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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for August 4, 2016.

Posted: 04 Aug 2016 12:17:46
ARB Newsclips for August 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

Calif. issues first-in-U.S. compliance plan. California's
landmark cap-and-trade program for carbon emissions and proposed
amendments to extend that system will be used to comply with U.S.
EPA's Clean Power Plan, the state said yesterday. The Golden
State is the first in the country to publish a draft blueprint
for fulfilling the federal agency's mandate, aimed at cutting
existing power plant emissions…
http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060041127?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=d2ba41ed30-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-d2ba41ed30-327747457


AIR POLLUTION

EPA able to adjust air pollution compliance deadline - D.C.
Circuit. The Environmental Protection Agency acted within its
authority when it gave states extra time to comply with
regulations covering fine particulate air pollution, a federal
appeals court ruled on Friday, rejecting arguments from
environmental groups. The EPA adjusted the deadlines after the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in
2013…
http://www.reuters.com/article/environment-epa-idUSL1N1AK0BE  

Australia orders climate change U-turn at peak science body. 
Australia's re-elected conservative government has announced a
U-turn in its climate change policy, reinstating climate science
as the bedrock of its peak science body just months after
slashing its funding and axing hundreds of jobs. "It's a new
government and we're laying out a direction that climate science
matters,"…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-climatechange-idUSKCN10F04X


Land and sea warmest in 2015: 'State of the Climate' report. Last
year was the warmest year on record for land and sea, partly
because seasonal El Nino climate patterns prevailed year-round,
and melting ice pushed sea levels to the highest ever, a study
based on the work of more than 450 scientists worldwide confirmed
on Tuesday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-report-idUSKCN10D2CR


Barnyard Dust Offers a Clue to Stopping Asthma in Children.
Scientists say they may have found a sort of magic ingredient to
prevent asthma in children: microbes from farm animals, carried
into the home in dust. The results of their research, published
on Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine, were so
convincing that they raised the possibility of developing a spray
to do the same thing for children who do not have regular contact
with cows and horses.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/04/health/dust-asthma-children.html?ribbon-ad-idx=17&rref=homepage&module=Ribbon&version=origin®ion=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Home%20Page&pgtype=article&_r=0


CLIMATE CHANGE

Anthrax Outbreak In Russia Thought To Be Result Of Thawing
Permafrost. Russia is fighting a mysterious anthrax outbreak in a
remote corner of Siberia. Dozens of people have been
hospitalized; one child has died. The government airlifted some
families out because more than 2,000 reindeer have been infected.
Officials don't know exactly how the outbreak started, but the
current hypothesis is almost unbelievable…
http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/08/03/488400947/anthrax-outbreak-in-russia-thought-to-be-result-of-thawing-permafrost


DROUGHT

See which Sacramento communities are greatly increasing water
use. With mandatory water use restrictions mostly lifted across
the region, Sacramento-area residents are using a lot more water
this summer, even as the drought continues, according to a Bee
review of state data. Customers in the four-county region’s 23
largest water districts increased water use by 22 percent…
http://www.sacbee.com/site-services/databases/article93589432.html#storylink=cpy


City of Bakersfield customers saving more water than expected.
It's been a month since water agencies submitted their new water
conservation targets to the State Water Resources Control Board.
After seeing some replenishment in the water sources across the
state, the board decided to let each water district decide what
they want their conservation target to be.
http://bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/city-of-bakersfield-customers-saving-more-than-expected


DIESEL ACTIVITIES

Seoul to limit old diesel vehicles to fight air pollution. South
Korea's capital of Seoul will limit the number of old diesel
vehicles on the roads starting next year, as the country tackles
rising air pollution. Asia's fourth-biggest economy in June
announced a string of measures to address growing concerns about
air quality following fine dust particle warnings…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-diesel-idUSKCN10E2SV


A natural-gas powered truck that produces zero emissions? How?
Nikola Motor Company, a mysterious startup that emerged a few
months ago promising a 2000-hp turbine-powered hybrid semi is no
stranger to making big claims. Just two months ago, it claimed
7000 deposits of $1500 each for its semi, despite the fact that
it exists only in digital renderings.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/car-technology/news/a30224/nikola-motors-big-rig-zero-emissions/


Santa Monica Considers “New Generation” of Bus Engines. Santa
Monica City buses, already fueled by renewable natural gas, are
likely to start running soon with many engines that produce
near-zero Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions, City officials said. A
$7 million five-year proposed contract headed to the City Council
on Tuesday would install ISL G Near-Zero 0.02 NOx emission
engines on 60 buses…
http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2016/August-2016/08_04_2016_Santa_Monica_Considers_New_Generation_of_Bus_Engines.html

FUELS

U.S. ethanol industry finds sweet deals in Brazil as sugar prices
soar. U.S. ethanol plants and traders are rushing to sell biofuel
to Brazil as tightening supplies and logistics in the South
American market give the world's top producer a rare opportunity
to ship south during the peak sugar cane harvest, sources said.
U.S. ethanol plants are pumping out a record 1 million barrels
per day taking advantage of cheap…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-ethanol-brazil-idUSKCN10F1WY


Clinton campaign studying alternative to U.S. ethanol mandate.
Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign
has solicited advice from California regulators on how to revamp
a federal regulation requiring biofuels like corn-based ethanol
be blended into the nation's gasoline supply, according to
campaign and state officials. 
http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-election-clinton-ethanol-idUSL8N1AJ55M


Industry Will Struggle to Meet Tougher Fuel Economy Standards.
With cheap oil, consumers are again buying gas-guzzling SUVs and
pickups, dragging down auto-company fleet averages. Most auto
industry employees expect the Obama administration will make fuel
economy rules more strict following an ongoing review, according
to a new survey. Fifty-two percent of the engineers, managers…
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/industry-will-struggle-to-meet-tougher-fuel-economy-standards/


VEHICLES

Germany says French emissions report shows abnormalities at
Renault, others. German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt
said on Wednesday he had received a French report on emissions
levels of Renault and other carmakers, and that it showed
abnormalities similar to those in German investigations.
Carmakers have come under scrutiny by experts as part of a
widening clampdown on health-threatening nitrogen oxide (NOx)
pollution levels…
http://www.reuters.com/article/autos-emissions-germany-france-idUSKCN10E172


Volkswagen to equip petrol engined cars with particulate filters.
Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) will roll out particulate filters in its
petrol engined cars between 2017 and 2022, a step which reduces
the pollution from particulate matter by up to 90 percent. The
first vehicle to be sold with the technology will be the VW
Tiguan equipped with the 1.4 liter TSI engine, and the Audi A5
with the 2 liter TFSI engine, VW said on Wednesday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-gasoline-idUSKCN10E1NY


Tesla’s Big Loss Reflects Its Costly Ambitions. Tesla Motors said
on Wednesday that its losses deepened in the second quarter, but
the electric-car maker pledged to expand production and improve
the profitability of its vehicles. The company said it lost
$293.2 million in the quarter, on revenue of $1.27 billion. The
loss was only slightly more than in the first quarter, but it
greatly exceeded analyst forecasts…
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/04/business/teslas-big-loss-reflects-its-costly-ambitions.html?_r=1


Automakers 'not even trying' to sell electric cars, Tesla says.
When it comes to regulatory measures, it's customary for
automakers to present a united front to government agencies
setting new rules and policies. But as it has in so many other
areas, electric-car maker Tesla Motors is bucking tradition.
While the federal government and California Air Resources Board
(CARB)…
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1105366_automakers-not-even-trying-to-sell-electric-cars-tesla-says


How to make a clean car even cleaner. Solar panels tower over an
all-electric Nissan Leaf plugged into a charging station on the
campus of the Argonne National Laboratory. Yards away, in an old
shipping container repurposed as an office, Jason Harper, an
electrical engineer, touches a big screen and turns on the
juice." You can see when the Leaf is starting to charge, and you
can see when the solar panels…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/08/04/stories/1060041166 


VW RECALL

Further German states consider suing VW over emissions scandal.
The German states of Hesse and Baden Wuerttemberg are considering
joining Bavaria in suing Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) for damages
caused by its emissions-test cheating scandal. 
Shares in VW, Europe's largest automaker, plunged in the wake of
the revelation of the cheating by U.S. regulators last September,
hitting the state coffers and pension funds of German states.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-litigation-idUSKCN10E18U


GREEN ENERGY

Apple Can Now Sell Power as Tech Giants Boost Energy Investments.
Apple Inc., which spent $850 million last year on a 130-megawatt
solar farm near San Francisco, can begin selling power into
wholesale markets, joining Google parent Alphabet Inc. in the
energy-trading business. Apple’s subsidiary Apple Energy LLC may
sell energy, capacity and other services needed to maintain
reliable power…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-04/apple-can-now-sell-power-as-tech-giants-boost-energy-investments


Mali's banks woo clients with hire-purchase solar power kits.
Residents of Mali's capital, Bamako, and surrounding areas will
find it easier to switch on power in their homes thanks to local
banks that have begun offering credit to buy solar energy
equipment. The government's Agency of Renewable Energies (Agence
des énergies renouvelables - AER)…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mali-climatechange-energy-solar-idUSKCN10F1AS


Big investors pare energy junk bond holdings after big rally.
Investors in junk-rated energy bonds, who have made a mint this
year betting on this battered sector, are paring their holdings
as oil flirts with sub-$40-a-barrel levels on concerns about a
persistent overhang in supply and choppy demand. Thanks to the
two-year slump in the price of oil, energy debt securities
yielded a whopping 21 percent…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-energy-debt-idUSKCN10E0FP 

Africa battles to get big solar projects on grid. In an expanse
of sand 60 miles (100 km) north of Senegal's capital, two men set
to work digging up tree stumps to clear space for what could soon
be the biggest solar plant in West Africa. In less than a year,
says developer Senergy PV SA, this shrubby lot will be covered
with 96,000 gleaming solar panels from China, injecting up to 30
megawatts into the grid.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-africa-solar-idUSKCN10F18I 

Under Tesla's wing, SolarCity's future remains uncertain.  After
four rocky years as a publicly traded company in the volatile
renewable energy sector, SolarCity Corp (SCTY.O) may now be
wading into an equally uncertain future. With a tentative
agreement to be purchased by its sister company, Tesla Motors Inc
(TSLA.O), SolarCity is going all in on a strategy that some
analysts say is ahead of its time: pairing solar systems with the
automaker's energy-storage batteries.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-solarcity-m-a-strategy-idUSKCN10E17A


UPDATE 2-DONG Energy disappoints with first results since IPO.
Danish group DONG Energy's maiden results as a listed company
failed to live up to market expectations due to low wind levels
and weak oil and power prices, sending its shares down by as much
as 4.2 percent. The leading European offshore wind farm
developer, power utility and oil and gas producer reported a 19
percent rise in first-half earnings before interest, tax…
http://www.reuters.com/article/dong-energy-results-idUSL8N1AL18X


PAWS harnesses the sun to feed, water, care for its exotic
animals. The exotic animals of the sprawling ARK sanctuary,
operated by the nonprofit Performing Animal Welfare Society in
the rolling hills of Calaveras County, enjoy long days of
sunlight, rarely blocked by fog or dense clouds even during the
winter months. It is the perfect environment for harnessing solar
energy, said PAWS founder Ed Stewart.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article93599007.html#storylink=cpy


OPINIONS

Cap-and-trade gets good marks. To the editor: Michael Hiltzik
clearly outlines the mechanisms of California’s cap-and-trade
program, and rightly concludes it works because it helps reduce
greenhouse gas emissions. (“Will state’s carbon pricing fail?”
column, July 31) The fact that permit sales this year were lower
than expected and thus impacted the state’s budget is
problematic, but not indicative of failure.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/readersreact/la-ol-le-carbon-20160804-snap-story.html


Climate Retreat? Legislature May Ditch Plan to Radically Reduce
Emissions. Gov. Jerry Brown has taken the national stage to tout
California’s fight against global warming, telling cheering
throngs at the Democratic National Convention that the state has
“the toughest climate laws in the country.” Yet inside the state
Capitol, the fate of the policy’s centerpiece — legislation to
drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions — is in peril.
http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2016/08/04/climate-retreat-legislature-may-ditch-plan-to-radically-reduce-emissions/


BLOGS

California leads the way in compliance. Call it an overachiever,
but California is now the first state in the country to come out
with strategy for complying with the EPA’s Clean Power Plan. The
California Air Resources Board published its blueprint a full six
weeks ahead of the original Sept. 6 deadline. (To be fair,
California’s 2012 cap-and-trade program gave it a pretty
substantial head start on other states.)
http://about.bgov.com/blog/california-leads-way-compliance/ 

Elon Musk has harsh words for Air Resources Board. Elon Musk had
harsh words for the California Air Resources Board during
yesterday’s Q2 earnings call. “The California Air Resources Board
is being incredibly weak in its application of ZEV credits. The
standards are pathetically low. They need to be increased.
There’s massive lobbying by the big car companies from increasing
the ZEV credit mandate…
http://beforeitsnews.com/motor-junkies/2016/08/elon-musk-has-harsh-words-for-air-resources-board-2532337.html
 
http://ccaoe.com/blog/musk-criticizes-california-board-over-emission-credits-standards/
 

Big Oil Renewing Effort To Kill California's Landmark Climate
Law. As California’s Global Warming Solutions Act, AB-32,
approaches its 10th birthday, Big Oil is renewing efforts to roll
it back and the governor and pro-environmental lawmakers in
Sacramento are racing against the clock to counter the onslaught.
AB-32 set a 2020 target to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
to 1990 levels.
http://www.desmogblog.com/2016/08/04/big-oil-renewing-effort-kill-california-s-landmark-climate-law




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

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