What's New List Serve Post Display

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

Yale to impose carbon tax on itself, led by the man who helped
invent it.  Yale University will become one of the first colleges
or universities to put an internal price on their carbon
emissions, school officials said Monday. After forming a
university committee -- chaired by William Nordhaus, the Yale
economist who has studied the confluence of economics and climate
change since the 1970s -- Yale President Peter Salovey and
Provost Benjamin Polak announced that the fee is slated to begin
in the new academic year as a three-year pilot program, after
which the carbon charge would fully kick in.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060017204 

OFA sees potential for farmers in cap and trade.  There are many
potential revenue opportunities for farmers in a cap and trade
system announced by Premier Kathleen Wynne, the Ontario
Federation of Agriculture believes. Wynne's choice of cap and
trade as her government's preferred way to fight climate change
is seen by the OFA as an effective and fair way to manage
greenhouse gas emissions, while recognizing that agriculture
already plays an important role in reducing them.
http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/2015/04/22/ofa-sees-potential-for-farmers-in-cap-and-trade


AIR POLLUTION

Thermal camera ‘sees’ hidden pollution, nets major settlement
with energy firm.  In normal daylight, the big tanks used to
store Noble Energy Inc.’s petroleum looked solid enough. But when
regulators examined them through thermal cameras, they made a
startling discovery: Noxious pollutants escaped from the tanks
like smoke from a chimney.  “You look at them and you see
absolutely nothing,” said John C. Cruden, head of the Justice
Department’s environmental enforcement division, “but through the
camera it’s billowing off the tanks.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/04/22/thermal-camera-sees-hidden-pollution-nets-73-million-settlement-with-energy-firm/


High Speed Rail To Use Local Product To Control Dust Pollution. 
On this Earth Day, California’s High-Speed Rail Authority is
demonstrating steps it is taking to minimize environmental damage
from the construction of the rail. Rail construction workers will
spray a biodegradable solution made of processed wood chips that
holds down dust pollution. 
http://kvpr.org/post/high-speed-rail-use-local-product-control-dust-pollution


San Lorenzo Valley residents pose questions about air quality. 
Residents were eager to hear about the fate of wood-burning
stoves Wednesday night at an event hosted by the Monterey Bay
Unified Air Pollution Control District at San Lorenzo Valley High
School. The event drew more than 30 valley residents, a number
organizers were not expecting but were ecstatic about. Many in
the crowd came to find out if the agency was mandating residents
stop burning wood.
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/environment-and-nature/20150422/san-lorenzo-valley-residents-pose-questions-about-air-quality


CLIMATE CHANGE

US to announce plans to reduce agricultural carbon emissions.
Federal agricultural officials are planning to announce voluntary
programs and initiatives for farmers, ranchers and foresters
meant to build on President Barack Obama's efforts to combat
global warming — and don't require congressional approval. 
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/d920d468b51f43b7b5cd342444d1705a/us-announce-plans-reduce-agricultural-carbon-emissions


A Challenge From Climate Change Regulations.  As President Obama
prepares to unveil his climate change regulations on coal-fired
power plants, the nation’s electric utilities are preparing to
transform the system that keeps the lights on in America. But
some companies fear that in the process, the lights may go out.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/23/business/energy-environment/a-challenge-from-climate-change-regulations.html?ref=energy-environment&_r=0


Smog Ceiling Debated.  The county’s Air Pollution Control
District (APCD) will soon establish a greenhouse-gas-emissions
ceiling for projects in its jurisdiction, with the APCD Board of
Directors set to pick a limit at a special meeting on April 30.
On Thursday, the board had another special meeting to discuss the
possible thresholds. Whatever limit the APCD goes with would
apply to new or modified stationary sources under the agency’s
purview.
http://www.independent.com/news/2015/apr/23/smog-ceiling-debated/


DIESEL ACTIVITIES

Blue Train Dramatically Cuts Down On Pollution.  The Little
Engine That Could was a bright, friendly blue locomotive who
managed to overcome impossible odds through sheer force of
will--I think therefore I can. GE's new locomotive engine is a
similar shade of blue, but it took more engineering than
determination for it to achieve it's goal of dramatically
reducing air pollution.
http://www.popsci.com/see-beautiful-pictures-ges-new-environmentally-friendly-train


DROUGHT

California government cut water usage 22 percent.  With
California ravaged by an epic drought, state-run facilities
collectively cut water use 22 percent last year, according to
government data released Wednesday, although some departments
used far more than in 2013. The overall figure slightly exceeds
Gov. Jerry Brown’s order that state departments cut their 2014
water consumption by 20 percent compared with the previous year.

http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/the-state-worker/article19273602.html


GREEN ENERGY

Catching Waves and Turning Them Into Electricity. Off the coast
of Western Australia, three big buoys floating beneath the
ocean’s surface look like giant jellyfish tethered to the
seafloor. The steel machines, 36 feet wide, are buffeted by the
powerful waves of the Indian Ocean. By harnessing the constant
motion of the waves, the buoys generate about 5 percent of the
electricity used at a nearby military base on Garden Island.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/23/business/energy-environment/catching-waves-and-turning-them-into-electricity.html?ref=energy-environment


Green-energy company moves back to Sacramento, setting up shop on
R Street.  A renewable fuels retailer is moving its headquarters
back to Sacramento to be closer to agencies — and for more
affordable housing. Propel Fuels started in Seattle in 2004,
moved to Sacramento in 2008 and then moved its headquarters to
Redwood City in 2010.
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2015/04/23/green-energy-company-moves-back-to-sacramento.html?ana=e_sac_rdup&s=newsletter&ed=2015-04-23&u=mWGE3JCkQISFrrs%2FNMmWBIotlWU&t=1429802068


MISCELLANEOUS

Independence Mall adds pollution-sensing park bench.  Just in
time for Earth Day, Independence National Historic Park now has a
bench that doubles as a weather and air quality station. The
tricked out seating is made from recycled milk containers.  It
sports solar panels and a wind turbine to power numerous
scientific instruments. "We're using this for R&D," said Gayle
Hagler, an engineer with EPA. 
http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/health-science/item/80997-independence-mall-adds-pollution-sensing-park-bench


BLOGS

Climate Change Questions for Young Citizen Scientists.  An
unprecedented abundance of publicly available scientific data
combined with the demands of the new Next Generation Science
Standards make it more important than ever to encourage students
to think of themselves as “citizen scientists.” For this special
Earth Day guest lesson, we’ve teamed up with NASA’s Goddard
Institute for Space Studies, a world leader in global
climate-change research, along with its partner, the Columbia
University Earth Institute, to offer resources for teaching about
this complex issue, all while addressing important 21st-century
literacy skills. 
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/04/22/guest-post-climate-change-questions-for-citizen-scientists/




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