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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for August 18, 2014.
Posted: 18 Aug 2014 13:59:20
ARB Newsclips for August 18, 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 Federal grand jury investigating Exide Technologies over Vernon plant. A federal grand jury is investigating Exide Technologies, the company under scrutiny for emitting high levels of harmful pollutants from its battery recycling plant in Vernon, according to a financial disclosure filed this week. On Aug. 8, Exide received a "grand jury subpoena from the Department of Justice in the Central District of California in connection with a criminal investigation involving its Vernon, California, recycling facility,"…Posted. http://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-0816-exide-feds-20140816-story.html What is causing paint damage at Ithaca car lots? A central New York auto dealer is trying to find out what damaged the paint on about 700 cars and trucks at his Ithaca dealerships. Phil Maguire of the Maguire Family of Dealerships told the Ithaca Journal (http://ithacajr.nl/1qhP0Ib) that the cost of repairing the damage will range from $300 to $5,000 for each vehicle. The damage looks like dried water spots on the paint. Maguire suspects something in the air may have caused the damage…Posted. http://online.wsj.com/article/AP7838cbf939a7425b808a7ad5049c33a8.html Air quality reaches unhealthy levels in Niland. An air quality alert was issued for the Niland area today at 9 a.m. as particulate matter 10 reached unhealthy levels for sensitive groups. Reyes Romero, assistant air pollution control district officer, said Niland is being impacted by sporadic winds as high as 20 mph. El Centro could also experience some air quality impacts, but to a lesser degree, he said. Posted. http://www.ivpressonline.com/quicknews/air-quality-reaches-unhealthy-levels-in-niland/article_3a068e9c-26fb-11e4-849b-0017a43b2370.html EPA refuses to disclose areas that can’t meet ozone standard. U.S. EPA has denied a petition from environmentalists to name nearly 60 areas of the country out of compliance with the federal ozone standard. In a letter obtained by Greenwire, the agency late last week told the Sierra Club and Earthjustice, which is representing the group in the matter, that it would not redesignate the 57 areas as in nonattainment with the 2008 ozone standard. New data show that some of the areas already are meeting the standard…Posted. http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060004585/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY CLIMATE CHANGE Study blames humans for most of melting glaciers. More than two-thirds of the recent rapid melting of the world's glaciers can be blamed on humans, a new study finds. Scientists looking at glacier melt since 1851 didn't see a human fingerprint until about the middle of the 20th century. Even then only one-quarter of the warming wasn't from natural causes. Posted. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SCI_MELTING_GLACIERS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT El Nino’s Delay Spurs Memories of 2012 When It Never Came. In 2012, forecasters and researchers entered the summer convinced an El Nino would form in the equatorial Pacific and its weather-changing effects would be felt around the world. It never happened. Now the specter of that failure has cast a shadow over similar predictions in 2014, with many wondering where this year’s El Nino is and if it will ever arrive. Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-15/el-nino-s-delay-spurs-memories-of-2012-when-it-never-came.html China's carbon plans: secrecy and oversupply darken outlook. As China lays down plans for a national carbon trading scheme, the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases risks repeating mistakes made in carbon trading in Europe by flooding its pilot markets with free permits. The European Union's scheme, the world's largest, suffered a collapse in prices hurting its credibility when the EU gave away too many permits just as the global financial crisis was slashing demand and in turn curbing pollution levels. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/17/china-carbontrading-idUSL4N0Q61AQ20140817 Climate change reflected in altered Missouri River flow, report says. Montana farmer Rocky Norby has worked the land along the Missouri River for more than 20 years, coaxing sugar beets and malted barley out of the arid ground. "Every year it gets worse," he said. "There's not enough water to get through our pumps." Last month, he said, he spent more than $10,000 trying to remove the sand from his clogged irrigation system. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-missouri-river-20140817-story.html Artist stands in bay to turn tide against global warming. At 9:26 Friday morning, Sarah Cameron Sunde walked into San Francisco Bay with no plans to come back in until the tide had gone from low to high and back to low again, 13 hours and five minutes later."I'm walking out - I hope I survive" were her final words, spoken through a mouthful of pasta as she stepped off the seawall at Aquatic Park. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/art/article/Artist-stands-in-bay-to-turn-tide-against-global-5691457.php SNOW HASN’T SHOWN UP ON NEW ZEALAND SLOPES. Some ski resorts have been unable to open all winter; others blast out man-made powder. Winter has rolled into its third month in New Zealand, and Nick Jarman says he’s going stir crazy as he stares out at the driving rain on the small ski area he manages in the Southern Alps. The Craigieburn Valley Ski Area is one of several areas that haven’t opened for a single day this season…Posted. http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/aug/17/tp-snow-hasnt-shown-up-on-new-zealand-slopes/all/?print Scientists probe poorly understood linkage between melting Arctic and extreme weather. Snowmageddon in Washington, D.C. Extreme floods in the United Kingdom last winter. A Texas heat wave two years ago. For scientists, they all may be a byproduct of a warming Arctic. Or they might not, as much of the research on causation is still in early stages. A new review article, released yesterday in Nature Geoscience, offers one additional theory about the link between the Arctic and extreme weather in midlatitudes…Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060004571/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY MIT Study: Climate Talks on Path to Fall Far Short of Goals. Under countries' current climate pledges, greenhouse gas concentrations would exceed 530 or 580 parts per million by the end of the century. Experts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology using a sophisticated computer model examined what they think is the most likely outcome of UN climate treaty negotiations and found that the talks are likely to come up short. Facing a deadline to reach a new treaty by the end of next year in Paris, the world's nations seem unwilling to make the kind of pledges that would rein in global warming to safe levels by century's end, the researchers concluded. Posted. http://insideclimatenews.org/carbon-copy/20140818/mit-study-climate-talks-path-fall-far-short-goals Carbon Pollution Threatens Fishing Industry. Commercial fisheries in Alaska are increasingly threatened by ocean acidification, according to research led by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Alaskan fishing industry supports more than 100,000 jobs and generates more than $5 billion in annual revenue. Fishery-related tourism also brings in $300 million annually. Posted. http://www.environmentalleader.com/2014/08/18/carbon-pollution-threatens-fishing-industry/ Shale oil 'dividend' could pay for smaller carbon footprint. Unanticipated economic benefits from the shale oil and gas boom could help offset the costs of substantially reducing the U.S.'s carbon footprint, Purdue agricultural economists say. Wally Tyner and Farzad Taheripour estimate that shale technologies annually provide an extra $302 billion to the U.S. economy relative to 2007, a yearly "dividend" that could continue for at least the next two decades, Tyner said. Posted. http://www.imperialvalleynews.com/index.php/news/latest-news/10558-shale-oil-dividend-could-pay-for-smaller-carbon-footprint.html Louisville, fastest-warming city in U.S., reaches for the brakes. Two years ago, the home of the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Fried Chicken and the Louisville Slugger received an unwelcome distinction: fastest-warming heat island in the United States. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology found that since the 1960s, urban Louisville, Ky., saw its temperature rise above that of its surroundings at a rate greater than any other city in the country and more than double the warming rate of the planet as a whole. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060004575/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY Researchers suspect climate link to tornadoes. When tornadoes form and reach down to the Earth in sinister columns of 100 mph winds, they do so for so many highly specific reasons that it's almost impossible to predict where they might hit or how strong they will be. The recipe for a tornado has to be Goldilocks-specific. Air temperatures on the ground have to be just right, as do air temperatures in the upper atmosphere. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060004572/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY Pesticide impact on Arctic wanes as other changes accelerate. Pesticide accumulation appears to be waning in the Arctic on many different levels. While stories taken from recent headlines regarding climate change are often laden with deep concern for the future, a Canadian team recently offered some hope for native communities and wildlife populations of the Arctic. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060004573/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY DROUGHT California water bond won't be a drought-buster. Gov. Jerry Brown and state lawmakers are expected to use the backdrop of California's most severe drought in nearly four decades to sell voters on the $7.5 billion water plan they put on the ballot this week. Despite its size, the measure will not solve the problems created by the drought nor is it expected to prevent rationing during future ones. Instead, the projects it will fund are designed to provide a greater cushion when the state finds itself dealing with prolonged water shortages in the decades ahead. Posted. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CALIFORNIA_WATER_BOND_REALITY_CHECK?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT West’s historic drought stokes fears of water crisis. When the winter rains failed to arrive in this Sacramento Valley town for the third straight year, farmers tightened their belts and looked to the reservoirs in the nearby hills to keep them in water through the growing season. When those faltered, some switched on their well pumps, drawing up thousands of gallons from underground aquifers to prevent their walnut trees and alfalfa crops from drying up. Until the wells, too, began to fail. Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/wests-historic-drought-stokes-fears-of-water-crisis/2014/08/17/d5c84934-240c-11e4-958c-268a320a60ce_story.html California cemeteries work to cope with drought. Cemeteries with thirsty lawns are figuring out new ways to conserve water amid California's drought. Ways to cope include replacing grass with native plants or using recycled water, two steps being taken by Savannah Memorial Park, the oldest nonsectarian cemetery in Southern California. Groundskeepers there removed grass, put in native plants and started to cover the ground with mulch, which helps keep soil moist. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2014/08/16/6633473/california-cemeteries-work-to.html http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060004596/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY $7.5 billion water bond could meet California’s needs during drought. The $7.5 billion water bond measure approved by state legislators this past week could help pay for ambitious local projects, from cleaning the polluted San Fernando Valley groundwater basin to recycling treated sewage for drinking water. The Los Angeles region depends largely on scarce and expensive imported water, and the bond funds could help reverse that dependence by increasing the local supply, experts say. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_26352693/7-5-billion-water-bond-could-meet-california California Drought: Bay Area loses billions of gallons to leaky pipes. As Bay Area residents struggle to save water during a historic drought, the region's water providers have been losing about 23 billion gallons a year, a new analysis of state records reveals. Aging and broken pipes, usually underground and out of sight, have leaked enough water annually to submerge the whole of Manhattan by 5 feet -- enough to meet the needs of 71,000 families for an entire year. Posted. http://www.mercurynews.com/drought/ci_26350962/california-drought-bay-area-loses-billions-gallons-leaky?source=rss California drought: San Jose moving to impose water conservation measures, but without fines. Complying with new state rules aimed at cutting water use during California's historic drought, the San Jose City Council is poised to declare a citywide water shortage, ask all residents to cut use by 20 percent and place new limits on watering lawns and landscaping. Posted. http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_26349990/california-drought-san-jose-moving-impose-water-conservation?source=rss Man vs. trout vs. drought. The Forest Service is working to save the endangered Southern California steelhead trout. In the turf war between man and trout, man inevitably wins. And the Southern California steelhead trout – an endangered species with a population a tenth of its former size – is suffering greatly as people destroy its habitat. Engineers armor streams, casting concrete channels on them to contain flooding. Home developers suck streams dry to water lawns. Posted. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/steelhead-631923-forest-canyon.html DIESEL EMISSIONS State regulations put local trucking businesses at risk. Alvin Urke has run his Grass Valley excavation and septic business, Urke Construction, for almost 40 years. Urke, though, says he believes he will go out of business due to retroactive truck and bus regulations the California Air Resources Board, also known as CARB, has implemented to reduce pollution and diesel particulates statewide. “I have one truck that is a 1979, the other one is a 1991,” Urke said. Posted. http://www.theunion.com/news/localnews/12617720-113/regulations-truck-trucks-urke BY SUBCRIPTION ONLY FUELS In Santa Barbara County, oil firms and environmentalists square off. Seen from U.S. 101, northern Santa Barbara County looks to be mostly vineyards and cattle ranches, with majestic oak trees scattered across the dry rolling hills. But up a narrow road, spread across the chaparral between Orcutt and Los Alamos, wells drilled deep into the shale have yielded more than 180 million barrels of oil in the 113 years since Union Oil Co. geologist William Orcutt first surveyed the area that would soon bear his name. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-santa-barbara-fracking-20140818-story.html#page=1 Methane leaking from Sacramento gas pipelines adds to greenhouse effect. The natural gas pipelines snaking under the Sacramento region likely leak a significant amount of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, scientists say. Methane is a major component of the natural gas that travels from transmission lines to the underground pipelines that deliver it to homes and businesses. The amount that leaks out is relatively small, but scientists say it has a big impact…Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2014/08/17/6629858/methane-leaking-from-sacramento.html#storylink=cpy VEHICLES LG Chem to supply batteries for 200-mile electric cars in 2016-CFO. South Korea's LG Chem Ltd plans to supply batteries for electric vehicles that can travel more than 200 miles (321 kilometers) per charge in 2016, its chief finiancial officer said on Friday. The CFO, Cho Suk-jeh, did not elaborate on which automakers will use the so-called second-generation batteries. LG Chem currently supplies batteries for General Motors, Renault SA and other automakers. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/18/lg-chem-batteries-idUSL4N0PT25U20140718 BMW 535d: This Eco Car Is No Diesel in Distress. BMW's turbocharged diesel sedan proves to be as punchy and free-revving as a gas-powered car. NOT THE DIESEL thing again. Believe me, if I could, I would just avoid even mentioning the fact that the BMW 535d burns diesel fuel instead of premium gasoline. Why? Because you don't get the crazy email I get, OK? Diesel advocates, the true believers, scare me. They have an agenda and dwell in tunnels between gas stations. Posted. http://online.wsj.com/articles/bmw-535d-this-eco-car-is-no-diesel-in-distress-1408126070#printMode Rolls-Royce vows no 'compromise' on electric cars. Don't count on seeing an electric Rolls-Royce any time soon. Given the success of Tesla's Model S in tapping interest among the world's 1%, an electric version of the big Rolls might seem like an interesting possibility, but CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos says the brand won't embark on any new technologies that involve "compromise." And at present, given the time it takes to charge up an electric car and the requirement that it be plugged in, that's a compromise. Posted. http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2014/08/17/rolls-royce-electric/14192913/ GREEN ENERGY Ukraine Seeks Renewable-Energy Boost to Counter Russia. Ukraine is seeking U.S. investment in its biomass, wind and solar power industries. The idea is to use renewable energy to curb its reliance on fuel imports from Russia, which annexed Ukraine’s Crimea region last month and has troops massed on the border. “Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine indeed brought energy security concerns to the fore,” Olexander Motsyk, Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S. said at a renewable-energy conference… Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-17/ukraine-seeks-to-boost-biomass-to-lessen-dependence-on-russia.html Biggest Solar Project Falls as Australia Reviews Policy. Plans to build the world’s largest solar power plant of its kind have been scrapped in Australia after the developers raised concerns about the government’s commitment to clean energy. Solar Systems Pty Ltd. said it suspended plans for a 100-megawatt plant in the Australian state of Victoria. The plant, which would have used concentrating photovoltaic technology to intensify the power of the sun…Posted. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-08-18/silex-unit-scraps-solar-station-as-australia-reviews-renewables Obama’s Green Dilemma: Punish China, Imperil U.S. Solar. From the State of the Union address in January to a recent California fundraising swing, President Barack Obama has missed few opportunities to tout the nation’s use of renewable energy to fight climate change. “We’ve reduced our carbon pollution over the past eight years more than any country on Earth,” the president told supporters recently at the Los Angeles Trade-Technical College. Posted. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-08-18/obama-s-green-dilemma-punish-china-imperil-u-dot-s-dot-solar U.K. Wind Generated Record 22% of Electricity Yesterday. U.K. wind turbines generated a record 22 percent of the country’s electricity yesterday, beating the 24-hour record for the second time in a week, the RenewableUK industry group said. Wind farms generated an average of 5,797 megawatts Sunday, enough to power more than 15 million homes at this time of year, the lobby group said, citing National Grid Plc (NG/) data. They produced 21 percent of the country’s power on Aug. 11, eclipsing the old record of 20 percent set on Dec. 20, it said. Posted. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-08-18/u-dot-k-dot-wind-generated-record-22-percent-of-electricity-yesterday County extends rooftop solar program to homes. County officials are predicting a boom in rooftop solar installations in unincorporated areas after the Board of Supervisors approved a program that allows homeowners to finance the work through their property tax bills. “This is a great, sunny day for the unincorporated area of San Diego County,” Supervisor Dianne Jacob said after the board action. Posted. http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/apr/17/tp-county-extends-rooftop-solar-program-to-homes/ Recycled car batteries solve problem for promising cell technology – MIT. Recycled car batteries could solve a key barrier for a solar cell technology captivating the industry because it is inexpensive but rivals commercial power production, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced today. Perovskite-based photovoltaics are currently one of the most exciting developments in solar research as the cheap material has reached more than 19 percent efficiency in converting sunlight to electricity…Posted. http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060004611/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY MISCELLANEOUS Emerging solar plants scorch birds in mid-air. Workers at a state-of-the-art solar plant in the Mojave Desert have a name for birds that fly through the plant's concentrated sun rays — "streamers," for the smoke plume that comes from birds that ignite in midair. Federal wildlife investigators who visited the BrightSource Energy plant last year and watched as birds burned and fell…Posted. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SOLAR_BIRDS_SCORCHED?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT OTHER RELATED STORIES http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2014-08-18/emerging-solar-plants-scorch-birds-in-mid-air http://www.contracostatimes.com/weird-news/ci_26357650/emerging-california-solar-plants-scorch-birds-mid-air?source=inthenews One-Fifth of China’s Farmland Is Polluted, State Study Finds. The Chinese government released a report on Thursday that said nearly one-fifth of its arable land was polluted, a finding certain to raise questions about the toxic results of China’s rapid industrialization, its lack of regulations over commercial interests and the consequences for the national food chain. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/18/world/asia/one-fifth-of-chinas-farmland-is-polluted-state-report-finds.html?ref=earth USD, UCSD called 'coolest schools' Sierra magazine ranks schools on commitment to protecting the environment. Two local colleges have been named among the “coolest schools” in the country by Sierra magazine for taking steps to protect the environment, address climate issues and encourage environmental responsibility. The University of San Diego was ranked No. 14 nationally in the list of the greenest colleges and universities by the magazine, up from its No. 79 ranking in 2013. Posted. http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/aug/15/usd-ucsd-coolest-schools-sierra-magazine-ranking/ Can Your Company Reduce Its Carbon Footprint and Disposal Costs? An often overlooked area in which companies can reduce their carbon footprint relates to the transportation of the hazardous waste they generate. Out of sight out of mind is often the mindset that permeates the industry, but understanding where your waste is being transported to and by whom can drastically reduce the carbon footprint generated from the waste that a company produces. Posted. http://www.environmentalleader.com/2014/08/18/can-your-company-reduce-its-carbon-footprint-and-disposal-costs/ OPINIONS Cheeseburgers Won't Melt the Polar Ice Caps. The next targets of the climate change enforcers will be livestock and all Americans who eat meat. The documentary film "Cowspiracy," released this week in select cities, builds on the growing cultural notion that the single greatest environmental threat to the planet is the hamburger you had for lunch the other day. As director Kip Andersen recently told the Source magazine: "A lot of us are waking up and realizing we can choose to either support all life on this planet or kill all life on this planet…Posted. http://online.wsj.com/articles/jayson-lusk-cheeseburgers-wont-melt-the-polar-ice-caps-1408317541 The cup's half full without groundwater regulation. They're all patting themselves on the back in the state Capitol for finally achieving a water bond deal. And that's fine. It was a momentous act. But what really would be historic — and worth running self-congratulatory reelection ads about — would be to pair the bond proposal with even more important groundwater regulation. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-cap-ground-water-20140818-column.html Editorial: Gasoline prices are sure to rise; Senate ought to hear by how much. Most Californians worry about climate change and support efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But for some reason, and there isn’t a good one, the California Senate is balking at holding a hearing on legislation that would lead to an airing of the coming increases in the cost of gasoline. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2014/08/17/6632104/editorial-gasoline-prices-are.html#storylink=cpy Letter: Carbon Fee, Dividend Fair, Simple. Fair. Simple. Money in your pocket. The recent column telling us that cutting carbon emissions makes sense was welcome as readers need to understand the importance of stopping carbon pollution. There is a fair, simple and economically positive way that the EPA’s CO2 pollution reduction can be achieved: a carbon fee and dividend. This is the most positive way to reduce pollution, protect our natural state, eliminate negative impacts on the economy and create more than two million jobs by 2035. http://swtimes.com/opinion/how-you-see-it/letter-carbon-fee-dividend-fair-simple#sthash.xWwu6KNh.dpuf BLOGS California Legislation Would Increase Low-income Access To Green Vehicle Incentive Program. The California rebate program for purchasing zero-emission and very low-emission vehicles would be directed more toward moderate-income and low-income drivers under a bill now in the legislature. California’s goal is to replace one million old polluting cars with new clean energy vehicles in the next 10 years. Posted. http://www.capradio.org/articles/2014/08/07/california-legislation-would-increase-low-income-access-to-green-vehicle-incentive-program/ The Difference Between Fuel Cell Vehicles and Electric Vehicles. Clean transportation is a trend that has emerged in the auto industry that will not disappear any time soon. Much of the auto industry has taken up the call for the production of zero-emission vehicles and a new generation of these vehicles is expected to launch within the next few years. In the coming decades, it is likely that conventional, internal combustion vehicles will be replaced with electric vehicles…Posted. http://www.hydrogenfuelnews.com/difference-fuel-cell-vehicles-electric-vehicles/8519144/ Kellogg's sets crunch time goals for climate. Cereals giant Kellogg's has announced that it wants suppliers to disclose greenhouse gas emissions as part of an ambitious package of new environmental targets. The manufacturer of brands such as Corn Flakes and Pringles recently unveiled its Sustainability Report featuring new goals for 2020 to expand the use of low carbon energy, reduce water use and eliminate waste, alongside a commitment towards more responsible sourcing of the company's top 10 ingredients and materials. Posted. http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2014/08/18/kelloggs-sets-crunch-time-goals-climate California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.