What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for February 10, 2016. 

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

How Obama picked up the pieces on climate change. Harry Reid
delivered the bad news to the White House: President Obama’s
hopes for the Senate to approve a historic cap-and-trade bill
were dead. Even with a near-supermajority of 59 seats, opposition
in Obama’s own party ahead of the 2010 midterm elections meant
the bill had no chance of passage, the Senate Democratic leader
said.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/268852-how-obama-picked-up-the-pieces-on-climate-change


AIR POLLUTION

Smog's Health Effects Persist for Decades, Study Finds.  Air
pollution can increase the risk of premature death, even decades
later, one of the longest running air pollution studies suggests.
British scientists found the negative health effects of air
pollution -- such as a higher risk of lung and heart disease --
can persist for more than 30 years.
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2016-02-09/smogs-health-effects-persist-for-decades-study-finds


The Most-Polluted National Parks in the U.S. The National Parks
system celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. Despite its
reputation for providing a seemingly pristine showcase for the
United States’ many natural wonders, the National Parks
Conservation Association recently uncovered numerous
environmental problems plaguing the country's popular nature
reserves.
https://weather.com/science/environment/news/dirtiest-national-parks-in-the-us


ALISO CANYON

How Do You Stop the Biggest Gas Leak Ever? Inside the efforts to
plug SoCalGas’s methane disaster.  Steve Conley got the call
early on Nov. 5. A natural gas storage well was leaking methane
into the air at Aliso Canyon, near a Los Angeles suburb, and no
one knew just how bad it was—could he get a read on it? Conley,
an atmospheric scientist and a pilot, rushed to a small airport
northeast of Sacramento.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-10/how-do-you-stop-the-biggest-gas-leak-ever


Sorting out Porter Ranch facts vs. rumors. The leak at the Aliso
Canyon natural gas storage facility has given rise to lots of
questions and rumors among residents of Porter Ranch and adjacent
communities. Here is a rundown of some of the most persistent
rumors and what we've been able to find out. Did the leak really
begin Oct. 23?
http://www.scpr.org/news/2016/02/10/57348/sorting-out-porter-ranch-facts-vs-rumors/


CLIMATE CHANGE

Supreme Court puts Obama's Clean Power Plan on hold.  A divided
Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to halt enforcement of President
Barack Obama's sweeping plan to address climate change until
after legal challenges are resolved. The surprising move is a
blow to the administration and a victory for the coalition of 27
mostly Republican-led states and industry opponents that call the
regulations "an unprecedented power grab."
http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article59392433.html
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-court-obama-climate-change-20160209-story.html
 
http://www.capradio.org/news/npr/story?storyid=466258777 
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2016/02/09/supreme-court-obama-power-plant-climate-change/80088528/
 

Obama Vows to Push Ahead With Clean Energy After Supreme Court
Setback. The Supreme Court put Obama's signature plan to address
climate change on hold. The administration of President Barack
Obama is vowing to press ahead with efforts to curtail greenhouse
gas emissions after a divided Supreme Court put his signature
plan to address climate change on hold until after legal
challenges are resolved.
http://time.com/4215241/obama-clean-power-supreme-court/  

West Likely to Be Stormier With Climate Change. The types of
storms that have been bringing heavy snow and rain to the West
this winter, triggering landslides and floods while easing
stubborn droughts, are likely to become stronger and more
frequent, according to the results of a conclusive new study.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/west-likely-stormier-with-climate-change-20009?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+climatecentral%2FdjOO+Climate+Central+-+Full+Feed


Is Obama's signature climate rule doomed? The Supreme Court sent
a shot across the bow to the Obama administration yesterday,
throwing the fate of its landmark climate change rule into doubt.
The unprecedented move from the high court to stall the
regulation while a lower court hears the case blindsided
supporters of the regulation while giving critics reason to
believe the justices will ultimately torpedo the rule.
http://www.eenews.net/eedaily/2016/02/10/stories/1060032134 

Winds of climate change will make transatlantic flights longer,
study shows. Faster jet stream will add thousands of hours to
journey times and increase airline fuel bills. Airline flights
are known to worsen climate change but now climate change is set
to worsen flight times, according to new research. The work shows
faster jet stream winds will delay transatlantic flights…
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/feb/10/climate-change-will-make-transatlantic-flights-longer-study-shows


BP’s Bob Dudley Urges Global Carbon Price To Meet Paris Climate
Change Goals. The head of one of the world’s largest oil and gas
companies urged governments Wednesday to adopt a global price on
carbon dioxide emissions. BP Plc’s chief executive Bob Dudley
said policymakers must create the right incentives for investing
in renewable energy and other lower-carbon energy supplies.
http://www.ibtimes.com/bps-bob-dudley-urges-global-carbon-price-meet-paris-climate-change-goals-2301665


DROUGHT

When it comes to saving water, Southern Californians are tapped
out — or are they? After months of responding to calls to save
water, Southern Californians say they've hit a wall. Nearly 9 in
10 respondents say they strongly or somewhat agree that "I've
already cut back on water use at my home as much as I can" and
"There's not much more I can do to save water…
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-drought-survey-20160210-story.html


California’s drought adds $2 billion in electricity costs. It’s
one of the lesser-known costs of California’s drought: the
drying-up of the state’s normally abundant cheap hydroelectric
power. A hydro shortage has raised California’s electricity costs
by a combined $2 billion the past four years, according to a
report released Tuesday by the Pacific Institute, a water policy
think tank based in Oakland.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article59396703.html#storylink=cpy


A dry spell in Sacramento during El Nino is par for the course.
The National Weather Service provides some solace for those who
worry that February’s dry spell might mean that rainfall won’t
return. The experts at the government weather bureau in Arden
Arcade say they have been asked recently if it is unusual to go
through a dry spell in an El Nino year. While Northern California
is in the midst of an El Nino…
http://www.sacbee.com/news/weather/article59528466.html#storylink=cpy


FUELS

Why one consumer advocate blames a mysterious ship for helping
keep California gas prices high. There's an unusual new entry to
the long list of reasons why Californians spent the last year
paying significantly more for gasoline than other U.S. drivers: a
mystery ship. The explosion at Exxon Mobil's huge Torrance
refinery a year ago undoubtedly was a major factor contributing
to high gasoline prices in California…
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-exxon-gasoline-tanker-20160209-story.html


Energy agency says gasoline will average under $2 in 2016. For
the first time since 2004, U.S. drivers are expected to pay an
average of less than $2 a gallon for gasoline, the government
said Tuesday. They can thank the huge glut of oil around the
globe.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its monthly
short-term energy outlook that regular gasoline will average
$1.98 a gallon nationwide in 2016. 
http://www.fresnobee.com/news/business/article59337038.html#storylink=cpy


NREL process boosts production of ethanol from algae.  A new
biorefinery process developed by scientists at the Energy
Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has
proven to be significantly more effective at producing ethanol
from algae than previous research. The process, dubbed Combined
Algal Processing (CAP), is detailed in an open-access paper…
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/02/20160210-nrelalgae.html 

VEHICLES

Once Again: Electric Cars Have Lower Lifetime Carbon Emissions.
Battery-electric cars produce no direct carbon emissions from
driving, but those are not the only potential source of emissions
related to these vehicles. The lifetime carbon emissions of
electric cars seem to be the question that launches a thousand
studies. Critics of electric cars have suggested that emissions
related to their construction are higher than those of gasoline
cars…
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1102307_once-again-electric-cars-have-lower-lifetime-carbon-emissions


How the Next Tesla Could Cost as Little as $25,000. Tesla’s
affordable new electric car might be even more affordable than we
were led to believe. The high-end electric vehicle automaker
generated buzz last fall when it hinted that the forthcoming
Model 3 could have a price tag closer to a Toyota Camry than a
luxury car. Now, it looks like the Model 3 could wind up as an
even better bargain than anticipated, once tax credits…
http://time.com/money/4215300/tesla-model-3-price/?xid=homepage 

GREEN ENERGY

UPDATE 2-Gamesa, Siemens negotiating final terms of wind merger.
German engineering group Siemens and Spanish renewable energy
group Gamesa are in final negotiations on a deal to merge their
wind power assets, two sources familiar with the situation told
Reuters on Wednesday. "They are all sitting together in Madrid at
the moment," one of the sources said, adding that a deal was
imminent and that the…
http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL8N15P3MX

California solar industry job growth reaches record levels. 
California led a record-breaking year for solar power in 2015
that included the addition of more than 20,000 new jobs within
the state -- more than half of the positions the industry created
nationwide, according to a new report. The California Solar Jobs
Census report released Wednesday found that roughly one out of
three employees in the solar industry works in California.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-solar-industry-job-growth-20160209-story.html


Residential solar reaches grid parity in 19 states. Falling
installation costs and favorable government policies have helped
rooftop solar power become cost-competitive with other forms of
electricity in 19 states and the District of Columbia, according
to data released today by GTM Research. In its latest residential
solar economic outlook, the consulting firm identified
California…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/02/10/stories/1060032111 

MISCELLANEOUS

Imperial County Air Pollution Control District To Apply For
California Air Resources Board Grant; Gives Update On EPA Visit.
Today, the Imperial County Board of Supervisors approved the
Imperial County Air Pollution Control Officer Brad Poiriez’s
request to submit a grant application to the California Air
Resources Board’s (CARB) Carl Moyer Program for $329,999 and
authorized utilization of DMV Surcharge Funds to provide the
required matching funds. 
http://www.thedesertreview.com/imperial-county-air-pollution-control-district-to-apply-for-california-air-resources-board-grant-gives-update-on-epa-visit/


OPINIONS

The Supreme Court could block Obama’s climate plans — but it
can’t stop clean energy. Tuesday night, even as votes were being
tallied in New Hampshire, the Supreme Court shocked many —
including the Obama administration — by putting on hold the
president’s signature climate policy, the Clean Power Plan,
pending resolution of a lawsuit against it by a number of states,
utilities and coal companies.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/02/10/the-supreme-court-could-block-obamas-climate-plans-but-it-cant-stop-clean-energy/


The federal government stands between you and lead poisoning. To
the editor: Thank you for connecting the problem of lead
pollution in Flint, Mich., with the 20th century ad campaign to
put lead in paint, pipes and gasoline by the companies that
profited from the debilitating and deadly consumption of lead by
children and adults. ("A brief history of how the American public
was sold on toxic lead," Feb. 5)…
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/readersreact/la-le-0210-wednesday-lead-poisoning-20160210-story.html

Guest commentary: Walter Ruehling: Time to look at ways to
preserve the redwoods in these drought years. "Where have all the
redwoods gone?" might soon be on our collective lips. For the
past couple of years I shuddered coming down Country Hills Drive
right off Hillcrest In Antioch seeing a clump of six browned
trees. Just yesterday, though, the shock got close and personal.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/bay-area-news/ci_29496861/guest-commentary-walter-ruehling-time-look-at-ways





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