What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for April 29, 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

California’s Forests Have Become Climate Polluters. California
introduced a world-leading carbon dioxide cap-and-trade program
to drive down pollution rates after lawmakers approved an
ambitious climate protection law in 2006. It also changed rules
affecting utilities, spurring investments in some of the biggest
solar power plants the world has yet seen.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/california-forests-climate-polluters-18941


AIR POLLUTION

Supreme Court orders UK Govt to act on air pollution. Welcoming
todays UK Supreme Court ruling, ordering the Government to
produce a new air pollution plan following a case bought by
Client Earth, Friends of the Earth air pollution campaigner Jenny
Bates said: UK air pollution kills tens of thousands of people
prematurely every year and places a huge burden on our
over-stretched NHS…
http://www.bloomberg.com/research/markets/news/article.asp?docKey=600-201504290828M2______EUPR_____34060000014555e2_3600-1


WHO: Europe's air pollution costs $1.6 trillion a year. Air
pollution in Europe causes illnesses and hundreds of thousands of
deaths, costing the continent's governments a combined $1.6
trillion each year, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.
This corresponded to nearly a tenth of the European Union's gross
domestic product in 2012, the WHO Regional Office for Europe said
in its first such study for the region.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article19804029.html#storylink=cpy


Drought is making San Joaquin Valley's bad air worse, report
says. The drought is making the San Joaquin Valley’s notoriously
dirty air even worse, says the American Lung Association’s new
air analysis released Wednesday. Led by Fresno and Kern counties,
all eight Valley counties are having more bad days for “soot,”
known as PM-2.5 or particle pollution.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2015/04/29/4499740_another-drought-downer-more-soot.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy


Kern graded F for air quality despite ozone improvements. Kern
County got its usual straight Fs for air quality in the American
Lung Association in California's annual State of the Air report,
which was released today. The Bakersfield area has the second
worst year-round particle pollution in the United States,
according to the report, second only to Fresno-Madera.
http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/health/x1702787184/Kern-graded-F-for-air-quality-despite-ozone-improvements


Imperial County ranks low for air pollution.  Imperial County had
the eighth most particle-polluted air and the 23rd most ozone
pollution compared to other counties in the nation, according to
the State of the Air report released today by the American Lung
Association.
http://www.ivpressonline.com/quicknews/imperial-county-ranks-low-for-air-pollution/article_2b768a78-ee8b-11e4-98a4-832807580902.html


Report: Southern California’s air some of the worst in U.S.
Despite progress, Southern California’s air remains home to some
of the worst air in the United States, the American Lung
Association said Tuesday in its annual State of the Air report.
The Los Angeles-Long Beach area ranked no. 1 as the most
ozone-polluted in the United States and fifth for year-round
particle pollution, the report said.
http://www.sbsun.com/environment-and-nature/20150429/report-southern-californias-air-some-of-the-worst-in-us


Hold your breath: California’s air still unhealthy. “California
continues to have some of the worst air pollution in the
country,” says Bonnie Holmes-Gen, senior director for air quality
and climate change, with the American Lung Association in
California.  And the usual suspects top the annual list once
again in the Lung Association’s “State of the Air.” But there are
some glimmers of good news from the smog and dust, the exhaust
fumes and the smoke.
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=28241 

More than 40% of Americans breathe polluted air – study. More
than 40 percent of Americans live in areas that record high
levels of air pollution, according to the American Lung
Association's annual "State of the Air" report released today.
Forty-four percent of the country, or 138.5 million people, live
in areas with average levels of fine particle and ozone pollution
above U.S. EPA standards, the report found.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/04/29/stories/1060017650 

Developing world is key driver of global spike in heat-trapping
HFCs, study finds. A significant portion of the world's emissions
of heat-trapping gases emitted by air conditioners, refrigeration
and other applications comes from the developing world, finds a
new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
In addition, developed nations are making mistakes when reporting
emissions of the gases… http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060017548


CLIMATE CHANGE

California touts aggressive plan to reduce greenhouse gases.
California would aggressively reduce greenhouse gas emissions by
2030 under a plan announced Wednesday by Gov. Jerry Brown that
steps up the state's previously established target. The
governor's executive order goes further than a federal proposal
also aiming to curb global warming but lacks specifics on how to
accomplish its goals.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GREENHOUSE_GASES_CALIFORNIA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

OTHER RELATED STORIES
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-29/california-s-brown-seeks-nation-leading-greenhouse-gas-reduction

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/29/usa-california-drought-brown-idUSL1N0XQ1YV20150429

http://www.wsj.com/articles/california-gov-brown-orders-major-cut-in-greenhouse-gas-emissions-1430324905

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/california-sets-most-aggressive-u.s.-climate-goal/article/2563770

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/30/us/california-governor-orders-new-target-for-emissions-cuts.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-jerry-brown-orders-emission-targets-for-climate-change-20150429-story.html

http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article19857609.html

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Jerry-Brown-orders-big-cut-in-greenhouse-gases-by-6231025.php

http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_28011364/gov-jerry-brown-issues-executive-order-aggressively-reduce
http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/04/29/brown-orders-ambitious-new-cuts-in-greenhouse-gases


Norway's finance minister doubts global warming is man-made.
Norway's finance minister says she doubts that global warming is
man-made, seemingly contradicting the country's official position
in U.N. climate talks. In an on-camera interview posted on the
Aftenposten newspaper's website on Tuesday, Siv Jensen answered
"no" to a question about whether she was convinced that climate
change was caused by humans.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_NORWAY_CLIMATE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Climate indicators suggest El Nino is forming - Australian
weather bureau. Climate indicators are nearing levels associated
with an El Nino weather event, the Australian Bureau of
Meteorology said on Tuesday. Pacific Ocean sea temperatures now
exceed El Nino thresholds, the bureau said, while trade winds
have weakened over the last few weeks - suggesting coupling
between the ocean and atmosphere may be occurring.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/28/us-weather-elnino-idUSKBN0NJ09F20150428?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews


Vatican and U.N. team up on climate change against sceptics. The
Vatican and the United Nations teamed up to warn the world of the
effects of climate change on Tuesday, coming down firmly against
sceptics who deny human activities help change global weather
patterns. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon discussed climate
change with the pope before opening a one-day conference of
scientists…
http://www.trust.org/item/20150428153042-kid3t/?source=gep 

Oil Drilling May Slow Drought Recovery in Great Plains.  As the
main driver of climate change, the connection between burning
fossil fuels and global warming is clear. But evidence shows they
may be connected in another way — the physical footprint of oil
and gas development on the landscape may not only contribute to
global warming, it may also affect an ecosystem’s ability to
withstand it.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-29/china-cuts-subsidies-for-shale-gas-developers-through-to-2020


Vatican kicks off environmental push with climate change summit.
Top officials from the Vatican, the head of the United Nations
and leading scientists came together at a summit Tuesday (April
28) in Vatican City to label the fight against man-made climate
change as a “moral issue.” “Mitigating climate change and
adapting to its effects are necessary to eradicate extreme
poverty, reduce inequality and secure equitable…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/vatican-kicks-off-environmental-push-with-climate-change-summit/2015/04/29/01612484-ee93-11e4-8050-839e9234b303_story.html


More Fatal Earthquakes to Come, Geologists Warn. The untold – and
terrifying – story behind the earthquake that devastated Nepal
last Saturday morning begins with something that sounds quite
benign. It’s the ebb and flow of rainwater in the great river
deltas of India and Bangladesh, and the pressure that puts on the
grinding plates that make up the surface of the planet.
http://www.newsweek.com/nepal-earthquake-could-have-been-manmade-disaster-climate-change-brings-326017.html


Climate change deniers take aim at Pope Francis.  A conservative
think tank that rejects mainstream climate science is seeking to
discredit statements by Pope Francis on the need to curb global
warming. As Pope Francis prepares a historic document to make
environmental issues a priority for Catholics, a group of
climate-change deniers is trying to convince the pontiff this
week that global warming is nothing to worry about.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2015/0429/Climate-change-deniers-take-aim-at-Pope-Francis


US Greenhouse Gas Emissions Spiked in 2013: An Isolated Event or
New Trend? The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has just
released its US Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report for the time
period of 1990-2013. In this report the EPA tracks total annual
US emissions and removals by source, economic sector, as well as
greenhouse gas using national energy data…
http://theenergycollective.com/roman-kilisek/2222091/us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-spiked-2013-isolated-event-or-new-trend

USDA Secretary: From ‘Not A Scientist’ To Climate Change
Advocate. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack seems to have come
a long way on climate change. In a recent interview with the
Detroit Free Press, Vilsack said that he hopes both climate
change and genetically modified foods are topics of debate during
the upcoming presidential election.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/04/29/3652537/usda-vilsack-climate-change-switch/
 

State Dept. makes climate change a top priority in key policy
document. A new high-level State Department foreign policy
blueprint gives unprecedented attention to climate change,
elevating it as one of four strategic priorities for the United
States. The Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR)
calls for integrating efforts to both curb greenhouse gas
emissions and adapt to the impact of rising global temperatures…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/04/29/stories/1060017634 

Inhofe staff quashes rumors of senator's change of heart. Is Sen.
James Inhofe changing his tune on climate change? An editorial
that the Oklahoma Republican penned last week for CNN titled
"Obama should embrace nuclear energy" has sparked rumors that
he's going soft on his infamous disbelief in human-caused global
warming.
http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060017538 

States will benefit from regional approach to EPA carbon rule –
analysis. States face wide variations in Clean Power Plan
compliance costs and outcomes depending on the paths they choose
and how much time U.S. EPA allows them for writing compliance
strategies, according to an analysis released yesterday by the
Bipartisan Policy Center.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/04/29/stories/1060017661 

DROUGHT

Gov. Jerry Brown seeks fines of up to $10,000 a day for water
wasters. Gov. Jerry Brown wants to fine big water wasters up to
$10,000 per day, one of two new efforts he announced Tuesday to
battle California’s drought. The higher penalties would be a
sharp increase from the current $500 maximum that local water
districts can now impose on residents and businesses.
http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-jerry-brown-new-drought-fines-20150428-story.html

http://www.capradio.org/articles/2015/04/28/new-brown-drought-proposals-larger-penalties,-faster-environmental-reviews/


Big fines might be next phase of California drought battle. Is
California about to get tough on water wasters? That's the
question after Gov. Jerry Brown this week announced plans to fine
customers that waste water up to $10,000 per day in an effort to
force conservation during the worsening drought. With Brown
demanding urban areas cut water use by 25%, some wonder whether
the state has much of a choice.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-big-fines-drought-battle-20150429-story.html


Lake Mead water level falls to a landmark low, and is likely to
get worse. For Western states enduring a debilitating drought,
the news is bone-dry bad: Anemic Lake Mead has hit a historic low
level. The surface of the sprawling reservoir outside Las Vegas
late Tuesday afternoon fell to 1,079.76 feet above sea level —
nearly 140 feet below capacity …
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-lake-mead-low-20150429-story.html


Latest revision to proposed drought regulations would ease cuts
for some. Proposed drought regulations released Tuesday would
reduce the amount of water cuts some local agencies would have to
make to meet Gov. Jerry Brown's order to slash statewide water
use 25%. About a week ahead of a scheduled vote on controversial
drought rules…
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-drought-regulations-20150428-story.html?track=rss


Beware Water Wasters: Sacramento Is Looking For You As It Tries
To Meet 28 Percent Cut. Sacramento city regulators are warning
everyone if they’re not doing their part, they could face a fine.
The State Water Resources Control Board gave the city of
Sacramento a 28 percent reduction mandate, something the city it
says it should have no problem reaching.
http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2015/04/28/beware-water-wasters-sacramento-is-looking-for-you-as-it-tries-to-meet-28-percent-cut/
 

Calif. readies urban water restrictions. Urban residents
throughout California will face water cutbacks for the next nine
months under emergency regulations officials released yesterday
evening to deal with the state's worsening drought. The
regulations are aimed at reducing urban water use by 25 percent
as the state heads into the dry summer months.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/04/29/stories/1060017653 

LUMBER LIQUIDATORS

US seeks criminal charges against Lumber Liquidators. The Justice
Department is seeking criminal charges against Lumber Liquidators
in an ongoing investigation over imported products. The company
revealed the Justice Department push in a regulatory filing
Wednesday while also posting a surprise loss for the quarter and
announcing the departure of its chief financial officer.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_LUMBER_LIQUIDATORS_FLOORING?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
   

FUELS

China Cuts Subsidies for Shale Gas Developers Through to 2020.
China will cut special government subsidies for shale gas
developers in the next five years even as the country encourages
explorers to produce more clean energy such as natural gas to
replace coal. The subsidies will be cut to 0.3 yuan per square
meters from 2016 to 2018, and to 0.2 yuan from 2019 to 2020…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-29/china-cuts-subsidies-for-shale-gas-developers-through-to-2020


Offshore Drillers’ Problem: Few Oil Firms Need Their Rigs. BP,
others try to get out of rig-leasing deals to cut costs amid low
oil prices. Offshore drillers are bracing for a wave of contract
cancellations as energy companies try to cut their costs to cope
with low oil prices. Big oil and gas companies lease drilling
rigs and crews from oil-field-services companies…
http://www.wsj.com/articles/offshore-drillers-problem-few-oil-firms-need-their-rigs-1430250525


Keystone on West Coast? Oil-sands crude could come to California.
Billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer has a new mission —
keeping oil from Canada’s tar sands out of California. Steyer’s
NextGen Climate organization released a report Tuesday warning
that an “invasion” of tankers and railcars carrying crude from
the oil sands could soon hit West Coast refineries, which
currently process very little Canadian oil.
http://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Keystone-on-West-Coast-Oil-sands-crude-could-6229849.php


BP and Total Report Earnings Declines as Falling Oil Prices Hurt
Profits. The slump in oil prices continued to erode the profit of
European oil companies, as results from BP of Britain and Total
of France showed on Tuesday. But at both companies, the declines
were offset by strong performances at their marketing and
refining businesses.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/29/business/international/bp-oil-first-quarter-1q-earnings.html?ref=energy-environment&_r=1


State Dept. makes climate change a top priority in key policy
document. A new high-level State Department foreign policy
blueprint gives unprecedented attention to climate change,
elevating it as one of four strategic priorities for the United
States. The Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR)
calls for integrating efforts to both curb greenhouse gas
emissions and adapt to the impact of rising global…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/04/29/stories/1060017634 

Australian politicians call for 'near-zero' emissions by 2040.
The Australian Greens party unveiled an ambitious carbon
emissions reduction goal -- "near-zero" by 2040 -- in an effort
to increase the country's contribution to stave off dangerous
global warming. Greens leader Christine Milne said the party's
policy would give the world at least a 75 percent chance of
keeping warming below the internationally agreed upon 2 degrees
Celsius above preindustrial levels.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/04/29/stories/1060017597 

VEHICLES

Jaguar bringing XE diesel to US in 2016. The Jaguar US lineup
will expand in 2016 with the addition of the all new,
aluminum-intensive Jaguar XE compact sports sedan in 20d (diesel)
and 35t models each in Premium, Prestige and R-Sport trim levels
and available in RWD or AWD. The Jaguar XE will be offered with a
lighter version of the ZF 8-speed automatic used in the rest of
the Jaguar range.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/04/20150429-jagurxe.html 

Tiny 40-Year-Old Electric Car Now As Fast As Tesla Roadster. The
era of the modern electric car essentially began in December 2010
with the launch of the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt. But there
were many electric cars before that, from both established
manufacturers and small upstart firms.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1098070_tiny-40-year-old-electric-car-now-as-fast-as-tesla-roadster


Let's Be Clear: Real 2025 Gas-Mileage Goal Is 40 MPG--Or So--Not
54.5 MPG. Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards require
carmakers to achieve a fleet average of 54.5 mpg by 2025, but the
current average for new vehicles isn't even close to that. The
latest estimates put the average fuel economy of new cars closer
to 25 mpg.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1098068_lets-be-clear-real-2025-gas-mileage-goal-is-40-mpg--or-so--not-54-5-mpg


Washington State Loves Electric Cars, But Gets Very Few: Here's
Why. When it comes to states friendly to electric cars,
Washington is pretty close to the top. It has one of the highest
percentages of registered plug-in electric cars in the country,
according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Electric
cars get a sales-tax exemption in Washington, and access to
charging infrastructure that's fed mostly from wind and hydro
power.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1098052_washington-state-loves-electric-cars-but-gets-very-few-heres-why
 

GREEN ENERGY

Clean Power Plan Points Utilities Toward ‘Inevitable' Low-Carbon
Future, McCarthy Says. A low-carbon future is “inevitable,” and
the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed Clean Power Plan
is intended to send utilities the market signals necessary to
guide those investments, Administrator Gina McCarthy said. “A low
carbon future is absolutely inevitable.
http://www.bna.com/clean-power-plan-n17179925905/ 

Hydropower, the Unloved Renewable, Shows Potential for Growth. An
Energy Department report shows that while hydro can be finicky,
it could be a bigger part of a carbon-reduced future. Since the
days when Woody Guthrie sang that Uncle Sam needed the Columbia
River to "do some work for me," hydropower has been a part of the
country’s energy landscape. But according to a new Energy
Department report, hydro still has more work to do. 
http://insideclimatenews.org/carbon-copy/28042015/hydropower-renewable-shows-potential-growth-energy-department-report


EPA 'hopeful' about hydropower's role in Clean Power Plan.  A top
U.S. EPA official yesterday reassured the hydropower industry
that states will be able to use the power source to cut carbon
under the agency's Clean Power Plan, even though a draft rule was
largely silent on the option. Speaking at the National Hydropower
Association conference in Washington, D.C. …
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/04/29/stories/1060017619 

MISCELLANEOUS

Cupertino cement quarry to pay $7.5 million to settle water
pollution violations. The Lehigh Hanson cement plant, a longtime
producer of Silicon Valley building materials but also a
significant polluter, will pay $7.5 million as part of an
agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to settle
charges it dumped millions of gallons of toxic wastewater into a
nearby creek.
http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_28007051/cupertino-cement-quarry-pay-7-5-million-settle


OPINIONS

A Climate-Change Conundrum. Last week's announcement that Canada
won't match U.S. emission-reduction targets offers a fresh look
at Canadians' enduring bipolarity on climate change: They're far
more likely than Americans to say the problem is real, yet keep
voting for a government that does nothing about it. Therein lies
a cautionary tale for the rest of the world.
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-04-29/a-climate-change-conundrum

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-wp-blm-news-bc-climate-canada-comment29-20150429-story.html


The Pope Joins the Climate Wars. Since his papacy began in March
2013, Pope Francis has amply demonstrated his readiness to take
on tough social and political causes. Now, much to the dismay of
some conservatives, he is confronting human-caused global
warming. A high-level workshop in the Vatican this week on the
moral dimensions of climate
change…http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/29/opinion/the-pope-joins-the-climate-wars.html


Right-Wing Climate Analyst Is Typing Out Sentences at Random.
When you’re an environmental “expert” for a conservative think
tank publishing an op-ed in National Review, your job is to
instruct your readers that environmental regulation is terrible.
Then you have to write a bunch of words. Whether those words fit
together in any coherent way, other than following the rules of
grammar, is beside the point and not germane to the job
description. 
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/04/conservative-analyst-types-random-sentences.html


California water use numbers should flow freely. There has been
too much finger-pointing, but if we’re going to target the
biggest water users, everyone should be on the firing line – not
just suburbanites with lush lawns or farmers with thirsty crops,
but also industrial plants and commercial businesses that guzzle
water.
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/editorials/article19426455.html#storylink=cpy


Nestlé Waters: Bottled water is not contributing to California’s
drought. As Californians grapple with the Gov. Brown’s mandatory
water reductions, the question is being asked, what is the
responsible use of water during a drought of this magnitude? As a
company with a century-long history of operations in California
and more than 1,500 employees across the state…
http://www.sbsun.com/opinion/20150428/nestlxe9-waters-bottled-water-is-not-contributing-to-californias-drought
 

Karen Ross: What happens to ag water? Eventually, people eat and
drink it. A recent survey by the Farm Water Coalition indicated
that 41 percent of California’s irrigated farmland will lose 80
percent of its surface water in 2015 due to cutbacks because of
the drought. Add that to a reduction of more than 30 percent last
year and it’s obvious that farmers and ranchers have suffered the
brunt of drought-related losses, so far.
http://www.modbee.com/opinion/state-issues/article19805658.html#storylink=cpy
 

BLOGS

Can Pope Francis actually change Americans’ minds on climate
change? It's not terribly hard to be more popular with Americans
than President Obama; just get half of them to like you and
you're there. It's far easier to be more popular than Congress —
you only need one person out of six. It's hard to be as popular
with Americans as Pope Francis, though.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/04/28/can-a-popular-pope-actually-change-americans-minds-on-climate-change/

Global Businesses & Climate Change: Don't Get Left Behind. Here's
a simple fact: taking decisive action on climate change will cost
us less than failing to do so. At Unilever, we operate in 190
countries with two billion people using our products daily. We
take climate seriously because we know that it impacts those two
billion people -- and that means it impacts us, too.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-polman/global-businesses-and-climate-change_b_7170590.html


Wind Energy: It's What Texas Does Best, If State Leaders Will Let
Us. The story of Texas wind energy is a success, but it’s an odd
history. In 1999, when Texas deregulated the energy market, a
deal was struck to include a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS),
a requirement that power companies source a certain amount of
their electricity from renewable energy by certain dates.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/edfenergyexchange/2015/04/29/wind-energy-its-what-texas-does-best-if-state-leaders-will-let-us/


The Rise of the Hydrogen Fuel Cell. I carry a collapsible
umbrella in my backpack in case it rains. I also carry a
re-chargeable battery so that when, not if, my cell phone issues
its last blinking moment of death I can revive it and remain
connected. Now, imagine for a moment a device that I could carry
in my backpack that would be smaller than my umbrella which could
power my cell phone for a week. No, it’s not a battery. It is a
hydrogen fuel cell.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/billtucker/2015/04/29/the-rise-of-the-hydrogen-fuel-cell/


Starbucks Wants You to Feel Good About Drinking Up California's
Precious Water. The coffee giant says it's solving the world's
water problems—yet it's profiting off the Golden State's
dwindling reserves. Ethos Water was supposed to help fix the
global water crisis: Founded in 2002 in Southern California, the
bottled-water company promised that for every unit it sold, it
would donate a small amount of money to water charity projects in
the developing world.
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2015/04/starbucks-making-bank-californias-disappearing-water


Drilling in the Arctic could be more difficult, and costly, than
Shell is letting on, environmentalists tell SEC. Shell isn’t
telling investors about the potentially multi-billion dollar
costs that could arise from a spill at its exploratory oil wells
in the Arctic Ocean — an oversight environmentalists are asking
the Securities and Exchange Commission to probe. In a petition
filed with the agency late Monday, Oceana…
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2015/04/28/drilling-in-the-arctic-could-be-more-difficult-and-costly-than-shell-is-letting-on-environmentalists-tell-sec/


Reusing electric car batteries helps cut greenhouse gas
emissions: Study. Even after they no longer have enough storage
capacity for use in electric cars, older lithium-ion battery
packs can still be useful. They often still have enough capacity
to be used as stationary batteries for storing electricity, or
powering homes and other buildings.
http://ecomento.com/2015/04/29/reusing-electric-car-batteries-greenhouse-gas-emissions-study/

Can We Sue the US Government Over Climate Change?  One issue that
consistently seems to be of greater concern to the American
public than to our leaders is climate change. The Obama
Administration has made some significant (and in some ways
unprecedented) progress, but there’s a lot of work to do before
the rest of the government falls in line. So what if we could sue
them until they did something about it?
http://themoderatevoice.com/204596/can-we-sue-the-us-government-over-climate-change/



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