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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for October 11, 2016
Posted: 11 Oct 2016 14:05:04
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 Major power outage triggers flaring event at Torrance refinery. A major flaring event at the former Exxon Mobil refinery in Torrance triggered a shelter-in-place order for local residents and slowed traffic along the 405 Freeway as an enormous column of smoke and flames rose above the facility early Tuesday. The flaring was triggered by a major power outage that left more than 100,000 South Bay residents without power, according to the Torrance Police Department and Southern California Edison. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-flaring-torrance-refinery-power-20161011-snap-story.html Qatar denies air pollution posing a threat to residents. Qatar’s Ministry of Municipality and Environment has denied that levels of air pollution in the country pose any threat to residents, Doha News reported this morning. A report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) analysed the effect of air pollution on residents’ health in 103 countries, Qatar was ranked second highest for rates of M2.5 particles in its air, after Saudi Arabia. https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20161011-qatar-denies-air-pollution-posing-a-threat-to-residents/ Diesel Cars Blamed as WHO Warns About Air Pollution. The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that 92 percent of the world’s population lives in areas of high air pollution. Many cities in Europe have pledged to phase out diesel cars - and there’s hope that sales of electric vehicles could take over as battery life improves. The British capital is one of the most heavily polluted cities in Europe — with levels of toxic gases regularly exceeding European Union limits. http://www.voanews.com/a/diesel-cars-air-pollution/3543886.html Khan Cites ‘Health Emergency’ as he Ramps up Air Pollution Fight. London Mayor Sadiq Khan proposed to accelerate existing plans to fight air pollution in order to tackle what he called a “health emergency” that kills thousands in the U.K. capital every year. Khan proposed introducing a year from now an emissions surcharge in central London to supplement the existing congestion charge on vehicles with an additional 10-pound ($12.40) fee payable by more-polluting cars, motorbikes and trucks. He also plans to bring forward by a year to 2019 a plan to introduce an “Ultra-Low Emission Zone” stretching from the North Circular road to the South Circular road. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-10/khan-cites-health-emergency-as-he-ramps-up-air-pollution-fight London’s black communities disproportionately exposed to air pollution – study. Black communities in London are disproportionately more likely to breathe illegal levels of air pollution than white and Asian ones, new research seen exclusively by the Guardian shows. The study for the mayor of London shows black, African and Caribbean people account for 15.3% of all Londoners exposed to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels that breach EU limits, but they account for just 13.3% of the city’s population. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/oct/10/londons-black-communities-disproportionately-exposed-to-air-pollution-study Barcelona is banning cars from massive new 'superblocks'. Many cars are no longer welcome in Barcelona. In September, the city began implementing a plan to create a set of new "superblocks," car-free areas that are designed to maximize public space. Each superblock combines 12 city blocks together into a pedestrian-friendly mini grid, with drivers forced to go around the outside. The only cars allowed to enter are those belonging to local residents (who are required to drive at slow speeds). http://www.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/Barcelona-is-banning-cars-from-massive-new-9962655.php CLIMATE CHANGE Climate Change Blamed for Half of Increased Forest Fire Danger. Forest fires are burning longer and stronger across the western United States, lighting up the landscape with alarming frequency. Residents are forced to flee, homes are incinerated, wildlife habitats are destroyed, lives are lost. Last year, the Forest Service spent more than half its annual budget fighting fires. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/11/science/climate-change-forest-fires.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/10/10/climate-change-has-been-making-western-forest-fires-worse-for-decades-study-says/?utm_term=.ffb0871d88ac Clinton brings in Gore as closer on climate change. Hillary Clinton is bringing in Al Gore as her closer on climate change as she struggles to appeal to young voters who consider the issue a priority. Vice president during her husband's eight years in the White House and a longtime environmental activist, Gore will join the Democratic presidential candidate at a rally in Miami Tuesday. During the event, Clinton will emphasizing her plans to develop more clean energy, reduce fossil fuel production and build more weather-resistant infrastructure. She will also continue her attacks on Republican Donald Trump. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CAMPAIGN_2016_CLINTON_CLIMATE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Related articles: http://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/article107494062.html http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/10/11/us/ap-us-campaign-2016-clinton-climate.html http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/clinton-brings-gore-closer-climate-change-42730969 Caring for Creation makes the Christian case for climate action. Most of you are aware of a growing movement amongst persons of faith to bring more action on dealing with climate change. The argument is powerful for the faithful – the Earth is God’s gift to humanity. We should care for it accordingly. From within this movement, there are huge voices, widely respected by both the scientific and faith communities. Perhaps the best known is Dr. Katherine Hayhoe, a top climate scientist who is also an evangelist Christian. There are other persons and organizations who work similarly to connect these two world viewpoints in a powerful yet common-sense way. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2016/oct/10/caring-for-creation-makes-the-christian-case-for-climate-action DIESEL EMISSIONS Big Trucks Will Have to Get Cleaner - And Industry Is Fine With That. Federal regulators are mandating drastic reductions in emissions from heavy-duty trucks over the next 10 years. And truck manufacturers and big shippers alike are applauding the move. New standards released by the Department of Transportation and Environmental Protection Agency call for reductions of up to 25 percent in carbon emissions from big tractor-trailer rigs. Smaller cuts will be required of delivery fleets and buses. http://www.supplychainbrain.com/content/blogs/think-tank/blog/article/big-trucks-will-have-to-get-cleaner-and-industry-is-fine-with-that/ FUELS BP Sees Oil Demand Growth Swamping Impact of Electric Cars. Rising demand for oil over the next two decades is likely to overwhelm the impact of the electric car on crude markets, said Spencer Dale, chief economist for BP Plc. “They’ll have a huge impact in terms of air quality, but it’s not a game changer over 20 years even with aggressive electric vehicle penetration,’’ Dale said at in a panel discussion at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance summit in London on Tuesday. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-11/bp-sees-oil-demand-growth-swamping-impact-of-electric-cars ENERGY Renewable energy could offer security as global tensions rise. It's already a well-established fact that renewable sources of energy are clean and increasingly cost effective. But with parts of the world gripped by geopolitical tensions and armed conflict, clean energy can offer something extra: The potential of energy independence and security. In Germany, the idea of fostering energy independence through renewables is gaining traction with some lawmakers. http://www.cnbc.com/2016/10/11/renewable-energy-could-offer-security-as-global-tensions-rise.html As Prices Plunge, Africa Surges Into Clean, Cheap Solar Energy. Until almost two years ago, James Mbugua, a farmer living in Karai, a village on the outskirts of Kenya’s capital, relied on kerosene to light his house, and a car battery to power his television so he wouldn't miss the news. Part of the reason he couldn't plug into the power grid, despite being so close to Nairobi and in an area where electricity is readily available, is that he lives on government land as a squatter, with no papers to show he owns the 70-foot by 80-foot parcel where he has put up a makeshift house. http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2016/10/11/world/africa/11reuters-africa-solar-energy.html Peek into Clinton's inner circle on energy. John Podesta’s hacked emails provide a window into who is offering the Democratic power-broker advice on the wonky climate change issues he has spent much of his career on. One person who shows up often in the trove Wikileaks released Monday is none other than John Deutch, the former CIA director who received a presidential pardon from President Bill Clinton for mishandling classified material on unsecured home computers. Deutch, now a professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, worked closely with Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz while both were at the university and now chairs the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board. In several friendly emails, he refers to periodic meetings and phone calls with Podesta in which the two exchange views on a variety of topics, including international collaboration on carbon capture and sequestration technologies and nuclear energy. http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-energy/2016/10/peek-into-clintons-inner-circle-on-energy-216792 VEHICLES Plans for an electric car charging point in every new home in Europe. Every new or refurbished house in Europe will need to be equipped with an electric vehicle recharging point, under a draft EU directive expected to come into effect by 2019. In a further boost to prospects for the electric car market in Europe, the regulations due to be published before the end of the year state that by 2023, 10% of parking spaces in new buildings in the EU zone will also need recharging facilities. https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/oct/11/electric-car-charging-point-new-home-europe-renault Fiat Chrysler Recall: This Is Going To Cost Money. The Fiat Chrysler recall of not less than 130,000 Ram pickup trucks equipped will cost over the $200 million, a figure that engine manufacturer Cummins seems to be refuting. The recall is for the 2013 to 2015 model year Ram 2500 pickup trucks with 6.7L, which use the Cummins diesel engines. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board, the moisture emitted from them is hazardous in the likes of deactivation of the selective catalyst reduction system. http://www.fxnewscall.com/fiat-chrysler-recall-this-is-going-to-cost-money/1955900/ MISCELLANEOUS Bill Bryant touts his environmental credentials in race against Gov. Jay Inslee. Over the fireplace in Bill Bryant’s rustic vacation home outside Winthrop, a large portrait of Teddy Roosevelt greets visitors and serves as a source of inspiration for the Republican candidate for governor. Bryant, an outdoorsman who grew up on the Olympic Peninsula, fancies himself as a conservationist in the mold of the turn-of-the-century president. He points to Roosevelt’s influence in his own hands-on work to protect Puget Sound watersheds, while ignoring grander environmental gestures that are purely symbolic. http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/activists-dispute-bryants-claim-that-hes-an-environmentalist/ OPINIONS 'Clean Coal' Is Far From Real. “There is a thing called clean coal,” Donald Trump said during Sunday night’s debate. But there isn’t -- and won’t be for a considerable time, if ever. Presumably, Trump was referring to so-called carbon-capture technology, which is designed to collect and dispose of coal plants’ carbon-dioxide emissions before they escape into the atmosphere, where they trap heat. That technology may be on the drawing board and in a few small-scale demonstration projects, but it’s not close to being ready for widespread use at an affordable price. https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-10-10/-clean-coal-is-far-from-real Make The Renewable Fuel Standard More Fair--And Effective. Forbes’ August 29 post titled “A Wealth Transfer from Refiners to Ethanol Producers” accurately highlights a problem with the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS): Our government currently makes the wrong entities comply with its mandates. In examining this complex program, the writer correctly describes the problem that it creates for independent refiners, who are obligated to comply with the mandate yet largely beholden to other entities to live up to its requirements. http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2016/10/10/make-the-renewable-fuel-standard-more-fair-and-effective/#1a145afe6455 Is Cap and Trade Failing Low Income and Minority Communities? Exposure to pollution-related health risks, accumulated over a lifetime, can have real impacts on outcomes that matter (such as health, education, productivity, and income). So neighborhoods that are more exposed to these risks are disadvantaged in more ways than one. http://www.theenergycollective.com/meredith_fowlie/2390262/is-cap-and-trade-failing-low-income-and-minority-communities BLOGS We Need To Move From Climate Commitment To Climate Action. Last Wednesday, climate ambition became climate action. That was the message heard around the world as Canada and the European Union approved the Paris Agreement ratification. With this step, the global agreement has effectively crossed the threshold to enter into force. The agreement, which aims to limit further warming to well below two degrees Celsius, signals a significant shift in global cooperation and the recognition of the need for urgent action on climate change. For Canada, it means that we really are back. We've stepped onto the global stage and positioned ourselves as leaders in the transition to a sustainable low carbon future. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/bc-council-for-international-cooperation/canada-climate-commitment_b_12391526.html California’s Big Climate Program Hits 10. Sometime allies Governors Jerry Brown and Arnold Schwarzenegger joined forces again Wednesday at the California Museum in Sacramento to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Schwarzenegger’s signing of California’s pioneering omnibus climate change legislation. The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, also known as AB 32, committed the Golden State to a decades-long drive to create a low-carbon economy and slash greenhouse gas emissions by accelerating the transition to renewable energy, conservation and energy efficiency, and new transportations systems. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-bradley/californias-big-climate-p_b_12389910.html California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.