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This is a service of the California Air Resources Board’s Office
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individual websites to view some of the following news articles.

AIR POLLUTION

Got allergies? Blame childhood pollution exposure.
We've been told by scientists for years that air pollution
damages the developing lungs and bodies of children. In the last
week, there have been two more studies that reinforce the science
around children and pollution. Just yesterday, research out of
Canada found that exposure to air pollution in the first year of
life increases a person's risk for allergies.
http://www.courier-journal.com/story/watchdog-earth/2015/05/05/studies-tie-air-pollution-to-problems-with-babies/26919645/


Eight facts about the shale industry's air pollution.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection recently
released data on air emissions from the shale gas industry in
2013. PublicSource looked into the data and built a series of
interactive charts so you can more easily explore the
information. 
http://www.observer-reporter.com/article/20150505/NEWS04/150509976


CLIMATE CHANGE

China, EU working on common approach on climate change.  The
European Union's foreign policy chief said Tuesday she's
confident the EU and China can agree to a common approach on
climate change ahead of crucial carbon reduction talks in Paris
this year. Federica Mogherini praised China's targets for
gradually reducing its greenhouse gas emissions and said the
sides should be able to agree on other goals at an upcoming
bilateral summit.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_CHINA_EUROPEAN_UNION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


E.P.A. Carbon Emissions Plan Could Save Thousands of Lives, Study
Finds. 
New carbon emissions standards that were proposed last year for
coal-fired power plants in the United States would substantially
improve human health and prevent more than 3,000 premature deaths
per year, according to a new study.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/05/health/epa-emissions-plan-will-save-thousands-of-lives-study-finds.html?ref=energy-environment&_r=0


Report: Global emissions goals still aren’t enough to prevent
dangerous warming. 
When it comes to combating climate change, many scientists and
policy makers focus on one major goal: cut carbon emissions
enough to keep the planet’s average surface temperature from
rising more than 2 degrees Celsius above its pre-industrial
level.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/05/04/report-global-emissions-goals-still-arent-enough-to-prevent-a-dangerous-level-of-climate-warming/


California Has the Country's Most Ambitious Climate Goals. Will
They Go Up in Smoke?
Last week California Gov. Jerry Brown made headlines when he
announced that his state would pursue the most aggressive
greenhouse gas emissions cuts in the nation. The new goal—to
reduce emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030—is an
interim step meant to help achieve a final goal set by Brown's
predecessor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, of an 80 percent reduction by
2050.
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2015/05/save-climate-california-needs-save-its-forests


DROUGHT

California drought: Plans to make State Water Project flow
backward shelved for this year.
An emergency $6.7 million plan to make the State Water Project's
California Aqueduct flow backward for roughly 100 miles to bring
water...
http://www.mercurynews.com/drought/ci_28047237/california-drought-plans-make-state-water-project-flow?source=rss


California drought: Landscape of abundance becomes landscape of
scarcity.
Last year, he says he realized what had been a mild drought was
now severe. It had simply stopped raining. "It was kind of a
daily surreal thing to walk outside," Black says. Last month,
Governor Jerry Brown announced the first mandatory water
restrictions in the state's history, as California endures its
fourth year of drought.
http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/05/04/51429/california-drought-landscape-of-abundance-becomes/


Santa Barbara Leads California In Cutting Water Use.  
Cathie Pare adores water-wise gardens. She works for Santa
Barbara's water conservation program, and today, she's inspecting
a yard that was recently converted from grass to drought-friendly
plants. 
http://www.capradio.org/news/npr/story?storyid=404239904 

FUELS

Alberta's possible pivot to the left alarms Canadian oil sector.

Canada's oil-rich province of Alberta is on the cusp of electing
a left-wing government that can make life harder for the energy
industry with its plans to raise taxes, end support for key
pipeline projects and seek a bigger cut of oil revenues. Polls
suggest Tuesday's election is set to end the Conservative's
44-year reign in the province that boasts the world's
third-largest proven oil reserves and now faces recession because
of the slide in crude prices.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/04/canada-politics-alberta-idUSL1N0XS1LC20150504


Ventless Fireplaces Burn Alternative Fuels: Bio-Ethanol,
Isopropyl Alcohol.
At 52 Lispenard Street, a new development in Manhattan’s Tribeca
neighborhood, buyers paying anywhere from $6.65 million to $11
million for a condo can expect a gourmet kitchen, heated floors
in the master bath and a walk-in dressing room. What they won’t
get: an old-fashioned fireplace.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/ventless-fireplaces-burn-alternative-fuels-bio-ethanol-isopropyl-alcohol-1430841055?KEYWORDS=air+pollution


VEHICLES

Electric Vehicle Market in the US Industry Analysis and Forecast.
  
Electric Vehicle Market in the US Industry Analysis and Forecast
2015-2019 Now Available from Technavio.  Growing environmental
concerns will influence the growth of the electric vehicle (EV)
market in the US, which is expected to post a CAGR of over 24%
from 2015-2019, says research firm Technavio. 
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/05/technavio-research-idUSnBw055067a+100+BSW20150505


GREEN ENERGY

Supreme Court to Review FERC Energy-Saving Rule. 
High court will consider the case during its next term, which
begins in October. The Supreme Court said on Monday it would
consider whether a federal regulator overstepped its authority
with a rule to promote energy conservation using incentives for
big energy consumers to cut power use.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/supreme-court-to-review-ferc-energy-saving-rule-1430748924


The world needs to triple its investments in clean energy
innovation.  
The world needs to triple its investments in clean energy
research, suggests a new study by the Paris-based International
Energy Agency, if we’re to have a chance of keeping the world
below 2 degrees Celsius of warming above pre-industrial levels —
a level beyond which truly dangerous climate change might set
in.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/05/04/the-world-needs-to-triple-its-investments-in-clean-energy-innovation-report-says/


MISCELLANEOUS

Cal State L.A. awarded $5-million NASA research grant.
...grant to establish a new research center focused on the study
of hydrology, climate change and other science and technology
fields, officials...
http://www.latimes.com/la-me-ln-cal-state-grant-20150504-story.html?track=rss

OPINIONS

Are California's Carbon Emissions Goals Attainable?
California Governor Jerry Brown announced last week a new plan
for reducing the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. The executive
order calls on the Golden State to decrease carbon emission rates
by 40 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2030. “I’ve set a
very high bar, but it’s a bar we must meet,” the governor told
onlookers when he announced the executive order last week.
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Reality-Check-Are-Californias-Carbon-Emissions-Goals-Attainable-302508541.html


So long, California: The next drought remedy?
Gov. Jerry Brown is calling for fines of up to $10,000 for the
state’s biggest water wasters. "We've done a lot. We have a long
way to go," Brown said. "So maybe you want to think of this as
just another installment on a long enterprise to live with a
changing climate and with a drought of uncertain duration."
That's definitely the way it looks now.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-rall-drought-10000-fine-water-wasters-20150505-story.html


Fracking: Jerry Brown's environmental blind spot.
Gov. Jerry Brown may prove to be the greenest government official
in American history — emphasis on "may." His announcement last
week that California would up its target for reducing carbon
emissions — to 40% by 2030 — puts him at the head of the pack
among governors (admittedly, not a very high bar). His dramatic
drive for climate progress has helped catalyze the state's
economy, which in turn will make the reductions easier.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0505-mckibben-california-fracking-20150502-story.html


BLOGS

Earth Log: Why does drought make Valley’s dirty air worse?
Nobody has dirty-air problems quite like the San Joaquin Valley
does in a drought. If you doubt that, read the American Lung
Association’s latest report card on air quality. For 16 years,
the Valley’s cities have occupied the worst-five list in the
nation. The three prime suspects are Fresno-Madera, Bakersfield
and Visalia-Porterville-Hanford. Los Angeles-Long Beach is also
among the worst five. 
http://www.fresnobee.com/2015/05/04/4509458_earth-log-why-does-drought-make.html?rh=1


The UN Climate Summit and a Key Issue for the 2015 Paris
Agreement.
World leaders converged at the United Nations in New York City
this past week for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's
much-anticipated Climate Summit, a lead-up to global negotiations
that will take place in Lima, Peru, in December of this year and
culminate a year later in Paris. The challenge before negotiators
is great, because there are significant obstacles to reaching a
meaningful agreement, as I describe in an op-ed that appeared in
The New York Times on Sunday, Sept. 21, "Climate Realities."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-stavins/the-un-climate-summit-and_b_7206752.html


Seattle mayor: Port needs new permit for Arctic oil fleet. 
Mayor Ed Murray threw a wrench into plans for a 400-foot
oil-drilling rig to arrive in Seattle when he announced Monday
that the Port of Seattle can’t host Shell’s offshore Arctic fleet
until it gets a new land-use permit. Royal Dutch Shell PLC has
been planning to base its fleet — including a drill rig and two
tug boats — at the port’s Terminal 5 for six months each year,
when they’re not being used in the Arctic.
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2015/05/04/seattle-mayor-port-needs-new-permit-for-arctic-oil-fleet/





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