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PARIS AGREEMENT

Here's what could happen if Trump pulls the US out of the Paris
climate agreement.
Diplomats who gathered earlier this month in Marrakech, Morocco
for COP22, the United Nations climate change summit, already
faced a difficult proposition: how to fine-tune and implement the
international agreement on climate change drafted last year in
Paris. The election of Donald Trump as the next president of the
United States confounded that process even more, throwing into
question many aspects of the deal that previously seemed settled,
including who will lead the industrialized nations of the world
in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-pulls-america-out-of-cop21-paris-climate-change-agreement-what-could-happen-2016-11


After COP22, Morocco To Implement 100% Renewable Energy.
At COP22, 48 countries committed to “strive to meet 100% domestic
renewable energy production as rapidly as possible while working
to end energy poverty, protect water and food security, taking
into consideration national circumstances”. They are among the
most vulnerable countries and are united as the Climate
Vulnerable Forum (CVF).  With their declaration, these countries
prove unique leadership in Marrakesh, keeping up to the promise
to make the first COP after the Paris Agreement entering into
force, an “Action COP”.
https://cleantechnica.com/2016/11/28/cop22-morocco-implement-100-renewable-energy/


AIR POLLUTION

Air pollution hot spot in Paramount spurs calls for action on
metal factory emissions.
Even with the doors and windows closed, Venecia Yanez can’t
escape the head-splitting, metallic odors that permeate her
Paramount home. Yanez says the harsh fumes and smoke that waft in
at all hours and the rusty residue she finds on her family’s car
must be coming from one of the metal-forging plants she can see
from outside her apartment.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-paramount-metal-pollution-20161118-story.html


Africa Has an Air Pollution Problem but Lacks the Data to Tackle
It.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently launched
BreatheLife, a campaign to make people more aware about the fact
that air pollution - which it calls the invisible killer - is a
major health and climate risk. "Invisible" may refer to the lack
of awareness that air pollution is a major health risk. In fact,
air pollution levels exceeding the WHO air quality guidelines are
often very visible, particularly in developing countries. This is
especially true for billions of people living in close contact
with air pollution sources. Those who, for example, cook on
inefficient stoves with fuels such as coal. Or live in an
industrial area.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201611280769.html 

CLIMATE CHANGE

Pope urges world leaders not to hobble climate change pact.
Pope Francis urged national leaders on Monday to implement global
environmental agreements without delay, a message that looked to
be squarely aimed at U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
Addressing a group of scientists that included theoretical
physicist Stephen Hawking, the pope gave his strongest speech on
the environment since the election of Trump, who has threatened
to pull out of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change. "The
'distraction' or delay in implementing global agreements on the
environment shows that politics has become submissive to a
technology and economy which seek profit above all else," Francis
said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-pope-climatechange-idUSKBN13N1PH


IEA Warns That Climate Change Pledges Fall Far Short Of What Is
Needed.
One of the most important and comprehensive reports on the
outlook for the global energy markets is the International Energy
Agency’s (IEA) World Energy Outlook (WEO). Earlier this month the
IEA published the World Energy Outlook 2016 – a 667-page report
that dives deeply into recent developments across the energy
sector and projects trends to 2040 under a variety of scenarios.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2016/11/27/iea-warns-that-climate-change-pledges-fall-far-short-of-what-is-needed/#2e385ded7b36


Climate change in the era of Trump.
BLOWING hot and cold doesn’t begin to cover it. In 2009 Donald
Trump signed a public letter calling for cuts to America’s
greenhouse-gas emissions. In 2012 he dismissed climate change as
a hoax cooked up by the Chinese. On the campaign trail he
promised to withdraw from an international accord, struck last
year in Paris, to fight global warming. This week, as
president-elect, Mr Trump said he has an “open mind” on the Paris
deal and that there is “some connectivity” between human activity
and climate change. 
http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21710807-or-without-america-self-interest-will-sustain-fight-against-global-warming-climate


Trump seems ready to fight the world on climate change, and it
could cost the US.
Donald Trump is branded with all manner of unflattering labels,
but one that hasn't seemed to much bother him is "climate
pariah." The president-elect is unabashed in his disdain for
America's global-warming policy. He has placed a staunch
climate-change doubter and antagonist of mainstream science in
charge of reshaping - or as Trump has suggested, dismantling -
the Environmental Protection Agency. He has talked frequently
about reneging on the Paris global climate treaty the U.S. took a
lead in drafting. And he has said he wants every federal
green-energy program eliminated.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article117364768.html


The Three Faces Of Climate Change.
The U.S. Presidential election is over and climate change is back
in the headlines. The bulk of America’s population (if we can
still trust surveys and polls) thinks there's a looming man-made
climate crisis ahead. 195 nations signed the Paris climate
accords in December promising to limit carbon and the attendant
rise in global temperatures. Whether it will be effective or not
we cannot say.
http://www.nasdaq.com/article/the-three-faces-of-climate-change-cm714340


FUELS

Trump faces dilemma as U.S. oil reels from record biofuels
targets.
The Obama administration signed its final plan for renewable fuel
use in the United States last week, leaving an oil industry
reeling from the most aggressive biofuel targets yet as
President-elect Donald Trump takes over. The Renewable Fuel
Standard (RFS) program, signed into law by President George W.
Bush, is one of the country's most controversial energy policies.
It requires energy firms to blend ethanol and biodiesel into
gasoline and diesel.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-biofuels-idUSKBN13N0CR


RENEWABLE ENERGY

As Trump promises to 'cancel job-killing' energy red tape, US
renewables grow.
In a week where President-elect Donald Trump said he would
"cancel job-killing restrictions on the production of American
energy, including shale energy and clean coal", figures have
shown that renewables are becoming an increasingly important part
of the U.S. energy mix. 
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/25/as-trump-promises-to-cancel-energy-red-tape-renewables-grow.html


Here's Why the Clean Energy Industry Is Hopeful About Donald
Trump.
U.S. wind and solar companies for the first time gave more money
to Republicans than Democrats during the 2016 election cycle,
according to federal campaign disclosures, part of a years-long
effort to expand renewable energy’s appeal beyond liberal
environmentalists. The industry is now hoping its strategy of
reaching across the political divide will pay off in the form of
Congressional support as Republican Donald Trump, a climate
change skeptic who has expressed doubts about the role of clean
energy, takes the White House in January.
http://fortune.com/2016/11/28/clean-green-renewable-solar-wind-energy-industry-donald-trump/


How Can Latin America Move to Low-Carbon Energy?
Climate negotiators convened in Morocco, this month to discuss
how to turn the Paris climate accord into action. The accord,
signed by almost 200 countries last year, came into force on Nov.
4. Many questions persist about how each country can move toward
the zero carbon-energy target that experts say is necessary to
avoid destructive climate change. Some parts of the world are
better positioned than others to take this test. Latin America is
a good example.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/24/opinion/how-can-latin-america-move-to-low-carbon-energy.html


VEHICLES

Will Trump Unplug the Electric Vehicle Market?
Pretty much everywhere you look in the automotive world,
manufacturers are plugging into battery drive technology. One of
the key factors driving the push into electrification has been
the tough fuel economy mandates adopted by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency: 54.5 mpg by 2025. But what if those rules,
long unpopular with the industry, go away? That's a question many
are starting to ask in the wake of the surprise win by
presidential nominee Donald Trump — a man who has called global
warming a "hoax."
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/autos/will-trump-unplug-electric-vehicle-market-n682526


Daimler is investing $11 billion in electric vehicles to help it
compete with Tesla.
Luxury carmaker Daimler is planning to invest up to 10 billion
euros ($11 billion) in developing electric vehicles, its research
and development head told a German daily. German firms are
investing heavily in electric cars, once shunned for their high
cost and limited operating range but now benefiting from recent
advances in battery technology and a backlash against diesel
fumes.
http://www.businessinsider.com/r-update-1-daimler-to-invest-10-billion-euros-in-electronic-vehicles-paper-2016-11


Electric cars are catching on, so are the charging stations in
SLO County keeping up?
As the number of electric and hybrid vehicles on the roads grows,
so also has the demand for places to plug in and charge up. San
Luis Obispo County has about 142 charging stations, according to
a recent count by the Central Coast Clean Cities Coalition, a San
Luis Obispo-based organization working with government and
industry to expand the use of alternative fuels. And drivers
could see more in the future, possibly along the Highway 1
corridor, said Melissa Guise, coordinator of the coalition.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/business/article117446963.html


MISCELLANEOUS

Uber drivers in Mexico City are recording air pollution.
Uber Mexico has partnered with U.K.-based Drayson Technologies to
create what is being described as "hyper-local air pollution
information" for Mexico City. Uber drivers' cars have been
provided with a connected, smart air pollution sensor designed by
Drayson Technologies. The CleanSpace Tag, as it's known, will
enable Uber drivers to document air quality levels inside and
outside of their vehicles.
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/24/uber-drivers-in-mexico-city-are-recording-air-pollution.html


These Devices Will Eat the Smog Trump Stokes With His Coal Boom.
An innocuous metal cylinder in a garden at the foot of the
Italian Alps, quietly snacking on air pollution, may be part of
the answer to President-elect Donald Trump’s ambition to
stimulate coal burning. Its maker, U-Earth Biotechnologies, is
one of a handful of companies worldwide seeking to combat smog
by, essentially, digesting it. The 10-foot tall cylinder, part of
a demonstration project in Turin, contains a strain of bacteria
that can consume car exhaust, sulfur dioxide from coal plants and
other airborne nasties. One of the units can create a bubble of
clean air about the size of a basketball court, according to
co-founder Betta Maggio.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-25/these-devices-will-eat-the-smog-trump-stokes-with-his-coal-boom


BLOGS

Six unexpected sources of renewable energy.
When it comes to discussions about renewable energy, solar and
wind power often take center stage. To a lesser degree, other
forms like geothermal energy and hydropower also get some
attention. But many people may not be aware that there are many
other sources of renewable energy currently in use around the
world, all helping to counterbalance the enormous carbon dioxide
emissions from burning fossil fuels.
https://www.engadget.com/2016/11/26/six-unexpected-sources-of-renewable-energy/




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