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ARB Newsclips for May 4, 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

Groups prod RGGI to take on tougher CO2 targets. Advocacy groups
are asking states in a Northeast cap-and-trade program to
consider pursuing steeper emissions reductions and surpass the
goals of U.S. EPA's Clean Power Plan starting in 2020.
The nine-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is reviewing
its carbon-cutting goals as part of a routine quadrennial
assessment.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2016/05/04/stories/1060036685 

AIR POLLUTION

Air board lab's work key in California. The California Air
Resources Board’s move from El Monte will bring emissions testing
to Riverside. In an aging industrial building in El Monte, an
idling Volkswagen Passat accelerates to 60 mph and back down
again. But the car stays in place, its front wheels on rollers
and its back end chained down. Testing tailpipe exhaust in such
simulations is one way state air quality officials check… 
http://www.pe.com/articles/air-801845-board-lab.html 
http://www.dailynews.com/environment-and-nature/20160503/as-air-resources-board-prepares-to-leave-el-monte-heres-why-its-work-is-vital


ALISO CANYON

Sempra Cost Estimate for Gas Leak Doubles to $665 Million. Sempra
Energy more than doubled its estimate for the cost of a historic
natural gas leak to $665 million and announced first-quarter
earnings that missed expectations. Earnings excluding some items
fell to $370 million or $1.47 a share, from $428 million or $1.71
a share a year earlier, according to a statement Wednesday.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-04/sempra-cost-estimate-for-gas-leak-doubles-to-665-million
http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article75558857.html 

CLIMATE CHANGE

World Bank: The way climate change is really going to hurt us is
through water. As India, the world’s second-most populous
country, reels from an intense drought, the World Bank has
released a new report finding that perhaps the most severe impact
of a changing climate could be the effect on water supplies.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/05/03/world-bank-the-way-climate-change-is-really-going-to-hurt-us-is-through-water/?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=d20dfc9823-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-d20dfc9823-327747457


Scientists are figuring out the keys to convincing people about
global warming. Understanding the greenhouse effect, the expert
consensus, and that humans are causing global warming are
gateways to support for climate policies. The latest survey data
from Yale and George Mason universities underscores the partisan
divide on climate science denial – 73% of Americans realize that
global warming is happening…
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2016/may/04/scientists-are-figuring-out-the-keys-to-convincing-people-about-global-warming


Arctic winter warming could have been worse – study. Temperatures
in the Arctic this past winter soared to an unprecedented 4 to 11
degrees Fahrenheit above normal. The winter sea-ice extent was
the lowest in recorded history. The conditions would have been
even warmer if it were not for a quirk of nature, according to
scientists. In 2014, an ocean circulation pattern in the
mid-Pacific Ocean…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/05/04/stories/1060036676

DROUGHT

More than 300 million Indians suffer from a crippling drought. In
the blistering sun and swirling dust, farmer Dhananjay Hanumant
Suryavanshi squats on his empty land and caresses the parched
earth. “There is only one thought that runs over and over again
in my head. Will there be good rain this year? Will there be good
rain this year?” Suryavanshi, 25, said.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/more-than-300-million-indians-suffer-from-a-crippling-drought/2016/05/02/6bfa5a42-d504-4f69-93cd-6e8a07f09239_story.html


City lifts drought restrictions. Successful water conservation
and good news from state water officials prompted the City
Council on Tuesday to rescind the water-use restrictions adopted
last year during the drought. Effectively immediately, residents
are no longer limited to watering their lawns and gardens to just
two days a week.
http://napavalleyregister.com/eagle/news/local/city-lifts-drought-restrictions/article_c16259b7-ed05-5978-86e2-5fe9a05e8712.html


Some Inland water agencies exceed, others miss, water
conservation goals in March. Californians kept statewide water
savings high in March, saving 35 billion gallons of water despite
90 percent of the state lingering in drought, state water
officials announced Tuesday. Conservation feats by some Inland
water users stood out even as western Riverside and San
Bernardino counties continue experiencing extreme drought.
http://www.sbsun.com/article/20160503/NEWS/160509857 

FUELS

Green Plains sees 2016 U.S. ethanol exports little-changed
year-over-year – CEO. May 3 U.S. ethanol exports are likely to
total 800 million to 1 billion gallons this year, the chief
executive of Green Plains Inc said on Tuesday, a number that
would be little-changed from 2015 levels. Exports started strong
this year but buyers have been slow to book ahead this quarter…
http://www.reuters.com/article/greenplains-ethanol-idUSL2N1800RB?type=companyNews


Judge gives ExxonMobil OK to restart Torrance refinery. A judge
cleared the way Monday for ExxonMobil to restart its Torrance
Refinery after an environmental group sued to keep it shut. The
Refinery Safety Network had fought the planned reopening, but the
judge said that the refinery's production of gasoline would best
serve the public interest and that the company was clear to
proceed, according to the Daily Breeze.
http://www.scpr.org/news/2016/05/03/60232/judge-gives-exxonmobil-ok-to-restart-torrance-refi/


VEHICLES

Air bag inflator recall to grow by 35 million to 40 million.
Takata will recall another 35 million to 40 million air bag
inflators, a stunning increase that will more than double what
already is the largest automotive recall in American history, the
federal government announced Wednesday. The recall expansion
would bring to as many as 69 million the total number of
inflators to be replaced…
http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article75548277.html#storylink=cpy


How BMW can compete with Tesla electric cars: future i5, plug-in
hybrids, says advocate. For a decade now, Tesla Motors has been
the "black swan" of the auto industry. It's a California company
startup, founded from scratch, using a new powertrain that
against all odds has sold more than 100,000 electric cars and
created a brand known worldwide.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1103742_how-bmw-can-compete-with-tesla-electric-cars-future-i5-plug-in-hybrids-says-advocate


The West Coast Electric Fleets Initiatives. It has been nine
months since the governments of California, Oregon, Washington,
and British Columbia embarked upon a shared initiative. In a
joint press release, group spokesperson Governor Kate Brown
explained, “The West Coast Electric Fleets initiative leads the
way in helping fleets scale up zero-emission vehicles to reach
our goal that…
http://cleantechnica.com/2016/05/04/west-coast-electric-fleets-initiatives/


SUSTAINABLE FREIGHT

Sprawling freight system in Calif. eyed for carbon cuts.
California's multimillion-dollar freight system is the latest
target of the state's mission to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
A draft plan released yesterday by five state environmental and
transportation agencies calls for more zero-emissions vehicles,
alternative fuels and operational efficiency across the trucks,
railroads and ports that make up the state's freight system.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/05/04/stories/1060036691 

GREEN ENERGY

A new spin for offshore wind -- oil production. Offshore wind
could be used to boost production from maturing wells, an
industry consultancy said here yesterday. The concept envisions
siting a floating wind turbine next to an offshore oil and gas
platform. The wind turbine would be coupled with technology that
uses the electricity it generates toward processing and injecting
seawater into an oil and gas reservoir…
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2016/05/04/stories/1060036688

Enviros urge green banks, bonds to boost clean energy finance.
India's goal to add 175 gigawatts of renewable energy resources
by 2022 would be more easily achieved if it created "green banks"
and "green bonds" to help leverage the billions of dollars needed
to make such an energy transition work, experts in India and the
United States said this week.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/05/04/stories/1060036680 

Kerry touts TPP, says energy market 'is the future' Secretary of
State John Kerry yesterday urged Caribbean leaders to "grab onto"
the global growth in renewable energy. Speaking ahead of a
two-day U.S.-Caribbean and Central American energy summit, Kerry
talked up the Obama administration's Pacific trade deal as key to
boosting the economy of the Americas.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/05/04/stories/1060036693 

MISCELLANEOUS

Water scarcity could cause war and economic turmoil. Water
scarcity is expected to increase globally as populations boom and
climate change sharpens uncertainty around the resource's
availability, according to a report by the World Bank. The
conclusion adds to a growing body of research, and it comes days
before this year's Climate Action 2016 summit in Washington, D.C.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/05/04/stories/1060036689 

OPINIONS

Californians deserve more transparency on bullet train finances.
California lawmakers are supposed to scrutinize the state High
Speed Rail Authority's plans for building the bullet train, but
at least one legislator believes he and his colleagues don't have
enough information to do the job. Assemblyman Jim Patterson
(R-Fresno) has drafted a bill that would require the authority to
report the full cost of the project…
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-0504-bullet-train-oversight-20160504-story.html

It's Now Or Never For Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles, Study Says. It
seems like hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have been on the horizon
forever, but if they’re going to penetrate the mass market, now
is the time, says a new study from IHS IHS +0.96% Automotive.
Only three fuel cell cars are available for consumers to purchase
or lease today — the Toyota Mirai, Hyundai  ix35/Tucson and the
Honda Clarity — and they’re only available in select markets
(like California in the U.S.)
http://www.forbes.com/sites/joannmuller/2016/05/04/its-now-or-never-for-hydrogen-fuel-cell-vehicles-study-says/#43a64763415d


BLOGS

Valley should stay the course on clean air with AB 32. It’s hard
to drive a car while looking in the rear-view mirror, not to
mention dangerous. But that’s exactly what some are asking us to
do when it comes to climate change. Recently, a former California
lawmaker opined on fresnobee.com in opposition to the state’s
signature climate change effort (“Cap-and-trade revenue should go
to fix our Valley air,” Alan Nakanishi, Apr. 19).
http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/article75441022.html#storylink=cpy


San Antonio Leadership Puts People over Politics by Supporting
Clean Power Plan. When it comes to clean air and clean energy,
Texas cities – and their encompassing counties – know what’s good
for them. San Antonio’s Bexar County Commissioners, for example,
recently approved a resolution supporting the nation’s first-ever
limits on carbon pollution from power plants, the Clean Power
Plan.
http://blogs.edf.org/texascleanairmatters/2016/05/04/san-antonio-leadership-puts-people-over-politics-by-supporting-clean-power-plan/





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