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ARB Newsclips for July 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 Carbon Market Reserve Seen Absorbing 85% of Glut by 2021. An
unprecedented overhaul of the European Union’s carbon market will
probably remove 85 percent of a glut of permits that sent prices
tumbling and eroded incentives to reduce emissions. A proposed
reserve to control the number of allowances in circulation will
probably hold 1.7 billion metric tons of the contracts by 2021…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-14/eu-carbon-market-reserve-seen-absorbing-85-of-glut-by-2021


AIR POLLUTION

States Take Aim at Power-Plant Rules. Last-minute requests will
be made Tuesday in Washington; new rules will guide direction of
utility investments. State regulators are descending on
Washington Tuesday to make last-minute pleas for changes in the 
Obama administration’s sweeping new rules for power-plant
emissions, which will determine the direction of utility
investments for decades to come and could affect the price of
electricity.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/states-take-aim-at-power-plant-rules-1436830808


Tesoro Fined $1M for Violating Gasoline Rules. Tesoro has paid
$1,014,000 in penalties for violating California’s reformulated
gasoline regulations, according to the state’s Air Resources
Board. Tesoro, the second-largest independent refining and
marketing company in the Western US, supplied gasoline in
violation of state regulations from two Tesoro refineries and one
terminal for a period of 52 violation days.
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2015/07/14/tesoro-fined-1m-for-violating-gasoline-rules/#ixzz3fsZmPdGE


Focus on farm emissions to reduce crop loss, say UN experts. UN
report argues farmers can derive economic benefits from reusing
nitrogen and tackling ammonia emissions. Policies for cutting a
range of emissions from agriculture could prove one of the most
cost-effective ways of tackling threats to food productivity and
human health, say experts from the UN's Economic Commission for
Europe (UNECE).
http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2417510/focus-on-farm-emissions-to-reduce-crop-loss-say-un-experts


CLIMATE CHANGE

The Pope Calls on Jerry Brown to Preach Climate Change Gospel.
California Governor Jerry Brown says that when he was 18 years
old and studying to become a Jesuit priest, he couldn’t have
fathomed that one day he would share a stage with the pontiff to
discuss an issue of global importance.
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-07-14/the-pope-calls-on-jerry-brown-to-preach-climate-change-gospel


Alberta Says It Must Do More on Climate for Quebec Pipeline Nod.
Quebec will only support TransCanada Corp.’s Energy East pipeline
if it generates jobs for the province and if Alberta does more to
protect the environment, Premier Rachel Notley said. Alberta’s
premier spoke with reporters Tuesday by telephone after meeting
in Quebec…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-14/alberta-says-it-must-do-more-on-climate-for-quebec-pipeline-nod


Energy Mix to Shift Because of Climate Pledges, IEA’s Birol Says.
Pledges to curb climate-warming gases by China, the U.S. and
European Union will have a “material impact” on the global energy
sector, International Energy Agency Chief Economist Fatih Birol
said. Political momentum in the three biggest emitters makes
Birol optimistic for a successful outcome at a United Nations
climate summit…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-14/energy-mix-to-shift-because-of-climate-pledges-iea-s-birol-says

To sustain its forests, Asia needs to invest in local people:
experts.  Asia has a unique opportunity to fight climate change
and lift many more people out of poverty if it invests more in
the communities living in its forests, experts said. More than
450 million people in the region rely on forests for income and
food, but forest dwellers often struggle to make a living as
rural poverty, deforestation and climate change threaten their
livelihoods. "
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/14/us-environment-asia-forests-idUSKCN0PO1NX20150714?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews


Study shows Northeast states benefit from carbon cap program.
Amid complaints that planned federal rules to cut carbon
emissions will hurt the economy, a new study says the
northeastern states that already have moved in that direction are
seeing economic benefits.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/study-shows-northeast-states-benefit-from-carbon-cap-program/2015/07/13/328454ea-299a-11e5-960f-22c4ba982ed4_story.html


No, Earth is not heading toward a ‘mini ice age’. This week,
warnings of an impending “mini ice age,” set to hit in the 2030s,
have been circulating in the media. It’s a story that has caused
shivers among the public, but there’s one problem: Climate
scientists aren’t buying it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/07/14/no-earth-is-not-heading-toward-a-mini-ice-age/


Human impact on the oceans is growing — and climate change is the
biggest culprit. The world’s oceans have suffered a lot at the
hands of humans — ask any marine conservationist. Unsustainable
fishing, pollution and the effects of climate change are just a
few of the issues that worry scientists and environmentalists.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/07/14/human-impacts-on-the-oceans-are-growing-and-climate-change-is-the-worst-of-all/


Unraveling the Relationship Between Climate Change and Health. Is
climate change a serious threat to human health? Simple logic
would suggest the answer is yes, a point that the Obama
administration is using to build support for the president’s
effort to make climate change a centerpiece of his final months
in office. A White House report listed deepening risks.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/14/health/unraveling-the-relationship-between-climate-change-and-health.html?_r=0


Study: Warming Leads to Longer Flights, More Emissions. Climate
change is causing wind patterns to change over the Pacific Ocean,
leading to longer commercial airline flight times and causing
airplanes to burn more fuel and emit more greenhouse gases. Those
are the conclusions of a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
study published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change…
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/warming-longer-flights-more-emissions-19234

How Climate Change Could Affect Your Finances. If the temperature
continues to climb, our net wealth will continue to drop. Whether
you believe in climate change or not, there's no denying that
it's in the news a lot these days. Climate change has been blamed
for the California drought, and as an aside…
http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2015/07/14/how-climate-change-could-affect-your-finances


Regulators study a 'trade-ready' CO2 emissions trading system
that would not require state legislative approval. As the final
rollout of U.S. EPA's Clean Power Plan gets closer, a growing
number of analysts and state officials are rallying around the
idea of "trade-ready" multi-state compliance plans as the best
way to meet the rule's ambitious carbon-reduction goals.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/07/14/stories/1060021738 

DROUGHT

California Drought Leaves Few Farmers Unscathed. Even those with
high-priority access to water are at risk of having their spigots
turned off. As holders of some of the oldest water rights in
California, many farmers and ranchers here in the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta have never had their spigots turned off, a fate
many of their counterparts in the parched state have endured.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/california-drought-leaves-few-farmers-unscathed-1436809802


Gov. Jerry Brown signs bill barring fines for dead lawns during
drought.  Cities and counties will no longer be able to impose
fines on residents for unsightly brown lawns while the state is
in a drought, under a bill signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday
afternoon. Brown has said she's aware of a number of cities,
including Glendora, Upland and San Bernardino that have levied
fines…
http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-brown-lawn-bill-20150713-story.html

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jul/13/brown-approves-legislation-preventing-fines-for-br/

http://www.mercurynews.com/drought/ci_28481628/gov-brown-approves-legislation-preventing-fines-brown-lawns


Riverside Pushes Back Against State Water Restrictions. Earlier
this year, Gov. Jerry Brown made good on a threat that had been
hanging in the air for months. He ordered the state’s first-ever
mandatory cuts in water use. Executive Order B-29-15 gave the
State Water Resources Control Board authority to establish…
http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/07/13/riverside-pushes-back-against-state-water-restrictions

DIESEL ACTIVITIES

London Assembly Urges Faster Cuts to Diesel Emissions. London
must cut diesel emissions faster than planned to reduce pollution
levels that breach legal limits, the London Assembly’s
Environment Committee said. Previously announced measures, such
as an “Ultra Low Emission Zone” to come into effect in 2020 with
a ban on the most polluting diesel cars in parts of the city… 
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-13/london-assembly-urges-faster-cuts-to-diesel-emissions


Federal Regulators Formally Publish Phase 2 GHG
Emissions-Reduction Proposal.  Federal regulators on July 13
formally published their proposal in the Federal Register that
would tighten greenhouse-gas emissions for trucks, improve their
fuel economy and regulate trailer efficiency for the first time.
http://ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=38830 

FUELS

Suncor oil sands project aims to replace steam with radio waves.
Suncor Energy Inc has launched a pilot project to replace the
high-pressure steam used to extract bitumen from oil sands with
radio frequency technology developed by U.S. defence contractor
Harris Corporation. Canada's largest oil and gas company, which
produces 440,000 barrels per day from Alberta's oil sands…
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/14/suncor-energy-harris-oil-idUSL2N0ZT2JT20150714

Energy Companies to Merge in $15.8 Billion Deal. Marathon’s
pipeline operator MPLX to buy natural-gas processor MarkWest
Energy. A partnership controlled by Marathon Petroleum Corp., a
refinery and pipeline company, will buy MarkWest Energy Partners
LP for $15.8 billion in one of the biggest oil-patch deals since
crude prices began to slump last summer.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/mplx-to-buy-markwest-energy-creating-4th-largest-mlp-1436785264?mod=rss_Business


State grants $11 million to 5 Valley dairy methane projects. Five
projects from Kings, Fresno, Madera, Tulare and Kern counties
have been awarded $11.1 million in state grants to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions from decomposing dairy manure with
digester technology. “These projects demonstrate a commitment by
California to support efforts by dairy farmers to fight climate
change…
http://www.fresnobee.com/news/business/agriculture/article27180202.html#storylink=cpy


Average L.A., Orange County gas prices top $4 for first time
since May. The fourth consecutive sharp daily increase pushed the
average prices of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los
Angeles and Orange counties above $4 Monday for the first time
since May. The Los Angeles County average price rose 12.6 cents
to $4.053, the highest in the state…
http://www.dailynews.com/business/20150713/average-la-orange-county-gas-prices-top-4-for-first-time-since-may


Rotork CMAs Enable Shale Gas Well Emissions Compliance. Rotork
CMA electric control valve actuators eliminate venting and
greenhouse gas emissions in compliance with new environmental
protection legislation at remotely sited shale gas installations
in the US, the company says. Rotork CMA electric control valve
actuators eliminate venting and greenhouse gas emissions in
compliance…
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2015/07/13/rotork-cmas-enable-shale-gas-well-emissions-compliance/#ixzz3fsduWM81


Bio-bean to bring coffee-to-biofuel service to UK stations.
Commuters travelling through London's busiest stations will be
able to order their morning coffee safe in the knowledge it is
not just their train journey that is helping to curb greenhouse
gas emissions. Network Rail announced this week that following a
successful trial at Victoria and Waterloo stations it has signed
a deal with biofuel…
http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2417593/bio-bean-to-bring-coffee-to-biofuel-service-to-uk-stations


Belgian Steel Plant: We'll Make 50,000 Tons Of Ethanol From
Byproduct. Even as world governments continue to encourage the
production of biofuels, ethanol remains subject to particular
criticism. The highest-volume feedstocks for ethanol are still
plants like corn or sugar cane, which take up farmland that in
some cases could otherwise be used for food.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1099098_belgian-steel-plant-well-make-50000-tons-of-ethanol-from-byproduct


United Airlines invests $30 million in Pleasanton-based bioenergy
firm. Fulcrum BioEnergy transforms municipal solid waste into
transportation fuels. United Airlines has invested $30 million in
Pleasanton-based Fulcrum BioEnergy, Inc. with the option to
directly participate in Fulcrum's waste-to-jet fuel plants across
North America.
http://www.pleasantonweekly.com/news/2015/07/14/united-airlines-invests-30-million-in-pleasanton-based-bioenergy-firm


VEHICLES

Could electric vehicles provide reliable backup power to the
electric grid? Last November, the Air Force rolled out the
federal government's first fleet of plug-in and hybrid electric
vehicles. Parked at Los Angeles Air Force Base (LA AFB) in El
Segundo, Calif., about 20 miles south of downtown Los Angeles,
the 42-vehicle fleet features 13 Nissan Leafs as well as Ford
F-Series pickup trucks and a 12-passenger van among other
electrified vehicles.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/07/14/stories/1060021714 

GREEN ENERGY

Woodford Hits Out at Osborne’s Cut in Renewal Energy Tax Break.
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has lost the support
of at least one large U.K. investor after his decision last week
to eliminate a tax break for renewal energy sent shares of Drax
Group Plc tumbling.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-14/woodford-hits-out-at-osborne-s-cut-in-renewal-energy-tax-break


Financing India’s Renewable Energy Goals. Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and his government have embarked on an ambitious mission to
increase India’s renewable energy capacities by over five times
by 2022. Taking it from the current 30GW (solar and wind
combined) to a target of 175 GW. To achieve its goals, India
needs to find, among other important things, a way to source
these significant capital needs…
http://cleantechnica.com/2015/07/14/financing-indias-renewable-energy-goals/


OPINIONS

The Right Price on Emissions. An executive order from President
Barack Obama requires that the Environmental Protection Agency
analyze the costs and benefits of its regulations. But how
exactly can it measure the economic benefits of the coming
restrictions on greenhouse gases? For both policy and law
(including the inevitable court challenges), it's a crucial
question.
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-07-14/the-right-price-on-emissions


Don't Blame Fish for California's Water Shortage. Since the late
1980s, new law after regulation after court ruling after
endangered species designation has cut into the amount of water
that farmers in California’s Central Valley are allowed to take
out of its rivers and aqueducts. Here, for example, is how the
flows from the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River watersheds…
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-07-13/don-t-blame-the-fish-for-california-s-water-shortage


Global warming requires action. Re “Beetles preying on dried-up
forests” (Insight, July 11): Global warming is crippling
California’s forests with a one-two punch. Higher temperatures
are intensifying the drought, leaving insufficient water for
trees. Without cold winters, more beetles survive to burrow into
the already-weakened trees. Hotter temperatures combined with
more dead trees create conditions for bigger wildfires, which
have been happening more frequently.
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article27165709.html#storylink=cpy


Additional hydropower could cut carbon emissions (OPINION). With
each passing day, Americans are becoming more mindful about the
ways in which energy is being generated. Our nation's reliance on
fossil fuels, coupled with the looming challenges of climate
change, is giving rise to the movement to reduce our collective
carbon footprint. And while many areas of the country find
themselves behind the curve…
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/07/additional_hydropower_could_cu.html


BLOGS

How the Future of Biofuels Is Taking Shape. IVAN MARTEN: Global
production of biofuels has surged over the past decade or so,
with annual production climbing from approximately 10 billion
liters in 2000 to nearly 80 billion liters in 2012. Much of this
growth is being driven by governments’ increasing focus on
alternate fuel sources in an effort to reduce the countries’
reliance on foreign oil.
http://blogs.wsj.com/experts/2015/07/14/how-the-future-of-biofuels-is-taking-shape/


There Is A Smart, Sustainable Way To Solve The Energy Crisis --
So Why Is It Essentially Illegal? On a recent Thursday in April,
NRG’s Station A group, a product development team working toward
renewable energy solutions in San Francisco, turned on its
prototype microgrid for the very first time.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/10/the-state-of-microgrids_n_7706348.html
 

Putting a Price on Carbon Can Spur Economy and Lower Energy
Costs, New Study Says. Last year at this time, I wrote on why
lowering CO2 emissions will drive electricity bills down, not up.
Now, a new study from Boston consultancy Analysis Group shows
that controlling and lowering CO2 emissions translates into a
major economic development and jobs program with continued system
reliability.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelkrancer/2015/07/14/putting-a-price-on-carbon-can-spur-economy-and-lower-energy-costs-new-study-says/




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