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newsclips -- CARB Newsclips for April 13, 2017.

Posted: 13 Apr 2017 16:19:01
CARB Newsclips for April 13, 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

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) staff invites you to
participate in an ongoing series of public working meetings to
discuss:  (1) changes to the pathway carbon intensity application
and evaluation process, (2) improvements to reporting and credit
generation processes, and (3) the integration of third-party
verification requirements under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard
(LCFS). The next meeting will be held at the California
Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters Building as
follows:

Monday, April 17, 2017, 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.
•    Fossil and Renewable Natural Gas, Including Biomethane From
Dairy and Livestock Operations


Today’s notice is intended to confirm the dates, provide the
times and location, and supply instructions on how to participate
(in-person, over the phone, or webcast).  This information along
with discussion papers and other materials for review will be
posted at
http://www.arb.ca.gov/fuels/lcfs/lcfs_meetings/lcfs_meetings.htm 


The Air Resources Board (ARB or Board) will conduct a public
meeting at the time and place noted below to consider Truck Field
Enforcement Activities and New Screening Technology for High
Emitting Vehicles.

DATE:  	April 27, 2017
TIME:  	9:00 a.m.
LOCATION: 	California Environmental Protection Agency
          		Air Resources Board
         		Byron Sher Auditorium, 2nd Floor
          		1001 I Street
          		Sacramento, California 95814

WEBCAST: http://www.cal-span.org/          

Air Resources Board staff have posted a white paper on the health
benefits of physical activity and air pollution exposure while
walking and bicycling for transportation.  
Download the White Paper:
https://www.arb.ca.gov/research/vprp/physical_activity_and_health_final_161216.pdf
        

For more information, including the White Paper and other
resources, visit our Built Environment webpage:
https://www.arb.ca.gov/research/vprp/vprp.htm         

A fact sheet summarizing this document can be found here:
https://www.arb.ca.gov/html/fact_sheets/physical_activity_fact_sheet.pdf
   

On Monday, April 24th, the California Air Resources Board will
host a research seminar focusing on household transportation
choices and commitments of statewide greenhouse gas reductions
required by SB 375. Announcement available here:
https://www.arb.ca.gov/research/seminars/mokhtarian/mokhtarian.htm
  

The California Energy Commission and the California Air Resources
Board (ARB) will jointly conduct a workshop to discuss potential
methodologies to establish greenhouse gas (GHG) emission
reduction targets for 2030 to be used by California’s local
publicly owned electric utilities (POUs) when preparing their
individual integrated resource plans (IRP), as mandated by Senate
Bill 350, the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015
(de León, Chapter 547, Statutes of 2015). SB 350 calls for the
ARB to establish 2030 GHG reduction targets in coordination with
the Energy Commission and California Public Utilities Commission
(CPUC).

The workshop will be held Monday, April 17, 2017 at 1:00 p.m. 

The location of the workshop will be:

CALIFORNIA ENERGY COMMISSION
1516 Ninth Street
First Floor, Art Rosenfeld Hearing Room
Sacramento, California

The Draft SB 350 Clean Transportation Access Guidance Document is
an initial step in identifying the main barriers and providing
initial recommendations as a framework to address them moving
forward.  Recommendations include steps that the Legislature,
communities, State and local planning, transportation, and air
quality agencies can take to overcome specific barriers and begin
to formulate innovative, meaningful solutions.  Many of the
recommendations build upon current actions State and local
agencies are implementing to increase access to transportation
electrification for all Californians.  

The guidance documents are now available for public review and
comment at:  https://www.arb.ca.gov/transoptions 

CARB is seeking public input on the Draft SB 350 Clean
Transportation Access Guidance Document.  To submit written
feedback, please contact Ms. Ashley Dunn, Air Pollution
Specialist, at (626) 459-4385 or by email at
ashley.dunn@arb.ca.gov.   


CAP AND TRADE

California’s Cap-and-Trade Program Survives Legal Challenge. Last
week, California’s Cap-and-Trade Program to reduce carbon
emissions was handed a victory when a state appeals court ruled
that program’s auction of emissions permits does not constitute
an illegal tax because the program is voluntary and the emissions
permits have value.
http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2017/04/13/californias-cap-and-trade-program-survives-legal-challenge/


Group of US States Considers Carbon Pricing Options. A handful of
US states are looking at the possibility of passing legislation
aimed at slashing carbon emissions, including through the use of
a carbon tax, with Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island
among those considering such a move. The three states are already
part of the market-based Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
(RGGI)…
http://www.ictsd.org/bridges-news/bridges/news/group-of-us-states-considers-carbon-pricing-options

AIR POLLUTION

Sensing trouble, automakers prepare to bargain with EPA, CARB on
emissions. For most new-car buyers, haggling is a necessary evil.
Now, car companies themselves are learning just how unpleasant
haggling can be, as they try to find common ground with the
Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources
Board on the subject of auto emissions.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/cars/sensing-trouble-automakers-prepare-to-bargain-with-epa-carb-on-emissions/2017/04/13/38da20a6-2004-11e7-bb59-a74ccaf1d02f_story.html?utm_term=.1f8803c482a9


There's fear that the EPA's request for a court delay may lead to
dirtier air. When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
adopted a stricter smog limit in 2015, forcing states to reduce
emissions, many people were disappointed. At the time, the agency
reduced the ground-level ozone standard to 70 parts per billion,
down from the 75-ppb standard adopted in 2008 under the George W.
Bush administration.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-epa-smog-rules-20170412-story.html


Akron, Cleveland, Youngstown air pollution still is among Ohio's
worst. Three metropolitan areas in Northeast Ohio were among 72
areas in the U.S. that suffered through more than 100 days of
unhealthy air pollution in 2015, according to a report released
today by the Environment America Research & Policy Center. The
Akron area paced Northeast Ohio with 188 days of moderate to
unhealthy levels of soot particles in the air…
https://www.law360.com/california/articles/912897/vw-dealer-class-attys-who-asked-for-29m-in-fees-get-3m?nl_pk=b680a054-4635-45ae-aa8d-034a58a44dd9&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=california


CLIMATE CHANGE

Scientists seek holy grail of climate change in Oman's hills.
Deep in the jagged red mountains of Oman, geologists are drilling
in search of the holy grail of reversing climate change: an
efficient and cheap way to remove carbon dioxide from the air and
oceans. They are coring samples from one of the world's only
exposed sections of the Earth's mantle to uncover how a
spontaneous natural process millions of years ago…
https://apnews.com/366018c9cda94eec91a5e2c3c822fbb6/Scientists-seek-holy-grail-of-climate-change-in-Oman's-hills


Scott Pruitt Faces Anger From Right Over E.P.A. Finding He Won’t
Fight. When President Trump chose the Oklahoma attorney general,
Scott Pruitt, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, his
mission was clear: Carry out Mr. Trump’s campaign vows to
radically reduce the size and scope of the agency and take apart
President Barack Obama’s ambitious climate change policies.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/12/climate/scott-pruitt-epa-endangerment-finding.html?_r=0


California looks to hire federal government’s science expats
turned off by Trump’s climate rhetoric. Over 400 inquiries after
CPUC president urges career environmental experts to ‘come west’
More than 400 environmental scientists and experts have sought
work in California following the Trump administration’s clampdown
on climate science, according to the California Public Utilities
Commission.
https://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/california-looks-to-hire-federal/content?oid=24092726


The Strange Case of the Liana Vine and Its Role in Global
Warming. On a hot, buggy morning in January, Stefan Schnitzer, a
Marquette University biologist, spritzed insect repellant on his
forearms, tucked khakis into knee-high rubber boots, and hiked
three miles from his lab at The Smithsonian Tropical Research
Institute to a study plot in the Panamanian jungle. Ticks and, on
occasion, dengue fever-carrying mosquitos infest …
http://e360.yale.edu/features/the-strange-case-of-the-liana-vine-and-its-role-in-global-warming


Okla. bill targets 'existing scientific theories'. A bill moving
through the Oklahoma Legislature encourages public school
teachers to question hot-button scientific issues like climate
change and evolution. The proposed law by state Sen. Josh
Brecheen (R) would provide assurance to teachers that they can
help students parse the "scientific strengths and weaknesses of
existing scientific theories."
https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060053039 

DIESEL ACTIVITIES

Group wants emissions settlement to pay for clean-energy school
buses. A Nevada trust fund whose money was born from an
automaker’s cheating on emissions tests should be used to buy
clean-energy school buses, a local political advocacy group said
today. Chispa Nevada, a UNLV-based division of the Washington,
D.C.-based League of Conservation Voters, says the Clean Buses
for Healthy Niños…
https://lasvegassun.com/news/2017/apr/12/group-wants-emissions-settlement-to-pay-for-clean/


FUELS

British Columbia was once a leader in fighting climate change.
Now, it's embracing fossil fuels. British Columbia promotes
itself as “Super, Natural,” and for many years it was praised for
walking that talk. Nearly a decade ago, the province enacted
North America’s first tax on carbon emissions, putting it on the
cutting edge of government efforts to fight climate change. The
economy grew even as emissions declined.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-fg-trans-mountain-pipeline-2017-story.html


Carbon Emissions Factor Into Major Oil Sands Shakeup. As global
companies abandon the Canadian oil sands at a time of low oil
prices and huge losses, some of them are also concerned that
producing one of the world’s most carbon-laden fossil fuels may
be bad business in a warming world. A wave of sell-offs began
last year when Murphy Oil and Norway’s Statoil decided to pull
out of the oil sands.
http://www.standard.net/Government/2017/04/13/Carbon-Emissions-Factor-Into-Major-Oil-Sands-Shakeup


Shell releases sustainability report, says it spent $193 million
on 'social investments'. Royal Dutch Shell spent nearly $193
million worldwide last year on voluntary social investments,
including hundreds of thousands spent in Beaver County. The
company released that figure in an annual report Wednesday that
tracks Shell’s progress in enacting sustainable principles across
its vast portfolio.
https://www.ellwoodcityledger.com/news/shellcracker/shell-releases-sustainability-report-says-it-spent-million-on-social/article_eecaabf2-424b-5a62-b291-16cad1209f35.html


VEHICLES

California Boosts Funding For Electric Vehicle Charging Stations.
Plans to build more electric vehicle charging stations in
California received a boost Wednesday in the form of a $15
million grant that state officials hope will grow much larger.
The initial money was approved by the state’s Energy Commission
to create incentives for business parks, apartment complexes and
individuals to install charging stations.
http://www.capradio.org/93623 

Ford faults VW's charging station plan. Competing automakers are
joining the chorus of opposition to Volkswagen's plan to invest
in electric vehicle charging stations following its emissions
cheating. Volkswagen's settlement with environmental regulators
and drivers requires it to spend $2 billion over the next 10
years to spur sales of clean vehicles by building out the
electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060053068/search?keyword=california


GREEN ENERGY

Hydrogen fuel cell cars creep up _ slowly _ on electrics.
Hydrogen fuel cell cars could one day challenge electric cars in
the race for pollution-free roads — but only if more stations are
built to fuel them. Honda, Toyota and Hyundai have leased a few
hundred fuel cell vehicles over the past three years, and expect
to lease well over 1,000 this year. But for now, those leases are
limited to California…
https://apnews.com/b2619c9200b4428cbbf2d9158986fab2/Hydrogen-fuel-cell-cars-creep-up-_-slowly-_-on-electrics


Wal-Mart pairs energy storage with solar in Southern Calif.
Wal-Mart, the country's largest brick-and-mortar retailer,
announced on Tuesday that it will install 40 megawatt-hours of
batteries at its outlets in Southern California. It is the first
large-scale energy storage project at Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which
has previously tried out batteries at pilot scale. This bigger
adoption will trim energy costs and help the company…
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/04/13/stories/1060053033

MISCELLANEOUS

Meet the congressman who is pushing for a Charles Darwin Day.
U.S. Rep. Jim Himes has taken on the role of promoting Darwinism
in the House of Representatives, saying he believes it's the type
of legislation his southwestern Connecticut constituents want him
to pursue at a time when skepticism surrounds science.
https://apnews.com/3bccf53188ea425f9d0cd9626ddc30ed/Meet-the-congressman-who-is-pushing-for-a-Charles-Darwin-Day


OPINIONS

As Trump threatens world climate pact, will India keep its
promises to cut emissions? Not long ago, global environmental
activists looked at India with worry. The world’s fastest growing
major economy — and one of its fastest growing emitters of carbon
— was building coal-fired power plants at a rapid clip while its
leaders argued that burning the carbon-spewing fossil fuel was
necessary for the country’s development.
http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-india-climate-2017-story.html


Will Interior secretary’s visit to Yosemite inspire him to
protect our national treasures? Ryan Zinke should forgive
Californians for any skepticism as he confers with Gov. Jerry
Brown on his first visit to California as President Donald
Trump’s Interior secretary. The former state senator and
congressman from Montana arrives in Sacramento on Thursday
representing a president who denies climate change, advocates…
http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/editorials/article144258264.html#storylink=cpy


The death of diesel: has the one-time wonder fuel become the new
asbestos? Diesel was the dream fuel, promoted by governments and
the car industry as a cheaper way to save the planet. Then the
cracks started to appear. A shopper at a supermarket asks for a
plastic bag, only to have his head slammed into the checkout
counter by the “green police” (“You picked the wrong day to mess
with the ecosystem, plastic boy”).
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/apr/13/death-of-diesel-wonder-fuel-new-asbestos


Is Your Fund Manager Paying Attention to Climate Risk? Most
Americans believe climate change is real. A recent Yale
University survey found that 70% think global warming is
happening while only 13% think it isn't. Those who understand
that global warming is mainly caused by humans outnumber those
who think it is mostly just a natural occurrence (55% to 30%),
and that margin has been growing over time.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/fund-manager-paying-attention-climate-110000283.html


BLOGS

As Oil and Gas Industry Goes Big in the Permian, Efforts to
Tackle Emissions Will Be Telling. Much ink has been spilled
recently about big new oil and gas investments in the Permian
Basin across West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico. What some
are dubbing “Permania” includes a more than $6 billion investment
by ExxonMobil in New Mexico acreage and an almost $3 billion one…
http://blogs.edf.org/energyexchange/2017/04/13/curb-your-enthusiasm-and-your-methane-as-oil-and-gas-industry-goes-big-in-the-permian-efforts-to-tackle-emissions-will-be-telling/

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