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ARB Newsclips for October 7, 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

France to finalise carbon floor price mechanism plan next week.
France's plan to introduce a carbon floor price mechanism will
involve either charging coal-fired power plants a flat rate for
emissions or imposing a flat tax on power facilities, according
to an official document seen by Reuters. The plan, which will be
finalised by next week, will target only coal power plants
initially.
http://www.reuters.com/article/france-carbon-idUSL5N1CC60T 

AIR POLLUTION

Airline Pollution Deal Hinges on Complex World of Carbon Offsets.
The United Nations aviation climate accord hinges on a creating a
system requiring companies to spend billions of dollars to
protect forests, build solar farms and more. The trick will be
ensuring those projects are legitimate. The agreement finalized
Thursday in Montreal calls for airlines to compensate for their
emissions growth beyond 2020 by buying credits…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-07/airline-pollution-deal-hinges-on-complex-world-of-carbon-offsets

U.N. airline emissions pact gets cold welcome from EU lawmakers.
European Union lawmakers decided to keep the bloc's own emissions
trading scheme for intra-European flights after the United
Nations agreed a deal to curb aviation pollution but left open a
decision on eventually including international flights. EU
lawmakers say the European system is more ambitious and would
actually reduce aviation pollution…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-aviation-eu-idUSKCN12718Y


NOAA finds cows driving methane rise, not fossil fuels. Study:
Microbial sources up air pollution versus industries. The
Environmental Protection Agency may have overlooked the real
culprits in its recent crackdown on methane emissions from fossil
fuels: rice farmers and cows. A newly released study led by the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration attributed the
increase in global atmospheric methane…
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/oct/6/fossil-fuels-not-raising-air-pollution-as-much-as-/


Delay to curbs on toxic shipping emissions 'would cause 200,000
extra premature deaths'. Unpublished study warns of the global
health consequences of delaying by five years a cap on the
sulphur content of shipping fuels. A push by the shipping and oil
industries for a five-year delay to curbs on toxic sulphur
emissions would cause an extra 200,000 premature deaths from lung
cancer and heart disease…
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/oct/07/delay-to-curbs-on-toxic-shipping-emissions-would-cause-200000-extra-premature-deaths

Experts call for holistic approach at Southern California air
quality summit. A panel of environmental experts gathered
Thursday to tackle issues facing regional air quality,
environmental justice and climate change. The event, “Air Quality
in Southern California: Which Way Forward?”
http://www.dailybulletin.com/environment-and-nature/20161006/experts-call-for-holistic-approach-at-southern-california-air-quality-summit


CLIMATE CHANGE

Here’s what we can — and can’t — say about climate change and
Hurricane Matthew. Back in 2004, four major hurricanes hit
Florida not long before the presidential election. Charley,
Frances, Ivan and Jeanne caused billions of dollars in damage,
and they also, as I wrote in my 2007 book about hurricanes and
climate change, “Storm World,” “touched off the biggest
meteorological argument of the decade.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/10/06/heres-what-we-can-say-about-climate-change-and-hurricane-matthew/?utm_term=.141a6e8d54d1


Poor countries urge fast action on Paris deal to stop
catastrophic warming. As the climate agreement is ratified,
developing nations warn that money pledged is still nowhere near
enough to adapt to expected sea level rises. UN back-slapping for
the record speed at which the Paris agreement on climate change
has been ratified this week has been tempered by the reality that
the new treaty…
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/oct/07/poor-countries-urge-fast-action-paris-climate-deal-to-stop-catastrophic-warming


Hydro-power reservoirs emit methane, a greenhouse gas: no free
lunch? The energy sources used to generate grid electricity can
be a major source of greenhouse-gas emissions, and thus they
affect the environmental impact of electric cars. The cleaner the
electricity used to charge an electric car, the cleaner that car
becomes in operation.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1106535_hydro-power-reservoirs-emit-methane-a-greenhouse-gas-no-free-lunch


World aims to curb planet-warming HFCs next week. In the young,
rapidly changing and still somewhat mystery-shrouded science of
identifying global warming sinks and sources in the Earth's
atmosphere, there is at least one family of chemicals that stands
out as a beacon of hope. It's called hydrofluorocarbons. Take one
of them, called HFC-134a, for example.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/10/07/stories/1060043980 

DROUGHT

How the drought is shrinking Southern California mountain lakes.
Some are just as dependent on rainfall as the Inland valley lakes
that are also dwindling. There was a blue heron a few yards away
from the Big Bear Marina. Mallards played in the water near the
marina’s office. “This is pretty sad looking,” said Scott Ruppel,
60, as he sat in front of the marina office on a recent weekday
morning. http://www.pe.com/articles/lake-815172-year-bear.html 

Drought forces Mount Wilson Observatory to tap out. The Mount
Wilson Observatory, where the universe was found to be expanding,
is turning off its faucets because, with the Southern California
drought, its water supply has been severely contracting.
Officials at the iconic telescope site atop the San Gabriel
Mountains have run out of water and shut off its taps.
http://www.scpr.org/news/2016/10/07/65424/drought-forces-mount-wilson-observatory-to-tap-out/


DIESEL ACTIVITIES

Daimler Unit to Pay $14 Million Civil Penalty to Settle U.S.
Diesel-Emissions Complaint. Detroit Diesel Corp. will also spend
$14.5 million on projects to reduce pollution. A Daimler AG unit
agreed to pay a $14 million civil penalty to settle allegations
it sold heavy-duty diesel engines that weren’t certified by U.S.
environmental regulators and failed to meet federal emissions
standards, officials said Thursday.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/daimler-unit-to-pay-14-million-civil-penalty-to-settle-u-s-diesel-emissions-complaint-1475781195

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/2016/10/06/detroit-diesel-fine/91672944/


FUELS

Methane, methane everywhere: Much comes from fossil fuels.
Methane emissions from fossil fuels may be twice as high as
previously thought, a new study says. Some say the fossil fuel
industry can be part of the solution, while others call for a
shift to a low-carbon economy. The fossil fuel industry may be
emitting twice as much methane as previously thought, a new study
finds. After carbon dioxide, methane is considered the second
biggest source of manmade greenhouse gases.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2016/1006/Methane-methane-everywhere-Much-comes-from-fossil-fuels?cmpid=TW


VEHICLES

Mercedes Gives Itself an Electric Makeover. The challenge is
creating a design vocabulary that’s familiar yet distinctively
green. When Karl Benz built the first gasoline-powered automobile
in 1885, it looked like a horse-drawn carriage without the
horses. It would take more than three decades for the shape of
vehicles to catch up to the new way of propelling them forward.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-07/mercedes-gives-itself-an-electric-makeover


Range Is All the Rage in Paris, as Electric Cars Steal the Show.
For perhaps the first time at a major international auto salon,
the stars of the Paris Motor Show are electric cars. The 2016
show, open to the public through Oct. 16, also has the usual
sampling of futuristic designs and prototypes. And of course
there are some conventional new models soon to hit dealer
showrooms.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/07/automobiles/autoshow/range-is-all-the-rage-in-paris-as-electric-cars-steal-the-show.html?_r=0

GREEN ENERGY

Aussie Leader Slams Renewables ‘Obsession’ as Energy Chiefs Meet.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull accused some state governments of
putting too much emphasis on generating electricity from wind
farms, putting Australia’s energy security at risk and
“distorting the national energy market.” Turnbull is claiming
that Labor party-run states are too reliant on wind and solar
power as they seek to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-06/aussie-leader-slams-renewables-obsession-as-energy-chiefs-meet


Wind Energy Expected to Accelerate the Pace, Experts Say. As
renewable energy accelerates its pace in electricity markets, one
such fuel has seemingly hit stride: wind energy, which is
expected to see further price drops because of economies of scale
and technological improvements. Â The cost of producing
electricity via wind power is expected to fall 24-30 percent by
2030 and 35-41 percent by 2050…
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2016/10/06/wind-energy-expected-to-accelerate-the-pace-experts-say/#ixzz4MPnmoGLm


OPINIONS

Canada's New Carbon Tax Sets the Trend on Climate: Editorial.
Canada is an unlikely model for climate-change policy. As things
stand, it’s a long way from keeping the promise it made as part
of the Paris agreement to sharply cut carbon emissions. But its
government is now proposing to make this right -- and with an
approach that deserves to be widely copied.
http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-OEMLE56JIJV901-5D61303JM056L599HM5I9GHMC0


It’s not just the Paris climate deal — the world also just moved
to cut airline emissions. Just a day after the historic
announcement that the Paris climate agreement will enter into
force this year, countries of the world agreed to a new regime to
curb a large source of greenhouse gas emissions not covered under
that agreement — those from international aircraft flights.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/10/06/its-not-just-the-paris-climate-deal-the-world-also-just-moved-to-cut-airline-emissions/?utm_term=.669a62cf9150


Letter: Citizens’ rights re: industrial wind turbines. The
prospect of hundreds of industrial wind towers standing 50
stories high looms in the future of Union, Lincoln and now
Minnehaha counties. I am not against renewable energy, but I am
against political compromise that places citizen’s health and
safety at risk. Siting of industrial wind turbines deserves
careful attention to limiting noise exposure levels…
http://www.argusleader.com/story/opinion/readers/2016/10/07/letter-citizens-rights-re-industrial-wind-turbines/91728674/


With the Paris Agreement ratified, the world needs to step up its
fight against climate change. The Paris Agreement on global
warming cleared an important hurdle Wednesday when several
European countries added their ratifications, meaning that
nations accounting for more than 55% of the world’s carbon
emissions were formally on board — the level required for the
pact to go into effect.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-paris-agreement-climate-change-20161006-snap-story.html


Greenhouse gas needs to be reduced, or else. The following
editorial appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Thursday,
Oct. 6: At least one scientist says the United States deserves
credit for trying to reduce emissions to below what they were
more than a decade ago. But unless more is done, and the two
political parties can come to a consensus on the matter…
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article106625752.html#storylink=cpy


Time to stop the backsliding on California’s water conservation.
The drought persists. This summer was the hottest on record. Last
month, a National Weather Service meteorologist called the chance
of adequate winter rainfall this year “a crapshoot.” Farmers in
the Central Valley are pumping groundwater like there’s no
tomorrow.
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/editorials/article106538277.html#storylink=cpy


Editorial: Drought forecasts are ‘scary for sure’ Interesting
story out this week in the journal Science Advances: the
Southwest faces the threat of megadroughts later this century as
temperatures rise. That’s no surprise, considering the 15- to
20-year period we’re at the tail end of with lower-than-normal
annual precipitation.
http://www.dcourier.com/news/2016/oct/06/editorial-drought-forecasts-are-scary-sure/


BLOGS

The high cost of rooftop solar subsidies. Renewable energy like
wind and solar has become politically popular in recent years. So
much so that Hillary Clinton is proposing to install half a
billion solar panels if she is elected president. Yet her plan
for “a solar panel on every roof” doesn’t reconcile with her
stated concern for lower-income Americans.
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-environment/299734-the-high-cost-of-rooftop-solar-subsidies


Opposition to Washington’s historic carbon tax initiative is
coming from the unlikeliest of sources. It’s the only carbon tax
on the ballot in the country. So why are some environmental
groups fighting it? From her eastern Washington home, where she
has lived for the past 10 years, Robin Priddy has seen firsthand
the consequences of climate change.
https://thinkprogress.org/washington-carbon-tax-campaign-7ce90a306e7f#.8dhfk2ame




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