What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for July 14, 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

California Proposes 258.6 Million Ton Emissions Cap for 2030.
California would cap statewide greenhouse gas emissions at 258.6
million metric tons in 2030, under a draft regulatory proposal
headed to the state's Office of Administrative Law for review.
California's existing statewide emissions cap for 2020 is 431
million metric tons, a limit designed to reduce carbon dioxide
emissions to 1990 levels by that date.
http://www.bna.com/california-proposes-2586-n73014444710/ 

Brown Administration Proposes Another 10 Years Of Cap-And-Trade.
California air regulators have proposed new rules that would
extend the state’s signature climate change program by another
decade--and likely add fuel to a smoldering dispute between
Governor Jerry Brown's administration and business groups.
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2016/07/13/brown-administration-proposes-another-10-years-of-cap-and-trade/


AIR POLLUTION

The port that fuels L.A.'s economy and fouls its air gets a
pollution-reduction team. Mayor Eric Garcetti on Tuesday
announced the appointment of an advisory panel tasked with
reducing air pollution from the Port of Los Angeles by expanding
the use of zero-emissions technology.  The 10-member Sustainable
Freight Advisory Board, made up of representatives from industry,
environmental groups…
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-port-advisory-board-20160712-snap-story.html


EPA publishes SO2 compliance findings, opening lawsuit window.
U.S. EPA has formally published a roster of attainment
designations for compliance with its sulfur dioxide (SO2)
standard, opening a 60-day window for any legal challenges to be
filed.
The agency had released the designations earlier this month…
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/07/12/stories/1060040129 
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/07/12/stories/1060040140 

CLIMATE CHANGE

U.S. Faces Dramatic Rise in Extreme Heat, Humidity.  Across the
U.S., we’ve hit the dog days of summer. Most regions are now
seeing their hottest temperatures of the year, and the
combination of heat and high humidity sends most people running
for a cold drink, some shade, or an air conditioner. Heat is the
No.1 weather related killer, and as carbon pollution continues…
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/sizzling-summers-20515?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=98cf4ba638-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-98cf4ba638-327747457


Brexit will force EU countries 'to make deeper, costlier carbon
cuts'. Bloc will have to draw up new plan with higher cuts for
remaining 27 states in order to meet its carbon reduction target,
which could cost billions of euros. Brexit will force the
European Union’s remaining 27 countries to spend billions of
euros on cutting carbon emissions more deeply to compensate for
the UK leaving…
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/14/brexit-will-force-eu-countries-to-make-deeper-costlier-carbon-cuts?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=e9ff708545-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-e9ff708545-327747457


Climate change department killed off by Theresa May in 'plain
stupid' and 'deeply worrying' move. Campaigners called for
'urgent reassurance from the new government' that the fight
against climate change and pollution will not be 'abandoned'. The
decision to abolish the Department for Energy and Climate Change
has been variously condemned as “plain stupid”…
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change-department-killed-off-by-theresa-may-in-plain-stupid-and-deeply-worrying-move-a7137166.html


A climate report that we ignore at our peril. Though it does not
actually say so, the report of the Committee on Climate Change
(Report, 12 July) is a salutary reminder that a capitalist
economy based on infinite economic growth, as expressed in terms
of consumption-led GDP, is unsustainable and, if allowed to
continue in its present form, will ultimately devastate the
entire planet.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/14/a-climate-report-that-we-ignore-at-our-peril


Exxon's giving report contains mixed messages on climate. At a
time of immense political pressure over its stance on climate
change, Exxon Mobil Corp. has beefed up its public positioning on
warming in its latest corporate social responsibility report to
shareholders. Exxon has supported a carbon tax that would be
revenue-neutral…
http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060040096?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=e9ff708545-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-e9ff708545-327747457
 

DROUGHT

U.S. experiencing record hurricane drought, just 4 strikes in 7
years. The U.S. is experiencing a remarkable, record drought from
hurricane hits, with only four strikes in the past seven years.
That's the fewest in any 7-year stretch since records began a few
years before Abraham Lincoln was elected president. One of the
only comparably quiet eras occurred in the late 1970s through the
early 1980s…
http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2016/07/12/us-hurricane-drought/86990408/?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=98cf4ba638-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-98cf4ba638-327747457


Authorities eye fire risk from trees weakened by drought,
insects. As the California drought has taken hold over five
years, broad swaths of a rusty red have grown in forests around
the state – the pallor of millions of trees withering from thirst
and succumbing to beetle infestations. Patches of the dead and
dying pines have dotted parts of the rural Upvalley…
http://napavalleyregister.com/calistogan/news/local/authorities-eye-fire-risk-from-trees-weakened-by-drought-insects/article_e3004fea-1574-5cd0-8657-e79f96391e25.html


Quick thinking may have saved SGV water wells from drying up this
summer. Ed Hills peered into the underground vault where water
from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta sounded a deafening roar as
it vibrated through a pipeline stretching from Devil Canyon in
northern San Bernardino. The Northern California water ended its
journey here…
http://www.sgvtribune.com/environment-and-nature/20160713/quick-thinking-may-have-saved-sgv-water-wells-from-drying-up-this-summer


DIESEL ACTIVITIES

Carlsbad switches fleet to renewable diesel. Low-carbon fuel made
from waste products cuts greenhouse gases. Carlsbad recently
became the first city in San Diego County to switch its fleet of
diesel-powered vehicles to a 100 percent renewable fuel made
entirely of waste vegetable oil and animal fats. Renewable
diesel, sometimes called “green diesel,” delivers about the same
performance as petroleum…
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/jul/13/carlsbad-switches-fleet-to-renewable-diesel/


FUELS

LA County and SoCal Gas in court fight over gas leak cleanup. Los
Angeles County will contest Southern California Gas Co.'s request
that a judge void an order that the utility deep clean thousands
of Porter Ranch homes affected by the massive natural gas leak
that erupted last fall, a public health official said Wednesday.
SoCal Gas has already cleaned the homes of 1700 families…
http://www.scpr.org/news/2016/07/13/62589/la-county-and-socal-gas-in-court-fight-over-gas-le/


Huge stocks overhang threatens oil price recovery: IEA. The
global glut in oil is refusing to ease and acts as a major
dampener on crude prices despite robust demand growth and steep
declines in non-OPEC production, the International Energy Agency
said on Wednesday. The IEA, which co-ordinates the energy
policies of industrial nations …
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/iea-says-oil-glut-remains-a-major-dampener-on-prices/article30898914/?cmpid=rss1&utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=98cf4ba638-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-98cf4ba638-327747457


Fuel industry divided as EPA weighs 2017 RFS levels. Comments
sent to U.S. EPA on proposed 2017 alternative fuel levels show
the fuel industry is as divided as ever. Thousands of comments
submitted by yesterday's deadline warn EPA that it's either
stifling grain farmers or helping them too much, either
destroying engines or not pushing them to their true limits…
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/07/12/stories/1060040118 

VEHICLES

Appeals Court Deals Blow to GM on Ignition-Switch Suits. Federal
appeals court finds bankruptcy sale shouldn’t shield General
Motors from accident claims. A federal appeals court denied
General Motors Co. ’s attempt to use a bankruptcy shield to block
some lawsuits over faulty ignition switches, ruling the Detroit
auto maker’s failure to reveal the defect violated consumers’
legal rights in chapter 11 court proceedings.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/appeals-court-deals-blow-to-gm-on-ignition-switch-suits-1468425439


A 'second era' in electric vehicles, spurred by incentives. Jane
Koca grinned as she stepped out of a Tesla Model S at a
neighbor's ride-and-drive event, where half a dozen models were
on display. Her next car, she said, will be a plug-in. "I've been
waiting," she said. "Each year, they get better and better." The
rollout of new and second-generation plug-in models that can go
longer on a single charge…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060040249/search?keyword=california


VW RECALL

VW Faces Setback as California Rejects 3-Liter Car Recall Plan.
Volkswagen AG suffered a setback in its efforts to emerge from
the 10-month-old emissions-cheating scandal as California
regulators rejected a recall proposal for 85,000 diesel-powered
vehicles, raising the prospect that the German carmaker will have
to buy them back.
http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-OAA3KX6S972D01-0VAHVTAHO243FBH7G3VGPSGVJB
 

Volkswagen Executive in South Korea Indicted in Emissions Case.
Mr. Yoon was arrested last month. An executive at Volkswagen AG
’s South Korean unit has been indicted on charges of submitting
manipulated emissions data to authorities and violating an
air-quality law.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/volkswagen-executive-in-south-korea-indicted-in-emissions-case-1468379701


California rejects VW's recall plan for larger diesel cars.
California's chief air regulator has rejected a proposed recall
plan from Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) to fix 16,000 3.0-liter
diesel Volkswagens, Audis and Porsches in the state equipped with
devices designed to cheat emissions tests. The California Air
Resources Board (CARB) said on Wednesday the plan to fix the VW
and Audi luxury vehicles…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-california-idUSKCN0ZU054
.

California rejects Volkswagen’s plan to fix polluting diesel
cars. California regulators Wednesday again rejected Volkswagen’s
plan to fix diesel cars that were programmed to cheat on air
pollution tests, saying the proposal lacked enough detail for the
state to gauge its effectiveness. The California Air Resources
Board, which helped uncover the cheating last year…
http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Californis-nixes-Volkswagen-plan-to-fix-polluting-8377014.php


California rejects Volkswagen recall plan on 3-liter cars. Two
weeks after agreeing to an epic settlement, Volkswagen is still
having major headaches with California and federal regulators
over its tainted diesel-engine vehicles. The California Air
Resources Board announced late Wednesday that it has rejected
Volkswagen’s plans for recalling the 3-liter diesel cars
implicated in the German automaker’s air-pollution scandal.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article89552237.html#storylink=cpy


California rejects VW's plan to fix 3-liter diesel cars.
California's air-quality authority Wednesday again rejected
Volkswagen Group's plan to recall and repair 16,000 of its
polluting vehicles with six-cylinder 3-liter "clean diesel"
engines in the state, saying the proposal is too vague. The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, which has been acting in concert
with the California Air Resources Board, issued its own statement
saying it also finds VW's plan to be incomplete.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2016/07/13/california-rejects-vws-plan-fix-3-liter-diesel-cars/87062504/


California rejects Volkswagen recall for 3-liter diesel cars. The
California Air Resources Board has rejected Volkswagen's plan to
recall vehicles with 3-liter diesel engines, calling the proposal
incomplete and deficient. The German automaker has agreed to
spend up to $15.3 billion to settle consumer lawsuits and
government allegations that diesel cars…
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/5850737-181/california-rejects-volkswagen-recall-for?artslide=0

California rejects VW recall plan for 3-liter diesels.
California's Air Resources Board has rejected Volkswagen's (VW's)
plan for recalling thousands of 3-liter diesel vehicles, posing a
new challenge for the German carmaker to settle its emissions
cheating scandal.
http://www.dw.com/en/california-rejects-vw-recall-plan-for-3-liter-diesels/a-19399261


Calif. rejects recall plans for 2nd group of vehicles. The
California Air Resources Board yesterday rejected an "incomplete"
Volkswagen AG proposal to recall 16,000 3.0-liter diesel
passenger cars equipped with software meant to skirt air
emissions standards, in a step that could open the door for
regulators to consider more mitigation options.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/07/14/stories/1060040295 

Settlement aimed at improving environmental justice – EPA. U.S.
EPA officials today said they hope an air pollution mitigation
fund to be created as part of the settlement for Volkswagen AG's
emissions-cheating scandal will be used to advance environmental
justice.
http://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/stories/1060040228/search?keyword=california


GREEN ENERGY

Environmental protests spur Morocco to halt waste imports for
energy. Morocco has suspended imports of European waste to be
incinerated for energy after a spate of protests by environmental
activists and outrage on social media, officials said on
Thursday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-morocco-environment-idUSKCN0ZU26R


Solar-powered plane nears end of successful flight. Solar
Impulse, a fuelless aircraft, has nearly completed its
around-the-world journey. The solar-powered plane landed in Cairo
yesterday after a more-than-48-hour flight from Seville, Spain,
that crossed seven countries. The plane's pilots, André
Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard, are now preparing for the final
leg of the flight to the United Arab Emirates.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/07/14/stories/1060040245 

OPINIONS

What Happens When You Die Waiting for a Tesla? The Model 3 is at
least 18 months away, and not everyone on the waitlist will make
it. There are more than 300,000 people in line for a Tesla Model
3, and at least one of them is going to die before getting the
car. This isn't an electric-vehicle prophecy, just a sober
reading of statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-13/what-happens-when-you-die-waiting-for-a-tesla


California Should Stay the Course on Low Carbon Fuel Policy.
Companies such as UPS, Frito-Lay and Waste Management are
expanding their trucking fleets in California and at the same
time reducing the amount of oil they use for every mile their
vehicles drive. In public policy speak, they are decreasing the
carbon intensity of their fuel.
https://www.trucks.com/2016/07/14/california-low-carbon-fuel-policy/


Why Santa Monica is staying in drought mode. Last year, faced
with one of the worst droughts in California history, Gov. Jerry
Brown issued a mandate to cities across the state to cut water
use by 25%. And guess what – the cuts were successful. Up against
a daunting challenge, Californians proved that, when asked, they
could come together to meet the task at hand.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/livable-city/la-ol-santa-monica-drought-brown--20160714-snap-story.html


Cutting carbon emissions isn’t enough. We need negative
emissions. Humans will have to not only stop emitting greenhouse
gases by 2085, but also develop technology that will result in
negative emissions — the removal of 15 billion tons of carbon
dioxide from the atmosphere each year by the end of the century —
in order to prevent global warming from exceeding 2 degrees C
(3.6 degrees F), according to a new study.
http://grist.org/science/cutting-carbon-emissions-isnt-enough-we-need-negative-emissions/


EDITORIAL: Despite New Rules, Water Still Scarce. The drought is
dead. Long live the drought. At this time last year, the media
was full of concern over the lack of water in California. People
were told they had to use 25% less water — by the governor
himself — just to survive the multi-year drought. There was talk
of one-song showers, brown is the new green…
http://www.gazettes.com/opinion/editorial-despite-new-rules-water-still-scarce/article_2ea95140-4924-11e6-a4ba-a3e07e0d1923.html


We are the 5 percenters, stretching our water supplies to get by.
Water supplies in many parts of the state are seemingly better
than they’ve been in recent memory. Major reservoirs in northern
California are near capacity. The state water board lifted
mandatory restrictions on urban water use. Some water agencies
say they won’t be asking their customers to conserve this summer.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/water-722395-state-percent.html


BLOGS

Saving the ozone layer is warming the planet but it can be fixed.
It belongs to the law of unintended consequences. Back in the
1980s, when the hole in the ozone layer was the world’s
number-one environmental problem, few people worried about global
warming. So when nations signed the Montreal Protocol in 1987 –
which aimed to save the ozone layer by banning ozone-eating
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) from use in aerosols…
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2097581-saving-the-ozone-layer-is-warming-the-planet-but-it-can-be-fixed/
 

Trucks Have Made Remarkably Little Progress in Reducing
Emissions. Passenger cars have improved substantially, but
heavier-duty vehicles have a long way to go, a new report shows.
New cars, pickups, and SUVs sold in the U.S. have become
remarkably more fuel-efficient, and their contributions to the
national carbon footprint have declined significantly. In 1990,
these vehicles represented 15.6 percent of total emissions in the
U.S.
http://www.citylab.com/commute/2016/07/heavy-duty-vehicle-emissions-on-rise/491111/




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