What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for October 17, 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

Who gets paid under a carbon price? New paper looks at impacts
across states. Four years after comprehensive cap-and-trade
legislation stalled out in the Senate, the prospect of carbon
pricing is back on the table. With regional carbon markets
already up and running in California and the Northeast, and
cross-state collaboration explicitly encouraged under U.S. EPA's
Clean Power Plan, more states are examining carbon caps and
carbon taxes as a route to lower emissions.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060007484/search?keyword=california
BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY 

AIR POLLUTION

Heavily polluted India launches national air quality index. India
has launched a new air quality index to help citizens understand
complex pollution data and its implications for their health, the
environment minister said on Friday. A World Health Organization
(WHO) study of 1,600 cities released in May found New Delhi had
the world's dirtiest air with an annual average of 153 micrograms
of small particulates, known as PM2.5, per cubic metre. Posted.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/10/17/india-air-pollution-index-javadekar-idINKCN0I61L420141017


Indoor air pollution puts residents at risk. Since the 1970s,
residential properties have been built in a more energy-efficient
manner. While great for energy conservation and lower heating and
cooling bills, making homes more air-tight also comes with a
hidden health concern: indoor air quality. The Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) has ranked indoor air pollution among the
top five environmental dangers.
http://www.utsandiego.com/sponsored/2014/oct/17/home-comfort-reducing-in-home-air-pollution/


CRS cautions against premature cost estimates for ozone standard.
The Congressional Research Service this week cautioned against
estimating the cost of a new ozone standard before U.S. EPA
actually proposes one.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060007501/print BY
SUBSCRIPTON ONLY

CLIMATE CHANGE

Lax emissions reporting makes green firms hard to find in
emerging markets. Global investors are increasingly seeking green
assets as they become more concerned of the potential financial
cost of climate change, but in emerging markets such as India,
inadequate disclosure standards make such assets difficult to
find. Companies reporting emissions, demonstrating readiness for
sudden change in the weather, and assessing climate-related risk
on a regular basis…
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/17/us-climatechange-summit-emerging-idUSKCN0I60HU20141017


No silver bullet to tackle building emissions: CBRE. Tackling
carbon emissions in U.S. commercial buildings will require a
range of everyday measures, not technology, as a solution, said
an executive at CBRE (CBG.N), the world's largest commercial real
estate services company. Since most buildings are currently being
operated less efficiently than when they were built, changing
day-to-day operations plays a big role in addressing inefficient
energy use, David Pogue, global director of corporate
responsibility, said in at interview at Reuters Global Climate
Change Summit.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/17/us-climatechange-summit-realestate-idUSKCN0I531120141017


From Apple to Wal-Mart, Companies Make Bets on Climate Change. If
acting on climate change hurts the economy, as the American Coal
Council's talking points suggest, it’s a lesson lost on some of
the world’s most successful companies. Stocks of companies that
take climate change seriously beat the wider market by almost 10
percent over the last five years, according to a report released
this week by a U.K. nonprofit.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-17/from-apple-to-wal-mart-companies-make-bets-on-climate-change.html


REUTERS SUMMIT-G20 host Australia stumbling block to global
climate change action. Business and political leaders around the
world, most notably in the powerhouses of the United States and
China, are pressing for action to avert the potentially huge
financial repercussions of climate change. But this year there's
a major stumbling block to concerted global action.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/17/climatechange-summit-australia-g20-reute-idUSL3N0S42QV20141017?feedType=RSS


Severe weather alert: U.S. study finds tornadoes coming in
swarms	...database for the six-decade period ending last year,
excluding twisters below Category F1, with wind speeds of 73-112
mph (117-180 kph), on the Enhanced Fujita Tornado Intensity
Scale.    Some experts have blamed weather intensity seen in
recent years on global climate change they attribute to human
activities. This study did not, however, offer a conclusion as to
a cause. 
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/16/us-science-tornadoes-idUSKCN0I52EQ20141016?feedType=RSS&virtualBrandChannel=11563


Texas Plant to Capture, and Then Reuse, Carbon.  Amid the calls
to capture carbon to save the climate, a Texas company is
preparing to do that job for profit. At Capitol Aggregates, a
cement plant near San Antonio, the Skyonic Corporation of Austin,
plans to open a $125 million factory next week that will make
industrial chemicals. Instead of mining natural deposits of
carbon found underground, the plant will capture the carbon
emitted from making cement…
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/17/business/energy-environment/texas-plant-to-capture-and-then-reuse-carbon.html


Proposed S.F. law would put a solar panel on nearly every roof 
...require solar panels on most new construction in the city and
push owners of existing apartment buildings to plant photovoltaic
arrays on their roofs.  “If you ever go to the top of a tall
building in San Francisco and look down, you see the potential
for sustainability on every single roof in the city,” said David
Chiu, president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
	http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Proposed-S-F-law-would-put-a-solar-panel-on-5827997.php


Tornado Days Decreasing, but Number Per Day Rising  ...are
seeming to cluster together so that there are fewer days with
tornadoes, but more tornadoes on the days that do have them, a
new study finds. This clustering of tornadoes could be due in
part to larger changes in atmospheric patterns wrought by global
warming, but there is still much work to be done to find those
connections…
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/fewer-tornado-days-but-more-tornadoes-per-day-18186


IPCC Corrects Claim Suggesting Climate Change Would Be Good for
the Economy.  IPCC Corrects Claim Suggesting Climate Change Would
Be Good for the Economy. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) has corrected a controversial claim that small
amounts of global warming could have overall positive economic
impacts, after...
http://insideclimatenews.org/todaysnews/20141017/ipcc-corrects-claim-suggesting-climate-change-would-be-good-economy


DROUGHT

Winter not expected to end California drought.  Parts of
California could receive above-average rain and snow this winter
but not enough to end the ongoing drought, federal forecasters
said Thursday.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/10/16/4181815/winter-not-expected-to-end-california.html#storylink=rss

'Fake law': A checkered approach to outdoor space in a drought. 
Peg Rahn loves her garden here but is taking the drought - and
the city's mandate to reduce water consumption by 30 percent -
seriously.  So when it came time to update her side yard, she
decided to do what made sense given California's crippling lack
of water.  "I installed a fake lawn,"...
http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/10/16/4181360/fake-law-a-checkered-approach.html?sp=%2f99%2f1355%2f221%2f227%2f


Despite possible rains, drought likely to persist this winter.
Drought conditions are expected to continue or intensify this
winter, as most of the state is forecast to have equal chances of
a wet, dry or average November, December and January. NOAA   
California's drought is likely to persist or intensify...
http://www.scpr.org/news/2014/10/16/47430/despite-possible-rains-drought-likely-to-persist-t/

Another warm and dry winter likely for California.  Above-average
temperatures are most likely in California and most of the West
this winter, according to the National Oceanic and...
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=26959

Winter Unlikely to See Repeat of Frigid Polar Vortex. ...pattern
was unusually persistent) in the eastern portions of the country,
it was actually only the 34th coldest in the 119-year NOAA
records. It only felt so cold in part because winters have been
warming overall in the U.S. (as well as across the globe) as
greenhouse gases accumulating in the atmosphere trap more and
more heat.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/winter-unlikely-to-see-repeat-of-polar-vortex-18184


FUELS

Oil continues to show gains in corrective move. Global crude oil
continued to show modest gains on Friday, bouncing from near
four-year lows as investors bought back into a market they said
was oversold, and as fighting in Iraq increased political risk.
Oil has lost more than a fifth of its value since June on heavy
oversupply, signs of weak demand growth and indications that key
oil producers, particularly Saudi Arabia, have a limited appetite
to intervene on prices.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/10/17/markets-oil-idINKCN0I609T20141017


Fuels	Biofuels plant harbinger of renewable fuel future.  A new
biofuels plant in southwest Kansas represents the future of
ethanol production in the United States, Energy Secretary Ernest
Moniz said.  The $500 million biorefinery in Hugoton is one of
only three commercially sized plants in the country that use only
plant waste, such as stalks and leaves, for production and thus
do not compete for food crops.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/10/17/4183469/biofuels-plant-harbinger-of-renewable.html#storylink=rss


Fuels	Gasoline prices in California lowest of the year. 
Plummeting prices for oil and local wholesale gasoline have
driven pump prices down by more than a penny a day this past week
in California to their lowest levels...
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=26958 

Fuels	Shale Boom Helping American Consumers Like Never Before.
Oil traders might see the 27 percent slide in global prices as a
bear market. For U.S. consumers, it's more like an early holiday
gift.    The drop in crude has pulled retail gasoline down more
than 50 cents a gallon from the year's high in April. That means
annual savings of $500 for the average U.S. household, which
consumes about 1,000 gallons of fuel a year, according to data
from the Federal Highway Administration and...
http://insideclimatenews.org/todaysnews/20141017/shale-boom-helping-american-consumers-never


GREEN ENERGY

ANALYSIS-German industry earns cash from green energy upheaval.
German industry is learning how to profit from the upheaval and
costs of the country's shift towards solar and wind energy.
Greater reliance on renewables in Europe's biggest power market
is making the peaks and troughs of electricity production bigger
and less predictable, as the wind picks up or drops and the sun
shines or disappears behind the clouds.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/10/17/germany-energy-idINL6N0SB1RP20141017


L.A. sued by two companies over rejection of solar array plan.
Two out-of-state companies are suing Los Angeles after their plan
to install an array of 3,500 solar cells on the northeast edge of
the San Fernando Valley was thwarted by a local commission. The
proposed project in Lake View Terrace worried neighbors, who
thought that the expanse of solar cells slated for a vacant lot…
http://www.latimes.com/local/cityhall/la-me-solar-lawsuit-20141017-story.html


Renewable Energy	China to Phase Out Financial Support for Solar
Power Sector by 2020.  With the most aggressive and ambitious
capacity addition targets in the solar power sector, China may
soon see the technology mature enough to pull the high financial
support currently on offer.    Recent media reports quoting
Chinese officials abreast with information about the solar power
policy in the...
http://insideclimatenews.org/content/china-phase-out-financial-support-solar-power-sector-2020

Renewable Energy	Solar Power Leaders Back EPA Climate Rule. Solar
Power Leaders Back EPA Climate Rule    Business leaders in the
solar power industry have endorsed the Environmental Protection
Agency's carbon rule proposal for power plants.    The letter was
organized by Environment America and...
http://insideclimatenews.org/content/solar-power-leaders-back-epa-climate-rule


MISCELLANEOUS

Renewable Energy	California official to talk renewable energy.  A
member of the California Energy Commission is scheduled to give
the keynote address to the annual meeting of the group that
represents Vermont's renewable energy businesses.    David
Hochschild is scheduled to speak Thursday at the two-day
Renewable Energy Vermont Conference being held in South
Burlington.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/California-official-to-talk-renewable-energy-5826231.php


UC Merced wins grant to promote technology-based projects 
...projects and business ideas that show promising ways of
solving problems dealing with energy, water and climate among
other science and engineering ventures. In the Central Valley, an
example of a problem that would benefit from further research
would be the drought, she explained. 
http://www.modbee.com/2014/10/16/3594015/uc-merced-wins-grant-to-promote.html?sp=%2f99%2f1623%2f2307%2f


OPINIONS

Climate, Conflict and a Pentagon Report. “Pentagon Signals
Security Risks of Climate Change” (news article, Oct. 14): A
recently released Pentagon report asserts a causal relationship
between climate and terrorism. The research community, however,
is far from reaching a consensus on how climate interacts with
other factors to bring about or worsen conflict.  Recent studies
suggest that conflicts associated with climate change manifest as
intercommunal and local conflicts…Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/17/opinion/climate-conflict-and-a-pentagon-report.html?_r=0


Opinion: Gasoline prices fall but will climb under cap-and-trade.
Gasoline prices in California – and everywhere else in the nation
– have been dropping sharply in recent months, down as much as $1
a gallon from several years ago. Regular gasoline was as low as
$3.09 a gallon in some California stations this week. The savings
to California motorists, who drive more than 300 billion miles a
year, are immense. A $1 price drop means $15 billion less that
they must shell out each year.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/dan-walters/article2924045.html


RPT-COLUMN-Coal industry still in denial over prices, regulation:
Russell.  These days you would expect a gathering of coal
industry executives to be a fairly gloomy affair, given the drop
in prices to near seven-year lows, the increasing threat of
regulation to control pollution and the general image of the fuel
as the main climate change culprit. 
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/16/column-russell-coal-idUSL6N0SA3LH20141016


It's time to get extremely serious about conserving water.  We
need to change our mindset about water.  The message that
California is in severe drought is being heard. But more must be
done.  We are getting better at conserving water. Many lawns have
turned brown. Many of us have put a bucket in the shower to
capture water for use on plants. Our cars are dirty....
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/editorials/article2923396.html

Californians can save a lot of water by retrofitting wasteful
older homes.  The reduction of water use in new homes has long
been a focus of California's homebuilding industry. In fact, our
industry has been at the forefront of innovative designs to
increase efficiencies.  But while new homes have been built and
designed to reduce water consumption, not enough has been done in
older homes....
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article2921148.html 

Editorial: Cap and trade's perpetual campaign.  When
cap-and-trade laws were first proposed for California, many
pro-business politicians loudly objected. The fee system would
hamper economic growth and eat away at bottom lines, they argued.
For the environmentalists pushing the legislation, however, that
was all beside the point. The Earth needed saving, period.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/trade-638774-cap-californians.html


Subsidize electric cars  ...especially here in California. For
instance, oil companies have no oil-extraction fees and no
requirement for disclosure of poisonous fracking chemicals pumped
into the ground.  The feds and states need to level the playing
field by providing subsidies and zero-interest financing to
buyers of electric cars, especially American made. That will put
the economy in high gear, create jobs and reduce pollution. 
http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/10/15/4180926/subsidize-electric-cars.html?sp=%2f99%2f274%2f277%2f


Thomas L. Friedman: Pumping the bad guys to death  ..."tight oil"
from shale — combined with America starting to make exceptions
and allowing some of its newfound oil products to be exported,
combined with Saudi Arabia refusing to cut back its production to
keep prices higher, but choosing instead to maintain its market
share against other OPEC producers.  
http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/10/15/4180687/pumping-the-bad-guys-to-death.html?sp=%2f99%2f274%2f644%2f


EDITORIAL: There's much more we can do to save water in the
Valley.  The message that California is in severe drought is
being heard. But more must be done.    We are getting better at
conserving water. Many lawns have turned brown. Many of us have
put buckets in the shower to capture water for use on plants. Our
cars are dirty....
http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/10/16/4182931/theres-much-more-we-can-do-to.html?sp=%2f99%2f274%2f


Exide leaked its toxins locally and regionally: Editorial  ...how
well their chemical output is scrubbed, probably don't belong in
a neighborhood around which millions of people live. Operations
have been on hold since March, while the plant spends $5 million
on new emission control equipment that has been approved by air
quality regulators.  But as it fights to stay there, under
increasing and proper scrutiny from community groups and
regulators…
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/article/20141016/LOCAL1/141019605


Cheap Oil: The Kingdom Strikes Back.  …indicating they had no
intention of cutting output, even as prices fell.  Surging U.S.
production has shielded us from price volatility this year,
despite political upheavals in the Middle East, Ukraine and
Libya. As we bomb terrorists in Syria and Iraq, gasoline prices
kept falling at the pump. Heck, I just filled up the SUV for less
than $3 a gallon. Drill, baby, drill.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/lorensteffy/2014/10/16/cheap-oil-the-kingdom-strikes-back/
 

BLOGS

California’s cap and trade expansion.  A new report commissioned
by the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) has been
launched just as California prepares to launch a major expansion
of its three year old cap and trade program. The report
identifies a series of major design flaws that make the program
vulnerable to market meltdowns and also offers a number of
solutions that would mitigate impacts passed on to Californian
consumers.
http://www.energyglobal.com/news/processing/articles/Cap-trade-california-expansion-issues.aspx#.VEFSdRZmZ-0


Warehouse Empire. Behind the largest undercover bribe the FBI
ever paid to a public official is the story of how our whole
consumer economy has been transformed, bringing lung-stunting
pollution and, in some cases, political corruption. The largest
bribe the FBI has ever paid to a public official in a sting
operation wasn’t to a United States senator or even a state
lawmaker.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/jessicagarrison/how-our-shopping-harms-the-lungs-of-california-children#sgq83u


How scientists linked the California drought to climate change.
California has officially entered its fourth consecutive year of
drought, and is trapped in its worst water shortage situation
ever. Because we know that human-caused climate change can
trigger and exacerbate drought conditions, media, public
officials, California residents and scientists have all been
wondering for years if rising global temperatures…
http://blogs.edf.org/climate411/2014/10/17/how-scientists-linked-the-california-drought-to-climate-change/#sthash.Shm9tdmg.dpuf
  

Sorry, California — winter isn't going to fix your drought. 
California's crippling drought is not expected to improve over
the winter, according to new forecast data released Thursday by
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Nearly 60
percent of the state is experiencing exceptional drought...
http://grist.org/climate-energy/sorry-california-winter-isnt-going-to-fix-your-drought/?utm_source=syndication&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed


EPA providing up to $3M in funding to reduce diesel emissions
from school buses.  Under the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) National Clean Diesel Rebate program, public and private
school bus fleet owners are eligible to apply for funding to
replace school buses that have older, dirtier Diesel engines. 
Many of the nation's...
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2014/10/epa-providing-up-to-3m-in-funding-to-reduce-diesel-emissions-from-school-buses.html


Renewable Energy	Do Wind Turbines Kill Birds? Far Fewer Than Cell
Towers...Or Cats. Wind turbines are a proven source of clean,
renewable energy, but many people believe that they kill massive
numbers of birds. It sounds like a classic Catch-22. The story
that wind turbines kill birds through collisions has gained a lot
of traction, but is it actually true? RELATED:
Some...	http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1094983_do-wind-turbines-kill-birds-far-fewer-than-cell-towers-or-cats


11 more GM facilities worldwide go landfill-free; total up to 122
... (China)   Luton Warehouse (England)   Fontana Warehouse and
Distribution Center (California).  The addition of these 11
facilities to landfill-free status helps GM avoid more than
600,000 metric tons of CO2-equivalent emissions. This is
comparable to the greenhouse gas benefit of 15 million tree
seedlings grown for 10 years.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2014/10/20141017-gmlff.html 

Nissan begins testing combination of LEAF EVs and “LEAF to Home”
for grid demand response services.  Nissan Motor Corporation has
begun testing in Japan of a system to use electric vehicle
technology to help power grids cope with peaks in demand.  Nissan
is using Nissan LEAF EVs paired with the LEAF to Home power
supply system (earlier post) for demand response testing at
several of its sales outlets run by
subsidiary...	http://www.greencarcongress.com/2014/10/20141016-nissan.html


Self-Contained Solar Carport With Battery: Electric-Car Charging
For The Future? Some home owners use home solar-power systems to
charge their cars, cutting their transportation-related emissions
to negligible levels.  However, home solar charging really hasn't
entered the mainstream yet, with photovoltaic solar installations
costing as much as
$25,000...	http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1094963_self-contained-solar-carport-with-battery-electric-car-charging-for-the-future
 

10 Questions On Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Cars To Ask Toyota, Honda &
Hyundai. Within the next two years, three different hydrogen
fuel-cell vehicles will be offered to California buyers in small
numbers. The 2015 Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell has been available to
lease since June, and journalists will be able to drive the new
Toyota fuel-cell vehicle in November, just before the Los Angeles
Auto Show.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1094899_10-questions-on-hydrogen-fuel-cell-cars-to-ask-toyota-honda-hyundai


Changes To CA Rules May Cut Zero-Emission Vehicle Requirement. 
California's rules requiring six automakers to sell specified
numbers of zero-emission vehicles starting in 2012 have had a
substantial impact. But a meeting to be held one week from today
may determine whether required volumes of emission-free
cars--likely battery-electric vehicles--are cut for a second
group of automakers.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1094967_changes-to-ca-rules-may-cut-zero-emission-vehicle-requirement


2015 Kia Soul EV Electric Car Rated: 93 Miles Range, 105 MPGe. 
The very first 2015 Kia Soul EV electric cars are now being sold
in California, adding a 19th plug-in vehicle to that state's
market. And its final EPA range and efficiency ratings may drive
buyers in other states to demand that they get the chance to buy
it too.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1095001_2015-kia-soul-ev-electric-car-rated-93-miles-range-105-mpge


Report: Musk: Tesla's first battery swap station to open before
end of year ...empty battery pack with a full one in just 90
seconds, was a long time ago. Tesla first showed off the
technology in June of 2013 and claimed that the first station
would open in California in the fourth quarter of 2013. Since
then it's been ... quiet as the electric vehicle company was busy
with other projects.
http://green.autoblog.com/2014/10/16/musk-tesla-first-battery-swap-station-to-open/
 
Toyota Leads 'Best Global Brands,' But Audi, VW, Nissan Rise Most
...increasingly in its products and pace of new launches – is a
top priority of Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda, grandson of the founder. 
Toyota also has made gains in areas ranging from workforce
diversity to mobile technology and alternative powertrains,
including its new fuel-cell vehicle.  Frampton was especially
impressed by Audi's 27-percent increase in brand…
http://www.forbes.com/sites/dalebuss/2014/10/16/toyota-leads-best-global-brands-but-audi-vw-nissan-rise-most/


Why Car Makers Are No Longer in the Transportation Industry
...traffic congestion and environmental pollution. On hand to
participate in the brainstorming will be car manufacturers and
suppliers, public transportation companies, local and central
government and utilities, and companies like SAP.  “The vision of
fostering sustainability to improve people's lives is aligned
with SAP's goals to improve people's lives and make the world run
better.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2014/10/16/why-car-makers-are-no-longer-in-the-transportation-industry/


Fuels	Falling oil prices shake up global economies. ..Oil
consumption globally is 91 million barrels per day. That means
the world's oil producing countries and companies are bringing in
as much as $2.8 billion less in revenue every day — and
consumers, shippers and airlines are saving a comparable amount
on gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.    "The problem is that
countries get accustomed to a certain level of income…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20141016/us--oil-prices-global-impact/?ir=world&utm_hp_ref=world




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