What's New List Serve Post Display
Below is the List Serve Post you selected to display.
newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for February 24, 2015
Posted: 24 Feb 2015 15:14:55
ARB Newsclips for February 24, 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. CAP AND TRADE Oil Industry Not Buying WA Gov. Inslee's Cap-and-Trade Plan ...gathering of oil-industry executives to take a leadership role in fighting climate change by embracing charges on carbon emissions. ... http://insideclimatenews.org/todaysnews/24022015/oil-industry-not-buying-wa-gov-inslees-cap-and-trade-plan AIR POLLUTION Report: Built-up pressure causes explosion a ExxonMobil Torrance refinery. An explosion at the ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance was caused by over-pressurization in an air-pollution-control system, according to a report released Monday. The Wednesday morning blast that injured four contractors was prompted by pressure in an electrostatic precipitator, which controls particulate matter emissions from a fluid catalytic cracking unit, according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/torrance-652083-refinery-revealed.html Former Firm Build execs to pay $1.8 million to asbestos victims. A federal court judge has ordered three former executives of the defunct nonprofit Firm Build to pay a total of $1.8 million to dozens of victims who were exposed to asbestos while working for the group, the office of U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner announced Monday. U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill on Monday ordered Patrick Bowman, Rudy Buendia III and Joseph Cuellar to pay the funds, which will go exclusively toward the cost of medically monitoring the health of the 65 people who were exposed to the cancer-causing substance at the Castle Commerce Center’s Automotive Training Center in Atwater. http://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/local/crime/article11040773.html AIR POLLUTION: EPA denies enviro objections to Texas power plant permits. U.S. EPA has denied several challenges by environmentalists to the operating... http://news.vocus.com/?a=20538007146&p=19f&v=1&x=dEOCO54JUTmnbG9P_iBaaA Green States & Black States: Obama's Climate Plan Paints U.S. in New Colors. At the core of Obama's plan to control greenhouse gas emissions from more than 1,000 power plants... http://news.vocus.com/?a=20534758077&p=19f&v=1&x=EhROg1dvjq6FNa-knb6i7g Here's Where Ocean Acidification Will Hit the U.S. Hardest. ...study that shows that shellfisheries across the U.S. are more vulnerable to climate change's less considered counterpart than previously thought.... http://www.climatecentral.org/news/ocean-acidification-in-us-18693 Scientists Find Troubling Link Between Air Pollution And Suicide. Suicide may be linked to air pollution, according to new research that finds spikes in completed suicides in the days following peak pollution levels. The research took place in Utah, part of the United States’ western “suicide belt.” Suicide is the 10th-leading cause of death in the United States; in Utah, it is the eighth. Though the notion that suicide and air quality could be linked may not seem intuitive, similar studies in South Korea, Taiwan and Canada have also linked the two. https://www.yahoo.com/health/scientists-find-troubling-link-between-air-111864299512.html CLIMATE CHANGE Head Of U.N. Climate Change Panel Resigns Amid Harassment Allegations. The chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Rajendra K. Pachauri, stepped down today amid allegations of sexual misconduct that have engulfed the celebrated Indian economist and engineer. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/02/24/388715920/head-of-u-n-climate-change-panel-resigns-amid-harassment-allegations McCarthy Seeks to Convince Governors Of Merits of Proposed Clean Power Plan ...Association meeting, told skeptics like Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead (R) the proposed carbon pollution limits for power plants would not significantly increase... http://www.bna.com/mccarthy-seeks-convince-n17179923332/ San Mateo County looks to ditch PG&E, jump into renewable energy movement REDWOOD CITY -- In the latest sign that a Bay Area renewable energy trend is picking up steam, San Mateo County is taking... http://www.mercurynews.com/san-mateo-county-times/ci_27583128/san-mateo-county-looks-ditch-pg-e-jump Planting 'climate smart' agriculture in the U.S. -- a difficult but vital chore The agricultural sector cannot afford to ignore climate change. http://news.vocus.com/?a=20534540265&p=19f&v=1&x=xU5G2HLrFTOIqMGXzNZhGA SCIENCE: Climate change may be to blame for frigid Northeast. Biting winds and frigid temperatures terrorizing the Northeast can be linked to climate change, according to scientists at Rutgers and Wisconsin... http://news.vocus.com/?a=20534540390&p=19f&v=1&x=bwPTPYOw65VngnqFkBZijw BUSINESS: Companies begin to teach climate advocates how to reduce CO2. ...head-turning results about the company's carbon footprint after tallying its greenhouse gas emissions, which came from HP's supply chain, the... http://news.vocus.com/?a=20544267515&p=19f&v=1&x=EIUwPwWWS3-czGpVpoBFDA CLIMATE: Grijalva probes other scientists for ties to fossil fuels. ...sources of income for scientists who have challenged the scientific consensus on climate change or who are affiliated with groups that do. http://news.vocus.com/?a=20544293137&p=19f&v=1&x=raLy2o5ChPQSzIaIPllkyg 2 Harvard Law profs back EPA in Clean Power Plan lawsuit. ...U.S. EPA's defense last week in a lawsuit challenging the agency's proposed greenhouse gas standards for power plants. http://news.vocus.com/?a=20538008264&p=19f&v=1&x=WhbZue7Y80M6e_9_-TUzjA Fighting Back Against Climate Change. ...aimed at deliberate, large-scale intervention in the climate system to counter global warming'' -- is a possible tourniquet that might crudely blunt,... Climate Change Climate change may flatten Santa Cruz's famed surfing waves ...parallel to the coast rather than toward it. This change, coupled with dramatic sea level rise, could eradicate today's surfing spots. Scientists... http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_27584934/climate-change-may-flatten-santa-cruzs-famed What do Drought, Record Heat, Chilling Temperatures and Massive Snow Add Up To? ...people feel safe jumping out of their second-story windows in Boston? Climate change, quite possibly. Scientists are trying hard to... http://news.vocus.com/?a=20534419959&p=19f&v=1&x=hHKRfJ0jwwWaTyYKTg7IgQ Talk of oil prices leads to regulatory discussion. ...the well stimulation technique known as hydraulic fracturing, laws limiting greenhouse gas emissions, the likelihood of new groundwater regulations... http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/business/kern-gusher/x1559713538/Talk-of-oil-prices-leads-to-regulatory-discussion A Lesson For Harvard Students: Fossil Fuel Divestment Won't Save The Planet. ...ability of students to study and thrive free from the threat of catastrophic climate change, and to future damage to the university's physical... http://www.forbes.com/sites/lorensteffy/2015/02/23/why-harvards-fossil-fuel-divestment-wont-save-the-planet/ Climate Change Impacts Absent from FEMA's Redrawn NYC Flood Maps. ...of New York's flood risk, because they don't factor in the effects of future climate change. Scientists say that by the 2080s, sea levels off... http://news.vocus.com/?a=20537285146&p=19f&v=1&x=2ahfh4u3u8VdSYIZsPR9xg FEMA Will Require States to Examine Climate Risks in Disaster Planning. ...Management Agency is about to make a significant shift in the way it handles climate change. FEMA will soon require states to examine the impacts... http://news.vocus.com/?a=20537285135&p=19f&v=1&x=s30zmui4ib4DFbVt4CFYSg U.K. on Track to Meet Its Renewable Energy Targets. The U.K. is on track to meet its renewable energy goals, with wind power substituting... http://insideclimatenews.org/todaysnews/23022015/uk-track-meet-its-renewable-energy-targets Technology changing the climate debate. ...down in history as the moment when technology transformed the debate about climate change. Instead of an argument about "the science" indicating... http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article11058203.html Scientific Journals Alerted to Fossil Fuel Funding of Contrarian Climate Studies. ...Credit: Screenshot from the Heartland Institute's International Conference on Climate Change/July 2014. A watchdog group alerted nine scientific... http://insideclimatenews.org/news/23022015/scientific-journals-alerted-fossil-fuel-funding-contrarian-climate-studies DROUGHT Is drought the new normal for Southern California? ...weather cell, drawing more moisture into the deep tropics and broadening areas of drought at higher latitudes, according to a new study. The U.S. west,... http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-climate-drought-california-20150223-story.html DROUGHT: Dry conditions in Calif. eased slightly by winter storms. ...rivers, or heavy storms, have dropped about a foot of water in some parts of California, modestly easing the ongoing drought, experts said Thursday. http://news.vocus.com/?a=20534540503&p=19f&v=1&x=AP5mvTc2Sq-pGaad0MjjZg Water thefts on the rise in California. As California's drought drags on, officials are cracking down on thieves... http://news.vocus.com/?a=20538361231&p=19f&v=1&x=0eE_sxCVuN49FMKJ7jeFoA It may seem like a healthy dose of rainfall for L.A., but it's not. ...rain or a big storm or two in Los Angeles can make it seem as though Southern California is getting a healthy dose of rainfall. But in fact, the city's... http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-0224-rain-totals-20150225-story.html WEATHER: Rain didn't help drought. Weekend storms that brought much-needed rain to Southern California wasn't enough to help the drought. Two days of rain... http://www.pe.com/articles/water-760930-california-percent.html Sacramento to speed up water meter installations. ...installing water meters in every home and business in the city. Citing severe drought conditions that show no signs of letting up, utilities officials... http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/city-beat/article11040677.html FUELS E.P.A. Issues Stiffer Rules on Vehicle Fuel Ratings. After two years of imposing increasingly stiff penalties on automakers that overstate their fuel economy ratings, federal regulators on Monday said they would tighten guidelines used in determining the mileage advertised to consumers. Next year, automakers will face stricter rules for conducting a crucial test or face an audit by the Environmental Protection Agency and potential penalties. The rules for the test had not been updated in over 10 years. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/24/business/energy-environment/epa-issues-stiffer-rules-on-vehicle-fuel-ratings.html?ref=energy-environment&_r=0 5 ways the Keystone saga could end. President Barack Obama plans to veto Congress’ Keystone XL pipeline bill soon after he gets it Tuesday — yet that’s just the beginning of the unpredictable next phase in the project’s journey through the Washington wringer. A veto could doom the congressional push for Keystone, since Republicans lack the votes for an override. But the White House and State Department still must decide the larger question of whether to allow construction of the $8 billion Canada-to-Texas heavy-oil pipeline, and that means both supporters and opponents will be making a final push in a lobbying feud that has already devoured years and tens of millions of dollars. http://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/keystone-xl-pipeline-five-ways-ending-115437.html Cow Manure to Ethanol Plant Switches On in California’s San Joaquin Valley. The San Joaquin Valley has become America’s breadbasket over the past few decades. Products including pistachios, almonds, citrus, stone fruit, cotton, and grapes are grown here and distributed all over the United States and are exported around the world. Tulare County, about a three-hour drive north of Los Angeles, recently surpassed nearby Fresno County to become the wealthiest agricultural county in the U.S. Home to 450,000 people, Tulare is also the top dairy producing country in the U.S. That means a lot of cows, which means a lot of manure, and in turn, all that agricultural activity has contributed to a region that has one of the worst air pollution records in the country. Furthermore, effluent from cow waste is a huge threat to what already are the San Joaquin Valley’s stressed watersheds. http://cleantechnica.com/2015/02/24/cow-manure-ethanol-plant-switches-californias-san-joaquin-valley/ BIOFUELS: DOE to provide $10M for advanced technology projects. The Department of Energy said Friday that it would provide $10 million to seven... http://news.vocus.com/?a=20538008340&p=19f&v=1&x=7ocjlwuOO1To8mE67OfDHg Oregon May Get Rid of Ethanol in Gasoline. ...Fuel Standard that, in part, mandates the amount of ethanol in the nation's gasoline. The issue could even turn into a major point in upcoming elections.... http://insideclimatenews.org/todaysnews/23022015/oregon-may-get-rid-ethanol-gasoline Business leaders to share insights at Modesto forum. ...leaders Dan Costa and Mike Zagaris won't try to explain conditions such as cheap gasoline prices or what's driving the nation's economic recovery. At a... http://www.modbee.com/news/local/article11049509.html Gasoline Prices Rise For Second Time Since June in Survey. The average price of regular gasoline at U.S. pumps rose for the second time since June, climbing 13.2... http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=37468 GREEN ENERGY Bill Gates and Other Business Leaders Urge U.S. to Increase Energy Research. The government is spending far too little money on energy research, putting at risk the long-term goals of reducing carbon emissions and alleviating energy poverty, some of the country’s top business leaders found in a new report. The American Energy Innovation Council, a group of six executives that includes the Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and the General Electric chief Jeffrey R. Immelt, urged Congress and the White House to make expanded energy research a strategic national priority. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/24/us/top-us-business-leaders-urge-increased-energy-research.html San Mateo County looks to ditch PG&E, jump into renewable energy movement. In the latest sign that a Bay Area renewable energy trend is picking up steam, San Mateo County is taking a close look at buying its own power on the open market, instead of relying on PG&E, in a bid to lower its greenhouse gas emissions. The county is exploring whether to establish a community choice aggregation program, which allows local governments to create their own energy portfolios that rely more on alternative sources like wind and solar and less on fossil fuels. On Tuesday, the board of supervisors will vote on allocating $300,000 toward a technical study of the proposal. http://www.mercurynews.com/san-mateo-county-times/ci_27583128/san-mateo-county-looks-ditch-pg-e-jump Japan Panel Proposes Solar Tariff Cut of as Much as 16% on Costs. Japan is considering reducing the incentives for developers of solar power projects by as much as 16 percent to reflect lower operating... http://insideclimatenews.org/todaysnews/24022015/japan-panel-proposes-solar-tariff-cut-much-16-costs FLORIDA: Solar campaign brings in unlikely conservative groups. A campaign to make it easier for the solar power industry to take root in Florida is gaining the support... http://news.vocus.com/?a=20538007154&p=19f&v=1&x=oJc1VAUVEApKw2zi0FPXPQ Public input ends for renewable energy plans in the desert, but not happily. ...Sugarman/KPCC State officials have been seeking public comment on a plan to focus renewable energy development on about 10 percent of southern California's... http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/02/23/49992/public-input-ends-for-renewable-energy-plans-in-th/ MISCELLANEOUS Residents express concerns over new vineyard. Plans for 40 new acres of vineyard atop a hill abutting Hidden Valley Lake homes is causing a stir in the community as some residents seek the county’s help in creating stricter mitigations to protect their quality of life. Major concerns with the development include its potential effects on Hidden Valley’s water quality and long-term quantity, as well as air quality. Some residents are also expressing grievances with how the county’s initial study of the project has written off these potential effects of the development as less than significant. http://www.record-bee.com/general-news/20150223/residents-express-concerns-over-new-vineyard San Francisco residents relying less on private automobiles. ...transit partly because they are "a little bit more self-conscious" about their greenhouse gas footprint. But mostly she suspects the city's "unbearable"... http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-0224-california-commute-20150224-story.html OPINION Policing the Online Climate Conversation. “Many climate-change alarmists seem to claim that all climate change... http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomzeller/2015/02/24/policing-the-online-climate-conversation/ OTHER VIEWS: Gas tax plan should spread to more states. ...raising revenue, gas taxes create incentives forconservation, which reduces air pollution and carbon emissions.Instead, Congress has been resorting... http://news.vocus.com/?a=20540643685&p=19f&v=1&x=jEXKA87AxzM2SB91tnEC5w We know the drill, and don't like it. ...as the nation strives to expand alternatives to dirty fossil fuels and stem greenhouse-gas pollution, tapping reserves off the East Coast isn't... http://www.fresnobee.com/2015/02/23/4393098/we-know-the-drill-and-dont-like.html Growing Corporate Power Counters Climate-Change Action, So Reframe Debate, Book Suggests. ...economic system itself be the main obstacle to the world collectively addressing climate change? DON'T MISS: Will Biofuels Growth... http://news.vocus.com/?a=20534950390&p=19f&v=1&x=0bIpHUI0hYFwhUl50nENIA Diversifying Fuel Sources Makes Good Sense. Since President George W. Bush declared in his 2006 State of the Union speech thatou “America is addicted to oil,” our nation has seen a renaissance of its renewable energy industry. And since California adopted its Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) several years later, our state has been in the forefront of the shift to renewable fuels. http://sandiego.cityandpress.com/node/9166191 Toni Atkins: How California can improve its transportation infrastructure. ...improvements is drying up. Cars have become more efficient and more vehicles use no gasoline at all. That's terrific, but it also means revenues collected... http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_27583084/toni-atkins-how-california-can-improve-its-transportation J. WINSTON PORTER: Renewables need competition, not more government subsidies. ...the state's electricity be produced by renewables by 2030. He also called for gasoline to be reduced to 50 percent of the state's vehicle fuel by the... http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/opinion/hot-topics/x1559713551/Renewables-need-competition-not-more-government-subsidies What we can learn from British Columbia's carbon tax ...has had a carbon tax. It is, on its own terms, a resounding success — carbon emissions are falling even as the economy continues to grow. Not only... http://news.vocus.com/?a=20538389420&p=19f&v=1&x=LOoUUr54iiI7ixUJIxvhmA BLOGS Preventing Sea Level Rise in New York City. While Cleaning the Air in India and China Last week, the New York City Panel on Climate Change predicted a hot and stormy future for the city that... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven-cohen/preventing-sea-level-rise_b_6734948.html United States to Provide Air Quality Data Overseas. ...EPA Administrator McCarthy Sign Agreement to Launch Innovative International Air Quality Program [State Department photo/ Public Domain] Yesterday,... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barbara-a-finamore/united-states-to-provide_b_6735722.html?utm_hp_ref=green Will China Overtake The U.S. In Electric-Car Sales This Year? ...car), Guangzhou Auto Show [photo: ChinaAutoWeb] Enlarge Photo Modern plug-in electric cars have been on sale in the U.S. since December 2010,... http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1096924_will-china-overtake-the-u-s-in-electric-car-sales-this-year Changing the Climate Narrative. If we wonder why the international community has labored for 20 years without reaching a final agreement to confront global warming, we might consider what the dominant narrative has been. It has been mostly about constraining progress and apportioning limits. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-s-becker/changing-the-climate-narr_b_6737078.html Industrialized Countries To Start Unveiling Climate-Change Strategies. This Week On Wednesday, the European Union will unveil its post-2020 climate-change strategy, kicking off a 40-day period during which... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/forest-trends/industrialized-countries_b_6742256.html FCO Power advances Printed Fuel Cell SOFC stack for residential systems in existing apartments. ...Power is progressing with the development of its next-generation solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack for residential fuel cell systems... http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/02/20150224-fcopower.html Making the Mirai fuel cell vehicle. ...Plant, which first began production in 1959, to mark the production of the Mirai fuel cell vehicle, which the company launched in November 2014,... http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/02/20150224-mirai.html New York City Climate Change. ...has long endeavored to be a leader in environmental advocacy, the reality of climate change in our lives can no longer be ignored. Alexa Van... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/new-york-city-climate-change/ California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.