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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for August 13, 2014
Posted: 13 Aug 2014 15:06:43
ARB Newsclips for August 13, 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 POLLUTION L.A. County supervisors blast cleanup of only 2 homes near Exide plant. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors wrote a letter to Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday blasting the California Department of Toxic Substances Control for slow progress in testing and cleaning up lead-contaminated soil at dozens of homes near a troubled battery recycling plant in Vernon. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-exide-supervisors-jerry-brown-20140812-story.html EPA comments renew oil industry debate on methane flaring. "It looks like a birthday cake out there at night," a New Mexico regulator told his colleague after returning from a trip to the state's oil-rich Permian Basin. Flares dot the region, burning off the greenhouse gas methane and also poisonous hydrogen sulfide given off by freshly drilled oil wells. Methane emissions from oil wells, as well as other parts of the oil and gas sector…Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060004411/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY CLIMATE CHANGE Kellogg wants suppliers to report carbon emissions. Kellogg said Wednesday it will step up efforts to reduce planet-warming emissions in its supply chain as part of a broader initiative designed to be more environmentally friendly. Under the plan, the Battle Creek-based food products manufacturer will require key suppliers such as farms and mills to measure and publicly disclose their greenhouse gas outputs and targets for reducing them. The company said it will report annually on those emissions and include climate and deforestation policies in the company's code of conduct for suppliers. Posted. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_KELLOGG_CONSERVATION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/aug/13/kellogg-wants-suppliers-to-report-carbon-emissions/ Sequoias at risk from climate change. Extended droughts and raging forest fires, made worse by climate change, could have dire consequences in the coming decades for the survival of some of the world's largest and most ancient trees, the giant sequoias. The trees are known to live in some cases 2,000 to 3,000 years and only grow in one 70-mile stretch of land in the Sierra Nevada in California, at an elevation of 5,000 to 8,000 feet. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060004402/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY What Climate Change in the Rockies Means for its Water. In the West, Colorado is known as a "headwaters" state because most of the region's biggest rivers begin in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The Colorado River. The Arkansas River. The Rio Grande. The San Juan River. The Platte River - North and South. Altogether, they provide 19 states with drinking and irrigation water, including the cities of Los Angeles, Phoenix and Denver, among many others. Posted. http://www.vcstar.com/news/state/what-climate-change-in-the-rockies-means-for-its-water_88135762 Lloyd’s Warns Sea Level Rise, Land Subsidence Imperil Many ‘Megacities.’ A bulletin from Lloyd’s of London warns that, “as sea levels rise, ground levels in coastal megacities are also falling – with potentially disastrous implications for insurers. Insurers of large property portfolios in the world’s great coastal cities will have factored the effects of climate change into their catastrophe models – including rising sea levels and more frequent storm surges. But what’s often missed is that many of these cities are sinking faster than the water is rising. In some, subsidence outstrips sea level rise by a factor of ten to one.” Posted. http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2014/08/13/337421.htm DROUGHT 2 L.A. councilmen want city to stop watering its lawns. With California's drought worsening, two Los Angeles City Council members want the city to stop watering lawns on city property that aren't used for recreation and eventually replace them with native, drought-tolerant plants. Councilmen Felipe Fuentes and Mike Bonin said in a motion introduced Tuesday that the city "is sending Angelenos mixed messages about the crucial importance of conserving" by watering its own turf-grass lawns even as residents face mandatory watering restrictions. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-drought-lawns-city-council-20140812-story.html?track=rss California drought: San Francisco puts caps on watering. San Francisco on Tuesday joined a growing number of cities that are rationing water amid a statewide drought, imposing a mandatory 10 percent reduction on outdoor watering. The mandate, which requires customers to use no more than 90 percent of what they used outdoors in 2013, is meant for all the agency's customers. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Drought-San-Francisco-puts-caps-on-watering-5684559.php Roseville reduces water by 18 percent, short of 20 percent target. Four months after Roseville declared mandatory water cutbacks of 20 percent, the city announced this week it was reaching only 18 percent. “We’re close, but we’re not quite there,” said Lisa Brown, the city’s water efficiency administrator. Residential and commercial customers in the city of 127,000 reduced their water usage significantly in March (33.7 percent) and April (28.9 percent), following a push by state and local officials to save water. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2014/08/12/6624326/roseville-reduces-water-by-18.html#mi_rss=Our%20Region#storylink=cpy California sets heat record from January through July. It’s official. The first seven months of this year have been the hottest on record for the Golden State, fueling a fourth year of drought and extreme fire danger, according to national climate report released Tuesday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that from January through July, the average temperature surpassed the previous record by 1.4 degrees. Posted. http://www.sbsun.com/article/20140812/NEWS/140819862 EBMUD outlaws wasting water but sets no fines for violators. Two of the Bay Area's largest water agencies on Tuesday took steps to reduce outdoor water use, but stopped short of penalizing residential customers. Responding to a state water board push for stronger conservation measures statewide, the East Bay Municipal Utility District Board outlawed water-wasting practices such as flooding gutters and watering lawns more than twice a week -- practices it previously only asked customers to avoid. Posted. http://www.mercurynews.com/drought/ci_26327173/ebmud-outlaws-wasting-water-but-sets-no-fines?source=rss New DWP rate tiers proposed to conserve water. Two Los Angeles city officials Tuesday called for tougher restrictions on residential water customers in an effort to reduce water use during the state’s unprecedented drought. Councilmen Mike Bonin and Felipe Fuentes asked the Department of Water and Power to report on recommendations made by UCLA to add extra tiers of water use at a higher price. With most water being used outside the home…Posted. http://www.dailynews.com/article/20140812/NEWS/140819843 WATER BOND Gov. Brown on water bond compromise: 'We're very close' Warning that there is only a narrow window of opportunity to act on water, Gov. Jerry Brown said Tuesday that he and lawmakers were "very close" to a deal on a new water bond. The governor touted his latest proposal, rolled out Monday as "a very balanced, integrated plan. It's not a grab bag," Brown said at a meeting convened at the Capitol on Tuesday. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-water-bond-negotiations-20140812-story.html?track=rss Democratic leaders make public push for water bond. Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic legislative leaders made a public push Tuesday for their latest plan to pay for water projects a day ahead of scheduled votes in the Legislature. The Democratic leaders are pushing a proposal to borrow $7 billion to increase the state's water supply and restore its rivers, lakes and streams. They touted support from more than 20 business, agriculture and environmental groups with representatives seated around a table in the governor's office. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Democratic-leaders-make-public-push-for-water-bond-5684519.php#photo-6717622 Jerry Brown, legislative leaders meet on California water bond. As California nears a new legislatively imposed deadline for putting a revised water bond on the November ballot, Gov. Jerry Brown met with legislative leaders and several prominent interest groups to push for a deal. On Monday, Brown and legislative leaders floated a new $7.195 billion measure and delayed printing voter guides that, as of now, would include an old $11.1 billion measure most lawmakers view as untenable for voters. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2014/08/12/6623815/jerry-brown-legislative-leaders.html#mi_rss=Capitol%20Alert#storylink=cpy FUELS Oil companies fracking into drinking water sources, new research shows. Energy companies are fracking for oil and gas at far shallower depths than widely believed, sometimes through underground sources of drinking water, according to research released Tuesday by Stanford University scientists. Though researchers cautioned their study of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, employed at two Wyoming geological formations showed no direct evidence of water-supply contamination, their work is certain to roil the public health debate over the risks of the controversial oil and gas production process. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-fracking-groundwater-pavillion-20140811-story.html#page=1 PG&E natural gas rates could be reduced slightly under a new proposal. PG&E ratepayers will receive slightly reduced bills for natural gas, starting next year, the utility said Tuesday, because of lower-than-expected expenses for a pipeline safety improvement program undertaken in the wake of a fatal explosion in San Bruno nearly four years ago. In a new regulatory filing, the utility said it expects a reduced expenditure -- and less revenue required from ratepayers -- for what is called the utility's Pipeline Safety Enhancement Program, or PSEP. The state Public Utilities Commission would have to approve the proposal. Posted. http://www.insidebayarea.com/business/ci_26324112/pg-e-natural-gas-rates-could-be-reduced HIGH-SPEED RAIL Central Valley bullet train construction gets federal go-ahead. Federal officials on Tuesday cleared the way for construction of a major segment of the California bullet train project: 114 miles of track from Fresno to Bakersfield. After months of reviewing the proposed route and related environmental studies, the Surface Transportation Board conditionally approved the longest section of the Central Valley alignment, exempting it from further board oversight. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-high-speed-rail-20140812-story.html?track=rss GREEN ENERGY Palm Desert ‘green’ deal questioned. A consultant who was initially told he would likely win, but eventually lost, a $130,000 environmental programs contract for Palm Desert through the Coachella Valley Association of Governments is raising questions about the process. Ted Flanigan, president of Irvine-based EcoMotion, said not winning the Green for Life contract was “a shocking experience, and it was a very disappointing experience,” after the contract was ultimately awarded to Terra Nova Planning and Research, based in Palm Desert. Posted. http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/2014/08/13/palm-desert-green-deal-questioned/13989317/ OPINIONS Dan Walters: New water bond may be close, but it’s not fully cooked yet. Chances are that sometime Wednesday the Legislature will place a new water bond issue on the Nov. 4 ballot. But it’s not certain, because as of late Tuesday, not all Democratic legislators had signed onto a $7.2 billion plan and it still lacked votes it needs from Republicans even if all Democrats were aboard. Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic legislative leaders fashioned the plan – a $6.995 billion bond and $200 million from previously authorized water bonds…Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2014/08/12/6624165/dan-walters-new-water-bond-may.html#mi_rss=Dan%20Walters#storylink=cpy Making the Case for High-Speed Rail. Most American passenger trains, including Amtrak’s popular Acela service, run at speeds that are far slower than the superfast European and Japanese trains that can zip along at 200 miles per hour or more. The main reason is that, despite modest investments, American lawmakers have not given high-speed rail the priority it deserves. High-speed rail can play an important role in the nation’s transportation system by reducing congestion at airports and on highways. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/13/opinion/making-the-case-for-high-speed-rail.html?_r=0 BLOGS Links between city design, health shown in study. The results showed that increased intersection density was significantly linked to reduction in obesity at the neighborhood level and of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease at the city level. The more intersections, the lower the disease rates. In a rare study of how street network design affects public health, researchers at the University of Colorado Denver and the University of Connecticut have discovered that older, more compact cities promote more walking and biking and are generally healthier than many newer cities. Posted. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140811125153.htm RIVERSIDE: UCR again ranks as one of America’s greenest schools. For the third consecutive year, Sierra Magazine has included the University of California, Riverside on its list of “America’s Coolest Schools,” which is a list of the nation’s greenest colleges and universities. UCR finished with a score of 577.98 out of a possible 1,000 points, placing it 90th among the schools surveyed. UCR’s score improved about 12% The America’s Coolest Schools list is the result of a self-reported survey that is open to all four-year undergraduate colleges and universities in the United States. Posted. http://blog.pe.com/colleges-universities/2014/08/13/riverside-ucr-again-ranks-of-as-of-americas-greenest-schools/ California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.