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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.