What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for July 17, 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

Jerry Hill seeks more cap and trade funds for transit: Caltrain’s
plans for electrification could benefit from senator’s proposal.
Caltrain’s efforts to accommodate growing ridership could receive
a much needed boost in funding as state Sen. Jerry Hill proposed
legislation Thursday calling for a redistribution of cap and
trade funds.
http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articles/lnews/2015-07-17/jerry-hill-seeks-more-cap-and-trade-funds-for-transit-caltrains-plans-for-electrification-could-benefit-from-senators-proposal/1776425146894.html


World Bank project holds first-ever auction to finance methane
emission cuts. The World Bank today announced that a first-ever
auction to fund the capture of methane emissions has bought price
guarantees for 8.7 million carbon credits. Bank officials hailed
the Pilot Auction Facility for Methane and Climate Change
Mitigation (PAF) as a major win in the hunt for new ways to
finance…
http://www.biomassmagazine.com/articles/12194/epa-opens-comment-period-on-cottonseed-oil-analysis

Final Phase Of Controversial EU Carbon Market Reforms Kicks Off.
On 15 July, the European Commission unveiled its long-awaited
proposals for a deep and meaningful reform of Europe’s carbon
market from 2021-30. It neatly turns into law political decisions
by EU heads of state and government last October.
http://cleantechnica.com/2015/07/17/final-phase-of-controversial-eu-carbon-market-reforms-kicks-off/


E.U. weighs cap-and-trade price hikes to accelerate emissions
cuts. The European Union released draft legislation that would
increase permit prices in the world's biggest greenhouse gas
market and help the bloc meet its emission-cutting goal. The
Emissions Trading System imposes increasingly lower carbon
dioxide quotas on about 12,000 power plants and factories.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/07/17/stories/1060021945 

AIR POLLUTION

Firm agrees to fines over pollution at fertilizer sites. Federal
regulators say the Willis-Ellis Company has reached a settlement
agreement over alleged air pollution at three of its Kansas
fertilizer facilities. The Environmental Protection Agency said
in a news release Thursday that the company has agreed to pay a
$67,404 penalty to settle violations of the Clean Air Act at its
facilities in White Cloud, Troy and Silver Lake.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jul/17/firm-agrees-to-fines-over-pollution-at-fertilizer-/#ixzz3gATKI0Os
 

How Air Pollution May Have Caused Catastrophic Flooding In China.
Air pollution isn't just bad for your health. It can have
dramatic effects on weather and climate. In fact, a team of
scientists believes that air pollution from industries and
traffic could have caused the extreme floods that devastated
southwest China in 2013.
http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/07/16/421815633/how-air-pollution-may-have-caused-catastrophic-flooding-in-china


CLIMATE CHANGE

Japan sets 26 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions as target. 
Japan said on Friday it would slash its greenhouse gas emissions
by 26 percent by 2030 from 2013 levels and would submit the plan
to the United Nations later in the day as its contribution to a
global summit on climate change in Paris in November.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/17/us-japan-carbon-idUSKCN0PR0A220150717

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-17/japan-vows-to-cut-greenhouse-gas-emissions-by-26-in-un-pledge


Climate Talks Nearing Consensus in Behind-the-Scenes Meetings. 
Publicly, the United Nations climate-change talks look mired in
disputes over everything from money to the length of the proposed
agreement.  Behind the scenes, a deal may be closer than it
seems, according to a report today from two veteran negotiators
who’ve organized a series of unofficial meetings among key
countries.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-15/climate-talks-nearing-consensus-in-behind-the-scenes-meetings


Sea Warming Leads to Ban on Fishing in the Arctic. The United
States and four other nations that border the Arctic Ocean
pledged on Thursday to prohibit commercial fishing in the
international waters of the Arctic until more scientific research
could be done on how warming seas and melting ice are affecting
fish stocks. The agreement came as an annual report on the
world’s climate…
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/17/world/europe/sea-warming-leads-to-ban-on-fishing-in-the-arctic.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=1


State Senate resolution praises papal encyclical on climate
change. The state Senate approved a resolution on Thursday
praising Pope Francis' encyclical on climate change and calling
on politicians to heed its call for better stewardship of the
environment. Gov. Jerry Brown is taking a copy of the resolution
with him to the Vatican next week for an international conference
on climate change and modern slavery.
http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-california-pope-climate-change-resolution-20150716-story.html


Study: No warming-proof polar bear trait. A study of an Alaska
polar bear population in summer concludes the bear's biology will
not help stave off starvation in the face of global warming. The
study of southern Beaufort Sea polar bears by university, federal
and private researchers over three years concludes they have no
special ability to minimize energy loss… 
http://www.insidebayarea.com/nation-world/ci_28497883/study-no-warming-proof-polar-bear-trait


All key climate change indicators were at or near record levels
in 2014, NOAA announces. The world has seen successive heat
records set and broken in recent years, and 2014 was no
different, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
reiterated yesterday in its annual State of the Climate review.
2014 was the hottest year since records began in 1880…
http://www.biomassmagazine.com/articles/12194/epa-opens-comment-period-on-cottonseed-oil-analysis


DROUGHT

Water managers dodge bullet with 'May miracle' rains. For drought
watchers, it has become known as the May miracle. At a time when
water levels in Lake Mead were getting so low that officials
prepared for drastic cutbacks, it started raining. A series of
powerful storms pummeled the mountains that feed the Colorado
River, a key source of water for California, Arizona and Nevada. 
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-may-miracle-drought-20150717-story.html#page=1


House passes California drought bill, but Senate action is
unlikely.  It was touted as the bill “where everybody wins” — a
common-sense approach to providing badly needed drought relief to
California growers, and a measure that would place the needs of
people above those of fish.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-house-drought-bill-20150716-story.html


Irrigation district told to stop pumping water. FRESNO California
issued its first cease-and-desist order on Thursday telling an
irrigation district to stop pumping water under this year's
tightened drought regulations.  The state water board said
inspectors in May observed the West Side Irrigation District in
Tracy pumping water.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/water-329293-ocprint-district-state.html

Though conditions are ripe for a blast of winter rain, it
probably won't bust the drought. Forecasters are growing
increasingly confident that warm ocean El Niño conditions will
continue through the fall and winter – possibly leading to a
drought-relieving rainy season. Rain isn't guaranteed,
forecasters warn, but given the warmth brewing in the equatorial
Pacific Ocean, downpours in California are increasingly likely
this winter.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/california-329271-ocprint-ni241o-rain.html


FUELS

State Laws On Ethanol In Gasoline: Only Seven States Require E10
Blend. Under the Renewable Fuels Standard passed in 2007, the
Federal government requires certain volumes of ethanol to be
blended into the U.S. transportation fuel supply. However, states
have discretion as to how much (or how little) ethanol goes into
fuels sold within their borders.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1099149_state-laws-on-ethanol-in-gasoline-only-seven-states-require-e10-blend


China to License DuPont Biofuel Technology.  DuPont says it will
license its biofuel technology to China’s largest cellulosic
ethanol manufacturing plant. The agreement allows Jilin Province
New Tianlong Industry’s (NTL) plant, located in Siping City,
Jilin Province, to license DuPont’s cellulosic ethanol technology
and use DuPont Accellerase enzymes to produce renewable biofuel
from the leftover biomass…
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2015/07/17/china-to-license-dupont-biofuel-technology/#ixzz3gAgoWumu


EPA opens comment period on cottonseed oil analysis. The U.S. EPA
has published a notice inviting public comment on its preliminary
analysis of the lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
attributable to the production and transport of Gossypium spp.
seed oil (cottonseed oil) feedstock for use a biofuel feedstock. 
http://www.biomassmagazine.com/articles/12194/epa-opens-comment-period-on-cottonseed-oil-analysis


Reports of fracking with diesel were incorrect – EPA. FracFocus
reports showing that oil and gas wells were fracked with diesel
fuel were erroneous, according to U.S. EPA officials. Drilling
companies either made mistakes in entering their information into
the database or changed their initial plans, agency officials
told EPA's inspector general.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2015/07/17/stories/1060021979 

VEHICLES

Startups breathe new life into the basic car battery. While the
costs of lithium ion batteries drop, is there still room to make
the lead acid battery better? In the energy sector, lithium-ion
batteries are having a moment. Not only are they powering the
hottest electric cars like those from Tesla, but they’re also
increasingly the tech of choice for companies building battery
banks for the power grid.
http://fortune.com/2015/07/17/lead-acid-battery-lithium-ion/ 

GREEN ENERGY

How long until renewable energy powers the US? The future of US
energy is looking like it will rely heavily on renewable sources.
The more difficult question is when, and at what rate, that
future will arrive. There’s little debate surrounding the
ultimate future of the energy industry. Hint: it’s renewable.
Simply put, the way of finite resources is just that – helplessly
bound to end.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Energy-Voices/2015/0716/How-long-until-renewable-energy-powers-the-US


Enel Green Power Investing $220 Million Into Mexican Wind Farm.
International clean energy developer Enel Green Power is set to
invest $220 million into a new wind farm to be developed in
Mexico. The Vientos del Altiplano wind farm will be developed in
the Mexican state of Zacatecas, and upon completion will amount
to 100 MW and will be able to generate 280 GWh annually.
http://cleantechnica.com/2015/07/17/enel-green-power-investing-220-million-mexican-wind-farm/


MISCELLANEOUS

Wondering where cap-and-trade dollars go? Website maps out
projects. A nonprofit that promotes alternative transportation
and urban density has created a website that maps out projects
funded through California’s cap-and-trade program. The tool marks
the state’s first easy-to-read geographic mapping of
cap-and-trade grants, which are now being disbursed through a
handful of state agencies.
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2015/07/17/wondering-where-cap-and-trade-dollars-go-website.html


Why are California's roads so bad? California motorists pay some
of the highest gasoline taxes in the nation. On average, states
impose a combination of taxes and fees that amount to about 30
cents a gallon, whereas California's gas tax is an astonishing 42
cents a gallon. On top of that, according to a report released
last fall by the Legislative Analyst's Office, cap-and-trade
regulations will probably lead to an additional 13- to
20-cent-a-gallon increase by 2020.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/la-oe-0717-obernolte-gas-tax-20150717-story.html


OPINIONS

When Climate Change Becomes a Climate Catastrophe. "Go Set a
Watchman" isn't the only book this year that brings new
perspective to an old story line. "Climate Shock: The Economic
Consequences of a Hotter Planet" should shift our narrative on
climate change. The old story line: People need to worry about
climate change because doubling the atmosphere's concentration of
carbon dioxide relative…
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-07-17/when-climate-change-becomes-a-climate-catastrophe


BLOGS

Regional Cap-and-Trade Shown to Save Money While Boosting Economy
and Cutting Emissions. Power plant nightTwo myths consistently
being put forward by conservative think-tanks are that government
regulation hurts the economy and that efforts to take action on
climate change will raise energy prices. These assertions are
primarily put forth through imagined scenarios, rather than
actual data.
http://www.triplepundit.com/2015/07/regional-cap-trade-shown-save-money-boosting-economy-cutting-emissions/




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