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ARB Newsclips for January 27, 2017. 

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

Exxon fought $10 carbon tax in Mass. Secretary of State-designate
Rex Tillerson and officials at Exxon Mobil Corp. have repeatedly
said they support a carbon tax to rein in greenhouse gas
emissions. But Exxon in 2016 opposed two carbon tax bills in the
Massachusetts Legislature, according to lobbying records. On the
company's behalf, William Coyne, a Boston-based lobbyist,
indicated on a disclosure…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/01/27/stories/1060049095 

AIR POLLUTION

Beijing smog inspectors on frontlines of war on pollution.
Tougher law enforcement has reduced the number of environmental
offenders in Beijing in recent years, but more companies need to
adapt to the emissions standards in China's capital, its
environmental inspection squad says. Graphic on air pollution in
Beijing tmsnrt.rs/2hVMPCb. Beijing has been on the frontlines of
a "war against pollution"…
http://in.reuters.com/article/china-pollution-inspection-idINKBN15B0JD

Air district will seek voluntary emissions cuts from ports, rail
yards and warehouses. Proposed clean-air plan relies on industry
cooperation, not rules. Southern California’s air quality agency
is poised to approve a 15-year air cleanup plan that contains no
emissions limits for the ports, rail yards or warehouse complexes
that attract large numbers of ships, locomotives and big rig
trucks.
http://www.pe.com/articles/air-824144-district-pollution.html 

Guadalupe celebrates electrifying clean air milestone. A casual
lunch conversation resulted in an electrifying idea that could
reduce air pollution and put the city of Guadalupe on the
electric vehicle charging map. On Thursday morning, Guadalupe
leaders, Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District and
others gathered to dedicate the first electric vehicle charging
station in Guadalupe.
http://santamariatimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/guadalupe-celebrates-electrifying-clean-air-milestone/article_886c12c1-42cc-5385-a2b9-7d303d711843.html


Why do some states require emissions testing? Getting your car
checked for excessive emissions has been a part of the American
driving experience since 1966, when California launched the first
vehicle emissions testing program. However, emissions testing has
never been required for everyone. As of 2017, 32 states have some
form of emissions testing, but most require testing only in
specific regions. Other states have no emissions testing at all.
http://www.autoblog.com/2017/01/25/why-do-some-states-require-emissions-testing/

CLIMATE CHANGE

British lawmakers urge May to tackle Trump on climate change.
British lawmakers have written to Prime Minister Theresa May,
urging her to challenge U.S. President Donald Trump on his views
on climate change when the two leaders meet on Friday. Trump has
dismissed climate change as a "hoax" and vowed during his
presidential campaign to pull the United States out of the 2015
Paris Agreement designed to curb greenhouse gas emissions blamed
for global warming.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-trump-britain-climatechange-idUSKBN15B009


Trump Wants to Downplay Global Warming. Louisiana Won’t Let Him.
“Mother Nature is threatening to kick our people out.” On a
recent morning in Baton Rouge, a thousand miles from where Senate
Democrats were jousting with Donald Trump’s nominee to run the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about whether humans are
warming the planet…
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-26/trump-wants-to-downplay-global-warming-louisiana-won-t-let-him


Top download from any federal site right now is Park Service
report on climate change. The events of the past week have been
worrying to advocates of government action on climate change,
with the removal of climate priorities from the White House
website, the order to freeze all Environmental Protection Agency
contracts and the inauguration of a president who said he is “not
a big believer”…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/01/27/the-top-download-from-any-federal-site-right-now-is-a-park-service-report-on-climate-change/?utm_term=.ef902e4c37cd

What Trump Can and Can’t Do to Dismantle Obama’s Climate Rules.
President Trump campaigned on sweeping promises to eliminate
former President Barack Obama’s major environmental regulations
and “get rid of” the Environmental Protection Agency. On Tuesday,
Mr. Trump offered a down payment on those promises, with
memorandums clearing the path to construction of the Keystone XL
and Dakota Access oil pipelines.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/26/us/politics/donald-trump-climate-epa.html?ref=energy-environment&utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=9cb1377e52-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-9cb1377e52-327747457


As Climate Change Accelerates, Floating Cities Look Like Less of
a Pipe Dream. You might call it a Noah’s Ark for an era of
melting polar ice sheets. An audacious plan to respond to climate
change by building a city of floating islands in the South
Pacific is moving forward, with the government of French
Polynesia agreeing to consider hosting the islands in a tropical
lagoon.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/27/world/australia/climate-change-floating-islands.html?_r=0


Doomsday clock changed partially due to climate change. The
Doomsday clock changed partially due to climate change. Now,
there's a way for folks to participate in the emission reduction
plan for California, too.
http://www.abc10.com/weather/doomsday-clock-changed-partially-due-to-climate-change/393872941


Canadian scientists offer support to muzzled US counterparts. For
nine years under Canada’s previous government, science suffered
harsh restrictions. Now US scientists may be facing a similar
fate. Canadian scientists – who were muzzled for nearly a decade
by the country’s previous Conservative government…
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jan/27/canadian-scientists-lend-support-to-muzzled-us-counterparts?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=9cb1377e52-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-9cb1377e52-327747457

Agency awaiting Pruitt plans to give climate awards. U.S. EPA
will likely be led soon by a climate skeptic, but it's still
planning to give out climate leadership awards to businesses and
professionals at a Chicago ceremony later this winter. The agency
is listed as the headline sponsor of a voluntary awards program
to be held as part of the three-day Climate Leadership Conference
on March 1-3.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/01/27/stories/1060049088 

DROUGHT

Nearly half of California is out of the drought. The latest
winter storms were a big boost for California — for the first
time since January 2014, no part of the state is in the worst
category of drought, just 2 percent of the state is now in
extreme drought, and almost 50 percent is no longer categorized
as being in drought. That’s according to new data released
Thursday by the U.S. Drought Monitor, a weekly report…
http://www.scpr.org/programs/take-two/2017/01/26/54675/nearly-half-of-california-is-out-of-the-drought/

FUELS

U.S. biofuels credits drop as EPA delay uncertainty grips market.
Prices of paper credits used to meet U.S. biofuels standards
dropped to over one-year lows on Wednesday, extending the
previous day's slide on news of a government freeze that
heightened uncertainty over the program. The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) said in a notice this week that the
federal agency is delaying implementation of 30 regulations
finalized recently by the Obama administration.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-biofuels-idUSKBN1592GO 

TransCanada Submits New Application To Build Keystone XL
Pipeline. The company that wants to build the controversial
Keystone XL oil pipeline says it has submitted a new permit
application to the U.S. State Department. The TransCanada
announcement came just two days after President Trump took
executive actions to speed the approval process for both the
Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines.
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/26/511892321/transcanada-submits-new-application-to-build-keystone-xl-pipeline?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=9cb1377e52-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-9cb1377e52-327747457


Ford CEO urged Trump to ease fuel economy standards. Ford Motor
Co. CEO Mark Fields yesterday said he is hopeful President Trump
will soften fuel economy rules after meeting with automakers this
week. Fields told the president he wants a "balance" between
reducing carbon emissions — "which we're all for" — and jobs and
affordability for customers, he said to investors in an earnings
call yesterday.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/01/27/stories/1060049126 

Emissions mitigation coalition fears BLM rule rollback. A group
of companies with a financial stake in the Obama administration's
strategy to reduce emissions on public lands are sounding the
alarm on President Trump's likely attempt to walk back the Bureau
of Land Management's methane rule. GOP lawmakers appear poised to
strike down the BLM action to curb natural gas flaring, venting
and leakage…
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/01/27/stories/1060049084 

Irish parliament votes to divest from fossil fuels. Lawmakers
split 90 to 53 in favour of ditching coal, oil and gas holdings
from the €8 billion (US$9bn) Ireland Strategic Investment Fund.
The bill, brought by independent representative Thomas Pringle,
is expected to pass into law in the next few months after
consideration by the finance committee.
http://www.climatechangenews.com/2017/01/26/irish-lawmakers-vote-to-divest-from-fossil-fuels/


Efficiency, not EVs, will make biggest dent in oil use — BP. Fuel
efficiency will make a bigger dent in global oil consumption than
electric cars as demand for transportation goes up, according to
oil major BP PLC. In its latest forecast for international energy
markets, the world's sixth-largest oil and gas company projected
this week that the global gross domestic product would almost
double over the next 20 years, but energy demand would only
increase by 30 percent.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/01/27/stories/1060049098 


VEHICLES

Environmentalists challenge Metro leaders to buy all electric
buses to curb climate change. Unbowed by proposals coming out of
the White House to weaken climate-change initiatives,
environmental and labor groups Thursday asked transportation
leaders to double down on green energy policies by switching to
zero-emission electric buses.
http://www.dailynews.com/article/20170126/NEWS/170129544 

Westminster council to become first to charge extra to park
diesel cars. In trial aimed at cutting air pollution, diesel
motorists parking in Marylebone will pay an additional 50%, or
£2.45 extra an hour. Westminster will become the first council in
the UK to charge drivers of diesel cars extra money to park as
town halls across London battle air pollution.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jan/27/westminster-council-first-charge-extra-park-diesel-cars-air-pollution-emissions

VW RECALL

Volkswagen set to plead guilty in U.S. diesel emissions case.
Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) is set to plead guilty on Feb. 24 in
Detroit to three felony counts as part of a plea agreement with
the U.S. Justice Department to resolve an excess diesel emissions
investigation, a court filing shows. As part of a $4.3 billion
settlement with U.S. regulators, the German automaker has agreed
to sweeping reforms, new audits and oversight by an independent
monitor for three years to resolve diesel emissions cheating
investigations.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-idUSKBN15A29J


VW Executive, Hired to Help Overhaul Carmaker’s Culture, Is to
Leave. Volkswagen’s head of compliance — an outsider hired to
help revamp the German carmaker after its diesel deception — is
to leave her job barely a year after joining the company. The
unexpected departure of the executive, Christine
Hohmann-Dennhardt, raises concerns about the automaker’s
willingness to change ingrained practices…
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/26/business/volkswagen-germany-compliance-hohmann-dennhardt-diesel.html?mabReward=CTM&recp=1&moduleDetail=recommendations-1&action=click&contentCollection=Politics®ion=Footer&module=WhatsNext&version=WhatsNext&contentID=WhatsNext&src=recg&pgtype=article


German prosecutors widen Volkswagen emissions probe. Prosecutors
in Germany are expanding their probe into Volkswagen's scandal
over diesel cars that cheated on emissions tests, increasing the
number of suspects and saying they have evidence former
Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn may have known of the cheating
earlier than he has claimed. The announcement raises the legal
stakes for the former head of Germany's largest automaker.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hy-volkswagen-emissions-20170127-story.html


GREEN ENERGY

Elon Musk Has Trump’s Ear, and Wall Street Takes Note. The
election of Donald Trump and the accompanying rehabilitation of
fossil fuels should have been, by all rights, devastating for
Tesla Motors. Tesla is the top maker of all-electric autos, and
it completed its merger with SolarCity, a leading manufacturer of
solar energy panels, days after the presidential election.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/26/business/elon-musk-donald-trump-wall-street.html?emc=edit_ca_20170127&nl=california-today&nlid=72714203&te=1&_r=0


Trump names Obama nominee as temporary top energy regulator.
President Trump has named Cheryl LaFleur, a Democratic nominee,
to be the acting chairwoman of the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (FERC), the board announced Thursday. “It is an honor
to again be asked to serve as Acting Chairman of the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, and I thank President Trump for the
opportunity,” LaFleur said in a statement.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/316291-trump-names-obama-nominee-as-temporary-top-energy-regulator?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=9cb1377e52-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-9cb1377e52-327747457


IKEA to snap up 88MW Canada wind farm. Swedish furniture giant
IKEA has struck an agreement with Canadian firms TransAlta and
Teck Resources to buy an 88MW onshore wind farm in Alberta,
Canada. The deal, announced this week, will see IKEA buy
TransAlta's 51 per cent stake in the Wintering Hills wind farm
for around CAD$61m and Teck Resource's 49 per cent stake for
CAD$58.6m …
http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/3003446/ikea-to-snap-up-88mw-canada-wind-farm?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=da5c50357a-Clean_Economy_Wire12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-da5c50357a-327494049


MHI Vestas Unveils New 9 Megawatt Wind Turbine. MHI Vestas
Offshore Wind has unveiled its new 9 megawatt wind turbine which,
in testing at the company’s Østerild broke the energy generation
record over a 24 hour period. The continued development of
offshore wind turbines continues apace, with the unveiling of MHI
Vestas Offshore Wind’s latest offering.
https://cleantechnica.com/2017/01/27/mhi-vestas-unveils-new-9-mw-wind-turbine/?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=da5c50357a-Clean_Economy_Wire12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-da5c50357a-327494049


ePURE: More ambition needed to decarbonize EU transport. Europe
needs a realistic mix of renewable energy solutions—including
low-emission options such as sustainably produced European
ethanol—If it wants to achieve its goal of decarbonizing EU
transport, according to speakers at a debate Wednesday. Experts
from the ethanol industry and the energy sector agreed at the
POLITICO conference--“Decarbonizing Europe’s transport sector:…
http://ethanolproducer.com/articles/14104/epure-more-ambition-needed-to-decarbonize-eu-transport


US DOD to award $55M for advanced drop-in biofuels production;
10M gallons/year. The US Air Force Research Laboratory, Materials
and Manufacturing Directorate (AFRL/RX) has issued a funding
opportunity (FOA-RQKM-2017-0006) for up to $55 million to design,
retrofit, construct, operate, validate and qualify domestic,
commercial-scale, an integrated biorefinery(s) capable of
producing bio-equivalent fuels suitable…
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2017/01/20170125-dod.html 

USGC releases corn, sorghum harvest quality reports. The U.S.
Grains Council recently published the first two of its annual
reports on corn and sorghum harvest quality, reporting that U.S.
farmers produced an estimated 387 million metric tons (15.24
billion bushels) of corn in 2016, along with 12 million metric
tons of sorghum. The USGC’s Corn Harvest Quality report includes
information on corn use, ending stocks and a future outlook.
http://ethanolproducer.com/articles/14106/usgc-releases-corn-sorghum-harvest-quality-reports


Nev. to gain 200 MW of solar energy. NV Energy and Apple Inc.
plan to build 200 megawatts of solar energy in Nevada by early
2019, the companies announced Wednesday. The project, which will
supply renewable energy for Apple's data center in Reno, will
build on NV Energy's existing 491 MW of universal solar resources
in Nevada. NV Energy CEO Paul Caudill said in a statement that
the project…
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/01/27/stories/1060049066 

Sierra Club aims to retire 28 GW of coal generation in 2017. The
federal government's alleged "war on coal" may have ended Jan.
20, but for the Sierra Club, the nation's largest environmental
group, the fight continues. The group has set an ambitious goal
for 2017 to negotiate the retirements of 28 gigawatts of
coal-fired electric generation capacity by 2030 or sooner. 
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/01/27/stories/1060049072 

MISCELLANEOUS

No, California's environmental laws probably won't block Trump's
border wall. With California’s political leaders in full
resistance mode over President Trump’s executive order to build a
wall on the Mexican border, Senate leader Kevin de León, Lt. Gov.
Gavin Newsom and others have floated an idea to try to stop it:
the state’s famously stringent environmental laws. “If there’s
severe environmental impacts on our border, we’re going to
seriously look into it,”… http://www.latimes.com/politics/

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Climate regulator appoints environmental justice official. 
California's air and climate change agency yesterday announced a
high-level appointment aimed at incorporating disadvantaged
residents into its policies. The state Air Resources Board named
Veronica Eady, a longtime environmental justice lawyer, as the
agency's first executive officer for environmental justice. The
state has faced opposition to its economywide cap-and-trade
program from groups representing low-income residents and people
of color…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/01/27/stories/1060049097 

OPINIONS

Human nature makes it easier to deny climate change than to
confront it. At one point in the Senate hearing to confirm
Oklahoma Atty. Gen. Scott Pruitt as head of the Environmental
Protection Agency, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders asked the nominee
to share his personal views about climate change. Pruitt, a
longtime ally of the oil industry and bane of the EPA, repeatedly
evaded the question, saying policy and law, not his personal
views, are what will be important as he carries out his duties.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/topoftheticket/la-na-tt-deny-climate-20170126-story.html


Where California is behind on climate change, and why Trump won’t
help. California is leading the way on adapting to climate
change, with sweeping laws and ambitious goals set by Gov. Jerry
Brown and the Legislature to cut greenhouse gas emissions and
increase clean energy. But on one important measure, it’s behind
some other states. Between 2000 and 2014, 32 states besides
California grew their economies…
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/foon-rhee/article129073264.html#storylink=cpy


Biofuels can solve ag crisis. Agriculture is suffering, and it’s
only a matter of time before we all feel the repercussions. If we
don’t fight, if we allow this to happen, this crisis will not
only affect Iowa farmers but will cause a ripple effect
throughout the Midwest, our urban cities and our entire nation.
Plummeting farm income, falling land values and depressed
commodity prices over the last few years threaten to undo the
prosperity of the previous decade.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/columnists/2017/01/26/biofuels-can-solve-ag-crisis/97089366/
  

No, a BMW 7 Series is not kinder to the atmosphere than a Tesla.
A closer look at how much energy an EV uses. An attorney from
Philadelphia, Power Line reader Martin Karo, wants you to know
that Tesla drivers are smug, fact-averse liberals whose cars are
worse for the planet than their gas-burning counterparts. It's
something people feel the need to do from time to time, and it
doesn't seem to be from a place of genuine concern for the
environment.
http://www.autoblog.com/2017/01/27/tesla-versus-bmw-7-series-emissions-co2-ev-gas/


BLOGS

Chinese Scientist Blasts Trump’s Climate-Change Talk.  A top
Chinese climate scientist says it’s urgent that everyone makes
sacrifices to fight global warming. A top Chinese climate
scientist said it would be “foolhardy” of U.S. President Donald
Trump to withdraw from the global climate-change agreement known
as the Paris accords.
A global-warming skeptic, Mr. Trump has vowed to cancel the
accord…
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2017/01/27/0127cpollute/

How 21 kids could keep climate websites from going completely
dark. Right now, anxiety is sweeping across the scientific
community about the Trump administration's efforts to make
climate data disappear. However, there are now a very special
group of 21 young Americans, ages nine to 20, who are throwing a
sizable wrench in the Trump administration's plans. Their lawsuit
against the federal government and fossil fuel companies seeks to
hold them accountable…
http://mashable.com/2017/01/26/youth-climate-lawsuit-trump-website-removals/#AqVhVs0bPiq1


Hawaii’s largest solar park now online. The Hawaiian Energy
Companies (HECO) has commissioned the Island’s largest solar
park, the 27.6MW Waianae Solar project.
The project broke ground in March 2016 with the array coming
online mid-this month. It constitutes the largest in operation in
Hawaii to date; generating enough clean electricity to power
around 11,000 homes annually.
http://www.pv-tech.org/news/hawaiis-largest-solar-park-now-online?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=da5c50357a-Clean_Economy_Wire12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-da5c50357a-327494049




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