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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for March 27, 2015.
Posted: 27 Mar 2015 11:01:17
ARB Newsclips for March 27, 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 Nations Reach Deal to Start Carbon-Market Reserve in 2021. European Union member states agreed on a compromise to seek the start of automatic supply cuts in the world’s biggest carbon market in 2021, giving up plans to push for an accelerated introduction of the fix. The deal, approved today in Brussels, allows EU governments to begin on March 30 negotiations with the European Parliament about the final version of the draft law… http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-25/eu-nations-reach-deal-to-start-carbon-market-reserve-in-2021 This Week In V-Carbon: A Little Myth Busting. A new Ecosystem Marketplace report set out to determine how carbon offsetting fits into corporate carbon strategies and found that 14% of businesses disclosing climate change information purchased offsets. Among many significant findings, the report dispels the myth that companies buying carbon offsets do so to avoid making climate commitments. http://www.ecosystemmarketplace.com/pages/dynamic/article.page.php?page_id=10884§ion=home&eod=1 AIR POLLUTION ChemChina plants fined over emissions violations: Xinhua. Two small refineries under state-run China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina) have been fined by the environmental watchdog for emissions violations and ordered to halt production, state media reported on Friday. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/27/us-chemchina-pollution-idUSKBN0MN13320150327?virtualBrandChannel=11563 CLIMATE CHANGE Carbon Pollution Standards that Begin by 2020: Vital for Climate Security, Human Health. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hard at work right now on the Clean Power Plan – the first ever national carbon pollution standards for power plants. Among the many important aspects of this historic plan, we believe this: It is critical that EPA finalize carbon pollution standards for the power sector that include protective, well-designed standards beginning in 2020. http://theenergycollective.com/edfenergyex/2209226/carbon-pollution-standards-begin-2020-vital-climate-security-human-health Judge throws out environmentalists' global warming lawsuit against Massachusetts. Suffolk Superior Court judge Robert Gordon threw out a lawsuit yesterday by environmental activists, which would have forced Massachusetts to create more regulations to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. As previously reported here, two environmental groups… http://www.examiner.com/article/judge-throws-out-environmentalists-global-warming-lawsuit-against-massachusetts Colorado City Vows to Be Carbon Neutral, Defying Partisan Politics. Fort Collins, Colo., led mostly by Republicans, approves targets to reduce emissions and become carbon neutral by 2050, but hurdles remain. Copenhagen and Melbourne have committed to the most aggressive carbon reduction goals on the planet. http://insideclimatenews.org/news/27032015/colorado-city-vows-be-carbon-neutral-defying-partisan-politics Climate change could make your food taste worse. Climate change could have an impact so real you can literally taste it. A report from Australia suggests increased temperatures due to greenhouse gas emissions could change the way foods taste and make some vegetables, fruits and seafood varieties harder to find. It is the latest dose of bad news for Australia after several years of heat waves, wildfires and drought… http://www.cbsnews.com/news/climate-change-less-tasty-food-fewer-choices/ Sea-level Rise for the Coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington: Past, Present, Future. (Video) The National Research Council has just completed a new report on sea level rise along the coasts of California, Oregon, Washington which is intended to provide elected officials, coastal managers and decision makers with an objective and independent analysis upon which they can base future coastal planning. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2kqhcy_sea-level-rise-for-the-coasts-of-california-oregon-and-washington-past-present-future_creation 2 C temperature rise limit would fall short of safeguarding most countries – study. The 2-degree-Celsius temperature rise limit globally accepted as a means to avoid dangerous climate change is a "mathematical aggregate" and a mere average of data collected from hundreds of climate stations around the world and thrown into climate models to forecast the effects of climate change. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060015876/print Poll finds Republican belief in climate change drops with higher education. Republican college graduates are more likely to have doubts about climate change than their conservative peers with less education, according to a new poll. A Gallup survey released yesterday found that 74 percent of Republicans with a college degree say news about global warming is "generally exaggerated." http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060015894/print DROUGHT Drought, warm weather bring 'smog day' memories in California. The brown haze over California's San Joaquin Valley breadbasket on some winter days has been an unwelcome reminder of the bad old days, when pollution hung so thickly that people were warned to stay inside. Years of tight environmental rules improved California air quality so much that the state has not issued a smog alert in a dozen years. But prolonged drought and warmer temperatures have triggered a spike… http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/27/us-usa-california-pollution-idUSKBN0MN16U20150327?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews Documentaries focus on Salton Sea, California drought. Two new documentaries about California’s struggles with dwindling water supplies will be shown back-to-back at the American Documentary Film Festival this weekend, one focusing on the state’s epic drought and the other examining the looming environmental problems of the shrinking Salton Sea. http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/environment/2015/03/26/documentaries-focus-salton-sea-california-drought/70505718/ DIESEL ACTIVITIES New Bill Proposes $5,000 Fine For Diesels ‘Rolling Coal’. A proposed law against diesel drivers who are caught “rolling coal” would fine them up to $5,000 for this increasingly popular practice of tampering with emission controls. While some in the world are trying to go zero or partial zero emissions, others are finding it a new pass time to modify their trucks to spew heavy black soot… http://www.hybridcars.com/new-bill-proposes-5000-fine-for-diesels-rolling-coal/ FUELS 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. http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-83149695/ In New York state, fracking ban fuels secession talk. From this village of dairy farms and friendly diners, Carolyn Price can see across the border into Pennsylvania, and it is a bittersweet view. The rolling hills a few miles away are as green as the ones here, and the Susquehanna River is icy and beautiful on both sides of the state line as it meanders toward the Atlantic. Price sees something else, though: towns brimming with money extracted from the gas-rich Marcellus Shale… http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-83148929/ Carbon Tracker Initiative Paints A Bleak Picture For US Coal. The London-based Carbon Tracker Initiative paints a bleak picture for the US coal industry and its investors in a recent report, which finds the market for thermal coal is in a “structural decline” in the United States, “squeezed out by an abundance of cheap shale gas and ever tightening pollution laws.” http://cleantechnica.com/2015/03/27/carbon-tracker-initiative-paints-bleak-picture-us-coal/ LNG's world leader will have to adapt as new producers take central stage. Qatar's days as a "discriminating monopolist" in world markets for liquefied natural gas may be numbered, as the wealthy country gets competition from the United States and other countries that have the power to shake up how the LNG business is conducted. http://www.eenews.net/energywire/stories/1060015870/print Canadian oil industry has hit its peak – report. Canada's oil industry has reached peak investment, with more layoffs and losses in the near future, according to a recent Conference Board of Canada report. Revenue will drop 37 percent, with 8,000 direct jobs disappearing in the next year, the report added. Investment in the oil sands industry will decline to $25 billion from $30 billion. http://www.eenews.net/energywire/stories/1060015849/print VEHICLES Fiat Chrysler bought Tesla emissions credits in ’13. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles purchased 1.05 million greenhouse gas emission credits for the 2013 model year from electric carmaker Tesla Motors Inc. to help meet emissions requirements. The Environmental Protection Agency report found that nine of the 13 major manufacturers with sales greater than 100,000 vehicles exceeded the requirements, with margins of compliance ranging from 27 grams/mile (Hyundai)… http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/2015/03/26/fuel-efficiency/70482776/ Chevy leads the way in buying carbon offsets, report finds. General Motors’ Chevrolet brand was the leading corporate purchaser of carbon offsets in 2012 and 2013, buying credits representing the reduction of 4.6 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in projects outside their own businesses, according to a report from an environmental research group. http://www.unionleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20150327/NEWS24/150329311/-1/news#sthash.KaXJkTYJ.dpuf Volvo Beats Carbon Reduction Goal by 10M Tons. Volvo last year reduced the total lifetime CO2 emissions of its products by 40 million tons against a 2008 baseline, beating its goal by 10 million tons, according to the automaker’s 2014 sustainability report. The company also exceeded its target to reduce CO2 emissions from its production plants by 0.2 million tons (12 percent), compared to 2008… http://www.environmentalleader.com/2015/03/27/volvo-beats-carbon-reduction-goal-by-10m-tons/#ixzz3VbMAIcrR Act Now: Georgia Electric Car Buyers Could Get The Shaft, Lose $5,000 Incentive & “Gain” A $200/Year Fee. Georgia’s House and Senate have passed a bill that would eliminate the state’s $5,000 zero-emission-vehicle (ZEV) tax credit and also put a $200/year road usage fee on electric vehicles. http://cleantechnica.com/2015/03/27/act-now-georgia-electric-car-buyers-could-get-the-shaft-lose-5000-incentive-gain-a-200year-fee/ Automakers rush to double electric car milage (+video). Feeling the pressure from Tesla, major automakers are looking to play catch up with electric cars, which includes setting new standards. 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… http://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/2015/0326/Automakers-rush-to-double-electric-car-milage-video IL Suspends Clean-Car Rebates; GA Tax Credit In Trouble Too; Texas Next? State tax credits and purchase rebates have proven effective in kickstarting the early market for plug-in electric cars and other green vehicles. But they don't last forever, as buyers in Illinois and Georgia are learning; the Illinois program has been suspended, and Georgia seems likely to kill off its program as well. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1097483_il-suspends-clean-car-rebates-ga-tax-credit-in-trouble-too-texas-next GREEN ENERGY Alcoa Loan Reboots Maligned U.S. Clean-Energy Loan Program. A $25 billion U.S. Energy Department loan program that funded flops like Fisker Automotive Inc. and successes such as Tesla Motors Inc. resumed lending after a four-year hiatus to retool the lending project’s focus. Alcoa Inc. has been tentatively approved for a $259 million loan from the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program… http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-26/alcoa-loan-marks-restart-of-maligned-u-s-clean-energy-program Cuadrilla, geothermal firm eye renewable heat from oil, gas wells. Britain's Geothermal Engineering Ltd (GEL) has signed an agreement with shale gas firm Cuadrilla Resources to explore the feasibility of producing geothermal renewable heat from used oil and gas wells, the firm said on Friday. The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop technology to show that geothermal heat can… http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/27/us-britain-shale-geothermal-idUSKBN0MN1KX20150327?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews California's shift toward renewables makes energy harder to manage. California's electrical grid has a problem -- a nice problem, but a problem nonetheless: The state often has too much power. Nearly 23 percent of California's energy now comes from renewable sources such as wind and solar, and the state is on track to reach its goal of generating one-third of its energy from renewables by 2020. http://www.insidebayarea.com/breaking-news/ci_27796540/californias-shift-toward-renewables-makes-energy-harder-manage EIA: Sun Rises on Solar, Coal Takes its Lumps. The country consumed about 1 percent more energy in 2014 than it did the year before, the government says. Renewables are up, coal is down and oil and gas consumption remained the same. The U.S. Energy Information Administration released the 2014 totals for American energy production and consumption Thursday. http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2015/03/27/us-solar-wind-and-oil-production-rise-coal-falls Biomass Electricity + Carbon Capture = Carbon-Negative Energy. A new study shows that using biomass to produce electricity and pairing it with carbon capture technologies could lead to giant reductions in carbon emissions in the Western US energy supply. Generating electricity from biomass, such as urban waste and sustainably sourced forest and crop residues… http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2015/03/biomass-electricity-carbon-capture-carbon-negative-energy A Bright Future for Renewable Energy. During the preceding decade, adoption of renewable technologies experienced rapid growth. This advancement is in response to new technologies, available energy storage, policy changes, and greater investment in renewable sources. Renewables, solar and wind power especially, have far surpassed coal and natural gas in industry growth. http://fuelfix.com/blog/2015/03/26/a-bright-future-for-renewable-energy/ Yingli Green Energy Reports Loss On 4th Quarter Earnings. Solar panel manufacturer Yingli Green Energy, also known as Yingli Solar, reported its 2014 fourth quarter and full-year earnings on Wednesday, and it wasn’t good news, with a greater-than-expected operating loss and relatively flat shipments and revenue for the year. http://cleantechnica.com/2015/03/27/yingli-green-energy-report-loss-fourth-quarter-earnings/ America's Cities Are Getting Greener Thanks To Energy-Efficient Buildings: EPA Rankings. In many U.S. cities, buildings emit more greenhouse gas emissions than even cars or factories. That's because powering and heating office towers and apartment buildings releases large amounts of climate-change pollutants, environmental officials say. But that may be starting to change. Cities across the country are taking significant steps to reduce energy and water waste… http://www.ibtimes.com/americas-cities-are-getting-greener-thanks-energy-efficient-buildings-epa-rankings-1861832 Largest U.S. solar manufacturer calls 2014 'a year of milestones' as shipping surges. SolarWorld AG, the United States' largest solar manufacturer, said this week it nearly doubled shipments of modules from its primary U.S. manufacturing facility in 2014, while globally the company boosted shipments by 55 percent, from 548 units in 2013 to 849 units last year. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060015877/print A big, clean energy industry matures at sea. The first of a two-part series. Flying 56 miles west from this port, you are greeted by a 10-story, yellow, boxlike platform rising out of the North Sea. It is called SylWin1, the connection to Europe's electric grid from one of the largest power plants ever built offshore. Beyond it, arrayed over 27 acres of ocean, are the 80 Siemens 3.6-megawatt turbines of the Dan Tysk wind farm. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060015866/print MISCELLANEOUS Gallup poll finds Americans’ worries about environmental threats easing. Americans’ concern about several major environmental threats has eased after increasing last year, according to Gallup’s annual Environment survey, conducted March 5-8. As in the past, Americans expressed the greatest worry about pollution of drinking water, and the least about global warming. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/03/20150327-gallup.html OPINIONS Keep Michigan energy clean and local. There have been campaigns calling on Americans to eat locally and shop locally. Now, Michiganders can get on board with a plan to power their lives locally. That's one of the most interesting elements of Gov. Rick Snyder's vision for a "no-regrets energy future," which focuses on cutting energy waste and prioritizing renewable generation. http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/contributors/2015/03/26/snyder-energy-plan/70456288/ EPA: Industry Exceeded National GHG Emissions Standards In 2013. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the auto industry outperformed national greenhouse gas emissions standards for a second consecutive year. For MY 2013 vehicles, the average GHG emission came to 12 grams per mile — 1.4 miles per gallon — better than what was required by the 2013 standard. http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2015/03/epa-industry-exceeded-national-ghg-emissions-standards-2013/ Don’t skip the credits: the oft-overlooked importance of air emission credits in mergers and acquisitions. There is no shortage of environmental matters to navigate when buying a company or facility. Environmental counsel must first lead a diligence effort that delineates the target’s environmental footprint and then suss out the environmental risks and liabilities attendant to the deal. http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=824f7d49-0eb1-46cf-bfd5-291e1f9d59ca BLOGS The Five Most Ignorant Media Myths About Electric Cars. We spend more time than we probably should in grumbling at media coverage of plug-in electric cars. Journalists try to get it right, in general, but often the specific and complex issues around electric cars, who buys them, and how they're really used get lost or ignored in general reporting. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1097482_the-five-most-ignorant-media-myths-about-electric-cars Tesla Store Helpful, Enthusiastic; One Chevy Volt Dealer, Not So Much. It's long been known that getting some car dealerships to sell plug-in electric cars can be a challenge. Now, one reporter tested the thesis for himself, by visiting both his local Tesla store--to inquire about the Model S electric luxury sedan--and his local Chevrolet dealer, to ask about the Volt range-extended electric car. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1097484_tesla-store-helpful-enthusiastic-one-chevy-volt-dealer-not-so-much Updated Green-Bond Guidelines Show ‘Incremental Progress’. Green bonds, which finance environmentally friendly projects, got a modest makeover on Friday. The International Capital Market Association, a trade group, released an updated version of the “green-bond principles”–voluntary guidelines for issuers and bankers to help determine whether a bond should be labelled “green.” http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2015/03/27/updated-green-bond-guidelines-show-incremental-progress/ A Potentially Powerful New Weapon in China’s War on Pollution. Days before the opening of this year’s annual meeting of the National People’s Congress, a dramatic documentary about the profusion of life-threatening environmental pollution in China went viral online. By the time the documentary, “Under the Dome,” was pulled from video sites a week later, it had been viewed over 100 million times. http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2015/03/27/a-potentially-powerful-new-weapon-in-chinas-war-on-pollution/ We don’t have a Ted Cruz problem on climate change. We have a GOP problem on climate change. Ted Cruz has earned infamy for the self-regarding analogy he drew between his attacks on climate science and the work of Galileo — both, apparently, opposed the authoritarian non-science of their respective days. But what does the Texas senator really believe on climate change? http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2015/03/27/we-dont-have-a-ted-cruz-problem-on-climate-change-we-have-a-gop-problem-on-climate-change/ Spike In California Air Pollution Brings Reminder Of Bad Old Days. The brown haze over California's San Joaquin Valley breadbasket on some winter days has been an unwelcome reminder of the bad old days, when pollution hung so thickly that people were warned to stay inside. Years of tight environmental rules improved California air quality so much that the state has not issued a smog alert in a dozen years. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/27/california-air-pollution_n_6953860.html China's War on Pollution Is Gaining Traction. Beijing just announced that it will close the last of its four major coal-fired power plants in 2016, avoiding an estimated 30 million tons of carbon. This welcome step, carried out as part of China's national Air Pollution Action Plan, is the latest evidence that China is putting teeth into its pledges to tackle air pollution and cap its carbon emissions. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barbara-a-finamore/chinas-war-on-pollution-i_b_6955000.html Tesla Bows To China Challenge With Market Reboot. Bottom line: Tesla’s China reboot appears to be complete, paving the way for it to gain some traction in the market by year end if it can effectively target the nation’s wealthy, image-conscious trend setters. Nearly a year after driving into China on a wave of fanfare and big hopes, electric vehicle (EV) superstar Tesla… http://www.forbes.com/sites/dougyoung/2015/03/27/tesla-bows-to-china-challenge-with-market-reboot/ Presidential Politics And Climate Change: How Will Voters Assess Candidates? If Senator Ted Cruz doesn’t take climate change seriously, should the American electorate give his 2016 presidential bid any credence? Whereas the history among those who doubt the science had, generally, been flat-out denial, the trend now is to say that they lack the science background to make such determinations. http://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2015/03/26/presidential-politics-and-climate-change-how-will-voters-assess-candidates/ IKEA Fuels Up With Bloom Energy. Home furnishing retailer IKEA has invested in numerous on-site renewable energy projects—almost 90% of its U.S. stores use solar technology, for example, plus it is experimenting with geothermal and wind. But a new contract with Bloom Energy for a site in Emeryville, California, actually represents its first foray into fuel cells that use biogas to generate electricity. http://www.forbes.com/sites/heatherclancy/2015/03/26/ikea-fuels-up-with-bloom-energy/ Steve Wozniak Calls Electric Cars ‘Perfect Territory’ for Apple. Australia Financial Review: Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak on the Apple Watch, Electric Cars. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has said he wants Apple to take on Tesla in the car business, that he plans to buy the cheapest Apple Watch available when it goes on sale… http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/steve-wozniak-calls-electric-cars-perfect-territory-for-apple We Could Stop Global Warming With This Fix—But It's Probably a Terrible Idea. Back in the late 1990s, Ken Caldeira set out to disprove the "ludicrous" idea that we could reverse global warming by filling the sky with chemicals that would partially block the sun. A few years earlier, Mount Pinatubo had erupted in the Philippines, sending tiny sulfate particles—known as aerosols—into the stratosphere… http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2015/03/geoengineering-caldeira-climate-change Home on the California Range In Year 2100? 'Climate-Smart' Must Be Key To Land Use. “Maintaining rangelands can help mitigate the effects of climate change and drought,” scientist says. Grassland habitats on rangelands in California’s Central Valley and surrounding foothills could decline by as much as 37 percent by 2100 due to changes in land use and climate, according to new scientific projections by the U.S. Geological Survey. http://patch.com/california/napavalley/home-california-range-year-2100-climate-smart-must-be-key-land-use Massive Algal Blooms Could be Cleaned Up and Used as Biofuels and Fertilizers. With warmer temperatures, algal blooms from fertilizer runoff can become a major problem, destroying aquatic life and clogging rivers and lakes. Now, though, scientists may have found a way to clean up these environmental hazards and turn them into useful products. Algae could one day act as a biofuel and even fertilize farms. http://www.scienceworldreport.com/articles/23782/20150327/massive-algal-blooms-cleaned-up-used-biofuels-fertilizers.htm Nissan will run pilot car-sharing program with two-seat concept EVs. One-Year Program Will Test Urban Revitalization Impact of Car-Sharing EVs. Nissan is using a little car to test out possible solutions to a rather big problem. The Japanese automaker will start a car-sharing program this month using its New Mobility Concept two-seat electric vehicles, which is based on the Renault Twizy platform. http://www.autoblog.com/2015/03/27/nissan-will-run-pilot-car-sharing-program-with-two-seat-concept/#image-2 Toyota wants half its vehicles in Japan to be hybrids. The Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell vehicle could signal the future of motoring with a somewhat accessible price and cutting-edge green technology, but there's no guarantee for the model actually spearheading a revolution in the marketplace. In the meantime, the Japanese brand is continuing to focus on its hybrid powertrains and actually plans to build even more of them. http://www.autoblog.com/2015/03/27/toyota-wants-half-vehicles-japan-hybrids/ California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.