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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for January 30, 2015.
Posted: 30 Jan 2015 16:23:19
ARB Newsclips for January 30, 2015. 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. CLIMATE CHANGE EPA administrator at Vatican ahead of encyclical. The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency met Friday with Vatican officials who helped draft Pope Francis' upcoming encyclical on ecology, evidence that the Obama administration is seeking to hitch its climate-change message onto that of the popular pope. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_REL_VATICAN_CLIMATE_CHANGE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Oregon snowpack at record lows. Oregon's mountain snowpack, vital for farms, fish and ski resorts is in the midst of another miserable year, posting record low depths despite normal precipitation. The reason is persistent warm weather, which is turning into the new normal as the climate heats up. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OR_OREGON_SNOWPACK?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT NASA moves Vandenberg satellite launch to Saturday. ASA has again postponed the launch of a satellite on a mission to gather water data that will help forecast weather, track drought and monitor climate change. The second postponement came after inspections revealed problems with the booster insulation of the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that had been scheduled to launch about 6:20 a.m. Friday, according to the agency. http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-nasa-smap-satellite-launch-20150129-story.html Climate change, vaccination: Scientists, public far apart in concerns, poll shows. The American public and U.S. scientists are light-years apart on science issues. And 98 percent of surveyed scientists say it's a problem that we don't know what they're talking about. Scientists are far less worried about genetically modified food, pesticide use, and nuclear power than is the general public… http://www.contracostatimes.com/nation-world/ci_27419638/climate-change-vaccination-scientists-public-far-apart-concerns Obama’s Climate Plan Could Threaten U.S. Forests. President Obama’s signature environmental initiative, his Clean Power Plan, is designed to fight climate change and crack down on America’s carbon-emitting power plants. But behind the scenes, a dispute is raging over obscure language that could promote the rapid destruction of America’s carbon-storing forests. http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/01/obama-climate-plan-threatens-us-forests-114718.html#ixzz3QKYkavTn Can a country slash its CO2 emissions and avoid electricity price spikes at the same time? The goal is ambitious: Can Germany successfully adapt its electricity market to a future where the predominant power is renewable energy? The country is trying to pull together its current plan to get there at a difficult moment, when all across Europe, countries are suffering from market conditions that favor a fuel switch from natural gas to low-cost coal. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/01/30/stories/1060012563 DROUGHT Scientists see shrinking California snowpack as a harbinger. State workers performed a California winter ritual Thursday, poking hollow aluminum tubes into Sierra Nevada meadows to measure the snowpack. In what scientists see as a harbinger, they didn't find much. "We will conceivably see more years like this in the future," said geologist Jeffrey Mount, a senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California. http://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-snowpack-20150130-story.html http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Snow-levels-in-the-Sierra-drop-to-among-the-6049548.php http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/local/x1992794447/Survey-Calif-short-on-snow-no-drought-relief-in-sight Gov. Brown sees path to compromise drought legislation. California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) yesterday expressed confidence in congressional drought bill negotiations and said he thought "changes" could be made to the state's water policies. When asked about tensions between lawmakers over California's historic drought, now stretching into a fourth year, Brown said he was confident in President Obama's veto authority to produce a workable bill. http://www.eenews.net/eedaily/stories/1060012592/search?keyword=california FUELS Shell to revive plans to drill in Arctic. Royal Dutch Shell Plc plans to resume drilling in Alaska this year even as it plans to cut spending by $15 billion over the next three years because of the drop in oil prices. Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden said the Western Chukchi Sea had the potential to produce billions of barrels of oil. "We're planning on drilling in Alaska in 2015 subject to getting the permits and legal clearance," van Beurden said on a conference call with reporters. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_BRITAIN_EARNS_ROYAL_DUTCH_SHELL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Environmental lawsuit targets oil-by-train terminal near Taft. A coalition of environmental activists filed a lawsuit Thursday that attempts to shut down a new oil-by-rail terminal northeast of Taft. The suit in Kern County Superior Court alleges the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District worked with the terminal's owner… http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/business/kern-gusher/x1992794345/Environmental-lawsuit-targets-oil-by-train-terminal-near-Taft End of the road for gas price decline? Six months of nearly continuous gasoline price drops may be coming to an end as wholesale prices have jumped about 35 cents in the last two weeks. The national average retail price for a gallon of gas is $2.051, up 1.3 cents from a week earlier. But prices may have a bit further to drop in California. The state’s average price on the last Friday of January is $2.436, down 3.3 cents from Jan. 23, the AAA says. http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=27657 California Waters Spared New Energy Leases. California’s offshore waters will be excluded from any new oil or gas lease sales per a draft of a five-year Oil and Gas Leasing Program announced by the U.S. Department of Interior on Tuesday. The plan, which would significantly open up new drilling in parts of the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf of Mexico, creates a schedule to cover the specifics of lease sales from 2017 to 2022. http://www.independent.com/news/2015/jan/29/state-waters-spared-new-energy-leases/ Pipeline Ruptures Plague Oil and Gas Industry. It’s been a rough start to 2015 for safety concerns at pipelines transporting oil, natural gas or their byproducts throughout the country. This week, a pipe in West Virginia became at least the fifth to rupture so far this year, exacerbating concerns about structural weaknesses and lax oversight in the industry. http://www.chem.info/articles/2015/01/pipeline-ruptures-plague-oil-and-gas-industry Pipeline not state-inspected before 3M-gallon saltwater leak. A pipeline that ruptured in North Dakota spilling 3 million gallons of saltwater produced during oil drill was not inspected by the state before being installed. The North Dakota Industrial Commission, which oversees the state's oil and gas industry, said Wednesday that it's common for officials not to inspect such small gathering pipelines before they become operational. http://www.wral.com/warm-weather-snowmelt-slow-north-dakota-saltwater-cleanup/14399492/ GREEN ENERGY Land commissioner halts huge renewable energy project. New Mexico Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn has put the brakes on a $2 billion transmission project that would carry electricity generated by renewable resources in New Mexico and Arizona to markets across the West. Dunn announced late Wednesday that he was issuing a 60-day suspension after meeting with the developers. That delay will give his office more time to review the project before any further development affects state trust lands, he said. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SUNZIA_TRANSMISSION_LINE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Why 50 million smart meters still haven’t fixed America’s energy habits. Five years ago came the promise: A great new way of saving money on your energy bills was on its way. An impressive new device called a “smart meter” — a key component of the much touted “smart grid” — would let consumers actually see how much power they’re using in their homes, thus empowering them to change their habits and slash their bills. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/01/29/americans-are-this-close-to-finally-understanding-their-electricity-bills/ California, U.S. energy plan to aid apartment dwellers. The federal government, California and one of the nation's largest foundations are teaming up to expand financing for energy efficiency and solar energy in multifamily housing. Standing amid an array of solar panels on the sun-drenched roof of a 151-unit apartment building in the Tenderloin area… http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_27420757/california-u-s-energy-plan-aid-apartment-dwellers What Is Community Solar? It's Coming To California. Pacific Gas and Electric Co. just received regulatory approval to offer its customers an option to buy enough solar energy to account for 100% of their electricity needs. It’s part of a statewide effort to provide clean energy to Californians who aren’t able to own or lease their own rooftop solar panels. http://www.forbes.com/sites/uciliawang/2015/01/30/what-is-community-solar-its-coming-to-california/ MISCELLANEOUS Poll shows giant gap between what public, scientists think. The American public and U.S. scientists are light-years apart on science issues. And 98 percent of surveyed scientists say it's a problem that we don't know what they're talking about. Scientists are far less worried about genetically modified food, pesticide use and nuclear power than is the general public… http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SCI_SCIENTISTS_VS_PUBLIC?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT BLOGS Big Government versus the Small Operator. The new rules drafted by the California Air Resources Board are designed to clean up the environment — but the expensive retrofit facing one truck driver is tough to swallow. The demands of business versus the demands of the environment: It is a traditional tension, especially in California, the state with the largest economy in the U.S and arguably the country’s biggest pollution problem. http://www.businessfleet.com/blog/auto-focus/story/2015/01/big-government-versus-the-small-operator.aspx?refresh=true The Climate Post: U.S.-India Climate Agreement Less Substantive Than U.S.-China Climate Deal. The U.S.-India climate agreement announced Jan. 25 creates a new agreement between the second- and third-largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the world but does not have the strength of the U.S.-China climate deal reached last year. Rather than committing India to cap its emissions, the U.S.-India deal called for "enhancing bilateral climate change cooperation"… http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tim-profeta/the-climate-post-us-india_b_6574758.html U of I at Chicago team to optimize new traffic-powered source of electricity. The Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department of the University of Illinois at Chicago has entered into an agreement with New Energy Innovations, Inc. (NEI), to optimize New Energy Innovations’ TPRES (Traffic Powered Renewable Energy System), a new traffic-powered source of electricity that can be deployed at intersections, municipalities, airport entrances, toll booths… http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/01/20150130-tpres.html Did The DC Quick-Charging 'Standards War' Just Quietly End For Electric Cars? Last week at the DC Auto Show, BMW, Volkswagen, and ChargePoint jointly announced they would install about 100 DC fast chargers for electric cars. Their goal is to create “Express Charging Corridors,” on both the East and West coasts, by the end of this year. The most intriguing news, however, was that the hardware will--in most cases--offer fast charging for electric cars using two different standards: http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1096556_did-the-dc-quick-charging-standards-war-just-quietly-end-for-electric-cars UK Official Says Encouraging Diesel Cars To Lower Carbon Was 'Wrong' For at least 20 years, diesel cars have been much more popular in Europe than in the United States. Because diesel combustion is more efficient than gasoline combustion, the engines help drivers save money on fuel--and produce lower emissions of greenhouse gases. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1096554_uk-official-says-encouraging-diesel-cars-to-lower-carbon-was-wrong US Energy Department provides US$45 million funding for solar manufacturing technologies. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz: “As the price of solar continues to drop, the Energy Department is committed to supporting a robust domestic solar manufacturing sector that will help American business meet growing demand and help American families and businesses save money by making solar a cheaper and more accessible source of clean electricity.” http://www.pv-tech.org/news/us_energy_department_provides_us45_million_funding_for_solar_manufacturing California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.