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CAP AND TRADE

State carbon auction nets $1 billion. Companies spent more than
$1 billion in California’s latest sale of carbon emissions
credits, making it the largest auction since the controversial
cap-and-trade program began in late 2012, state officials said
Wednesday. The reason: State officials dramatically expanded the
pool of credits for sale to accommodate a surge in demand. 
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/article11191400.html#storylink=cpy
 

Court of Appeal Rejects Challenge to State ‘Cap-and-Trade’ Rules.
The First District Court of Appeal yesterday rejected a challenge
by environmental groups to the “cap-and-trade” rules instituted
by the California Air Resources Board. Presiding Justice Ignacio
Ruvolo, writing for Div. Four, agreed with San Francisco Superior
Court Judge Ernest Goldsmith that the board acted within the
broad discretion granted to it by AB 32… 
http://www.metnews.com/articles/2015/cap022515.htm  

Round Valley First Forest Carbon Offset Project on Native Trust
Land for California. The discussions of climate change and carbon
footprints are important subjects within Indian country, and on
February 24 the Round Valley Indian Tribes became a part of
history as far as carbon emissions goes. Round Valley and New
Forests on Tuesday announced the regulatory approval of the first
forest carbon offset… 
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/02/26/round-valley-first-forest-carbon-offset-project-native-trust-land-california-159386
 

California carbon permits fetch $12.21 a tonne at auction. 
California said on Wednesday that carbon allowances fetched
$12.21 a tonne at the cap-and-trade program's first auction of
the year, a rate below market expectations even though all of the
permits offered were sold. The auction was the first since the
two-year-old cap-and-trade program expanded to cover distributors
of transportation and home heating fuels on Jan. 1, roughly
doubling the market's size.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/02/25/california-carbon-auction-idINL1N0VZ2M020150225

Calif.'s first cap-and-trade auction with motor fuels included
sells out. The first auction under California's newly expanded
cap-and-trade program sold out of permits for greenhouse gas
emissions, the Golden State said yesterday. California's system,
aimed at cutting the heat-trapping gases blamed for climate
change, wrapped in distributors of motor fuels like gasoline and
diesel starting on Jan. 1.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060014075/print

Green Assets and Middleton Place awarded first-of-its-kind Carbon
Offset Credits.  Green Assets, Inc., a leading forest carbon
offset developer, announced today the completion of the
first-ever compliance-grade Avoided Conversion carbon offset
project in the United States. Their Middleton Place project
received California Air Resources Board Offset Credits (ARBOCs)
for the conservation of more than 3,700 acres of pristine
southern coastal habitat near Charleston, S.C.
http://www.nassaunewslive.com/green-assets-and-middleton-place-awarded-first-of-its-kind-carbon-offset-credits/536263


AIR POLLUTION

Exposure to small particle pollution linked to heart-disease
death. Data from about 8,000 women living in the Sacramento
metropolitan area were used in a major study – released Wednesday
– that linked death from heart disease to exposure to soot found
in car exhaust, cooking smoke and diesel pollution. The study,
one of the most comprehensive to date, used data from the
tracking of 100,000 middle-aged women in California between 2000
and 2007. 
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-tiny-pollutants-linked-to-heart-disease-deaths-20150225-story.html
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article11184728.html#storylink=cpy

State lawmakers target wood stove rules.  That was the message
Wednesday in Richmond as the State Senate approved legislation
opposing new federal regulations on wood heaters. Lawmakers were
taking aim at new EPA rules designed to improve the efficiency of
wood stoves and reduce pollution. Republicans said the rules are
an example of federal overreach that will affect many
Virginians.
http://www.wdbj7.com/news/local/state-lawmakers-target-wood-stove-rules/31487162


Prescribed burn spreads to forest in Northern California.  A
prescribed burn in the largest natural forest in California is
burning out of control and isn't expected to be contained until
next week. The U.S. Forest Service reports that on Tuesday
afternoon firefighters responded to a wildfire on private land in
Siskiyou County, about 18 miles northeast of McCloud, which is on
the southern slope of Mt. Shasta. The fire was sparked by a
change in wind during a prescribed burn. The fire spread into the
Shasta-Trinity National Forest.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/article11231270.html


CLIMATE CHANGE

Hollande Says No Climate Deal If There Is No Climate Fund. 
French President Francois Hollande said Thursday that a landmark
climate deal may not be reached in Paris in December if wealthy
countries don't commit adequate funds to help poor nations fight
global warming. "There will be no agreement concluded in Paris if
the countries, the poorest countries, are not convinced that
there will be a fund ... which would be made available to them,"
Hollande said in Manila after he and Philippine President Benigno
Aquino III launched an international appeal to back efforts to
seal a climate change accord.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_PHILIPPINES_FRANCE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Related articles:
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/hollande-climate-deal-climate-fund-29241255

http://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/Hollande-says-no-climate-deal-if-there-is-no-6103000.php

http://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/article11224553.html

Lawmakers Seek Information on Funding for Climate Change Critics.
Democratic lawmakers in Washington are demanding information
about funding for scientists who publicly dispute widely held
views on the causes and risks of climate change. Prominent
members of the United States House of Representatives and the
Senate have sent letters to universities, companies and trade
groups asking for information about funding to the scientists. 
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/26/science/lawmakers-seek-information-on-funding-for-climate-change-critics.html?_r=0
 

Berkeley study directly IDs climate change culprit. Scientists
training their instruments on the skies have caught the world’s
major greenhouse gas right in the act of warming the planet,
researchers reported Wednesday, providing the first direct
evidence that human activity is dangerously altering the
environment. The instruments captured more than a decade of
rising surface temperatures…
http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/Berkeley-experts-study-strengthens-human-link-6101054.php
 

We have tools to ensure grid reliability under carbon rule – EPA.
U.S. EPA Chief Gina McCarthy told lawmakers yesterday that her
agency is prepared to deal with potential electric reliability
problems under the Clean Power Plan, whether through a "waiver or
another process." While McCarthy maintained that the proposed
rule would not affect reliability, she said EPA has the necessary
tools to address situations that might arise under the landmark
standards to cut carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060014074/print  

Companies turn to 'adaptation specialists' to prepare for climate
change. As climate change increasingly is on large companies'
radars, they're turning to a budding field of professionals --
climate adaptation specialists -- to help determine which risks
are most pressing and how they should be handled. Those who work
in this relatively new profession need many skills.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060014034/print  

Expect a burst of warming after current temperature 'hiatus,'
scientists warn. If the oceans are responsible for absorbing
excess heat from climate change, we can expect a burst of warming
in the future, according to scientists. Since 1998, global
surface temperatures haven't risen significantly. A hiatus in
global warming like the one the world is currently experiencing
is not unheard of…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060014029/print  

Western regulators, utilities call for more time to implement
EPA's Clean Power Plan. U.S. EPA proposed an unreasonable and
costly deadline for states to begin reducing global warming
emissions, according to utility officials and regulators in
Western states who testified here yesterday before the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission. 
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2015/02/26/stories/1060014048

FUELS

Lower gasoline prices dampen U.S. consumer inflation. U.S.
consumer prices fell over the past year for the first time since
2009 as gasoline prices continued to tumble, which could allow a
cautious Federal Reserve more room to hold off on raising
interest rates. Other data on Thursday showed a rebound in
business investment spending plans and a steadily firming labor
market, suggesting the move into deflation territory would be
brief. In addition, gasoline prices have been rising in recent
weeks. 
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/26/us-usa-economy-idUSKBN0LU1J220150226
 

Alberta in Talks on Climate Policy With Eye to Keystone Approval.
Alberta is in talks with other Canadian provinces and U.S. states
to cooperate on climate and environmental policies as it seeks to
improve the reputation of its oil sands and win approval of
TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone pipeline.  The oil-rich province is
in discussions with governments in North America and overseas… 
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-26/alberta-in-talks-on-climate-policy-with-eye-to-keystone-approval
  

House GOP probes Obama’s Keystone XL decision. The House
Oversight Committee is investigating the Obama administration’s
ongoing process to review the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.
Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) asked Secretary of
State John Kerry Tuesday to send him everything the State
Department received from other federal agencies for its ongoing
determination of whether Keystone is in the United States’
“national interest.” 
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/233771-house-gop-probes-obamas-keystone-xl-decision

VEHICLES

Southwest Research Institute wins $20 million EPA contract for
emissions testing. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
has awarded Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) a five-year,
$20.16 million contract to provide testing and analytical
services related to vehicle emissions and fuel consumption. The
contract calls for SwRI to develop test procedures and equipment
to evaluate all types of fuel and additives and the resulting
emissions… 
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/news/2015/02/24/southwest-research-institute-wins-20-million-epa.html

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.
It will include improving links across borders in Europe's oil,
gas and electricity grids and investing in new sources of energy
from North Africa and Turkey.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/02/25/world/europe/ap-eu-europe-energy.html?_r=0

http://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/EU-unveils-vast-plan-to-merge-28-energy-markets-6100511.php


The EPA Just Ripped California's Big Renewable Energy Plan. As
the state and federal agencies drafting a massive plan to zone
the California desert for energy development struggle to put a
record number of public comments online, one comment in
particular may cause the document's authors even more work. The
public comment period on the draft Desert Renewable Energy
Conservation Plan, known as the DRECP…
http://www.kcet.org/news/redefine/rewire/government/drecp/epa-desert-energy-plan-must-do-more-to-protect-wildlife-air-water.html


If you're headed for the slammer, here's one that's going green.
The Federal Correctional Complex in Coleman (FCC Coleman) is
about to get a green makeover. The Florida facility will receive
$45 million worth of water- and energy-saving technologies, as
well as a 2-megawatt solar array as part of a contract signed by
the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060014047/print  

Cutting food waste could make significant dent in global
emissions, study finds. Before you throw away that half-eaten
pizza, consider a couple of things. A full third of all food
produced ends up in the trash, amounting to about $400 billion in
annual losses. That food waste is responsible for a full 7
percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060014073/print

MISCELLANEOUS

Young Indians Learn To Fight Pollution To Save Lives.  China's
pollution is epic enough that even the mayor of Beijing said his
city "is not livable" because of its noxious smog. But a new
study, published Saturday in the Economic & Political Weekly,
shows that 660 million people — half the population — live in
areas where fine particulate matter pollution is above levels
considered safe under Indian standards.
http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/npr/388901963/young-indians-learn-to-fight-pollution-to-save-lives


OPINIONS

The troubling psychology behind how we decide who’s a scientific
“expert” — and who isn’t.  In the past few days, the climate
change debate has reverted to a familiar mode: Follow the money.
The New York Times and many other outlets reported on
climate-doubting researcher Wei-Hock (“Willie”) Soon and his
apparent receipt of energy industry monies to support his
research programs. Soon, who has not responded to comment
requests from The Washington Post, has often argued that the sun
is the real factor driving climate change — a position that is
rejected by the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,
the world’s leading authority on climate science.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/02/25/why-all-we-believe-our-own-favorite-experts-and-why-they-believe-themselves/


Climate Change & Manufacturing. “When you’re in a hole, stop
digging.” The subtitle to this article, the so-called “first law
of holes,” is attributed to various sources (earliest going back
to 1911 in the Washington Post) and is usually interpreted as “if
you find yourself in an untenable position, you should stop and
change, rather than carry on exacerbating it.” (fromWikipedia)
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2015/02/26/climate-change-manufacturing/#ixzz3Ss2Ysukx
  

Californians must show their resolve on plastic-bag ban. 
Reducing air pollution, conserving water, combating climate
change and preserving open space all require sacrifice, and in
many cases they also require battles with entrenched industries
whose interests are at odds with environmental goals. If
Californians can't manage to ban single-use plastic bags — taking
on the industry that manufactures them and accepting the minor
inconvenience involved — it doesn't speak well of the state's
ability to confront the bigger environmental challenges that lie
ahead.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-plastic-bag-20150226-story.html


BLOGS

Can only Republicans help Republicans on climate change?  On a
Tuesday conference call, climate policy champion Rep. Chris Van
Hollen (D-Md.) predicted that the toxic politics of global
warming will change “because of the public’s growing awareness”
of the issue. Many people who want action on climate change share
the same hope.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2015/02/25/can-only-republicans-help-republicans-on-climate-change/


New Doc Exposes the ‘Experts’ Peddling Misinformation About
Global Warming.  Documentaries have found new visibility in
recent years, thanks to the rise of streaming services, but the
same doesn't hold for the people who make them. Fortunately,
Robert Kenner is an exception. For more than 30 years, the
award-winning director of Two Days in October and Food, Inc. has
been one of the few acknowledged masters of the form, distilling
sprawling, unwieldy topics into concise, compelling films. His
latest, March's Merchants of Doubt, pillories the “scientific
experts” maintaining that cigarettes don't cause cancer or that
global warming is a myth. It's an urgent cry for people to
confront scientific misinformation, and it finds Kenner at the
peak of his abilities.
http://www.wired.com/2015/02/merchants-of-doubt/ 

Will Obama's Climate Plan Really Cause Blackouts?  Back in
November, a group of Republican lawmakers fired off a stern
letter to the head of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,
the agency that oversees electric grids. President Barack Obama's
new climate plan, the letter warned, could lead to blackouts
across the country. The Clean Power Plan is the centerpiece of
Obama's climate policy. It calls for the nation to reduce its
carbon footprint 30 percent by 2030 and requires each state to
reduce the "intensity" of its power sector—that is, how much
greenhouse gas is produced per unit of energy.
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2015/02/will-obamas-climate-plan-cause-blackouts


If the Air’s Over 200, Exercise Indoors: WHO China Head’s Tips
for Beijing Runners.  Though the topic of running in the heavy
smog was widely discussed before the marathon, Dr. Schwartlander
regrets that he didn’t speak out before the event to warn
runners. “I should have done it,” says Dr. Schwartlander, an avid
outdoorsman who rides his bike daily to his office in Beijing’s
Chaoyang district. “The WHO cannot recommend that anyone run in
that air.” For the Beijing marathon, which took place under high
levels of air pollution, some competitors donned face masks while
others chose not to run or to quit early.
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2015/02/26/if-the-airs-over-200-exercise-indoors-who-china-heads-tips-for-beijing-runners/


How Can We Address Indoor Air Pollution?  What are the challenges
of addressing indoor air pollution caused by solid fuel fires for
cooking and heating? How can we overcome those challenges? Does
the international community have an obligation to help? Why or
why not?
http://blogs.kqed.org/education/2015/02/26/how-can-the-international-community-address-indoor-air-pollution/



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