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ARB Newsclips for August 12, 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

Arizona looks for breathing room in EPA’s carbon-emission goals.
Arizona will ask federal regulators this week to rethink their
June proposal that calls for the state to cut carbon emissions
from power plants in half over the next 15 years. Officials with
the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality have scheduled a
conference call with their counterparts in the Environmental
Protection Agency in which they hope to show that EPA did not
take the state’s unique energy demands into account when coming
up with the reduction goal. Posted.
http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2014/08/11/arizona-looks-for-breathing-room-in-epas-carbon-emission-goals/#ixzz3ACQz0lt0


AIR POLLUTION

U.S. anti-coal dominoes hit BRICS wall, other skeptics. A year
ago, U.S. President Barack Obama sought to mobilize the nation
behind a grand plan: fight climate change by slashing carbon
pollution at home, while prodding other countries to follow. A
key part of that strategy was for the United States to stop using
public money to finance the construction of most coal-fired power
plants abroad, seen as one of the main causes of rising pollution
from heat-trapping gases. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/12/us-usa-coal-lending-analysis-iduskbn0gc1p520140812


Senate panels delays vote on fire rings. The state Senate
Appropriations Committee on Monday delayed until Thursday voting
on a bill to safeguard beach fire rings to assess the
legislation’s possible costs. AB 1102 would require cities or
counties to obtain a permit from the California Coastal
Commission before removing or restricting the use of beach fire
rings. The bill would not limit the ability of the South Coast
Air Quality Management District to enforce an open burning
rule…Posted.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/bill-631338-rings-senate.html


CLIMATE CHANGE

Feds reverse course on wolverine protections, citing climate
change 'uncertainty'. Federal wildlife officials plan to withdraw
proposed protections for the snow-loving wolverine Tuesday, in a
course reversal that highlights lingering uncertainties over what
a warming climate means for some temperature-sensitive species.
Wolverines, or "mountain devils," are rarely seen members of the
weasel family that need deep snow to den. But while there is
broad consensus that climate change will make the world
warmer…Posted.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CLIMATE_CHANGE_WOLVERINE?SITE=NYSCH&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


In the Ocean, Clues to Change.  As many people know, the warming
of the earth’s surface has slowed sharply over recent years. That
slowdown did not match past computer projections of what the
climate was supposed to do under the influence of greenhouse
gases, and scientists have been struggling to explain it. Their
inability to do so raises questions about the reliability of the
computer models on which long-term climate projections are based.
Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/12/science/in-the-ocean-clues-to-change.html?ref=science&_r=0


Tall, Ancient and Under Pressure. High in the Sierras, biologists
are struggling to find ways to protect some of the world’s oldest
and most storied trees from drought, forest fires and climate
change. The trees are the giant sequoias, some of them 2,000 to
3,000 years old, and they are just one of several ancient Western
species, including redwoods and bristlecone pines, that face a
daunting future. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/12/science/tall-ancient-and-under-pressure.html?_r=1


'Remarkable' warming reported in Central California coastal
waters. Ocean temperatures along the Central California coast
experienced a "remarkable" warming period during the first three
weeks of July, leading to unusual encounters with some fish
species, scientists reported. The warmer ocean correlated with
weaker winds, which reduced coastal upwelling, allowing warmer
water to move inshore, according to the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-warming-california-central-coast-20140811-story.html


After report, planning begins for sea level rise: County
officials hopeful about policy recommendations in Assembly
document about ‘slow-moving emergency’.  A recently released
report from the Assembly’s Select Committee on Sea Level Rise and
the California Economy outlines findings and makes policy
recommendations that San Mateo County officials hope will help
them plan for the future. The report’s release last week followed
more than a year of hearings and committee chair Assemblyman Rich
Gordon, D-Menlo Park…Posted.
http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articles/lnews/2014-08-11/after-report-planning-begins-for-sea-level-rise-county-officials-hopeful-about-policy-recommendations-in-assembly-document-about-slow-moving-emergency/1776425128189.html

5 Key Threats to California From Climate Change. The Golden State
faces an onslaught from Mother Nature. Hints of a changing
climate can be found all over central California. In the western
Sierra Nevadas, the air is filled with smoke and haze from
wildfires. In the Central Valley south of Sacramento, dust whips
across fallow fields, thanks to lack of rain and a record
drought. Near the coast, people worry about bigger storms.
"Scientific predictions say that with global warming, we'll see
more variability in California's climate…Posted.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/08/140812-california-climate-change-global-warming-science/
BY SUBSCRIPTION 

DROUGHT

California’s Brown Reaches $7.2 Billion Drought Bond Deal.
Governor Jerry Brown and California Democratic lawmakers reached
tentative agreement on a $7.2 billion bond measure for water
storage and delivery to drought-stricken cities and farms. The
legislature yesterday approved a two-day extension of the
deadline to give all parties time to finalize the deal, according
to a statement released by Brown, a Democrat. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-12/california-s-brown-reaches-7-2-billion-drought-bond-deal.html

http://www.sacbee.com/2014/08/12/6621055/scrambling-on-water-bond-california.html#mi_rss=Capitol%20Alert

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Legislature-extends-deadline-for-water-bond-5682431.php

http://www.insidebayarea.com/california/ci_26317535/water-bond-california-lawmakers-need-more-time-strike?source=rss

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/aug/11/governor-jerry-brown-water-bond-drought-california/

http://www.modbee.com/2014/08/12/3482534/scrambling-on-water-bond-california.html?ihp=0&sp=%2f99%2f1641%2f2061%2f

http://www.capradio.org/29912 
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/aug/11/water-bond-California-deal-delay/


California drought: S.F. poised to require water rationing. San
Francisco water users would be forced to reduce outdoor watering
by 10 percent - or face penalties - under a proposal by utility
officials who are poised to add the city to a growing number of
California communities that are rationing water amid one the
worst droughts in decades. But the move by the San Francisco
Public Utilities Commission, which has struggled to achieve
voluntary reductions, is a half-step of sorts. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/San-Francisco-poised-for-drought-water-rationing-5682398.php


Southwest braces as Lake Mead water levels drop. Once-teeming
Lake Mead marinas are idle as a 14-year drought steadily drops
water levels to historic lows. Officials from nearby Las Vegas
are pushing conservation, but are also drilling a new pipeline to
keep drawing water from the lake. Hundreds of miles away, farmers
who receive water from the lake behind Hoover Dam are preparing
for the worst. Posted.
http://www.modbee.com/2014/08/12/3482936/southwest-braces-as-lake-mead.html#storylink=cpy


VEHICLES

LAX adds 14 electric car charging stations to Parking Lot C. Los
Angeles International Airport has installed 14 new electric
vehicle charging stations, bringing the total number of plug-in
parking spots at the airport to 52. The new stations are in
long-term Parking Lot C, on the northeast corner of 96th Street
and Sepulveda Boulevard. The charging stations are free but
normal parking rates still apply. The Los Angeles Department of
Water and Power paid for the stations with funds from its “Charge
UP L.A.!” program…Posted.
http://www.dailybreeze.com/environment-and-nature/20140811/lax-adds-14-electric-car-charging-stations-to-parking-lot-c


GREEN ENERGY

Mexico signs landmark energy law, speeds up timetable. President
Enrique Peña Nieto on Monday signed into law Mexico’s landmark
energy reform legislation and announced that his government could
name as early as this week the first oil and gas fields that will
be opened up to foreign investors. “It is the moment to put the
energy reform into action,” Peña Nieto said in an elaborate
signing ceremony at the National Palace. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-mexico-signs-energy-law-speeds-up-timetable-20140811-story.html


California community colleges get $45 million boost for green
energy projects. California's community colleges are getting
greener with the help of a clean-energy tax measure that brought
them $40 million in the past academic year alone for
infrastructure upgrades and $5 million for green-jobs training.
The chancellor's office predicts that the 313 projects funded in
the past year will save the system $4.6 million annually and
reduce energy use by the equivalent of 2.9 million gallons of
gasoline. Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/education/ci_26316445/california-community-colleges-green-energy-projects-get-45?source=rss


Living roofs take root in wine country.  Odette Estate, which
opened recently, is part of a small but blossoming trend of
green-roofed wineries. In Sonoma County, next door to the Napa
Valley, Hamel Family Wines has a living roof on top of its
production facility, part of a 124-acre property with panoramic
views of the Sonoma Valley. In Oregon wine country, the Sokol
Blosser winery has a green-roofed tasting room. Posted.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/aug/12/living-roofs-take-root-in-wine-country/


“Experts” Have Been Misleading People About Renewable Energy.
We’ve mentioned this before, but one of the striking patterns of
behaviour in the energy industry over the last decade has been
the ability of the “established” energy experts to completely
underestimate the growth of renewable energy – and to overplay
the credentials of fossil fuels. Posted.
http://cleantechnica.com/2014/08/12/experts-misleading-people-renewable-energy/


Stinky gases emanating from landfills could transform into clean
energy.  Researchers have devised a catalyst that could one day
turn the smelly gases at this landfill in Niterói, Brazil, into
clean hydrogen fuel. Credit: Luiz Almeida.  A new technique that
transforms stinky, air-polluting landfill gas could produce the
sweet smell of success as it leads to development of a fuel cell
generating clean electricity for homes, offices and hospitals,
researchers say. Posted. 
http://phys.org/news/2014-08-stinky-gases-emanating-landfills-energy.html


Mexico, boosting its wind power, is on track for a record year.
Renewable energy investment south of the border is zooming again,
according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, which finds Mexico on
track for a peak year. The group found that solar, wind,
geothermal and other clean energy attracted $1.3 billion during
the first half of 2014 -- compared with $1.6 billion for the
entire previous year. But with far-reaching energy reform now
underway in Mexico…Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060004352/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

MISCELLANEOUS

California expands lead soil testing area near Exide plant in
Vernon.  State regulators have greatly expanded the area of
homes, schools and parks that will be tested for lead-tainted
soil near a troubled battery recycling plant in Vernon.
California toxic waste regulators blame air pollution from the
Exide Technologies plant for the elevated levels of lead detected
last fall at 39 homes and a preschool in Maywood and Boyle
Heights, prompting officials to issue health warnings for
pregnant women and children, and require additional testing.
Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-exide-homes-20140812-story.html

Dan Walters: Will California ban plastic grocery bags? When
Capitol insiders talk about a “bag bill,” it refers to something
for which an interest group is willing to spend big money –
legally, it’s presumed – to see done. Senate Bill 270, one might
say, is a double bag bill. It would phase out, beginning in 2015,
the single-use plastic bags that grocery stores commonly use to
send purchases home. It also involves big money and big interest
groups. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/08/12/6621219/dan-walters-will-california-ban.html#mi_rss=Capitol%20Alert#storylink=cpy


Only A Quarter Of San Diego’s Trash Is Recycled Annually. San
Diego should revise its contracts with private garbage haulers to
boost recycling rates, an audit of the city's waste collection
system recommended Monday. Only about a quarter of the 1.3
million tons of refuse generated annually in San Diego is
recycled, according to the City Auditor's Office. A recent study,
however, found that about three-quarters of the refuse generated
can be recycled or used as compost. Posted.
http://www.kpbs.org/news/2014/aug/11/only-quarter-san-diegos-trash-recycled-annually/


OPINIONS

COLUMN-Next energy revolution will be on roads and railroads:
Kemp. From modest beginnings in the Barnett shale beneath the
city of Fort Worth, unnoticed by most energy analysts, horizontal
drilling and hydraulic fracturing spread across North America and
transformed all aspects of the energy landscape in under 10
years. Now the most important question for energy analysts is
what technology will revolutionize the system next. Posted.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/08/12/lng-railways-kemp-idINL6N0QI1Q920140812


Save California agriculture with agroecology. Re "Scientists are
rising to the challenges of drought" (Viewpoints, Aug. 11): The
Bee published an interesting op-ed by agroecology experts Tom
Tomich and Marcia DeLonge. As they note, droughts are anticipated
to become more intense as a result of global warming, due to
factors like higher temperatures drying out our soil. Tomich and
DeLonge suggest we should shift to more sustainable agricultural
practices in order to adapt to those dry future conditions.
Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/08/11/6619999/save-california-agriculture-with.html#storylink=cpy


Ruben Guerra and Susan Frank: Don't delay on clean-air law. You
may have seen some ads or read The Fresno Bee editorial ("Head
off big fuel price hike," Aug. 3) that suggest "special
interests" are going to cause gas prices to go up in January as a
result of transportation fuels being covered under California's
clean energy and climate law, Assembly Bill 32. We want to set
the record straight, as business leaders who have long supported
the state's clean-air policies. Posted.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/08/10/4064218/ruben-guerra-and-susan-frank-dont.html?sp=/99/274/644/#storylink=cpy


Editorial: A water bond seems within reach, if no side
overreaches. An agreement on a revised water bond for the
November ballot seemed within reach on Monday, but only if no
side gets too grabby. That includes legislators from both parties
and from all regions, and it includes members of Congress. As The
Bee’s Jeremy B. White reported, California lawmakers converged on
a proposed bond in the range of $7.2 billion. Posted.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/08/12/4065971/editorial-a-water-bond-seems-within.html?sp=%2f99%2f406%2f552%2f#storylink=cpy


Viewpoints: Deadbeat dam projects shouldn’t be part of water
bond. In November, California voters will be asked how much money
they want to borrow to improve the state’s water infrastructure
and fight the drought. Because polls show an $11.1 billion
general obligation bond on the Nov. 4 ballot is too expensive for
many voters, legislators are scrambling to revise the water bond
to make it more palatable. Posted.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/08/12/4065968/viewpoints-deadbeat-dam-projects.html#storylink=cpy


LETTERS: Keep AB32 fully intact.  AB32, the Global Warming
Solutions Act of 2006, is a critical public health law that is
saving lives and money by reducing emissions from dirty fossil
fuels which contribute to pollution-related asthma attacks, heart
attacks, lung cancer, emergency room visits and even death. When
fully implemented, the transition to cleaner fuels as a result of
California’s clean fuels policies will save $23.1 billion in
avoided health and other societal impacts by 2025. Posted.
http://www.pe.com/articles/government-698678-employees-health.html


Climate change is as dangerous to our health as cigarettes.
That’s why I’m writing a letter. Who would you write a letter to
tonight, if you found that extra hour in the day? Would it be to
the teacher who made such an impact on your life or your career?
Would it be to your children’s soccer coach, who has helped them
become stronger and more confident? Or would it be to a company
that makes a product you love or the volunteer who plants tulips
in the local park every year? Posted.
http://bangordailynews.com/2014/08/12/opinion/climate-change-is-as-dangerous-to-our-health-as-cigarettes-thats-why-im-writing-a-letter/


BLOGS

On Top Of Withering Drought, California Smashes Heat Records.
Caught in a withering drought, California is also shattering a
120-year-old record for heat. For the first half of 2014, the
state has been an average of 4.6 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than
normal, and 1 degree warmer than the previous record set in 1934,
according to the National Climatic Data Center. “In the business
of climate science, this is a shattering of a record,” said
Jonathan Overpeck, of the University of Arizona’s Institute of
the Environment. Posted.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/08/12/3470113/california-heat-records/
 

Bottled water comes from the most drought-ridden places in the
country.  Bottled-water drinkers, we have a problem: There’s a
good chance that your water comes from California, a state
experiencing the third driest year on record.  The details of
where and how bottling companies get their water are often quite
murky, but generally speaking, bottled water falls into two
categories. The first is “spring water,” or groundwater that’s
collected, according to the EPA, “at the point where water flows
naturally to the earth’s surface or from a borehole that taps
into the underground source.” Posted. 
http://grist.org/business-technology/bottled-water-comes-from-the-most-drought-ridden-places-in-the-country/


Pricing Carbon: A Carbon Tax or Cap-And-Trade? Back in June,
Henry Paulson, the former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury,
published an opinion piece in the New York Times calling for a
price on carbon dioxide emissions. Mr. Paulson correctly asserts
that “putting a price on emissions will create incentives to
develop new, cleaner energy technologies.” Posted.
http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/planetpolicy/posts/2014/08/12-pricing-carbon-frank


Laura Green: Tell Congress we want a carbon fee with refund. Dear
Editor: “EPA's carbon rules good for business, good for economy,”
by Richard Eidlin, points out that while taking action to address
climate change may cost money, not taking action costs businesses
even more. The EPA’s new regulations on coal fired power plants
are a step in the right direction in reducing harmful emissions
and preventing costly climate-related damages. Posted.
http://host.madison.com/news/opinion/mailbag/laura-green-tell-congress-we-want-a-carbon-fee-with/article_ec699e42-29af-54ae-960f-e12b3a8b2edd.html#ixzz3ACq7WV8Z


California could give lower-income EV buyers a financial boost. 
One California state senator wants to make sure electric vehicles
aren't just for the jewelry-rattlers anymore. California State
Senator Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) proposed a bill last month
that is designed to put plug-in vehicles within reach of those
with more moderate incomes than your typical Tesla buyer. It's
called the Charge Ahead California Initiative and the bill may
cross Governor Jerry Brown's desk as soon as next month. Posted.
http://green.autoblog.com/2014/08/12/california-could-give-lower-income-ev-buyers-a-financial-boost/
 

Tesla gets legal go-ahead to sell EVs in Pennsylvania.  Tesla
Motors has been fighting to sell cars in many states, but has
come up against laws prohibiting the electric automaker to
exercise its direct-to-consumer business model. Such has been the
case in Pennsylvania. Recently, though, Tesla worked out a deal
with the Pennsylvania senate to approve a bill allowing five
Tesla stores in the state, with the blessing of the Alliance of
Automobile Manufacturers. Posted.
http://green.autoblog.com/2014/08/11/tesla-gets-legal-go-ahead-to-sell-evs-in-pennsylvania/


 



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