What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for October 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

Traders float new standardized contract for Calif. Market. Oil
companies, fuel providers, utilities and bankers hoping to
capitalize on California's cap-and-trade system have come up with
a uniform contract that they hope will make carbon trading
easier. The agreement, unveiled yesterday at a carbon-trading
conference in Washington, D.C., is aimed at standardizing
secondary trades of carbon allowances and offsets in the state's
economywide cap-and-trade market, which took effect in January.
Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059988283/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

AIR POLLUTION

One-fifth of U.S. lives near roads with higher air pollution,
study says. Nearly one-fifth of the U.S. population lives near a
high-volume road where pollution levels are typically elevated
from vehicle exhaust, a new study says. The analysis found 60
million people living within about one-third of a mile from a
busy road. In California, 40% of the population lives that close
to traffic, the highest of any state. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-air-pollution-population-traffic-20131002,0,4321572,print.story


Exide records excess lead emissions, despite cutbacks. The
battery recycler will meet with air quality officials to discuss
additional action to curb emissions. The company says it is now
in compliance with regulations. Even after being forced to cut
production last month because of high lead emissions, a Vernon
battery recycler has continued to violate limits on releases of
the potent neurotoxin, regulators said Wednesday. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-exide-20131003,0,7217980,print.story


CLIMATE CHANGE

Oceans face 'deadly trio' of threats, study says. The world's
oceans are under greater threat than previously believed from a
"deadly trio" of global warming, declining oxygen levels and
acidification, an international study said on Thursday. The
oceans have continued to warm, pushing many commercial fish
stocks towards the poles and raising the risk of extinction for
some marine species, despite a slower pace of temperature rises
in the atmosphere this century, it said. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/03/us-climate-oceans-idUSBRE99208K20131003

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/03/ocean-acidification-carbon-dioxide-emissions-levels


What the new climate report really says. The people who are paid
to spread doubt and confusion about our changing climate have
been working overtime this week, because the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a scientific body that includes
thousands of the world's best climate scientists, has just issued
its latest assessment. The IPCC report is the Olympics of climate
change - once every few years the best in the world show us the
results of thousands of the most recent research studies.
Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/10/03/5790444/what-the-new-climate-report-really.html#storylink=cpy


Risky Business adds up climate change costs. Tom Steyer certainly
knows how to keep his name in circulation. The hedge fund
billionaire turned climate activist has a knack for picking
projects that keep him in the public eye. Whether he's pushing
through a tax-reform ballot initiative in California or
bankrolling a controversial ad against the Keystone XL pipeline,
Steyer rarely drops out of sight for long. Now he has teamed with
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on a typically ambitious effort
- counting up the economic costs of climate change. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Risky-Business-adds-up-climate-change-costs-4864153.php


Students fight climate change, cite personal reasons.  2040.  If
energy consumption continues to grow at its current rate, that's
when the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will cause
permanent climate change, according to a new U.N. report.  That
year stuck out to Daniel Sherrell, a senior at Brown University.
He will be 49 then.  "Before then, members of Congress and the
international community will have to swallow their hubris and
make difficult decisions,”…Posted. 
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/03/students-climate-change-reasons/2910737/
 

Carbon-capture plant breaks ground at San Antonio cement plant.
Skyonic Corp. broke ground this past week on the nation’s first
commercial-scale carbon capture and mineralization plant. The
facility, which is expected to be complete in 2014, is being
built at Capitol Aggregates’ cement factory in Northeast San
Antonio. Capitol Aggregates is a major supplier for energy
companies working in the Eagle Ford Shale. Cement is used in the
development of oil-and-gas wells. Posted.
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/blog/eagle-ford-shale-insight/2013/10/carbon-capture-plant-breaks-ground-at.html


Sandy's 'freaky' path may be less likely in future. Man-made
global warming may further lessen the likelihood of the freak
atmospheric steering currents that last year shoved Superstorm
Sandy due west into New Jersey, a new study says. But don't
celebrate a rare beneficial climate change prediction just yet.
The study's authors said the once-in-700-years path was only one
factor in the massive $50 billion killer storm. Posted.
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130913/GJLIFESTYLES/130909653/-1/FOSLIFESTYLES02

DIESEL EMISSIONS

Diesel Exhaust Masks Odors Honeybees Use to Forage and Pollinate.
 Exhaust from diesel engines has been shown to prevent honeybees
from differentiating between the odors of flowers, according to
new research from the University of Southampton.  Honeybees rely
on floral odors to locate and identify the flowers they collect
pollen from, but when the aroma of diesel exhaust fumes is
present the odor profile of surround flora is masked.  Posted. 
http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/4295/20131003/diesel-exhaust-masks-odors-honeybees-use-forage-pollinate.htm
 

The dangers of school bus diesel exhaust and what schools are
doing about it.  They carry your most precious cargo, sometimes
for hours a day; but school buses have a hidden danger that's
threatening your child's health.  "I think everybody needs to be
worried," says James Kenny, MD, a retired pulmonologist who's
studied air pollution extensively.  The source: dangerous diesel
fuel exhaust.  Posted. 
http://www.wnct.com/story/23594482/the-dangers-of-school-bus-diesel-exhaust-and-what-schools-are-doing-about-it


FUELS

Harvard fossil fuels. Harvard University, the world’s richest
school, won’t divest from fossil fuel companies amid pressure
from students, President Drew Faust said in a letter released
today. “I do not believe, nor do my colleagues on the
Corporation, that university divestment from the fossil fuel
industry is warranted or wise,” Faust said in the letter,
referring to Harvard Corp., the school’s governing board. “The
endowment is a resource, not an instrument to impel social or
political change.” Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-03/harvard-fossil-fuels.html


Fuel From Landfill Methane Goes on Sale. Farmers, waste
management companies and the energy industries have long
experimented with converting methane, a byproduct of decomposing
organic matter, into transportation fuel.  Those efforts have met
with mixed success, and a renewable natural gas fuel has not been
widely available in the United States. But now, one leading
supplier of natural gas transport fuel is taking a big step
toward changing that.  Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/03/business/energy-environment/the-swamp-gas-station-fuel-from-landfill-methane-goes-on-sale.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&pagewanted=print&adxnnlx=1380826867-KpCv34CGH58JZjOxkj2BAg


Industry groups ask for rehearing of low-carbon fuel standard
decision. Industry groups yesterday asked federal judges to
reconsider their ruling upholding California's low-carbon fuel
standard. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last month
rebuffed an industry challenge to the standard, one of
California's key programs for cracking down on greenhouse gas
emissions that contribute to climate change. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1059988308/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

VEHICLES

Tesla shares fall further on Model S fire. Shares of Tesla Motors
fell another 5 percent Thursday as investors in the high-flying
company assessed the fallout from a fire in one of its $70,000
electric cars. The fire began in the car's battery after the
driver hit metal debris. Firefighters extinguished the flames and
no one was hurt. Tesla says it's the first fire in one of its
cars. Experts say electric car fires are rare, and consumers
should still consider buying them. Posted.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TESLA_FIRE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-10-03-03-44-00


MISCELLANEOUS

Marin County's plastic-bag ban upheld by court. Plastic bag
manufacturers lost another challenge to local ban-the-bag
measures Wednesday when the state Supreme Court allowed Marin
County to continue enforcing its restrictions at checkout
counters in unincorporated areas. The justices unanimously denied
review of an appellate ruling upholding the Marin ordinance,
which since January 2012 has prohibited single-use plastic bags
and required a 5-cent fee for a paper bag. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Marin-County-s-plastic-bag-ban-upheld-by-court-4864617.php


Around Town: Free smog screenings return to Lemoore.  The San
Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District and Valley Clean
Air Now will host a “Tune In & Tune Up” car cleanup on Saturday. 
The event will provide free car emissions screenings from 9 a.m.
to 3 p.m. at West Hills College Lemoore parking lot A. To
qualify, you must be a Valley resident and have owned your car
for at least six months. The first 525 vehicles that don’t pass
the emissions test and are found to be repairable will receive a
$500 voucher for a participating STAR smog check station. 
Posted. 
http://www.hanfordsentinel.com/features/community/around-town-free-smog-screenings-return-to-lemoore/article_eb13befc-2bbc-11e3-9a4d-0019bb2963f4.html


OPINIONS

What the new climate report really says.  The people who are paid
to spread doubt and confusion about our changing climate have
been working overtime this week, because the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a scientific body that includes
thousands of the world's best climate scientists, has just issued
its latest assessment. The IPCC report is the Olympics of climate
change - once every few years the best in the world show us the
results of thousands of the most recent research studies. Posted.
 http://www.modbee.com/2013/10/03/2955351/what-the-new-climate-report-really.html


BLOGS

CA’s greenhouse gas emissions fall — bad news for cap-and-trade? 
California’s new cap-and-trade system for cutting greenhouse gas
emissions may soon face a paradoxical problem — emissions that
are falling faster than expected.  A report issued Monday argues
that California’s emissions are already dropping, undercut by a
sluggish economy and the state’s growing use of renewable power.
Between 2008 and 2011, emissions fell about 15 percent.  Posted. 
http://blog.sfgate.com/energy/2013/09/09/cas-greenhouse-gas-emissions-fall-bad-news-for-cap-and-trade/


California’s Sustainable Transport Incentives Leave Other States
in the Stone Age. California has more electric vehicles per
capita than any other state in the nation, in part because
policymakers seem to love them. Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed
a whole sheaf of bills intended to hasten their adoption, and the
city of Palo Alto — home to Tesla Motors — will require every new
home to be wired for EV charging hardware. Posted.
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2013/10/california-bills-ev-ready/ 

US shutdown hits Obama's climate agenda as EPA staff are sent
home. Officials say government shutdown will disrupt monitoring
of air and water quality and delay new rules for penalizing
polluters. About 94% of the employees of the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) have been sent on leave of absence as
part of the US government shutdown. Nearly all of the agency's
16,205 employees across the country, with oversight of air
quality…Posted.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/02/us-shutdown-obama-climate-epa