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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for June 23, 2014.
Posted: 23 Jun 2014 15:30:31
ARB Newsclips for June 23, 2014. 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 Australia’s Abbott Revives Proposal to Scrap Carbon-Price Levy. Australia re-introduced a bill today to repeal a carbon-price mechanism brought in by the previous Labor government ahead of a power shift in the Senate, which has previously rejected the levy’s removal. “Repealing the carbon tax will reduce the cost of living, make jobs more secure and improve the competitive position of our country,” Prime Minister Tony Abbott told parliament in Canberra today. Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2014-06-22/australia-s-abbott-revives-efforts-to-scrap-carbon-price-levy.html OTHER RELATED STORIES http://www.vcstar.com/news/2014/jun/23/australian-pm-introduces-bill-to-repeal-carbon/#ixzz35U1te3Oo AIR POLLUTION Summer, with wildfires as wild card, brings ozone concerns. Brace yourself, Bakersfield. Saturday is officially the first day of summer, and the change of seasons will undoubtedly bring significant shifts in weather and air quality. This is how it works: Longer, hotter days in the valley bring more stagnant air and a corresponding buildup of ground-level ozone, the main component of smog. Posted. http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/local/x2071376363/Summer-with-wildfires-as-wild-card-brings-ozone-concerns Study may explain how pollution causes heart disease. Scientists and clean air advocates are well aware that fine particles in the air, known as PM2.5, are correlated with deaths from cardiovascular disease. A study out this month in the journal "Environmental Research" may shed light on something that wasn't as well known — the mechanism by which particulate matter causes the disease. http://www.scpr.org/news/2014/06/20/44852/study-may-explain-how-pollution-causes-heart-disea/ CLIMATE CHANGE Justices limit existing EPA global warming rules. The Supreme Court on Monday placed limits on the sole Obama administration program already in place to deal with power plant and factory emissions of gases blamed for global warming. The justices said that the Environmental Protection Agency lacks authority in some cases to force companies to evaluate ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Posted. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SUPREME_COURT_GREENHOUSE_GASES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT OTHER RELATED STORIES http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/23/us-usa-court-climatechange-idUSKBN0EY1L920140623 http://online.wsj.com/articles/supreme-court-reins-in-some-of-epas-greenhouse-gas-efforts-1403534416 http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/supreme-court-limits-epas-ability-to-regulate-greenhouse-gas-emissions/2014/06/23/c56fc194-f1b1-11e3-914c-1fbd0614e2d4_story.html http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/24/us/justices-with-limits-let-epa-curb-power-plant-gases.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C[%22RI%3A9%22%2C%22RI%3A14%22 http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/06/23/supreme-court-greenhouse-gas/8567453/ http://www.cnbc.com/id/101781498 http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060001767/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY Obama EPA Gets Partial Court Win on Climate-Change Permits. The U.S. Supreme Court partially upheld one of President Barack Obama’s early efforts against climate change, saying the Environmental Protection Agency had authority to impose new permitting requirements on some power plants and factories. The permitting rules apply when facilities are built or expanded. They are separate from the administration’s more comprehensive climate-change regulations…Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-23/obama-epa-gets-partial-court-win-on-climate-change-permits-2-.html http://www.bloomberg.com/video/supreme-court-backs-epa-on-climate-change-permits-Ukf0KayQTFejURjMPxLHxg.html Heat & Repeat: Globe breaks May temperature record. Federal records show the globe hit a record high for heat in May, driven by warm ocean waters. May's average temperature on Earth of 59.93 degrees Fahrenheit beat the old record set four years ago. In April, the globe tied the 2010 record for that month. Records go back to 1880. Georgia Tech climate scientist Kim Cobb and other experts say there's a good chance global heat records will keep falling…Posted. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SCI_WARMEST_MAY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT US mayors to vote on climate change resolution. U.S. mayors gathered in Texas will decide whether to endorse a call for cities to use nature to fight the effects of climate change. Attendees of the U.S. Conference of Mayors are set to vote Monday on a resolution encouraging cities to use natural solutions to "protect freshwater supplies, defend the nation's coastlines, maintain a healthy tree cover and protect air quality," sometimes by partnering with nonprofit organizations. Posted. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MAYORS_CLIMATE_CHANGE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT OTHER RELATED STORIES http://www.vcstar.com/news/2014/jun/23/us-mayors-to-vote-on-climate-change-resolution/#ixzz35U1DUeMF Democrats use climate change as wedge issue on. When President Obama stood before students in Southern California a week ago ridiculing those who deny climate science, he wasn't just road testing a new political strategy to a friendly audience. He was trying to drive a wedge between younger voters and the Republican Party. http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Democrats-use-climate-change-as-wedge-issue-on-5570165.php Debate rages on what ruling means for power plant curbs. Today's Supreme Court ruling that limited some of U.S. EPA's permitting program for greenhouse gases raised a big question: What does it mean for hot-button proposals for curbing heat-trapping emissions from power plants? The decision handed down by a divided high court barely touched on the use of the Clean Air Act's Section 111(d), which EPA is using to regulate carbon from power plants. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060001799/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY Scientists pinpoint drivers behind extreme weather in new study. In the messy, chaotic atmosphere of our planet meanders the jet stream, a wiggly belt of air circling the mid-latitudes. As the belt moves south, it pulls cool air from the Arctic toward the tropics. Then it switches direction, pulling warm air from the tropics toward the poles. Sometimes, in response to natural climate patterns, the jet stream becomes abnormally wavy. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060001743/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY Cutting pollution saves lives, but climate change could undermine health gains, research shows. In his pitch for new greenhouse gas emissions restrictions earlier this month, President Obama argued that proposed U.S. EPA rules would rapidly yield health benefits. The smokestacks that produce the biggest chunk of the country's carbon dioxide also release black carbon, sulfur and nitrogen oxides, ozone and volatile organic compounds, the president observed. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060001763/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY Bay Area agencies agree to consider GHG impacts of transportation plan. Bay Area agencies have agreed to update the region's long-term transportation plan with a new analysis of its impact on greenhouse gas emissions, settling a lawsuit with local environmental groups. The agreement requires the Association of Bay Area Governments and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which developed a transportation plan for the region through 2040…Posted. http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060001771/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY DROUGHT Pain of California’s water shortage is spreading. Outingdale is one of the first communities in Northern California to know what the worst drought since 1977 really feels like. Residents have been told by the El Dorado Irrigation District, their water provider, to consume no more than 68 gallons of water per person per day. That’s about one-third of the state average. Their use is being monitored by water meters at each home. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2014/06/22/6502072/pain-of-californias-water-shortage.html Marin water managers: Residents saving more than what state says. Marin's two largest water agencies report their customers have done slightly better than other Bay Area residents in conserving water since Gov. Jerry Brown called for a 20 percent voluntary cutback in January. Even so, the state's data would suggest a poor level of compliance in Marin. But local water managers say the numbers don't paint an entirely accurate picture. Posted. http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_26013125/marin-water-managers-residents-saving-more-than-what California Drought: Snowmelt's path shows impact from Sierra to Pacific. When a single snowflake falls peacefully atop a Sierra peak, it begins a turbulent journey to help quench the thirst of a drought-stricken state. In most years, Sierra snow provides a third of California's water supply. But it is by far the least reliable portion — and now, after three years of historically low snowfall, tensions are soaring over how we share the shrinking bounty of this great frozen reservoir. Posted. http://www.mercurynews.com/drought/ci_26009266/california-drought-snowmelt-path-shows-impact-sierras-pacific Water war bubbling up between California and Arizona. Once upon a time, California and Arizona went to war over water. The next water war between California and Arizona won't be such an amusing little affair. And it's coming soon. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-20140620-column.html FUELS California city pursues gas-pump warning labels. The San Francisco Bay Area city of Berkeley is moving forward with plans to put climate-change warning labels on gas pumps in what could be the first such requirement of its kind in the nation. The city's community environmental advisory commission called on the city manager last week to draft an ordinance for the labels. Posted. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GAS_PUMPS_CLIMATE_CHANGE_LABELS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Exxon, Chevron Sued by Pennsylvania Over Gas Additive. Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and Chevron Corp. (CVX) were among oil companies accused by Pennsylvania of polluting groundwater with a gasoline additive in lawsuits similar to ones brought by New York City, New Hampshire and Vermont. Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-20/exxon-chevron-sued-by-pennsylvania-over-gas-additive.html European Coal Drops to 4-Year Low as Credit Suisse Cuts Forecast. European thermal coal fell to the lowest in more than four years as Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) cut its price forecast for the fuel. The bank lowered its third-quarter price outlook for Australian and European coal by 6.3 percent to $75 a metric ton, and cut its fourth-quarter forecast by 12 percent to $75. Supply is expected to outweigh demand in the seaborne market through at least 2015…Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2014-06-23/european-coal-drops-to-4-year-low-as-credit-suisse-cuts-forecast.html Asia Soaks Up Excess Oil. As U.S. Production Increases and Imports Drop, Oil-Exporting Nations Find Another Outlet. Asia will be able to absorb increasing amounts of crude oil not needed by the U.S. in the years ahead, providing an important outlet for oil suppliers in several regions. With new technology having unlocked vast quantities of North American crude and natural gas previously trapped in shale rock beds…Posted. http://online.wsj.com/articles/asia-is-soaking-up-oil-displaced-from-the-u-s-1403239125#printMode VEHICLES More S.J. drivers opting for electric. Ready to consider an electric car? You won't be alone. Not anymore. Although significant roadblocks still hinder electric vehicle ownership in the San Joaquin Valley, new statistics show a surge in buyers over the past two years. During that time, in San Joaquin County alone, motorists have pocketed more than half a million dollars in state rebates by purchasing 260 fully electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles. Posted. http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140621/A_NEWS/406210328/0/SEARCH San Diego nonprofit steers clean-car rebates. Massachusetts is borrowing from California's clean-technology playbook to increase consumer interest in plug-in electric cars. The Commonwealth will rely on the California Center for Sustainable Energy, headquartered in San Diego, to oversee state-funded rebates toward battery powered cars and other vehicles that leave behind little or no air pollution. Posted. http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jun/23/energy-nonprofit-expands-reach/ GREEN ENERGY U.K. Plans Rules for Capacity Market, Contracts-for-Difference. The U.K. proposed further rules for how the country’s incentives for low-carbon electricity and a planned capacity market will work as part of a program to reform the electricity market. Secondary legislation fleshing out government reforms of the power market that were approved in last year’s Energy Act were put before Parliament today…Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-23/u-k-plans-rules-for-capacity-market-contracts-for-difference.html Initiative for renewable power in S.F. is stalling. In his first month in office, Mayor Ed Lee assembled a team of energy experts to help San Francisco meet its ambitious goal of having all electricity in the city come from renewable sources by the end of 2020. But over the past year, Lee has overseen the evisceration of a renewable power program that clean-energy advocates, analysts and that task force say is critical to San Francisco meeting its goal. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Initiative-for-renewable-power-in-S-F-is-stalling-5571354.php California law would fast-track residential solar panel installations. Installing solar panels in California will get a lot less complicated if the state Senate votes Wednesday to pass a bill to speed up the permitting process that can often drag on for months. Assembly Bill 2188, drafted by South Bay Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, would force cities to process permits for small, residential solar installations within five business days. Posted. http://www.sbsun.com/environment-and-nature/20140622/california-law-would-fast-track-residential-solar-panel-installations Smog and the lack of a business model make China's urban solar energy outlook murky. With a goal to demonstrate the use of renewable energy, Greenpeace was giving some serious thought to installing solar panels on their building's rooftop when the environmental group rented a training center two years ago in Beijing. A Chinese solar panel producer was eager to help with the system installation. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060001765/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY MISCELLANEOUS Environment, economy linked at new UN assembly. The first-ever United Nations Environmental Assembly opened in Kenya on Monday, as more than 150 high-level delegations began a weeklong examination of the intersection between global economic progress and the environment. The environment is no longer a niche topic backed by a passionate minority, Achim Steiner, the head of the U.N. Environmental Program…Posted. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AF_KENYA_ENVIRONMENT_SUMMIT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT OTHER RELATED STORIES http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jun/23/environment-economic-linked-at-new-un-assembly/ At School, Turning Good Food Into Perfectly Good Compost. One by one, the children at Public School 30 on Staten Island dumped their uneaten bananas into a bin in the back of their raucous cafeteria, each greenish-yellow missile landing with a thud. Thud. Thud. John Sullivan, 9, a fourth grader, said bananas “make my stomach hurt.” Julianna Delloso, 6, a first grader, said “they taste funny.” And Joseph Incardone, 7, also in first grade, was almost gleeful as he explained why he, too, had chucked his unpeeled banana. “I didn’t like it,” he said. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/23/nyregion/at-new-york-city-schools-turning-good-food-into-perfectly-good-compost.html OPINIONS The Coming Climate Crash. Lessons for Climate Change in the 2008 Recession There is a time for weighing evidence and a time for acting. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned throughout my work in finance, government and conservation, it is to act before problems become too big to manage. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/22/opinion/sunday/lessons-for-climate-change-in-the-2008-recession.html The Big Green Test. On Sunday Henry Paulson, the former Treasury secretary and a lifelong Republican, had an Op-Ed article about climate policy in The New York Times. In the article, he declared that man-made climate change is “the challenge of our time,” and called for a national tax on carbon emissions to encourage conservation and the adoption of green technologies. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/23/opinion/paul-krugman-conservatives-and-climate-change.html BLOGS Too Hot to Handle. Hot weather kills more Americans than all other natural disasters combined, and the casualties continue to climb despite decades of warnings about how to recognize the signs of heat stress and take prompt corrective action. With climate change, some experts predict ever-worsening summer heat waves and even more related illnesses and deaths. Posted. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/23/too-hot-to-handle/ Cleaner Air Linked to Fewer Deaths. Air quality has improved significantly in the past 20 years because of federal and state laws and regulations, and researchers in North Carolina have found an associated decline in rates of death from respiratory disease. A study, published Monday in The International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, analyzed mortality trends for emphysema, asthma and pneumonia from 1993 to 2010, along with changes in air pollution levels as measured monthly. Posted. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/23/cleaner-air-linked-to-fewer-deaths/?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C[%22RI%3A9%22%2C%22RI%3A14%22] Two Climate Analysts Weigh the Notion of a ‘Good’ Path in the Anthropocene. I’m just catching up with reactions from two climate and sustainability analysts (Michael Tobis and Curt Stager) to my recent talk charting a “good” path through the age of us, the Anthropocene, and Clive Hamilton’s blunt critique. Posted. http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/22/two-climate-researchers-weigh-the-notion-of-a-good-path-in-the-anthropocene/?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C[%22RI%3A9%22%2C%22RI%3A14%22] Assembly Democrats fear gas price increase, urge change in environmental policy. Business-friendly Democrats in the state Assembly are urging the Brown administration to back off implementation of a greenhouse gas reduction measure that is expected to result in higher gas prices starting next year. In a letter to Mary Nichols, chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board, 16 Assembly Democrats last week urged delaying or changing a planned expansion of the state's cap-and-trade program to transportation fuels. Posted. http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2014/06/assembly-democrats-fear-gas-price-increase-urge-change-in-environmental-pol.html#storylink=cpy California’s Cap and Trade a Versatile Tool for Environmental Policies. Governor Brown signed a budget last week that lays out for the first time how to invest the millions from California’s landmark cap-and-trade program ($734 million so far). California has shown another way that cap-and-trade is like the Swiss army knife of environmental policies: a versatile tool known for its usefulness and adaptability. Posted. http://blogs.edf.org/californiadream/2014/06/23/californias-cap-and-trade-a-versatile-tool-for-environmental-policies/#sthash.nFEsV9nb.dpuf Why a Carbon Tax Is Better Than Obama’s Cap and Trade. This weekend, former Treasury secretary Hank Paulson weighed in at the New York Times about the need for more urgent action on the climate front, and described how various indicators of how quickly climate change is taking place, such as the speed of Arctic and Antarctic ice melt, are moving much faster than models had predicted. Paulson, who has long been an ardent conservationist (and in contrast to his alpha Wall Street male standing, lives modestly), made a forceful pitch for carbon taxes. Posted. http://www.economonitor.com/blog/2014/06/why-a-carbon-tax-is-better-than-obamas-cap-and-trade/#sthash.zLRfr22o.dpuf Forget 'Cars and Coffee,' the future is cars ON coffee. For many of us, coffee runs our lives. Without the bitter, caffeinated brew, most of us wouldn't be able to get up in the morning or avoid fading in the afternoon. Now, new research from the University of Bath suggests we might want to get our cars as hooked on java as we are. Regardless of the variety of coffee used, the UK institution has found that coffee grounds are a great source to create biodiesel. Posted. http://www.autoblog.com/2014/06/21/coffee-powered-cars-bath-university-uk-study/ The Turning Point: New Hope for the Climate. In the struggle to solve the climate crisis, a powerful, largely unnoticed shift is taking place. The forward journey for human civilization will be difficult and dangerous, but it is now clear that we will ultimately prevail. The only question is how quickly we can accelerate and complete the transition to a low-carbon civilization. Posted. http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-turning-point-new-hope-for-the-climate-20140618#ixzz35Ue7DdcR Renewable Energy Won't Cause Electric Utility 'Death Spiral': Study. Beware the idea of a "death spiral," heralded by some as the inevitable result for electric utilities of mass adoption of renewable energy sources--particularly solar. Under this scenario, advances in renewable energy will allow consumers to generate more of their own power. As more customers leave the network, the theory goes, companies will be forced to raise rates to cover fixed costs--like power-transmission infrastructure--forcing even more people away. Posted. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1092809_renewable-energy-wont-cause-electric-utility-death-spiral-study Controlling Dust With Curtain Walls. Controlling dust and other airborne particulate in a facility is essential for quality control and, more importantly, is a matter of safety. Any company involved in a process handling operation or generating particulate matter will benefit from dust control practices. Woodworking, painting, powdered ingredients/spice mixing and packaging, ceramic cutting/grinding, powdered chemical processing and packaging are just a few of the applications for which it is critical. Posted. http://www.chem.info/articles/2014/06/controlling-dust-curtain-walls California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.