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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for July 10, 2015.
Posted: 10 Jul 2015 12:55:08
ARB Newsclips for July 10, 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 Stiglitz Calls Climate Talks a 'Charade,' Pushes Plan C. The liberal economist says voluntary agreements don't work and cap-and-trade is 'doomed to failure'. Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel laureate economist, is trying to persuade global-warming negotiators that they're marching up a blind alley. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-10/stiglitz-calls-climate-talks-a-charade-pushes-plan-c Scientists issue carbon price call to curb climate change. Academics and economists called Friday for a price on carbon and an end to fossil fuel subsidies to help curb rampant greenhouse gas emissions harming Earth's climate system. Rather than an economic burden, such measures offered novel money-making opportunities that would also ensure a liveable planet for future generations… http://finance.yahoo.com/news/scientists-issue-carbon-price-call-curb-climate-change-151011304.html Ontario Needs New Trick To Meet Climate Change Promises. Ontario’s cap-and-trade system to cut greenhouse-gas emissions is its Next Big Thing in the province’s fight against climate change. The Liberal government really needs one if it’s going to live up to its own rhetoric on the issue, according to its own environment commissioner. http://www.pressreader.com/canada/ottawa-citizen/20150710/281698318419809/TextView AIR POLLUTION White House opens doors to eleventh-hour pleas on Clean Power Plan. Multiple state environmental regulators will meet Tuesday with senior Obama administration staff in an attempt to shape the final version of the forthcoming U.S. EPA rule to curb carbon emissions from power plants. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/07/10/stories/1060021579 CLIMATE CHANGE (Some) Republicans Get Religion on Climate. The party’s anti-regulation wing finds ways to call for change. Jerry Taylor talks with passion about how climate change should be a conservative issue. While environmentalists on the left focus on controlling carbon emissions, Taylor argues the right should be looking at climate change the way it looks at financial risk. http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-07-10/-some-republicans-get-religion-on-climate Fossil fuel firms risk wasting billions by ignoring climate change, says IEA. Energy companies are making a ‘strategic mistake’ and could waste billions of dollars of investment by thinking they are immune to climate policy, says IEA chief economist Fatih Birol. The world’s fossil fuel companies risk wasting billions of dollars of investment by not taking global action to fight climate change seriously… http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jul/09/fossil-fuel-firms-risk-billions-ignoring-climate-change-iea Sea Levels Could Rise At Least 20 Feet. Even if world manages to limit global warming to 2°C — the target number for current climate negotiations — sea levels may still rise at least 6 meters (20 feet) above their current heights, radically reshaping the world’s coastline and affecting millions in the process. http://www.climatecentral.org/news/sea-levels-rise-20-feet-19211 New Zealand Raises Emission Reduction Target: Care Taken Not To Upset The Economy. In a significant step, New Zealand raised its greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets and said it still wanted a climate change policy that is attainable and affordable for the agrarian economy. Accordingly, New Zealand will be cutting emissions to 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. http://www.ibtimes.com.au/new-zealand-raises-emission-reduction-target-care-taken-not-upset-economy-1455345 DOE suspends stimulus funding for Calif. carbon-capture project. The Department of Energy has suspended Recovery Act funding for a California project to trap carbon emissions from a coal-fired power plant, an agency spokeswoman said. DOE had set aside $408 million in stimulus funds for Hydrogen Energy California LLC's effort to produce power from coal and petroleum coke… http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/07/10/stories/1060021604 DROUGHT Careful water use could ease climate threats to food – scientists. Farmers face growing threats to their crops from more frequent drought and other extreme weather in coming decades, but using water more efficiently could help them protect food and water supplies, experts said. Globally, drought so severe it used to come once in 100 years is now expected to occur as often as every 30 years… http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL8N0ZQ3JC20150710 Water, Water Everywhere? Caribbean Adds to Global Drought. Californians are suffering an historic drought, Brazilians are rationing water and Chile’s Atacama desert is creeping south. Now Caribbean nations from Jamaica to Trinidad that have been praying for rain are counting their losses. A region vulnerable to devastating hurricanes, the Caribbean is enduring its worst drought in at least five years due to the El Nino weather pattern. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-10/water-water-everywhere-caribbean-adds-to-global-drought Southland water district ends popular lawn-removal rebate program. When Gov. Jerry Brown called on drought-weary Californians to reconsider their love of thirsty, nonnative landscaping, some businesses and homeowners responded by tearing out their once-cherished lawns. Additional motivation for swapping out grass for drought-resistant plants came in the form of cash rebates offered by local governments and water agencies. http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-mwd-turf-rebates-20150710-story.html Got sand? Drought prompts California state beaches to shut off outdoor showers. Thousands of beachgoers will soon feel the drought's impact in the dry shower heads of dozens of state beaches. State park officials ordered the outdoor showers at 38 state beaches, many of them in Southern California, shut off as of July 15 to conserve water during the drought. http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-outdoor-showers-20150710-story.html http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/07/10/california-beaches-rinse-stations-drought/29950513/ Strong El Niño Set to Bring California Drought Relief. For California, the relief couldn't come soon enough. El Niño has strengthened and will likely peak in the late fall and last until the spring, bringing much-needed relief to regions in California affected by drought, federal weather officials said Thursday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said there is now a 90% chance… http://time.com/3952081/el-nino-california-drought-noaa/ DIESEL ACTIVITIES Officials look to reduce diesel emissions at Mobile port. The Alabama State Port Authority is partnering with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management to reduce emissions from four diesel locomotives at the Port of Mobile. Officials said Thursday that automatic shut-down and starting systems that have been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will be installed on several locomotives… http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jul/9/officials-look-to-reduce-diesel-emissions-at-mobil/#ixzz3fRNfKyMZ This 100 Percent Electric Eighteen-Wheeler Just Hit The Road In Germany. n Tuesday, an all-electric tractor-trailer hit the road in Munich, Germany — the first time such a large electric vehicle made by a European manufacturer has gone into regular service in Europe, according to BMW, the company behind the project. The 40-ton truck has a range of about 62 miles per charge, which takes three or four hours. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/07/09/3678546/all-electric-big-rig-truck-hits-the-road-in-germany/ http://ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=38808 FUELS Is fracking harmful? New California study says more data is needed. An independent scientific study of hydraulic fracturing in California called Thursday on state and federal agencies to determine what chemicals are used in the oil well-stimulation technique and how they might affect the environment and human health. http://www.dailybreeze.com/environment-and-nature/20150709/is-fracking-harmful-new-california-study-says-more-data-is-needed Businesses fight bill to allow public access to commercial water, energy usage. The drought has raised calls among newspapers and environmental groups to access data on the state’s biggest commercial water users. Anyone could look up the water and energy usage of a private business under legislation that is now pending before a Senate judiciary committee. http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2015/07/10/businesses-fight-bill-to-allow-public-access-to.html Shell may drop the word 'oil' from its U.S. operations. Royal Dutch Shell’s U.S. unit is considering dropping the word “oil” from its name. The company’s director of upstream Americas business, Marvin Odum, told the Toronto Global Forum on Thursday that the name Shell Oil CO. is “a little old-fashioned, I’d say, and at one point we’ll probably do something about that,” Bloomberg reports. http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/247510-shell-may-drop-the-world-oil-from-its-us-operations $18 Million Algae Biofuel Blast From US Energy Department. Tesla or no Tesla, the US Department of Energy is determined to stake out a place for liquid fuel in the sustainable personal transport world of the future, and to that end the agency is placing an $18 million bet on six new algae biofuel projects. The ultimate aim is to bring the cost of algae down to a cost of $3 compared to gasoline by 2030. https://cleantechnica.com/2015/07/10/18-million-algae-biofuel-blast-us-energy-department/ Unknowns about chemical, water impacts put Calif. at risk – study. Numerous unanswered questions exist about the effect of unconventional oil drilling in California, including the toxicity of chemicals used and whether fluids disposed in pits threaten groundwater, a long-awaited study of hydraulic fracturing said yesterday. http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2015/07/10/stories/1060021584 VEHICLES Diesel VW sets fuel-economy record. Automotive journalist Wayne Gerdes and electronics engineer Bob Winger set a Guinness World Record this week for lowest fuel consumption in a non-hybrid car during their 48-state drive in Volkswagen’s diesel-powered Golf TDI. The Golf produced 81.17 mpg, beating the previous non-hybrid record of 77.99 mpg. The Golf also topped the hybrid vehicle record of 74.34 mpg. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/fuel-670992-hydrogen-car.html Could getting rid of human drivers reduce vehicle emissions by 90 percent? Would replacing human-driven cars with self-driving vehicles nearly eliminate greenhouse gas emissions? A study reports replacing private cars with self-driving electric taxis could reduce emissions by 90 percent. The most straightforward way to reduce automotive emissions is probably to just get rid of cars. http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/In-Gear/2015/0709/Could-getting-rid-of-human-drivers-reduce-vehicle-emissions-by-90-percent http://www.modernreaders.com/are-self-driving-cabs-the-key-to-reducing-emissions-from-vehicles/28019/lorenzo-tanos US: new rebates for electric cars in California target the poor & the rich. New rebates in the US Californian state address consumers with low incomes giving them more buying opportunity and eliminate rebates for the more financially endowed locals. A massive $373 million in grants has been approved by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to support alternative-fueled cars… http://www.inautonews.com/us-new-rebates-for-electric-cars-in-california-target-the-poor-the-rich China Built 25,000 Electric Cars & Plug-In Hybrids In June Alone. The Chinese vehicle market is now the world's largest, and has been for a few years now. And the country's government-industrial complex has ambitious plans to dominate global production of plug-in electric vehicles, both for reasons of competitiveness and as one effort to start to reduce… http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1099081_china-built-25000-electric-cars-hybrids-in-june-alone-this-year Russian Plutocrats Crave Tesla Model S; Electric Carmaker Resists. Tesla Motors is working to establish its presence in many markets outside the United States, but there's one country the electric-car maker hasn't explored so far. The company's products aren't officially sold in Russia, even though there is apparently quite a bit of demand. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1099073_russian-plutocrats-crave-tesla-model-s-electric-carmaker-resists GREEN ENERGY Big Oil Worth $100 Billion for Solar After Biggest Plant Ordered. Solar energy developers may be able to earn $100 billion or more by selling equipment to the oil industry for extracting heavy grades of crude, the head of the company that is developing the world’s biggest solar heat plant said. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-10/big-oil-worth-100-billion-for-solar-after-biggest-plant-ordered Renewable Energy Generation Wins Planning Consent for U.K. Wind. Renewable Energy Generation Ltd., a British low-carbon asset developer, was granted permission to build a wind farm after the U.K. government said it plans to scrap subsidies to the technology. The company gained planning consent to build an 8-megawatt facility in Wales, it said Friday in an e-mail. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-10/renewable-energy-generation-wins-planning-consent-for-u-k-wind REFILE-Greek renewable power projects stalled by turmoil. Ambitious Greek renewable power projects aimed at reducing the country's dependence on energy imports from Russia will be on hold for some time as the threat of exit from the euro prompts investors and financiers to put the brakes on initiatives. Greece has submitted proposals on economic reforms in a last-ditch effort… http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/10/greece-energy-renewables-idUSL8N0ZQ22320150710?virtualBrandChannel=11563 Scottish energy minister blasts end to onshore wind subsidies as ‘anti-business’. The government's decision to end onshore wind subsidies a year early has been slammed as "anti-business" by Fergus Ewing, Scottish energy minister. Speaking after an onshore wind summit in Glasgow yesterday, Ewing criticized the end of the Renewables Obligation (RO) scheme… http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2417153/scottish-energy-minister-blasts-end-to-onshore-wind-subsidies-as-anti-business Facebook's new data center will run entirely on renewable energy. Facebook will build its fifth data center in Fort Worth, Texas. The second-most visited website in the world is building another data center, this time in Fort Worth, Texas, Facebook announced this week. This will be Facebook’s fifth data center, following ones in Oregon, North Carolina, Iowa, and Sweden. http://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/2015/0710/Facebook-s-new-data-center-will-run-entirely-on-renewable-energy As Obama heads to Africa, his signature energy program there seeks firmer footing. Power Africa, the Obama administration's effort to infuse billions of energy investment dollars across sub-Saharan Africa, is entering its third year focused on completing up to 30,000 megawatts of new generation projects while adding 60 million new grid connections across the world's least-electrified continent. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/07/10/stories/1060021561 MISCELLANEOUS First electric planes fly over English Channel. Airbus flew its electric plane across the English Channel for the first time Friday — hours after an independent French pilot made a similar voyage, beating the aeronautics giant in this symbolically important step toward making electronic flight viable in the long term. Several companies in different countries are developing electric planes… http://www.sfgate.com/business/technology/article/First-electric-plane-flies-over-English-Channel-6376928.php Modesto awarded $327K for its urban forest. Modesto’s urban forest is about to get a lot greener. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has awarded the city nearly $327,000 to plant 5,000 trees over the next couple of years and to help the city’s nursery, which reopened this year after closing in 2008 because of budget cuts. http://www.modbee.com/news/article26930674.html#storylink=cpy OPINIONS U.S. gasoline cracks hit multi-year highs on strong fuel demand: Kemp. Tremendous demand for gasoline in the United States has pushed refining margins for motor fuel to the highest seasonal level in a decade. U.S. refiners currently earn a gross margin before costs and taxes of 65 cents per gallon for turning Brent into gasoline and 77 cents for processing WTI (link.reuters.com/xek25w). http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/10/us-usa-refining-kemp-idUSKCN0PK14L20150710 Editorial GOP water bill in Congress should be rejected. The latest version of a bill by House Republicans to override California's management of its water system and undermine environmental protections — in the name of emergency drought relief and food security — is longer and more detailed than the ones that preceded it, but much the same in its substance… http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-water-bills-20150710-story.html Stop the oil train project. Dear Editor, 350 Silicon Valley is organizing a rally to Stop the Phillips 66 Oil Train project that would bring daily mile-long trains loaded with dangerous tar sands crude through San Jose to their refinery in Nipomo, in San Luis Obispo County. The rally is part of a nationwide week of action to mark the two-year anniversary of the oil train explosion which killed 47 people in Lac Megantic, Quebec. http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_28460967/letters-july-20-milpitas-post Trash plastic turf. Thank you to the Sjoberg family of Fresno for their gray-water recycling efforts (article July 1). The benefits of their positive approach contrast sharply with the negative impacts of artificial turf. My concerns about widespread installation of plastic lawns, such as those proposed by Granville Homes, include disease, weeds and heat. http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article26867188.html#storylink=cpy The Pope and cap-and-trade. Pope Francis' Encyclical is out -- there's a lot to like in this document, some very deep truths. But something is missing, too. Many climate scientists believe that if the earth's surface temperatures are allowed to increase more than 2 degrees C (3.6 deg. F) above preindustrial levels, then unacceptable consequences (such as massive polar-cap melts… http://www.contracostatimes.com/lafayette/ci_28459741/letters-walnut-creek-lamorinda-growth-walnut-creek-pope Many chemicals on federal list of asphalt plant emissions. Building a hot mix asphalt next to suburban homes in Rancho Calaveras may benefit county tax revenues but what harm will it cause to local people and wildlife? What environmental impact reports have been submitted to the county and state and Federal Environmental Protection Agency for the local public to review? http://www.calaverasenterprise.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/article_d261d6ea-2693-11e5-ad63-a730f16f6af8.html National Geographic Sea Level Rise Map. fact of sea level rise - National Geographic News - Global sea level rise map - global warming & climate, Global sea level rise map use the window in the top left of the map frame to change the amount of sea level rise. http://levne-zajezdy.eu/images/Antarctica%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20Map BLOGS The Power and Potential of Improving Water Efficiency: CaliforniaToilets. Debates about water in California, the western U.S., and indeed, worldwide, have traditionally focused on the question of how best to further expand water supply to meet some hypothetical future increase in water demand. And the solution frequently offered is to build massive new infrastructure in the form of dams and reservoirs, drill more groundwater wells… http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-h-gleick/the-power-and-potential-o_b_7766040.html Oil & Gas Industry Mangles More Facts, Turns EDF Study Results Upside Down. A new set of peer-reviewed scientific papers pointing to 50 percent higher than estimated regional methane emissions from oil and gas operations in Texas were published this week. And like clockwork, the oil and gas industry's public relations machine, Energy In Depth… http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-brownstein/oil--gas-industry-mangles_b_7770514.html Coal Divestment Is Just the Beginning - Let's Not Forget About Oil & Gas. The "end of coal" is no longer an activist pipe dream. It's a reality that's gaining growing acceptance from High Street to Wall Street as investors divest billions of dollars from this dirtiest of fossil fuels. But the end of coal won't solve the climate crisis. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charlie-wood/coal-divestment-is-just-t_b_7766310.html Washington State wants to limit EV incentives for expensive cars. Tesla Model S, BMW i3 Among Models That Will No Longer Qualify For Perk. California has been making moves to eliminate plug-in vehicle incentives for residents who are best equipped to foot the bill for their new plug-in hybrids or electric vehicles. Now, it looks like Washington State is doing the same. Is this a new Pacific Coast thing? http://www.autoblog.com/2015/07/10/washington-state-limit-ev-incentives-expensive-cars/ Caterpillar Helps to Protect 2,100 Acres of Coastal Wetlands in California. Marked by the sweeping visuals of shorebirds and the scurried nature of crabs on the sandy horizon, coastlines are among the most dynamic environments on earth – continually shaped and reshaped by waves, winds, tides and storms. These natural ecosystems thrive amidst the constant change, and have even developed the capacity to shape that change. http://www.justmeans.com/article/caterpillar-helps-to-protect-2100-acres-of-coastal-wetlands-in-california#sthash.NLcunOZO.dpuf California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.