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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for July 1, 2013.

Posted: 01 Jul 2013 14:21:49
ARB Newsclips for July 1, 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

New Compliance Association Unites California Offset Project
Developers. The latest cap-and-trade development to come out of
California is reflective of the Golden State’s reputation as the
prevailing leader in domestic climate policy. The newly-minted
Compliance Offset Developers Association (CODA) is an alliance of
six project developers…Posted.
http://www.ecosystemmarketplace.com/pages/dynamic/article.page.php?page_id=9803§ion=news_articles&eod=1


AIR POLLUTION

Beijing Advises Reduced Outdoor Activities as Smog Blankets City.
Beijing advised the young, elderly and ill among its 20 million
people to avoid outdoor activities as a U.S. Embassy pollution
monitor showed air quality at “unhealthy” levels in the Chinese
capital. Concentrations of PM2.5, fine air particulates that pose
the greatest health risk…Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-01/beijing-advises-reduced-outdoor-activities-as-smog-blankets-city.html


California EPA to focus on improving enforcement in target areas.
The state Environmental Protection Agency is forming a new
working group focused on improving enforcement of environmental
laws in communities that face particularly hazardous pollution
problems. Secretary Matthew Rodriquez said in a statement Friday
that creating the working group will “ensure that California
communities disproportionately affected by pollution are given
particular consideration.” Posted.
http://voices.mydesert.com/2013/06/28/california-epa-to-focus-on-improving-enforcement-in-target-areas/
 

CLIMATE CHANGE

Calif.'s Sierra a 'living lab' for climate change. In parts of
California's Sierra Nevada, marshy meadows are going dry,
wildflowers are blooming earlier and glaciers are melting into
ice fields. Scientists also are predicting the optimal
temperature zone for giant sequoias will rise hundreds and
hundreds of feet, leaving trees at risk of dying over the next
100 years. As indicators point toward a warming climate…Posted.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CLIMATE_CHANGE_SIERRA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Calif-s-Sierra-a-living-lab-for-climate-change-4637806.php

http://www.contracostatimes.com/breaking-news/ci_23577191/sierra-living-lab-climate-change

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2013/jun/29/califs-sierra-a-living-lab-for-climate-change/#ixzz2XoFa3ji1


Obama says climate change is make-or-break issue. President
Barack Obama is trying to frame climate change as a make-or-break
political issue, urging Americans to vote only for those who will
protect the country from environmental harm. He says people in
the United States already are paying a price for climate change,
including in lost lives and hundreds of billions of dollars.
Posted.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBAMA_CLIMATE_CHANGE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-asks-americans-to-declare-they-wont-vote-for-those-who-dont-act-on-climate-change/2013/06/29/1c5e6e2c-e0a3-11e2-a0de-145598a7b2b7_story.html

http://www.modbee.com/2013/06/29/2785489/obama-make-climate-change-a-must.html#storylink=cpy


Germany blocks EU carbon cap to protect automakers. Germany has
blocked a European Union agreement on capping car carbon
emissions because the deal could have cost jobs and harmed its
domestic auto industry, officials said Friday. The blunt
admission that Europe's biggest economy put business interests
before environmental standards is at odds with Germany's image as
a champion of green issues. Posted.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_GERMANY_EU_AUTO_EMISSIONS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


El Nino Was Unusually Active in Possible Link to Climate Change. 
The El Nino weather pattern that can bring drought to Australia
and rain to South America was “unusually active” at the end of
the 20th century, possibly due to climate change, a University of
Hawaii study found. Researchers studied 2,222 tree-ring records
as proxies for temperature and rainfall over the past 700 years,
the university wrote in an online statement dated yesterday.
Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-01/el-nino-was-unusually-active-in-possible-link-to-climate-change.html


Should giant sequoias be watered? Scientists ponder impacts of
climate change across Sierra. In parts of California’s Sierra
Nevada, marshy meadows are going dry, wildflowers are blooming
earlier and glaciers are melting into ice fields. Scientists also
are predicting the optimal temperature zone for giant sequoias
will rise hundreds and hundreds of feet, leaving trees at risk of
dying over the next 100 years. As indicators point toward a
warming climate…Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/energy-environment/should-giant-sequoias-be-watered-scientists-ponder-impacts-of-climate-change-across-sierra/2013/06/29/e0bc5dda-e0bf-11e2-a0de-145598a7b2b7_print.html


Drought conditions threaten Sacramento River salmon. In a sign of
growing drought in California, state officials recently took the
unusual step of loosening environmental water quality rules in
hopes of protecting salmon in the Sacramento River. The move
illustrates how drought forces difficult trade-offs in modern-day
California, where water supplies are stretched to the limit even
in normal years. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/27/5527560/drought-conditions-threaten-sacramento.html#storylink=cpy


EPA sends climate rule to White House. EPA just hit the
accelerator in its push to fulfill President Barack Obama’s
climate promises. The agency has sent the White House a new draft
of its proposed greenhouse gas rule for future power plants,
POLITICO learned Monday — less than a week after Obama announced
he was ordering the Environmental Protection Agency to undertake
a huge effort to throttle carbon pollution from the power
industry. Posted.
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/epa-climate-rules-white-house-93612.html#ixzz2XoxOt2Xa


Years of Lobbying Helped Transportation Fuels Industry Win
Exemptions From California’s Climate Rules. For four years oil
companies, airlines and ground transportation industry groups
have petitioned California for exemptions from the state’s
cap-and-trade greenhouse gas market, saying consumers would take
the hit through higher prices at the pump and in stores. And in
court they are still arguing that the state lacks the regulatory
authority to compel participation. Posted.
http://sfpublicpress.org/climatechange 

Climate Change for the GOP. It’s time for a conservative
alternative to liberal alarmism. President Barack Obama’s climate
agenda announced last week represents the latest of many
Democratic party efforts to address climate change. Although it
includes no new legislation, the president’s plan makes
unprecedented use of executive branch powers and offers a great
many things that appeal to core Democratic constituencies.
Implemented in full, the new power plant carbon rules…Posted.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/climate-change-gop_738063.html


DIESEL EMISSIONS

EU Seeks Monitoring of Ship Emissions to Spur Global Curbs.
European Union regulators proposed monitoring greenhouse gases
from ships starting in 2018 in a plan to encourage global curbs
on maritime pollution tied to climate change. The draft law would
oblige the owners of ships larger than 5,000 gross tons using EU
ports to report annual discharges of carbon dioxide, the main gas
blamed for global warming. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2013-06-28/eu-monitoring-of-ship-emissions-proposed-to-spur-global-curbs.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/28/eu-shipping-co-idUSL5N0F33VH20130628


FUELS

Fracking critics unhappy with Obama climate speech. President
Barack Obama's speech this week on climate change forcefully
rejected some key arguments made by opponents of natural gas
fracking, upsetting some environmental groups that otherwise back
his climate goals. Obama, in his address Tuesday calling for
urgent action to address climate change, praised what he called
"cleaner-burning natural gas"…Posted.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GAS_DRILLING_OBAMA_SPEECH?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


U.S. says oil market can cope with more Iran export cuts. The top
U.S. energy official said world oil markets could cope with
further cuts in Iran's oil exports from tighter sanctions over
its nuclear program as rising supply from the United States and
Iraq offsets the loss. U.S. lawmakers are embarking this summer
on a campaign to deal a deeper blow to Iran's diminishing oil
exports, and analysts say the ultimate goal could be a near total
cut-off. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/01/us-energy-usa-idUSBRE9600EE20130701


U.S. is not waging 'war on coal': Energy Secretary Moniz. The
U.S. government is not waging a "war on coal" but rather expects
it to still play a significant role, U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest
Moniz said on Sunday, rejecting criticism of President Barack
Obama's climate change plan. Obama tried last week to revive his
stalled climate change agenda, promising new rules to cut carbon
emissions from U.S. power plants and other domestic actions
including support for renewable energy. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/30/us-energy-usa-coal-idUSBRE95T0J120130630


Analysis: Shale oil storm blows U.S. tanker trade out of
doldrums. Thanks to the U.S. shale energy boom, the once-quiet
niche of U.S.-flagged oil tankers is in unprecedented flux. A
half-dozen vessels that typically carried gasoline to Florida are
now rushing crude oil along the Texas coast. Major investment at
the port of Corpus Christi, which now exports more than half of
all Eagle Ford shale oil, suggests more to come even as new
pipeline projects promise further market shifts. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/01/us-usa-tankers-jonesact-analysis-idUSBRE96004K20130701


Report rebuts a concern about Keystone XL tar-sands oil.
Tar-sands oil for the Keystone XL pipeline is no more likely to
cause leaks than other types, a new study finds. The type of
crude oil that would be pumped through the Keystone XL pipeline
is no more likely to corrode pipelines or heighten the chance of
leaks than other kinds of petroleum…Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-keystone-pipeline-20130629,0,2006401.story


White House has coal country on the defensive. After several
years of taking a beating from the poor economy, new pollution
rules and a flood of cheap natural gas, the coal industry was on
the rebound this year as mining projects moved forward in the
Western U.S. and demand for the fuel began to rise, especially in
Asia. But almost overnight, coal is back on the defensive,
scrambling to stave off a dark future amid President Barack
Obama's renewed push to rein in climate change.
http://www.sfgate.com/business/energy/article/White-House-has-coal-country-on-the-defensive-4640513.php


Fracking near Shafter raises questions about drilling practices.
One afternoon last fall, Tom Frantz cradled a video camera in his
hand and pointed it at an oil well on the edge of this San
Joaquin Valley farm town. Workers shuffled amid trucks and
drilling equipment, preparing the site for hydraulic fracturing –
fracking, for short – the controversial drilling method that has
the potential to spark an economic boom in California and perhaps
even free the state from foreign oil. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/30/5534452/fracking-near-shafter-raises-questions.html

http://www.modbee.com/2013/06/30/2786458/fracking-near-shafter-raises-questions.html#storylink=cpy


New electric system may make carbon capture more efficient – MIT.
Using electricity instead of heat, researchers have developed a
potentially cheaper, more energy-efficient system to capture
carbon dioxide from power plants and factories. The process,
called Electrochemically Mediated Amine Regeneration (EMAR), is
easier to retrofit on existing fossil fuel generators and
industrial emitters than conventional scrubbing methods. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059983716/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

Obama plan highlights natural gas industry's methane dilemma.
When President Obama unveiled plans to address climate change
last week, the announcement was widely regarded as a boon for the
natural gas industry (EnergyWire, June 26). Obama's plan seemed
to accept natural gas as a key intermediary power source as the
nation moves away from high-emitting coal. But some are
challenging gas's climate benefits. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/stories/1059983705/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

VEHICLES

Company fleets pave the way for alternative transportation.
Neapolitan Express food trucks are fueling New Yorkers with
piping hot pizza and now delivering less emissions, too, as they
switch from running on diesel to natural gas. Dish Network
service vans across the country are similarly lowering their
carbon footprint by converting to propane. And today thousands of
General Electric employees are getting to work in plug-in hybrid
vehicles. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059983708/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

GREEN ENERGY

Column: Are consumers ready to be empowered by smart power
meters? Used right, the new generation of smart power meters
could cut peak electricity consumption by up to 20 percent,
avoiding the need to construct 2,000 new power plants across the
United States. Installing them, however, is the easy part. The
industry faces years of battling to convince consumers to use
them to change the way they use electricity…Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/01/us-column-kemp-smart-meters-idUSBRE9600QH20130701


At one Army base, a vision for a new shade of green. Maj. Gen.
Dana J.H. Pittard, as commander at Ft. Bliss, moves to cut energy
use, increase recycling, conserve water and more. To him, it's a
matter of security. The endless desert that makes up Ft. Bliss
looks a lot like places where the United States fought its recent
wars or where it might fight its next one. Tanks are manned by
soldiers whose faces are wrapped against the blowing sand. Dust
devils rise, stagger and fall to the desert floor. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-green-army-20130701,0,6233025,print.story


RIVERSIDE COUNTY: Spending formula created for solar fee.
Twenty-five percent of the money gained through fees on Riverside
County solar energy projects will be spent in areas directly
affected by those projects, according to a new funding formula.
The formula unanimously approved by the county Board of
Supervisors on Tuesday, June 25, calls for 75 percent of the
money to go to the county’s general fund, which pays for the bulk
of public services. Posted.
http://www.pe.com/local-news/politics/jeff-horseman-headlines/20130630-riverside-county-spending-formula-created-for-solar-fee.ece


Clean energy leaders see 'loophole' in new energy strategy. Clean
energy advocates praised a proposed new World Bank energy
financing blueprint that restricts new coal lending but warned
that it includes a loophole large enough to allow a controversial
lignite-fired power plant in Kosovo to still go forward. The
draft strategy obtained by ClimateWire moves on issues long
embraced by environmentalists: Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059983714/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

MISCELLANEOUS

Obama nominates Colo. energy regulator to FERC. President Barack
Obama on Thursday nominated the former head of Colorado's Public
Utilities Commission to chair the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission. Ronald Binz sat on Colorado's utilities commission
from 2007 to 2011 and helped oversee efforts to reduce Colorado's
reliance on coal-fired utility plants and increase the state's
use of renewable energy. Posted.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_FERC_CHIEF?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Western governors unveil 10-year energy 'vision.' Western
governors have unveiled a regional 10-year energy "vision" that
stresses cooperation among states in interstate projects such as
transmission lines, increased oil production and modernization of
pipeline infrastructure. At the same time, the document released
by the Western Governors Association calls for reducing
greenhouse gas emissions, protecting wildlife and supporting
technologies that reduce water demand. Posted.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jun/30/western-governors-unveil-10-year-energy-vision/


It’s official, Davis is California’s ‘Coolest’ city. Three cities
were honored Thursday at an award ceremony before the California
Air Resources Board, wrapping up a yearlong CoolCalifornia
Challenge in which thousands of households in cities across the
state competed for the biggest citywide carbon footprint
reduction. Known for its longtime commitment to environmental
sustainability, the city of Davis was crowned the state’s
“Coolest California City” by the Air Resources Board out of eight
cities that began the competition. Posted.
http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/davis-tapped-as-coolest-california-city/


OPINIONS

COLUMN-China CO2 growth has turned a corner: Gerard Wynn. The
relentless growth in China's carbon emissions looks to have
peaked and started to slow, in part simply because of a cooling
economy but also the result of new targets to curb pollution and
climate change. China alone emitted more than a quarter of global
carbon dioxide last year, and in the past decade has accounted
for two-thirds of the net annual growth in global emissions.
Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/assets/print?aid=USL5N0F10UD20130701 

Storytelling science illuminates climate views. What's the moral
of the story? A hero you like seems to shape our understanding of
news stories, shows a scientific experiment with climate science
news stories. Who's your hero? Superman? Batman? The
Environmental Protection Agency?The answer may say something
about how you read news stories about climate change…Posted.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/vergano/2013/06/29/climate-categories-news/2471945/


Stuck in Purgatory. President Obama’s new regulatory agenda on
climate change will face inevitable legal and political
challenges. But in all fields — not just energy and the
environment but health, safety and labor — one of the most
formidable obstacles to reform has been the administration’s own
resistance to finalizing new rules, even when it has expressed
support for the causes those rules would address. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/01/opinion/stuck-in-purgatory.html?_r=0
 

Editorial: Climate protection needs a champion. During his
February State of the Union address, President Barack Obama asked
Congress to send him legislation to reform immigration, reduce
gun violence and combat climate change. Immigration legislation
is happening, at least in the Senate. Gun violence legislation
has stalled. Congress has done nothing on climate change. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/30/5532833/editorial-climate-protection-needs.html#storylink=cpy


On pipeline, obama makes like keystone cop.  The key backdrop to
the speech is the “brown revolution” — the sharp gains in U.S.
fossil-fuel production in recent years. This is primarily due to
a newly refined drilling process called hydraulic fracturing, in
which underground water cannons guided precisely by advanced
sensors blast away rocks and allow access to previously
unreachable natural gas and oil reserves. Posted.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jul/01/tp-on-pipeline-obama-makes-like-keystone-cop/


Green Desert: Huge solar project just the start of changes. I was
in an aisle seat so it was only by coincidence that I happened to
look out of the window of my flight back from San Antonio on
Sunday and see BrightSource Energy’s Ivanpah solar project —
three 459-foot-tall solar towers, surrounded by 300,000
reflecting mirrors, or heliostats. At 30,000 feet or so, one
can’t actually see the towers and mirrors. Posted.
http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013306290015 

Obama is right on climate change. The goals President Barack
Obama set out Tuesday in his Climate Action Plan -- including
cutting pollution from coal plants and aggressively pursuing
clean energy alternatives -- won't solve all the challenges of
climate change, but they are a big first step in protecting the
planet from its worst effects. Posted.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/28/opinion/field-obama-climate-change


Editorial: A war on climate change. Climate change is surely the
looming disaster of our time. Scientists say it’s inevitable that
sea levels will rise 2 1/2-6 1/2 feet — sufficient to endanger or
wipe out many cities. One scientist believes that in the
long-term, 69 feet of sea level rise is inescapable. And the
source of the swelling oceans — rising temperatures — will stress
the nation’s food system…Posted.
http://www.freep.com/article/20130630/OPINION01/306300083/climate-change-obama-carbon-cap


BLOGS

LA orders up to 25 electric buses for transit duty in car-loving
city. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation
Authority (Metro) has signed a contract with BYD Motors for up to
25 new all-electric buses, of a $30-million clean air bus
technology pilot project. This is the first time Metro has
purchased and placed into revenue service any all-electric buses
and is giving the transit agency an opportunity to determine
whether electric buses can meet LA's rigorous transit needs.
Posted.
http://green.autoblog.com/2013/07/01/la-orders-up-to-25-electric-buses-for-transit-duty-in-car-loving/
  

Tesla officially gets behind White House petition to allow direct
EV sales. A Tesla fan's petition to the White House – asking the
federal government to "allow Tesla Motors to sell directly to
consumers in all 50 states" – is gaining official traction. Over
the weekend, Tesla Motors sent out an email to supporters asking
them to add their name. Posted.
http://green.autoblog.com/2013/07/01/tesla-officially-gets-behind-white-house-petition/


Reducing Greenhouse Gases and Promoting Sustainability in the
Global Economy. When the EPA finally begins to regulate
greenhouse gas emissions, as promised by President Obama last
week, one impact will be a reduction of coal consumption here in
the United States. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean that we will
mine less coal or burn less of it. Instead of mining coal and
burning it locally, we will simply export the coal to
China…Posted.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven-cohen/reducing-greenhouse-gases_b_3528216.html?view=print&comm_ref=false


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