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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for January 13, 2017

Posted: 13 Jan 2017 17:04:02
This is a service of the California Air Resources Board’s Office
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 CAP AND TRADE

California Considers Guaranteeing Carbon Prices in Trump Era.
California is considering a system to protect projects that cut
global-warming emissions from a market downturn that may worsen
under a Trump administration. The state may guarantee the money
these project developers get for emission-reduction and
clean-fuel credits by auctioning options that oblige California
to pay a minimum price for them…
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-13/california-considers-guaranteeing-carbon-prices-in-trump-era?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=e958fbc481-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-e958fbc481-327747457


Cap and trade, the good, bad and ugly. On Jan. 1, Ontario
consumers noticed a spike in gas prices as the province’s new cap
and trade system came into effect. Cap and trade will add about
four cents a litre for gasoline and about a dollar per gigajoule
to natural gas bills. It will increase other prices too as
increased costs of production and transportation ripple through
the economy.
http://www.torontosun.com/2017/01/12/cap-and-trade-the-good-bad-and-ugly


Lawmakers eager to extend cap-and-trade program. California
lawmakers yesterday introduced a bill to extend the state's
signature cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases beyond 2020,
in line with Gov. Jerry Brown's (D) call to preserve the
program.
A.B. 151, by Assembly members Autumn Burke (D), Jim Cooper (D),
Evan Low (D) and Blanca Rubio (D), is aimed at relieving market
jitters that have hurt demand for emissions allowances.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/01/13/stories/1060048350 

AIR POLLUTION

All north Indian cities fail to meet air quality standards,
report finds. Greenpeace study estimates air pollution kills more
than 1 million Indians each year and cuts country’s GDP by 3%.
Not a single city in northern India meets international air
quality standards, according to a Greenpeace report that
estimates air pollution kills more than 1 million Indians each
year and takes 3% off the country’s GDP.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/13/all-north-indian-cities-fail-meet-air-quality-standards-report-finds
 

EPA denies time-worn petitions against rule. The Obama
administration yesterday denied a slew of petitions from states,
industry and others that in 2015 asked U.S. EPA to reconsider or
pause its landmark plan for cutting carbon emissions from the
power sector. Challengers to the Clean Power Plan filed the
requests after the rule was finalized in 2015 but before the
Supreme Court froze implementation in February 2016.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/01/13/stories/1060048345 

CLIMATE CHANGE

Trump appointees on climate change: Not fake, not a big deal
either. As we watch President-elect Donald Trump’s national
security appointees seek Senate confirmation this week, a hint of
a pattern seems to be emerging in how some of them discuss the
global environment and its leading problem, the unambiguous
warming trend.

We’re not seeing any outright denial on this front. What we are
seeing, though, is a tendency to either avoid full confrontation
with the issue or to minimize it.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/01/13/trump-appointees-on-climate-change-not-fake-not-a-big-deal-either/?utm_term=.3f67bd17daba


More than 70 percent of Japan’s largest coral reef has died.
Japan’s largest coral reef system has become the latest casualty
in a long series of coral bleaching events around the world. More
than 90 percent of coral in the Sekisei Lagoon, located in the
Okinawa prefecture, has bleached, according to a new survey just
released by Japan’s Ministry of the Environment. And a whopping
70 percent of the reef has died.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/01/13/more-than-70-percent-of-japans-largest-coral-reef-has-died/?utm_term=.733bee8d95ee


Exxon Mobil is ordered to hand over climate change research. A
Massachusetts judge has ordered Exxon Mobil to submit 40 years of
documents regarding the company’s studies of the impact of fossil
fuels on climate change. Superior Court Judge Heidi E. Brieger
said state law supports arguments by Massachusetts’ attorney
general that the government agency has the authority to pursue
questions about whether Exxon Mobil misled the public about the
role fossil fuels play in climate change.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-exxon-mobil-climate-change-documents-20170112-story.html


Northeast warming more rapidly than most of US. New England is
likely to experience significantly greater warming over the next
decade, and beyond, than the rest of the planet, according to new
findings by climate scientists at the University of Massachusetts
Amherst. The region’s temperatures are projected to rise by an
average of 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit above pre-industrial levels by
2025…
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/01/12/northeast-will-experience-faster-warming-from-climate-change-new-study-finds/nitce6eK8zqQN2LXZXgvwK/story.html


Trees near the Great Lakes vulnerable to warming. Scientists are
trying to equip forests near the Great Lakes to deal with the
effects of climate change. They predict the region will
experience increased temperatures and water scarcity, which could
have implications for its forest cover. The Great Lakes forests
support a thriving ecosystem of flora and fauna, as well as a
forestry industry valued at several billion dollars.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/01/13/stories/1060048328 

DROUGHT

Call it the Southern California drought. Rain and snow end
Northern California water woes. What was once a statewide drought
this week became a Southern California drought. A week of
powerful storms has significantly eased the state’s water
shortage, pulling nearly all of Northern California out of
drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The
report underscores what experts have been saying for several
months. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/ 

FUELS

EPA rejects automakers’ bid to weaken fuel efficiency standards.
The Environmental Protection Agency rejected a bid by automakers
to roll back fuel efficiency standards that would sharply
increase mileage by 2025, saying that the auto companies possess
the technology and financial resources to meet the targets set by
the Obama administration. Citing eight years of research, EPA
Administrator Gina McCarthy said that “at every step in the
process…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/01/13/epa-rejects-automakers-bid-to-weaken-fuel-efficiency-standards/?utm_campaign=e958fbc481-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Inside
Climate News&utm_term=.c6c17004b287
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/314148-obama-wont-change-car-emissions-standards
 

EPA finalizes standards as unhappy carmakers look to Trump. The
Obama administration locked in tighter fuel economy standards
today for cars, minivans, SUVs and pickup trucks — finalizing the
decision 14 months ahead of schedule and a week before the
inauguration of Donald Trump. A component of President Obama's
climate change agenda, the greenhouse gas standards would bring
average…
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/01/13/stories/1060048381 

VEHICLES

Competition heats up in race for electric vehicle. Automakers are
shifting away from hybrid vehicles and pouring resources into
electric vehicles in the race to develop the next generation of
environmentally friendly automobiles. The shift is being pushed
by stronger emissions rules in Europe, the United States and
China, as well as lower manufacturing costs for electric
vehicles.
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/01/13/competition-heats-up-in-race-for-electric-vehicle/

VW suggests imminent plug-in and electric vehicle battery
shortage. Panasonic, Tesla will be tasked with boosting battery
production. As consumers continue to buy more electric vehicles
and plug-in hybrids worldwide, lithium-ion battery packs continue
to drop in price while offering increasing energy density. So
what could possibly be the problem? A global battery-pack
shortage, that's what.
http://www.autoblog.com/2017/01/12/vw-suggests-plug-in-electric-vehicle-battery-shortage/


VW RECALL

How VW's In-House Lawyers Screwed Up a Litigation Hold. The
obstruction of justice charge filed against Volkswagen AG on
Wednesday pertains not only to lies by employees to federal
regulators, but also to actions by VW's in-house legal team,
according to statements attached to the plea agreement. The
statements say VW in-house attorneys tipped off employees about
an oncoming litigation hold.
http://www.nationallawjournal.com/id=1202776735311/-How-VWs-InHouse-Lawyers-Screwed-Up-a-Litigation-Hold-?slreturn=20170013133200


FIAT/CHRYSLER (FCA)

Fiat Chrysler Faces U.S. Criminal Emissions Investigation. Fiat
Chrysler Automobiles NV is under investigation by the U.S.
Justice Department over its alleged failure to disclose software
that violated emissions standards, according to people familiar
with the matter, another legal hurdle for a company already under
criminal scrutiny for its sales practices. The possibility of a
criminal action over diesel emissions violations comes after the
Environmental Protection Agency said…
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-13/fiat-chrysler-said-to-face-u-s-criminal-emissions-investigation

http://www.wsj.com/articles/eu-presses-italy-to-respond-on-fiat-chrysler-emissions-accusations-1484310394
Diesel emissions inquiries widen to Renault and Fiat. European
carmakers were drawn into a widening probe of diesel emissions
testing on Friday, with French prosecutors examining Renault and
British authorities seeking answers from Fiat Chrysler
Automobiles NV. Volkswagen's VOW_p.DE admission that some of its
diesel vehicles were fitted with software designed to hide their
true level of emissions…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-emissions-idUSKBN14X1GL
http://www.wsj.com/articles/renault-under-investigation-in-france-over-emissions-1484303906

http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-renault-emissions-fraud-20170113-story.html

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/01/13/reports-renault-probed-over-diesel-emissions/96530572/

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/13/renault-diesel-emissions-cheating-france-us-fiat-chrysler

http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/13/news/renault-emissions-cheating-investigation/

 
GREEN ENERGY

Cuomo pledges $360M toward renewables mandate. New York Gov.
Andrew Cuomo (D) on Wednesday said his administration would
provide $360 million in additional funding to help the state
achieve a 50 percent renewable energy mandate by 2030.
The announcement comes on the heels of a pledge by Cuomo to
develop the country's largest offshore wind projects. Wednesday's
awards to 11 new and existing renewable energy projects…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/01/13/stories/1060048327 


BLM finalizes mitigation plan for Colo. solar zones. The Bureau
of Land Management continues to advance policies and measures in
the final days of the Obama administration to promote renewable
energy development on federal lands. The latest move is the
finalization of a regional mitigation strategy designed to pave
the way for commercial-scale solar power development inside
Colorado's resource-rich San Luis Valley.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/01/13/stories/1060048376 

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Pricing carbon: California’s unfinished climate priority. At the
close of their legislative session in August, California
lawmakers passed one of the world’s most significant climate
policies—SB 32, named after the state’s original climate law from
a decade earlier, AB 32. The new bill added a single line to its
predecessor, requiring the state to reduce its greenhouse gas
emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.
http://thebulletin.org/pricing-carbon-california%E2%80%99s-unfinished-climate-priority10367


OPINIONS

In Paramount pollution crisis, outrage is justified: Anthony
Rendon. If you suddenly discover a hazardous toxin in your home,
the immediate response is shock and fear, whether the threat is
radon in the soil, lead in water pipes or carbon monoxide leaking
from a heater. Fear has hit the community I live in. Late last
year, the residents of Paramount learned that our air betrayed
levels of toxic chromium 6 that were hundreds of times above
allowable standards.
http://www.presstelegram.com/opinion/20170113/in-paramount-pollution-crisis-outrage-is-justified-anthony-rendon


Is climate ambiguity the new denial? The Senate's global warming
snowballs might be melting. Conservative politicians in
Washington are subtly shifting their arguments on climate change
as the body of evidence grows to show how the Earth is affected
by humans. And they often fall short of muscular denial. Former
Exxon Mobil Corp. CEO Rex Tillerson says he believes in warming,
but he doubts the accuracy of climate models.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/01/13/stories/1060048326 

BLOGS

Climate Change Could Kill off Parasites, Destabilizing
Ecosystems. Photogenic animals, from polar bears to people,
aren't the only creatures under threat from global climate
change. A new review led by UC Berkeley suggests the phenomenon
threatens parasites with extinction, which could have big
consequences for ecosystems. The vast majority of research into
parasites and environment change focuses on how hosts,
particularly humans, will be harmed.
http://thescienceexplorer.com/nature/climate-change-could-kill-parasites-destabilizing-ecosystems


Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle & Portland Seek
Record-Breaking Order Of 24,000 EVs. Los Angeles, San Francisco,
Seattle and Portland are combining efforts and making monumental
strides to strategically assist in the accelerated adoption of
electric vehicles. The cities are initially requesting 24,000 EVs
as soon as possible, along with enlisting multiple cities to join
the effort to push numbers up to 100,000.
Perhaps the Chevrolet Bolt will become a prime candidate for the
initiative.
http://insideevs.com/los-angeles-san-francisco-seattle-portland-seek-record-breaking-24000-evs/


Trump’s pick for CIA director tried to weasel out of questions on
climate change.
New California Sen. Kamala Harris grilled Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo
about his views on climate change during a Senate confirmation
hearing on Thursday. She asked if he has any reason to doubt
current CIA director John Brennan’s assessment that climate
change is a contributing factor to rising instability in the
Middle East and other areas.
http://grist.org/briefly/trumps-pick-for-cia-director-tried-to-weasel-out-of-questions-on-climate-change/





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

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