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ARB Newsclips for June 3, 2013. 

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

Airlines Seek Carbon Market to Curb Post-2020 Pollution. Airlines
backed a call for an emissions market to offset growth in their
greenhouse gases after 2020, a step that could spur international
talks on tackling pollution from the industry. International Air
Transport Association members adopted today at their annual
general meeting in Cape Town a resolution in favor of a
market-based mechanism to help address airlines’ emissions. IATA
produced the proposal before a September gathering of the United
Nations’ aviation panel that will consider the industry’s tools
to fight climate change. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-03/airlines-seek-carbon-market-to-curb-post-2020-pollution.html


AIR POLLUTION

EPA's delay means power plant rule can't go final – utilities.
U.S. EPA missed its chance to finalize its greenhouse gas
proposal for new power plants when it let a statutory deadline
for the rule slip in April, according to a coalition of
coal-fired electric utilities. The Utility Air Regulatory Group
argues in a May 16 letter to EPA that the agency's failure to
finalize its first-time greenhouse gas rule for future power
plants by April 13 -- one year after it had proposed the rule --
means it must now repropose a rule and repeat public comment
steps before finalizing a rule. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1059982170/print  BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

Researchers model impact of aerosols over California: Findings
may clarify effectiveness of regional pollution controls. 
Aerosols are microscopic particles—like dust, pollen and
soot—that ubiquitously float around in our atmosphere. Despite
their tiny stature, these particles can have a huge impact on
human health, climate and the environment. So scientists from the
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Colorado State
University and the California Air Resources Board have set out to
characterize the roles of various particles as atmospheric change
agents on a regional scale.  Posted. 
http://phys.org/news/2013-06-impact-aerosols-california-effectiveness-regional.html
 

CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate Fix That’s Fair Assigns U.S. Three Times Chinese Effort.
A fair climate fix would assign the U.S. almost three times the
effort of cutting carbon dioxide output as China, which in 2006
became the biggest emitter, research by the Stockholm Environment
Institute suggests. The U.S., the biggest historical emitter,
would have responsibility for 29.1 percent of the greenhouse gas
cuts needed in 2020 to keep the planet on a pathway that avoids
the worst effects of global warming, according to the institute’s
calculations. That compares with 10.4 percent for China, 22.9
percent for the European Union and 1.2 percent for India. Posted.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-06-03/climate-fix-that-s-fair-assigns-u-dot-s-dot-three-times-chinese-effort


Part of what makes living in Hawaii so pleasant is the gentle
breeze. Arriving from the northeast, it's light enough that it is
barely noticeable but strong enough to chase away the humidity.
It's a natural draw to the outdoors. It is not uncommon to show
up at a house to find its residents relaxing out in the covered
porch or in the car port, not their living room, and enjoying the
cooling winds — and a cool drink. Nowadays, experts say, these
breezes, called trade winds, are declining, a drop that's slowly
changing life across the islands. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/us/article/Trade-winds-drop-and-Hawaii-gets-muggy-4570800.php#ixzz2VBPRVlom


Keeling Curve a mainstay of climate science. A gallery of
watershed discoveries is engraved on a marble wall in the
National Academy of Sciences building in Washington, D.C. There
are Darwin’s finches, Watson and Crick’s double helix — and the
Keeling Curve, a 55-year (and still counting) chart tracking the
rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide. This jagged diagonal
line, which measures a gas linked to global warming, forms the
foundation of modern climate science. Posted.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jun/02/keeling-curve-climate-change-scripps/
  

Climate change is killing us with drought and rising sea waters.
For almost 70 years, my country, the Marshall Islands, has been
fighting for its survival. Unfortunately, the threats we face are
the result of forces we cannot control. From 1946 to 1958, we
endured the horror of 67 atmospheric nuclear tests. The most
powerful was the “Bravo shot,” equivalent in power to 1,000
Hiroshima bombs. Now our residents are confronted by a different
kind of atmospheric danger: The existential threat posed by
climate change. Posted.
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20130603/MCT/130609968/0/SEARCH


Climate change threatens 82% of native California fish. Four of
five native fish in California, including salmon and steelhead
trout, likely will be driven to or near extinction within 100
years if climate change continues on its current path, a new
study predicts. Of 121 native fish species, 82% will plummet in
number or disappear because they need cool, flowing water yet
climate change is boosting temperatures and lessening stream
flow, according to scientists at the University of
California-Davis' Center for Watershed Science. Posted.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/06/01/climate-change-california-fish/2375685/


Environmentalists Unite in Quest to Fight Global Warming.
Environmental groups have found harmony in fighting for their
biggest causes, but success remains elusive. The nation’s
environmental leaders are mounting a double battle against global
warming, and they see President Obama’s remaining time in the
White House as critical in winning both of them. In interviews
with the leaders of seven major environmental organizations, they
all indicated a sense of unity and urgency on rolling out
regulations to control the greenhouse-gas emissions that
scientists agree…Posted.
http://www.nationaljournal.com/daily/environmentalists-unite-in-quest-to-fight-global-warming-20130602?utm_source=feedly


FUELS

Fracking Tests Ties Between California ‘Oil and Ag’ Interests.
Scattered on either side of Shafter Avenue just north of the town
center here, new oil pump jacks, some bobbing and others
thrusting, tower above this corner of California’s prime
farmland. A dirt side road, flanked by an orchard of two-year-old
almond trees and a field of alfalfa plants, leads to a two-acre
patch where workers were drilling a third well. At a larger rig
not too far away, next to a field of potatoes, a 50-foot-tall
tower flared off the gas from the crude being extracted from land
that used to be a rose field. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/us/california-oil-and-ag-face-rift-on-fracking.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Colby opts against fossil-fuel divestment.  Trustees at Maine's
Colby College have decided not to stop investing endowment money
in oil, gas and other companies connected to fossil fuels, but
students say they'll continue trying to build support for the
move. Students asked the board's investment committee to consider
divesting investments in companies they say contribute to global
warming. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/business/energy/article/Colby-opts-against-fossil-fuel-divestment-4569495.php#ixzz2VBOTlyJ6


California should heed Obama administration on fracking.  The
state Senate has rarely seemed as confused as it appeared last
Wednesday. On a 39-0 vote, senators OK’d a bill to limit
obstacles to economic growth created by excessive regulations in
the California Environmental Quality Act. But the same day, on a
27-11 vote, senators approved a moratorium on the use of
hydraulic fracturing for energy exploration in the state until
Jan. 1, 2015, when state rules governing the practice will be in
place — rules that appear likely to be onerous by design. Posted.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jun/03/tp-california-should-heed-obama-administration-on/


Calif. bills to halt fracking fail to win support. Attempts to
place a moratorium on the controversial oil drilling technique
known as fracking failed as the Legislature hit its first
bill-passing deadline, but the industry almost certainly will
face stronger regulations when this year's legislative session is
over. An Assembly bill to temporarily halt hydraulic fracturing,
or fracking, did not win enough support to pass that chamber. A
Senate measure will be amended to remove its proposed moratorium.
Posted.
http://www.marinij.com/tablehome/ci_23364328/calif-bills-halt-fracking-fail-win-support


“Project Volt Gas Volt” proposes long-term financing plan to
support widespread implementation of power-to-gas systems. 
Corinne Lepage, Member of the European Parliament (and former
French Minister of the Environment) and Professor Robert Bell,
Brooklyn University, City University of New York, are proposing
Project Volt Gas Volt (VGV) as a technology pathway for using
renewable energy to “keep the lights on” on the broadest scale
without disruption, together with a long-term financing proposal
for the project. Although they are targeting an initial
implementation France, they see it as broadly applicable. 
Posted. 
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2013/06/vgv-20130602.html   

Keystone XL alternative hits a political wall in British
Columbia. The British Columbia government Friday formally opposed
an oil sands pipeline that would run to Canada's western coast,
putting a major barrier in front of a conduit considered a chief
alternative to Keystone XL. In a written submission to a joint
review panel assessing Enbridge's Northern Gateway -- which would
carry oil sands crude across Canada from Alberta to Kitimat,
British Columbia, if built -- the province said "it cannot
support the project as presented to the panel because Northern
Gateway has been unable to address British Columbians'
environmental concerns." Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059982134/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

VEHICLES

Holding Its Own vs. Nonhybrids. The Lexus GS 450h, redesigned for
the 2013 model year, demonstrates how far Toyota has come in the
two decades it has spent trying to electrify the automobile. The
company’s goal, which seemed a bit of a stretch in the early
1990s, was to make electrified vehicles that were better than
comparable vehicles powered by conventional internal-combustion
engines. Otherwise, Toyota’s leaders believed, no one would have
a reason to buy one. This shapely GS 450h suggests that it has
met that goal. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/automobiles/autoreviews/a-lexus-holding-its-own-vs-nonhybrids.html


Electric cars are getting as cheap as gasoline rivals. The Times
test drives the Nissan Leaf, Fiat 500e and Honda Fit EV to see
how they stack up in the race to go green. What would it take to
get you into an electric car today? Forced by state regulators to
sell more zero-emission vehicles, automakers are tripping over
each other to offer consumers rock-bottom lease deals. For the
first time, electric vehicles are penciling out cheaper than
their gas-powered counterparts. Honda joined the price war this
week by dropping the lease on its Fit EV from $389 to $259 a
month. Posted.
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jun/01/autos/la-fi-0601-hy-autos-electric-cars-20130531


Ford recalling 465,000 vehicles for fuel leaks.  Ford is
recalling about 465,000 cars and SUVs because the fuel tanks can
leak and cause fires.  The global recall affects the Ford brand's
Fusion, Explorer, Taurus, Flex, Police Utility and Police
Interceptor. Also covered are the Lincoln MKS, MKT and MKZ. All
the vehicles are from the 2013 model year.  Ford says a connector
from the fuel tank to the fuel line is the source of the leak.
Customers could smell gas or see a leak on the ground. Posted. 
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_23376881/ford-recalling-465-000-vehicles-fuel-leaks?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com


HIGH-SPEED RAIL

Judge weighs arguments over California high-speed rail plans. 
Five years after voters approved Proposition 1A, a $9.9 billion
high-speed rail bond measure, attorneys spent Friday morning
arguing whether plans for the train system comply with the law. 
Lawyers for Kings County and two of its residents are convinced
that a financing plan delivered to the state Legislature in
November 2011 fails to live up to the ballot measure's
provisions.  Posted. 
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/01/5462806/judge-weighs-arguments-over-california.html


GREEN ENERGY

EPA tightens limits on power use by televisions. U.S. EPA is
tightening its requirements for power use in televisions. The
agency's newest version of Energy Star television and display
specifications -- which went into effect Saturday -- is expected
to further increase energy efficiency and save consumers billions
of dollars, industry experts said. As it stands, televisions that
meet the Energy Star criteria are on average 40 percent more
efficient than regular models, saving American consumers up to
$3.5 billion a year on energy bills and reducing carbon emissions
equivalent to those from 4.5 million vehicles, a study by EPA
showed. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059982102/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

MISCELLANEOUS

Environmentalists’ Complaint Exposes Rift Between ‘Green’
Certification Groups. The legal watchdogs at the Federal Trade
Commission have been trying to police the proliferating — and
often false — claims in recent years that products are “green” or
“environmentally friendly.” The agency recently brought cases
against Amazon.com, Macy’s and Sears, Roebuck & Company for
selling clothing purportedly made of bamboo fiber that was really
fashioned from rayon, a decidedly ungreen material. Posted. 
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/01/us/complaints-abound-in-green-certification-industry.html?ref=earth
 

OPINIONS

How to Play Well With China. PRESIDENTS Obama and Xi Jinping will
meet in California for two days starting this Friday. It’s about
time. New sources of friction are constantly appearing in the
relationship between the United States and China: trade disputes,
tension over North Korea, debates over curbing carbon emissions,
allegations of cyberattacks by China. Having survived
re-election, President Obama can shrug off charges of appeasement
and treat a rising China with the care it deserves. China, with
its leadership transition, has a fresh start, too. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/opinion/sunday/how-to-play-well-with-china.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0


The climate change guilt trip. The battle against global warming
should not be about judging people's every choice. A friend
recently returned from a camping trip in the Sierra Nevada. His
eyes shone as he described the opalescent sky, the vitality of
wildlife in spring and the fun he'd had playing with his two
young daughters during the mellow evenings. It had been a really
good trip, an experience to treasure, he said. I casually asked
how long it took to get there. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-turner-climate-change-20130602,0,6053461.story


Editorial: State toxics agency could use a cleanup.  Apparently,
Caltrans isn't the only state agency that needs thorough
scrutiny. Evidence is mounting that the state Department of Toxic
Substances Control could use a good scrubbing as well. The Bee's
Jim Sanders reported Thursday that the agency has spent more than
$100 million in public money since 1987 to clean up 1,700
contaminated sites across California, but has yet to bill the
polluters. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/01/5462469/state-toxics-agency-could-use.html#storylink=cpy


Uncertainties about climate change are many and varied. I am
always amazed when newspaper columnists profess to know more
about carbon dioxide emissions and climate change than scientists
and engineers working in the field. The latest example is Eugene
Robinson's diatribe, "Obama alone can steer climate change
policy," in which Robinson states, "For the record, and for the
umpteenth time, there is no great amount of uncertainty about
whether the planet is warming or why." There are several problems
with Robinson's argument, chief of which is this: If the planet
is warming and if carbon…Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/opinion/ci_23356340/uncertainties-about-climate-change-are-many-and-varied


Governor's global warming policy needs close look. If you listen
to Jerry Brown, you would think he was one of the foremost
proactive climate change leaders around.  At UC Berkeley last
week, he said, “the changes in our climate are…, soon to be
irreversible” (May 20th, 2013). .  On May 23rd, the Sacramento
Bee reported that Governor Brown “complained bitterly” that “the
news media ignores climate change.”  Naturally, you would think
he would proudly lead in implementing AB 32, this state’s
pioneering climate law to address global warming. Right?  Wrong.
http://www.capitolweekly.net/article.php?_c=11h874emcl1d9up&xid=11h86dvw36pd2cn&done=.11h874emcl1l9up#

 
Editorial: Safety is latest worry about California bullet train. 
Take "The Little Engine That Could," remove the hero's underdog
charm and the inevitability of a happy ending, and you've got the
saga of the California bullet train as the project nears the
scheduled start of construction next month.  It thinks it can, it
thinks it can. Planners think it can get over a mountain of
legal, financial and procedural worries, the latest being a red
flag about safety and quality in a major contractor's proposal.
Posted. 
http://www.presstelegram.com/opinions/ci_23369328/editorial-safety-is-latest-worry-about-california-bullet


Carbon Cap & Trade Builds Global Momentum. Policymakers in
Washington, D.C. might be mired in the politics of intransigence,
especially when it comes to carbon dioxide emissions, but
California and nine U.S. states in northeast aren't. They are
taking action by implementing carbon cap & trade auctions to
begin to reign in emissions of the climate-altering greenhouse
gas, which just climbed past 400 parts per million (ppm) in
Earth's atmosphere - a concentration not seen in literally
millions of years. Posted. http://evworld.com/focus.cfm?cid=150