What's New List Serve Post Display

CARB Newsclips for February 24, 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.

CARB BUSINESS

One or more workshops/meetings have been scheduled and are now
located in ARB's Workshop Calendar. Please go to:
http://www.arb.ca.gov/app/calendar/cur_evnt.php?type=workshops  
which links to meeting details, including:

March 14, 2017: SB 375 Targets Update Workshop March 14, 2017.
more info
https://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/sb375/meetings/meetings.htm  

March 9, 2017: SB 375 Targets Update Workshop March 9, 2017.
more info
https://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/sb375/meetings/meetings.htm  

March 7, 2017: SB 375 Targets Update Workshop March 7, 2017.
more info
https://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/sb375/meetings/meetings.htm  

The California Air Resource Board has posted an updated Notice of
Upcoming Low Carbon Fuel Standard Credits Release for Non-Metered
Residential Electric Vehicle Charging.

http://www.arb.ca.gov/fuels/lcfs/workgroups/elect/022217notice.pdf



AIR POLLUTION

Air pollution affects preterm birthrates globally, study finds. 
A pregnant woman's exposure to air pollution has adverse effects
on her fetus, according to a new international study, with
prolonged exposure associated with nearly 1 in 5 premature births
globally. The study, published recently in the journal
Environment International, is the first global estimate of
preterm births associated with pollution caused by fine
particulate matter.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2017/02/21/outdoor-pollution-affects-preterm-birth-rates-study-shows/?utm_term=.98eef99b4e5a

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/feb/24/revealed-thousands-of-children-toxic-air-london-nitrogen-dioxide


Start-Up Develops Particle Filter That Turns Pollution Into Ink.
An Indian start-up company has devised a way to collect harmful
pollution generated by vehicles, and it then turns it into
something that humanity can use. Their idea is to make ink from
soot and carbon residue, while also preventing harmful pollutants
from entering the air. They have a successful Kickstarter
campaign, and the plan…
https://www.autoevolution.com/news/start-up-develops-particle-filter-that-turns-pollution-into-ink-115698.html


CLIMATE CHANGE

Idaho lawmakers delay science standards decision. Idaho lawmakers
have postponed a decision on whether to include references to
climate change in the state's proposed science standards. The
standards haven't been updated since 2001 and have been
criticized as vague. The House Education Committee sparked
controversy by removing references to climate change and human
impact on the environment from the proposed standards.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/ID_SCIENCE_STANDARDS_CLIMATE_CHANGE_IDOL-?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


The U.S. is Poised to Set a Record-Setting Record. California's
biblical deluge has occupied many a meteorologists’ mind this
February. But another notable story is unfolding across the
eastern U.S. Unseasonable warmth has kickstarted spring up to a
month early in the Southeast, cut into already paltry Great Lakes
ice cover and created skiing conditions more reminiscent of April
in the Northeast.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/record-high-temperature-february-21186?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=6e82061c9a-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-6e82061c9a-327747457


Climate Change: Warming Temperatures Could Kill Deep Ocean
Life-Forms By 2100. Over 70 percent of Earth’s surface is covered
by oceans, and it amounts to about 99 percent of all living space
on the planet. Both the water itself, as well as the ocean floor,
is teeming with life, and many of its forms are still unknown to
humankind.
http://www.ibtimes.com/climate-change-warming-temperatures-could-kill-deep-ocean-life-forms-2100-2497147


DROUGHT

California Today: On Catalina, the Drought Is Far From Over. Good
morning. (Want to get California Today by email? Here’s the
sign-up.) For many Californians, the drought now feels long gone.
According to the latest figures from the United States Drought
Monitor, about 17 percent of the state remains under “moderate
drought” conditions or worse. This time last year, it was about
95 percent. But not everyone is rejoicing.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/23/us/california-today-catalina-island-drought.html?_r=1


Did the drought contribute to severe flooding in San Jose?
Officials search for answers. For five long, drought-plagued
winters, Mother Nature refused to refill Coyote Creek. Foliage
filled its dry bed, and without regular rains, the vegetation
remained in the creek rather than being flushed out to sea. Then
an epic winter of rain hit Northern California, and the dry creek
suddenly became wet again.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-san-jose-flooding-why-20170223-story.html


Most of California is out of the drought.  A year ago, some
Californians thought this day would never come. But, after being
battered by weeks of record-setting rain, the vast majority of
the state is out of drought.  According to the latest U.S.
Drought Monitor report, less than 20% of the state faces any
drought conditions and no place in California faces “extreme” or
“exceptional” drought.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-drought-gone-20170223-story.html

http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article134506439.html 
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/California-drought-levels-lowest-since-2011-10954402.php

http://www.recordnet.com/news/20170223/normal-never-better-at-new-melones-last-major-reservoir-to-recover-from-drought


DIESEL ACTIVITIES

Air pollution: NGT raps oil firms over data on diesel trucks. The
National Green Tribunal has rapped public sector oil companies
for not submitting status report on their 10-year old diesel
trucks used for transporting petrol or petroleum products. | 1
Comments Air pollution: NGT raps oil firms over data on diesel
trucks The National Green Tribunal has rapped public sector oil
companies for not submitting status report…
http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/current-affairs/air-pollution-ngt-raps-oil-firms-over-datadiesel-trucks_8553561.html?utm_source=ref_article


VEHICLES

Even in Trump’s America, California could decide how cleanly your
car runs. President Trump has called environmental regulations
“out of control.” Many automakers might welcome relief from them.
But the state of California will likely have the final word. The
nation’s most populous state has long been a bastion of liberal
policymaking, and recent actions, such the legalization of
marijuana, suggest it’s moving even farther left.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2017/02/23/even-in-trumps-america-california-could-decide-how-clean-your-car-runs/?utm_term=.37d24916ac01


GREEN ENERGY

The EU’s renewable energy policy is making global warming worse.
Countries in the EU, including the UK, are throwing away money by
subsidizing the burning of wood for energy, according to an
independent report. While burning some forms of wood waste can
indeed reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in practice the growing
use of wood energy in the EU is increasing rather than reducing
emissions…
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2122115-the-eus-renewable-energy-policy-is-making-global-warming-worse/


MISCELLANEOUS

Lawmakers move to freeze federal regs at pre-Trump levels.
California state lawmakers yesterday introduced a package of
bills aimed at defending federal and state environmental
regulations against President Trump's administration. The three
bills are aimed at preserving current federal environmental laws
on the state level, preventing public land transfers and
protecting federal whistleblowers.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/02/24/stories/1060050513 

Rare element turns CO2 into fuel using sunlight. Scientists have
figured out a way to use tiny particles of a rare element to turn
a greenhouse gas into fuel. In nanometer-scale particles,
researchers found that the transition metal rhodium can break
carbon dioxide apart and reassemble it into methane in a process
powered by ultraviolet light.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/02/24/stories/1060050507 

OPINIONS

Oroville Dam shows urgent need for climate adaptation. The crisis
at Oroville Dam should be a wake-up call to those making
infrastructure decisions today that will affect Californians for
many years to come. A centerpiece of the massive State Water
Project, which provides water to 25 million Californians, has
proved highly vulnerable to the kind of heavy winter rains we’ll
see more often under climate change. 
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article134683439.html#storylink=cpy


BLOGS

Freaky February Heat Waves Trigger More Chills Over Climate
Change.  A bonkers February with stretches of extremely high
temperatures mixed periodically with plunging mercury is the
latest chilling warning about global warming. Single-day record
highs as well as multiple-day heat waves broke more than 248
month-to-date records for February in spots across the nation,
according to the National Center for Environmental Information.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/february-heat-waves_us_58afbb53e4b0780bac2808f7


To get ahead, corporate America must account for climate change.
Scott Pruitt’s confirmation last week as chief of the
Environmental Protection Agency was a setback for
environmentalists and scientists who waged a fierce campaign
against the nominee.
As Oklahoma's attorney general, Pruitt led or took part in 14
lawsuits that sought to block EPA regulations and policies
intended to tackle climate change.
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/320973-to-stay-competitive-corporate-america-must-account-for-climate-change




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