on
average, in the rest of the world, the research suggests. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060001996/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

VEHICLES

Toyota reveals exterior, Japan pricing of 2015 fuel cell vehicle.
Toyota, whose Prius jump-started our appetites for hybrids almost
two decades ago, is hoping for another eco-revolution. The
automaker announced Wednesday the production version of an
all-new fuel cell vehicle. The car -- currently named the FCV --
will go on sale in the U.S. in summer 2015, several months after
it bows in Japan. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-autos-toyota-fuel-cell-price-20140625-story.html


GREEN ENERGY

Merkel to push back against EU if green energy support
questioned. Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday she would
push back decisively against the European Commission if it raises
further objections to Germany's system of green power subsidies.
"You can't simply start to question support systems which have
been in place for years without thinking about how we make the
transition. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/25/us-germany-merkel-energy-idUSKBN0F00OC20140625


High-tech firms focus on energy efficiency to confront climate
change.  As President Obama pushes ahead on a strategy for
confronting climate change that relies heavily on energy
efficiency, some Americans may see flashbacks of Jimmy Carter
trying to persuade them to wear an extra sweater and turn down
the thermostat. Silicon Valley sees dollar signs. Long
overshadowed by wind turbines, solar panels and other fashionable
machines of renewable power…Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-climate-efficiency-20140626-story.html


California Continues to Set Daily Records for Utility-Scale Solar
Energy. On June 1, 2014, the California Independent System
Operator (CAISO) recorded a record midday hourly peak of 4,767
megawatts of alternating current (MWAC) of utility-generated
solar electricity delivered into the California grid. With
rapidly growing utility-scale solar capacity, CAISO has regularly
recorded new hourly output records going back to 2010…Posted.
http://theenergycollective.com/todayinenergy/408881/california-continues-set-daily-records-utility-scale-solar-energy

SolarCity backed Chinese solar-panel makers flooding U.S. market.
Months before the U.S. government slapped Chinese manufacturers
with hefty tariffs on solar panels that were flooding the
American market, at least one American stood – or rather sat –
with the Chinese. John Stanton, vice president of policy and
markets with California-based SolarCity, defended Chinese
manufacturers at a Jan. 22 U.S. Posted.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/06/25/solarcity-backed-chinese-solar-panel-makers-flooding-us-market/


Concentrating solar power could serve as competitive baseload
source in some countries – report. The persistent bugbear behind
most renewable energy sources is intermittency. When the wind
slows or when the sun stops shining, the power stops, forcing
utilities to ramp up expensive peaking generators or to buy power
on the open market. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060001994/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

MISCELLANEOUS

James Pitts dies at 93; his research led to cleaner air in
California.  James Pitts, an influential smog researcher whose
work was used to craft California's pioneering air quality
regulations, has died. He was 93. Pitts died in his sleep of
natural causes at his Irvine home on Thursday June 19, according
to his wife, Barbara Finlayson-Pitts, a fellow chemist at UC
Irvine. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-james-pitts-20140626-story.html


California's Cap-and-Trade Program and other environmental market
opportunities.  The California State Board of Food and
Agriculture will  hear about a new University of California
initiative concerning food, and focus on the state’s
Cap-and-Trade Program and other environmental market
opportunities for farmers and ranchers at its meeting on Tuesday,
July 1st in Sacramento. This meeting will be held from 10:00 a.m.
to 3:00 p.m. at the California Department of Food and
Agriculture, 1220 ‘N’ Street - Main Auditorium, Sacramento.
Posted.
http://www.imperialvalleynews.com/index.php/news/california-news/9519-california-s-cap-and-trade-program-and-other-environmental-market-opportunities.html


OPINIONS

What ailing pteropods tell us about climate change. Pteropod,
meaning "wing foot," refers to a group of animals that have
neither wings nor feet as we usually think of them. Instead,
these seagoing snails get their name from wing-like extensions
they use to swim (the "foot" being the muscular portion of their
body). They're unknown to most people, and recent news articles
discussing ocean acidification and pteropod shells probably
didn't grab the public's attention. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-taylor-climate-change-pteropods-20140626-story.html


Why 'rethinking' California's bullet train would kill it. To the
editor: I take issue with state Sen. Kevin de Leon's (D-Los
Angeles) desire to reconfigure the construction of California's
high-speed rail system. Too many have worked too hard to start
all over again, as De Leon suggests. In fact, $3.4 billion in
federal money must be spent by 2017 or the state loses that
critical funding. ("Next Senate leader Kevin de León wants Brown
to rethink bullet train," June 22) Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/readersreact/la-le-0626-thursday-bullet-train-20140626-story.html


America's Small Businesses: Stop Climate Change.  A new poll
shows business owners understand the risks that come with climate
change. The ranks of climate deniers grow thinner by the day. On
Monday, prominent Republican Henry Paulson, a George W. Bush
administration treasury secretary, broke ranks with deniers in a
prominent op-ed in the New York Times. Posted.
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/economic-intelligence/2014/06/26/small-businesses-want-action-to-stop-global-warming


BLOGS

Obama Ties GOP Climate Critics to ‘Fringe Elements’ President
Barack Obama took aim at lawmakers who deny that carbon pollution
is a problem, saying Wednesday night that they are answering to
“fringe elements” who think climate science is a liberal plot.
Speaking to a friendly crowd at a League of Conservation Voters
event, the president took a hard line against those who question
the science of climate change…Posted.
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/06/25/obama-ties-gop-climate-critics-to-fringe-elements/?KEYWORDS=climate+change


California Falls Short on Water Conservation: But There's Still
Hope.  It seems that California Governor Jerry Brown's January
2014 plea for 20 percent water conservation has done little to
actually reduce consumption across the state. According to a June
State Water Resources Control Board report, Californians have
decreased water use by just 5 percent. Dealing with limited water
supply and drought conditions is not a new situation for
Californians--we have been told to install low-flush
toilets…Posted.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ucla-inst-of-the-environment-and-sustainability/california-falls-short-on_b_5532415.html






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