What's New List Serve Post Display

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

Ontario seeks input on climate change strategy, carbon pricing
The Ontario government is looking for public input on its climate
change strategy, as it weighs whether to implement a
cap-and-trade system or a carbon tax. A 45-day consultation
period will see town hall meetings held across the province and
people can give feedback online and through social media.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-seeks-input-on-climate-change-strategy-carbon-pricing-1.2955165


‘Cap and Trade’ Could Bring Millions for Environmental Projects
With the busy City College trolley station as a backdrop, local
government leaders on Tuesday called attention to $2 billion in
new funding for environmental projects under California’s
innovative “cap and trade” law. Chula Vista Mayor Mary Salas, San
Diego City Councilman David Alvarez and San Diego Unified Board
Member Richard Barrera gathered in support of Assembly Bill 32,
the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which will
provide $2 billion in funding for transit, energy-efficient
housing upgrades, and new affordable housing.
http://timesofsandiego.com/politics/2015/02/10/cap-trade-bring-millions-environmental-projects/


AIR POLLUTION

Map shows lead pollution around California airports
A health non-profit has released a map showing neighborhoods
around 23 California airports, where aviation fuel creates lead
air pollution dangers. It includes Fresno-Yosemite International
Airport.
http://abc30.com/news/map-shows-lead-pollution-around-california-airports/515455/


High levels of air pollution at red lights
Stopping at red lights exposes drivers to high levels of air
pollution, according to scientists, including one of
Indian-origin, who suggest that synchronising traffic signals to
reduce waiting time may help address the problem. Road vehicles
are known to emit polluting nanoparticles which contribute to
respiratory and heart diseases.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/high-levels-of-air-pollution-at-red-lights-115021300922_1.html


Study finds children’s exposure to urban air pollution results in
early hallmarks of Alzheimer’s
A study by researchers from the US, Mexico and Canada has found
that children’s urban air pollution exposures result in systemic
and brain inflammation and the early hallmarks of Alzheimer’s
disease (AD). Children living in cities with significant air
pollution are at an increased risk for detrimental impacts to the
brain, including short-term memory loss and lower IQ. The work is
published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/02/20150212-um.html 

CLIMATE CHANGE

Negotiators agree on early draft of UN climate deal
U.N. negotiators on Friday produced an early draft of what
eventually should become a landmark climate deal in Paris next
December, piling on suggestions to make sure the document
reflected every country's wishes. So instead of shrinking to a
more manageable size, the 38-page text from a previous climate
change meeting swelled to 86 pages during the weeklong
negotiating session in Geneva.
http://www.sfgate.com/business/technology/article/Negotiators-agree-on-early-draft-of-UN-climate-6079433.php


Will The Carbon Bubble Be The Next Financial Crisis?
The gross overvaluation of commodities companies, based on
resources that they will never be able to extract from the
ground, will lead to a new market crash and global financial
crisis. That’s the warning in a new study released in Europe
yesterday. It comes from the Green party, and specifically a
study commissioned by the Green European Foundation, and that
fact will probably be enough for many investors to ignore it and
move on to the next story.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/chriswright/2015/02/13/will-the-carbon-bubble-be-the-next-financial-crisis/


What to Call a Doubter of Climate Change?
The words are hurled around like epithets. People who reject the
findings of climate science are dismissed as “deniers” and
“disinformers.” Those who accept the science are attacked as
“alarmists” or “warmistas. ” The latter term, evoking the
Sandinista revolutionaries of Nicaragua, is perhaps meant to
suggest that the science is part of some socialist plot.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/17/science/earth/in-climate-change-whats-in-a-name.html


DIESEL ACTIVITIES

Biodiesel's role in meeting AB 32 goals presented at Calif.
Event
Don Scott, director of sustainability at the National Biodiesel
Board, kicked off the first panel with several important
statistics about biodiesel benefits relative to petroleum diesel:
biodiesel reduces greenhouse gases (GHGs) by 50 to 80 percent;
decreases wastewater by 79 percent and hazardous waste by 96
percent; and its use prevents hundreds of premature deaths in
California from reduced PM2.5 exposure.
http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/articles/309933/biodiesels-role-in-meeting-ab-32-goals-presented-at-calif-event


FUELS

California Bill Would Carry Out Plan to Halve Petroleum Use
On Tuesday, several Democratic members of the California Senate
introduced a package of legislative proposals they say will help
combat climate change and promote a clean energy economy in the
state. One of the bills, S.B.350, executes on Gov. Jerry Brown's
vision mentioned in his recent State of the State address to
reduce on-road petroleum use by 50% by 2030.
http://www.ngtnews.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.10456#.VN43BBamOa8


VEHICLES

Chevy confirms production of 200-mile-range Bolt EV
Chevrolet has confirmed it will begin production on its Bolt EV,
a concept car revealed only weeks ago in Detroit. It's now headed
into production at a GM plant that currently makes Chevy Sonics.
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-chevy-confirms-bolt-ev-20150211-story.html


Japan Has More Car Chargers Than Gas Stations
There are more electric-car charging points in Japan than there
are gas stations. That surprising discovery comes from Nissan
Motor Co., which reported that the number of power points in
Japan, including fast-chargers and those in homes, has surged to
40,000, surpassing the nation’s 34,000 gas stations. 
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-13/japan-has-more-car-chargers-than-gas-stations-carbon-climate


GREEN ENERGY

California solar industry added 7,500 jobs in a year
Jobs in California's solar industry increased by nearly 7,500
from October 2013 to October 2014. The nearly 16 percent increase
outpaced the state’s overall job growth rate for the same time
period by more than 10 times. The jobs figures were released by
the nonprofit organization The Solar Foundation on Thursday.
http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/02/13/49803/california-solar-industry-added-7500-jobs-in-a-yea/


Google campus on track to use 100% renewable energy
Google has announced it is purchasing power from Altamont Pass,
one of the country's oldest and largest windfarms in California's
San Joaquin Valley. The technology company recently inked a
20-year agreement with Florida-based NextEra Energy Inc. About
770 wind turbines from the 1980s will be replaced this year by 48
new turbines, which will double energy production.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060013359/feed 

School district 'Flips the Switch' on energy use
The Palm Springs Unified School District commemorated the
completion of its first district-owned solar structures, at a
"Flip the Switch" event last week at Bubbling Wells Elementary
School in Desert Hot Springs.
http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/education/2015/02/12/palm-springs-schools-flip-switch/23315887/


MISCELLANEOUS

Amid protest, a call for a more ethical Public Utilities
Commission
The new head of the beleaguered Public Utilities Commission vowed
Thursday to forge  changes at the powerful regulatory agency "to
ensure more ethical behavior" by commissioners and high-ranking
staff.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-peevey-fete-20150212-story.html


Google Launches Free EV Shuttle Service in Mountain View, CA
Four new 100% electric community shuttle buses have hit the road
in the beautiful Silicon Valley city of Mountain View,
California. The four electric shuttles are free to the public,
thanks to Google, and are equipped with seating for 16
passengers, a wheelchair lift, space for two wheelchairs, Wi-Fi
connectivity, and bicycle racks on the outside of the shuttle.
http://planetsave.com/2015/02/05/google-launches-free-ev-shuttles-mountain-view-ca/


Tehee: Bikeshare program at Fresno State will be useful for city
Fresno State may be on it way to a bikeshare system, thanks to
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its Building Blocks
for Sustainable Communities program. The university received the
program’s Bikeshare Planning tool, which will offer technical
know-how and support in creating bike sharing.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2015/02/12/4376271_bikeshare-program-at-fresno-state.html?rh=1


OPINION

California businesses will benefit from stronger clean-fuel
standards: Guest commentary
They say one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. At our
company, Anaergia, we take that concept to extremes. We turn
sewage and landfill waste into energy. We’ve done projects around
the world, but our American headquarters are here in California,
and that’s no accident. The state’s pioneering energy and
pollution policies give clear market signals that other states
cannot match. If you’re building a business in the fast-growing
clean technology sector, there’s no place in the United States
you’d rather be. 
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/opinion/20150212/california-businesses-will-benefit-from-stronger-clean-fuel-standards-guest-commentary


Amid a lack of fracking data, the state should halt new
operations
The wastewater from oil drilling, hydraulic fracturing and other
extraction processes is supposed to be injected only into wells
where the groundwater is already too toxic to be used for
drinking or irrigation, even if heavily treated. But last year,
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency identified 10 California
wells where that rule had been ignored.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-fracking-wastewater-tainted-aquifers-california-20150213-story.html


BLOGS

Why Hacking the Atmosphere Won’t Happen Any Time Soon
It’s worth spending some more time on the National Academy of
Sciences reports on geoengineering prospects and concerns — the
concerns mainly being about adding sun-blocking particles to the
atmosphere to counteract global warming driven by the buildup of
heat-trapping greenhouse gases.
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/12/why-hacking-the-atmosphere-wont-happen-any-time-soon/




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