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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for July 23, 2014
Posted: 23 Jul 2014 13:16:21
ARB Newsclips for July 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 Poll: 60% back carbon tax if used for renewables. Most Americans oppose a carbon tax, considered by many economists a cost-effective way to fight climate change, but they are willing to support it if the money is returned to them or used to fund renewable energy, a poll Monday finds. Only a third, or 34%, say they support taxing fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas that emit heat-trapping carbon dioxide when burned…Posted. http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/07/21/poll-on-carbon-tax-finds-mixed-support/12950925/ AIR POLLUTION Beijing shuts big coal-fired power plant to ease smog: Xinhua. Beijing has closed the first of four large coal-fired power plants set to be de-commissioned as part of the city's efforts to cut air pollution, official news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday, citing the local planning agency. Xinhua said the authorities had shut down the Gaojing Thermal Power Plant's six 100 megawatt generating units. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/23/us-china-pollution-beijing-idUSKBN0FS16J20140723 ARB fines Oxy subsidiary over $250,000 for a 50 lb gas leak. The California Air Resources Board (ARB) yesterday announced a settlement with a California oil company to resolve violations of a state greenhouse gas emissions regulation. Under the settlement, THUMS Long Beach Company was fined $254,100 for excessive emissions of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). Posted. http://www.examiner.com/article/arb-fines-oxy-subsidiary-over-250-000-for-a-50-lb-gas-leak CLIMATE CHANGE Greenpeace Says China’s Energy Plans Exacerbate Climate Change. Two operational coal-to-gas plants in China and 48 proposed ones would together emit an estimated 1.1 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year and contribute significantly to climate change, according to a report released Tuesday by Greenpeace East Asia. That amount of emissions is equal to about an eighth of China’s current total carbon dioxide emissions, which come mostly from coal-burning power plants and factories…Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/24/world/asia/greenpeace-says-chinas-energy-plans-exacerbate-climate-change.html?_r=0 Obama attributes wildfires to climate change. President Barack Obama says a wildfire that has burned nearly 400 square miles in the north-central part of Washington state, along with blazes in other Western areas, can be attributed to climate change. Obama, speaking at a fundraiser Tuesday, offered federal help to deal with Washington's wildfire, the largest in the state's history. Posted. http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jul/22/obama-attributes-wildfires-to-climate-change/ Global warming: How 2013 broke records. Last year was between the sixth and hottest ever recorded, and other records for extreme weather and melting permafrost have been broken, according to a report released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Posted. http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2014/0721/Global-warming-How-2013-broke-records DROUGHT Groundwater level in California basin hits historic low. he groundwater level in the San Bernardino Basin area is at its lowest point in recorded history, officials say. Measured in volume, the groundwater level for the basin is now about 500,000 acre-feet below full, according to Douglas Headrick, general manager for the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District. That would put it below the previous low recorded in 1964, a period that followed a 20-year drought, officials said. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-groundwater-levels-san-bernardino-new-low-point-20140722-story.html?track=rss L.A. County supervisors order agencies to scale back water use. Los Angeles County's board of supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to order restrictions on water use for its government operations, following a state directive to Californians to curb water usage during one of the worst droughts in decades. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-drought-county-water-use-20140722-story.html?track=rss FUELS Environmental concerns over oil-by-rail project could impact California gas prices. An oil-by-rail project that could lower California gas prices and reduce the state’s reliance on foreign oil is facing increasing opposition over environmental concerns. Tesoro Corp. has partnered with Savage Companies on plans to build an energy distribution terminal in Vancouver, Wash. The oil would be brought to the facility by rail and then shipped by tankers and barges to California refineries where it would be converted into gasoline. Posted. http://www.sbsun.com/article/20140722/NEWS/140729827 http://www.sgvtribune.com/business/20140722/environmental-concerns-over-oil-by-rail-project-could-impact-california-gas-prices VEHICLES Electric car advocates court LGTB customers. Advocates for electric vehicles are hosting a promotional event Thursday, by invitation only, tailored to leaders of San Diego's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. As major automakers expand electric-car options, California authorities are trying to put 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2025 to help meet the state's aggressive goals for reducing pollution and greenhouse gases. Posted. http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jul/23/electric-vehicles-court-gay-customers/ GREEN ENERGY Geothermal Industry Grows, With Help From Oil and Gas Drilling. Geothermal energy — tapping into heat deep underground and using it to produce power — is sometimes described as a forgotten renewable. It languishes in the shadows of better-known sources like wind and the sun, and in 2011 it accounted for less than 1 percent of electric power worldwide, according to last year’s World Energy Outlook. Yet the geothermal industry is growing…Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/24/business/geothermal-industry-grows-with-help-from-oil-and-gas-drilling.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3As%2C{%221%22%3A%22RI%3A8%22} More Steam From Less Energy, Thanks to Creepy Sponge Thing. A new, sponge-like material developed engineers at MIT can convert water to steam using just 1% of the sunlight required by conventional steam-producing solar generators. Floating above the water and looking an awful lot like the Smog Monster from this 1971 Godzilla movie, this spongy substance is made by spreading graphite flakes onto layers of carbon-based foam. Most importantly for the generation of steam energy…Posted. http://cleantechnica.com/2014/07/23/steam-less-energy-thanks-creepy-sponge-thing/ OPINIONS Is climate change changing you? 5 things you need to know about the unexpected costs of climate change. “Climate change, once considered an issue for a distant future, has moved firmly into the present,” scientists proclaimed in the Obama administration’s National Climate Assessment, released in May. It’s touching every corner of the U.S., the report claims: We can’t escape inland. Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/storyline/wp/2014/07/23/is-climate-change-changing-you/ Big Oil’s Stand in Favor of Air Pollution and Profits in California. I remember the days when smog was the defining feature of San Diego’s skyline for much of the year. We’ve come a long way in the past four decades. But we’re a long way from where we need to be when it comes to mitigating climate change. The big oil companies are running a scare campaign, hoping to delay California’s groundbreaking solution to reducing carbon emissions, Assembly Bill 32…Posted http://sandiegofreepress.org/2014/07/san-diego-pd-stench-reaches-los-angeles/#.U8_ovIXxAXU . Better constraints on pollution necessary for public’s welfare. When the Environmental Protection Agency announced the carbon pollution rules for coal-fired power plants last month, they mentioned asthma and how asthmatic children who live near power plants are impacted every day by pollutants. They said what we in public health already know— we will all suffer more if carbon pollution continues to warm temperatures and worsen air pollution. Posted. http://helenair.com/news/opinion/better-constraints-on-pollution-necessary-for-public-s-welfare/article_4a524fb8-1231-11e4-a2cf-001a4bcf887a.html BLOGS Chevron’s Richmond refinery to limit sulfur, greenhouse gases. Chevron Corp. on Tuesday agreed to limit the greenhouse gases and sulfur produced by its Richmond refinery if the city council approves the company’s $1 billion plan to upgrade the aging facility. Posted. http://blog.sfgate.com/energy/2014/07/22/chevrons-richmond-refinery-to-limit-sulfur-greenhouse-gases/ Setting State Carbon Pollution Targets. In June, the EPA proposed the first-ever carbon pollution standards for fossil-fuel power plants. Since then, a bevy of pundits have been busy finding fault with various aspects of the proposal. For the most part, these critiques are off-base, failing to highlight the most important issues with the proposal, while spilling a lot of virtual ink without pointing out available remedies where there are shortcomings. Posted. http://theenergycollective.com/nrdcswitchboard/440566/setting-state-carbon-pollution-targets Court Ruling May Reverberate on ‘Social Cost’ of Carbon. Greenhouse gas emissions from burning and extracting coal, oil and natural gas drive climate change, and as communities feel the effects of a warming world — rising seas, burning forests and withering crops — communities’ pocketbooks take a hit, too. That’s called the social cost of carbon. And if a recent federal court decision stands…Posted. http://www.climatecentral.org/news/social-cost-carbon-court-ruling-17800 Group Tries To Make Climate Change A Winning Wedge Issue. Many nonprofits and issue groups from across the political spectrum score elected officials on their voting records, evaluating whether a politician has sided with them on key votes. But a new environmental group wants to take that ranking a step farther: Disregarding votes on public lands, endangered species and groundwater protections…Posted. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/22/climate-change-super-pac_n_5610875.html?page_version=legacy A federal tax on greenhouse gases. Re: “Climate change and my pack-a-day habit of 25 years ago,” July 13 Perspective article. Allen Best’s fine article reached a very sound conclusion: that our most sensible approach to global warming is a federal revenue-neutral tax on greenhouse gas emissions. In endorsing that idea, Best joins a growing number of conservative economists and business leaders who favor this market-based approach. Posted. http://blogs.denverpost.com/eletters/2014/07/21/federal-tax-greenhouse-gases/32283/ The Strange Relationship Between Global Warming Denial and…Speaking English. Climate denial isn't a worldwide delusion. It's a distinctly Anglophone one. Here in the United States, we fret a lot about global warming denial. Not only is it a dangerous delusion, it's an incredibly prevalent one. Depending on your survey instrument of choice, we regularly learn that substantial minorities of Americans deny, or are skeptical of, the science of climate change. Posted. http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/07/climate-denial-us-uk-australia-canada-english China decrees 30 percent of new government vehicles will plug in. Maybe Warren Buffett's bet on Chinese electric-vehicle maker BYD will pay off after all. That's because the Chinese government just made a commitment to buy lots of advanced-powertrain vehicles through its government-vehicle system in an effort to address the notorious pollution problem in China's largest cities, the Associated Press says, citing China's Xinhua News Agency. Posted. http://green.autoblog.com/2014/07/23/china-decrees-30-percent-of-new-government-vehicles-will-plug-in/ Japan offering $20,000 incentives for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. That tailwind Toyota may be feeling in Japan won't be from a stiff breeze off the northern Pacific Ocean. The Japanese automaker is getting ready to start selling its first production hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle in its native country next year. And the government is ponying up real big in incentives, Reuters says. Posted. http://green.autoblog.com/2014/07/22/japan-offering-20000-incentives-for-hydrogen-fuel-cell-vehicle/ California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.