What's New List Serve Post Display
Below is the List Serve Post you selected to display.
newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for March 30, 2015
Posted: 30 Mar 2015 14:44:51
ARB Newsclips for March 30, 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 Swap trades fuel California carbon market activity. California carbon futures were little changed this week as traders focused on over-the-counter vintage swaps instead of the outright buying or selling of permits, market sources said on Friday. Vintage swaps occur when one party sells permits covering a certain time period while simultaneously buying permits for a different period and banking the difference. http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/03/28/california-carbon-market-idUKL2N0WU00A20150328 AIR POLLUTION County Considering Emissions Limits. Talk of limiting greenhouse gas emissions from industrial sources — primarily oil drilling operations — in Santa Barbara County erupted in November 2013 with the controversial approval of Santa Maria Energy’s bid for 136 new cyclic steam-injection wells, the largest such project to hit the county in years. Since that green light and amid last year’s Measure P debate, county officials have been working on developing a formal emissions ceiling that, if surpassed, would necessitate that companies buy offsets until they fall under the ceiling. http://www.independent.com/news/2015/mar/27/county-considering-emissions-limits/ MTU America fined $1.5M for selling uncertified engines. The California Air Resources Board (ARB), US Department... http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/03/20150328-mtu.html CLIMATE CHANGE Mexico Pledges to Cut Emissions 25% in Climate-Change Milestone. Mexico has become the first developing nation to formally promise to cut its global-warming pollution, a potential milestone in efforts to reach a worldwide agreement on tackling climate change. Mexico expects greenhouse-gas emissions to peak by 2026 and then decline, Environment Minister Juan Jose Guerra Abud said at a news conference in Mexico City Friday. The nation has pledged to curb the growth of pollutants 25 percent from its current trajectory by 2030. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-27/mexico-pledges-25-cut-in-greenhouse-gas-emissions-growth http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mexico-makes-landmark-pledge-to-cut-greenhouse-gas-pollution/ U.S. to submit plans to fight global warming; most others delay. The United States will submit plans for slowing global warming to the United Nations early this week but most governments will miss an informal March 31 deadline, complicating work on a global climate deal due in December. The U.S. submission, on Monday or Tuesday according to a White House official, adds to national strategies beyond 2020 already presented by the 28-nation European Union, Mexico, Switzerland and Norway. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/29/us-climatechange-emissions-idUSKBN0MP0C020150329 Greenland glacier melt increases mercury discharge. Mercury contamination has long been a threat to animal carnivores and human residents in the Arctic. Mercury exports from river basins to the ocean form a significant component of the Arctic mercury cycle, and are consequently of importance in understanding and addressing this contamination. Jens Søndergaard of the Arctic Research Centre of Aarhus University, Denmark and his colleagues have been conducting research on this topic in Greenland for a number of years. http://earthsky.org/earth/greenland-glacier-melt-increases-mercury-discharge If you’re under 30, you’ve never experienced a cooler-than-average month. If you’re younger than 30, you’ve never experienced a month in which the average surface temperature of the Earth was below average. Each month, the US National Climatic Data Center calculates Earth’s average surface temperature using temperature measurements that cover the Earth’s surface. Then, another average is calculated for each month of the year for the 20th century, 1901-2000. For each month, this gives one number representative of the entire century. Subtract this overall 1900s monthly average—which for Feb. is 53.9F (12.1C)—from each individual month’s temperature and you’ve got the anomaly: that is, the difference from the average. http://qz.com/372641/if-youre-under-30-youve-never-experienced-a-cooler-than-average-month/ Martin O’Malley Begins Campaigning for President, But Seems Unprepared for Interview Questions. Democrat Martin O’Malley is spending most of his time in Iowa and New Hampshire rather than his home state Maryland these days. He’s making no secret of his desire to give Hillary Clinton a run for her money (and that promises to be an awful lot of money) for the Democratic Party’s nomination. O’Malley appeared on the ABC News “This Week” program, where host George Stephanopoulos asked a pretty straightforward question… http://www.ijreview.com/2015/03/283544-martin-omalley-wants-president-better-better-answer-basic-question/ Climate Change Heightens Pacific Islands' Vulnerability. ...partners to help them better withstand economic shocks, natural disasters, and climate change. Indeed, geographical isolation, small populations,... http://news.vocus.com/?a=20879805813&p=19f&v=1&x=yVeF6mKnBsBfHRRc-3UlHA Media Contributing to ‘Hope Gap' on Climate Change. ...dominated by horror and carnage — a recipe for depression that spills into climate change coverage, fueling what some experts call a ‘hope gap'... http://www.climatecentral.org/news/media-hope-gap-on-climate-change-18822 FINANCE: Rockefellers discouraged by Exxon's attitude toward climate change. ...empire -- have failed to convince Exxon Mobil Corp. to make efforts to address climate change and develop cleaner energy, according to Neva Rockefeller...http://news.vocus.com/?a=20881986689&p=19f&v=1&x=xnK5lLcYsapFClzdHVamtg U.S. To Submit Plans To Combat Climate Change While Other Countries Delay. ...OSLO/WASHINGTON, March 29 - The United States will submit plans for slowing global warming to the United Nations early this week but most governments...http://news.vocus.com/?a=20873173529&p=19f&v=1&x=aQAPOM-pFHsl9CA0MIXg1w California Snowpack Hits All-Time Low, 8 Percent Of Average. ...Ranch in Norden, CA. CREDIT: AP/ Rich Pedroncelli The rainy season is over in California before it ever really began. As the state enters its fourth...http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/03/30/3640399/california-snowpack-at-record-low/ REGULATION: Federal highway funding likely won't be a factor in Clean Power Plan enforcement. ...funding from states that don't comply with its unprecedented effort to lower greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent below 2005 levels. http://news.vocus.com/?a=20881985794&p=19f&v=1&x=7XH92Fqijy4ijgV2uatxSQ How Green Is Your House? ...feel good about your family's contributions to protect the environment. Green energy Improving your home's energy efficiency is not only...http://news.vocus.com/?a=20880502742&p=19f&v=1&x=MfWnKM0iPGdrCFNiFacOOA A climate-change litmus test for politicians. ...John Cubelic's eloquent plea for political leadership in the battle against climate change and global warming is making me rethink... http://news.vocus.com/?a=20872715292&p=19f&v=1&x=xkWhdWm8rytRrle4f0BovQ Ted Cruz Uses The Galileo Gambit To Deny Global Warming. ...First, in an interview a few days ago with the Texas Tribune, Cruz stated that global warming isn't happening. This wasn't the first time he's made...http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevensalzberg/2015/03/30/ted-cruz-uses-the-galileo-gambit-to-deny-global-warming/ DROUGHT Sierra Nevada pine tree die-off worsens as beetles thrive in drought . ...die-off of pine trees in the southern Sierra Nevada caused by beetles attacking drought-stressed trees is turning forests brown and creating a fire tinderbox...http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article16885928.html In store for visitors to Yosemite: a drier, browner park. ...floor, will probably slow to a shallow stream about the same time. And with the drought enabling western pine bark beetles to kill large swaths of forest,... http://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-yosemite-20150329-story.html Another Milestone In California's Historic Drought. YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — A road leading to spectacular views of California's Yosemite National Park opened to drivers on Saturday, marking... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/28/yosemite-lookout-opens_n_6961752.html March heat shatters records in bone-dry Los Angeles. ...day this year temperatures have been on average 10 degrees above normal in California, while there has been little precipitation, Seto said. “We... http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-march-heat-shatters-records-in-bone-dry-la-20150328-story.html Clear skies and record heat persist in drought-stricken Southland. In the final days of an unusually warm March, parts of Southern California are seeing record heat and strong rip currents, weather officials... http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-clear-skies-and-record-heat-southland-20150329-story.html Drought threatens American River fish. ...River could soon be killed by low flows and warm temperatures caused by the drought, a sign of the ongoing struggle over scarce water supplies. The... http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article16705838.html Drought prompts truck and release of salmon smolts in Rio Vista. ...juvenile Chinook salmon from near-certain death, federal wildlife officials in California are trucking fish to the Delta for release. The move – necessitated... http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article16376159.html Irrigation districts: State could derail delicate Stanislaus water deal. ...the human, environmental and financial consequences of a fourth consecutive drought year in water-starved California. We have seen it in the... http://news.vocus.com/?a=20871324058&p=19f&v=1&x=3P53erUSZYhRbBaCGmUeUQ 7 suggestions for drought behavior. ...squeeze. We're headed into the fourth consecutive spring and summer of devastating drought. In the Greater Sacramento area, we cut back our water use 19 percent... http://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/living/home-garden/article16428725.html FUELS Do biofuel policies seek to cut emissions by cutting food? A study published today in the journal Science found that government biofuel policies rely on reductions in food consumption to generate greenhouse gas savings. Shrinking the amount of food that people and livestock eat decreases the amount of carbon dioxide that they breathe out or excrete as waste. The reduction in food available for consumption, rather than any inherent fuel efficiency, drives the decline in carbon dioxide emissions in government models, the researchers found. http://phys.org/news/2015-03-biofuel-policies-emissions-food.html Boaters push Senate bill removing corn-ethanol mandate. ...gallons, but that number will climb to 36 billion gallons by 2022. Americans' gasoline use has actually declined since the mandate was implemented, however,... http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article16899902.html VEHICLES Electric Vehicles: Glass Half-Full, Glass Half-Empty. ...puts off a lot of consumers who could afford one, and who could easily use an electric vehicle for their daily commute. Nissan announced this month... http://www.forbes.com/sites/jimhenry/2015/03/29/electric-vehicles-glass-half-full-glass-half-empty/ Regulators Have Hands Full With Tesla's Plan For Hands-Free Driving. ...has provided auto executives and regulators a better view into the nascent electric vehicle market. Now the Silicon Valley auto maker is in... http://news.vocus.com/?a=20866297846&p=19f&v=1&x=8oj9-2CEUn9rZKab-U7kxw Internet giants drive into the electric vehicle space. Internet companies are looking to disrupt the auto industry with new smart e-vehicles,... https://www.reuters.com/assets/iframe/yovideo?videoId=363673740 GREEN ENERGY Nation's biggest nuclear firm makes a play for green energy money. ...alongside solar, wind and hydroelectric power collecting extra money for producing carbon-free electricity. Exelon Corp., operator of the largest fleet of...http://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article16578626.html Maverick expands synfuels plant line-up with bio- and landfill-gas-to-methanol offerings. ...September 2014, Maverick had introduced its Oasis GTL plants, small-scale, modular methane-to-methanol production plants that can be co-located at the methane... http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/03/20150330-maverick.html Green initiative meets resistance. South Korea launched Asia's first nationwide carbon emissions trading scheme in January. It is part of the government's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 30% by 2020. The creation of the world's second-largest cap-and-trade system, after the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme, created a lot of excitement around the world. Locally, concerns about the lack of trading and the government's top-down approach are mounting. Critics question whether the country can possibly meet its ambitious emissions reduction target. http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/Economy/Green-initiative-meets-resistance NATIONS: Renewable energy in India to receive $1B credit line. ...Export-Import Bank of the United States will give most of a $1 billion credit line to renewable energy developers in India. The bank expects regulatory... http://news.vocus.com/?a=20881986897&p=19f&v=1&x=H__y8AtYvDUJs1xKIS9QCQ Millbrook joins APC-funded consortium to develop fuel cell range-extended electric LCVs. ...consortium to develop a new class of light commercial vehicle (LCV) combining fuel cell technology with battery electric vehicles to provide significantly... http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/03/20150330-millbrook.html RENEWABLE ENERGY: Ocean-based wind turbines, tested in Europe, may come to a coast near you. Block Island, a quiet, sparsely populated Rhode Island sanctuary of about 750...http://news.vocus.com/?a=20881985670&p=19f&v=1&x=VyQAuDVNKI-0Sug0CpEnmg Solar panel owners and utilities battle it out in California. This story is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Solar power is having a major moment. It's growing faster than any... http://grist.org/article/solar-panel-owners-and-utilities-battle-it-out-in-california $1.6B Hawaii Offshore Wind Energy Project Could Be Operational in 2020(Pacific Business News) . Alpha Wind Energy's plan to develop a $1.6 billion offshore wind... http://insideclimatenews.org/todaysnews/30032015/16b-hawaii-offshore-wind-energy-project-could-be-operational-2020 Utility, dairy farm partner on wind turbine. ...thought." He says the family never thought they'd be milking their cows with renewable energy. The turbine can produce about 155,000 kilowatts... http://www.sfgate.com/business/energy/article/Utility-dairy-farm-partner-on-wind-turbine-6167613.php California's power trip. ...generating one-third of its energy from renewables by 2020. But feeding all that green energy into the Golden State's grid — without overloading it... http://www.times-standard.com/general-news/20150329/californias-power-trip Solar solution. ...electricity shortfall,” I immediately thought, why doesn't California encourage more solar energy? The more solar, the lower the cost. Why not encourage... http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2015/03/28/3560776/solar-solution.html MISCELLANEOUS Lights go out around the world for Earth Hour. For one hour on Saturday starting at 8:30 p.m, local time, cities around the world will send a collective message about conservation and climate change. Called Earth Hour, the event encourages participants to turn off all non-essential lights for 60 minutes. This year, 7,000 cities in 162 countries are participating. http://mashable.com/2015/03/28/earth-hour-2015/ OPINIONS Agriculture should be part of our carbon policy. In light of President Barack Obama’s looming carbon regulations for existing U.S. power plants, it’s worth remembering that a comprehensive climate policy needs to do more than tackle smokestacks. It also needs to do something about agriculture. And more broadly, Texans and the rest of the nation need to think more environmentally about the way they eat. http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/commentary/article/Agriculture-should-be-part-of-our-carbon-policy-6166444.php America's Shale Fields Offer A Chance For A New Oil Doctrine To “Reset” Geopolitics ...doctrine. The objections fall mainly into three buckets. First there is gasoline price-o-phobia. Politicians don't get credit when prices at the... http://www.forbes.com/sites/markpmills/2015/03/30/americas-shale-fields-offer-a-chance-for-a-new-oil-doctrine-to-reset-geopolitics/ Opinion: California bullet train: High cost, tiny impact. A few years ago, when it was first proposed that state “cap-and-trade” fees on carbon emissions be used for the state’s bullet train project, the Legislature’s budget analyst questioned its legality. Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor’s office noted that state law requires fees to be spent on projects and programs to help the state meet 2020 emission goals. http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/dan-walters/article16538015.html Achieving California's goal of sustainable energy future. Not so long ago, the idea that renewable energy could be relied upon to power our electric grid... http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article16434323.html Opinion: California bullet train: High cost, tiny impact. A few years ago, when it was first proposed that state “cap-and-trade” fees on carbon emissions be used for the..http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/dan-walters/article16538015.html Personal accounts drive CARB hearings. The coordination hearings that took place March 13-14 in Fairfield not only revealed that the California Air Resources Board failed to “coordinate” the implementation of its regulations on trucks with local governments, but they revealed that the board’s regulations were arbitrary, unreasonable and are unsupported by scientific data. http://www.dailyrepublic.com/opinion/localopinioncolumnists/personal-accounts-drive-carb-hearings/ BLOGS The Top of the World Sinks Ever Lower. Ever year around the end of February, after a long winter, Arctic ice reaches its maximum extent. This year that happened around Feb. 25, when it encompassed 14.54 million square kilometers of ice around the North Pole. Sound like a lot? It’s not. Really, really not. This year’s maximum extent was the lowest on record. http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2015/03/30/arctic_ice_maximum_extent_reaches_record_low.html Why Isn't Desalination the Answer to All California's Water Problems? The California American Water Company plans to desalinate water from Monterey... http://blogs.kqed.org/science/audio/why-isnt-desalination-the-answer-to-all-californias-water-problems/ California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.