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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.


AIR POLLUTION

Progress Made on Effort to Stop L.A. Gas Leak.
A two-month effort to stop a big natural gas leak in the Los
Angeles area advanced Dec. 27 when Southern California Gas Co.
was able to target the leaking gas well several thousand feet
below ground at the Aliso Canyon storage reservoir. The
underground targeting, using magnetic ranging technology, was
essential to guide the relief well, which has been drilled to a
depth of 3,800 feet so far.
http://www.bna.com/progress-made-effort-n57982065566/ 

Air Quality Officials Consider Regulations For Barbecue Grill
Restaurants.
A good steak on a charcoal or wood-fired grill throws up a lot of
smoke. But that smoke isn't regulated by air pollution controls.
The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District is looking
to give restaurants equipment to clean up the smoke. Heather
Heinks, with the district, says the equipment can be costly, but
it would be provided for free during this trial period.
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2015/12/29/san-joaquin-air-quality-officials-consider-regulations-for-barbecue-grill-restaurants/


CLIMATE CHANGE

16 major NYC hotels pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30
percent in decade.
More than a dozen of New York City's most famed hotels are
pledging to get greener. The Waldorf-Astoria New York, the Lotte
New York Palace, the Pierre-A Taj Hotel and the Crowne Plaza
Times Square are among the 16 city hotels — all currently
thronged with tourists visiting New York for the holidays — whose
owners have agreed to cut greenhouse gases from their buildings
by 30 percent or more in the next decade.
http://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2015-12-28/major-nyc-hotels-pledge-to-cut-greenhouse-gas-emissions


Can the Planet Be Saved?
The two words “climate” and “change” are so routinely strung
together that just saying them as a pair—“climate change”—seems
to somehow obscure the full weight of the phenomenon they
describe, to say nothing of its consequences. But in those
moments when one pauses to consider the ramifications of human
activity on the planet for generations and generations ahead,
things can feel beyond bleak. And yet: This past year saw the
nations of the world reached their first-ever agreement on an
ambitious plan to rein in emissions, perhaps the most significant
progress yet made on this issue.
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/12/hope-despair-climate-change/421794/


VOLKSWAGEN

Environmental Justice Groups: Not So Fast, Musk--VW Diesels Must
Be Fixed!
U.S. regulatory agencies still haven't approved a plan to modify
the 482,000 Volkswagen 2.0-liter TDI diesel cars equipped with
"defeat device" software used to circumvent emissions laws. It
will likely cost VW billions of dollars to update the delinquent
cars, and it may not be practically possible for certain models.
That prompted 45 environmental leaders and Silicon Valley
executives, including Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk, to suggest that
VW shouldn't bother.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1101603_environmental-justice-groups-not-so-fast-musk--vw-diesels-must-be-fixed


DROUGHT

California Drought Could Spell Death for 58 Million Trees, and
That’s Terrible News For Future Water Supply.
The past four years of punishing drought have badly hurt
California’s forests. Rain was scarce, the days were too hot, and
this year’s wildfire season was the worst anyone has seen in
years, burning up nearly 10 million acres across the West. For
the first time, a team of researchers has measured the severity
of the blow the drought dealt the trees, uncovering potential
future destruction in the process. The resulting paper, published
Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is
a rich visual testament to just how much California needs its
trees and how close the state is to losing 58 million of them.  
http://www.newsweek.com/california-drought-58-million-trees-could-die-409557?rx=us


FUELS

New HPAC lignocellulose pretreatment method could accelerate
cellulosic biofuel production.
A team from Chonnam National University in Korea has developed a
new pretreatment method for lignocellulosic biomass that is more
efficient and effective for the downstream biocatalytic
hydrolysis of various lignocellulosic materials. This, they
suggest, will accelerate bioethanol commercialization. The new
hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-acetic acid (CH3COOH) (HPAC)
pretreatment removes lignin without the use of high temperatures
or strong acids.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/12/20151228-hpac.html 

VEHICLES

Chinese auto start-ups are poised to disrupt the electric car
market.
Carmakers are very slow when it comes to electric cars.
Volkswagen makes one solitary electric model, as does Mercedes.
The Toyota Prius? That's a hybrid. There's extraordinarily little
choice if you want an all-electric car — and there's even less if
you want an affordable one that's well below the sizable price
tag of the TeslaModel S. That could all change in 2016, thanks to
China's new wave of nerdy automakers. They're globally-oriented
start-ups that are looking to leap into the void left by dinosaur
juice-obsessed companies.
http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-1229-thedownload-china-electric-cars-20151229-story.html


Ford Wants To Develop Its Own Battery Chemistries For Hybrids,
Electric Cars, But Why?
When it announced a range increase for its 2017 Focus Electric
earlier this month, Ford executives also revealed an intriguing
snippet about the company's battery plans. The company is
conducting its own research into fundamental battery chemistries,
and could develop its own cells for use in future electrified
vehicles.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1101606_ford-wants-to-develop-its-own-battery-chemistries-for-hybrids-electric-cars-but-why


Buying A New Car Can Trim Your Carbon Footprint, But There's More
To It.
If you drive an older, less efficient vehicle, ever think about
swapping it for a new, more efficient one? It's a good way to
reduce your carbon footprint. But there are a lot of factors to
consider.
http://www.npr.org/2015/12/28/461304299/buying-a-new-car-can-trim-your-carbon-footprint-but-theres-more-to-it


MISCELLANEOUS

No More California Carpool-Lane Stickers For Plug-In Hybrids.
Solo carpool-lane access has proven to be one of the most
effective tools to get California drivers to buy plug-in electric
cars. But soon new drivers of plug-in hybrids in the Golden State
may no longer be able to take advantage of that perk--unlike new
drivers of battery-electric cars. The full allotment of 85,000
"green stickers" has been issued, and there will be no more
unless the state legislature authorizes it.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1101602_no-more-california-carpool-lane-stickers-for-plug-in-hybrids


What you should know about Sacramento's plastic bag ban. 
If you're out grocery shopping in Sacramento in the new year,
remember to bring your reusable shopping bags. The city's ban on
single-use plastic carryout bags goes into effect January 1st for
approximately 400 retailers. About 14 million of these bags are
handed out in the city every month and Erin Treadwell, outreach
manager for Sacramento's Recycling and Solid Waste division, said
the ban is designed to reduce that waste.
http://www.abc10.com/story/news/local/sacramento/2015/12/28/what-you-should-know-city-sacramentos-plastic-bag-ban/77980382/


BLOGS

Two Tech Giants Are Tackling Epidemic Air Pollution In China.
Air pollution in China could be big business. Two of the world's
largest technology firms, IBM and Microsoft, are vying to tap the
nascent, fast-growing market for forecasting air quality in the
world's top carbon emitters. Bouts of acrid smog enveloping
Beijing prompted authorities in the Chinese capital to declare
two unprecedented "red alerts" this month - a warning to the
city's 22 million inhabitants that heavy pollution is expected
for more than three days.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/two-tech-giants-are-tackling-epidemic-air-pollution-in-china_568297ebe4b06fa6888118a8


OP-ED: The other pollutants
Among climate scientists, the consensus is that we must become
carbon-neutral by 2050 to avoid catastrophic environmental
disruptions. Negotiators at the recent summit in Paris
accordingly focused on curbing carbon dioxide emissions. There's
a major problem, however, with a CO2-centric strategy. Because
carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for a century or more,
and because we won't abandon fossil fuels overnight, neutrality
by 2050 simply isn't good enough to keep the Earth from warming 2
degrees Celsius - the generally agreed-upon limit - much less the
ambitious goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius that many nations support.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article52022235.html




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