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ARB Newsclips for October 17, 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

Sweden Floats Options to Strengthen EU’s Ailing Carbon Market.
The European Union debate on a post-2020 overhaul of the bloc’s
carbon market is set to intensify after Sweden outlined options
to boost the cap-and-trade system tainted by a persistent
oversupply of permits. Isabella Loevin, Swedish minister for
international development cooperation and climate…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-17/sweden-floats-options-to-strengthen-eu-s-ailing-carbon-market

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-carbon-idUSKBN12H1N2 

It could be the nation’s first carbon tax. And environmentalists
are fighting over it. A new initiative slated for the ballot in
Washington state next month would create the first-ever carbon
tax to be implemented in the United States. But while the
initiative promises to fight climate change by making it more
expensive to emit greenhouse gases, it’s caused an unexpected
controversy among environmentalists.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/10/17/it-could-be-the-nations-first-carbon-tax-and-environmentalists-are-fighting-over-it/?utm_term=.34bbb4356c62


AIR POLLUTION

How One Artist Is Turning Beijing's Smog Into Diamonds. Dutch
artist and designer Daan Roosegaarde’s “Smog Free Tower” has
debuted in the Chinese capital. Using a positive ionization
process, the air-cleaning tower captures tiny particles suspended
in the air and filters them out. Since more than 40 percent of
the collected pollution is carbon, he has struck on a novel
innovation: using high pressure to convert the residue to
diamonds, which can be sold as jewelry.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-16/beijing-smog-how-one-artist-is-turning-it-into-diamonds


CLIMATE CHANGE

Companies Readying for New Limits to Emissions From Air
Conditioners, Refrigerators. International deal would require
countries to phase out greenhouse gases called hydrofluorocarbons
beginning in 2019. An international agreement struck on Saturday
in Rwanda would limit the use of greenhouse gases emitted by air
conditioners and refrigerators, a move for which some U.S.
companies had already been preparing. Nearly 200 countries,
including the U.S., China and India, agreed to the deal…
http://www.wsj.com/articles/barack-obama-praises-global-accord-to-limit-use-of-hfc-greenhouse-gases-1476557568

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/15/world/africa/kigali-deal-hfc-air-conditioners.html?_r=1
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article108483862.html

http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060044335/search?keyword=california
 

Exxon moves to block climate probes in New York, Massachusetts.
ExxonMobil Corp. is asking a federal court to stop the attorneys
general of New York and Massachusetts from carrying out climate
change-related investigations of the company. The nation’s
largest oil and natural gas company filed a motion on Monday
challenging a subpoena issued last year by New York Attorney
General Eric Schneiderman (D) that Exxon said shows impermissible
bias against the company.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/301325-exxon-seeks-to-block-climate-probes-in-new-york-massachusetts?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=99e2986048-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-99e2986048-327747457


Green Climate Fund approves $745m funding round. The high profile
Green Climate Fund has signed off on $745m of low carbon
investment, taking funding from the agency past the $1bn mark.
The latest meeting of the GCF, the international agency formed to
mobilise low carbon investment in developing countries as part of
the Paris Agreement, approved investments in 10 projects spread
across 27 countries…
http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2474290/green-climate-fund-approves-usd745m-funding-round?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=99e2986048-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-99e2986048-327747457

Can Canada reduce greenhouse gas emissions while still supporting
western Canada’s oil industry? Last week, the Trudeau government
announced a new carbon pricing system and ratified the Paris
Climate Agreement. Having demonstrated a commitment to addressing
climate change, the federal cabinet may approve a new pipeline
next. The most likely project to be approved is Kinder Morgan's
Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion…
http://www.vancouverobserver.com/opinion/can-canada-reduce-greenhouse-gas-emissions-while-still-supporting-western-canada-s-oil

 
Why are greens opposing a carbon tax? A ballot measure in
Washington state seeking to impose the first carbon tax in the
United States faces an uncertain future due to an unlikely source
of opposition: environmentalists. The rancor among Evergreen
State greens threatens to sink a long-standing priority of U.S.
climate activists. A recent poll showed those in favor of a tax
with a 5-point lead, 42 percent to 37 percent…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/10/17/stories/1060044310

DROUGHT

State considers new drought rules as conservation ebbs. As
California faces the daunting prospect of its sixth straight year
of drought, regulators are preparing to roll out the state’s
first-ever permanent “water budgets” aimed at slashing
consumption on a district-by-district basis. The idea is to
determine each water district’s allowable supply by establishing
customized targets for indoor use and outdoor landscaping…
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/environment/ 

Sewer water die hards refuse to give up. Though he knows it makes
no financial sense, Sam Lipson regularly drives to a local sewer
plant to haul home free effluent to irrigate the trees in his
yard. A year ago, at the height of California’s drought when
residents faced higher rates and penalties for using too much
water, the time and effort saved Lipson money.
http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/10/17/sewer-water-die-hards-refuse-to-give-up/


How the western water wars may end. A novel plan in Washington
State overcomes old animosities and offers the region a way
forward in era of global warming. Over the past 100 years, this
arid region of Central Washington has undergone a stunning
transformation. Engineers and farmers have captured the annual
mountain snowmelt and used it to change the sagebrush steppe into
an agricultural Eden of tree fruits, mint, hay, and corn.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Inhabit/2016/1016/How-the-western-water-wars-may-end


DIESEL ACTIVITIES

Study Shows What’s Working for Heavy-Duty Truck Fleets in
Emissions Compliance. Heavy-duty truck fleets are trying out
alternative fuels and fuel-saving technologies to efficiently
comply with government regulations, according to a new study. The
University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute
conducted a survey with 96 heavy-duty fleet managers who operate
a combined total of just over 114,500 truck-tractors and
approximately 350,000 trailers.
http://www.hybridcars.com/study-shows-whats-working-for-heavy-duty-truck-fleets-in-emissions-compliance/


VEHICLES

One country has kept Volkswagen's global sales from cratering
after its emissions scandal. In the year since the revelation of
Volkswagen's catastrophic emissions cheating scandal last
September, the German brand's reputation has been left in
shambles. But as its reputation with many consumers lay in
tatters, the brand's sales have not only not cratered — it's
actually increased. In the first nine of months of 2015, the VW
brand sold 4,349,600 cars around the world.
http://www.businessinsider.com/volkswagen-sales-increased-after-emissions-cheating-scandal-china-2016-10


Carbon emissions from US power industry falls to 25-year low.
Carbon-dioxide emissions from electricity generation during the
first six months of 2016 were the lowest since 1991, according to
the EIA. While automakers work to meet stricter carbon-emissions
standards, another sector of the U.S. economy has already made
notable progress in reducing its emissions.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/In-Gear/2016/1017/Carbon-emissions-from-US-power-industry-falls-to-25-year-low


VW RECALL

Volkswagen Avoids Consumer Probe in U.K. Over Emissions Scandal.
The U.K.’s antitrust watchdog said it won’t pursue Volkswagen AG
for admitting the use of software to cheat vehicle emissions
tests, joining European regulators in being more reluctant to
extract concessions from the carmaker than counterparts in the
U.S. The Competition and Markets Authority won’t launch a formal
probe…
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-17/volkswagen-avoids-consumer-probe-in-u-k-over-emissions-scandal


GREEN ENERGY

What OPEC’s Oil U-Turn Missed: Peak Demand Keeps Getting Closer.
OPEC’s decision last month to reverse its policy of unfettered
production and cut oil output to boost prices may be at odds with
the industry’s most important long-term trend: demand for what
they produce could start falling within 15 years. If rapid
improvements continue in renewable energy, electric vehicles and
other disruptive technologies…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-16/what-opec-s-oil-u-turn-missed-peak-demand-keeps-getting-closer-iud8k6o5?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=99e2986048-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-99e2986048-327747457


Tesla to Partner with Panasonic to Make Solar Panels at Buffalo
Factory. Facility originally intended to be a SolarCity
manufacturing plant. Tesla Motors Inc. plans to join with
Panasonic Corp. to make solar panels at a factory in Buffalo,
N.Y., that was originally intended to be a SolarCity Corp.
manufacturing plant. Tesla’s management team said in a blog post
Sunday night that the company…
http://www.wsj.com/articles/tesla-to-partner-with-panasonic-to-make-solar-panels-at-buffalo-factory-1476709363?mod=trending_now_2
http://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-solarcity-panasonic-buffalo-billion-solar-2016-10

http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/10/17/tesla-says-it-hopes-to-work-with-panasonic-on-solar-energy/


Wall Street slips as energy, consumer stocks drag. Wall Street
ended modestly lower on Monday as energy stocks retreated along
with oil prices, while Amazon and Netflix weighed on the consumer
discretionary sector. Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley
Fischer warned that economic stability could be threatened by low
interest rates and noted the central bank is "very close" to its
employment and inflation targets…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks-idUSKBN12H173

The world’s first tidal energy farm could power 175,000 homes.
Off the northernmost tip of Scotland, in an area called the
Pentland Firth, the world’s first large-scale underwater energy
farm is being built. Whereas wind turbines use the movement of
air to turn the blades and generate power, the new set of
submerged turbines will be turned by the ocean’s tides. The
project, called MeyGen, is expected to have a power generation
capacity of 398 megawatts…
http://www.businessinsider.com/worlds-first-tidal-energy-farm-scotland-2016-10


OPINIONS

When Is Something ‘Carbon Neutral’? Re “Concern Grows as Senate
Allies Argue Biomass Is ‘Neutral’ Fuel,” by Eduardo Porter
(Economic Scene column, Oct. 5), about the effort “to force the
government to assume that burning forests to generate electricity
does not add carbon dioxide to the air”: There’s an excellent
reason that biomass is among the few issues with strong
bipartisan support…
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/15/opinion/when-is-something-carbon-neutral.html?_r=0


Morally and legally, the UK government has failed us on air
pollution. No less than 17 years have passed since new rules were
approved in the UK to save thousands of lives by limiting deadly
air pollution in our towns and cities. Pollution is the
“invisible killer” because, for the most part, it goes unseen.
Its impact on human health and the planet is why those laws were
necessary.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/oct/17/morally-and-legally-the-uk-government-has-failed-us-on-air-pollution


BLOGS

How Agriculture Can Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Agriculture
is the second largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions
after energy production, but gets far less attention than fossil
fuels as a potential way to mitigate the threat of climate
change. Changing what we eat is hard, but new technologies and
approaches to agriculture can also make a big difference.
http://blogs.wsj.com/experts/2016/10/16/how-agriculture-can-reduce-greenhouse-gas-emissions/


‘Cool Effect’ Promises Carbon Reduction Solutions. How many times
have you experienced frustration about the issue of climate
change, and felt powerless to effect tangible change? You’re not
alone. According to a March 2016 study, Climate Change in the
American Mind, 70 percent of Americans believe global warming is
happening. (Tweet this) And they want to be proactive. Now folks
have a chance to make a difference.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marcia-g-yerman/cool-effect-promises-carb_b_12483322.html




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