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ARB Newsclips for December 24, 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

Court rejects 2 ozone regulations. In a victory for environmental
groups, a federal appeals court rejected two Environmental
Protection Agency regulations that loosened requirements for
achieving compliance with more protective ozone standards. In a
2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia Circuit said EPA cannot increase the amount of
compliance time by an additional year and cannot revoke ozone.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_EPA_OZONE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
 

OTHER RELATED STORIES
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/article4862163.html#storylink=cpy

http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Court-throws-out-2-ozone-regulations-5975685.php

http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060011013/print 

EPA’s tougher smog rules to get Sacramento airing. The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold three public
hearings – one in Sacramento -- on its proposed updates to the
national air quality standards for ground-level ozone, also known
as smog. EPA wants to strengthen the standards to a level within
a range of 65 to 70 parts per billion to, as it puts it, “better
protect health and the environment.”
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=27419 

CLIMATE CHANGE

Restored Forests Breathe Life Into Efforts Against Climate
Change. Over just a few decades in the mid-20th century, this
small country chopped down a majority of its ancient forests. But
after a huge conservation push and a wave of forest regrowth,
trees now blanket more than half of Costa Rica. Far to the south,
the Amazon forest was once being quickly cleared to make way for
farming…
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/24/science/earth/restored-forests-are-making-inroads-against-climate-change-.html?_r=0


Industry groups wary of Clean Power Plan precedent. Manufacturers
and oil refiners are paving the way for a hard-fought battle over
U.S. EPA's greenhouse gas standards for the power sector, fearing
the agency could use similar tactics to write climate regulations
for their industries. The Chamber of Commerce, the National
Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and the American Petroleum
Institute…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060010975/feed 

Do voters support carbon pricing? Depends who's asking. When
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee unveiled a new cap-and-trade proposal
last week, both business and environmental interest groups were
quick to distribute polls that either boosted or shot down the
Democrat's effort to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Voters would
reject anything that leads to higher energy and transportation
costs, industry warned.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060010966/print 

In 2014, U.S. Climate Movement Grew in Grassroots Might But Lost
Ground in Congress.  People's Climate March drew 1,000 diverse
groups together, before voters sent a climate-denying majority to
Congress. Hundreds of thousands of people filled the streets of
New York City in September demanding that world leaders act on
global warming in the largest climate demonstration yet.
http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20141223/2014-us-climate-movement-grew-grassroots-might-lost-ground-congress


Climate change could cause more blackouts in major U.S. cities –
study. New York City will be increasingly susceptible to
hurricane-triggered blackouts in coming decades, despite the
mitigation efforts put into action since Superstorm Sandy slammed
into the East Coast two years ago, a new study has found. While
the direct impacts of hurricanes, such as loss of life, flooding,
slowed or lost wages and infrastructure damage…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060010978/print 

Republican urges Va. to join cap-and-trade program. A Republican
lawmaker in Virginia wants to charge utilities for emitting
greenhouse gases and use some of the money for projects against
floods caused by climate change. State Del. Ron Villanueva, whose
coastal district includes parts of Virginia Beach, announced
legislation yesterday that would make the commonwealth the 10th
member of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060010967/print 

E.U. carbon price could double next year as Parliament weighs
measures. Carbon prices could climb as high as €15 per metric ton
next year from €7 currently as the European Union debates
measures to support the market, an analyst at Swiss bank UBS
said. The likelihood of this price is 40 percent in an optimistic
policy scenario, Patrick Hummel, an analyst at UBS Investment
Bank, wrote in a note to clients.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060010982/print 

Global agricultural production to sink due to climate change –
study. Climate change could reduce future agricultural production
in some parts of the world by as much as 18 percent, new research
finds. Researchers at the International Institute for Applied
Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Austria used a combination of
computer models known as impact assessment modeling frameworks to
predict how likely climate change will impact…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060010963/print 

Managers weigh maintaining access against preserving habitats.
National park managers are struggling to figure out how much they
should intervene as climate change alters the natural landscape.
The parks were initially intended as places where wildlife and
their habitats could be maintained relatively untouched by human
intervention.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060010974/print 

VEHICLES

Navigant: gasoline and diesel stop-start vehicles to represent
58% of all new vehicles sold in 2025. In a new report analyzing
the emerging global market for technologies that improve fuel
economy, Navigant Research forecasts that sales of gasoline and
diesel stop-start vehicles (SSVs) will reach 63 million annually
by 2025, representing 58% of all vehicles sold in that year.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2014/12/20141223-navigant.html 
 
GREEN ENERGY

Gov. Brown names Commissioner Michael Picker president of PUC.
Moving to limit fallout from a growing scandal at the California
Public Utilities Commission, Gov. Jerry Brown named his former
renewable energy advisor, Michael Picker, as the new president of
the powerful regulatory agency. The governor also chose Liane
Randolph, 49, general counsel at the California Natural Resources
Agency, to fill Picker's former seat on the five-member PUC…
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-puc-appointments-20141224-story.html


Renewable Energy Companies Use New Clout in Statehouses. Earlier
this year, Ohio became the first state to freeze a scheduled
increase in the amount of electricity that must be generated by
wind, solar and other renewable sources. The move gave advocates
of repealing states' mandatory green energy standards a rare
victory after defeats the last two years.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article4911933.html#storylink=cpy


Solar energy storage market to grow tenfold by 2018 – study. The
global market for storage solutions for grid-connected
residential photovoltaic energy installations will grow tenfold
to reach more than 900 megawatts by 2018, a study by IHS
Technology showed.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060010965/print 

BLOGS

If Oil Really Is Headed For $20 Then Now's The Time For A Carbon
Tax. What the oil price is going to be in a few month’s time is
an interesting piece of speculation. And it does largely depend
upon what Opec decides to do. Will they cut production in order
to maintain prices? Or maintain production in order to defend
market share?
http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2014/12/23/if-oil-really-is-headed-for-20-then-nows-the-time-for-a-carbon-tax/


2014 Tesla Model S P85D Driven, Fuel-Cell Tax Credit, 2016 Toyota
Prius Styling: Today's Car News. Today we've got a first drive of
the 2014 Tesla Model S P85D electric car, news that the Federal
income-tax credit for hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles will be allowed
to expire, and a report on sporty styling for the 2016 Toyota
Prius hybrid.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1096040_2014-tesla-model-s-p85d-driven-fuel-cell-tax-credit-2016-toyota-prius-styling-todays-car-news


Tax Credit For Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Vehicles Expires As Congress
Adjourns. Tax incentives have proven to be an important way to
encourage adoption of new green vehicles, offsetting some of the
typically-higher purchase costs compared to conventional costs.
Yet just as Toyota prepares to launch its 2016 Mirai fuel-cell
car, a tax credit for hydrogen vehicles…
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1096032_tax-credit-for-hydrogen-fuel-cell-vehicles-expires-as-congress-adjourns


Lexus To Launch Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Powered LS Sedan: Report.
Toyota and its Lexus luxury brand share underlying architectures,
powertrain, and numerous other components across a number of
their models. That's why there have been several Lexus hybrid
models over the last 10 years--including the brand's current
flagship, the LS 600h L sedan.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1096044_lexus-to-launch-hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered-ls-sedan-report


DOE to award up to $2M to 3 projects for hydrogen and fuel cell
supply chain and manufacturing analysis. The US Department of
Energy (DOE) has selected three projects to receive up to $2
million in new funding for analysis of the hydrogen and fuel
cells domestic supply chain and manufacturing competitiveness.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2014/12/20141224-doeh2.html 

UK launches $39M competition for advanced biofuels demonstration
plants; targeting min. 60% GHG reduction vs. fossil fuels. The
Department for Transport (DfT) recently launched a £25-million
(US$39-million) competition to support the development of a
domestic biofuels industry in the UK. The competition will
provide capital funding for three demonstration-scale advanced
biofuel plants.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2014/12/20141223-ukbiofuel.html 

Mexico proposes new heavy-duty vehicle emission standards aligned
with Euro VI and EPA 2010.  Mexico’s Secretariat of Environment
and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) has proposed new heavy-duty
vehicle emissions standards, aligned with current standards in
place in the rest of North America and in the European Union. The
current limit values in Mexico are equivalent to Euro IV or EPA
2004 standards.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2014/12/20141223-mexico.html 

Cambridge team successfully tests hybrid light aircraft; 30% fuel
savings. Researchers from the University of Cambridge, in
association with Boeing, have successfully tested a light
aircraft powered by a parallel hybrid-electric propulsion system,
in which an electric motor and gasoline engine work together to
drive the propeller.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2014/12/20141223-cam.html 




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