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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for April 6, 2016
Posted: 06 Apr 2016 14:39:22
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. ALISO CANYON California seeks to avoid power outages after Aliso Canyon gas leak. Power generators in the greater Los Angeles area face up to 14 days of natural gas shortages severe enough to cause blackouts this summer in the aftermath of the months-long methane leak at the Aliso Canyon gas storage field, state energy regulators warned on Tuesday. Forecasting the likelihood of power disruptions as the region's warm-weather demand for electricity peaks, regulators called for greater conservation and other measures to help offset gas supplies lost as Aliso Canyon remains partially shut down indefinitely. http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-california-sempra-ener-alisocanyon-u-idUSL2N1781K4 AIR POLLUTION California audit: Valley air pollution district charges too little. The California State Auditor released a report Tuesday pointing out that the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District charges far less for its permits than is allowed under state law. The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District was formed when eight county agencies with similar responsibilities were merged. It includes San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Kern counties. The district is responsible for ensuring compliance with air quality standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article70069647.html Smog-Alert Car Ban Jams Metro, Buses in Mexico City. Mexico City residents packed buses and subway cars and many walked or biked to work Wednesday, as authorities barred millions of vehicles from the streets due to a pollution alert. Under new regulations imposed after the capital recently experienced its worst air-quality crisis in over a decade, the Phase 1 alert was declared when smog levels hit 1½ times acceptable limits on Tuesday. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_MEXICO_POLLUTION_ALERT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT CLIMATE CHANGE Which countries are most at risk from climate change and how can we help? The countries most vulnerable to climate change are among the poorest and least able to respond. How to resolve that dilemma and help these places adapt to a warming world remains among the knottiest problems facing climate financing. The good news is that identifying those most in need – step one – is now a good deal easier thanks to a global league table developed by the University of Notre Dame. http://www.latimes.com/world/global-development/la-fg-global-climate-irin-04042016-story.html Cities Are the Front Lines for Action on Climate Change. When it comes to confronting the challenge of climate change, cities are on the front lines. From rising seas submerging coastal property to precipitation changes in the desert, climate impacts are here—and undeniably local. Climate change may have once been the ultimate slow-moving and global threat, but our residents and our critical infrastructure are already feeling its effects. The threats to our economies are serious enough that the risks of continued inaction can no longer be ignored. http://time.com/4282916/clean-power-plan/ EPA head says Paris agreement will require more climate work from next administration. As the United States works to meet the climate change goal agreed to in Paris last year, actions taken by President Barack Obama to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will need to be expanded, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy said Tuesday. The EPA head said the next administration would need to help promote technologies like carbon capture, nuclear energy and electric cars. She cited efforts now to better understand the extent to which emissions from airplanes and landfills are contributing to global warming. http://fuelfix.com/blog/2016/04/05/epa-head-says-next-administration-must-continue-climate-change-work-to-meet-paris-goal/?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=7577f8c8b6-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-7577f8c8b6-327749509 NASA Is Facing a Climate Change Countdown. The concrete block perches absurdly atop a piling, elevated about 10 feet above the beach sand. Is it art? A bulky milepost? Carlton Hall pointed to the puzzling object and explained that it was once a tie-down block for securing structures like antenna towers. Dr. Hall, the chief scientist for the space center’s ecological program, said that when he started working here a few decades ago, the block had been buried. Now the sand that enveloped it is gone, swept away by the forces of coastal erosion and storms. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/05/science/nasa-is-facing-a-climate-change-countdown.html Maldives becomes fourth island state to ratify Paris climate deal. The Maldives has become the fourth small island state to announce it has ratified the Paris climate agreement, two weeks before an official UN signing ceremony in New York. Parliament voted to approve the pact on Tuesday, which commits countries to limit global warming to well below 2C above pre-industrial levels, and target net zero carbon emissions before 2100. http://www.climatechangenews.com/2016/04/06/maldives-becomes-fourth-island-state-to-ratify-paris-climate-deal/?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=7577f8c8b6-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-7577f8c8b6-327749509 Scientists Blame El Niño, Warming for 'Gruesome' Coral Death. The coral on the South Pacific sea floor around Kiritimati looked like a boneyard in November - stark, white and lifeless. But there was still some hope. In April, color returned with fuzzy reds and browns, but that's not good news. Algae has overtaken the lifeless coral on what had been some of the most pristine coral reefs on the planet, said University of Victoria coral reef scientist Julia Baum said after dozens of dives in the past week. Maybe 5 percent will survive, she estimated. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SCI_CORAL_DEATH?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT CAP AND TRADE UCLA Luskin Center study shows low-income Californians benefit from cap-and-trade. Low-income Californians feel the pinch when gasoline, electricity and natural gas prices increase. And it’s logical to think that the state’s cap-and-trade program might add to those expenses. But this program is generating billions of dollars to provide an array of benefits to Californians, especially those living in disadvantaged communities. http://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/ucla-luskin-center-study-shows-low-income-californians-benefit-from-cap-and-trade DROUGHT California doesn't let a drought go to waste. Researchers at the University of Twente in the Netherlands recently announced a startling global statistic. About two-thirds of the world’s population experience a severe water scarcity for at least one month during the year. About half of these 4 billion people live in India and China. And the country that comes in third for periodic water shortages? The United States, with California as drought central. Yet something just as startling should be noted about California and how its 39 million people have responded to a long and historic dry spell. http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2016/0405/California-doesn-t-let-a-drought-go-to-waste FUELS Can we use 'reverse photosynthesis' to make biofuels? German scientists say they have discovered a way to significantly speed up the process of making fuel from biomass, which includes non-food plant material such as wood or grass. Researchers have discovered that monooxygenases, enzymes already widely used to make bioplastics and biofuel — a clean-burning fuel, or ethanol, made from agricultural waste instead of petroleum — work significantly faster and more efficiently when exposed to sunlight. The enzymes break down biomass to release sugars from plant fibers which are then fermented into ethanol. But without sunlight, the process takes a long time. http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2016/0405/Can-we-use-reverse-photosynthesis-to-make-biofuels VW RECALL U.S., Volkswagen may not reach emissions deal by April 21 - government official. The top U.S. environmental official expressed uncertainty on Tuesday about whether the Obama administration and Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) will meet an April 21 court deadline to come up with a plan to address excess emissions from 580,000 diesel vehicles sold in the country. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy told reporters that the two sides were in "really robust" ongoing talks but said she did not know if they would agree to a deal by April 21. She declined to say if the administration would accept a partial fix of the polluting vehicles or if it would insist that Volkswagen offer to buy them all back. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emission-epa-idUSKCN0X21R0 GREEN ENERGY In Race to Improve Batteries, Nanotechnology Provides Hope. In the global race to create more efficient and long-lasting batteries, some are betting on nanotechnology - the use of minuscule parts - as the most likely to yield a breakthrough. Improving batteries' performance is key to the development and success of many much-hyped technologies, from solar and wind energy to electric cars. They need to hold more energy, last longer, be cheaper and safer. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_BATTERIES_NANOTECHNOLOGY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Newly approved Mojave Desert solar plant quickly criticized. Despite objections from environmentalists, the Obama administration on Tuesday approved the 287-megawatt Soda Mountain solar energy plant for a remote part of the Mojave Desert. The 1,767-acre project being developed by Bechtel is located on land managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, about six miles southwest of Baker. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/project-711009-mountain-blm.html VEHICLES Is carbon the right reason to get buyers to go electric? Buyers have many different reasons for choosing a plug-in electric car. Creating marketing campaigns that address all of them has bedeviled highly-paid professionals for five years. A new campaign urging North American drivers to make their next car an electric vehicle inadvertently highlights the challenge. http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/In-Gear/2016/0406/Is-carbon-the-right-reason-to-get-buyers-to-go-electric OPINION Efficient buildings are key to state’s clean-energy push. Making our homes and businesses more energy efficient should be a no-brainer. Switching out incandescent light bulbs, upgrading our heating and air-conditioning systems and other improvements save energy and money, and reduce pollution. Yet despite billions of dollars in taxpayer- and ratepayer-funded incentives and rebates, our efficiency efforts in California aren’t keeping pace with increasing electricity demand. http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article70090332.html Is the proposed Port of L.A. rail yard an environmental bait and switch? After more than 10 years of analysis, a 5,000-page environmental impact report, countless public hearings and seven lawsuits, a judge last week blocked plans to build a new rail yard at the Port of Los Angeles. The new yard, to be known as the Southern California International Gateway, was planned as a $500-million, 153-acre freight transfer point where trucks could deliver containers from the nearby docks to trains ready to haul the cargo across the country. http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-port-rail-yard-20160406-story.html California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.