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ARB Newsclips for January 16, 2014. 

This is a service of the California Air Resources Board’s Office
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individual websites to view some of the following news articles.

CAP AND TRADE

EU Can Deepen Carbon Cuts With Current Technology: Study. The
European Union can achieve more ambitious emission reductions
without investing in expensive new technologies, according to
researchers in Germany. The EU has potential to cut emissions 40
percent by 2030 from 1990 levels by spending less than an
additional 0.7 percent of economic output, the Potsdam Institute
for Climate Impact Research said today after publishing a study.
That compares with a current target to lower greenhouse gases 20
percent by 2020. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2014-01-16/eu-can-deepen-carbon-cuts-with-current-technology-study.html


AIR POLLUTION

Beijing air pollution at dangerously high levels. Beijing's
skyscrapers receded into a dense gray smog Thursday as the
capital saw the season's first wave of extremely dangerous
pollution, with the concentration of toxic small particles
registering more than two dozen times the level considered safe.
The air took on an acrid odor, and many of the city's commuters
wore industrial strength face masks as they hurried to work.
Posted.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_CHINA_AIR_POLLUTION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


OTHER RELATED STORIES
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-16/north-china-warned-to-stay-indoors-as-pollution-engulfs-cities.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/16/us-china-pollution-idUSBREA0E0RD20140116

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/16/us-china-environment-idUSBREA0F0K720140116

http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Beijing-air-pollution-at-dangerously-high-levels-5147002.php

http://www.sacbee.com/2014/01/15/6075977/beijing-air-pollution-at-dangerously.html

http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_24921208/beijing-air-pollution-at-dangerously-high-levels?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com&IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com
http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/01/15/3715731/beijing-air-pollution-at-dangerously.html


EPA denies politics delayed pollution rules. The head of the
Environmental Protection Agency is denying Republican claims that
the agency delayed formal publication of rules intended to limit
carbon pollution from new power plants for political reasons. EPA
Administrator Gina McCarthy said the agency submitted the rules
for publication last fall and "tried very hard" to get them
published in the Federal Register. The rules were finally
published last week. Republican senators called the delay
political. They said at a hearing Thursday that the delay means
the rules likely will not be finalized until after the 2014
elections. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/01/16/6078037/epa-denies-politics-delayed-pollution.html#storylink=cpy


Activists take aim at black carbon from kerosene lamps. The dirty
and faint shafts of light from crude kerosene lamps are the sole
source of illumination in much of the developing world. With 1.3
billion people lacking electricity and many more with only
irregular access, these old-fashioned lamps light up the night.
But they also pollute the sky, adding a significant and
overlooked source of greenhouse gas emissions, according to
environmental activists. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059993035/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

McConnell gambit aims to stop just-proposed EPA rule in its
tracks. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell -- joined by
nearly all his Republican colleagues -- today introduced
legislation aimed at blocking U.S. EPA's proposal to limit
greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. The Kentucky
Republican argues that Congress should be able to stop the rule
using the Congressional Review Act despite the fact that
disapproval resolutions under that act are typically applied only
to rules that have been finalized and submitted to the Government
Accountability Office -- neither of which has happened here.
Posted. http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1059993072/print
BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

CLIMATE CHANGE

U.S. West Coast Oysters Face Threat of Invasive Predator Snails.
The U.S. West Coast’s native Olympia oysters face a greater
threat from invasive predatory snails as climate change raises
the acidity of oceans, research by the University of California,
Davis found. Predatory snails ate 20 percent more young bivalves
when both species were raised in ocean conditions forecast for
the end of the century; according to a university report
published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Oysters raised by the researchers under the high carbon dioxide
conditions…Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2014-01-16/u-s-west-coast-oysters-face-threat-of-invasive-predator-snails.html


UPDATE 1-Hotter longer, Australian heat wave pressuring
commodities. Australia can expect even longer and hotter heat
waves than the one now scorching wide swathes of the country, a
climate research group said on Thursday, raising questions about
its long-term position as an agricultural powerhouse. A
blistering heat wave has settled over Australia's south and
southeast for nearly a week, with soaring temperatures causing
worry after players and fans alike collapsed at the Australian
Open Tennis Tournament in Melbourne. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/16/australia-heatwave-idUSL3N0KQ2JO20140116


Wet, wetter; dry, drier: U.S. oceanographer has hit with
climate-change haiku. An American oceanographer who helped write
an international report on climate change has condensed several
of its key findings - such as how choices made today may shape
the future world - into a collection of succinct poems in the
Haiku style. The poems came to Gregory Johnson, a 20-year veteran
of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as he
pored over an executive summary of "Climate Change 2013: The
Physical Science Basis," …Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/16/usa-climate-haiku-idUSL2N0KQ00420140116


EU to ditch transport emissions goals beyond 2020. The European
Union's climate and energy strategy for 2030 will not include a
specific target on curbing emissions from transport, the fastest
growing source of greenhouse gases in the bloc and the most
expensive to cut. Many in industry and some member states have
pushed hard for a simplified EU climate framework after 2020,
when current policies expire, that ditches existing sub-targets
for sectors such as transport and energy. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/16/eu-climate-transport-idUSL5N0KQ26K20140116


U.N. Says Lag in Confronting Climate Woes Will Be Costly. Nations
have so dragged their feet in battling climate change that the
situation has grown critical and the risk of severe economic
disruption is rising, according to a draft United Nations report.
Another 15 years of failure to limit carbon emissions could make
the problem virtually impossible to solve with current
technologies, the experts found. Delay would likely force future
generations to develop the capability to suck greenhouse gases
out of the atmosphere…Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/17/science/earth/un-says-lag-in-confronting-climate-woes-will-be-costly.html?hp&_r=0


Arctic sea ice gaps drive toxic mercury conveyor belt. Gaps
forming in seasonal Arctic sea ice may be creating a toxic
conveyor belt, drawing mercury from higher altitudes to rain down
on the ice, snow and tundra, according to a new study. The gaps,
which come as the region shifts from perennial ice to thinner
seasonal ice due to climate change, drive convection currents in
the lower atmosphere that cycle mercury and ozone from higher
levels toward Earth’s surface, where oxidation converts the
mercury into a more toxic form…Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-arctic-ice-mercury-20140115,0,2159311,print.story


Last year's U.S. weather showed extremes in precipitation. Last
year was marked by extremes in precipitation around the country,
with unusually wet weather east of the Rockies and drought
worsening in the West, particularly California, according to the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In its annual
State of the Climate report, NOAA said California had its driest
year on record in 2013, after receiving only 32.8% of its average
annual precipitation. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-2013-weather-extreme-precipitation-20140115,0,3246657.story#ixzz2qaInSk1Y


Far West Got Drier Last Year, Data Shows. Drought conditions in
California and elsewhere in the Far West intensified last year,
government scientists said Wednesday, adding to concerns about
water supplies in the region. Although on the whole 2013 was a
wetter than average year for the contiguous 48 states, the
scientists said, that statistic masked sharp regional
differences. Many states east of the Rockies had much higher than
average precipitation, helping to alleviate drought in the
central United States and the Southeast. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/16/science/earth/far-west-got-drier-last-year-data-shows.html?hpw&rref=science


GOP: Inslee shouldn't go alone on climate policy. Three months
after Gov. Jay Inslee pledged to adopt a low carbon fuel standard
in a climate pact West Coast leaders, some Republican lawmakers
want to make sure he doesn't take unilateral action. One
Republican lawmaker is sponsoring a measure to prevent the
governor from issuing an executive order to require producers to
offer transportation fuels that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/GOP-Inslee-shouldn-t-go-alone-on-climate-policy-5145596.php


Climate change will cut Calif.'s ability to make electricity just
as more is needed – report. Climate change will decrease
California's ability to make electricity while creating heavier
demands for it, and the state needs to ramp up planning now,
energy leaders warned yesterday. As temperatures increase,
there's likely to be growing demand for electricity to run air
conditioners. At the same time, changes in rainfall could affect
the ability to use hydropower. And the risk of wildfires is
expected to increase, which could threaten transmission lines.
Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059993032/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

FUELS

Canada Envoy at Odds With Climate Allies on Keystone XL. With his
country’s foreign minister in tow, Canadian Ambassador Gary Doer
walked the marble corridors of the U.S. Capitol yesterday
pitching the prize his nation is seeking: the Keystone XL
pipeline. “It always makes more sense in our view to get energy
from middle North American than the Middle East,” Doer said after
a session with Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota,
a Keystone supporter. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2014-01-16/canada-envoy-at-odds-with-climate-allies-on-keystone-xl.html
 

Canada tells United States bluntly: decide on Keystone XL now.
Canada on Thursday bluntly told the United States to decide the
fate of TransCanada Corp's proposed Keystone XL pipeline, saying
the drawn-out process on whether to approve the northern leg of
the project was taking too long. The U.S. decision on whether to
give the green light has been delayed several times and is now
not expected until later this year. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/16/us-usa-pipeline-idUSBREA0F1DT20140116


Alaska, energy firms ink deal in step to free stranded gas.
Alaska has signed an agreement with major oil and gas firms to
bring stranded gas reserves to market by building a pipeline to
connect with a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal. The
deal was signed with TransCanada Corp and the three major
producers of Alaskan North Slope oil - Exxon Mobil Corp, BP PLC,
ConocoPhillips, Alaska Governor Sean Parnell said in a statement
Wednesday. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/16/energy-alaska-naturalgas-idUSL2N0KQ0MF20140116


REFINERIES

Safety board rejects overhaul of refineries. The U.S. Chemical
Safety Board rejected a proposed overhaul of California's
refinery safety practices - recently touted by its chairman after
the 2012 Chevron refinery fire in Richmond - saying the overly
ambitious plan would do little to immediately improve safety and
needs further study. Two of the three safety board members
opposed the recommendations at a packed Richmond City Council
chamber on Wednesday night. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Safety-board-rejects-overhaul-of-refineries-5147655.php

http://www.contracostatimes.com/contra-costa-times/ci_24922079/richmond-federal-board-at-odds-over-recommendations-stemming


VEHICLES

Acura refines its largest SUV, the MDX. Acura's luxury MDX sport
utility vehicle is redesigned for 2014 with quieter interior,
more cargo space, a new, more powerful engine, better fuel
economy and improved handling. The starting retail price is down
to $43,185, including destination charge, because for the first
time, the MDX is available in front-wheel drive. All previous MDX
SUVs came standard with all-wheel drive. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Acura-refines-its-largest-SUV-the-MDX-5104428.php


HIGH-SPEED RAIL

California to owe feds $180M for high-speed rail. California
officials sought Wednesday to reassure congressional Republicans
that the state will be able to match billions of dollars in
federal funding for the state's high-speed rail project,
including a $180 million payment due in April. Funding for the
$68 billion bullet train system is in legal limbo after two court
rulings last year, one of which prevented the state from selling
$8.6 billion in bonds that it had intended to use to pay its
share of the project. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_24921147/state-assures-it-will-match-rail-funds?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com
http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/01/15/3715098/calif-will-owe-180m-for-high-speed.html
 
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_24921147/state-assures-it-will-match-rail-funds?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com&IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com


Battle of words over high-speed rail erupts on Capitol Hill.
House lawmakers grilled state and federal officials, and some of
their own colleagues, about California's high-speed rail program
in a three-hour hearing Wednesday looking at the future of the
embattled project. Six lawmakers from California testified before
their own colleagues at the House Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee hearing, with Republicans…Posted.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/01/15/3715551/despite-legal-setbacks-officials.html#storylink=cpy


GREEN ENERGY

BP: world energy demand to jump 41 percent by 2035. Oil giant BP
forecasts world demand for energy to grow by 41 percent by 2035,
driven by growing consumption in the booming economies of China
and India. That represents a drop from 55 percent growth in the
previous period, and BP says the growing use of renewable energy
will help energy suppliers meet the world's needs. BP Chief
Executive Bob Dudley says competition is "unlocking technology
and innovation to meet the world's energy needs." Posted.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_BRITAIN_ENERGY_OUTLOOK?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Renewable Energy at $254 Billion? Let’s Make It a Clean Trillion.
Billionaire bankers gathered at the United Nations yesterday to
call for more investment in renewable energy -- $1 trillion a
year, to be exact. It won’t be easy. Global investment in
renewable energy fell 12 percent in 2013 to $254 billion,
according to data released by Bloomberg New Energy Finance
(BNEF), casting a shadow over the notion of a “clean trillion.”
Last year was the second decline in renewable investments since
2011’s record-high $318 billion. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2014-01-16/renewable-energy-at-254-billion-let-s-make-it-a-clean-trillion.html


SolarCity offers new way to invest in solar power. Solar panel
installer SolarCity is turning to retail investors for cash. The
company said Wednesday that it plans to sell securities directly
to individuals and others interested in investing in its rooftop
solar systems. The move is a novel way for the San Mateo company
to finance the enormous cost of installing panels on thousands of
roofs -- a typical residential system costs $25,000…Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/business/ci_24917368/solarcity-offers-new-way-invest-solar-power


Global investment in clean power sources drops, despite need for
more. The U.N. climate change chief called yesterday for $1
trillion in clean energy investment, even as new data show
falling support for green power for the second year in a row.
Speaking to an investor summit at the United Nations, Christiana
Figueres said global climate policy is on the "fast track" with a
new worldwide climate agreement expected in December 2015.
Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059993033/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

MISCELLANEOUS

Administration Is Seen as Retreating on Environment in Talks on
Pacific Trade. The Obama administration is retreating from
previous demands of strong international environmental
protections in order to reach agreement on a sweeping Pacific
trade deal that is a pillar of President Obama’s strategic shift
to Asia, according to documents obtained by WikiLeaks,
environmentalists and people close to the contentious trade
talks. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/15/us/politics/administration-is-seen-as-retreating-on-environment-in-talks-on-pacific-trade.html?hpw&rref=science


Study to test California's kelp forests for radioactive
contamination. The canopies of kelp undulating in the surges off
the coast of California camouflage a complex ecosystem of sharks,
rock fish, crabs, urchins and anemones that blossom like colorful
flowers on the forest floor. Now, Steven L. Manley, a biology
professor at Cal State Long Beach, and Kai Vetter, head of
applied nuclear physics at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
have launched a campaign to monitor those groves for radioactive
contaminants due…Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-fukushima-kelp-watch-20140116,0,809435.story#axzz2qUPkVRpH


OPINIONS

Three unconventional ways Gov. Brown can scare up billions for
the bullet train. Gov. Jerry Brown has a dream, a dream that
would serve as his greatest legacy: a high-speed train that would
slash the six-hour drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco to a
relaxing ride a smidge over two hours. It may seem like a pipe
dream now, but similar links have transformed other countries.
Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-rall-jerry-brown-high-speed-rail-bullet-train-68-billion-20140115,0,3538729.story#ixzz2qaJQI5jf

Global warming no `phony crisis'. Steve Rowe's letter to the
editor calling global warming a "phony crisis" is short on
context. Yes, the continental U.S. had unusually low temperatures
last week. But local conditions on a given day or week mean
little. We must look at long-term trends. The ratio of
record-breaking lows to record-breaking highs over the last
century clearly shows significant warming. Yes, the North Pole's
ice grew this year -- compared to last year, when it was at the
lowest extent ever recorded. It has not come anywhere near
recovering. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Global-warming-no-phony-crisis-5146075.php


Berkeley Voice letters to the editor: More opinions on Spare the
Air days; government health care is here to stay; folly at the
Albany Bulb.  Wood-burning pollution views. Wow! Your Jan. 10
selection of letters was a barrage of opinions, all adopting the
basic seriousness of wood-burning pollution. Nonsense. Mandating
"no burn" days is like mandating "no pennies," i.e., today a
penny in the gutter is especially contaminated, so picking it up
is subject to a hefty fine. As humankind defines success and
happiness as growth of economies and life spans -- with ever
greater water wasting, methane producing…Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_24918708/berkeley-voice-letters-editor-more-opinions-spare-air?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com