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CAP AND TRADE

Alberta's economy to benefit from emissions reduction technology.
 Alberta's investment in emissions reduction technologies has
paid off, according to a recent study. For every Canadian dollar
(80 U.S. cents) invested in technology by Alberta's Climate
Change and Emissions Management Corp., CA$1.50 ($1.20) returns to
the regional economy.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060014578/print

AIR POLLUTION

Tracking the impact of smog on California kids.  Children in
southern California may be breathing easier these days compared
with the 1990s, thanks to a big reduction in air pollution, a new
study suggests. Researchers found that as air quality improved in
five Los Angeles-area communities over two decades, so did
children's lung development. Experts said the findings, published
in the March 5 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine,
suggest a major public health benefit from cleaner air: Kids'
lung function not only matters in the short-term, but is also
tied to their risk of developing heart and lung disease later in
life.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/tracking-the-impact-of-smog-on-california-kids/


China vows to fight pollution 'with all our might'.  Chinese
premier Li Keqiang on Thursday renewed pledges to tackle the
country’s chronic pollution, without announcing any significant
new environmental measures. The Chinese public are increasingly
enraged by hazardous smog that regularly blankets cities, as well
as water and soil that are laced with heavy metals and various
other toxic pollutants.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/05/china-vows-to-fight-pollution-with-all-our-might


Dramatic photos illustrate China’s ‘inconvenient truth’ about its
hideous air.  Years ago, air pollution used to be chalked up to
excessive “fog.” But the days when China dismissed its air
quality problem are gone. Speaking last week before the National
People’s Congress, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pledged to fight
pollution, calling it a “blight on people’s quality of life and a
trouble that weighs on their hearts … We must fight it with all
our might.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/03/05/these-photos-show-just-how-bad-pollution-in-china-is/


China to reduce coal consumption, lessen pollution – ministry. 
China will reduce coal consumption and boost energy efficiency as
part of efforts to lessen air pollution, according to an action
plan released by the government on Friday. The world's top
consumer will cut coal consumption by over 80 million tonnes by
2017 and more than 160 million tonnes by 2020 through efficiency
measures, under the 2015-2020 plan from the Ministry of Industry
and Information Technology.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/06/china-coal-cut-idUSL4N0W834Q20150306


CLIMATE CHANGE

Europe submits U.N. climate pledge, urges U.S., China to follow. 
The European Union on Friday submitted its formal promise on how
much it will cut greenhouse gas emissions to the United Nations
ahead of climate change talks starting in November and called on
the United States and China to follow its lead. The European
Union is the first major economy to agree its position before the
talks in Paris aimed at seeking a new worldwide deal on global
warming.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/06/us-eu-environment-idUSKBN0M21KI20150306


McConnell Urges States to Defy U.S. Plan to Cut Greenhouse Gas. 
Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and majority
leader, is urging governors to defy President Obama by refusing
to implement the administration’s global warming regulations.  In
an op-ed article published Wednesday in The Lexington
Herald-Leader with the headline, “States should reject Obama
mandate for clean-power regulations,” Mr. McConnell wrote: “The
Obama administration’s so-called ‘clean power’ regulation seeks
to shut down more of America’s power generation under the guise
of protecting the climate.” He added, “Don’t be complicit in the
administration’s attack on the middle class.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/05/us/politics/mcconnell-urges-states-to-defy-us-plan-to-cut-greenhouse-gas.html


Hearing on Alaska exposes tension between economic growth and
accelerating warming.  At a hearing yesterday on international
trade, oil and gas opportunities in the Arctic and America's
future in the region, Sens. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Bernie
Sanders (I-Vt.) said continued fossil fuel exploration and
shipping, which has been made easier by warming conditions,
threatens Alaskans and its native communities…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060014593/print 

Canadians want increased government action on reducing emissions
– poll. Canadians want their government to take the lead in
establishing tax policies to curb the country's greenhouse gas
emissions, according to a new poll conducted by Nanos Research
for the Toronto Globe and Mail. Though 71 percent of respondents
said they "supported" or "somewhat supported" new taxes…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/03/06/stories/1060014590 

DROUGHT

NOAA: El Nino is 'too little, too late' for California drought. 
El Niño is here, but don't expect the Pacific Ocean circulation
phenomenon to do much for the drought afflicting California and
the western U.S., forecasters said Thursday. "Unfortunately, this
El Niño is likely too little, too late and too weak to provide
much relief for drought-stricken California, as California’s
rainy season is winding down," said Mike Halpert, deputy director
of the Climate Prediction Center at the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration.
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/03/05/scientists-say-weak-el-nino-arrived-not-expected-to-end-drought/

Related Articles:
http://time.com/3734013/el-nino-california-drought/ 

Business coalition forms in response to California drought.  A
coalition of businesses including The Coca-Cola Company and Gap
Inc. announced Thursday it is backing Gov. Jerry Brown's call for
conservation in drought-stricken California. The individual
companies didn't say they would scale back their own operations
to save water as California heads into a fourth dry year.
Instead, the group organized by Ceres, a Boston environmental
nonprofit, says it is urging sustainable water management.
http://www.chicoer.com/general-news/20150305/business-coalition-forms-in-response-to-california-drought


FUELS

Researchers develop method to trace methane emissions to their
source. A new instrument is helping scientists play detective
with a potent greenhouse gas, clearing a path for better climate
models, developing robust policy on greenhouse gases and more
accurate prospecting for natural gas. Methane is the second-most
important heat-trapping gas, behind carbon dioxide, emitted into
the atmosphere from human activity.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060014595/print

GREEN ENERGY

US Energy Storage Market to Grow 250% in 2015.  The U.S. is on
the cusp of a breakout year for energy storage, according to the
inaugural U.S. Energy Storage Monitor report from GTM Research
and the Energy Storage Association (ESA). The country is
forecasted to deploy 220 megawatts in 2015, more than three times
its 2014 total, and growth should continue at a rapid clip
thereafter.
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/us-energy-storage-market-grew-400-in-2014


Clean industry job growth slowed in 2014, despite uptick from
Tesla and solar industry. Job growth in the U.S. clean energy and
clean transportation sectors slowed considerably in 2014, with
roughly 47,000 new jobs created by 170 development projects
nationwide, according to data released yesterday by the business
group Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2). That's compared with more
than 78,000 jobs created by the two sectors in 2013…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060014589/print

US Solar Generation Doubled in 2014, Renewable Output Grew 11%. 
New federal statistics out this week have shed more light solar
and wind energy’s emerging role in keeping the country’s lights
on. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2014
saw non-hydro renewable energy generation increase by 11 percent
over the previous year -- and solar power led the charge in
growth, if not in overall share of U.S. electricity supply.
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/US-Solar-Generation-Doubled-in-2014-Renewable-Output-Grew-11


Top 10 States Using Wind Power for Electricity.  Long before
Nikola Tesla learned to harness electricity, Mother Earth gave
her own energy in the wind. Today to face the dangers of climate
change, humanity races to perfect wind energy production.
Globally, the European Union and China lead this experiment, with
America in coming in at third.
http://www.energydigital.com/renewables/3797/Top-10-States-Using-Wind-Power-for-Electricity


OPINIONS

Why fee and dividend is better than cap and trade at fighting
climate change.  California is leading the nation in taking
action on climate change. AB 32, passed in 2006, established
carbon pricing in the state with a system called cap and trade.
Simply put, this system caps carbon emissions from large
polluters by selling a set number of emission allowances at state
auctions. The number of allowances sold declines annually until
California's emissions goals are achieved. 
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-sedor-climate-change-fee-and-dividend-vs--cap-and-trade-20150306-story.html


This argument against Teslas just doesn’t make any sense.  The
world has a gigantic romance with the Tesla right now — the sleek
electric vehicle that needs to charge, of course, in order to
run. These cars are hot, and there are going to be more of them
in the future. So what does that mean for the U.S.’s electricity
system? It’s a pertinent question in that, as a new research note
from analysts at Raymond James points out, “by definition, a
vehicle that runs entirely on electric power rather than
petroleum fuel adds to electricity demand, while detracting from
oil demand.” Moreover, as Tesla itself notes, “Every time Tesla
breaks into a new market, the media brings up the same concern:
that electric vehicles will overwhelm electric grids, resulting
in blackouts.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/03/04/no-teslas-are-not-going-to-crash-the-power-grid/


Clean air = healthier lungs.  As Republicans in Congress ratchet
up their efforts to block Environmental Protection Agency
controls on carbon dioxide, ozone and other air pollution, they
should consider findings released Wednesday from a two-decade
study that for the first time links cleaner air to healthier
lungs among school-age children.
http://registerguard.com/rg/opinion/32834882-78/clean-air--healthier-lungs.html.csp


Opinion: How the US Embassy Tweeted to Clear Beijing’s Air.  When
the US Embassy in Beijing started tweeting data from an
air-quality monitor, no one could have anticipated its
far-reaching consequences: It triggered profound change in
China’s environmental policy, advanced air-quality science in
some of the world’s most polluted cities, and prompted similar
efforts in neighboring countries.
http://www.wired.com/2015/03/opinion-us-embassy-beijing-tweeted-clear-air/


The sentiment of pollution.  Our memory may consist
disproportionately of the big milestones — graduation, moving,
marriage — but most of life is lived in the small moments. Taking
a deep breath to appreciate the petrichor after rain as we step
outdoors. Running, late again, to class, when suddenly in the
middle of Sproul the putrid smell of construction hits our
olfactory senses.
http://www.dailycal.org/2015/03/06/sentiment-pollution/ 

BLOGS

New York Just Showed Every Other State How to Do Solar Right. 
New York wants to get serious about solar power. The state has a
goal to cut its greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent below 1990
levels by 2050, and it's already among the nation's solar
leaders. New York ranks ninth overall for total installed solar,
and in 2013 alone it added enough to power more than 10,000
homes.
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2015/03/solar-just-had-huge-win-new-york


On snowy D.C. day, Senate hearing on the Arctic turns to climate
change. There is only one bit of official business in the United
States Senate Thursday, as a late-season snowstorm blankets
Washington: A hearing on "opportunities for the United States to
build on its status as an Arctic nation." The appropriateness of
holding the hearing during a snowstorm was much remarked upon…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/03/05/on-snowy-d-c-day-senate-hearing-on-the-arctic-turns-to-climate-change/

Putting the Focus on Climate Change.  When I am traveling up and
down the Central Coast of California, I'll often take Highway 154
through the Santa Ynez Mountains past beautiful Lake Cachuma, a
source of drinking water for 220,000 people in southern Santa
Barbara County. But as the drought drags on, I -- like many -- am
often struck by the sight of brush where once glistening lake
water filled the cavernous space that is now much of Lake
Cachuma.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-lois-capps/putting-the-focus-on-clim_b_6816172.html




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