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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for March 2, 2016.
Posted: 02 Mar 2016 12:48:34
ARB Newsclips for March 2, 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. AIR POLLUTION Southern California smog regulator may be forced out amid shift on air board. Southern California's air quality board is moving to replace its top executive a month after Republicans gained a majority on the panel with new appointees who have vowed to make pollution regulations less burdensome for businesses. The South Coast Air Quality Management District gave notice in an agenda item posted Tuesday that its governing board… http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-air-board-director-20160301-story.html http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/03/02/stories/1060033321 Schools Urged To Help Protect Kids From Unhealthy Air. Air quality officials are launching a program intended to reduce the amount of pollution kids are breathing in the San Joaquin Valley. One source of pollution comes from parents who keep their cars running in the parking lot while waiting for their kids in the afternoon. "What you've got there is a lot of noxious fumes that the kids are breathing… http://www.capradio.org/articles/2016/03/01/schools-urged-to-help-protect-kids-from-unhealthy-air/ UK government told to take action on air pollution or face legal challenge. ClientEarth has sent a final warning letter to environment secretary, Liz Truss, giving her 10 days to act on dirty air or face action in the high court. The UK government must take steps to tackle air pollution within days or face further legal action, it has been warned. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/mar/01/government-told-to-take-action-on-air-pollution-or-face-legal-challenge CLIMATE CHANGE Parts of Great Barrier Reef face permanent destruction due to El Nino: scientists. Parts of Australia's Great Barrier Reef face permanent destruction if the current El Nino, one of the strongest in two decades, does not ease this month, scientists said on Wednesday. The El Nino is a result of a warming of the ocean in the western Pacific -- ideal conditions for coral bleaching, where coral expels living algae, causing it to calcify. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-environment-greatbarrierree-idUSKCN0W40BG Green Venture Seeks to Turn Back Clock on Carbon Emissions. Pilot project holds the prospect of powering vehicles using fuel reconstituted from tailpipe exhaust. A project backed by Bill Gates and a Canadian oil baron is attempting to turn back the clock on greenhouse gas emissions by snatching carbon dioxide particles out of thin air. The initiative, by Calgary, Alberta,-based Carbon Engineering Ltd., holds the prospect of powering vehicles using fuel reconstituted from tailpipe emissions… http://www.wsj.com/articles/green-venture-seeks-to-turn-back-clock-on-carbon-emissions-1456930222 Tasking Deese with high court pick could send climate signal. The White House senior official who helped bring home a long-sought global climate deal last year now faces perhaps the tougher challenge of shepherding a Supreme Court nominee past a recalcitrant Senate. The White House announced this week that senior adviser Brian Deese will lead the team responsible for filling… http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/03/02/stories/1060033302 DROUGHT Dry spell ate away at snowpack of drought-ridden California. An unwelcome three-week winter dry spell left the California snowpack at just 83 percent of average, a setback for the state as it tries to break out of record drought, state snow surveyors found Tuesday. In an icy meadow in California's central Sierra Nevada, state surveyor Frank Gehrke plunged poles into snowbanks… http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CALIFORNIA_DROUGHT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT California drought restrictions lifted in Russian River area. California regulators have ended mandatory water cutbacks along tributaries of the Russian River, but will continue to require property owners to report how much water they use. The State Water Resources Control Board said ample rainfall eliminated the need for the emergency restrictions… http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-drought-russian-river-20160301-story.html California's snowpack falls below average, sparking new drought fears. After a promising start to winter, California’s snowpack has shrunk to below-average levels, causing state water officials to redouble their calls for water conservation. On Tuesday, the statewide snowpack stood at only 83% of average for the day, a result the California Department of Water Resources blamed on fall and winter seasons… http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-california-snowpack-below-average-20160301-story.html Florida shores yellow, brown and black all over. MIAMI What's yellow, brown and black all over? After a bruising watery winter on the heels of a dry summer, Florida's water. In July, a stinky stain scientist call yellow fog spread across Florida Bay after a regional drought killed miles of seagrass. http://www.latimes.com/nation/sns-tns-bc-env-fla-waters-20160302-story.html DIESEL ACTIVITIES San Diego faces 'daunting' crisis as city vehicle fleet ages and deteriorates. Years of neglect and mismanagement of San Diego's large fleet of fire engines, patrol cars, street sweepers and other vehicles have created a crisis that officials say they're just beginning to understand. Only about 1,600 of the city's roughly 4,100 vehicles are in good shape or better… http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-sd-city-vehicles-20160301-story.html FUELS Even as gas prices rise, drivers will save at the pump. Gasoline prices have started their annual springtime migration higher, but motorists should still save money at the pump in 2016. The national average price for a gallon of regular has risen for eight straight days - the first time that has happened since last May, according to the auto club AAA - to about $1.79 on Wednesday. That's still 54 cents cheaper than at this time last year. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CHEAP_GASOLINE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT U.S. Shale Producers Face Reality, Cut Output. Cuts stand in contrast to past year, when U.S. drillers kept pumping as prices plunged. Some of America’s biggest shale producers are beginning to ratchet back oil and gas production for the first time in years, bending to the reality that a global glut will keep prices depressed. The production cuts, announced as shale companies reported dismal earnings in recent days… http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-shale-producers-cut-back-production-amid-global-oil-glut-1456795120 Shale Oil Isn't Saudi Arabia's Only Nemesis. The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicenter was about 500 miles west-southwest of Padang, Indonesia and 529 miles north-northwest of the Cocos Islands. Even if Saudi Arabia wins its struggle with U.S. shale producers over market share, it will face a new billion-barrel adversary. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-02/saudi-arabia-faces-a-new-oil-titan-once-battle-with-shale-is-won-ila2vccq Oklahoma takes action on fracking-related earthquakes — but too late, critics say. They feel them in the little city of Cushing, where a web of pipelines and giant oil storage tanks makes the area a crucial international hub — and vulnerable. They feel them in the time-capsule town of Guthrie, where plaster is cracking in storefronts built in the 19th century. http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-sej-oklahoma-quakes-fracking-20160302-story.html Former CEO Charged With Rigging Bids For Oil And Gas Leases. Aubrey McClendon, the former CEO of Chesapeake Energy Corp., was charged Tuesday with orchestrating a conspiracy not to compete for oil and gas leases in northwest Oklahoma, the Justice Department said. The DOJ explained in a statement: During this conspiracy, which ran from December 2007 to March 2012… http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/03/01/468814566/former-ceo-charged-with-rigging-bids-for-oil-and-gas-leases?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=5aaed169f0-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-5aaed169f0-327747457 VW RECALL EU politicians begin inquiry into VW emissions scandal. The European Parliament on Wednesday began a year-long investigation into the Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) emissions scandal and whether regulators could have done more to prevent it. EU regulation of the car industry has been under scrutiny since Volkswagen admitted last September it rigged U.S. tests for nitrogen oxide emissions in diesel vehicles. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-parliament-idUSKCN0W41TN Volkswagen says did not breach market disclosure rules. Volkswagen said on Wednesday its management board did not violate financial market disclosure rules, responding to lawsuits claiming it had been too slow to inform investors about its rigging of diesel emissions tests. VW said it had filed a statement of defense with a German regional court in Brunswick in relation to the claims. http://www.reuters.com/article/volkswagen-emissions-idUSL2N16A1KI Tiguan owner sues VW dealership over emissions scandal. A Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) car owner sued a German VW dealership on Wednesday, demanding the seller cancel the contract and take back his Tiguan diesel compact car, one of the models affected by the automaker's emissions test cheating scandal. A lawyer for the plaintiff, a history professor, said his client's car would be impossible to resell… http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-lawsuit-idUSKCN0W41CP Volkswagen Disputes Allegations It Was Tardy in Disclosing News on Scandal. German auto maker says shareholder suits have no merit. Volkswagen AG on Wednesday disputed shareholder allegations that it has failed to properly inform markets ahead of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Sept. 18 announcement that the company had cheated on its diesel emissions tests. http://www.wsj.com/articles/volkswagen-refutes-allegations-it-was-tardy-in-disclosing-news-on-scandal-1456943681 Volkswagen: We thought scandal wouldn't cost much. German automaker Volkswagen Group said Wednesday that when it initially discovered its own emissions scandal it didn't think the issue would cost very much. The admission — part of a statement designed to show that it did not defraud investors — came as the automaker may be facing tens of billions in U.S. fines and lawsuits, according to analysts. http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2016/03/02/volkswagen-emissions-scandal/81214726/ FORMALDEHYDE Formaldehyde issues heat up. The issue of formaldehyde emissions has been a hot topic recently among industry insiders. That includes those wondering if their own products would meet standards for products sold in California. One of the big issues is how officials interpret California regulations involving product testing. In late November, short seller Whitney Tilson of Kase Capital, alleged that Wayfair is selling product that exceeds formaldehyde emissions… http://www.furnituretoday.com/article/529055-formaldehyde-issues-heat OPINIONS The Upside of Plunging Oil Prices. Sharply lower oil prices have rattled equity markets and are complicating economic policy across the world. But “oilmageddon” isn’t all bad -- and its benefits go beyond lower costs for consumers. Falling oil prices also put salutary pressure on some of the world’s more unsavory regimes. Many big oil exporters just aren’t the kind of countries you’d want to bring home to mother. http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2016-03-02/the-upside-of-plunging-oil-prices The car century was a mistake. It’s time to move on. We must first remember that all cities were car-free little more than a century ago. Not all cities responded to the advent of automobiles with the same enthusiasm as the cities of the United States. In fact, some cities never did adopt the car. Venice was unwilling to destroy itself in order to build streets wide enough for cars… https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-theory/wp/2016/02/29/the-car-century-was-a-mistake-its-time-to-move-on/ Don't by fooled by the 'natural' in natural gas. To the editor: When I read the claims by the Southern California Gas Co. chief executive about steps his polluting and climate-wrecking fossil fuel company is taking to protect the public, I laughed. ("Southern California Gas using enhanced leak detection and inspections at Aliso Canyon," Feb. 26). http://www.latimes.com/opinion/readersreact/la-le-0302-wednesday-natural-gas-porter-ranch-20160302-story.html California the worst state to keep on truckin' As if we needed another example of how bad California’s business climate is, a new survey concludes that the Golden State is the worst state in the nation for trucking. The survey of “Best and Worst States for Trucking in 2016” was conducted by Merchant Cash USA, which offers cash advances to small businesses. Rounding out the bottom five were Virginia, Ohio… http://www.ocregister.com/articles/california-706288-state-trucking.html Volkswagen is having a hard time selling cars in the US right now. VW reported on Tuesday that its US sales plunged more than 13% last month. For the year, Volkswagen sales are down nearly 14%. At a time when many of its rivals are reporting double-digit growth in a US market that's currently near its record high, VW is reporting double-digit declines. Even more troubling is the brand's continued loss of market share. http://www.businessinsider.com/volkswagen-sales-suv-crossover-america-2016-3 Comment: Cap and trade will reduce pollution, create jobs. Climate change is here. It's costing all of us money — in rising costs for everything from food to property insurance. And it's forcing many of us to change our ways of living. How much time have you spent skating or skiing this winter? We're beyond denying the fact that human activity has caused climate change. Now we can and must take action to stop it. http://www.therecord.com/opinion-story/6370413-comment-cap-and-trade-will-reduce-pollution-create-jobs/ BLOGS Will Cap-and-Trade Slow Climate Change? The principle that polluters should pay for the waste they create has led many experts to urge governments to put a price on carbon emissions. One method is the sometimes controversial cap-and-trade. Quebec, California and the European Union have already adopted cap-and-trade, and Ontario will join Quebec and California's system in January 2017. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/david-suzuki/capandtrade-climate-change_b_9360498.html Regional Climate Change and National Responsibilities. Global warming of about 1°F (0.6°C) over the past several decades now "loads the climate dice." Fig. 1 updates the "bell curve" analysis of our 2012 paper1 for Northern Hemisphere land, which showed that extreme hot summers now occur noticeably more often than they did 50 years ago. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-james-hansen/regional-climate-change-a_b_9367312.html How ‘natural geoengineering’ can help slow global warming. As natural wonders go, perhaps the most awe-inspiring is the annual migration of 1.2 million wildebeest flowing across East Africa’s vast Serengeti grassland. It would be a tragedy to lose these animals. But we almost did in the mid-20th century when, decimated by disease and poaching, their numbers crashed to 300,000. https://www.greenbiz.com/article/how-natural-geoengineering-can-help-slow-global-warming California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.