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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for August 26, 2014.
Posted: 26 Aug 2014 14:43:39
ARB Newsclips for August 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. CAP AND TRADE California bill to delay cap-and-trade expansion finished for year. Avoiding an election-year legislative debate over how California’s cap-and-trade program could affect gasoline prices, the leader of the state Senate has sidelined a bill that would have delayed a key aspect of California’s landmark emissions law. Several years have passed since California enacted AB 32, a 2006 law meant to reduce heat-trapping emissions and which requires industries to purchase permits…Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2014/08/25/6653053/california-bill-to-delay-cap-and.html#storylink=cpy http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-fuel-bill-fails-20140825-story.html http://www.labusinessjournal.com/news/2014/aug/26/california-cap-and-trade-will-not-be-delayed/ http://capitolweekly.net/senate-leader-delay-cap-trade-plan/ http://www.capradio.org/30884 http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2014/08/26/stories/1060004913 BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY California business groups oppose 'hidden gas tax'. California business groups are crying foul over what they say is a hidden tax that will raise gas prices. Starting in January, oil refineries in California will be required to participate in the state’s cap-and-trade program. California’s cap-and-trade system is designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by capping the total amount of greenhouse gasses released into the atmosphere. Posted. http://www.ivpressonline.com/news/local/california-business-groups-oppose-hidden-gas-tax/article_67bd4640-4f4c-51ed-882b-d39e8b8b2923.html BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY AIR POLLUTION Fracking Link to Birth Defects Probed in Early Research. The first research into the effects of oil and gas development on babies born near wells has found potential health risks. Government officials, industry advocates and the researchers themselves say more studies are needed before drawing conclusions. While the findings are still preliminary, any documented hazards threaten to cast a shadow over hydraulic fracturing, or fracking -- the process of blasting chemicals, sand and water deep underground to extract fuel from rock that’s helped push the U.S. closer to energy self-sufficiency than at any time since 1985. Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2014-08-26/fracking-link-to-birth-defects-probed-in-early-research.html Black carbon linked to increased cardiovascular risk; exacerbated by co-exposure to motor vehicle emissions. Black carbon (BC) from incomplete biomass and fossil fuel combustion is the most strongly light-absorbing component of particulate matter (PM) air pollution and a major climate-forcing emission. A new international study led by McGill University (Canada) Professor Jill Baumgartner suggests that black carbon may also increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. The team’s findings are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States (PNAS). Posted. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2014/08/20140826-baumgartner.html CLIMATE CHANGE Greenhouse Gas Emissions Are Growing, and Growing More Dangerous, Draft of U.N. Report Says. Runaway growth in the emission of greenhouse gases is swamping all political efforts to deal with the problem, raising the risk of “severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts” over the coming decades, according to a draft of a major new United Nations report. Global warming is already cutting grain production by several percentage points, the report found, and that could grow much worse if emissions continue unchecked. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/27/science/earth/greenhouse-gas-emissions-are-growing-and-growing-more-dangerous-draft-of-un-report-says.html http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2014-08-26/irreversible-damage-seen-from-climate-change-in-un-leak.html Modern Research Borne on a Relic. As part of the study, Dr. Miller and her colleagues asked other researchers whether they thought they might benefit from access to a stratospheric airship. To their surprise, they found that climate scientists were just as interested as cosmologists were in developing a low-cost, reusable platform for their research. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/26/science/airships-that-carry-science-into-the-stratosphere.html?_r=0 Government Auditors Say 'Social Cost of Carbon' Is by the Book. Year-long probe gives no new ammunition to outspoken critics in Congress who requested the audit. Government auditors have taken a close look at a disputed calculation used by federal regulators to assess the long-term costs of carbon pollution. Their verdict: It was all done by the book. The hotly contested economic calculation, known as the "social cost of carbon," or SCC…Posted. http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20140826/government-auditors-say-social-cost-carbon-book DROUGHT Bills to regulate California groundwater use opposed by farmers. A package of bills aimed at regulating drought-parched California's stressed groundwater supplies has come under fire from agricultural interests, injecting doubt into the measures' fates in the waning days of the state's legislative session this week. The bills, which would allow the state to take over management of underground aquifers and water accessed via wells…Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/25/us-usa-california-water-idUSKBN0GP21N20140825 Mapping the Spread of Drought Across the U.S. Maps and charts updated weekly show the latest extent of the drought in the United States. Droughts appear to be intensifying over much of the West and Southwest as a result of global warming. Over the past decade, droughts in some regions have rivaled the epic dry spells of the 1930s and 1950s. About 34 percent of the contiguous United States was in at least a moderate drought as of August 19. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/mapping-the-spread-of-drought-across-the-us.html?abg=1&abt=0002&_r=0 These 9 before and after photos show the impact of California’s drought. In these before-and-after images, full water levels are visible around Lake Oroville in Oroville, California and Folsom Lake in El Folsom, California on July 20, 2011 and low water levels are visible on August 19, 2014. As the severe drought in California continues for a third straight year, water levels in the state’s lakes and reservoirs are reaching historic lows. Lake Oroville is currently at 32 percent of its total 3,537,577 acre feet. Posted. http://www.dailynews.com/article/20140825/NEWS/140829628 The future of water in Southern California. As the state endures one of the worst droughts in recorded history, Southern California residents are looking for answers about the sustainability of the region’s water supplies. Farmers have felt the sting of below-average rainfall for years, but as the crisis worsens, urban and suburban areas are likely to suffer drastic change in their relationship with the vital liquid. Wildfires and brown lawns may be increasingly common visual symptoms of drought…Posted. http://www.scpr.org/programs/airtalk/2014/08/25/39018/the-future-of-water-in-southern-california/ GREEN ENERGY New solar farm in Richmond begins generating power. A utility says its latest solar farm in eastern Indiana has started generating electricity. Indiana Municipal Power Agency says the eight-acre solar farm on the grounds of Richmond Power and Light contains about 4,000 solar panels. They will generate one megawatt of electricity at peak capacity, or enough electricity to power about 200 homes. Posted. http://www.vcstar.com/news/new-solar-park-in-richmond-begins-generating-power_30451697 SolarWorld Americas recalls solar panels. SolarWorld Americas of Hillsboro, Oregon, is recalling solar panels it has installed after June 1, 2010, due to the possibility of bare-copper grounding lugs that can corrode, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. If the grounding logs corrode, there is the potential for a faulty ground circuit, the consumer protection agency says. That could cause electrocution, electric shock or fire. Posted. http://www.vcstar.com/business/local/company-news/solarworld-americas-recalls-solar-panels_27500400 Underground energy debate powering up. California lawmakers may decide this week whether San Diego County utility customers must underwrite a new fleet of geothermal power plants. The proposed legislation requires the state’s major investor-owned utilities, including San Diego Gas & Electric, to collectively contract 500 megawatts of electrical generating capacity…Posted. http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/aug/26/california-geothermal-mandate-tough-sell/ OPINIONS A climate for change: America should not wait while the world warms. FOR MORE than a century, scientists have understood the basic physics of the greenhouse effect. For decades, they’ve realized humans can affect the climate by burning coal, oil and gas. But the country’s leaders remain divided on the need to curb greenhouse emissions, let alone how to do it. Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-climate-for-change-america-should-not-wait-while-the-world-warms/2014/08/25/872bab64-2a00-11e4-86ca-6f03cbd15c1a_story.html Editorial: Stop the delays; pass groundwater regulation. Bills to create a system for managing groundwater are being undermined before they come up for final votes as early as today in the Senate and Assembly. Senate Bill 1168 by Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, and Assembly Bill 1739 by Roger Dickinson, D-Sacramento, have been through a process beginning early this year that engages various water users and organizations. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2014/08/26/6653604/editorial-stop-the-delays-pass.html#storylink=cpy Our View: We must protect our water, below and above ground. Taken by itself, the legislation known as Pavley-Dickinson is a desperately needed attempt to create a sustainable supply of groundwater. But just as creeks connect to rivers and rivers to oceans, groundwater is inextricably connected to the water that flows through our region. And no plan that ignores that essential fact can succeed for us. Posted. http://www.modbee.com/2014/08/25/3503839_our-view-we-must-protect-our-water.html?sp=/99/1641/&rh=1#storylink=cpy BLOGS Which Chinese Cities Are Most Congested? A new study by online mapping company Autonavi lists China’s most congested cities, with a surprising city taking the No. 2 spot. Shanghai suffers more from gridlock than the nation’s capital, according to the report released last week. Despite notorious stories of traffic jams that last for days, Beijing ranked third—after Hangzhou—in the study, which was based on data compiled from 25 cities around the country. Posted. http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2014/08/26/which-chinese-cities-are-most-congested-the-answer-may-surprise-you/ A Closer Look at Turbulent Oceans and Greenhouse Heating. Earth’s climate is shaped by the interplay of two complicated and turbulent systems — the atmosphere and oceans. (The photo above is from the two years I spent at that interface as crew on ocean-roaming sailboats.) The oceans hold the majority of heat in the system, are full of sloshy cycles on time scales from years to decades and, despite an increase in monitoring using sophisticated diving buoys, remain only spottily tracked. Posted. http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/08/26/a-closer-look-at-turbulent-oceans-and-greenhouse-heating/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Climate%20Change&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs®ion=Body&module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C{%221%22%3A%22RI%3A11%22} Steinberg: Cap-and-trade expansion will not be delayed. Sen. Henry Perea had introduced a measure to hold off on placing vehicle fuels into California’s emission reduction program for three years, a move to delay gas prices from increasing by 13 cents or more by 2020. But in a letter to Perea, Senate leader Darrell Steinberg said that Assembly Bill 69 would not be heard on the Senate floor because, he argued, the cost of delaying cap-and-trade outweighed the cost of implementing the program. Posted. http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2014/08/steinberg-cap-and-trade-expansion-will-not-be.html Are the EPA's MPGe ratings hurting EV sales? Plug-in vehicle makers are losing out on sales dollars because the mileage ratings don't make a lot of sense. That's what one Venture Beat writer says after buying a Toyota Prius Plug-in and trying to apply the miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) standard to real-world results. In short, it's difficult to do. The Prius Plug-in Hybrid's 95 MPGe rating is not only difficult to quantify, but it's "artificial" and "purely imaginary" …Posted. http://green.autoblog.com/2014/08/26/are-the-epas-mpge-ratings-hurting-ev-sales/ California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.