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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for December 23, 2015.
Posted: 23 Dec 2015 14:48:53
ARB Newsclips for December 23, 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 Japan considering cap and trade under climate deal. Japanese officials are considering launching an emissions trading program as a way to reduce the nation's carbon pollution. Bloomberg News reported Tuesday that a cap-and-trade market is one of a handful of proposals the Japanese are contemplating after the country committed to cutting its greenhouse gases as part of an international climate deal … http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/264038-japan-considering-cap-and-trade-under-climate-deal AIR POLLUTION Court order seeks to hasten relocation of residents near Porter Ranch gas leak. Los Angeles city officials on Tuesday filed a restraining order against Southern California Gas Co. over its leaking well above Porter Ranch that has forced more than 2,000 residents to flee their homes because of ill effects from the escaping natural gas. http://www.dailynews.com/general-news/20151222/court-order-seeks-to-hasten-relocation-of-residents-near-porter-ranch-gas-leak http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/12/23/la-city-attorney-seeks-court-order-against-socal-gas-company-in-response-to-porter-ranch-leak/ Manufacturers, businesses sue over ozone rule. The industry groups most critical of new smog rules from the Obama administration are suing over those standards. The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed lawsuits against the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) limits on surface level ozone on Wednesday. http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/264089-manufacturers-businesses-sue-over-ozone-rule CLIMATE CHANGE Cities join defense of EPA's key carbon rule. The National League of Cities, which represents over 19,000 U.S. cities, filed a motion in a federal court Tuesday to support the Obama administration's push to curb carbon emissions against legal challenges. The NLC joined the U.S. Conference of Mayors, as well as 13 cities from Baltimore… http://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-usa-cleanpowerplan-idUSKBN0U520H20151222 The Home Depot Exceeds 2015 Carbon Reduction Goals. The Home Depot has reduced its supply chain carbon emissions by 35 percent in 2015 over 2008 levels, significantly surpassing the 20 percent reduction goal it set in 2010, according to the company’s 2015 Sustainability Report. The Home Depot also reported that its stores have reduced energy use by 30 percent over 2004 levels… http://www.environmentalleader.com/2015/12/23/the-home-depot-exceeds-2015-carbon-reduction-goals/#ixzz3vA7DSYXq Palo Alto: Summit planned to update climate action plan. Now that the city has assembled a 100 percent carbon-neutral electricity portfolio, officials want input from the public about what environmental goals they should target next. Residents can help update the city's Climate Action Plan at the Sustainability and Climate Action Plan Summit on Jan. 24. http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/general-news/20151223/palo-alto-summit-planned-to-update-climate-action-plan Weather Not Warming GOP Lawmakers to Climate Change. Now that it's pushing 70 degrees in the Northeast in December, some congressmen are staying fairly silent. It's been 10 months since scientists around the world nearly had a collective aneurism after the head of the Senate environment committee hefted a snowball on TV to demonstrate that "very unseasonable" cold temperatures… http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015-12-22/remember-the-congressmen-who-said-global-warming-doesnt-exist-because-its-cold Brazil declares emergency after 2,400 babies are born with brain damage, possibly due to mosquito-borne virus. Brazilian health auth orities are sounding the alarm about a mosquito-borne virus that they believe may be the cause of thousands of infants being born with damaged brains.The pathogen, known as Zika and first discovered in forest monkeys in Africa over 70 years ago, is the new West Nile -- a virus that causes mild symptoms in most but can lead to serious neurological complications or even death in others. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2015/12/23/brazil-declares-emergency-after-2400-babies-are-born-with-brain-damage-possibly-due-to-mosquito-borne-virus/ Building Energy Codes in 2015: A Foundation of Cutting Climate Pollution. The Paris climate talks gave strong impetus to the world's determination to curtail climate pollution through policies that create jobs and economic growth while simultaneously cutting emissions. While they may be a lower profile solution, improved building codes are a cornerstone of a successful climate policy. http://www.theenergycollective.com/nrdcswitchboard/2304592/building-energy-codes-2015-foundation-cutting-climate-pollution U.S. Bread Basket Shifts Thanks to Climate Change. Farming across the Midwest will be challenged by a shifting climate and may struggle to keep up crop production. In September 2014, a group of leading plant and agricultural researchers sat down at Washington University in St. Louis to discuss a looming question -- how will agriculture in the Midwest be affected by climate change? This wasn't just an academic exercise. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/u-s-bread-basket-shifts-thanks-to-climate-change/ DROUGHT California snowpack exceeds average for first time in years. A series of powerful snowstorms in the Sierra Nevada has resulted in a small milestone in drought-stricken California: The snowpack is now higher than average for this time of year. The storms, which are likely to continue into Friday, have fattened the mountain snowpack to levels California hasn't seen for two years… http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-snowpack-20151222-story.html http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_29298325/bay-area-storm-heavy-rain-departs-heavy-winds The drought plus El Nino increases the threat of mudslides. A n intense October rainstorm that pounded the Grapevine's barren hillsides offered a sober preview of what El Niño might unleash in the rest of drought-stricken Southern California. The rain hit the dry, hardened terrain where the drought had shriveled vegetation. The topsoil easily gave way, with mudflows cascading onto Interstate 5… http://www.latimes.com/local/weather/la-me-el-nino-drought-20151223-story.html Wet Storms Making Positive Impact On California Drought. Storms have consistently rolled through our region recently, but the question we’ve gotten over and over is are they really making a dent on our drought? This is the winter Bill Proffit has been waiting for. http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2015/12/23/wet-storms-making-positive-impact-on-california-drought/ Tahoe gets 6.4 billion gallons of water in 24 hrs. More than 6 billion gallons of water have poured into Lake Tahoe in less than two days, helping the lake begin to recover from four years of crushing drought. Since midnight Monday, the lake has gone up 1.92 inches, the equivalent of 6.39 billion gallons of water. http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Tahoe-gets-6-4-billion-gallons-of-water-in-24-hrs-6715363.php?cmpid=brknow No surprise to Washington residents: Our drought is over. The state’s drought declaration, which was declared back in early March, will be allowed to expire thanks to a series of favorable snowstorms. But officials also warn that it’s too early to celebrate. The snowpack is at or above normal across the Cascades, eliminating drought in Western Washington and reducing drought from extreme to moderate… http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/weather/no-surprise-to-washingtonians-our-drought-is-over/ FUELS FuelCell Energy pathway for hydrogen from digester gas has negative carbon intensity for CA LCFS. Connecticut-based FuelCell Energy (FCE) has applied for a prospective pathway for California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) for the production of hydrogen fuel produced from biogas derived from the mesophilic anaerobic digestion of wastewater sludge at a publicly owned treatment works (POTW). http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/12/20151223-fce.html VEHICLES When Electric-Car Drivers Learn How Gas Cars Work: Video. One of the major tasks of electric-car advocates is getting people used to the idea of cars with plugs. For some people, driving around in near silence and plugging in at charging stations can take some getting used to. But what if someone has driven only electric cars, and decided to see what an "old-fashioned" internal-combustion car was like? http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1101554_when-electric-car-drivers-learn-how-gas-cars-work-video VW RECALL VW Sales In U.S., Europe Slammed By Diesel Emission Scandal. It's been a little more than three months since the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal erupted into the public eye. Over that time, VW has revealed multiple violations of emissions rules across the globe for roughly 11 million of its TDI diesel cars sold not only by Volkswagen but also Audi and Porsche. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1101538_vw-sales-in-u-s-europe-slammed-by-diesel-emission-scandal GREEN ENERGY Batteries Gaining Favor Over Gas Peaker Plants in California. Southern California Edison is embracing energy-storage technology over the natural gas-fired peaker plants that utilities have traditionally relied upon to meet sudden shortfalls in electricity. “If the requirement is just, ‘Hey we’re just short energy or capacity,’ then yes, energy storage is going to be the solution before probably a peaker,”… http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-22/batteries-gaining-favor-over-gas-peaker-plants-in-california Canadian Solar Sells Second Project to Concord Green Energy. Canadian Solar Inc. sold a 10-megawatt plant in Ontario to Concord Green Energy Inc., the second deal between the two companies this week. The Earthlight LP solar park in Georgina, Ontario, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Toronto, was valued at C$69.4 million ($50 million), according to a statement today from Guelph… http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-23/canadian-solar-sells-second-project-to-concord-green-energy China struggles to use wind power to avert toxic, 'red alert' smog. Last year, when her relatives came to visit Beijing, Wang Yuefei took them to photograph the Bird's Nest, a stadium built for the 2008 Summer Olympics and one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city. But if the visitors came this year, they wouldn't have had the chance -- the stadium is now shrouded in charcoal-gray smog and is barely visible. http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060029923 MISCELLANEOUS Comcast to pay $26 million for mishandling hazardous waste [The Philadelphia Inquirer]. Comcast Corp. has agreed to pay nearly $26 million to settle a California investigation into improperly disposing hazardous waste and failing to shred discarded customer records. California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris said that the Philadelpia cable giant's "careless and unlawful hazardous waste… http://www.bloomberg.com/research/markets/news/article.asp?docKey=600-201512230001KRTRIB__BUSNEWS_47728_32567-1 OPINIONS Letters: Incentivize, don't scold, to cut carbon use. Re: “Practice what you preach on climate” [Letters, Dec. 21]: John Jaeger’s criticism of climate rallies is correct, but not in the way he thinks. It’s true that many activists drive or even fly to attend events. That’s a clear indication that we will never solve the problem of reducing emissions by asking people to sacrifice or give up their lifestyles. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/climate-697042-people-dec.html Valley Voice: Look to California for biodiesel targets. The state took a historic step earlier this year in its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions when the California Air Resources Board (CARB) voted unanimously to finalize the state’s low carbon fuels standard. http://www.desertsun.com/story/opinion/2015/12/23/valley-voice-look-california-biodiesel-targets/77706414/ Tri-Valley letters: Climate change 'consensus' is anything but. Climate change 'consensus' is anything but In a recent letter to the editor from Jan Weiss, she bemoans climate deniers and asks what "magical secrets" and sources they have that differ from her so-called "consensus" of 30,000 scientists. Well, let's start with the fact that these 30,000 (bogus number) are not all climate scientists and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (which claims such consensus)… http://www.insidebayarea.com/letters/ci_29299733/tri-valley-letters-climate-change-consensus-is-anything BLOGS Obama Has Been More Friend Than Foe to Oil Industry. When President Barack Obama first took office in 2009, he was expected to be an adversary of oil and gas companies, seen as polluters of the environment. He hasn’t been. Last week, Mr. Obama gave the oil and gas industry its biggest priority of the past two years: lifting the 40-year-old ban on oil exports, which he signed into law as part of broader spending and tax legislation. http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/12/23/obama-has-been-more-friend-than-foe-to-oil-industry/ What Went Wrong at Porter Ranch? Before she retired in 2014, Anneliese Anderle was a field engineer for the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermic Resources, which regulates oil drilling. She worked out of offices in Bakersfield, Cypress and Ventura, and for a while she was responsible for monitoring the massive natural gas storage field at Aliso Canyon. http://www.laweekly.com/news/what-went-wrong-at-porter-ranch-6405804 The Year in Clean Vehicles - Saving Money and Cleaning the Air. Part of NRDC's Year-End Series Reviewing 2015 Energy Developments. In signing the Paris Agreement, nations across the world are taking a much-needed step toward cutting carbon pollution from fossil fuel use and fortunately, the United States has a strong start--particularly in the traditionally oil-dependent transportation sector. Strong fuel efficiency and clean vehicle standards… http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/ltonachel/the_year_in_clean_vehicles_sav.html Army on the front line of fight against climate change. From the pope to the president to Paris, there is a growing national and international discussion about the causes of climate change and what actions, if any, should be taken by policymakers. The U.S. Army, however, does not have the luxury of engaging in this debate – instead, we must respond to the effects of climate change that are already affecting our mission. http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-environment/263944-army-on-the-front-line-of-fight-against-climate-change California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.