What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for June 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

Appellate briefs latest step in battle over California carbon
auctions.  Six supplemental appellate briefs were filed on May 23
in the latest leg of a four-year lawsuit filed by manufacturers
in connection with California’s carbon market auction system.
Briefs were filed in the Court of Appeal of the State of
California, 3rd Appellate District by the California Air
Resources Board…
http://norcalrecord.com/stories/510795651-appellate-briefs-latest-step-in-battle-over-california-carbon-auctions


AIR POLLUTION

Ten EU nations still breaching pollution limits: EEA.  Air
pollution from sources such as transport and agriculture is still
above legal limits in 10 European Union member states, data from
the European Environment Agency (EEA) showed on Friday. Since
2010, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland and Luxembourg
have persistently breached their emissions ceilings…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-pollution-breaches-idUSKCN0YW126?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29


Exclusive: Irving Oil dust pollution exceeded limits in Canadian
city. Irving Oil’s refinery in the Canadian province of New
Brunswick spewed an excessive amount of ash-like catalyst into
the surrounding city of Saint John at least a dozen times since
2010 as regulators launched and later abandoned a study of its
health impacts, according to filings reviewed by Reuters.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-irving-airquality-exclusive-idUSKCN0YW0BK
 

Alaska Groups Sue Over Inaction on Fairbanks Air Pollution. Three
Alaska groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency on
Thursday to force a decision on cleaning up chronic air pollution
in Fairbanks, the state's second-largest community. Sites within
the borough had the highest episodes of fine particulate
pollution in the nation, according to data compiled by the EPA.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/06/09/us/ap-us-fairbanks-air-quality.html?_r=0


EPA: Marathon to Cut Air Pollution From Detroit Refinery.
Marathon Petroleum and the federal government have reached an
agreement that that calls for the Ohio-based company to reduce
air pollution at a refinery in southwest Detroit. Some residents
living near it have complained about pollution from the facility.
"The Detroit area has one of the highest asthma rates in the
nation,"…
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/06/09/us/ap-mi-marathon-refinery-detroit.html


Air regulators seek odor nuisance abatment order against Sunshine
Canyon Landfill. The complaints about stench from Sunshine Canyon
Landfill grow each year like the mountains of trash rising from
Los Angeles County’s largest garbage dump. Now air district
officials told residents Thursday evening they were…
http://www.dailynews.com/environment-and-nature/20160609/air-regulators-seek-odor-nuisance-abatment-order-against-sunshine-canyon-landfill


Air pollution now major contributor to stroke, global study
finds. Scientists say finding is alarming, and shows that harm
caused by air pollution to the lungs, heart and brain has been
underestimated. Air pollution has become a major contributor to
stroke for the first time, with unclean air now blamed for nearly
one third of the years of healthy life lost to the condition
worldwide.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jun/09/air-pollution-now-major-contributor-to-stroke


Air Pollution Could Cause 6 To 9 Million Premature Deaths By
2060. A new OECD report has found outdoor air pollution could
cause 6 to 9 million premature deaths by 2060, and cost 1% of the
global GDP. The new report, The Economic Consequences of Air
Pollution, published this week by the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development, “provides a comprehensive
assessment of the regional…
http://cleantechnica.com/2016/06/10/air-pollution-cause-6-9-million-premature-deaths-2060/
 

CLIMATE CHANGE

EU says seeks swift ratification of Paris climate accord. The
European Union called on its 28 member states on Wednesday to
speed up ratification of the Paris climate accord so the bloc is
not left behind in an international push to curb global warming.
The EU executive, as a separate party to the agreement in
addition to the member states, laid out its procedure for
ratification on Wednesday…
http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL8N1922G8 

In 2009, Donald Trump endorsed action on climate change. Three
months later, he disparaged it. The beginning of President
Obama's administration was a rough period for politicians who now
oppose taking action to address climate change.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/06/09/in-2009-donald-trump-endorsed-action-on-climate-change-three-months-later-he-disparaged-it/


How to capture carbon dioxide from a power plant and turn it into
stone. Deep in the solidified lava beneath Iceland, scientists
have managed an unprecedented feat: They’ve taken carbon dioxide
released by a power plant and turned it into rock at a rate much
faster than laboratory tests predicted. The findings, described
in the journal Science, demonstrate a powerful method of carbon
storage.
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-carbon-dioxide-stone-20160609-snap-story.html

http://time.com/4364038/co2-stone-climate-change/ 
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/09/co2-turned-into-stone-in-iceland-in-climate-change-breakthrough

http://www.ibtimes.com/icelandic-experiment-reports-climate-change-breakthrough-turns-carbon-dioxide-stone-2380615


Still waiting for a monster El Niño storm? Forget it. Remember
those monstrous storms that bore down on Southern California this
year courtesy of El Niño, and how they caused mudslides, mass
flooding and general pandemonium on the freeways? Neither do we.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has declared
El Niño, the climate pattern that can…
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-bye-bye-el-nino-20160609-snap-story.html


Super-sized El Niño leaves with a whimper. This year's monstrous
El Niño, nicknamed Godzilla by NASA, is dead. It heated up the
globe, but didn't quite end California's four-year drought. In
its monthly update Thursday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration said the El Niño has ended, 15 months after its
birth in March 2015.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/ni241o-382349-ocprint-record-halpert.html


Experts blame climate change for French floods. An international
team of scientists has found that man-made climate change nearly
doubled the likelihood of last month's devastating French
flooding. In a quick but not peer-reviewed analysis, the World
Weather Attribution team of climate scientists…
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/climate-382352-ocprint-percent-change.html


White House Wants Government Suppliers to Address Climate Change.
Acquisition Regulatory Council proposes rule asking fossil fuel
companies and others about their carbon footprint disclosures,
without imposing any requirements. The Obama administration has
sent American industry another signal about the need to address
climate change.
http://insideclimatenews.org/news/09062016/white-house-moves-prompt-government-suppliers-address-climate-change


Climate change could trigger tropical evacuations, researchers
advise. Global warming by just 2 degrees Celsius is likely to
force some tropical plant, animal and human populations to
relocate hundreds of miles from their current homes this century,
according to research published today in the journal Scientific
Reports. Solomon Hsiang, Chancellor’s Associate Professor of
Public Policy at the University of California…
https://news.berkeley.edu/2016/06/09/climate-change-could-trigger-tropical-evacuations-researchers-advise/


Companies Failing To Account For Climate Change At Risk Of
Decline & Bankruptcy. Companies failing to account for the impact
of climate change and a transition to a low-carbon economy are at
risk of decline or even bankruptcy. This is the primary finding
from a new submission to the Task Force…
http://cleantechnica.com/2016/06/09/companies-failing-account-climate-change-risk-decline-bankruptcy/

Experts find climate change’s fingerprints in French floods.  An
international team of scientists has found that man-made climate
change nearly doubled the likelihood of last month’s devastating
French flooding. In a quick but not peer-reviewed analysis, the
World Weather Attribution team of climate scientists used past
rainfall data and computer simulations to look for global
warming’s fingerprints in the heavy downpours in France and
Germany.
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/science/experts-find-climate-changes-fingerprints-in-french-floods/


Paris floods made almost twice as likely by climate change, say
scientists. Manmade global warming greatly increased the risk of
extreme rain affecting the French capital, analysis shows.  The
Paris floods, that saw extreme rainfall swell the river Seine to
its highest level in decades, were made almost twice as likely
because of the…
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/10/paris-floods-made-almost-twice-as-likely-by-climate-change-say-scientists


Rain in France linked to man-made warming – report. Last month's
torrential rains in France were caused in part by man-made
climate change, according to a report released yesterday by World
Weather Attribution. Scientists with WWA, a project of Climate
Central, studied May's rain and flooding in France and Bavaria,
using observational data and climate models to determine whether
global warming played a role.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/06/10/stories/1060038608 

DROUGHT

California drought: Santa Clara County prepares to ease
conservation rules. Following the wettest winter in five years,
water conservation rules for Santa Clara County's 1.9 million
residents are likely to be relaxed in the next few weeks. The
staff of the Santa Clara Valley Water District, the wholesale
water provider for the county, is recommending a 20 percent cut
in water usage compared…
http://www.mercurynews.com/drought/ci_29998301/california-drought-santa-clara-county-prepares-ease-conservation

El Nino has runs its course. But did it end California's drought?
The El Niño offered unusual rainfall to drought-parched
California and elsewhere in the US, just not in the amounts – and
places – expected. El Niño has passed on its merry way after 17
months of unusual warmth, wet weather, and unusual storms from
the Pacific Ocean around the world.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2016/0610/El-Nino-has-runs-its-course.-But-did-it-end-California-s-drought


DIESEL ACTIVITIES

California must set aside delays to truck pollution standards,
judge rules. California air quality regulators failed to consider
the environmental and business consequences of giving some
heavy-duty truck operators more time to comply with tough diesel
pollution rules and must set aside the delays, a Fresno County
judge has ruled.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-truck-pollution-20160609-snap-story.html
http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article83053397.html 
https://www.trucks.com/2016/06/10/california-trucking-clean-air-rules/


California Superior Court strikes ARB amendments to diesel rule. 
A decision by the Superior Court of California in Fresno agreed
with the California Trucking Association’s request to erase a
range of amendments to the state’s major rule to clean up diesel
trucks and buses. The case is not against the rule itself, which
remains fully in effect, but amendments adopted in 2014…
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/06/20160610-arb.html 

California Grant Provides $9.1 Million for 27 BYD Electric
Trucks. California continues its push up clean up trucking
emissions with the award Friday of a $9.1 million zero-emissions
truck grant in one of the state’s most polluted air basins. The
funds, awarded to San Bernardino County’s regional government
association, will finance a demonstration project that will place
27 battery-electric trucks in service in…
https://www.trucks.com/2016/06/10/california-grant-provides-9-1-million-27-byd-electric-trucks/


FUELS

'Insane' U.S. diesel, gasoline prices hard to crack for refiners.
The hot summer months are the boom time for U.S. gasoline sales,
and naturally the season when refiners are all-in on pumping out
the motor fuel for drivers on U.S. highways. But an unusual glut
of gasoline - just as refiners are ramping up to produce more -
has caught them on the wrong side of distillate margins for the
second time in less than 12 months.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-refineries-gasoline-idUSKCN0YW1ZM


Diesel, not wind or solar, still best backup for N.W.T. hydro,
study claims.
Minister accepts study but says conclusion is 'kind of sad'. More
solar and wind projects will do nothing to ease the cost of power
for many Northwest Territories residents, a new study claims.
Instead, the study says diesel fuel remains the cheapest and most
effective backup when hydro systems…
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/diesel-wind-solar-backup-nwt-1.3628433


VEHICLES

Toyota Motor awards MP2 Energy 5-year contract for 100% renewable
energy for Plano headquarters. Toyota Motor North America has
awarded MP2 Energy, a full-service power company based in The
Woodlands, Texas, a five-year retail electricity contract to
provide 100% renewable energy solutions to Toyota’s new North
American headquarters in Plano, Texas.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/06/20160610-tmc.html 

VW RECALL

VW Manager in Germany Is Said to Have Pushed for Removing
Evidence.  German prosecutors said Thursday that they were
investigating whether a Volkswagen manager encouraged employees
to destroy or remove documents last year, shortly before the
Environmental Protection Agency publicly accused the carmaker of
illegally manipulating emissions tests in the United States.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/10/business/international/vw-manager-in-germany-is-said-to-have-pushed-for-removing-evidence.html


GREEN ENERGY

Apple seeks to sell excess solar power. In addition to iPhones
and Macbooks, Apple could start selling consumers another desired
product – energy. The technology giant filed a tariff application
to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Monday asking to
sell energy that it makes at solar plants and other renewable
energy facilities, including biogas and hydroelectric plants…
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2016/06/10/apple-solar-sell-energy/85674398/


Apple Plans to Sell Excess Rooftop Solar Energy From New Home. 
Apple Inc. plans to sell excess electricity generated by solar
panels on the roof of its new headquarters in Cupertino,
California, joining Google parent Alphabet Inc. in efforts to
trade on the energy market. A subsidiary named Apple Energy LLC
has applied to the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to
sell power…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-09/apple-plans-to-sell-excess-rooftop-solar-energy-from-new-home


On Kodiak Island, flywheels are in and diesel is 99.8% out.
Darron Scott, CEO of the Kodiak Electric Association, unlocked
the door to a small building on a gravel road along Chiniak Bay
and pointed to two innocuous metal boxes tucked into a corner
beyond a bank of computers. "Those are the flywheels," Scott
said, turning on a computer screen to follow the ebb and flow of
the system's electrical output.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2016/06/10/stories/1060038577 

OPINIONS

Brick-and-Mortar Solution to Global Warming. Energy-efficient
buildings have huge bang for their buck in reducing our carbon
footprint. Six months ago, the United States made strong
commitments to address climate change at the U.N. climate
conference in Paris. In another six months, our politics will
decide whether we will honor those commitments or walk away from
them. If we stay the course, we will need to slash our carbon
footprint.
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2016-06-09/green-building-is-the-most-economical-short-term-answer-to-climate-change


Make an example out of Volkswagen: Column. Volkswagen’s cheating
on diesel emissions tests isn’t the first pollution scandal to
rock the auto industry. Here’s how the Obama administration can
make it the last. VW should be ordered to fix the diesels, or buy
them back and scrap them, begin large-scale production of
electric vehicles…
http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2016/06/10/volkswagen-scandal-diesel-emissions-cheating-pollution-column/85165552/
 

Letter: Global warming arguments political, not scientific.
Global warming arguments political, not scientific.  A recent
letter suggests climate scientists have reduced estimates of the
impact carbon dioxide levels will have on future global warming
and that recent warming should be attributed to solar forcings.
This is not true.
http://www.chicoer.com/opinion/20160609/letter-global-warming-arguments-political-not-scientific


COMMENT: What undersubscribed auctions mean for California’s
carbon market. In the wake of the milestone Paris Agreement to
limit global greenhouse gas emissions, the eyes of the world are
upon jurisdictions that have already taken action. A prime
example is California’s cap-and-trade program, which has been
heavily promoted as a successful model for mitigation. The system
relies upon a declining cap, which covers 85% of the state’s
emission sources. http://carbon-pulse.com/21152/ 

Ontario climate plan ignores the beauty of cap-and-trade. The
Ontario government has announced the details of its
“climate-change action plan.” Under the five-year plan, up to
$8.3-billion would be spent on subsidies for renewable energy and
low-emissions technology support. In doing so, the government has
taken a U-turn from a wise cap-and-trade policy toward costly
subsidy programs.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-commentary/ontario-climate-plan-ignores-the-beauty-of-cap-and-trade/article30379467/?cmpid=rss1


Too much renewable energy? Chile's solar panel problem. Chile's
success in establishing solar farms has led to low energy prices
for the country. But the low prices will affect power companies'
ability to collect revenue and could dampen growth in coming
years, critics say. Chile has a problem with its solar industry.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/In-Gear/2016/0610/Too-much-renewable-energy-Chile-s-solar-panel-problem


BLOGS

Why Has SunPower's Stock Declined By Over 40% This Year? Solar
stocks have had a rough year so far amid oversupply concerns, a
projected slowdown in Chinese demand, financial troubles at some
high-profile solar companies and uncertainties relating to the
U.S. Presidential election, which could alter the renewable
energy policy landscape (related: Why Have Solar Stocks Been
Underperforming This Year?).
http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2016/06/10/why-has-sunpowers-stock-declined-by-over-40-this-year/#49ed95e25796



Legend Solar is a Solar Energy Company on the Rise. Drive through
any suburban neighborhood in the U.S. right now and you will see
that more and more Americans are opting to use solar energy to
power their homes. That’s because solar power is the fastest
growing provider of energy and is being recognized as the future
of alternative energy.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marisa-mcpeckstringham/legend-solar-is-a-solar-e_b_10361692.html


A Yuuuuuge Climate Flip Flop. Seven years ago, the presumptive
Republican nominee called for urgent action to stop climate
change. By its final year, it was obvious that the 2000s were
going to be the warmest decade in history. 2005, after all, set
records as the hottest year ever recorded. And 2007 was the
second-hottest year—until 2009 stole that record.
http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/06/trump-climate-change-new-york-times-letter-ad/486335/


Who Cares About Climate Change in the Summertime? Thinking about
the most unpleasantly hot afternoons is still better than
imagining cold winter days. Forget winter. Summer is coming, and
with it another round of brutally hot days. Last year saw record
temperatures in northern Europe, high temperatures that lasted
into autumn in the United States, and, in India…
https://psmag.com/who-cares-about-climate-change-in-the-summertime-a6272013d6c2#.250o1rcj9
 

Charles Ferguson on His Surprisingly Hopeful Climate Change
Documentary, Time to Choose. Documentary filmmaker Charles
Ferguson has never been afraid to tackle a difficult subject. His
excellent first film, No End in Sight, was a comprehensive
analysis of the failures of the occupation of Iraq. His second,
Inside Job, focused on the financial collapse of 2008…
http://www.vogue.com/13444445/charles-ferguson-climate-change-documentary-time-to-choose/


Pardee Center Director Talks About Cities and Climate Change on
WBUR. Pardee Center Director Anthony Janetos was interviewed
during a live segment on National Public Radio affiliate WBUR on
June 9 about the leading role cities are playing in adopting
measures to address the impacts of climate change.
http://www.bu.edu/pardee/2016/06/09/pardee-center-director-talks-about-cities-and-climate-change-on-wbur/




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