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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for May 11, 2015.
Posted: 11 May 2015 12:26:51
ARB Newsclips for May 11, 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 Growing California cap-and-trade fund attracts surge of spending proposals. With California’s growing cap-and-trade program expected to yield a budgetary bonanza, lawmakers and interest groups have ample ideas for how to spend the money. Floating proposals ahead of a pivotal period for budget negotiations, they say they want to fund port improvements, pay for heavy-duty trucks and ferries, nurture urban rivers, sponge up carbon in soil… http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/state-budget/article20639208.html#storylink=cpy Subnational Climate Leaders. Will Get Their Day In The Paris Sun. Figueres, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), has promised officials from the US state of California, the Canadian province of Québec and other subnational jurisdictions that they will not be shunted off to a side event during the upcoming UNFCCC negotiations in Paris in December. Instead, they will have a place on the main agenda… http://www.ecosystemmarketplace.com/pages/dynamic/article.page.php?page_id=10950§ion=news_articles&eod=1 AIR POLLUTION Newport Beach's Hixson has cut emissions of cancer-causing pollutant, but not enough. A year ago, air district officials cited Hixson Metal Finishing for high emissions of hexavalent chromium, a cancer-causing pollutant. Today, chromium levels are as much as 90 percent lower than a year ago, according to Hixson. But air regulators say the company needs to do more. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/hixson-661282-air-emissions.html Reducing carbon emissions could save lives. Cutting power plant carbon emissions saves lives, according to new research on the way pollution affects public health. The study (paywall), published this week, will become a key talking point for supporters of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's latest proposal for carbon pollution standards. Researchers — who began their work before the EPA announced its plans… http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865628392/Reducing-carbon-emissions-could-save-lives-prevent-heart-attacks-new-research-shows.html Feds, State reach agreement with Tonawanda Coke. Tonawanda Coke has reached an agreement with The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to reduce pollution. Tonawanda Coke will pay $2.75 million in civil penalties and $7.9 million to reduce air pollution and enhance air and water quality. http://www.wgrz.com/story/news/local/2015/05/11/feds-state-reach-agreement-with-tonawanda-coke/27117127/ These are the 8 air pollutants destroying the atmosphere. Back in school, you'll have learned that the air in our atmosphere is composed primarily of nitrogen, at 78%, and oxygen, at 21%, with a number of other trace gases. It's to these trace gases we're looking today – more specifically, at how human activity can result in the release of air pollution in to the atmosphere. http://www.compoundchem.com/2015/05/05/atmospheric-pollutants/#ixzz3ZqagNoVE CLIMATE CHANGE Sea rise threatens Florida coast, but no statewide plan. America's oldest city is slowly drowning. St. Augustine's centuries-old Spanish fortress and other national landmarks sit feet from the encroaching Atlantic, whose waters already flood the city's narrow, brick-paved streets about 10 times a year - a problem worsening as sea levels rise. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_FLORIDAS_RISING_SEAS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT French president says UN climate fund could help Caribbean. French President Francois Hollande told Caribbean leaders on Saturday that a planned international green fund could help the vulnerable, tourism-dependent region mitigate the effects of climate change. Hollande headlined the Caribbean Climate Summit, which drew about 40 leaders or top officials from regional nations including the Bahamas, Trinidad and Cuba… http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CB_MARTINIQUE_FRANCE_CLIMATE_CHANGE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Rudd in U.K. Energy Post Signals No Backtrack on Climate. Amber Rudd was named to serve as the U.K. Cabinet minister in charge of energy and climate, easing concerns that the Conservative government would quickly backtrack on pledges to reduce fossil-fuel pollution. Rudd, 51, was promoted from a junior post at the Department of Energy & Climate Change… http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-11/rudd-in-u-k-energy-post-signals-no-backtrack-on-climate Sea Levels Rose Less Than Thought, But at Faster Pace, Study Says. Previous research was at odds with evidence of increased melting from Greenland and Antarctica. Global sea levels over the past two decades rose slightly less than previous estimates suggest, though the rate of the rise has accelerated, according to a new study based on more comprehensive measurements. The research, published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change, may help to resolve an enigma… http://www.wsj.com/articles/sea-levels-rose-less-than-thought-but-at-faster-pace-study-says-1431360556 http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/05/11/sea-levels-are-rising-at-faster-clip-as-polar-melt-accelerates-new-data-shows/ Two Guys In Paris Aim To Charm The World Into Climate Action. Here's a job that sounds perfect for either a superhero or a glutton for punishment: Get nearly 200 countries to finally agree to take serious action on climate change. Two men have taken on this challenge. They're leading some international negotiations that will wrap up later this year in Paris at a major United Nations conference on climate change. http://www.npr.org/2015/05/11/404200241/two-guys-in-paris-aim-to-charm-the-world-into-climate-action http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/05/11/51599/two-guys-in-paris-aim-to-charm-the-world-into-clim/ Dunkin’ Brands Takes a Bite Out of GHG Emissions. Dunkin’ Brands Group, the parent company of Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, says while overall GHG emissions increased by 8.5 percent between 2010 and 2014, GHG emissions generated by its corporate facilities dropped 46 percent in the same period. https://www.environmentalleader.com/2015/05/11/dunkin-brands-takes-a-bite-out-of-ghg-emissions/ New temperature records highlight global warming's continued rise. New climate change records have come along to remind us that Earth's thermostat is steadily pushing upward. More exactly, there are two global high temperature records and a smattering of climate change low points. March 2015 was the warmest March since record-keeping began in 1880, says the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/09/world/global-warming-record-quarter/index.html Alameda County’s Climate Action Implementation. Addressing climate change across an entire government structure isn’t easy. So when the Alameda County Board of Supervisors decided they wanted to reduce the county’s carbon footprint 15 percent by 2020, the Sustainability Team drafted a Climate Action Plan—a blue print if you will, for how they would reach the goal. http://www.publicceo.com/2015/05/alameda-countys-climate-action-implementation/ DROUGHT Drought Transcends State Lines as U.S. West Turns Ever-More Arid. The record drought plaguing California isn’t limited by lines on a map. Arid conditions caused by dwindling rainfall and snowpack are stretching across the West. In Washington’s Yakima Valley, popular for growing wine grapes and beer hops, officials are cutting off water to about 1,700 farmers for three weeks starting today. http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-05-11/drought-transcends-state-lines-as-u-s-west-turns-ever-more-arid Facing drought cuts, Newport Beach gets tough on water use. Newport Beach may soon enforce stricter water conservation measures for local residents and businesses. The City Council is expected to vote Tuesday on a staff recommendation to move to Level 3 of the city's conservation plan. Under the proposal, homeowners would have to restrict their water use in each billing period to 75% of their average use for that period… http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-facing-drought-cuts-newport-beach-gets-tough-on-water-use-20150510-story.html Taiwan aims to rein in water use amid unusual drought. As a subtropical Pacific island, Taiwan normally gets a generous 98 inches of rain a year, keeping water prices so low that people seldom think twice about taking a long hot shower, let alone flushing the toilet. But that relaxed relationship with water has dried up since February as Pacific Ocean temperatures have locked Taiwan into one of its most severe droughts in decades… http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-taiwan-drought-20150510-story.html Mormon Temple in West L.A. lets its landmark lawn turn brown. Bob and Carolyn Millard were married at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' palatial Westwood temple more than 50 years ago. Like many other Mormon brides, Carolyn posed for photos alongside the temple's lush, green lawn and gardens. When she visited the temple last week…http://www.latimes.com/local/westside/la-me-temple-drought-20150511-story.html Starbucks to cease Ethos bottling in California due to drought. Starbucks says it will stop producing the bottled water brand Ethos Water in California due to the drought and will instead move the bottling operation to Pennsylvania. The change by the Seattle-based coffee chain comes as some Californians have voiced concerns about the potential impacts of bottled water plants on local water supplies during the drought. http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/05/11/starbucks-ethos-bottling-calif-drought/27105289/ Cellphone Video Captures Caltrans Sprinklers Watering Freeway Hillsides In The Rain. Cellphone video taken Friday captured images of California Department of Transportation sprinklers going full blast along a freeway while a light rain fell and after a night of showers. The watering of hillsides along the 101 Freeway and Barham Boulevard in Universal City comes at a time when Californians have been deluged with pleas to save water during the historic drought. http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/05/08/cellphone-video-captures-caltrans-sprinklers-watering-freeway-hillsides-in-the-rain/ California drought: How the state's new water conservation rules affect you. The administration of Gov. Jerry Brown last week enacted historic new water conservation rules in response to California's drought. The goal is to cut statewide water use by urban residents 25 percent over the next nine months to help preserve water supplies in case the drought continues through next winter. Q Am I affected? A Yes. The rules apply to all 38 million California residents http://www.mercurynews.com/drought/ci_28084647/california-drought-how-states-new-water-conservation-rules Would a wild water plan work? Towed icebergs, tapping Columbia River among suggestions to slake California's thirst. California's current drought has brought back discussion of some of the biggest -- or craziest -- ideas on how to save the Golden State's thirst. These ideas, which circulated through previous droughts, were never implemented, but also never went away. http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/may/09/grand-water-ideas/ CA looks to Australia for drought advice. Australia offers lessons from its 12-year dry spell. Severe dry spells aren’t unique to California. Just ask Australia, where the Millennium Drought stretched from 1997 to 2009, devastating the southeastern portion of the country and forever changing how it uses water. For months now, water experts in California have asked their counterparts Down Under for advice on drought management. http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/may/09/sacramento-drought-australia-california/ California pool, hot tub filling bans have industries steaming. It's hard to imagine a California summer without long days lounging by the pool. But as unprecedented drought sears the state, the backyard swimming pool has become a target for cities desperate to save water. As cities and water districts put the squeeze on water users, even pool lovers are canceling construction contracts. http://www.mercurynews.com/drought/ci_28089043/california-pool-hot-tub-filling-bans-have-industries California drought: Santa Clara Valley officials mull stepped-up conservation. Think you're doing your part to save water -- and that the problem is the guy with the lush lawn down the street, not to mention water-guzzling farms? You're in good company. On Saturday, local officials gathered to brainstorm how to kick water conservation into high gear… http://www.mercurynews.com/drought/ci_28084640/california-drought-santa-clara-valley-officials-mull-stepped DIESEL ACTIVITIES Wireless EV charging could slash emissions from idling trucks. In an article in Transmission & Distribution World, a wireless electric vehicle charging option could be the answer to slashing emissions from idling trucks and vans. “Idling increases vehicle exhaust in the air, which is linked to asthma, other lung diseases, allergies, heart disease, and other health problems,” the report said. http://fleetowner.com/running-green/wireless-ev-charging-could-slash-emissions-idling-trucks FUELS Noble Energy's $2 billion Rosetta deal reopens U.S. shale oil M&A. Noble Energy Inc said on Monday it would acquire Rosetta Resources Inc. for about $2 billion in stock, marking the first significant deal among U.S. shale oil producers following a steep fall in global crude prices. A nearly 50 percent drop in crude prices since June highs of over $100 per barrel has for months raised expectations for a wave of mergers and acquisitions in the highly-fragmented shale oil industry. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/11/us-rosetta-resource-m-a-noble-energy-idUSKBN0NW15420150511 http://www.wsj.com/articles/noble-energy-to-buy-smaller-rival-rosetta-resources-1431340141 OPEC Sees Oil Price Below $100 a Barrel in the Next Decade. Pessimistic Assessment May Mean That the Oil Cartel Returns to Production Quotas. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries doesn’t see oil prices consistently trading at $100 barrel again in the next decade, a pessimistic assessment that has the group considering the return of production limits to influence the market… http://www.wsj.com/articles/opec-sees-oil-price-below-100-a-barrel-in-the-next-decade-1431347035?KEYWORDS=CLIMATE+CHANGE Canadian First Nation spurns $1B offer for gas project. In the second of three votes, band members of the British Columbia First Nation Lax Kw'alaams unanimously rejected a $1 billion offer for a liquefied natural gas project. Headed by Malaysian state-owned energy company Petronas, the Pacific NorthWest LNG joint venture would have shelled out $1 billion in cash over 40 years to the 3,600-member band alongside… http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2015/05/11/stories/1060018265 VEHICLES Volvo selects South Carolina for new $500-million auto plant. Volvo Cars will build a $500-million plant in South Carolina that will eventually employ up to 4,000 people, the company announced Monday. The company said its first American plant, to be located about 30 miles from the Port of Charleston, is expected to make about 100,000 vehicles a year initially. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-volvo-south-carolina-20150511-story.html Electric Cars: What's Needed To Eliminate Gasoline, Diesel In 25 Years. More than four years after the first modern electric cars went on sale in significant numbers, concerted efforts by carmakers, governments, and assorted advocates have ensured a modicum of success. But what more would it take to move electric cars from the small niche they currently occupy to the dominant form of vehicle? http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1098230_electric-cars-whats-needed-in-25-years-to-eliminate-gasoline-diesel HIGH-SPEED RAIL Doing the math on California's bullet train fares. Riding California's bullet train from Los Angeles to San Francisco would cost "about $50 a person," supporters wrote in ballot arguments seven years ago when voters approved billions in funding for the project. In the years since, the state high-speed rail agency has projected the fare would be $83, $105 and, most recently, $86. http://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-adv-bullet-fares-20150510-story.html#page=1 GREEN ENERGY Assessing the Energy Efficiency Gap. Global energy consumption is on a path to grow 30-50 percent over the next 25 years, bringing with it, in many countries, increased local air pollution, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and oil consumption, as well as higher energy prices. Energy-efficient technologies offer considerable promise for reducing the costs and environmental damages associated with energy use… http://theenergycollective.com/robertstavins/2225021/assessing-energy-efficiency-gap Global Energy Trends and Implications for India: Transitioning to a Low Carbon Energy System. The global energy system is in a period of rapid transformation: electricity plays an ever more important role, as do renewables, distributed generation and electric vehicles. Energy efficiency is improving. Emissions are a large and growing concern. New technologies and business models are disrupting and challenging a traditionally risk-averse and slow-moving industry. http://theenergycollective.com/tobias-engelmeier/2225316/global-energy-trends-and-implications-india-part-55-transitioning-low-carb OPINIONS Promoters of renewable energy failed to account for the return of cheap oil. The green energy movement in America is dead. May it rest in peace. No, a majority of American energy over the next 20 years is not going to come from windmills and solar panels. One important lesson to be learned from the green energy fad’s rapid and expensive demise is that central planning doesn’t work. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/may/10/stephen-moore-green-energy-movement-dies-failed-to/#ixzz3Zr11aQBz Jerry Brown's strategy on green energy and fracking. To the editor: I am no fan of fracking, but I doubt Gov. Jerry Brown is blind to its many dangers. I suspect that, like President Obama, he considers this natural gas boom to be an interim step on the way to clean energy — it's doing good by killing coal, and nobody is building new nuclear plants. ("Fracking: Jerry Brown's environmental blind spot," op-ed, May 4). http://www.latimes.com/opinion/readersreact/la-le-0510-sunday-jerry-brown-fracking-20150510-story.html Why public opinion on climate change doesn't matter. To the editor: Stanford political scientist Jon A. Krosnick is puzzled that legislators ignore popular opinion on climate change. Years of polling data, he says, show a majority of people acknowledge climate change and that government needs to control greenhouse gas emissions. http://www.latimes.com/opinion/readersreact/la-le-0509-saturday-climate-change-20150509-story.html Rip out lawns now, or pay later. It's tough now, but a fifth or sixth year of drought will force even more difficult choices between what's most important to Californians personally and economically — between such things as long showers, lawns, sanitation, safe drinking water, an agricultural economy that has already lost 17,000 jobs and urban small businesses that depend on water. http://www.latimes.com/opinion/readersreact/la-le-0510-sunday-california-lawns-20150510-story.html Learning to love global warming. Thank god for climate change. I realized that global warming is a good thing on Saturday. I was standing on the edge of a precipice on a cloud enshrouded Dewey Point at 7,200 feet — some 3,200 feet above the Yosemite Valley floor. In brief breaks in the misty clouds engulfing sheer granite cliffs in a fashion more striking than fog rolling across the Golden Gate Bridge… http://www.mantecabulletin.com/section/38/article/123812/ EDITORIAL: FEMA climate change mandate on states must be dropped. It is an understatement to say that states and the federal government have a strained relationship these days. Perhaps the biggest factor in this worsening relationship is the federal government’s obsession with bullying the states into doing what it wants them to do. http://www.reviewjournal.com/opinion/editorial-fema-climate-change-mandate-states-must-be-dropped California's drought is Asia's nightmare. California's drought is big news in Asia. It's partly because, from Hollywood movies to Silicon Valley high-tech, Asians are interested in all things Californian. And their diets include grocery bags full of California products, from walnuts to wine to cheese and cashew nuts. Just as well, California's drought has become Asia's nightmare. http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/11/opinions/clifford-california-asia-water-solutions/ Opinion: How Ontario and Quebec can fight climate change together. Over the past year, Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne have become fast friends. They’ve got a lot in common, including a conviction to combat climate change. But if they are sincere about being climate leaders, they also need to take concrete actions in their own backyards. http://montrealgazette.com/news/national/opinion-how-ontario-and-quebec-can-fight-climate-change-together BLOGS The Daily Startup: Biofuels Company Joule Pulls In $40 Million. Biofuels company Joule Unlimited has raised $40 million in a round that was led by Flagship Ventures, bringing the startup’s total funding to $200 million, Yuliya Chernova reports for Dow Jones VentureWire. Roughly 85% of the round was equity, and the rest of the funding was debt, according to the company. Joule is years away from commercializing its process in which bacteria are injected into outdoor units… http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2015/05/11/the-daily-startup-biofuels-company-joule-pulls-in-40-million/ Apple Expands Renewable-Energy Goal — Energy Journal. Apple Inc. says its supply chain uses about 60 times as much power as its own facilities, so it wants to create enough renewable energy to power that chain, Daisuke Wakabayashi reports. Apple has already pledged to create sufficient energy through renewable sources to power its own global operations, and it says it generates renewable energy equivalent… http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2015/05/11/apple-expands-renewable-energy-goal-energy-journal/?KEYWORDS=CLIMATE+CHANGE Car (Electrification) Trouble? GM Says Demand For Electric Cars Has Not Met Projections. General Motors GM +0.06% said demand for electrified vehicles has fallen short of initial projects. Does this signal future problems with consumer acceptance of EVs? GM expects to fall short of its stated U.S. goal of 500,000 vehicles that have some form of electrification on the road by 2017… http://www.forbes.com/sites/brookecrothers/2015/05/11/car-electrification-trouble-gm-says-demand-for-electric-cars-has-not-met-projections/ A No Brainer: Strengthen Air Quality Standards Now. Does your kid have learning problems? Does he have problems concentrating and he is easily distracted? Is he doing poorly in school? There can be a host of reasons for these problems. But a recent study is confirming the notion that pollution coming from fossil fuels, such as gasoline and coal, can inflict lasting damage on the human brain development… http://www.huffingtonpost.com/javier-sierra/a-no-brainer-strengthen-air-quality-standards-now_b_7256360.html What’s the cheapest new car to drive? Hint: It’s an EV. There is a common perception that electric cars are really expensive. It isn’t helped by media fawning over the high-end Tesla Model S, which has a base price of $71,000. But most EVs cost much less than that, and measured over a five-year span, the total cost of owning and operating the more affordable EVs can actually be lower than the cheapest gas-swilling econo-boxes. http://grist.org/business-technology/whats-the-cheapest-new-car-to-drive-hint-its-an-ev/ California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.