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ARB Newsclips for August 20, 2015. 

This is a service of the California Air Resources Board’s Office
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individual websites to view some of the following news articles.

CAP AND TRADE

Report: cap-and-trade funds overestimated. California lawmakers
have proposed spending billions more in cap-and-trade money than
is likely to be available, according to a report compiled by an
advocacy organization critical of the climate program. Under the
state's system for curbing greenhouse gases, businesses must buy
emissions credits.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/trade-334662-ocprint-cap-money.html

AIR POLLUTION

Beijing pollution awaits runners at worlds, just like ’08. The
drifting smoke from forest fires sometimes makes it difficult for
marathoner Heather Lieberg to take a deep breath during her
afternoon training runs in the hills of Montana. Even on days
when the local advisory lists the air quality as “unhealthy for
sensitive groups,” Lieberg is out there chugging away through the
hazy and hot conditions.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/beijing-pollution-awaits-runners-at-worlds-just-like-08/2015/08/20/452d4f68-4702-11e5-9f53-d1e3ddfd0cda_story.html

http://www.usnews.com/news/sports/articles/2015/08/20/beijing-pollution-awaits-runners-at-worlds-just-like-08


CLIMATE CHANGE

Global Climate Deal Under Threat. More countries need to submit
emission-reduction targets, EU climate chief warns.  A planned
global deal to keep average temperatures from rising more than
two degrees Celsius to contain climate change is under threat
unless more countries submit emission-reduction targets and
technical negotiations are substantially accelerated, the
European Union’s energy and climate commissioner warned Thursday.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/global-climate-deal-under-threat-1440071864?mod=fox_australian


Climate Boss Says EU Can Only Back a Strong Paris Deal. The
European Union will support a U.N. deal to cap global warming
only if the agreement is legally binding and includes regular
reviews to ensure words translate into deeds, Europe's climate
boss said on Thursday. With just 10 days scheduled for formal
negotiations before landmark talks begin in Paris on Nov. 30,
preparations are painfully slow.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/08/20/uk-eu-climatechange-idUKKCN0QP1J920150820

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2015/08/20/world/asia/20reuters-eu-climatechange.html


To Ease Climate Change, U.S. Should End Drilling on Federal Land:
Study. Up to 450 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases would be kept
out of the atmosphere if the U.S. government stopped leasing
federal lands to fossil fuel companies, according to a study
released on Wednesday. The government currently allows energy
companies to lease federal lands for drilling, and environmental
groups…
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2015/08/20/us/20reuters-usa-climatechange-carbon.html


Obama to Visit New Orleans for Hurricane Katrina Anniversary. 
President Obama will travel to New Orleans next week for the 10th
anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, one of the costliest disasters
in United States history. Mr. Obama will use the Aug. 27
anniversary to promote his administration’s efforts to restore
the economy and infrastructure of the region, which include
building barriers to protect against a recurrence of the
disaster…
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/20/us/president-obama-hurricane-katrina-new-orleans.html


Feeling the Heat: Earth in July Was Hottest Month on Record.
Federal officials say July was Earth's hottest month on record,
smashing old marks. July's average temperature was 61.86 degrees
Fahrenheit, beating the previous global mark set in 1998 and 2010
by about one-seventh of a degree. That's a large margin for
weather records.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/08/20/science/ap-us-sci-hottest-month.html


EU Urges G20 Countries to Make Climate Goals Public. The European
Union is urging major emerging industrialized powers to make
public their emissions targets ahead of a key climate conference
in December.  Top EU climate official Miguel Arias Canete called
Thursday on Argentina, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia,
South Africa and Turkey to submit goals to the United Nations.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/08/20/world/europe/ap-eu-europe-climate.html


One of the world’s fastest melting glaciers may have just lost
its biggest chunk of ice on record. While examining satellite
images of Greenland’s massive Jakobshavn glacier over the
weekend, members of the Arctic Sea Ice Forum noticed something
odd: Between August 14 and August 16, it appeared as though a
huge chunk of ice — which some guessed might be the largest ever
observed — broke away from the glacier’s face.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/08/19/one-of-the-worlds-fastest-melting-glaciers-may-have-just-lost-its-biggest-chunk-of-ice-ever/
 

Global warming worsened the California drought, scientists say.
California’s drought was spawned by natural weather variations
that have bedeviled the West throughout recorded history. But a
new study released Thursday says human-caused global warming is
worsening the natural phenomenon.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/08/20/scientists-say-global-warming-has-made-californias-drought-25-percent-worse/


Why lawmaker says climate-change bill is actually good for
business. Over the last 15 years, Fran Pavley has stood at the
forefront of the most progressive and controversial energy
policies in the state of California. She is the author of
Assembly Bill 32, which established the state’s cap-and-trade
program. The Agoura Hills state Senator, a Democrat who served in
the Assembly until 2006…
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2015/08/19/why-lawmaker-says-climate-change-bill-is-actually.html


In climate change era, new idea for conservation takes shape.
Conservation has long been about protecting communities of plants
and animals where they are. But climate change is leading to a
nascent form of conservation that embraces change and instead
seeks to provide a thriving stage on which it can happen.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2015/0820/In-climate-change-era-new-idea-for-conservation-takes-shape


Climate stance of Australian politicians 'disturbing' – US
Geological Survey chief. Chief scientist Virginia Burkett says:
‘I thought it was just a US problem but it’s not, apparently,
it’s a global problem’. A senior US government official has
decried a “disturbing” rejection of climate science by Australian
politicians. Virginia Burkett, chief scientist for climate and
land-use change at the US Geological Survey…
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/aug/20/climate-stance-of-australian-politicians-disturbing-us-geological-survey-chief?utm_source=Daily%20Carbon%20Briefing&utm_campaign=32f421ed6c-cb_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_876aab4fd7-32f421ed6c-303452465


Climate change and the California drought cause farmers to
experience record early harvests. Will these changes impact
grape, almond and major California crops? On July 24, winemaker
Abe Schoener began picking his first pinot grigio grapes. It was
the earliest start of harvest in Schoener's grape-growing career.
Other Sacramento and California farmers also have experienced
record early harvests…
https://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/climate-change-the-california/content?oid=18026315


Reduced carbon emission estimates from fossil fuel combustion and
cement production in China. Nearly three-quarters of the growth
in global carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels and
cement production between 2010 and 2012 occurred in China1, 2.
Yet estimates of Chinese emissions remain subject to large
uncertainty; inventories of China’s total fossil fuel carbon
emissions in 2008 differ by 0.3 gigatonnes of carbon…
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v524/n7565/full/nature14677.html


Montana reviews proposal for climate change ballot initiative. A
retired clergyman and a one-time political candidate have teamed
up in an effort to put global warming mitigation to a statewide
vote in 2016. John Soderberg, former minister of the Bozeman
United Methodist Church, submitted on Wednesday a ballot
initiative to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released from
electricity generators in Montana.
http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/montana-reviews-proposal-for-climate-change-ballot-initiative/article_3831ef7c-f769-588c-859c-8449b44c0fd5.html


DROUGHT

California land quickly sinking in drought costs farmers. Land in
Central California's agricultural region is sinking so quickly
because of the state's historic drought that it is forcing
farmers to spend millions of dollars upgrading irrigation canals
and putting roads, bridges and other infrastructure at risk.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CALIFORNIA_DROUGHT_SINKING_LAND?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


OTHER RELATED STORIES
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/08/20/us/ap-us-california-drought-sinking-land.html


Wildfires Wreak Havoc in Drought-Choked Western States. Wildfires
rampaged across the drought-choked West on Thursday as
authorities scrambled for resources to beat back the flames. The
blazes took a deadly turn in Washington state, where three
firefighters were killed and four more injured. Here's a look at
large wildfires burning in several Western states…
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_WESTERN_WILDFIRES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


OTHER RELATED STORIES
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/08/20/us/ap-us-western-wildfires.html


Study Sees Dying Wildlife, Bigger Fires if Drought Lasts. The
carcasses of salmon, trout and more than a dozen other newly
extinct native species lie in dry streambeds around California.
Exhausted firefighters in the Sierra Nevada battle some of the
biggest wildfires they've ever seen.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CALIFORNIA_DROUGHT_CRISES_TO_COME_1ST_LD_WRITETHRU?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
 

OTHER RELATED STORIES
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/08/20/us/ap-us-california-drought-crises-to-come-1st-ld-writethru.html
http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060023693  

Climate Change Intensifies California Drought, Scientists Say.
Global warming caused by human emissions has most likely
intensified the drought in California by roughly 15 to 20
percent, scientists said Thursday, warning that future dry spells
in the state are almost certain to be worse than this one as the
world continues to heat up.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/21/science/climate-change-intensifies-california-drought-scientists-say.html


California: Pumping of Water Speeds Sinking of Land. Vast areas
of California’s Central Valley are sinking faster than in the
past as huge amounts of groundwater are pumped during the
drought, NASA said in research released Wednesday. In some
places, the ground is sinking nearly two inches each month,
putting surface infrastructure at growing risk of damage.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/20/us/california-pumping-of-water-speeds-sinking-of-land.html?mabReward=CTM&moduleDetail=recommendations-1&action=click&contentCollection=U.S.®ion=Footer&module=WhatsNext&version=WhatsNext&contentID=WhatsNext&src=recg&pgtype=article


Another 2 or 3 years of drought? Report looks at what it might
mean. Should the current drought extend for another two or three
years, most California cities and much of the state's agriculture
would be able to manage, but the toll on small rural communities
dependent on well-water and on wetlands and wildlife could be
extensive. That was the assessment of a new study…
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-what-if-drought-continues-20150819-story.html


California drought: Climate change plays a role, study says. But
how big? A growing number of scientists have made the claim that
climate change is at least partly responsible for California's
crippling drought. Now researchers have estimated the extent to
which humans are to blame: between 8% and 27%. In other words,
without heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions causing
temperatures to rise…
http://www.latimes.com/science/la-sci-climate-change-drought-20150820-story.html
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/08/20/stories/1060023693 


The Climate Change ‘Bully’ in California’s Drought. There’s a
drought in California. Perhaps you’ve heard a few things about
it. Like the fact that it’s cost the state $2.7 billion in
losses, helped burn up roughly 118,000 acres of forest this year
to date and inspired Los Angeles to release a 96 million-strong
armada of shade balls into reservoirs (though it was apparently a
PR stunt).
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/climate-change-bully-california-drought-19354


How Much Of California’s Drought Was Caused By Climate Change?
Scientists Now Have The Answer. Over the last few years, as
California’s historic, four-year drought has intensified,
scientists have found clues linking the extreme weather event to
human-caused climate change. Now, a new study is the first to
estimate just how much climate change contributed to the drought.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/08/20/3692972/quantifying-climate-change-in-californias-drought/
 

FUELS

Oil price falls on surprise climb in US crude supplies. The price
of oil fell to its lowest closing price in almost six and a half
years Wednesday on new data showing that U.S. crude inventories
rose at a time of year when they are typically in decline. Shares
of the world's biggest oil companies were battered after the
report, with Exxon Mobil, BP, Marathon Oil, Chevron and
ConocoPhillips all sliding to multiyear lows.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OIL_COMPANIES_STOCKS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Cheap Oil’s Making It Tough for Ethanol to Pay the Bills. Cheap
crude oil may make it hard for ethanol companies to pay their
bills on time. The lowest oil prices in six years are hitting
biofuel producers two ways: They’re making ethanol less
attractive as a blend for gasoline, and emboldening the arguments
of petroleum backers who say the U.S. law mandating consumption
of the fuel alternative is obsolete…
http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-NTCHBT6JIJUQ01-03AJPBFIRRI15CSUG7645KQ02D

GREEN ENERGY

UK may use EU small print to swerve impact of green cuts. Britain
is thinking of using an EU loophole to dodge the impact of its
own subsidy cuts on renewable energy and escape fines for missing
2020 European renewable targets. Under EU rules Britain could use
the loophole, termed statistical transfer, which would see it pay
other, greener, EU countries overshooting their targets, to make
up the difference.
http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL5N10V2AS20150820


EU Debate on Green Energy Targets Pitches UK Against Germany.
Britain and Germany will line up on opposite sides of a European
Union green energy debate starting next month on how to meet
agreed renewable energy targets for the next decade. The 28
member states agreed climate and energy goals last October, but
to make it easier to get a deal, the decision went only as far as
a framework.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2015/08/19/world/europe/19reuters-eu-energy-targets.html


State offers new incentives for home heating. New incentives are
available from the state for residential and industrial wood
heating systems, according to a media release from NYSERDA. The
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority recently
announced increased levels of support through Renewable Heat NY
for high-efficiency, low-emission wood heating systems to improve
the return-on-investment for homeowners and businesses.
http://www.thedailystar.com/news/local_news/state-offers-new-incentives-for-home-heating/article_14b9e9b1-c947-56b5-b415-41ce48fed8b4.html

 
New cell taps captured CO2 for a range of clean energy uses. A
simple electrochemical cell could turn carbon dioxide from the
air into materials used in many clean energy applications,
researchers have found. At scale, the setup could produce carbon
nanofibers in a way that actually reduces greenhouse gas
concentrations in the atmosphere.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/08/20/stories/1060023692 

MISCELLANEOUS

For Latinos, Environment Seems Just As Important As Immigration.
An increasing amount of research suggests the environment — an
issue that has long been seen within the purview of progressive,
white liberals — is now increasingly important to Latinos. A new
poll conducted by Latino Decisions (a polling firm focusing on
Hispanics in America) on behalf of two environmental nonprofit
groups…
http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/08/19/432774289/for-latinos-environment-seems-just-as-important-as-immigration


OPINIONS

The World’s Hot Spot. Here’s my bet about the future of Sunni,
Shiite, Arab, Turkish, Kurdish and Israeli relations: If they
don’t end their long-running conflicts, Mother Nature is going to
destroy them all long before they destroy one another. Let me
point out a few news items you may have missed while debating the
Iran nuclear deal. On July 31, USA Today reported that in Bandar
Mahshahr, Iran, a city adjacent to the Persian Gulf…
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/19/opinion/thomas-friedman-the-worlds-hot-spot.html?ribbon-ad-idx=4&src=me&module=Ribbon&version=origin®ion=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Most%20Emailed&pgtype=article&_r=0

GOP presidential wannabes have no clue about drought.
California’s severe drought has proven to be an opportunity to
rethink the state’s complex water policies and improve its
resilience. Unfortunately, it also is proving to be an
opportunity to make political points.  In the past few days,
several Republican candidates for president have weighed in,
essentially blaming the drought on Democrats…
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article31547585.html#storylink=cpy

Another View: Big Oil is gouging Californians.  The math is so
simple, anyone should be able to grasp it: Triple the gasoline
prices + Triple oil refiner profits = Golden State Gouging.
Instead, Dan Walters ignores facts and misuses gas pricing data
to wrongly blame environmental standards for unprecedented pain
at the pump that is the result of historic oil industry
profiteering (“Steyer’s flunking logic test,” Aug. 12).
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article31551845.html#storylink=cpy


Obama's Clean Power Plan is bad news for California. The White
House recently released its Clean Power Plan, which aims to
reduce the nation’s carbon dioxide emissions by 32 percent by
2030. Almost immediately, California Gov. Jerry Brown praised the
plan, claimed it should be the model for international agreements
and touted California’s own statewide plans. But California’s
carbon control program should be a warning…
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/power-678408-california-plan.html


BLOGS

On a Climate Roll: EPA Starts to Tackle Methane, Following
Historic Carbon Pollution Standards. Earlier this month, the U.S.
EPA took the historic step of setting the first-ever standards
for carbon dioxide pollution from power plants, our nation's
largest source of climate pollution. This week, the agency took
another step forward by starting the process of addressing the
second-largest industrial source of climate pollution: rampant
methane pollution from the oil and gas industry.
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/mgeertsma/on_a_climate_roll_epa_starts_t.html





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