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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for January 21, 2016
Posted: 21 Jan 2016 12:03:05
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. AIR POLLUTION EPA to finalize suite of methane rules this spring. U.S. EPA plans to roll out a suite of rules covering methane emissions from new oil and gas industry operations this spring as part of a broader post-Paris climate agenda, the agency's acting air chief said this week. But Janet McCabe indicated the agency is not currently looking into national rules for existing facilities, a key ask of environmentalists in the wake of the massive methane leak from a natural gas storage facility in Southern California. http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/01/21/stories/1060030955 ALISO CANYON How much methane gas has been released due to the Porter Ranch gas leak? The Aliso Canyon natural gas leak was detected on Oct. 23, and since then it’s plume has forced the relocation of thousands of residents in nearby Porter Ranch. Many have said they are ill. And others say their pets have died or have become sick. The rate of release of methane has been steadily dropping since late November, according to recent California Air Resources Board data. http://www.dailynews.com/general-news/20160120/how-much-methane-gas-has-been-released-due-to-the-porter-ranch-gas-leak Residents urge complete shutdown of Los Angeles facility. Residents who live near the California natural gas storage facility where methane has been leaking since October urged a hearing board yesterday to impose harsh penalties against the utility running the site. People from the affected Porter Ranch community spoke for more than two hours at a meeting of the South Coast Air Quality Management District's (AQMD) advisory hearing board. The board, which operates independently, is weighing sanctions against Southern California Gas Co. http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/01/21/stories/1060030954 CLIMATE CHANGE Bolivia’s Vanished Lake Is a Glimpse of the Future of Climate Change. Overturned fishing skiffs lie abandoned on the shores of what was Bolivia’s second-largest lake. Beetles dine on bird carcasses and gulls fight for scraps under a glaring sun in what marshes remain. Lake Poopo was officially declared evaporated last month. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people have lost their livelihoods and gone. http://time.com/4188262/bolivias-vanished-lake-climate-change/ China Emissions From Coal Power Likely Fell 2% in 2015. China’s emissions of climate-warming carbon dioxide produced from burning coal probably fell 2 percent in 2015 as a result of the reduced use of the fossil fuel in the power sector. That equates to 144.9 million metric tons of carbon emissions that didn’t enter the atmosphere because of the retreat from coal, according to a Bloomberg New Energy Finance analysis of data from the China Electricity Council and the National Energy Administration. http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-O18H346KLVR701-3BC4M9268SC3N59ES1IHIB81SS How attitudes about global warming compare to the actual warming of the globe. The bars in red on the graph below are the 20 hottest years on human record. There were hotter years, like when the Earth was still mostly molten rock. But since mankind has had the capability to actually measure temperatures around the world, the 20 bars below indicate the hottest years we've seen. You may notice a pattern. Of those 20 years, 15 have been since 2001, with 2015 setting a new record high. A goal of those seeking to slow global warming is to keep the Earth's temperatures from getting more than 2 degrees Celsius above the 20th century average. The year 2015 was at 0.9 degrees above the average. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/01/20/how-attitudes-about-global-warming-compare-to-the-actual-warming-of-the-globe/ DROUGHT California Drought Improves; 2015 Warmest Year On Record. Recent storms have brought more improvement, however slight, in the historic four-year drought in California over the past week. The U.S. Drought Monitor says the percentage of severe and extreme drought was reduced in extreme northwestern California and southwestern and south-central Oregon. http://www.capradio.org/articles/2016/01/21/california-drought-improves-2015-warmest-year-on-record/ California has 'a shot out of the drought' if El Niño rain persists. With a couple of weeks of rain and snow behind them and more on the horizon for the Sierra Nevada in Northern California, state water officials expressed cautious hope that this El Niño season could lift California out of its historic drought. “The recent rains have put us on a good trajectory to perhaps have a shot out of the drought if it were to continue at the current rate,” said Doug Carlson, a spokesman with the California Department of Water Resources. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-el-nino-rain-reservoir-snowpack-averages-20160120-story.html VEHICLES Utility to roll out more electric vehicle charging stations. Southern California Edison will install 1,500 charging stations for electric vehicles under a pilot program that has received the green-light from state regulators. If the program is a success, the utility hopes to expand it to as many as 30,000 charging stations throughout its 50,000-square-mile service area. http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_29409062/utility-roll-out-more-electric-vehicle-charging-stations DOE announces $58M in funding for advanced vehicle technologies. US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz used the Washington DC Auto show as the venue to announce $58 million in funding for vehicle technology advancements. (Earlier post.) (DE-FOA-0001384: Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Vehicle Technologies Program Wide Funding Opportunity Announcement) DOE also released a report highlighting the successes of itsAdvanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) loan program. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/01/20160121-doe58.html Honda to launch hydrogen fuel-cell car in California this year. Honda Motor Co Ltd said on Thursday its hydrogen fuel cell car, dubbed Clarity Fuel Cell, will be launched in California before the end of 2016. The new 5-passenger sedan is expected to be priced at around $60,000 with a monthly lease of under $500, Honda said in a statement released at the D.C. Auto show. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-honda-clarityfuelcell-idUSKCN0UZ222?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews Electric-Car Buyers Expect Battery Upgrades To Be Available. With battery-electric cars now on the market for five years, and perhaps 200,000 on U.S. roads, we now know more about how the cars and their drivers behave in the real world than we did when they first arrived. One learning is that an undercurrent among some electric-car buyers that suggests they fully expect carmakers to offer future battery upgrades that provides significant range boosts. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1101965_electric-car-buyers-expect-battery-upgrades-to-be-available The Solar Powered Electric Car From Back In 1960 (Video). Some electric cars use roof-mounted solar panels to provide supplementary electric power. In fact, a solar roof seems to have become an obligatory accessory on electric and plug-in hybrid concept cars. But the idea of a solar-powered electric car is far from new. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1101986_the-solar-powered-electric-car-from-back-in-1960-video MISCELLANEOUS 'Great Green Fleet' using biofuels deployed by U.S. Navy. The U.S. Navy formally deployed its "Great Green Fleet" on Wednesday, sending warships powered by alternative energy to conduct operations in the Pacific three years after controversy over the price of developing new fuels provoked a fight in Congress. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack kicked off the deployment in a ceremony at Naval Air Station North Island near San Diego, saying the use of biofuels would improve the Navy's operational flexibility while boosting the U.S. rural economy. http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL2N1542H4 BLOGS Hydrogen Fuels Cells Could Be In Your Next Car. Watch How They Work. Toyota showcased its hydrogen fuel cell vehicle for the mass market, called the Mirai, at the 2016 San Francisco Auto Show last November. “Once we extract hydrogen out of things, it’s a limitless source of fuel,” said Chris Petschler, product specialist at Toyota. “We don’t burn it, so it’s completely clean.” Petschler says Toyota sees this as the fuel of the future. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/toyota-mirai-hydrogen-fuel-cell_us_56a10492e4b076aadcc56fd6 California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.