What's New List Serve Post Display

This is a service of the California Air Resources Board’s Office
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individual websites to view some of the following news articles.


CAP AND TRADE

56 countries seek carbon capture incentives in next climate deal
Fiscal incentives for carbon capture should be part of the global
climate change agreement that replaces the Kyoto Protocol, 56
countries belonging to the U.N. Economic Commission for Europe
(UNECE) said in a statement on Tuesday.  The recommendation by
the UNECE member states puts the issue formally on the table for
a meeting of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change in
Paris in December 2015, which aims to agree a legally binding
treaty to replace Kyoto.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/25/us-climatechange-lima-carboncapture-idUSKCN0J90UW20141125




AIR POLLUTION

Air pollution costs EU up to $235 billion: EU agency
Air pollution, chiefly from coal-fired power plants, cost society
up to 189 billion euros ($235 billion) in 2012 - equal to the
gross domestic product of Finland, the European Environment
Agency (EEA) said in a report published on Tuesday.  The agency
provides research to guide EU policymakers, who are reconsidering
proposals put forward last year by the European Commission, the
EU executive, to tighten laws on air quality.  
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/25/us-eu-pollution-idUSKCN0J90XK20141125


EPA rejects a Texas clean-air plan, orders pollution upgrades on
some big coal plants
The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday rejected parts of a
key Texas clean-air plan, setting up a conflict with deep
implications both for the state's electricity mix and air quality
across much of the country. The partial rejection of Texas'
regional haze plan, a federally required strategy for reducing
pollution that causes hazy skies, would require 15 coal-burning
generating units at eight Texas power plants to install or
improve controls that limit emissions of sulfur dioxide.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article4124706.html#storylink=cpy

L’Oreal USA fined $146,500 for illegal, air polluting hair care
products
L'Oreal USA S/D Inc. has just paid a $146,500 fine for selling
products that did not meet air quality regulations, according to
an announcement by the California Air Resources Board (ARB)
today. The explanation for the penalty is sure to support
arguments made by many that California's regulatory climate is
out of control and not friendly to business.
http://www.examiner.com/article/l-oreal-usa-fined-146-500-for-illegal-air-polluting-hair-care-products


Wood burning ban in effect Tuesday and possibly Thanksgiving Day
Wood fires will be banned in the Bay Area Tuesday, and could be
prohibited on Thanksgiving Day too as weather conditions create
poor air quality this week. Bay Area air pollution regulators
called a Spare the Air alert for Tuesday, and said it's...
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_27004315/wood-burning-ban-effect-tuesday-and-possibly-thanksgiving



CLIMATE CHANGE

GOP wants more electric reliability assurances for climate rule
Republican lawmakers are calling on energy regulators to get more
involved with the Obama administration’s climate rule for power
plants.  Top energy legislators in the House and Senate said
they’re concerned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
hasn’t done enough to protect electricity reliability in the
proposed rule.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/225231-gop-wants-more-electric-reliability-assurances-for-climate-rule


Neither rain nor snow nor heat sways views on climate science
Think that people in upstate New York will more strongly believe
climate change is upon us after an early November blizzard dumped
7 feet of snow, which then was turned to slush by spring-like
temperatures? Think again.  Freaky seasons and drastic weather
anomalies do little to convince most people that climate change
is real - political ideology does much more, according to a study
published online Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change.
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-politics-bias-climate-change-20141124-story.html


The Oil Lobby's Playbook Against California's Climate Law
Created by the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA), one
of the most powerful oil and gas lobbies in the U.S., the slides
and talking points comes from a Nov. 11 presentation to the
Washington Research Council. The Powerpoint deck details a plan
to throttle AB 32 (also known as the California Global Warming
Solutions Act of 2006) and steps to thwart low carbon fuel
standards (known as LCFS) in California, Oregon, and Washington
State.
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-11-25/revealed-the-oil-lobbys-playbook-against-californias-climate-law



FUELS

EPA Won’t Finalize Renewable Fuel Standard in 2014, Cites Lengthy
Delays
...Precedent Avoided Though renewable fuels producers said
further delay is only adding uncertainty that hampers new
investment, particularly in advanced biofuels such as cellulosic
ethanol, they viewed the EPA's action as a win because the agency
hasn't yet set a precedent of using its Clean...
http://www.bna.com/epa-wont-finalize-n17179912489/

Would ethanol help the environment? Obama administration can't
decide  
As President Obama looks to take legacy-defining actions while
facing a hostile Congress, one of his more challenging decisions
involves what goes into the fuel tanks of America’s cars. For
months, the administration has dismayed innovators and
environmentalists with its skepticism of requirements that
gasoline contain escalating amounts of  ethanol. The untidy
politics of ethanol -- an additive that has done a great deal to
bolster the corn industry but has fallen short in delivering
marketplace innovations -- have bedeviled the Environmental
Protection Agency and put Obama at odds with longtime allies on
the left.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-pn-obama-ethanol-20141124-story.html




OPINION

Committed to Carbon Goals  
Since the early 1990s, the consensus view in the climate science
community has been that if the world is going to escape the most
catastrophic consequences of climate change, it needs to keep the
average global temperature from rising more than 2 degrees
Celsius, compared with preindustrial levels. A few years ago, the
Presidential Climate Action Project issued a report in which it
estimated that to meet that goal, global carbon dioxide emissions
would need to be reduced by 60 percent by 2050 — and the
industrialized world would need to reduce its emissions by 80
percent.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/25/opinion/joe-nocera-committed-to-carbon-goals.html


What the GOP Congress might mean for climate change              
                                          In the aftermath of the
Republican takeover of Congress, several events bear watching,
especially as eyes turn toward 2016 and the presidential and
senatorial races. To start off, there is the elevation of the
Senate’s chief climate change denier, James Inhofe of Oklahoma,
who's preparing to chair (for the second time) the committee that
deals with global warming — the Environment and Public Works
committee.                                                
http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-11-25/what-gop-congress-might-mean-climate-change



BLOGS

Beijing Considers How to Harness the Wind to Blow Away Pollution
When Beijing experiences bouts of pollution that blacken the
skies and burn the lungs, residents often joke that the Chinese
capital needs to build giant fans to clear out the toxic air.
Mountains to the north and west help trap smog in the city, and a
stiff breeze from Mongolia is the surest way to ensure somewhat
cleaner air.
http://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/24/beijing-considers-how-to-harness-the-wind-to-blow-away-pollution/


What people think about climate change around the world, in one
map
This map, from Sophie Yeo at Responding to Climate Change, rounds
up surveys and polls from around the world since 2009 that look
at views on climate change from abroad. For example, some 84
percent of people in Argentina think climate change is caused by
humans, according to a poll from marketing research firm Ipsos
MORI. In Bangladesh, that percentage drops to 31%, with 46%
believing it's caused by God or natural causes, according to The
Asia Foundation's 2012 Climate Change Perception Study.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/11/24/what-people-think-about-climate-change-around-the-world-in-one-map/


Preparing for COP20
On December 1st, the 20th Conference of the Parties (COP20) will
commence in Lima, Peru to continue attempts to draft a global
treaty on climate change. It has been 25 years since the
international community called for action on greenhouse gases, 26
since climate scientist...	
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diane-husic/preparing-for-cop20_b_6214020.html?utm_hp_ref=climate-change

Renewable Energy Farms Spread Through California Deserts
...swatches of desert land in California that, combined, make up
the largest wilderness area in the Lower 48. It's also about to
become host to the biggest renewable-energy projects in the
world.    Already, 13 of them are built or on the way. There's
the Desert Sunlight Solar Farm , under construction...
http://www.newsweek.com/renewable-energy-farms-populate-california-286644






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