What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for August 2, 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

Big Sur fire delivers smoke and haze to the Bay Area. The dense
layer of hazy soot that has blanketed much of the Bay Area and
particularly the Monterey Bay region is expected to clear Tuesday
with shifting winds that should send smoke from a relentless
wildfire near Big Sur south into the Salinas Valley. The
forecasted change in wind direction, air pollution experts said
Monday…
http://www.mercurynews.com/drought/ci_30195163/big-sur-fire-delivers-smoke-and-haze-bay?source=rss


Wildfire Smoke Hampers Central Valley Air Quality. Smoke from two
wildfires is hampering air quality throughout the central valley.
From Modesto to Stockton and even into the Sacramento Valley, the
skyline shows the same thing—smoke. The Soberanes and Goose fires
have been filling the skies with smoke, wreaking havoc on the
eyes and lungs of residents.
http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2016/08/01/wildfire-smoke-hampers-central-valley-air-quality/


CLIMATE CHANGE

Rising Sea Levels Could Cost U.S. Homeowners Close to $1
Trillion. Being underwater will soon mean exactly what it says.
Especially in Florida. When talking about housing, “underwater”
usually means you owe more on a mortgage than the home is
actually worth. If climate change continues apace, that term
could take on a much more literal meaning.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-02/rising-sea-levels-could-cost-u-s-homeowners-close-to-1-trillion?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=dff0ad1f1f-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-dff0ad1f1f-327747457


Climate Change Is Hell on Alaska's Formerly Frozen Highways.  A
critical artery is threatened by thawing permafrost. For seven
decades, the Alaska Highway has mesmerized adventure-seeking
travelers. In one breathtaking stretch through the Yukon, glacier
lakes and rivers snake through aspen forests and rugged mountains
that climb into the clouds.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2016-08-02/the-alaskan-highway-is-literally-melting


White House directs federal agencies to consider climate change
impacts. U.S. federal agencies will be required to disclose
whether their actions and decisions will have an impact on
climate change, the White House announced Tuesday. The White
House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) finalized an update
after nearly six years of consultations of the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-climatechange-regulations-idUSKCN10D24T

Exclusive - U.N. aviation emissions pact may be voluntary at
first: sources. A deal to limit carbon emissions from global
civil aviation could be voluntary for the first five years
instead of mandatory for certain countries under the current
proposal, four sources familiar with the matter said. Facing an
October deadline, countries have been unable so far to agree on
the metrics…
http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-climatechange-aviation-exclusive-idUKKCN10D22F?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews


From now on, every government agency will have to consider
climate change. In the past several weeks alone, the Obama
administration has made multiple new moves to fight climate
change. The administration announced new steps to help fill U.S.
roadways with electric vehicles. It ruled that greenhouse gas
emissions from aircraft endanger human health and welfare.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/08/02/from-now-on-every-government-agency-will-have-to-consider-climate-change/?utm_term=.18f688e2323e


Looking, Quickly, for the Fingerprints of Climate Change. When
days of heavy rain in late May caused deadly river flooding in
France and Germany, Geert Jan van Oldenborgh got to work. Dr. van
Oldenborgh is not an emergency responder or a disaster manager,
but a climate researcher with the Royal Netherlands
Meteorological Institute.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/02/science/looking-quickly-for-the-fingerprints-of-climate-change.html?_r=0


Will an expanded power grid help California fight climate change?
In three years, California’s largest utilities could be slashing
their use of fossil fuels by swapping homegrown solar energy for
Rocky Mountain wind power in a sprawling Western electricity
grid. Or a newly expanded grid could provide a profitable market
to revive out-of-state coal plants that would otherwise face a
harder time…
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article93147912.html#storylink=cpy


Trump calls climate change 'hoax,' as Clinton vows to fight it.
Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump offer
Americans starkly different views on global warming: Clinton sees
it as an urgent concern, while Trump dismisses it as a minor
problem at most. "There's never been a bigger contrast between
the two candidates and the two platforms,"…
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/2016/08/02/donald-trump-climate-change-hillary-clinton/87628818/
 

How climate change has reemerged on the campaign trail. Unlike
the previous two presidential elections, this election has seen
in increase in the prominence, and divisiveness, of climate
change. Marking a dramatic shift from the previous two
presidential elections, climate change policy has become one of
the major issues of this election, and the parties' environmental
platforms…
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2016/0802/How-climate-change-has-reemerged-on-the-campaign-trail


Environmental records shattered as climate change 'plays out
before us'. Temperatures, sea levels and carbon dioxide all hit
milestones amid extreme weather in 2015, major international
‘state of the climate’ report finds. The world is careening
towards an environment never experienced before by humans, with
the temperature of the air and oceans breaking records, sea
levels reaching historic highs…
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/02/environment-climate-change-records-broken-international-report


Climate Change Forces Fish To Switch Permanently To Night-Time
Defense Mode. Fish are coping with the adverse effects of climate
change by setting their body defenses at night-time levels
permanently, according to scientists. A study published Monday in
the journal Nature Climate Change said fish have begun to adapt
to the increasing acidification of oceans — linked to global
warming…
http://www.ibtimes.com/climate-change-forces-fish-switch-permanently-night-time-defense-mode-2396834


Plants can run but they can't hide from warming – study. Plants
don't have legs to run with, but that doesn't mean many aren't
trying to flee from climate change. Now scientists are showing
experimentally how rapid evolution is a driving force that could
enable plants' escape to cooler climates. In a study published
recently in the journal Science, researchers tested how evolution
might help plants…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/08/02/stories/1060041073 

DROUGHT

California drought: Residents cut water use 21.5 percent in June
despite relaxed drought rules. The drought rules were relaxed,
but Californians didn't open the spigots.
The state's urban residents are continuing strong water
conservation, cutting water use 21.5 percent in
June…http://www.mercurynews.com/drought/ci_30197773/california-drought-residents-cut-water-use-21-5


Despite Drought, California Farming Prospered. Economic data show
that while California farming has seen many changes because of
drought, the industry continued its strong growth trend. But
total earnings are not the whole picture, especially when it
comes to farm laborers.
https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2016/08/01/despite-drought-california-farming-prospered


FUELS

EPA Warns Automakers U.S. Fuel-Economy Goals to Get Even Steeper.
The auto industry will need to step up introduction of
fuel-saving technology to help the U.S. meet aggressive goals to
combat climate change despite manufacturers’ requests for relief
from existing rules, the Environmental Protection Agency’s top
transportation official said. The U.S. will have to accelerate
carbon reductions beyond current regulations…
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-08-02/epa-warns-automakers-u-s-fuel-economy-goals-to-get-even-steeper


ADM eyes ethanol asset sales as weak margins hit second-quarter
profit. U.S. grain trader Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM.N) is
pulling back in ethanol and exploring sales of its corn dry mills
that produce the biofuel, the company said Thursday after
reporting a lower second-quarter profit due partly to weak
ethanol results.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-archer-daniels-results-idUKKCN10D12R

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-adm-earnings-20160802-story.html


More than half of Husky oil spill in Canada recovered: officials.
 About half of the oil that leaked from a Husky Energy Inc
pipeline into a western Canadian river more than a week ago has
been recovered, but there is no immediate deadline for when the
cleanup will conclude, officials said on Monday. More than 1,570
barrels of heavy oil and diluent leaked from Husky's Saskatchewan
Gathering System pipeline…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-pipeline-spill-husky-energy-saskatche-idUSKCN10C32Q?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=dff0ad1f1f-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-dff0ad1f1f-327747457


‘Collective Failure’ at Mitsubishi Motors Led to Fuel Fraud.  An
investigation of practices at Mitsubishi Motors Corp. found a
corporate culture where workers couldn’t push back against
management demands and infighting between departments contributed
to a fuel-economy manipulation scandal that’s led to a rescue
from Nissan Motor Co. It was a systemic failure that led to the
cheating…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-02/mitsubishi-motors-report-cites-poor-governance-for-mileage-fraud


Industry asks for extension on technical CAFE review. The
automotive industry is asking U.S. EPA and the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration for more time to review a
1,000-plus-page technical assessment of corporate average fuel
economy (CAFE) standards. The draft technical analysis report
released earlier this month evaluates current market data, fuel
prices…
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/08/02/stories/1060041099 

VEHICLES 

How car charging is going the way of Airbnb. Tim Thomson needed a
charge, quickly. With his all-electric Nissan Leaf fast losing
battery power and no places to plug in along the highway from
Fresno, Calif., to San Francisco, Thompson turned to his iPhone.
He pulled up an application called PlugShare that maps charging
stations for electric vehicle drivers. A resident in nearby
Madera had advertised his home charging station, so Thomson
called in a panic.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/08/02/stories/1060041063 

VW RECALL

South Korea suspends sales of most Volkswagen models. South Korea
on Tuesday suspended sales of most Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE)
models in a fresh blow to the German automaker as it struggles to
overcome the global repercussions of its emissions-test cheating
scandal and rebuild its tattered image. The government revoked
certification for 80 model variants of VW, Audi and Bentley
vehicles…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-southkorea-idUSKCN10D05D

http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-OB9U826S972R01-23N2BIQ2T5G9OVTU63N3VSCNAO


German state of Bavaria to sue VW over emissions scandal. The
German state of Bavaria said on Tuesday it would sue Volkswagen
(VOWG_p.DE) for damages caused by its emissions-test cheating
scandal, the first regional government in VW's home country to
take legal action against the carmaker. Bavaria's state pension
fund for civil servants lost as much as 700,000 euros ($780,000)…
 http://in.reuters.com/article/volkswagen-emissions-litigation-idINKCN10D13V

http://www.autonews.com/article/20160802/COPY01/308029858/german-state-of-bavaria-will-sue-vw-over-emissions-scandal


GREEN ENERGY

Cuomo's N.Y. regulators greenlight 50% renewable standard, bail
out reactors. New York regulators yesterday approved a plan that
puts the state on track to get half of its power from renewable
energy by 2030. The New York State Public Service Commission
yesterday approved a clean energy standard (CES) based on goals
Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) proposed last year.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2016/08/02/stories/1060041072 

OPINIONS

EPA should change biofuels program to help small fuel retailers:
letter. U.S. regulators should alter a much-debated biofuels
program that disadvantages small fuel retailers, said the
chairman of a newly-formed coalition, joining the likes of
refiners including Valero Energy Corp, which have made a similar
push. The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) gives an unfair advantage
to large petroleum retailers and sidelines smaller ones…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-biofuels-retailers-idUSKCN10C2ZX


California's cap-and-trade program has cut pollution. So why do
critics keep calling it a failure? After cruising along for more
than two years, California’s vaunted cap-and-trade program to cut
carbon emissions has run into a few recent snags. A state appeals
court has signaled that it has doubts about how officials are
spending billions in revenue from the  program — or even if they
have the right to collect the money at all. unilaterally extend
the program past 2020 or need to get the legislature’s permission
to do so.
http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-captrade-20160728-snap-story.html


BLOGS

Seeking Climate Change Clues in Old Pollen and Mammoth Dung.
Jacquelyn Gill is a talented young paleoecologist at the
University of Maine — achieving lead-author status as a graduate
student back in 2009 on a much-cited paper in Science that shed
light on what did, and didn’t, contribute to the great die-off of
mammoths and other “megafauna” in North America as the last ice
age ended.
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/08/02/seeking-climate-change-clues-in-old-pollen-and-mammoth-dung/?ref=international


New York Joins California In Leading On Clean Energy. For a
glimpse of what New York’s just-announced clean energy standard
could mean to the state’s economy, look West. New York’s plan to
get 50 percent of its energy from renewables by 2030, announced
Monday by Gov. Cuomo, matches the renewable standard set by
California in 2015. It will make New York a major leader for
clean energy…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-keefe/new-york-joins-california_b_11298964.html


Global warming, chemtrails and clouds. My friend, a young
fisherman in coastal Maine, is convinced the government is
seeding the skies with chemicals and microscopic particles of
metal designed to promote cloud formation. His proof: common
sense observations of the difference in the clouds above. He
insists that “chemtrails” are real, and my friend is not alone.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-farago/global-warming-chemtrails_b_11302718.html

Wind Is Winning — Delivering America’s Clean Energy Future,
Today. It’s remarkable how quickly the future can arrive. For the
long-anticipated revolution in renewable energy, that future is
today. And wind power is leading the way. The signs are
unmistakable. On June 29, the leaders of the U.S., Mexico and
Canada made an unprecedented commitment, announcing their
historic pledge to speed the transition from fossil fuels…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-brown/wind-is-winning-deliverin_b_11299374.html


How We Use The Sun To Reduce Climate Change And Make Fuel At The
Same Time. Around this time last year I reported on an invention
that seemed like a potential panacea for all our climate
concerns: A solar-powered reaction that takes ambient carbon
dioxide from the atmosphere and uses it to create materials for
planes, batteries and more.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericmack/2016/07/30/how-we-use-the-sun-to-reduce-climate-change-and-make-fuel-and-other-stuff-at-the-same-time/#4a4a8651534e


US agribusiness acquires biotechnology firm Ceres. Land O’Lakes,
a US agribusiness, has acquired California-based biotechnology
firm Ceres. Ceres will become part of Land O'Lakes' forage
business unit currently comprised of Forage Genetics
International (FGI). Ceres develops and produces seeds of
genetically modified crops used for biofuels production.
http://biofuels-news.com/display_news/10841/us_agribusiness_acquires_biotechnology_firm_ceres/




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