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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for February 25, 2015.

Posted: 25 Feb 2015 15:30:33
ARB Newsclips for February 25, 2015. 

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

European carbon market reform set for 2019. MEPs vote to
strengthen emissions trading scheme by taking 1.6bn surplus
credits off the market to boost carbon prices, but critics call
for steps to be taken earlier. Reforms to strengthen the EU’s
flagship policy for cutting carbon, the emissions trading scheme
(ETS), will start at the end of 2018 following a vote by MEPs on
Tuesday. The carbon market is supposed to drive Europe’s
transition to cleaner sources of energy…
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/feb/24/european-carbon-emissions-trading-market-reform-set-for-2019


AIR POLLUTION

Enviros sue EPA over 3 soot plans. An environmental group today
filed a lawsuit against U.S. EPA alleging that the agency had
failed to put in place federal plans to clean up soot pollution
in Iowa, Puerto Rico and Washington. In the lawsuit, the Center
for Biological Diversity argued that EPA had violated the Clean
Air Act by not issuing the plans.
http://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/stories/1060013951/feed 

Utility group objects to EPA compliance plan for startups,
shutdowns. The utility industry is asking U.S. EPA to reconsider
a compliance plan for power plants to meet toxic air pollution
limits during the times when they're starting up and shutting
down production. In a petition for reconsideration, the Utility
Air Regulatory Group faulted EPA's requirements for control
technologies during startup operations, the agency's analysis of
"best performing"…
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060013924/print 

CLIMATE CHANGE

Scientists witness carbon dioxide trapping heat in air.
Scientists have witnessed carbon dioxide trapping heat in the
atmosphere above the United States, chronicling human-made
climate change in action, live in the wild. A new study in the
journal Nature demonstrates in real-time field measurements what
scientists already knew from basic physics, lab tests…
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SCI_HEAT_TRAPPING?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Head of U.N. Climate-Change Panel Resigns Amid Harassment
Allegations. Indian environmentalist Rajendra K. Pachauri, a
prominent voice on global warming, resigned Tuesday as head of
the United Nations’ climate-change panel—a group that shared the
2007 Nobel Peace Prize under his leadership—after a woman filed a
sexual-harassment complaint against him with police.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/head-of-u-n-climate-change-panel-resigns-1424783912?mod=rss_about_india

http://www.capradio.org/news/npr/story?storyid=388715920 

Climate change may flatten famed surfing waves. On a summer day
in 1885, three Hawaiian princes surfed at the mouth of the San
Lorenzo River on crudely constructed boards made from coastal
redwoods, bringing the sport to the North American mainland.
Today their wave-riding successors consult satellite weather
forecasts on smartphones before heading to Steamer Lane and
Pleasure Point in Santa Cruz to don neoprene wetsuits.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article11129015.html#storylink=cpy

Will UN Climate Panel's Credibility Suffer From the Resignation
of Its Chief? Attacks on the IPCC over allegations of sexual
misconduct come in the same week as scandal erupts over
contrarian scientist Willie Soon. In a week when the Willie Soon
scandal broke and revealed the fossil fuel industry's footprint
on contrarian climate research, embattled denialists went back on
the offensive.
http://insideclimatenews.org/news/25022015/will-un-climate-panels-credibility-suffer-resignation-its-chief

 
First direct observation of carbon dioxide's increasing
greenhouse effect. Scientists have observed an increase in carbon
dioxide's greenhouse effect at the Earth's surface for the first
time. The researchers, led by scientists from the US Department
of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab),
measured atmospheric carbon dioxide's increasing capacity to
absorb thermal radiation emitted… 
http://phys.org/news/2015-02-carbon-dioxide-greenhouse-effect.html#jCp


Former Treasury Secretary Rubin says U.S. underestimates the cost
of climate risks. Robert Rubin, a former U.S. Treasury secretary
in the Clinton administration, said yesterday that climate change
is particularly pernicious because it affects so many distinct
economic sectors, from budgetary planning and labor relations to
agriculture production. "I believe, as all of you do, that
climate change is the existential threat of our time,"…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060013990/print 
http://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/stories/1060013952/print 

Fate of climate fund still up in the air after Kerry's Senate
appearance. If a fight is brewing over President Obama's funding
request to kick off his $3 billion promise to the Green Climate
Fund, it's not happening in public. At least not yet. At two
separate Senate hearings yesterday, which could have been the
first chance for lawmakers to publicly grill Secretary of State
John Kerry on his climate change aid requests…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060013974/print 

Van Hollen reintroduces cap-and-dividend legislation. Rep. Chris
Van Hollen (D-Md.), a leading champion of aggressive government
policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, today reintroduced
legislation that would require fossil fuel producers to purchase
allowances to cover the heat-trapping gases released when coal,
oil or natural gas are burned and then redistribute that money to
all taxpayers.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060013932/print 

U.N. leaders urge nations to get serious about June meeting
pivotal for climate deal. The United Nations threw its weight
yesterday behind a high-level event set for June aimed at keeping
the world's attention focused on the creation of a new global
climate change agreement in Paris at the end of the year.
Speaking at a briefing yesterday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban
Ki-Moon and President of the General Assembly Sam Kahamba Kutesa
called on nations to support the midyear session in New York as a
way to maintain global momentum.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060013887/print 

DROUGHT
Despite drought, Bay Area salmon fishermen see hope for 2015
season. Bay Area commercial salmon fisherman got a jolt of good
news this 
week in the form of population data that could bode well for the
upcoming season. The Pacific Fisheries Management Council
released estimates for the number of chinook salmon that returned
from the Pacific Ocean in the fall to spawn in rivers where they
were born or released from hatcheries.
http://www.mercurynews.com/pacifica/ci_27591929/despite-drought-bay-area-salmon-fishermen-see-hope


California Lawmakers Will Examine Ways To Capture Stormwater.
Recycling stormwater runoff could help provide more water during
the drought.  Democratic Senator Bob Hertzberg says he believes
such projects are more affordable than importing water from state
and federal water projects.
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2015/02/24/california-lawmakers-will-examine-ways-to-capture-stormwater/


Storms to bring rain, snow -- but not enough. Storms will
continue to affect California and the West through this weekend
and into next week with rounds of precipitation for some needy
areas as well as delays for travelers, according to a forecast
Tuesday from the private weather forecasting company AccuWeather
Inc.
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=27827 

FUELS

Defying GOP, Obama vetoes Keystone XL pipeline bill. Defying the
Republican-run Congress, President Barack Obama rejected a bill
Tuesday to approve construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline,
wielding his veto power for only the third time in his
presidency. Obama offered no indication of whether he'll
eventually issue a permit for the pipeline, whose construction
has become a flashpoint in the U.S. debate about environmental
policy and climate change.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBAMA_KEYSTONE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


OTHER RELATED STORIES
http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-82907308/ 
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/government-and-politics/20150224/defying-gop-president-obama-vetoes-keystone-xl-pipeline-bill


Gasoline Plunge Wipes Out Profits for U.S. Ethanol Makers.
Ethanol producers are cutting output after getting squeezed by
the biggest drop in gasoline prices since 2008. Valero Energy
Corp. and Green Plains Renewable Energy Inc., representing about
15 percent of U.S. capacity, have reduced operations as margins
have narrowed.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-25/gasoline-plunge-wipes-out-profits-for-u-s-ethanol-makers


Keystone Veto Signals to Pipeline Foes Obama May Reject Project.
President Barack Obama’s veto of the Keystone XL bill is the
latest sign to pipeline opponents that he’s prepared to reject a
project he said won’t create many jobs or reduce U.S. oil prices.
Obama rejected the Republican-backed bill because it interfered
with a review being led by the State Department, though he hasn’t
decided whether to approve a permit for the pipeline…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-25/keystone-veto-signals-to-pipeline-foes-obama-may-reject-project


Fossil fuel divestment effort comes to energy-rich Colorado.  A
campaign to get universities to stop investing in greenhouse
gas-producing fuels came deep into energy country Friday as
activists asked the University of Colorado to divest from coal
and petroleum companies. The university's governing Board of
Regents took no action on the request from a student group called
Fossil Free CU…
http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_27590024/fossil-fuel-divestment-effort-comes-energy-rich-colorado


Californians getting slightly lower gas tax. Filling up in
California starting on July 1 could be a bit less expensive than
now, following a 5-0 vote by the state Board of Equalization to
lower the state excise tax on gasoline by six cents per gallon.
“The Board's cut won't even fully offset the cost of a new
‘hidden gas tax’ that took effect January 1 to help fund high
speed rail and other so-called anti-global warming efforts,” says
BOE Vice Chairman George Runner.
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=27828 

Mileage Tax Builds Momentum as Alternative to Gas Tax. It is only
a matter of time before the gas tax will have to be phased out
and replaced with a tax on miles traveled to support the nation’s
roads, said a room full of transportation policy officials and
their congressional allies who met here Feb. 24. The switch from
fuel to mileage taxes could take place in six years, two U.S.
representatives told the annual meeting of the Mileage-Based User
Fee Alliance.
http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=37482&t=Mileage-Tax-Builds-Momentum-as-Alternative-to-Gas-Tax


California gas tax cut unlikely to show up at pump. California
regulators voted to lower the state's gasoline tax on Tuesday by
6¢/USG, but drivers may not see a difference at the pump. 
Starting this summer, the California gasoline tax will decline by
6¢/USG, slightly less than the 7.5¢/USG cut originally proposed
in a recommendation to the California Board of Equalization
(BOE).
http://www.argusmedia.com/pages/NewsBody.aspx?id=998075&menu=yes


UC Riverside CELF biomass pretreatment technology could cut
cellulosic biofuel production cost by about 30%. Researchers at
the University of California, Riverside led by Professor Charles
Wyman, the Ford Motor Company Chair in Environmental Engineering,
have developed a novel biomass pretreatment called
co-solvent-enhanced lignocellulosic fractionation (CELF) to
reduce enzyme costs significantly for high sugar yields from
hemicellulose and cellulose…
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/02/20150225-celf.html 

Panel concedes RFS reform unlikely this Congress. Reform of the
renewable fuel standard is doubtful this Congress despite ongoing
difficulties with setting annual targets under the program, a
panel of both biofuel proponents and critics of the RFS said last
week at an annual gathering of ethanol producers.
http://www.eenews.net/eedaily/stories/1060013884/print 

VEHICLES

Hyper-Luxury Cars Are Now Selling Faster Than Normal Ones.
Welcome to a new gilded age of driving in which sales of Ferraris
grow faster than Fords. Something strange happened two years ago
at Switzerland's annual caucus of ultra-luxury car makers.
Rolls-Royce, a brand dedicated to the driven, not the driver,
unveiled a vehicle that had just two doors, an engine the size of
a small Jacuzzi…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-25/hyper-luxury-cars-are-now-selling-faster-than-normal-ones


Rockefeller’s Rodin Says Musk Visionary Drawing Capital. Tesla
Motors Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk is a pioneer when
it comes to attracting money aimed at improving society and
generating a profit, said Rockefeller Foundation President Judith
Rodin. “Elon Musk is a visionary in figuring out how to attract
investment capital,”…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-25/rockefeller-s-rodin-says-musk-visionary-drawing-capital

Electric Vehicle Charging Standards Needed. With the increase of
electric vehicles (EVs) on the road, aka the burgeoning of the
“Electric Highway,” unified standards for public EV charging are
needed. In many states, this will fall on the weights and
measures officials. As more plug-in EVS hits U.S. roads, charging
stations will require inspection and testing for accuracy, just
like a gas station today.
http://domesticfuel.com/2015/02/25/electric-vehicle-charging-standards-needed/


GREEN ENERGY

EU unveils vast plan to merge 28 energy markets. The European
Union's executive has unveiled a vast plan to boost coordination
between the EU's 28 national energy markets to wean Europe off
unstable Russian gas supplies and provide cheaper energy for
consumers. European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic on
Wednesday called it "undoubtedly the most ambitious energy
project" since the inception of the EU over half a century ago.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_EUROPE_ENERGY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


OTHER RELATED STORIES
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-25/eu-to-seek-safer-gas-supply-cleaner-power-in-energy-plan


Over 12,000 comments on desert renewable energy plan. More than
12,000 people submitted comments on the Desert Renewable Energy
Conservation Plan before this week's deadline, many of them
urging policymakers to protect specific parts of the desert from
development. Unprecedented in scope and scale, the 10,000-page
draft plan has far-reaching implications for the future of
California's deserts.
http://www.desertsun.com/story/tech/science/energy/2015/02/24/comments-desert-renewable-energy-plan/23972657/


California grid tackles 50pc renewables goal. The California
Independent System Operator (ISO) over the next year will examine
new transmission infrastructure needs resulting from the proposed
increase of the state renewable portfolio standard to 50pc by
2030.The special study will form part of the 2015-16 annual
transmission planning exercise, which should conclude in the
first half of 2016.
http://www.argusmedia.com/pages/NewsBody.aspx?id=997980&menu=yes


MISCELLANEOUS

California plastic bag ban suspended, measure to overturn ban on
2016 ballot. Setting up a grand environmental showdown, a
referendum initiated by the plastic-bag industry to overturn
California’s first-in-the-nation law that bans supermarkets and
other businesses from handing out single-use plastic bags has
qualified for next year’s ballot.
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/government-and-politics/20150224/california-plastic-bag-ban-suspended-measure-to-overturn-ban-on-2016-ballot


OPINIONS

Keystone Solution Runs Through Canada. The Keystone XL pipeline
has become a perfect symbol of Washington’s dysfunction.
Democrats exaggerate its environmental impact while Republicans
exaggerate its economic benefits. In the debate, each side talks
past the other, because each cares more about gaining a political
advantage than a policy achievement.
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-02-25/mike-bloomberg-keystone-xl-solution-runs-through-canada


Timm Herdt: The need for bilingual electric cars. When Senate
President Pro Tem Kevin de León earlier this month announced an
aggressive clean-energy agenda for California, he made a special
point of asserting it would reach into all of the state's
communities, not just those of coastal environmentalists.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/opinion/ci_27593117/timm-herdt-need-bilingual-electric-cars


Obama's climate change wonk. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy is
in the forefront of President Obama’s climate change agenda, but
don’t call her a politician. President Barack Obama’s plan to
combat greenhouse gases is entering its final lap, and now, with
White House climate change hawk John Podesta gone, the baton has
been handed to Gina McCarthy.
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/barack-obamas-gina-mccarthy-climate-change-wonk-115372.html#ixzz3Sni1eZDl


How dirty media brought down Oregon’s clean-energy governor and
his activist fiancée. Full disclosure:  1. I know and admire
Cylvia Hayes.  2. I support the initiatives that she actively
promoted.  3. I have no special knowledge of her financial
dealings. Regardless, I believe the recent attacks on Hayes and
her fiancé, former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber (D), have been
sensationalized, and are at best misleading.
http://grist.org/politics/how-dirty-media-brought-down-oregons-clean-energy-governor-and-his-activist-fiancee/


Care about global climate change? Then fight local air pollution.
Leaders of developing countries should take a look at a new study
by professors and researchers at Harvard, Yale, and the
University of Chicago, and keep it in mind when they go to Paris
to discuss a global climate agreement this December.
http://grist.org/climate-energy/care-about-global-climate-change-then-fight-local-air-pollution/


BLOGS

On Keystone and Climate, Bloomberg Presses Obama to Negotiate
with Canada Instead of Congress. Former New York City Mayor
Michael R. Bloomberg, now a United Nations climate envoy, has
laid out a wise path for President Obama that could sidestep the
political morass surrounding Canada’s oil-rich Alberta tar
(sands) pits and the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/25/on-keystone-and-climate-bloomberg-presses-obama-to-negotiate-with-canada-instead-of-congress/?ref=earth&_r=0


An Introduction to Carbon Cap-and-Trade Systems Around the World.
Carbon markets are being established around the world, but how
exactly do cap-and-trade systems work? By answering a few
questions on cap-and-trade systems, this piece illustrates why
and how such systems are being adopted in practice. What is the
point of a cap-and-trade system? Cap-and-trade systems are an
approach to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG)…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rosaly-byrd/an-introduction-to-carbon-cap-and-trade_b_6737660.html


Gasoline prices up nearly a dime over the past week. Gasoline
prices in the Pittsburgh region are up eight cents a gallon over
the past week as, for at least the moment, the recent price
declines are just a memory. You're paying an average of $2.468 in
the region for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline, according
to AAA's Fuel Gauge report. That's up from $2.383 a gallon only a
week ago and $2.31 a month ago.
http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/blog/morning-edition/2015/02/gasoline-prices-up-nearly-a-dime-over-the-past.html


Call for Oregon to subsidize electric vehicles intensifies.
Oregon should subsidize electric car purchases to meet its
climate change goals, according to a report issued this morning.
While electric vehicles currently have a relatively small impact
on Oregon's economy, but that could increase dramatically as more
people make the switch from gas to electric.
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/sbo/2015/02/call-for-oregon-to-subsidize-electric-vehicles.html


How Does BP Plan To Ride Through The Oil Crash? The recent crash
in oil prices has made BP’s road to recovery from a massive
setback it faced as a result of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon
incident even more challenging. Just when the company’s
underlying business seemed to be on the cusp of a turnaround with
new upstream projects adding to both production and
profitability, it now faces a potentially prolonged cycle of
depressed commodity prices…
http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2015/01/30/bp-q4-2014-preview-the-decline-in-oil-prices-and-ruble-to-weigh-on-upstream-earnings/


Bill To Kill Georgia's Electric-Car Tax Credit Rises From The
Dead. State politics can be a funny thing. Last week, a Georgia
House bill to end the state's $5,000 tax credit for purchase or
lease of a battery-electric vehicle was voted down by its Ways &
Means Committee. But yesterday, it mysteriously reappeared and
was unanimously passed by voice vote after it was deemed only to
have been "tabled."
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1096976_bill-to-kill-georgias-electric-car-tax-credit-rises-from-the-dead


Chevrolet one of 16 organizations across US recognized by EPA for
Climate Action; only automaker.  The US Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) awarded 2015 Climate Leadership Awards to 16
organizations and one individual representing a wide array of
industries from finance and manufacturing to retail and
technology for showing what the agency said was exemplary
corporate…
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/02/20150225-chevy.html  

How Many Hydrogen Cars For Northeast U.S.? 10,000 In 10 Years,
Plan Says. California is already home to the nation's sole
hydrogen fueling infrastructure, and funds are in place to build
more such stations over the next few years. That's why the Golden
State is now the sole U.S. market for the Hyundai Tucson Fuel
Cell and the upcoming 2016 Toyota Mirai--the only fuel-cell cars
on sale in the U.S. right now.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1096946_how-many-hydrogen-cars-for-northeast-u-s-10000-in-10-years-plan-says
 
 
Chinese electric car sales could surge past the US. Modern
plug-in electric cars have been on sale in the U.S. since
December 2010, and in China even longer. The BYD F3DM, a compact
plug-in hybrid sedan, went into very limited production in 2008,
though early deliveries were strictly to fleets and government
agencies. 
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1096924_will-china-overtake-the-u-s-in-electric-car-sales-this-year#ixzz3SmvFJ88Q


Consumer Reports: Tesla Model S 'Best Overall' Again In 2015.
Well, Tesla Motors seems to have done it again. For the second
year in a row, Consumer Reports has named the Tesla Model S its
"Best Overall" vehicle to buy for 2015. As the well-regarded
consumer magazine notes in its summary: For all of the impressive
new vehicles released in 2014…
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1096975_consumer-reports-tesla-model-s-best-overall-again-in-2015


First Electric Pickup Truck: Renault Kangoo ZE Not For U.S.
(Forbidden Fruit). The field of electric cars is gradually
growing more diverse, but so far no automaker has built an
electric pickup truck and put it on sale. Now there is one,
although it probably won't fit most people's image of a rough,
tough truck. A French company called Kollé (via Inside EVs) is
offering a conversion for the Renault Kangoo Z.E. that transforms
this small electric delivery van into a pickup.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1096966_first-electric-pickup-truck-renault-kangoo-ze-not-for-u-s-forbidden-fruit

 



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