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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for July 27, 2016.
Posted: 27 Jul 2016 13:16:40
ARB Newsclips for July 27, 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 Air quality around Sand fire is 'like being around second-hand smoke,' expert says. The danger posed by the Sand fire depends on how close people are to the flames, said Mark Morocco, a clinical professor of emergency medicine at UCLA. If people are close enough that the fire is actually in their neighborhood or yard, there is fine particulate matter, such as ash, that can trigger asthma and cardiac stress in people with chronic lung disease, he said. http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-sand-fire-live-updates-air-quality-around-sand-fire-is-like-1469478486-htmlstory.html Heat turns Valley air unhealthy, prompts warnings about limiting time outdoors. The air in the central San Joaquin Valley is hot – and dirty. Air quality on Wednesday is forecast to reach a “red” Level 5 for at least an hour or two in Fresno, which means unhealthy air for everyone. And for much of the day, air quality likely will be only slightly better at an “orange” or Level 4. http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article92044242.html#storylink=cpy Spare the Air: What can big cities do to curb air pollution? San Francisco hopes to inspire individuals to change their behavior in order to contribute to clearer, healthier air. Bay Area residents are being asked to change their daily habits on Tuesday, the tenth day this summer when high levels of pollution have prompted a “Spare the Air Alert.” http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2016/0726/Spare-the-Air-What-can-big-cities-do-to-curb-air-pollution CLIMATE CHANGE 2 attorneys general refuse subpoenas on climate change probe. The New York and Massachusetts attorneys general are refusing to comply with congressional subpoenas seeking records about their investigations into whether Exxon Mobil misled investors about man-made climate change. In an escalating political fight over global warming, the chairman of the House Science Committee is pursuing records… http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CLIMATE_CHANGE_INVESTIGATIONS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Climate change is as dangerous as ISIS, says Kerry, and part of the problem is your air conditioning. When Secretary of State John F. Kerry was in Austria's capital Vienna recently to join discussions on climate change, chances were low that he encountered too many air conditioned rooms. To Americans used to cooler rooms in summer, this may just have been a simple cultural difference. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/07/27/climate-change-is-as-dangerous-as-isis-says-kerry-and-part-of-the-problem-is-your-airconditioning/ Rising seas threaten to swamp U.S. military bases by 2050. Military bases along the East and Gulf Coast are at risk of losing large chunks of land as rising sea levels from man-made climate change swamp installations from New Hampshire to Florida. The onslaught of water will come from both tidal flooding and hurricane storm surge and could cause a 2,600% increase in the number of annual flooding events… http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2016/07/27/sea-level-rise-military-bases/87576456/?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=c2804c0e97-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-c2804c0e97-327747457 Heat is on, but the power grid is holding. The retirement of coal and nuclear power plants in the U.S. over the last few years has raised concerns that the electric power industry might fail to deliver when demand for power heightens — such as during a blistering heat wave. But for the most part, that’s not the case this week as a so-called “heat dome” leaves the eastern and central parts of the U.S. sweltering with temperatures of 95 degrees or more and feeling as though it’s much hotter. http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/2016/07/26/heat-but-power-grid-holding/87444628/ Climate Change Threatens 18 East And Gulf Coast US Military Installations, Study Finds. Over a dozen military bases along the U.S. East Coast and Gulf of Mexico are at risk of losing land because of rising sea levels due to hurricanes and tidal flooding intensified by climate change, a new study has revealed. Researchers at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) analyzed 18 East and Gulf Coast military installations ... http://www.ibtimes.com/climate-change-threatens-18-east-gulf-coast-us-military-installations-study-finds-2395173 Humidity to stay high in San Diego through Friday. The humidity will remain uncomfortably high in San Diego and other coastal cities well into Friday. And there's a small chance that a stray thunderstorm or two will pop up over the weekend. "We still have a marine layer, so there's lots of moisture in the air," said Phil Gonsalves, a forecaster at the National Weather Service. http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/jul/27/high-humidity-thisweek/ Global Warming, Heatwave Heighten Conflicts In Multi-Ethnic Countries, Study Says. Weather disasters cause vulnerability to multi-ethnic nations. Scientists said on July 25, Monday that heatwaves and drought trends worsened by global warming somehow ignite conflicts. In multi-ethnic nations, an outbreak of 23 percent armed conflicts since 1980 occurred during the same months of extreme weather disasters. http://www.scienceworldreport.com/articles/44498/20160727/global-warming-heatwave-heighten-conflicts-in-multiethnic-countries-climate-stabilization-peace-directly-related-according-to-study.htm 14% of Americans say global warming is a sign of the apocalypse. End times are nigh. Nearly 1 in 7 Americans, or 14 percent, believe global warming is a portent that the world is ending, finds a new survey by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. One in 10 Americans think they will witness the apocalypse before they die, so why bother doing anything about climate change? http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/07/27/stories/1060040827 Peru adopts national climate change plan. Peru has approved a new climate plan that conservationists say puts the forest-rich country on the right track to curb the cutting and burning of trees and protect its forests from rising temperatures. Still, activists stress that progress on the ground in Peru depends on how the government executes the plan's suggestions. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/07/27/stories/1060040826 WILD FIRES Homes on edge of the wilderness complicate wildfire efforts. When Pat Telleria saw the wind-driven flames sweeping across the grass foothills toward his dream home, he picked up the phone. In the middle of the night, he called 911. "I'm next. It's coming right at me!' he told dispatchers. "And they said, 'You're out of luck. All the resources are allocated.'" That's when the wall of fire came at them "and it was humming." http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_WILDFIRES_PROTECTING_HOMES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT California Declares State of Emergency as L.A.-Area Wildfire Forces Evacuations. The state of California declared a state of emergency Tuesday night, as firefighters feverishly tried to control a fast-moving wildfire that has scorched 37,473 acres near Los Angeles since Friday, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Fires in Monterey County, albeit more than half the size of the L.A.-area wildfire, also prompted the declaration. http://abcnews.go.com/US/firefighters-25-wildfire-raging-la/story?id=40887094 California wildfire forces shutdown of famed Big Sur parks. California's signature parks along the Big Sur coastline that draw thousands of daily visitors were closed Tuesday as one of the state's two major wildfires threatened the scenic region at the height of the summer tourism season. To the south, firefighters made progress containing a huge blaze in mountains outside Los Angeles… http://www.sfgate.com/news/us/article/Hot-hard-days-ahead-for-firefighters-on-8419557.php DROUGHT From herdsmen to central bankers, southern Africa counts drought cost. Molefi Ramantele, a small-scale livestock farmer who ekes out a living in Botswana's arid scrubland, lost a third of his cattle in the drought that has scorched southern Africa. "My life is my cattle. I have never seen it so bad...It will take me years to get them back," the 67-year-old said of his livestock, often the main measure of household wealth in rural African economies. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-africa-drought-idUSKCN1071LA FUELS Environmentalists take aim at TransCanada pipeline project. Environmentalists are again taking aim at the company that proposed the Keystone XL pipeline - this time for another of its projects they fear would send hundreds of supertankers laden with crude oil down the Atlantic coast to refineries in Texas and Louisiana. TransCanada is behind the Energy East Pipeline project, a 4,600-kilometer pipeline, or nearly 3,000 miles… http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_PIPELINE_CONTROVERSY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Valero says biofuels blending costs could double in 2016. Valero Energy Corp (VLO.N), the largest U.S. refiner, expects to get hit with a half-billion-dollar bill in the second half of the year thanks to the rising cost of meeting government mandates to blend biofuels. For the full year, the company's cost to blend renewable fuels like ethanol will swell to between $750 million to $850 million… http://www.reuters.com/article/us-valero-energy-results-biofuels-idUSKCN1062K4 As Corn Devours U.S. Prairies, Greens Reconsider Biofuel Mandate. Environmentalists who once championed biofuels as a way to cut pollution are now turning against a U.S. program that puts renewable fuels in cars, citing higher-than-expected carbon dioxide emissions and reduced wildlife habitat. More than a decade after conservationists helped persuade Congress to require adding corn-based ethanol… http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-OAOCMO6JIJV401-76VK4Q48GD9B73GSS677VE0LDO Environmentalists reconsider support for biofuels mandate. Backlash could boost effort to overhaul Renewable Fuel Standard. Environmentalists who once championed biofuels as a way to cut pollution are now turning against a U.S. program that puts renewable fuels in cars, citing higher-than-expected carbon dioxide emissions and reduced wildlife habitat. http://farmfutures.com/story-environmentalists-reconsider-support-biofuels-mandate-0-144490 Biological Engineers Decipher Cellular Strategy to Make Biofuel Ethanol Using Industrial Waste Gas. Cornell University biological engineers have deciphered the cellular strategy to make the biofuel ethanol, using an anaerobic microbe feeding on carbon monoxide - a common industrial waste gas. "Instead of having the waste go to waste, you make it into something you want,"… http://www.azocleantech.com/news.aspx?newsID=23524 VEHICLES VW likely to build electric cars in North America by 2020: executive. As it works to recover from the diesel-emissions cheating scandal, Volkswagen's future plans include quite a number of new electric cars. The company has said it will introduce 30 electric models across multiple brands by 2025, in fact. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1105182_vw-likely-to-build-electric-cars-in-north-america-by-2020-executive VW RECALL Volkswagen's $14.7 billion diesel U.S. emissions settlement clears hurdle. Volkswagen AG's (VOWG_p.DE) $14.7 billion settlement of its U.S. diesel emissions cheating scandal cleared another legal hurdle on Tuesday, as a federal judge gave the automaker preliminary approval to buy back up to 475,000 vehicles. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco set an Oct. 18 hearing for final approval. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-idUSKCN1061ZP Volkswagen's $15-billion settlement over emissions cheating gets preliminary OK. A $15-billion settlement over Volkswagen's emissions cheating scandal cleared a key hurdle Tuesday, with a federal judge in San Francisco giving preliminary approval to a deal that includes an option for owners to have the carmaker buy back their vehicles. http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-volkswagen-settlement-20160726-snap-story.html http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2016/07/26/volkswagen-group-emissions-settlement-hearing/87564422/ https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jul/26/volkswagen-emissions-scandal VW has a long road ahead to restore consumer trust, green credentials. Volkswagen is starting the process of atoning and compensating for Volkswagen's use of illegal 'defeat device' software, but it likely won't do much in the short term to rebuild consumers' trust in the German carmaker. http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/In-Gear/2016/0726/VW-has-a-long-road-ahead-to-restore-consumer-trust-green-credentials GREEN ENERGY The surprisingly bright future of America’s forgotten renewable energy source: water. Long before wind and solar, water was the nation’s top renewable energy source. Going back some 100 years, the United States built enormous dams — like the Depression-era Hoover Dam in Nevada — to produce tremendous amounts of energy. We have so many such dams that hydropower last year remained… https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/07/26/the-surprisingly-bright-future-of-americas-overlooked-renewable-energy-source-water/ Arizona's solar plans for California need new energy. When the engines roar, the wheels lift off, and the ground beneath you starts to shrink, everything seems much more simple. The Arizona Republic went up with LightHawk, a nonprofit that promotes conservation by showing a bird's-eye view of environmental issues. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/07/26/arizonas-solar-plans-california-need-new-energy/87582526/ MISCELLANEOUS Jupiter’s Great Red Spot Is Also Very Hot. Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is not only big and red. It’s also hot. Using a telescope on Earth, astronomers peered at infrared emissions from Jupiter and found that the temperature of the upper atmosphere, 350 to 600 miles above the giant swirling storm, averages 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/28/science/jupiter-great-red-spot.html?_r=0 OPINIONS Natural-Gas Vehicles Will Lower Emissions. Natural gas is much better suited for pickups and other large vehicles than electrification. “Regulators Defend Fuel Standards” (U.S. News, July 19) notes the growing tension between consumer desires for larger, less fuel-efficient light trucks and ambitious automotive emissions and efficiency targets set by the Environmental Protection Agency. http://www.wsj.com/articles/natural-gas-vehicles-will-lower-emissions-1469561459 In his grandchild’s question — ‘Why is it you don’t understand global warming?’— Sen. Jim Inhofe sees ‘brainwashing’. Climate change denier Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) is in the news again denying climate change “brainwashng” in the schools. The senator, speaking last week on the syndicated Eric Metaxas radio show, said his granddaughter once asked him, “Popi, why is it you don’t understand global warming?” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/07/27/why-is-it-you-dont-understand-global-warming-sen-jim-inhofe-cites-grandchilds-question-as-evidence-of-school-brainwashing/ Santa Monica is all Wet, Even in a Drought. Another Day in the Soviet Socialist Republic of Santa Monica. Santa Monica gives a "Your Awesome!" sign to a resident with a brown lawn. It was another day in the Soviet Socialist Republic of Santa Monica. Another day for the city to steal money from its citizens and another way to control their lives. "Drop everything! A Forum on Water and Climate Change" was sponsored… http://www.smobserved.com/story/2016/07/27/opinion/santa-monica-is-all-wet-even-in-a-drought/1672.html Climate models are accurately predicting ocean and global warming. A new study from my colleagues and I vindicates climate models, which are accurately predicting the rate of ocean heat accumulation. For those of us who are concerned about global warming, two of the most critical questions we ask are, “how fast is the Earth warming?” and “how much will it warm in the future?” https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2016/jul/27/climate-models-are-accurately-predicting-ocean-and-global-warming Zoning: Like Cap And Trade For Housing. I’ve been thinking about how to explain why arbitrarily limiting the production of housing by writing laws that limit the height, bulk, and scale of buildings—what we generally call zoning—is so absurd and harmful. I’ve tried lots of things, usually involving food, but it occurred to me the other day that zoning is a lot like cap and trade, a proposal to reduce carbon emissions by creating… http://www.forbes.com/sites/rogervaldez/2016/07/27/zoning-like-cap-and-trade-for-housing/#41164c561b01 Biofuels help protect the Chesapeake Bay. As a boater from southern Maryland, I read Chris D. Dollar's latest boating column with interest ("Outdoors: Polish skills before tackling busy ramps," July 16). But he cited some inaccurate claims from the Boat Owners Association of the United States about ethanol-blended fuel. In reality, the Environmental Protection Agency is not asking boaters to change fuels. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bs-ed-biofuels-letter-20160726-story.html Biofuel: is it the answer? The shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy is occurring mainly at the power plant level. But what about transportation? Can we significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by switching to cleaner fuels? Or is this just an attempt to keep 20th century technology chugging along while trading one set of environmental problems for another? http://www.castanet.net/news/Opinion/171634/Biofuel-is-it-the-answer Call it cap-and-fraud. Cap-and-trade, one method Canada will use to try and reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, is especially vulnerable to organized crime. As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the premiers jostle on what carbon pricing in Canada will look like and how much it will cost us, a modest proposal. We should rename the carbon pricing scheme known as cap-and-trade… http://www.torontosun.com/2016/07/23/call-it-cap-and-fraud The latest threat to the American cowboy: Environmentalists. Pity the poor cowboy. Once the hero of hundreds of movies, television shows and pulp novels, he’s no longer an icon. Instead, he’s a social pariah, spending his days caring for cows, the worst environmental villain that modern man can imagine. http://www.reviewjournal.com/opinion/the-latest-threat-the-american-cowboy-environmentalists Column: When will the candidates pay attention to the biggest environmental issue facing America? “This election is about climate change,” said Vermont senator Bernie Sanders while endorsing the Democratic nominee for president Hillary Clinton. He’s with her because she’s the one following the scientists on global warming and pledging to accelerate the development of clean, renewable energy sources… http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/column-when-will-the-candidates-pay-attention-to-the-biggest-environmental-issue-facing-america/ Obama’s $4.5 Billion Electric Vehicle Initiative is a Winner. Don’t blame President Obama for the slow roll-out of electric vehicles in the Northeast and other parts of the United States. Back in 2011, he got behind the Department of Energy’s “aspirational” goal of 1 million EVs on the road by 2016. Earlier this year, the President was in Detroit kicking the tires on Chevy Bolt, the industry’s first affordable long-range option, which is due in late fall. http://www.cheatsheet.com/automobiles/obamas-4-5-billion-electric-vehicle-initiative-winner.html/?a=viewall BLOGS At Federal Energy Conference, Forecasts Predict Bright Future for Fossil Fuels. This year’s annual Energy Information Administration conference started off on a somewhat positive note with a presentation by Dr. John Holdren, the Obama administration director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Holdren was clear in his presentation that the risks of climate change are real and deserve urgent action. http://www.desmogblog.com/2016/07/27/fossil-fuel-industry-fighting-back-annual-federal-energy-conference Sustainable Green Omni Terminal Demonstration project gets green light. Engineering design firm Burns & McDonnell are set to provide design-build engineering and project management services in the new $27 million Green Omni Terminal Demonstration project at the port of Los Angeles. The project will provide sustainable solutions in the reduction of pollutants and transform marine terminal operations. http://www.constructionglobal.com/majorprojects/794/Sustainable-Green-Omni-Terminal-Demonstration-project-gets-green-light California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.