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ARB Newsclips for May 14, 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

EU diplomats approve proposal to start CO2 market reform in 2019.

European Union diplomats have approved a proposal to begin reform
of the world's biggest carbon market in 2019, Latvia, the holder
of the EU Presidency, said on Wednesday. Discussions have dragged
on for months over the plan to begin operating a Market Stability
Reserve (MSR) to remove some of huge surplus of carbon
allowances…
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/13/us-eu-carbon-idUSKBN0NY18I20150513


Carbon credits don't equal pollution reduction. Existing
alternative fuel facilities will get new carbon credits.
Supporters of Oregon’s low-carbon fuel standard offered a simple
promise as lawmakers considered legislation to make the program
permanent earlier this year. The standard would reduce carbon
emissions from transportation fuel in the state by 10 percent
over the next decade…
http://portlandtribune.com/pt/9-news/260174-131419-carbon-credits-dont-equal-pollution-reduction


AIR POLLUTION

Santa Monica Airport emission standards to be reviewed. City
Council voted unanimously Tuesday to have city attorneys review
ways to control emissions at Santa Monica Airport. “We know that
in recent years, epidemiological evidence of the effects of air
pollution has increased our knowledge about the types and
opportunities to control emissions so in addition we have seen
numerous studies and actions on controlling hot spots for air
pollution…
http://smdp.com/santa-monica-airport-emission-standards-reviewed/148009


Hidden Cost of Convenience: How Online Purchases Are Costing
SoCal Communities. With the click of a mouse, you can now get
almost anything delivered overnight from online retailers like
Amazon, Zappos, Walmart and many others. But that speedy
convenience comes at a high price — it’s creating worsening
pollution for parts of Southern California and is possibly making
thousands of people sick…
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/investigations/Hidden-Cost-of-Convenience-How-Online-Purchases-Are-Costing-SoCal-Communities-303535401.html

Advocates push to ban e-cigarettes, vaping indoors. Legislators
and health groups endorsed a bill Wednesday to put vaping and
e-cigarettes on the same legal footing as tobacco and ban smoking
the nicotine-delivery devices indoors. “Our children, our
co-workers, friends and families should not have to wait to
breathe clean air again in New York,” said Bill Sherman, a
lobbyist for the American Cancer Society.
http://www.troyrecord.com/health/20150513/advocates-push-to-ban-e-cigarettes-vaping-indoors


Study: 25 Percent of Cars Create Most Air Pollution. The majority
of vehicle pollution is produced by a small number of older or
"badly-tuned" cars and trucks, according to a study by
researchers at the University of Toronto in Canada. The study
measured the emissions of 100,000 vehicles as they drove past
air-sampling probes of the university's…
http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/story/2015/05/study-25-percent-of-cars-create-most-air-pollution.aspx


ClearSign Technology Slashes Emissions, Increases Efficiency. 
ClearSign Combustion says its project operating at Shell/Exxon
joint venture Aera Energy’s facility in Bakersfield, California
has increased system efficiency by 3 percent to 4 percent while
operating at 52 million Btu/hour, simultaneously slashing NOx
emissions to below 5ppm — well below the San Joaquin Valley’s
strict air quality regulations.
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2015/05/14/clearsign-technology-slashes-emissions-increases-efficiency/#ixzz3a7ystGJz


CLIMATE CHANGE

Pope’s Adviser Says U.S. Critics Wrong on Climate Change. Pope
Francis’s closest adviser said U.S. critics are wrong to try to
shut the pontiff out of the debate over climate change because
the church has a role to play in shaping the ethical
considerations of emissions. Francis is due to publish an
encyclical, one of the highest forms of papal writings, on
humanity’s relationship with nature next month…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-14/pope-s-adviser-says-u-s-critics-wrong-on-climate-change


Political inertia must not strangle climate deal: island
minister. The Marshall Islands' foreign minister, Tony de Brum,
says his job is fast becoming one of disaster manager. In the
last six weeks, his Pacific island nation has been hit by three
typhoons big enough to deserve names, and a dozen smaller
tropical storms – an uptick he attributes to climate change.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/14/us-climate-change-pacific-idUSKBN0NZ1HB20150514


Senate Unveils Bill to Immediately Kill Clean Power Plan, Set
Strict Limits on New Rules. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.)
unveiled legislation May 13 that would immediately scuttle the
Environmental Protection Agency's carbon pollution regulations
for the nation's fleet of power plants and set strict standards
for the agency to meet if it pursues new rules.
http://www.bna.com/senate-unveils-bill-n17179926512/ 

Number of days with temperatures above 95°F to soar in L.A.
County.  By 2050, parts of Los Angeles County are forecast to
experience triple or quadruple the number of days of extreme heat
if nothing is done to control greenhouse gas emissions, placing
further demand on the region’s drinking water and electricity,
according to two new reports by UCLA scientists. That could mean
that by mid-century, downtown Los Angeles could see an average of
22 days of extreme heat…
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-extreme-heat-20150514-htmlstory.html

Senate GOP launches attack on EPA climate rules. Senate
Republicans introduced a bill Wednesday that would overturn the
Obama administration’s landmark climate regulations for power
plants and make it nearly impossible to rewrite them. The bill is
the GOP’s first major legislative push against the Environmental
Protection Agency’s emissions limits since Republicans seized
control of the Senate in November.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/241952-senate-gop-aims-to-overturn-epa-climate-rules


Carbon Tracker report offers roadmap for energy transition. In
advance of November's SRI Conference on Sustainable, Responsible,
Impact Investing, conference host First Affirmative Financial
Network conducted a survey of more than 500 sustainable
investment professionals. The survey revealed the degree to which
fossil fuel free investment strategies are becoming increasingly
commonplace…
http://www.greenbiz.com/article/carbon-tracker-report-offers-roadmap-energy-transition

Are carbon-removing gas stations the future of transportation?
Today, moving people and goods around the planet accounts for
nearly 15 percent of global carbon emissions. Scientists,
however, are increasingly (PDF) convinced that to prevent climate
change we need not just eliminate those emissions, but also
remove and sequester large volumes of excess carbon from our
atmosphere and oceans.
http://www.greenbiz.com/article/are-carbon-removing-gas-stations-future-transportation


"Pre-Pay" Carbon Policy: How Carbon Removal Enables Regulatory
Alternatives. Today, there is growing bipartisan support for
governments across the world to price carbon emissions. Moving
from theory to practice, however, has proven challenging, as the
two leading approaches to pricing carbon, carbon taxes and
cap-and-trade programs, only cover about 12% of all carbon
emissions globally today.
http://theenergycollective.com/noahdeich/2227191/pre-pay-carbon-policy-how-carbon-removal-enables-regulatory-alternatives


This Was The Hottest 4-Month Start Of Any Year On Record. It’s
increasingly likely that 2015 will be the hottest year on record,
possibly by a wide margin. NASA reported Wednesday that this was
the hottest four-month start (January to April) of any year on
record. This was also the second-warmest March on record in
NASA’s dataset.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/05/14/3658741/hottest-4-month-record/


What's Behind India's Crackdown on Social Justice & Climate
Activists? Attacks are undermining India's global standing, the
stability of its democracy and its role in upcoming climate
talks, experts say. India has recently ramped up attacks on
environmental and development organizations that work on climate,
clean energy and sustainability issues.
http://insideclimatenews.org/news/14052015/whats-behind-indias-crackdown-social-justice-climate-activists


30% of surveyed firms say they already experience impacts from
climate change. Nearly one-third of businesses surveyed by
researchers affiliated with the University of Notre Dame reported
they have experienced material impacts from climate events, while
more than 70 percent said they are at least "somewhat concerned"
that climate change will have a material impact on their
operations in the future.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/05/14/stories/1060018534 

DROUGHT

El Niño strengthens, drought relief possible. El Niño conditions
in the Pacific Ocean that were first identified in March are
strengthening, federal scientists said Thursday, renewing hope
that the next winter could be a long-awaited wet one for
California.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-el-nino-20150514-story.html


Cold, windy storm heads toward drought-stricken California. A
cold, windy storm that originated in the Gulf of Alaska was
expected to move into the San Francisco Bay Area before heading
to Southern California, providing some rain to a drought-stricken
state. But don't expect the dousing to ease the state's worsening
water shortage, National Weather Service meteorologist Ryan
Kittell said.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Cold-windy-storm-heads-toward-drought-stricken-6262578.php


DIESEL ACTIVITIES

ConocoPhillips converting 30 trucks to LPG this year, 300 more
over next 5. ConocoPhillips will convert 30 trucks to propane
autogas this year and replace more than 300 more trucks over the
next five years with vehicles powered by propane fuel technology.
ConocoPhillips has been testing ROUSH CleanTech propane vehicles
in the field since 2011, logging thousands of miles in northwest
New Mexico and southwest Colorado.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/05/20150514-cop.html 

FUELS

Canadian Aboriginal Group Rejects $1 Billion Fee for Natural Gas
Project. A small aboriginal community in British Columbia has
rejected a $1 billion payment for a natural gas project, the
latest setback for the Canadian energy industry’s effort to
bolster exports. A group led by the Malaysian energy company
Petronas had offered the money to…
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/14/business/energy-environment/canadian-aboriginal-group-rejects-1-billion-fee-for-natural-gas-project.html?ref=energy-environment&_r=1
 
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2015/05/14/stories/1060018510 
U.N. climate chief slams fossil fuel investments, outlines steps
for Paris deal. On the heels of President Obama's controversial
decision to greenlight renewed oil drilling in the Arctic, the
United Nations' top climate change official yesterday declared
that fossil fuels have become an unwise investment.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/05/14/stories/1060018537 

Construction launches on first greenfield LNG terminal. The past
several years have seen a frenzy of effort to retrofit natural
gas import terminals for exports, and four such projects are
currently under construction in the United States. Now, the first
greenfield project to export liquefied natural gas is going
forward with the announcement yesterday that Cheniere Energy's
Corpus Christi Liquefaction…
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2015/05/14/stories/1060018536  


VEHICLES

Volkswagen unveils Golf GTE Sport PHEV concept: 0-100 km/h in
4.3s and 118 mpg. Volkswagen used the annual Wörthersee festival
in Austria as the venue to unveil the Golf GTE Sport concept
plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. Featuring a carbon fiber body
and a three power unit, all-wheel drive system, the 295 kW (396
hp) Golf GTE Sport accelerates from 0 - 100 km/h in 4.3 seconds,
has a top speed of up to 280 km/h (174 mph)…
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/05/20150514-gtesport.html 

Mazda To Lean On Toyota For Hybrid, Fuel-Cell Expertise. Mazda
and Toyota will work together over the next few years in an
arrangement that will see the two carmakers pool their green
technologies. Japan's largest carmaker and one of its smallest
will enter into a "mutually beneficial long-term partnership,"
according to a press release issued by Mazda.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1098289_mazda-to-lean-on-toyota-for-hybrid-fuel-cell-expertise


Porsche Electric Sport Sedan To Target Tesla In 2018, Fuel-Cell
Version To Follow? Porsche has already built three plug-in
hybrids, but the German carmaker hasn't yet shown much enthusiasm
for pure electric cars. Various rumors of different all-electric
Porsche models have been shot down by executives in public
comments. Yet this may turn out to be a case of Porsche
protesting too much.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1098287_porsche-electric-sport-sedan-to-target-tesla-in-2018-fuel-cell-version-to-follow


GREEN ENERGY

New Bill Would Ensure The U.S. Gets No More Than 70 Percent Of
Its Energy From Non-Renewable Sources. More than half of U.S.
states have a renewable standard or target in place that
determines the amount of renewable energy they produce. Now,
seven Democratic senators want the U.S. to follow suit, and are
pushing for the country to establish a nationwide standard for
renewable energy.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/05/14/3658190/senators-introduce-national-renewable-energy-standard/


Energy bill shifts focus to renewables, electricity. The Senate
gave preliminary approval Wednesday to an energy bill that
requires utility companies for the first time to provide
renewable electricity to their customers and to devise programs
to help customers use less fossil fuel. The bill — H. 40 - sets a
statewide renewable energy standard designed to reduce greenhouse
gases in the state…
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/politics/2015/05/13/energy-bill-shifts-focus-renewables-electricity/27276467/


Data-powered resilience: How IBM helps simulate climate change.
Translating climate data into actionable insights that can lead
to more timely, accurate and reliable forecasts will go a long
way in helping communities become more resilient in the face of
climate impacts such as extreme weather. But that's also easier
said than done; reliable resilience planning also requires
gathering, storing and analyzing huge quantities of data.
http://www.greenbiz.com/article/data-powered-resilience-how-ibm-helps-simulate-climate-change


Company looks to be the 'middleman' to expand corporate green
energy. Google, Microsoft and Yahoo are all getting into green
energy in a big way. But for companies with a lack of capital or
direct access to energy sources, going green isn't so easy.
Corporate power purchase agreements from renewable energy
providers have surged in popularity amid a slew of policies aimed
at increasing renewable power sources in states and nationwide.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2015/05/14/stories/1060018515 

MISCELLANEOUS

California Governor Proposes Record $115.3 Billion Budget. The
budget also includes: — $2.2 billion for programs to conserve
water, respond to emergency conditions and expand local water
supplies in the drought.   — $1.2 billion increase in revenue
from the state's landmark effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions
for a total of $2.2 billion. California's cap-and-trade program
was expanded this year to include fees on gasoline, natural gas,
propane and heating oil.

Delta Counties Coalition has a few choice words for the governor.
The Delta Counties Coalition is not exactly telling the governor
to “shut up,” as he told critics of his $68 billion Delta tunnels
crusade last week, but it does have a few firm words for the
aging executive. “The studies are clear: Twin tunnels won't
create more water for drought-thirsty California," says
Sacramento County Supervisor Don Nottoli.
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=28329 

OPINIONS

The Honor of Being Mugged by Climate Censors. I believe in
globaOpponents of free debate are celebrating. Last week, under
pressure from some climate-change activists, the University of
Western Australia canceled its contract to host a planned
research center, Australia Consensus, intended to apply economic
cost-benefit analysis to development projects—giving policy
makers a tool to ensure their aid budgets are spent wisely.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-honor-of-being-mugged-by-climate-censors-1431558936?mod=trending_now_10


Cap and trade just about the money. Re “Jackpot seen in carbon
funds” (Page 1A, May 11): California lawmakers are rejoicing over
the sudden jackpot of money that they can spend however they
please from their cap-and-trade scam. They have not established
any method to gauge their success or inevitable failure to affect
the climate one iota, except with more computer models.
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article20855358.html#storylink=cpy


Fed up with polluters. ‘At a time when scientists tell us we need
to reduce carbon pollution to prevent catastrophic climate
change, it is absurd to provide massive taxpayer subsidies that
pad fossil-fuel companies’ already enormous profits.” — Sen.
Bernie Sanders The recent announcement by Sanders of his
intention to run for president was a shot across…
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2015/05/14/3633028_fed-up-with-polluters.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy


Danger at the Dunes. I am a resident and homeowner of Oceano. Our
beach is poised to succumb to sea level rise because of the
activities of the Off-Highway Motor Vehicular Recreation Division
of State Parks, especially at the Pier Avenue ramp. The off-road
division uses the Oceano beach as the main entrance to its
off-road recreation area.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2015/05/14/3633025/danger-at-the-dunes.html#storylink=cpy


BLOGS

How to teach climate change to a conservative community. The
National Center for Science Education is a non-profit
organization with some 5,000 members that provides information
and resources for schools, parents, and concerned citizens
working to keep evolution and climate science in public school
science education.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/05/14/how-to-teach-climate-change-to-a-conservative-community/


GOP Works to Defund Studies So They Can Deny Climate Change.
Rather than address or even face the impending issues surrounding
climate change, the GOP has chosen instead to stick their fingers
in their ears. Not only do they want to simply ignore the
problem, but they are trying to make it difficult for the rest of
us to even know that it exists. 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-zombeck/gop-works-to-defund-studi_b_7279786.html


Battery Wars: Is Tesla Setting Up A House Of Cards? Is Tesla’s
new battery storage product the ‘holy grail’ needed to integrate
renewable energy and improve the reliability and
cost-effectiveness of the electricity grid? It doesn’t look that
way. In fact, it may be a second product line for a money-losing
company that has serious issues with sustainable competitive
advantage.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/chipregister1/2015/05/14/battery-wars-is-tesla-setting-up-a-house-of-cards/




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