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ARB Newsclips are combined for March 25 and March 26, 2015. ARB
Newsclips for March 25 and March 26, 2015

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.

CAP AND TRADE

EU struggles to agree on date for carbon market reform. EU
nations will hold more talks late on Wednesday to debate reforms
to Europe's carbon market after more than two hours of debate
failed to bridge a gap between those seeking early action and
those wanting a delay, diplomats said. Allowances on the EU
Emissions Trading System (ETS) fell around 3 percent after
diplomats said a morning session of closed-door debate had failed
to reach a deal.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/25/us-eu-carbon-idUSKBN0ML19V20150325
 

China should link southern carbon markets ahead of nationwide
scheme –study. Academics that advise the government on carbon
trading in China have proposed linking two emissions exchanges in
the southern province of Guangdong as a first step towards
integrating all seven of the country's pilot markets. China aims
to launch the first phase of a nationwide carbon trading scheme
as early as next year, creating the world's largest emissions
trading scheme.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/24/china-carbon-idUSL3N0WP4A920150324


Senate starts 'vote-a-rama' with carbon tax, land sell-off.
Around noon today, the Senate started voting. It is not expected
to stop until well after midnight. The series of roll calls that
started as Greenwire was being published will feature votes on
whether the federal government should sell off all the land it
owns outside of national parks, monuments and preserves and
whether Congress should rule out a tax on carbon dioxide
emissions.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/03/26/stories/1060015839 

Cap and trade had no 'discernible impact' on gas prices -- oil
rep. California gasoline prices didn't jump when the state's
cap-and-trade program first expanded to include motor fuels
because oil sellers continued making healthy profits, an oil
business representative said yesterday. Oil distributors in
January were able to eat most costs associated with fuels falling
under the carbon emissions cap…
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060015733/print 

AIR POLLUTION

Justices seem divided over EPA mercury limits. A seemingly
divided Supreme Court weighed the Obama administration's
first-ever regulations aimed at reducing power plant emissions of
mercury and other hazardous air pollutants that contribute to
respiratory illnesses, birth defects and developmental problems
in children.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SUPREME_COURT_EPA_EMISSIONS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


OTHER RELATED STORIES
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/25/us-usa-court-pollution-idUSKBN0ML1UZ20150325
  
http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-83138806 /  
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/03/25/stories/1060015749 

India to Rich World: Give us Cash and We’ll Cut Emissions Faster.
 India, the world’s third-biggest polluter, is considering a
sharper cut in emissions if rich nations cough up money and
technology. Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar says he may
present the world with a choice ahead of a December global
climate meeting: one set of commitments India can fund itself to
reign in emissions…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-26/india-to-rich-world-give-us-cash-and-we-ll-cut-emissions-faster
  

UK emissions down 8.4% in 2014. In response to the news that UK
emissions are down by 8.4% in 2014, Friends of the Earth climate
campaigner Guy Shrubsole, said: "Such a sharp drop in emissions
in one year is encouraging news. Clean solar and wind power are
skyrocketing as prices continue to tumble. "
http://www.bloomberg.com/research/markets/news/article.asp?docKey=600-201503260836M2______EUPR_____2e830000007157c8_3600-1
 
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/26/britain-carbon-emissions-idUSL6N0WS32U20150326
    

Obama mercury air pollution rule faces test at U.S. top court.
The latest legal test of President Barack Obama's environmental
agenda reaches the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday as the
justices consider a challenge to a regulation intended to limit
emissions of mercury and other hazardous pollutants mainly from
coal-fired power plants.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/24/us-usa-court-pollution-idUSKBN0MK26R20150324

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/03/24/supreme-court-air-pollution-mercury/25089391/

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-25/top-u-s-court-questions-epa-emissions-limits-for-power-plants

http://www.sfgate.com/business/energy/article/Justices-to-hear-arguments-over-EPA-mercury-limits-6157116.php

http://www.capradio.org/news/npr/story?storyid=395106455 

EU regulators take Britain to court over coal plant. European
Union regulators have referred Britain to the EU Court of Justice
in Luxembourg over the failure of a coal-fired plant in Wales,
operated by RWE npower, to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions, the
European Commission said on Thursday. Under EU law on emissions
from large combustion plants, member states had until Jan. 1,
2008 to reduce emissions of a number of pollutants from power
plants.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/26/eu-carbon-britain-idUSL6N0WS4UD20150326
 

Supreme Court Seems Split on What Is ‘Appropriate’ in Setting
Clean Air Costs. The Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed closely
divided over the fate of one of the Obama administration’s most
ambitious environmental initiatives. Lawyers for industry groups
and some 20 states told the justices that Environmental
Protection Agency regulations that set limits on emissions of
mercury and other toxic pollutants…
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/26/us/division-seen-in-supreme-court-on-pollution-limits.html?ref=politics&_r=0
 
http://www.bna.com/high-court-appears-n17179924569/   

Air pollution takes a double toll on babies' brains. A common
pollutant in vehicle exhaust, power plant emissions and
secondhand cigarette smoke can shrink white matter in fetal
brains and cause further developmental damage during the toddler
years, a new study suggests. Prenatal exposure to polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a byproduct of incomplete
combustion of organic material, was correlated with reduced white
matter on the left side of children's brains during their toddler
years…
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-air-pollution-baby-brains-20150324-story.html

http://time.com/3757864/air-pollution-babies/ 

Could Smoggy Air Raise Your Anxiety Level? Air pollution may take
a toll not only on physical health, but mental well-being as
well, two new studies suggest. In one, researchers confirmed a
long-studied connection between air pollution and cardiovascular
health -- finding evidence that dirty air may help trigger
strokes in vulnerable people.
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2015/03/25/could-smoggy-air-raise-your-anxiety-level


Emissions monitoring may be key factor for global climate deal,
report says. As the international environmental community gears
up for a new global climate change accord, most eyes are on the
big numbers, specifically, how much carbon will the United
States, China, India and other top emitters agree to slash? But a
new report out yesterday commissioned by the Nordic Council of
Ministers argues that the seemingly dull and technical question
of how much monitoring and evaluation…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060015805/print   

How do you assess the climate impact of biomass? EPA panel tries
to sort it out. If a biomass energy source like a tree absorbs
carbon dioxide during its life span but expels it when it is
burned for fuel, how do you account for its carbon footprint?
"It's such a simple question," Daniel Schrag, director of Harvard
University's Center for the Environment, said several hours into
a two-day U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board meeting on the topic,
"but it's really hard."
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060015802/print    

Climate attitudes hold 'steady' despite wild winter. After a hot
and cold winter nudging into extreme temperatures, Americans'
attitudes about climate change remain unchanged, according to a
new Gallup poll. The survey found that the public is in a
three-year "holding pattern," with 55 percent of respondents
saying that climate change has already begun and 33 percent
saying it may never happen, or at least not in their lifetime.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060015800/print   

'Climate story fatigue' and U.S. media disinterest limited IPCC
press coverage – study. Not all climate change news is created
equal, according to a new study from the University of Exeter.
Researchers looked at media coverage that came out of the Fifth
Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC). The report was released in three working group
phases, with Working Group I focusing on the basic science of
climate change…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060015806/print  

Comment period on NEPA climate guidance ends with a bang. Top
Senate Republicans yesterday blasted draft guidance on how
federal agencies should incorporate climate change into their
project reviews as an "illegitimate expansion" of a key
environmental law.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060015843/print  

Critics challenge use of carbon capture technology in Norway.
Carbon capture and storage technology (CCS) has long been a hope
and dream for many countries looking to cut carbon emissions,
including Norway. However, because of technological woes and
political turmoil, the technology that was supposed to clean up
the atmosphere has instead contributed to an increase in Norway's
emissions…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060015675/print

Feisty Ala. climate change critic claims Washington is trying to
intimidate him. An Alabama atmospheric scientist who has gained a
global reputation as a repudiator of "mainstream climate science"
strongly defended his research record at the University of
Alabama, Huntsville (UAH), where he is a distinguished professor
and director of the university's Earth System Science Center.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060015776/print 

CLIMATE CHANGE

Japan uses climate cash for coal plants in India, Bangladesh.
Despite mounting protests, Japan continues to finance the
building of coal-fired power plants with money earmarked for
fighting climate change, with two new projects underway in India
and Bangladesh, The Associated Press has found.The AP reported in
December that Japan had counted $1 billion in loans for coal
plants in Indonesia as climate finance…
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_JAPAN_FINANCING_COAL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Stronger thunderstorms driving rise in tropical rainfall: study.
An increase in strong thunderstorms could be responsible for
greater rainfall in the tropics as a result of climate change,
new research says. The joint research, which was conducted by the
Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Climate
System Science (ARCCSS) and NASA, research found that even though
other types of rainfall have decreased in frequency…
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/26/us-thunderstorms-climatechange-idUSKBN0MM21B20150326
 

Alarmism cools: Only 32 percent of Americans still worry about
global warming, Gallup says. Less than a third of Americans are
now concerned about global warming and climate change: 32 percent
fret about those environmental factors says the annual Gallup
Environmental survey, released Wednesday. Naturally, there’s a
partisan divide: 13 percent of Republicans are concerned about
global warming and climate problems…
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/mar/25/global-warming-climate-change-less-third-americans/#ixzz3VVuvfndq
 

Bobby Jindal blasts new FEMA rule on climate change. Louisiana
Gov. Bobby Jindal on Tuesday blasted the Obama administration’s
new rule that could make it harder for governors skeptical of
man-made climate change to obtain federal money to prepare for
emergencies such as floods and hurricanes. Assistance from the
Federal Emergency Management Agency “prepares families and
communities for national disasters…
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/mar/24/bobby-jindal-blasts-new-fema-rule-climate-change/#ixzz3VPpIa18e


2-Degree Global Warming Target 'Utterly Inadequate' Sen. Ted Cruz
may have disputed that climate change is happening, but a U.N.
scientist is re-emphasizing the problem's urgency. A long-held
benchmark for limiting global warming is “utterly inadequate,” a
leading U.N. climate scientist declared Thursday. Keeping the
Earth’s average temperature from rising past 2 degrees Celsius…
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/03/26/2-degree-global-warming-target-utterly-inadequate-leading-un-scientist-says
 

The Climate Case for Hydrogen. The Christian Science Monitor
recently reported, To stop climate change, flat CO2 emissions
aren't enough. “For the first time in 40 years, the global
economy grew while carbon dioxide emissions stalled. But experts
warn that this won't be enough to curb climate change.” Quoting
Thomas Peterson, principal scientist at the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA)…
http://theenergycollective.com/jim-baird/2209641/climate-case-hydrogen
 

Expert: America 'one-sided' on climate change. Stanford
University professor Jon Krosnick has been studying Americans'
attitudes about global warming for nearly two decades and has
found in repeated polls that a large majority see climate change
as a threat to future generations that should be addressed.
http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/environment/2015/03/24/climate-change-sunnylands/70413338/


Climate Change Semantics Affect Leadership in Florida. In Florida
Governor Rick Scott’s world, the perils of a warming planet
somehow seem to be diminished simply by changing the words we use
to refer to them. According to the Florida Center for
Investigative Reporting, Scott, recently reelected to a second
term, commanded environmental
officials…http://www.environmentalleader.com/2015/03/25/climate-change-semantics-affect-leadership-in-florida/#ixzz3VPWw9V00
  

Is climate change denial immoral? US Episcopal Church says yes.
The head of the Episcopal Church in the United States says that
addressing climate change is on a moral par with the civil rights
movement. How many more religious organizations will follow suit?
 The Episcopal Church is putting its foot down on climate change
denial.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Energy/2015/0324/Is-climate-change-denial-immoral-US-Episcopal-Church-says-yes


Calif. plans subnational treaty push, with an eye toward Paris.
California is planning to join forces with other subnational
governments in an effort to gain more recognition for their
policies at the U.N. climate talks later this year. A new effort
is brewing to get subnational governments to commit to emissions
reductions, a top official in Gov. Jerry Brown's (D)
administration said Monday.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060015710/print 

DROUGHT

Assembly approves $1-billion water bill, sends it to Gov. Jerry
Brown. The California Assembly on Thursday passed more than $1
billion in spending on water projects and drought relief. The
legislation, which was approved by the state Senate on Wednesday,
now goes to Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature. There's only
$27.4 million in new spending in the package of two bills…
http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-83150628/    

Poll: Drought Seizes California's Attention.  A new poll shows
deep concern among Californians over the state’s drought and
future water supply. The Public Policy Institute of California
survey shows two-thirds of adults believe the water supply in
their region is a big problem. The same percentage also say
people where they live aren’t doing enough to respond to the
drought.
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2015/03/25/poll-drought-seizes-californias-attention/
 

Californians say their neighbors aren't doing enough about
drought. Large majorities of Californians say the supply of water
in their part of the state is a big problem and that people in
their regions are not doing enough to respond to the drought,
according to a statewide survey released Wednesday night by the
Public Policy Institute of California with funding from the James
Irvine Foundation.
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=28027 


Illegal marijuana grows faulted for worsening state’s water
problems. Environmental scientists with the California Department
of Fish and Wildlife say they have proof that water used for
growing marijuana has a devastating effect on fish in the state.
The study shows that during drought conditions, water demand for
marijuana cultivation exceeded stream flow in three of four study
watersheds.
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=28031 

California drought: Photos show skiers on more dirt than snow at
Squaw Valley. series of photographs taken at ski resorts in
Northern California show just how grim winter has been. Skiers
were photographed taking off on patches of snow surrounded by
dirt and rock at Squaw Valley, which was forced to cancel a world
cup snowboarding event in February because there was little snow.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-california-ski-resorts-no-snow-20150324-story.html


Lawmakers to vote on $1 billion water plan amid drought. Facing
pressure to address an ongoing drought, California lawmakers are
expected to vote Wednesday on a plan to speed up more than $1
billion in water spending. Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative
leaders from both parties announced last week they would
fast-track legislation to provide immediate relief from dry
conditions and expedite funding for local water projects.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Lawmakers-to-vote-on-1-billion-water-plan-amid-6157177.php

http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_27781455/lawmakers-vote-1-billion-water-plan-amid-drought


Santa Clara Valley Water District approves more aggressive water
conservation goals. Sunshine in Santa Clara County has never been
so unwelcome, and hopes of a rare, wet April that could end the
drought have faded. In a bid to give teeth to conservation
efforts, the Santa Clara Valley Water District voted Tuesday to
slash water use rates in the county by 30 percent and limit
watering of lawns to twice a week.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/drought/ci_27780547/santa-clara-water-district-approves-cuts-water-use


California urged to resolve delta, water issues — fast. Disputes
over California’s fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin River delta, the
troubled heart of the drought-stricken state’s water system, must
be resolved immediately because what happens there affects the
western region, a top water expert says.
http://capitolweekly.net/california-urged-resolve-delta-water-issues-fast/


Fresno County declares drought emergency. The Fresno County
Supervisors hope passing the drought emergency declaration will
get the county some help in dealing with growing water problems.
Supervisor Henry Perea told Action News: "The message is twofold,
one, is to the Federal Government and State Government we need
resources not just deal with the immediate food supply, water
supply issues for communities that…
http://abc30.com/politics/fresno-county-declares-drought-emergency/571595/


Drought creeps into economic forecast. Kings EDC head says two
more dry years will clarify picture. In recent years, recession
was the spoiler in the annual economic development report issued
by Kings County Economic Development Corp. But in the 2015
edition presented to county supervisors this week, there’s a new
boogieman in town: California’s historic drought, now in its
fourth year.
http://hanfordsentinel.com/news/in_focus/california_drought/drought-creeps-into-economic-forecast/article_fcbdc542-a5c0-5488-87fa-09c190c8af5f.html


LUMBER LIQUIDATORS/FORMALDEHYDE

Feds investigate safety of Lumber Liquidators flooring. The U.S.
Consumer Product Safety Commission said Wednesday it is
investigating Lumber Liquidators Chinese-made laminate flooring
following a national TV broadcast raised concerns over levels of
formaldehyde. Chairman Elliot F. Kaye said Wednesday the agency
is taking the issue seriously and is working to get answers for
consumers, but it's too early to tell whether any flooring would
be recalled.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_LUMBER_LIQUIDATORS_INVESTIGATION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Safety regulators to weigh in on Lumber Liquidators. U.S. safety
regulators are preparing to weigh in on whether Lumber
Liquidators flooring is dangerous. The retailer has been facing
U.S. government probes over claims of dangerous levels of a
cancer-causing substance in its Chinese-made laminated flooring.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is planning a 10 a.m.
EDT teleconference with the media on Wednesday to discuss its
findings. http://www.cnbc.com/id/102533383 

DIESEL ACTIVITIES

Cummins Unveils ISX Efficiency Improvements. Under the theme of
"redefining efficiency," Cummins Tuesday night announced
fuel-saving enhancements to the 2015 ISX15 big-bore diesel and a
peek at the 2017 ISX15, which will feature a lighter and smaller
aftertreatment system along with a more efficient turbocharger
and reduced parasitic loss.
http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/story/2015/03/cummins-unveils-isx-efficiency-improvements.aspx


FUELS

Philippines shifts to cleaner fuel standards starting July 1. The
Philippines on Wednesday ordered oil companies, including Petron
Corp and local units of Shell and Chevron, to sell only Euro
IV-compliant fuels by July 1 in a drive to boost air quality in
the Southeast Asian country. While there have been improvements
in the capital Manila, air quality in the city of 12 million
people still remains below international standards…
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/25/philippines-fueloil-idUSL3N0WR2FA20150325


Think Tank Sees Oil Price Decline Costing Canadian Energy
Revenues, Jobs. Conference Board of Canada says oil-price tumble
will sharply curtail capital-spending. The collapse of oil prices
will shave 37% off the Canadian energy industry’s revenues this
year and cost close to 8,000 jobs, a Canadian think tank said
Wednesday.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/think-tank-sees-oil-price-decline-costing-canadian-energy-revenues-jobs-1427300948


State lawmakers slam oil regulators after embarrassing lapses.
The agency that regulates the oil industry in California is — by
its own admission — in disarray. After a series of embarrassing
disclosures about regulatory lapses that allowed drilling in
protected aquifers, officials at the Division of Oil, Gas and
Geothermal Resources are trying to untangle years of chaotic
operation. But the fixes aren’t happening fast enough to satisfy
many state lawmakers.
http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-83149695/ 

VEHICLES

RPT-Automakers race to double the driving range of affordable
electric cars. Global automakers are readying a new generation of
mass-market electric cars with more than double the driving range
of today's Nissan Leaf, betting that technical breakthroughs by
big battery suppliers such as LG Chem Ltd will jump-start demand
and pull them abreast of Tesla Motors Inc.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/25/autos-batteries-idUSL2N0WQ1RG20150325


Tesla Sued in U.K. in Fight Over Charging Stations Rollout. Tesla
Motors Inc., the carmaker led by billionaire Elon Musk, was sued
in London in a dispute over whether the company interfered with a
competitor’s plan to rollout electric-car chargers at U.K.
highway rest stops. Judge Vivien Rose ordered Palo Alto,
California-based Tesla Wednesday to search for documents…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-25/tesla-sued-in-u-k-in-fight-over-rollout-of-charging-stations
  

Public hydrogen gas station opens in Diamond Bar; more to open in
Southern California. There’s a new exit on the state’s Hydrogen
Highway. Diamond Bar became home to California’s 11th hydrogen
fueling station Wednesday, where a driver of a fuel-cell vehicle
can pump hydrogen gas and fill the tank in about three minutes.
The $1.1 million station — in the parking lot of the South Coast
Air Quality Management District headquarters on Copley Drive —
was designed so consumers can self-serve.
http://www.dailynews.com/article/20150325/NEWS/150329605 

California ARB seeking Grantee to administer pilot project for
enabling disadvantaged communities to purchase advanced tech
vehicles. The California Air Resources Board (ARB or Board) is
soliciting Grantee(s) to administer the Light-Duty Financing
Assistance Pilot Project in Disadvantaged Communities. Funding of
up to $1.5 million for this project is provided by Low Carbon
Transportation Investments, which is funded from the Greenhouse
Gas Reduction Fund.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/03/20150326-arb.html   

GE and EV Connect partner on EV charging. EV Connect, a provider
of electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions, including a
cloud-based software platform for managing electric vehicle (EV)
charging stations, their interaction with utilities and the
driver experience, entered into a joint marketing and product
agreement with GE’s Industrial Solutions business.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/03/20150325-evconnect.html 

Electric-Car Battery Costs Already Cheaper Than 2020 Predictions:
Study. It's widely assumed that electric cars will never emerge
into the mass market if buying them requires paying a significant
premium over comparable internal-combustion models. While owners
may save money on fuel and maintenance over the long term, a
higher initial purchase price remains intimidating, and take time
to amortize.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1097446_electric-car-battery-costs-already-cheaper-than-2020-predictions-study
  

Electric cars could boost CO2 emissions in some provinces. In
Alberta, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia, it's greener to fill up
with gas, researcher says. Trying to go green by replacing your
gas guzzler with an electric car? In some provinces, that may
actually be worse for the environment, a University of Toronto
researcher says. In Alberta, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia,
electric cars generate more carbon over their lifetimes than
gas-powered cars…
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/electric-cars-could-boost-co2-emissions-in-some-provinces-1.3007409


GREEN ENERGY

Solar Power Inc. Enters Latin America With Venture in Panama.
Solar Power Inc., a renewable-energy company backed by China’s
LDK Solar Co., is making its first foray into Latin America,
joining with SDL Solar to develop projects in Panama. SPI will
hold a controlling interest in the joint venture, which plans to
bring at least 100 megawatts of capacity to Panama, the
Shanghai-based company said in a statement Tuesday.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-24/solar-power-inc-enters-latin-america-with-venture-in-panama
 

UPDATE 1-India's IL&FS aims to more than triple power generation
capacity. India's Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd
(IL&FS) plans to more than triple its power generation capacity
in five years, betting on demand for renewable energy sources
such as wind and solar in Asia's third-largest economy. Prime
Minister Narendra Modi has made renewable energy a priority as he
looks to address the country's chronic power shortages…
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/25/ilfs-capacity-idUSL3N0WR45A20150325?feedType=RSS&feedName=everything&virtualBrandChannel=11563


Harper Cold Shoulder Pushes Premiers toward Energy Deal. Canada’s
premiers are nearing a deal aimed at clearing a path for pipeline
projects in exchange for new environmental commitments, such as
potential pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions, people
familiar with the talks say. A draft of the agreement known as
the Canadian Energy Strategy is circulating among bureaucrats…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-26/canadian-premiers-closing-in-on-energy-agreement-without-harper
 

SF County approves a pair of solar farms [Albuquerque Journal,
N.M.] Public Service Company of New Mexico has gotten approval
from the Santa Fe County Commission to build two solar farms
aimed at helping the company increase its use of renewable
energy. While one passed unanimously and without opposition,
another was contested by neighboring landowners and was approved
4-0 with Commissioner Liz Stefanics abstaining.
http://www.bloomberg.com/research/markets/news/article.asp?docKey=600-201503260813KRTRIB__BUSNEWS_13119_28961-1
 

Verengo Co-Founders Exit Leadership Posts; Marketing Exec New
CEO. The co-founders of Torrance solar panel installer Verengo
Solar are leaving their leadership posts as a tech marketing
executive has been named as the new chief executive, the company
announced Wednesday. Co-founders Randy Bishop and Ken Button –
chief executive and president respectively – are leaving the
company to pursue other ventures…
http://labusinessjournal.com/news/2015/mar/26/verengo-co-founders-exit-leadership-posts-marketin/
 

Leaders of European cities make pledge to tackle climate change.
Representatives of 30 cities gather in Paris to sign declaration
that will also commit them to use their €10bn purchasing power to
buy eco-friendly.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/26/leaders-of-european-cities-make-pledge-to-tackle-climate-change
 

Texas legislative panel advances grid bills. A Texas state Senate
committee has approved bills to extend state regulatory authority
over large direct-current transmission projects and end special
treatment for added high-voltage transmission lines to serve wind
and solar farms.
http://www.argusmedia.com/pages/NewsBody.aspx?id=1013771&menu=yes
 

Clean energy industry offers to break deadlock on renewable
energy target. The peak body for the clean energy industry says
it is prepared to accept a significant compromise on Australia's
renewable energy target if the government agrees to preserve two
agencies it planned to abolish.
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/clean-energy-industry-offers-to-break-deadlock-on-renewable-energy-target-20150326-1m7fii.html
 

Tandem Solar Cell May Boost Electricity from Sunlight. Pairing
silicon with perovskites improves performance but challenges
remain. The researchers structured the device to exploit quantum
tunneling, an effect where an electronic potential can pass
through a barrier that would ordinarily limit its movement. The
dynamic duo in this case was silicon, the workhorse of
conventional photovoltaics…
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tandem-solar-cell-may-boost-electricity-from-sunlight/


Double-Teaming Diesel With Solar & Energy Storage (CT Exclusive
Interview). Fresh on the heels of its diesel-killing solar water
pump initiative, SunEdison has teamed with the energy storage
company Imergy Power Systems in a new venture that will bring
solar-generated electricity to 1,000 villages in India. That’s
just for starters. The end goal is 5,000 villages in India alone,
and even more in Africa and other regions where gaping holes in
the electrical grid exist.
http://cleantechnica.com/2015/03/25/double-teaming-diesel-solar-energy-storage-ct-exclusive-interview/


Clean Energy Council suggests Coalition and Labor 'split the
difference' over RET. Renewable energy industry peak body tries
to broker a deal between the two major parties to end the
standoff over the target. The renewable energy industry is trying
to broker a deal to end the standoff between the Abbott
government and Labor over the renewable energy target by
suggesting the parties “split the difference”.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/25/clean-energy-council-suggests-coalition-and-labor-split-the-difference-over-ret


Costa Rica uses 100% renewable energy for past 75 days. How are
they doing it? Costa Rica has managed to do away with fossil
fuels, relying on hydropower and other forms of renewable energy
instead. Could other countries follow suit? The entire country of
Costa Rica is currently running on completely renewable energy
and has been for 75 days now.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2015/0324/Costa-Rica-uses-100-renewable-energy-for-past-75-days.-How-are-they-doing-it


Plan to expand regional support for wind power takes shape in the
Midwest. To be sure, Tom Kiernan, CEO of the American Wind Energy
Association (AWEA), and Bob Inglis, the former Southern
Republican congressman and free-market enthusiast, are not
political soul mates. So when they got together in the Twin
Cities last week for a discussion about the future of U.S.
energy…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060015674/print 

TVA still working through renewable, efficiency options for
long-term plan. Tennessee Valley Authority officials said the
nation's largest utility will do some additional modeling for its
long-term energy plan and hopes to address concerns that it
hasn't added enough renewables to its mix over the next 20 years.
TVA will do the same for energy efficiency targets, which clean
energy advocates argue are far off from what the utility actually
can do. http://www.eenews.net/energywire/stories/1060015715/print


Half-trillion-dollar green bond market, led by China, looks for a
regulator. The global pool of issued green bonds, which are
designed to fund environmentally friendly projects, tripled from
$12 billion in 2013 to a little more than $36 billion last year.
The market for these bonds has ballooned since 2008, when a
Swedish bank issued the first green bond.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060015681/print 

As prices drop, cities and towns choose sun and wind for their
energy. Georgetown, Texas, is home to the oldest university in
the Lone Star State and is affectionately called the "red poppy
capital" of Texas. It will soon add another accolade to the mix:
the state's first city-owned utility to run on 100 percent
renewable energy. Last Wednesday, the city announced a 25-year
contract with SunEdison to buy 150 megawatts of solar energy.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060015787/print  

MISCELLANEOUS

LA River plan pushed along to federal government. The Los Angeles
City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to adopt a
preliminary funding framework for a $1.35 billion project to
restore hundreds of acres of land along the Los Angeles River to
a more natural state.
http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/03/25/50594/la-river-plan-pushed-along-to-federal-government/
 

Taken for a ride: On the future of Regional Transit in
Sacramento. The region’s business elite want to rebrand bus and
light rail as hip and attractive—but they could leave behind RT’s
best customers. Avondale Glen Elder, on the southeast edge of
Sacramento, is a diverse community, but not a wealthy one. It's a
neighborhood of smallish 1950s tract houses, and a lot of
residents rely on public transit.
http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/taken-for-a-ride-on/content?oid=16596862

Firm working on Elon Musk's Hyperloop leases space in L.A.'s Arts
District. Hyperloop isn't all hype. A company behind the
futuristic, high-speed transportation system fantasized by Tesla
and SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk has leased warehouse space in
downtown Los Angeles and is rapidly adding new workers to a staff
of 20 full-time employees. Musk's imaginary Hyperloop would use
vacuum tubes to transport freight and passengers at speeds of 750
mph… http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-83138884/ 

Apple Campus 2: Massive recycled water project approved. The
Santa Clara Valley Water District board Tuesday night approved a
$17.5 million project that will deepen the use of recycled water
in the parched South Bay and make Apple's futuristic new campus a
little bit greener.
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_27778101/water-district-board-approves-recycled-water-project-for-apple-campus-2-and-other-south-bay-sites?source=infinite


California Energy Commission awards $24.9M to 9 medium- and
heavy-duty advanced truck demo projects. The California Energy
Commissions has selected 9 projects to receive a combined
$24,873,512 in proposed funding for cost share in the field
demonstration of advanced medium- and heavy-duty on-road vehicle
technologies—primarily battery electric and fuel cell
technology—that may become commercially available in California.
The match amount for the nine projects is $17,212,984. The
solicitation (PON-14-605) was under the Alternative and Renewable
Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program (ARFVTP).
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/03/20150325-calenergy.html 


OPINIONS

An EPA rule on power plant hazardous air pollutants is
‘appropriate’ ONE CAN understand why critics of the Obama
administration are angry about the so-called mercury rule, an
Environmental Protection Agency clean-air regulation that they
will ask the Supreme Court on Wednesday to quash. The EPA did not
conduct a cost-benefit analysis when it decided to regulate
hazardous air pollutants, such as mercury, from power plants.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/an-epa-rule-on-power-plant-hazardous-air-pollutants-is-appropriate/2015/03/24/a9e54158-d255-11e4-a62f-ee745911a4ff_story.html


Tesla: Just Another Car Company. Will it be bought by a
traditional auto maker needing electric vehicles to meet Obama’s
fuel-economy rules? Elon Musk has proved that a market exists for
electric cars, despite their many inconveniences, especially if
they come wrapped in taxpayer subsidies. He hasn’t proved he can
make a profit.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/holman-jenkins-tesla-just-another-car-company-1427238597?mod=trending_now_8


Why almond growers aren't the water enemy. A quarter-century ago,
when I first started farming the fertile ground of western Fresno
County, my crop was cotton. I wasn't alone. Back then, the San
Joaquin Valley had more than 1 million acres of white gold.
Federal water cost me — hard to believe today — only $25 an
acre-foot. And there was plenty of it. My neighbors and I
irrigated inefficiently by sprinkler and furrow.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-gleason-almond-farmer-20150326-story.html


Name your poison: For the GOP and coal industry, it's mercury.
Long before coal-fired power plants were known as major
contributors to global warming, they were pegged as the primary
airborne source of mercury, as well as emitters of many other
pollutants. Mercury is extremely toxic; when it falls into
waterways and builds up in fish, seafood becomes dangerous enough
to require warnings for children and pregnant women to limit
consumption.
http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-83138642/ 

L.A. transit officials should support affordable housing near
rail lines. The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Agency is
considering expanding its mission to include the development of
affordable housing along transit lines. Metro, which operates the
subways, light-rail lines and most of the region's buses, owns
about 50 properties along its lines that could be developed, but
until now has been a passive landowner and has generally stayed
out of land-use issues.
http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-83139701/ 

Water details become vital as drought worsens. Open access to
well water data. In time of drought, when leaders tell us every
drop of water counts, Californians ought to be able to count
every drop. The concept seems so simple, but because the issue is
water, it’s not. For the third year running, Sen. Fran Pavley,
D-Agoura Hills, is pushing legislation to provide public access
to otherwise confidential reports about groundwater wells. Her
Senate Bill 20, which cleared its first committee Tuesday,
clearly warrants approval by the full Legislature.
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/editorials/article16224161.html#storylink=cpy

 
Court challenge on coal controls, Obama’s environmental policies.
At first glance a Supreme Court hearing on Wednesday focuses on
how far a federal agency can go in capping harmful emissions from
coal-burning power plants. But it’s also a major test of one of
President Obama’s biggest legacies: his environmental policies on
energy use and climate change.
http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/Court-challenge-on-coal-controls-Obama-s-6156563.php


Rainfall Vs. Snowpack: California’s Confusing Drought. Not all
droughts are created equal.  In fact, not all dry years are
created equal.  This is especially true this winter, where the
disparity between our rainfall deficit (not that huge) and our
snowpack deficit (very large) is quite significant.
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/03/24/rainfall-vs-snowpack-californias-confusing-drought/

Help boost residential solar energy by pricing it fairly Is solar
energy a luxury for the rich? Advocates of residential solar
power see a technology that reduces carbon emissions and saves
people money. Opponents see something that benefits only those
homeowners with high credit scores and the right kind of
rooftops, at the expense of everyone else. Both sides are right.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/commentary/sfl-help-boost-residential-solar-energy-by-pricing-it-fairly-20150325-story.html


The Emergence and Importance of President Obama's Climate Policy.
In a quiet and low-key move last week, President Obama took what
may turn out to be one of the most significant steps he has ever
taken to reduce greenhouse emissions. As reported by Julie
Hirschfeld Davis in the New York Times, the president signed an
executive order directing: ...federal agencies over the next
decade to cut their emissions by an average of 40 percent
compared with their levels…
http://theenergycollective.com/stevenacohen/2209056/emergence-and-importance-president-obamas-climate-policy


Commentary: Affordable water matters to farms, environment. At
bottom, there are really only three long-term fundamentals that
California farmers and ranchers need to sustain our state's
agricultural economy, to keep it the most productive and
efficient farm mosaic in the world: sun, soil, and water.
http://agalert.com/story/?id=8050 

How should journalists treat candidates who deny climate change?
In the not-so-distant past, it would not have been unusual or
unseemly for journalists to identify political candidates making
grossly unscientific assertions--that aliens walk among us, say,
or the moon is made of green cheese--as crackpots. Climate
change, however, seems to have made cowards of the press.
http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-how-should-reporters-treat-candidates-who-deny-climate-change-20150324-column.html#page=1

BLOGS

Ted Cruz: 'Global Warming Alarmists Are The Equivalent Of The
Flat-Earthers'. Ted Cruz, the junior U.S. senator from Texas and
first official contender for the 2016 Republican presidential
nomination, compared people who think that the climate is warming
to "flat-Earthers" and described himself as a modern-day Galileo
in an interview with the Texas Tribune.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/25/ted-cruz-global-warming_n_6940188.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/03/25/ted-cruz-compares-climate-change-activists-to-flat-earthers-where-to-begin/


Whitney Tilson: Why The U.S. CPSC Conference Call Portends A
Double Whammy For Lumber Liquidators. Below is Whitney Tilson’s
latest article on Lumber Liquidators, which he just published on
Seeking Alpha. (Boy, have I not kept my promise to try to spend
less time on this! (To quote Mae West: “I used to be Snow White
but I drifted.” ;-) Too much interesting stuff going on – and bad
information and analysis out there.
http://www.valuewalk.com/2015/03/lumber-liquidators-ll-whitney-tilson/
 

The Government Must Act on Air Pollution. We are in the midst of
a public health emergency. There's something in the air that's
prematurely killing 29,000 people in the UK each year. We often
can't see it but this killer's been implicated in causing
coronary heart disease, heart attack, heart rhythm disorders and
cardiac arrest, heart failure and more recently stroke.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/simon-gillespie/air-pollution_b_6938556.html?ir=UK+Politics
 

The Grand Republican Strategy: We Win, You Pay! On a recent trip
to London, I got into a conversation with a wealthy oil and gas
investor about climate change. He didn't disagree we need to
shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy, he said. His job is
to make sure the lights in our homes still turn on while we make
the transition. Fair enough, I said. Would you support a carbon
tax or a cap-and-trade program to speed up the transition?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anthony-w-orlando/the-grand-republican-stra_b_6944542.html
 

Anadarko Petroleum: Oil Price Scenarios That Could Significantly
Impact Its Valuation. Anadarko Petroleum is a large independent
exploration and production company based out of Texas, Unites
States. Its asset portfolio includes positions in onshore
resource plays in the Rocky Mountain region, the southern United
States, and the Appalachian basin.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2015/03/26/anadarko-petroleum-oil-price-scenarios-that-could-significantly-impact-its-valuation/
  

Tesla Share Price, Prospects Look Fragile, Wall Street Journal
Columnist Says. Investors in electric car manufacturer Tesla
Motors TSLA -1.38% are in danger of being exposed to sudden news
which undermines its fragile prospects, according to an opinion
column in the Wall Street Journal. Holman W. Jenkins Jr, in a
column published this week, said Tesla has proven that a market
exists for electric cars…
http://www.forbes.com/sites/neilwinton/2015/03/26/tesla-share-price-prospects-look-fragile-wall-street-journal-europe-says/
 

Cummins ATLAS light-duty diesel surpasses fuel economy targets,
with criteria emissions lower than Tier 2/Bin 2. Cummins Inc. is
showcasing the results of a four-year joint program with the US
Department of Energy (DOE) at the Mid-America Trucking Show. The
Advanced Technology Light Automotive Systems (ATLAS) program
(earlier post) was initiated to develop a commercially viable
diesel engine for the half-ton pickup truck market…
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/03/20150326-cummins.html  

The number of people worried about climate change hasn’t changed
since 1989. Those who reject the scientific consensus that the
world is warming due to human activity often point to what is
referred to as the "warming hiatus," a period of years in which
global temperatures have remained relatively flat -- high, but
flat. Scientists don't see this as refuting the idea of climate
change (and recently offered a possible explanation for it).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/03/25/the-number-of-people-worried-about-climate-change-hasnt-changed-since-1989/


Air Pollution Raises Stroke Risk. Air pollution — even for just
one day — significantly increases the risk of stroke, a large
review of studies has found. Researchers pooled data from 103
studies involving 6.2 million stroke hospitalizations and deaths
in 28 countries. The analysis, published online in BMJ, found
that all types of pollution except ozone were associated with
increased risk for stroke, and the higher the level of pollution,
the more strokes there were.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/03/24/air-pollution-raises-stroke-risk/?_r=0


Can Delhi Learn From Beijing On How To Deal With Air Pollution?
High on the list of Delhi’s many problems is one of air
pollution. There have been ample stories in the media about how
this city has the dirtiest air in the world (including a story
that claimed that US President Barack Obama could lose six hours
of his life after spending three days breathing in Delhi’s dirty
air) and some embassies have issued travel warnings for the city
as well.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/meghabahree/2015/03/25/can-delhi-learn-from-beijing-on-how-to-deal-with-air-pollution/


Meet The Cool Beans Designed To Beat Climate Change. A planet
that is warming at extraordinary speed may require extraordinary
new food crops. The latest great agricultural hope is beans that
can thrive in temperatures that cripple most conventional beans.
They're now growing in test plots of the International Center for
Tropical Agriculture, or CIAT, in Colombia.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2015/03/25/395096885/meet-the-cool-beans-designed-to-beat-climate-change


How to Use Climate Finance to Promote Clean Water. Fresh water is
vital to human society -- not simply for drinking, but also for
washing, farming and producing energy. In the future, this
crucial resource is expected to become increasingly scarce. This
is partly due to climate change. In the sub-tropics, climate
change is most likely to result in reduced annual rainfall in the
already dry regions.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/renat-heuberger/how-to-use-climate-finance-to-promote-clean-water_b_6928746.html


Natural Gas Continues To Replace Coal: 'Bridge' Fuel To
Lower-Carbon Energy. It's a simple fact that electric cars get
cleaner when the electricity grids used to power them do. And,
indeed, those grids are growing less dirty each year in the
United States. The amount of U.S. electricity generated from coal
has dropped significantly over the past few years--and that fuel
has largely been replaced by lower-emission natural gas.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1097421_natural-gas-continues-to-replace-coal-bridge-fuel-to-lower-carbon-energy


VW To Decide On QuantumScape Solid-State Battery Technology By
Summer. Volkswagen will soon decide whether to pursue an entirely
new type of battery technology for its future electric cars. The
German carmaker has acquired a small stake in battery startup
QuantumScape, and could make use of the company's solid-state
batteries.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1097433_vw-to-decide-on-quantumscape-solid-state-battery-technology-by-summer


The Electric Highway now covers much of Washington and Oregon. 
If you’ve been thinking of making a electric-car road trip, the
Pacific Northwest is a good place for it. 
And a quick study of the ‘Electric Highway Map,’ released by the
West Coast Electric Highway earlier this year (and at the bottom
of this page, as well as here), makes it easy to understand why.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1097347_electric-highway-now-covers-much-of-wa-or-will-ca-follow#ixzz3VPy7TNeV


Public Charging: Not As Important For Electric Cars As People
Think? Ask any electric-car advocate, and they'll likely list
availability of public charging as one of the key requirements to
getting more people interested in plug-in vehicles. The
availability of public charging stations reduces range anxiety
and gives drivers greater trip flexibility.
That would logically seem to make electric cars more desirable to
consumers.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1097407_public-charging-not-as-important-for-electric-cars-as-people-think


Natural Gas Continues To Replace Coal: 'Bridge' Fuel To
Lower-Carbon Energy. It's a simple fact that electric cars get
cleaner when the electricity grids used to power them do. And,
indeed, those grids are growing less dirty each year in the
United States. The amount of U.S. electricity generated from coal
has dropped significantly over the past few years--and that fuel
has largely been replaced by lower-emission natural gas.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1097421_natural-gas-continues-to-replace-coal-bridge-fuel-to-lower-carbon-energy

California Leads Nation in Solar Power. California used more
solar power in 2014 than all other states combined, and became
the first to get more than 5 percent of its energy from
utility-scale solar power, according to a federal study released
Tuesday. California power plants more than doubled their output
in 2014 from the previous year, producing 9.9 million megawatt
hours of solar energy…
http://www.courthousenews.com/2015/03/25/california-leads-nation-in-solar-power.htm
 

Canada could use 100% renewable electricity by 2035, team of
experts says. Canada can generate all of its electricity from
renewable sources by 2035 and cut 80% of its greenhouse gas
emissions (GHG) by 2050, new study says. A team of over 60
researchers has released a paper with ten policies that would
help the country to shift towards the low carbon economy.
http://www.theclimategroup.org/what-we-do/news-and-blogs/canada-could-use-100-renewable-electricity-by-2035-team-of-experts-says/


Op-Ed: Future Electric Cars Need 200 Miles Of Range. Apple has
been dominating the headlines as of late, with its talks of
developing an electric car. It’s taken some attention away from
some other big news, though. Apparently, there seems to be a race
to develop the first 200 mile electric car for around $30,000,
between Tesla, GM and Nissan. At the moment, the Nissan Leaf,
Volkswagen e-Golf, Fiat 500e and BMW i3 all have less than 100
miles of range.
http://insideevs.com/op-ed-future-electric-cars-need-200-miles-range/





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