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ARB Newsclips for August 5, 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 cap and trade could go to ballot. The fight to extend
California’s climate change program could mean putting the issue
before voters, a top aide to Gov. Jerry Brown said on Thursday as
the governor launched a new ballot measure committee.
In publicly proclaiming the possibility of shifting from the
Legislature to the ballot box, the Brown administration
underscored its commitment to…
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article93820472.html#storylink=cpy

Gov't defends burying cap-and-trade in delivery line on bills.
Energy Minister Glenn Thibeault is defending the decision to bury
the cost of Ontario's cap-and-trade plan in the "delivery" line
on natural gas bills. The Ontario Energy Board announced last
week that costs related to cap-and-trade would not appear as a
separate line item on consumers' bills for natural gas…
http://www.torontosun.com/2016/08/04/govt-defends-burying-cap-and-trade-in-delivery-line-on-bills


California releases its draft compliance plan for meeting EPA’s
Clean Power Plan. California has become the first state in the
country to release to the public a proposed plan for complying
with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan, the
EPA’s final rule, published last fall, which aims to cut carbon
dioxide emissions from existing power plants.
http://www.publicpower.org/Media/daily/ArticleDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=46404


AIR POLLUTION

Rodeo refinery to pay nearly $800,000 over pollution violations.
Phillips 66 Refinery has agreed to pay $793,250 to settle air
pollution violations at its refinery in Rodeo, the Bay Area Air
Quality Management District said Wednesday. The settlement covers
87 notices of violation issued to Phillips 66 for non-compliance
at its refinery from 2010 through 2014.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Rodeo-refinery-to-pay-nearly-800-000-over-9116870.php


Air quality alert issued because of wildfire. An air quality
advisory was issued Thursday afternoon for Yuba and Sutter
counties. The Feather River Air Quality Management District air
pollution control officer cited possible impacts due to wildfire
smoke, primarily from the Cold Fire near Winters. The advisory is
in effect through Aug. 9, the expected date of containment of the
Cold Fire.
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/urgent/air-quality-alert-issued-because-of-wildfire/article_1de3661a-5aa0-11e6-9672-430bd3066e94.html?mode=story
Hot stagnant weather creates Southern California's worst smog in
years. The numbers suggest a step backward from years of
clean-air progress. If the smog seems terrible this summer, well,
it is. In June, Southern California’s ocean-to-mountains air
basin had just four days of healthy air. Things got worse in July
when ozone levels exceeded the federal health standard every day
except July 31. And as August begins, there’s no relief in sight.
http://www.pe.com/articles/air-809855-ozone-days.html 
 
Poll Shows Majority of Americans Think Vehicles Contribute to Air
Pollution.  More than three-quarters of Americans said they think
cars and trucks are contributing factors to air pollution,
according to a poll by the Natural Resources Defense Council
published Aug. 4. For the “Attitudes Toward Air Pollution,
Transportation and Fuel Efficiency” poll, the Opinion Research
Corp. 
http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=42773 

Here's why lung-cancer patients should move to areas with better
air quality. Scientists have long known that people living with
air pollution have a greater chance of developing lung cancer.
But what does dirty air do to those already diagnosed with the
disease? University of Southern California researchers now
believe it can shorten their lives by several years, according to
a study released today.
http://www.pe.com/articles/pollution-809821-air-cancer.html 

LAX gets $4 million FAA grant for project to reduce airport
ground emissions. Los Angeles International Airport will receive
a federal grant of about $4 million for a project that reduces
airport ground emissions. The city’s Board of Airport
Commissioners voted Thursday to accept the Federal Aviation
Administration grant as part of the Voluntary Airport Low
Emissions program…
http://www.dailybreeze.com/environment-and-nature/20160804/lax-gets-4-million-faa-grant-for-project-to-reduce-airport-ground-emissions


In California Clean Air Fight, Environmental Justice Takes a
Leading Role. As regional air quality board takes an
industry-friendly turn, Democratic lawmakers seek a voice for
minority communities disproportionately affected by pollution.
Southern California has some of the dirtiest air in the country,
but it's a lot more breathable than it used to be. Much of the
credit goes to the powerful regional agency responsible…
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/04082016/los-angeles-california-clean-air-pollution-quality-fight-environmental-justice-oil-refineries
 

County air quality improves as Soberanes Fire continues to rage.
Monterey County’s overall air quality improved on Thursday.
Carmel Valley’s air, one of the hardest hits from the Soberanes
Fire, improved from the “red” zone to “yellow” as of Thursday
midday, according to the Monterey Bay Air Resources District.
Salinas, Pinnacles National Monument, Santa Cruz…
http://www.thecalifornian.com/story/news/local/2016/08/04/county-air-quality-improves-soberanes-fire-continues-rage/88180606/



CLIMATE CHANGE

Cities rush to measure climate footprint after Paris deal. The
number of cities reporting on their efforts to tackle global
warming has risen 70 percent to 533 around the world since the
adoption of the Paris climate change agreement in 2015, the group
collecting the data said. The cities - which provide annual
information on their planet-warming emissions, the climate
hazards they face, renewable energy targets…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-climatechange-cities-data-idUSKCN10F0D0


In Shift, Australia Pledges More Resources for Climate Research.
In a surprising about-face, the Australian government said on
Thursday that new resources would be allocated to climate
research at the country’s science agency, months after the
announcement of staff cutbacks that scientists said would
jeopardize Australia’s important role in the field.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/05/world/australia/climate-change-research-csiro.html?_r=0


Jerry Brown launches committee for possible 2018 ballot measure
on climate change. With California's landmark cap-and-trade
program in peril from legal challenges and political uncertainty,
Nancy McFadden, a top aide to Gov. Jerry Brown, insisted on
Thursday the program will be extended "one way or another." Dana
Williamson, a political consultant for Brown…
http://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-sac-essential-politics-updates-top-aide-to-jerry-brown-no-one-bill-1470348730-htmlstory.html
 

Global warming could 'unfreeze' waste buried in old Greenland
military base. Global warming is slowly thawing out a once
top-secret subterranean U.S. nuclear base in northern Greenland,
potentially exposing the environment to radioactive coolant,
PCBs, and raw sewage that the military originally believed would
stay entombed for millennia. The hazardous waste could emerge by
the end of the century…
http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2016/08/04/global-warming-greenland-ice-sheet-hazardous-waste-military-base/88116442/


Philippines president calls rich countries hypocrites on climate
change. The president of the Philippines doesn’t dispute the
apocalyptic nature of global warming. After all, his homeland is
among the countries predicted to suffer most from the coming heat
waves and hellish storms. But he wants to make one point
abundantly clear.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/08/04/president-philippines-climate-change/88068444/

Will California pull back on radically cutting 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://www.desertsun.com/story/news/politics/2016/08/05/california-pull-back-radically-cutting-emissions/88039226/


Climate Change And Nuclear Waste: Greenland Ice Sheet Melting May
Uncover Abandoned Cold War Military Base. Nearly 50 years ago,
the United States military closed a base built into the Greenland
ice sheet, assuming that the nuclear waste and infrastructure
they left there would be entombed in perpetual snowfall. These
days, global climate change is causing a massive melting of that
ice sheet.
http://www.ibtimes.com/climate-change-nuclear-waste-greenland-ice-sheet-melting-may-uncover-abandoned-cold-2398167


New Climate Change Mandate Appears Stalled At California Capitol.
Gov. Jerry Brown has opened a committee to raise money for a
potential ballot measure that would extend California’s efforts
to fight climate change, the clearest sign yet that his effort to
reach a legislative deal this year may not succeed. The governor
had been engaged in on-again, off-again talks with the oil
industry…
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2016/08/04/new-climate-change-mandate-appears-stalled-at-california-capitol/
 

White House Directs Federal Agencies To Consider Climate Change
In Decisions. The White House Council on Environmental Quality
has this week directed Federal agencies to consider the impacts
of their actions on climate change in all future decision-making.
 Announced on Tuesday, the White House Council on Environmental
Quality (CEQ) released final guidance for all Federal agencies to
consider the impacts…
https://cleantechnica.com/2016/08/05/white-house-directs-federal-agencies-consider-climate-change-decisionmaking/

Forgotten Cold War Waste Will Re-emerge With Global Warming.
Before this century’s end, toxins, radioactive material will come
back to haunt us. In 1951, the United States government made a
pact with the Danish government to begin building camps and
testing sites throughout Greenland to protect themselves from
arctic Soviet attacks.
http://www.popsci.com/forgotten-cold-war-waste-will-remerge-with-global-warming


Brown: Extending CO2 targets may slip to 2018, move to ballot. A
legislative effort to extend California's climate change policies
past 2020 is proving more difficult than policymakers had
bargained for. A top aide to Gov. Jerry Brown (D) said yesterday
that he is committed to cementing the state's climate goals in
law or by voter approval but that it might not happen until 2018.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/08/05/stories/1060041243 

Cutting carbon in poor areas is hard sell for EPA. There's only
one thing all sides seem to agree on about U.S. EPA's Clean
Energy Incentive Program: It's not quite ready for prime time. A
year since the agency rolled out the program as an addition to
its power-sector climate rule, the CEIP is still drawing
constructive criticism from states, businesses, green advocates
and environmental justice groups.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/08/05/stories/1060041246 

Solar panels, not disasters, spur climate action — study.
Something as simple as an image of a solar panel can change how
people react to coverage of climate change. So says a new
University of Michigan study that finds people tend to engage
more with environmental news that adopts a positive,
action-oriented approach, compared with content that only focuses
on the devastating impacts of global warming.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/08/05/stories/1060041234 

DROUGHT

The U.S. coast is in an unprecedented hurricane drought — why
this is terrifying. Hurricanes, large and small, have eluded U.S.
shores for record lengths of time. As population and wealth along
parts of the U.S. coast have exploded since the last stormy
period, experts dread the potential damage and harm once the
drought ends. Three historically unprecedented droughts in
landfalling U.S. hurricanes are presently active.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2016/08/04/the-u-s-coast-is-in-an-unprecedented-hurricane-drought-why-this-is-terrifying/


Will replacing thirsty lawns with drought-tolerant plants make
L.A. hotter? Last summer, a revolution occurred in Los Angeles
landscaping: Across the city, tens of thousands of homeowners
tore up their water-thirsty lawns and replaced them with gravel,
turf, decomposed granite and a wide range of drought-tolerant
plants at a rate never seen before. The water-saving benefits of
this massive landscape overhaul are undisputed…
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-lawn-drought-plants-20160801-snap-story.html

DIESEL ACTIVITIES

Electric truck startup co. promises no-emissions big rig. Nikola
Motor Company announced Monday that advanced internal testing has
shown the company’s soon-to-be-revealed Nikola One commercial
Class 8 truck achieves “100 percent zero emissions” when spec’d
with a CNG-powered turbine. “Imagine what this could do for the
air in every city in America,”…
http://www.overdriveonline.com/electric-truck-startup-co-promises-no-emissions-big-rig/

VW RECALL

Consumer Reports urges higher Volkswagen U.S. diesel owner
compensation. 
Influential U.S. magazine Consumer Reports urged the Justice
Department to hike compensation to 475,000 owners of polluting
Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) diesel vehicles and allow owners who opt
for a fix to reconsider. In comments filed on Friday on the
proposed agreement…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-idUSKCN10G1I6


Elon Musk: Tesla’s Model 3 factory could look like an alien
warship. For decades, a big trend in manufacturing has been the
gradual automation of the factory floor. Robots play a major role
in making advanced products today — they're fast, clean and
efficient. But Tesla chief executive Elon Musk wants to take this
to a whole new level…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/08/04/the-future-of-car-production-will-be-devoid-of-people-according-to-tesla/

Trade group ignites debate over 'clean diesel' label. A diesel
industry trade group wants the proposed $14.7 billion Volkswagen
air pollution settlement with the government to include more
incentives for updating diesel fleets. But the request has some
environmentalists scratching their heads. The Diesel Technology
Forum submitted comments on the proposed settlement yesterday…
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/08/05/stories/1060041276 

GREEN ENERGY

Duke Energy gets pressed on renewables.  Analysts yesterday
pressed Duke Energy executives on whether the company was going
to take advantage of growing renewable energy opportunities
nationwide. Duke Energy's commercial renewables unit, which was
formed in 2007, will have 3,000 megawatts of wind and solar in
its fleet by the end of the year…
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2016/08/05/stories/1060041221

MISCELLANEOUS

California Releases Plan to Transform Freight Transportation
System. Highlights New Technologies to Improve Air Quality, Help
Economy Grow. California state agency leaders have released the
California Sustainable Freight Action Plan, a blueprint for
transforming the state’s multi-billion dollar freight
transportation system into one that is environmentally cleaner,
more efficient, and more economically competitive than it is
today.
http://www.globaltrademag.com/global-logistics/california-releases-plan-transform-freight-transportation-system


OPINIONS

House GOP members pursue an objectionable defense of fossil
fuels.  About two dozen environmental lawyers and activists met
in La Jolla in 2012 to discuss possible strategies for raising
public awareness of global warming and devise ways to mitigate
the worst effects of climate change. The advocates had a model to
work with: the campaign against the tobacco industry…
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-house-climate-change-exxon-mobil-20160801-snap-story.html


Losing Lake Tahoe to climate change. As a young reporter, Mark
Twain visited Lake Tahoe. Its clear, cobalt blue water so
entranced him that he wrote of it later, in “The Innocents
Abroad.” “I have fished for trout, in Tahoe,” Twain wrote, “and
at a measured depth of eighty-four feet I have seen them put
their noses to the bait and I could see their gills open and
shut.”
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/editorials/article93821937.html#storylink=cpy
http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/editorials/article93749017.html 


An initiative war won’t solve climate change. With three weeks
left in the legislative session, Gov. Jerry Brown engaged in
brinkmanship Thursday, sending word that the effort to extend
California’s landmark legislation to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions may need to wait. The issue could be put off until 2018
when, on his way out of office, Brown could ask voters to approve
an initiative.
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/editorials/article93846377.html#storylink=cpy


Our collective amnesia on climate change. George Monbiot’s
article (The climate crisis is already here – but no one’s
telling us, 3 August) reinforced something I’ve been aware of
since the Paris climate talks – a dearth of information and
emphasis in the media regarding action worldwide aiming to ensure
that the world’s average temperature doesn’t rise by more than
1.5C above the pre-industrial level.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/05/our-collective-amnesia-on-climate-change


BLOGS

Zero-emissions ‘compliance cars’ rear-end consumers. A new study
by economists at the University of Chicago has found oil prices
would need to exceed $350 per barrel—about 1,000 percent higher
than current prices—in order for electric cars to be
cost-competitive with similar gas-powered cars. This effectively
means these cars are unlikely to be competitive anytime in the
near future…
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-environment/290330-zero-emissions-compliance-cars-rear-end-consumers



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