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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for March 23, 2015

Posted: 23 Mar 2015 11:28:06
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.

FUELS UNDER CAP AND TRADE

Republicans take another stab at cap-and-trade gas exemption. 
Efforts last year to delay bringing transportation fuels under
California’s cap-and-trade program were a bust. Despite concerns
raised by industry groups and moderate Democrats, the new
regulation went into effect on Jan. 1, part of the state’s
sweeping 2006 law aimed at reducing carbon emissions blamed for
climate change.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article15537695.html


Why are California's Gasoline Prices Always Higher?  On Friday,
the price of gasoline in California was $3.30 a gallon, versus
$2.43 for the rest of the country. Signed into law in 2006,
Assembly Bill 32 mandated a reduction in California’s GHG
emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. For the transportation sector,
this centers on standards for cleaner, more efficient
vehicles/trucks, a clean fuels standard, and now cap-and-trade. 
http://www.forbes.com/sites/judeclemente/2015/03/22/why-are-californias-gasoline-prices-always-higher/


AIR POLLUTION

EPA rule on power plant emissions faces formidable hurdle in
Supreme Court. Twenty-five years in the making, a new nationwide
rule is set to take effect this spring that will sharply restrict
coal and oil-fired power plants from releasing mercury, arsenic
and other hazardous pollutants into the air and, eventually, into
rivers and lakes. But the rule faces a final and formidable
hurdle when the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments Wednesday from
lawyers for the coal and power industries, who say it may be "the
most costly rule" ever adopted under the Clean Air Act.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-court-toxic-air-20150323-story.html


Air pollutants boost potency of airborne allergens.  Certain
traffic-related air pollutants can provoke chemical changes in
airborne allergens and increase their potency, a new study says.
The gases, nitrogen dioxide and ground-level ozone, may instigate
chemical changes in certain airborne allergens, the findings
showed.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/air-pollutants-boost-potency-of-airborne-allergens-115032300311_1.html
 

Paris hit by air pollution spike, halves cars on roads.  Paris
will cut the number of cars on the road in half beginning Monday
and is making public transit free to combat a spike in pollution
that has obscured even the Eiffel Tower under a smoggy haze. The
mayor's office announced Saturday that only cars with
odd-numbered plates will be permitted to drive Monday, as well as
any electric or hybrid vehicles and any vehicles with more than
three people. Public transit will be free, as will the electric
car-sharing and bike sharing-programs.
http://www.10news.com/entertainment/around-the-web/paris-hit-by-air-pollution-spike-halves-cars-on-roads-03212015


Air quality can affect students’ decisions to study abroad.  Ena
Cemalovic is a study abroad student in Shanghai, China. Upon
arriving in Shanghai for her first semester, she felt tired and
exhausted all the time. She also  experienced shortness of breath
and headaches almost every day, along with having more frequent
asthma attacks. Her doctors have since attributed some of these
health problems with air pollution.
http://college.usatoday.com/2015/03/20/air-quality-can-affect-students-decisions-to-study-abroad/

Bay Area air quality regulator to refineries: Refine more crude. 
Last fall, activists in the East Bay Oil Refinery Corridor
celebrated the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s promise
to write new rules imposing a 20 percent reduction in hazardous
emissions on Bay Area refineries. This week, however, East Bay
activists attended the meetings with the agency staff to express
their dismay at the rules as drafted. 
http://sfbayview.com/2015/03/bay-area-air-quality-regulator-to-refineries-refine-more-crude/


The potency of airborne allergens may be boosted by air
pollution.  It often appears as if allergic conditions are
worsened by air pollution. The American Chemical Society has
reported via Newswise on March 22, 2015, that air pollutants
could boost the potency of common airborne allergens. Air
pollutants associated with climate change could also be a primary
contributor to the unparalleled increase in the number of people
who are seen sneezing, sniffling and wheezing during allergy
season.
http://www.examiner.com/article/the-potency-of-airborne-allergens-may-be-boosted-by-air-pollution


CLIMATE CHANGE

Could absolute consensus on global warming come in a suitcase? 
NASA scientist Emily Wilson has big plans for a little gadget.
She has developed a suitcase-sized instrument that measures
carbon dioxide and methane wafting into the atmosphere from
ground level to four miles into the sky. "I have a pretty big
vision," Wilson said. She wants to create a worldwide network of
these portable monitors to track the two potent greenhouse gases
that have been identified as major contributors to global
warming.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/sns-tns-bc-env-climate-instrument-20150323-story.html


'We only have one home': Pharrell Williams urges action on
climate change.  It's time to go "from climate change to climate
action" in efforts to save the planet, U.S. pop star Pharrell
Williams said at the United Nations on Friday. Singer-producer
Williams, 41, partnered with the United Nations Foundation on the
International Day of Happiness to raise awareness and call for
more action on climate change. "If you look at our behavior is
hard to believe we’re all aware we only have one planet,"
Williams said in a General Assembly hall crowded with young
people. "My main inspiration for being here today is that we’re
in trouble, but we can change that. This earth is our home."
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/21/us-climatechange-un-pharrellwilliams-idUSKBN0MH00720150321


From fighter jets to fish farms: Why Lockheed Martin is taking on
climate change.  The head of one of the world’s most innovative
fish farms sports a scruffy beard and talks about saving the
planet by moving “toward a culture of nurture.” His office is a
trailer near the beach, where the views are of dolphins, the
mission is progressive and the dress code is loose. All of which
makes Neil Sims’s partnership with Lockheed Martin a most unusual
corporate alliance. The world’s largest defense contractor is
best known for making the weapons that unleash cataclysmic fury
on America’s enemies, whether in Iraq, Afghanistan or Syria.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2015/03/20/from-fighter-jets-to-fish-farms-why-lockheed-martin-is-taking-on-climate-change/

Great Barrier Reef: Green groups say 2050 plan does nothing to
address climate change.  The Queensland and federal governments
say the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan released on
Saturday is a comprehensive, strategic assessment and will
protect the Great Barrier Reef. It aims to address key
recommendations made by the United Nation's World Heritage
Committee to avoid the site being declared "in danger" by UNESCO.
The report warns climate change is the biggest long-term threat
facing the reef, while the immediate pressures include water
quality, which has declined due to nutrient and sediment runoff
from agricultural production.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-22/green-groups-say-barrier-reef-plan-fails-climate-change/6338912

Jerry Brown: Opposition on climate change ‘borders on the
immoral.’  Gov. Jerry Brown said opposition to steps President
Barack Obama is taking on climate change “borders on the
immoral,” as he tore into Republicans in an interview aired
Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Brown’s remarks came after
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., urged states last
week to ignore federal directives to reduce carbon emissions from
power plants. Brown, a longtime champion of environmental causes,
said McConnell was “representing his coal constituents” and
putting at risk “the health and well-being of America.” The
Democratic governor called McConnell’s efforts “a disgrace.”
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article16011623.html#storylink=cpy

U.S. Is Laggard Among Developed Nations in Understanding Climate
Change.  For three decades, more than half of Americans have
considered climate change a serious threat. Yet today, the U.S.
still lags behind much of the rest of the developed world as
understanding of global warming has become more widespread.
That's one finding of a new analysis of dozens of international
climate polls since the 1980s by researchers at Cardiff
University in Wales.
http://insideclimatenews.org/news/23032015/us-laggard-among-developed-nations-understanding-climate-change

FORMALDEHYDE/LUMBER LIQUIDATORS

Lumber Liquidators slides on new call for investigation. Shares
of Lumber Liquidators edged lower Monday, hitting their lowest
price in almost three years after a second U.S. senator called
for an investigation into the safety of laminate flooring made in
China. Sen. Charles Schumer of New York said the U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission should investigate the safety of the
wood flooring material and make recalls if the products are found
to be dangerous. 
http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article16088054.html 

Schumer calls on feds to investigate safety of lumber
liquidators’ wood flooring.  U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer
urged the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to
immediately launch a broad investigation into the safety of
Chinese-imported wood flooring material from Lumber Liquidators,
and to initiate recalls or other disciplinary action if the
product is found to be dangerous.
http://www.wktv.com/news/297251481.html 

GREEN ENERGY

European power grids keep lights on through solar eclipse. 
Electrical grids in Europe succeeded in managing the
unprecedented disruption to solar power from Friday's 2-1/2-hour
eclipse that brought sudden, massive drops in supply. Germany,
Europe's leading economy and boasting the world's biggest
solar-powered installations, was at the heart of the event.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/20/us-solar-eclipse-germany-idUSKBN0MG0S620150320


Going solar? In Coachella Valley, plenty of choices.  Thousands
of homeowners and businesses went solar across the Coachella
Valley last year, and they didn't lack for options when choosing
a solar company. More than 150 firms installed solar panels in
the Coachella Valley last year alone, collectively amassing more
than 2,700 solar permits across the valley's nine cities, a
Desert Sun analysis of city permits found.
http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/environment/2015/03/21/rooftop-solar-companies-compete-desert/25089681/
5 charts that explain U.S. electricity prices.  Last month, the
Energy Information Agency (EIA) released its data on residential
electricity prices in the United States for 2013, and the numbers
speak volumes about the state of the American electricity system.
In general, what customers pay for power depends on where they
are. 
http://www.utilitydive.com/news/5-charts-that-explain-us-electricity-prices/378054/

OPINIONS

Clean Air Act and Dirty Coal at the Supreme Court.  The name of
the law at issue before the Supreme Court on Wednesday is the
Clean Air Act. It is not the Coal Industry Protection Act,
despite what that industry’s advocates seem to want the justices
to believe. Congress passed the legislation in 1970 and
substantially strengthened it in 1990 to safeguard human health
from air pollution generated by power plants, vehicles,
incinerators and other sources.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/23/opinion/clean-air-act-and-dirty-coal-at-the-supreme-court.html?_r=0


Reining in the coal industry's assault on public health.  On
Wednesday the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a crucial
case about regulating mercury and other toxic air pollution
coming from coal-fired power plants. At stake is a very dangerous
precedent that industry profits are more important than thousands
of lives.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0323-garcia-epa-power-plants-20150323-story.html


$1.1 billion in drought relief helps, but we need rain.  At
legislators’ prodding, Gov. Jerry Brown began unfurling his tight
fist by agreeing to spend $1.1 billion to combat the drought. The
question: What took him so long? In his initial budget proposal,
Brown allocated a sparse $23 million from the November bond to
deal with the drought by improving water efficiency on farms and
among urban users. That proposal was dated in December, when
there was hope the state would not face a fourth year of
drought.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2015/03/22/4436083_editorial-11-billion-in-drought.html?rh=1


Why Climate Change Is a Terrible Argument for Investing in
Renewable Energy.  Solar energy is popping up everywhere and
providing benefits like shade to cars in warm climates. Image
source: SunPower. When most people talk about wind and solar
energy it's a safe bet that the topic of climate change isn't far
behind. Scientists have roundly concluded that high carbon
dioxide levels in the atmosphere are changing the world's
climate, and the predicted consequences are anywhere from bad to
terrible if the trend continues. 
http://www.sfgate.com/business/fool/article/Why-Climate-Change-Is-a-Terrible-Argument-for-6152549.php


To the media: Don’t help the “Merchants of Doubt”.  Climate
change denier William O’Keefe recently wrote in the Hill, “The
belief that carbon dioxide emissions lead to climate change has
become an article of faith even though it is contradicted by
climate history, physics and the pause in warming that began in
1998.”  This is climate denial, plain and simple — and The Hill
is responsible for broadcasting it. 
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-environment/236488-to-the-media-dont-help-the-merchants-of-doubt

BLOGS

As Solar Power Spreads, Diverse Users Fight Utility Attempts To
Penalize It.  You'd be surprised how much a rooftop solar panel
can make utility-company executives sweat. Home solar
installations are on the rise in the U.S., and that has electric
utilities worried. Now they have a new worry: A remarkably varied
group of advocates and interest groups is fighting efforts by
utility lobbyists to restrict, penalize, or boost the consumer
cost of solar electricity.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1097367_as-solar-power-spreads-diverse-users-fight-utility-attempts-to-penalize-it




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

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