What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for July11, 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.

AIR POLLUTION

China plans to further restrict car purchases. China plans to
increase the number of cities that restrict vehicle purchases in
a bid to fight pollution and traffic congestion, state media
reported Thursday. With more than 13 million cars sold in China
last year, motor vehicles and their emissions have emerged as the
chief culprit for the air pollution in large cities. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/China-plans-to-further-restrict-car-purchases-4658926.php

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jul/11/china-plans-to-further-restrict-car-purchases/


NY sets hearings on plan to reduce carbon cap. New York
regulators have scheduled a series of hearing on a proposal to
reduce the volume of carbon dioxide emissions allowed in a
nine-state region. The state is part of the Regional Greenhouse
Gas Initiative, which announced in February plans to cap
emissions at 91 million tons each year starting in 2014, down
about 45 percent from the current 165 million-ton cap. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/NY-sets-hearings-on-plan-to-reduce-carbon-cap-4658817.php


CLIMATE CHANGE

US-China make progress on climate change.  Top U.S. and Chinese
officials are wrapping up annual strategic and economic talks
that have yielded greater cooperation on reducing greenhouse
gases but again exposed Washington's frustration over cyber theft
it says is emanating from the emerging Asian power.  Posted.    
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_US_CHINA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


OTHER RELATED STORIES 
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/US-China-make-progress-on-climate-change-4658747.php

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jul/10/us-china-make-progress-on-climate-change/
   
http://www.smh.com.au/business/carbon-economy/us-china-agree-on-carbon-cutbacks-20130711-2pr5v.html

http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_23639300/us-china-make-progress-climate-change?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com
 
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_23639300/us-china-make-progress-climate-change?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com


Report: Climate change causing energy disruptions.  A new
government report says climate change and extreme weather already
are causing disruptions in the U.S. energy supply that are likely
to get worse as more intense storms, higher temperatures and more
frequent droughts occur.  The report, released Thursday by the
Energy Department, says blackouts and other problems caused by
hurricanes, such as Superstorm Sandy…Posted. 
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CLIMATE_CHANGE_ENERGY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

OTHER RELATED STORIES

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/11/us/climate-change-will-cause-more-energy-breakdowns-us-warns.html?_r=0

http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Report-Climate-change-causing-energy-disruptions-4659334.php

http://www.sacbee.com/2013/07/11/5560345/report-climate-change-causing.html
  
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jul/11/report-climate-change-causing-energy-disruptions/
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_23640552/report-climate-change-causing-energy-disruptions?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com
   

Some Trees Use Less Water Amid Rising Carbon Dioxide, Paper Says.
The fate of the world’s forests on a warming planet has long been
one of the great unanswered questions about climate change. Now,
new research is complicating the picture further, suggesting that
big shifts are already under way in how forests work. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/11/science/earth/some-trees-use-less-water-amid-rising-carbon-dioxide-paper-says.html
 

Consider Climate Change When Selecting Stocks. Our warming planet
poses an increasing risk to business operations, and some
companies are managing better than others. For instance, NRG
Energy and some other utilities are rethinking the entire
electrical grid in the wake of repeated storm destruction.
Wal-Mart is pursuing new efficiency mechanisms to make its supply
chain more resilient to shocks. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Consider-Climate-Change-When-Selecting-Stocks-4659357.php


Climate Change and the Bottom Line. Did you know that you,
personally, are paying a lot of money for climate change? As the
planet warms, extreme weather events become more frequent and
severe. You pay the price through your taxes and your insurance
premiums. Don't think this is a real issue? Consider the
following responses to a survey of insurers regarding their
approaches to climate change. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Climate-Change-and-the-Bottom-Line-4657557.php


A Scientific Storm is Brewing Over the Hurricane-Climate
Connection. It's the month of July, right before the Atlantic
hurricane season really gets chugging. And there are already
signs that a busy year might be on the way, chief among them the
unusual early appearance of a "Cape Verde-type" storm. These
storms are typically sparked by atmospheric waves traveling all
the way from the coast of Africa, and generally don't appear
until later in the hurricane season. Posted.
http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2013/07/hurricanes-global-warming-kerry-emanuel


ILUC factors could jeopardise how we measure the carbon footprint
of a product. As the European Union seeks to address whether
biofuels production increases greenhouse gas emissions and
whether to tackle the issue by including indirect land use change
(ILUC) factors in the environmental assessments, it has ignored
the fact that ILUC can neither be observed nor measured and is
therefore not a scientifically robust  solution, says Matthias
Finkbeiner. Posted.
http://www.euractiv.com/science-policymaking/iluc-factors-jeopardize-measure-analysis-529241


Warming already wreaking havoc on U.S. energy system – DOE.
Rising temperatures, decreasing water availability, more severe
storms and rising seas stemming from climate change are already
affecting every part of the country's energy sector, and those
threats will only grow more severe in years to come, the Energy
Department said today. DOE in a new report outlines the effects a
warming world with more chaotic and damaging storms…Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1059984249/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

DIESEL EMISSIONS

CARB clarifies extension for Truck and Bus Rule compliance. The
California Air Resources Board is allowing some truck owners
additional time to comply with its expensive Truck and Bus
Regulation. The move comes after some diesel equipment
manufacturers have had difficulty keeping up with orders. In an
advisory mail-out, CARB is clarifying just how truck owners may
obtain additional time and remain in compliance with the rule.
Posted. http://www.landlinemag.com/Story.aspx?StoryID=25435 
 
FUELS

Use of coal to generate power rises; greenhouse gas emissions
next? Power plants are burning coal more, relying less on natural
gas, a report says. That may hurt Obama's effort to cut
greenhouse gases. Power plants in the United States are burning
coal more often to generate electricity, reversing the growing
use of natural gas and threatening to increase domestic emissions
of greenhouse gases after a period of decline, according to a
federal report. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-coal-electricity-20130711,0,1786862.story


Can New Technology Save Tar Sands? Tar sands exploitation
generates significant carbon emissions at a time when the
Americas are getting more serious about addressing climate
change. Watch the video below to see what some companies are
doing to try to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Oil from tar
sands isn't the only recent energy development. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Can-New-Technology-Save-Tar-Sands-4657295.php


Has This Giant Bottomed Out? Low coal prices have been the major
culprit behind a waning coal industry. Peabody Energy, the
world’s largest private coal company, has been no exception to
the declining coal sector. On July 3, 2013, Peabody’s shares
closed at a mere $14.65, showing a 43% fall on a year-over-year
basis. With Peabody’s share price plummeting, two key questions
come into mind: Has Peabody Energy bottomed out? When will it
rise again? Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Has-This-Giant-Bottomed-Out-4657033.php


Shell to spend $115 million on pollution control. Shell Oil has
agreed to spend at least $115 million to cut harmful pollution at
a Houston-area refinery. The oil giant will also pay a $2.6
million civil penalty under the settlement announced Wednesday.
Shell settled with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and
the Department of Justice after it was accused of violating the
federal Clean Air Act. Posted.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jul/10/shell-to-spend-115-million-on-pollution-control/


EPA releases long-awaited response on fracking regulation. U.S.
EPA has spent the past year and a half considering rulemaking to
regulate chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing under the Toxic
Substances Control Act (TSCA) in response to a petition filed by
environmental groups in 2011. Yesterday the agency finally
published its response to the petition in the Federal Register,
which has led environmental groups to question why the process is
taking so long. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/stories/1059984193/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

Enviros challenge Calif. drilling project, citing possible
impacts to water, condors. The Center for Biological Diversity
has filed a lawsuit against a central California county over its
approval of an oil-drilling project that the environmental group
says could have big effects on endangered condors and drinking
and irrigation water in the Salinas Valley. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/stories/1059984197/print BY
SUBSCRIPTIO ONLY

VEHICLES

Ford cuts $4,000 from Focus electric price.  Ford Motor is
slicing $4,000 from the base price of its Focus electric car,
beginning with 2014 models that arrive at dealers within a few
weeks.  That cuts the Focus EV's base price to $35,995 including
shipping.  Some buyers qualify for a $7,500 credit on federal
income taxes, and states often have their own incentives for
buying battery cars.  Posted. 
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2013/07/10/ford-focus-electric-price-chevrolet-volt-nissan-leaf/2506693/
  

PEVs combined with green energy packages could increase EV
demand, claims new study.  Combining the purchase of a plug-in
electric vehicle (PEV) with a green electricity programme could
increase consumers’ interest in electric cars, claims a new
study. According to the research, when a sales offer includes
both a PEV and a green electricity scheme to charge the car, a
23% increase in demand for PEVs among buyers of conventional
vehicles was observed.  Posted.
http://www.cars21.com/news/view/5517 

GM to put 500,000 EVs on the road in next 5 years. The electric
car charger at front and center on General Motors Co.'s new
sustainability report is more than just a pretty image. According
to Director of Sustainability David Tulauskas, it symbolizes the
U.S. automaker's commitment to electrifying transportation and to
a new way of doing business. In the report, released today, the
company makes bold commitments to sell more electric vehicles
(EVs)…Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059984214/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

GREEN ENERGY

Without San Onofre, San Diego and south O.C. power could be
tight. The energy landscape of Southern California will look
vastly different without San Onofre, officials said in a state
Senate committee hearing Wednesday, the first in a series of
public discussions on life without the nuclear plant. The
2,200-megawatt behemoth in northern San Diego County brought a
steady supply of power to about 1.4 million
homes…http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-san-onofre-planning-20130710,0,1146367.story

 
Mass. officials propose commercial food waste ban. Gov. Deval
Patrick is pushing a plan to ban commercial food waste, instead
requiring that any leftovers be used for renewable energy
instead. Environmental officials say the ban would take effect
next July and would force any company that disposes of at least
one ton of organic waste per week to donate or reuse any useable
food. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Mass-officials-propose-commercial-food-waste-ban-4658828.php


Nevada Solar Factory Canceled. A project that would have included
a solar power station and a million-square-foot solar panel
factory a few miles from the California state line won't be
built, its backers announced last month. The $5 billion,
Chinese-backed ENN Mojave Energy project at the southernmost
corner of Nevada couldn't find utilities that wanted to buy its
power, either in Nevada or across the line in California. Posted.
http://www.kcet.org/news/rewire/solar/photovoltaic-pv/nevada-solar-factory-canceled.html


UW-Oshkosh works with big dairy farm on digester. The University
of Wisconsin-Oshkosh has started construction on a $7 million
digester and public education center at the state's largest dairy
farm. The digester at Rosendale Dairy will use livestock waste to
produce methane that can be burned for power. It is expected to
produce enough energy to operate the equivalent of 1,200 homes,
according to Oshkosh Northwestern Media. Posted. 
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2013/jul/10/uw-oshkosh-works-with-big-dairy-farm-on-digester/#ixzz2YkmDrRQR


Old power plants might get new life as Calif. scrambles to
replace San Onofre. The closure of California's San Onofre
nuclear power plant could keep other power plants that kill
marine life operating longer than state rules allow, the state's
grid operator said yesterday. Grid operators are discussing
extending the deadline for power plants to comply with new
regulations as a result of Southern California Edison's decision
last month to permanently shutter San Onofre after a small
radiation leak in 2012. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1059984239/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

MISCELLANEOUS

CEQA reform could get tricky. Reform of the state of California's
landmark and controversial environmental law, CEQA, is starting
to get more complicated. The California Economic Summit, a
nonpartisan working group of different state regions, posted an
interesting item Tuesday on legislative efforts to update the
California Environmental Quality Act. Known as CEQA, the act
requires local agencies to analyze the environmental impact of
new development. Posted.
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2013/07/10/calif-environmental-quality-act-reform.html


Grants From Tire Recycling Fee Awarded to Recycling Programs.
Nearly two million dollars in tire recycling fees have been
redistributed to California cities and counties to encourage
recycling. Five million tires end up in California landfills
every year. One-point-eight million dollars from the California
tire recycling fee will go to 45 agencies in 29 counties that
applied for grants from Cal Recycle. Posted.
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2013/07/10/tire-recycling-fee-awarded-to-recycling-programs/
 

IEA Report Offers Prescription to Ease Urban Transit Congestion.
City dwellers accustomed to regular traffic jams and road rage
may shudder at the prospect of the world's urban areas getting
even more crowded. Nonetheless, such growth is assured: The
percentage of people living in cities is expected to reach 70
percent by 2050, and roadway occupancy levels could increase
sixfold in some countries, according to the International Energy
Agency (IEA). Posted.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2013/07/130710-iea-report-urban-transport/


OPINIONS

Gas Stations Versus Charging Stations. Perhaps oil and gas
investors who have been following the growth of the electric
vehicle, or EV, space might have been a little worried that the
oil and gas industry would collapse by the time the EV industry
starts living its dream of making the whole world go
all-electric. I, on the other hand, don't believe this would be
the case. Nobody wants to go out of business. Oil and gas
companies can't have it as an option. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Gas-Stations-Versus-Charging-Stations-4659432.php


Fracking is not worth the cost. Re "California oil could boom
again" (Dan Walters July 8): Fracking results in leakage of huge
amounts of methane, the principal component of natural gas and
more than 72 times more potent than carbon dioxide in trapping
heat in our atmosphere. Fracking requires millions of gallons of
precious water for each well. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/07/11/5552516/fracking-in-california.html#storylink=cpy


Letters: Sassing smokers. Re "Confronting smokers with a whiff of
whimsy," July 9
There was a time when rules and laws meant something. But, in the
words of the Virginia Slims cigarette ad slogan, "You've come a
long way, baby." Yes, we certainly have, but in the wrong
direction. An avalanche of legal rights has washed over
Americans, generating attitudes infested with the stench of
inconsideration and entitlement. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/letters/la-le-0711-thursday-cigarettes-20130711,0,6600680.story


California Cap-And-Trade Auction is An Illegal Tax. Earlier this
week, NFIB filed a lawsuit against the California Air Resources
Board (CARB) challenging CARB’s decision to promulgate
regulations that are not authorized by the Global Warming
Solutions Act (“AB 32”). The challenged “auction regulations”
impose greater burdens on the regulated community and will
ultimately impose higher costs on small businesses who must pay
higher costs for essential goods and services. Posted.
http://www.foxandhoundsdaily.com/2013/07/california-cap-and-trade-auction-is-an-illegal-tax/


Don't breathe easy, California. E.B. White wrote, in Charlotte’s
Web, that crickets chirped “Summer is dying, dying.” That’s one
of the reasons I never invite any of those bugs to my parties.
They’re so maudlin. That, and they tend to not use coasters. But
here we are, post-heat-wave, post-fireworks. Sunburned skin has
either deepened to a tan or is peeling and flaking away. Baseball
players are rounding third. Posted.
http://www.santamariasun.com/canary/10053/dont-breathe-easy-california/


BLOGS

Air Pollution May Raise Appendicitis Risk. Air pollution slightly
increases the risk for appendicitis, according to a new report.
Researchers studied 35,811 patients hospitalized for appendicitis
in 12 Canadian cities between 2004 and 2008. They used air
pollution data from monitors in each city to calculate daily
maximum concentrations of ozone, a normal component of the
earth’s upper atmosphere that becomes a danger when concentrated
at ground level. Posted.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/11/air-pollution-may-raise-appendicitis-risk/


How should California make up for power loss from San Onofre? A
State Senate committee pondered Wednesday how to make up for the
power loss from the permanent closure of the San Onofre Nuclear
Generating Station (SONGS).  Replacing the energy the plant
produced isn’t as simple as flipping a switch. Not when
California is gunning to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and
increase the use of renewable fuels. Posted.
http://www.scpr.org/blogs/politics/2013/07/10/14218/how-should-california-make-up-for-power-loss-from
 

Electric vehicles prove more popular when green energy is
available.  OK, so this isn't exactly a "man-bites-dog" type of
story, but it's still worth noting that electric vehicle buyers
enjoy green energy. Turns out, folks are more likely to buy a
plug-in vehicle if they know the electricity that will power the
car, or at least some of it, will come from a renewable energy
source.  Posted. 
http://green.autoblog.com/2013/07/10/electric-vehicles-prove-more-popular-when-g0reen-energy-is-availa/