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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for August 13, 2014

Posted: 13 Aug 2014 15:06:43
ARB Newsclips for August 13, 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.


AIR POLLUTION

L.A. County supervisors blast cleanup of only 2 homes near Exide
plant. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors wrote a letter
to Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday blasting the California Department
of Toxic Substances Control for slow progress in testing and
cleaning up lead-contaminated soil at dozens of homes near a
troubled battery recycling plant in Vernon. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-exide-supervisors-jerry-brown-20140812-story.html


EPA comments renew oil industry debate on methane flaring. "It
looks like a birthday cake out there at night," a New Mexico
regulator told his colleague after returning from a trip to the
state's oil-rich Permian Basin. Flares dot the region, burning
off the greenhouse gas methane and also poisonous hydrogen
sulfide given off by freshly drilled oil wells. Methane emissions
from oil wells, as well as other parts of the oil and gas
sector…Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060004411/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

CLIMATE CHANGE

Kellogg wants suppliers to report carbon emissions. Kellogg said
Wednesday it will step up efforts to reduce planet-warming
emissions in its supply chain as part of a broader initiative
designed to be more environmentally friendly. Under the plan, the
Battle Creek-based food products manufacturer will require key
suppliers such as farms and mills to measure and publicly
disclose their greenhouse gas outputs and targets for reducing
them. The company said it will report annually on those emissions
and include climate and deforestation policies in the company's
code of conduct for suppliers. Posted.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_KELLOGG_CONSERVATION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
 
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/aug/13/kellogg-wants-suppliers-to-report-carbon-emissions/


Sequoias at risk from climate change. Extended droughts and
raging forest fires, made worse by climate change, could have
dire consequences in the coming decades for the survival of some
of the world's largest and most ancient trees, the giant
sequoias. The trees are known to live in some cases 2,000 to
3,000 years and only grow in one 70-mile stretch of land in the
Sierra Nevada in California, at an elevation of 5,000 to 8,000
feet. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060004402/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

What Climate Change in the Rockies Means for its Water.  In the
West, Colorado is known as a "headwaters" state because most of
the region's biggest rivers begin in the Colorado Rocky
Mountains. The Colorado River. The Arkansas River. The Rio
Grande. The San Juan River. The Platte River - North and South.
Altogether, they provide 19 states with drinking and irrigation
water, including the cities of Los Angeles, Phoenix and Denver,
among many others. Posted.
http://www.vcstar.com/news/state/what-climate-change-in-the-rockies-means-for-its-water_88135762


Lloyd’s Warns Sea Level Rise, Land Subsidence Imperil Many
‘Megacities.’  A bulletin from Lloyd’s of London warns that, “as
sea levels rise, ground levels in coastal megacities are also
falling – with potentially disastrous implications for insurers.
Insurers of large property portfolios in the world’s great
coastal cities will have factored the effects of climate change
into their catastrophe models – including rising sea levels and
more frequent storm surges. But what’s often missed is that many
of these cities are sinking faster than the water is rising. In
some, subsidence outstrips sea level rise by a factor of ten to
one.” Posted.
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2014/08/13/337421.htm


DROUGHT

2 L.A. councilmen want city to stop watering its lawns. With
California's drought worsening, two Los Angeles City Council
members want the city to stop watering lawns on city property
that aren't used for recreation and eventually replace them with
native, drought-tolerant plants. Councilmen Felipe Fuentes and
Mike Bonin said in a motion introduced Tuesday that the city "is
sending Angelenos mixed messages about the crucial importance of
conserving" by watering its own turf-grass lawns even as
residents face mandatory watering restrictions. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-drought-lawns-city-council-20140812-story.html?track=rss


California drought: San Francisco puts caps on watering. San
Francisco on Tuesday joined a growing number of cities that are
rationing water amid a statewide drought, imposing a mandatory 10
percent reduction on outdoor watering. The mandate, which
requires customers to use no more than 90 percent of what they
used outdoors in 2013, is meant for all the agency's customers.
Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Drought-San-Francisco-puts-caps-on-watering-5684559.php

Roseville reduces water by 18 percent, short of 20 percent
target. Four months after Roseville declared mandatory water
cutbacks of 20 percent, the city announced this week it was
reaching only 18 percent. “We’re close, but we’re not quite
there,” said Lisa Brown, the city’s water efficiency
administrator. Residential and commercial customers in the city
of 127,000 reduced their water usage significantly in March (33.7
percent) and April (28.9 percent), following a push by state and
local officials to save water. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/08/12/6624326/roseville-reduces-water-by-18.html#mi_rss=Our%20Region#storylink=cpy


California sets heat record from January through July. It’s
official. The first seven months of this year have been the
hottest on record for the Golden State, fueling a fourth year of
drought and extreme fire danger, according to national climate
report released Tuesday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration reported that from January through July, the
average temperature surpassed the previous record by 1.4 degrees.
Posted. http://www.sbsun.com/article/20140812/NEWS/140819862 

EBMUD outlaws wasting water but sets no fines for violators. Two
of the Bay Area's largest water agencies on Tuesday took steps to
reduce outdoor water use, but stopped short of penalizing
residential customers. Responding to a state water board push for
stronger conservation measures statewide, the East Bay Municipal
Utility District Board outlawed water-wasting practices such as
flooding gutters and watering lawns more than twice a week --
practices it previously only asked customers to avoid. Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/drought/ci_26327173/ebmud-outlaws-wasting-water-but-sets-no-fines?source=rss


New DWP rate tiers proposed to conserve water. Two Los Angeles
city officials Tuesday called for tougher restrictions on
residential water customers in an effort to reduce water use
during the state’s unprecedented drought. Councilmen Mike Bonin
and Felipe Fuentes asked the Department of Water and Power to
report on recommendations made by UCLA to add extra tiers of
water use at a higher price. With most water being used outside
the home…Posted.
http://www.dailynews.com/article/20140812/NEWS/140819843 

WATER BOND

Gov. Brown on water bond compromise: 'We're very close'  Warning
that there is only a narrow window of opportunity to act on
water, Gov. Jerry Brown said Tuesday that he and lawmakers were
"very close" to a deal on a new water bond. The governor touted
his latest proposal, rolled out Monday as "a very balanced,
integrated plan. It's not a grab bag," Brown said at a meeting
convened at the Capitol on Tuesday. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-water-bond-negotiations-20140812-story.html?track=rss


Democratic leaders make public push for water bond. Gov. Jerry
Brown and Democratic legislative leaders made a public push
Tuesday for their latest plan to pay for water projects a day
ahead of scheduled votes in the Legislature. The Democratic
leaders are pushing a proposal to borrow $7 billion to increase
the state's water supply and restore its rivers, lakes and
streams. They touted support from more than 20 business,
agriculture and environmental groups with representatives seated
around a table in the governor's office. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Democratic-leaders-make-public-push-for-water-bond-5684519.php#photo-6717622


Jerry Brown, legislative leaders meet on California water bond. 
As California nears a new legislatively imposed deadline for
putting a revised water bond on the November ballot, Gov. Jerry
Brown met with legislative leaders and several prominent interest
groups to push for a deal. On Monday, Brown and legislative
leaders floated a new $7.195 billion measure and delayed printing
voter guides that, as of now, would include an old $11.1 billion
measure most lawmakers view as untenable for voters. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/08/12/6623815/jerry-brown-legislative-leaders.html#mi_rss=Capitol%20Alert#storylink=cpy


FUELS

Oil companies fracking into drinking water sources, new research
shows.  Energy companies are fracking for oil and gas at far
shallower depths than widely believed, sometimes through
underground sources of drinking water, according to research
released Tuesday by Stanford University scientists. Though
researchers cautioned their study of hydraulic fracturing, or
fracking, employed at two Wyoming geological formations showed no
direct evidence of water-supply contamination, their work is
certain to roil the public health debate over the risks of the
controversial oil and gas production process. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-fracking-groundwater-pavillion-20140811-story.html#page=1


PG&E natural gas rates could be reduced slightly under a new
proposal.  PG&E ratepayers will receive slightly reduced bills
for natural gas, starting next year, the utility said Tuesday,
because of lower-than-expected expenses for a pipeline safety
improvement program undertaken in the wake of a fatal explosion
in San Bruno nearly four years ago. In a new regulatory filing,
the utility said it expects a reduced expenditure -- and less
revenue required from ratepayers -- for what is called the
utility's Pipeline Safety Enhancement Program, or PSEP. The state
Public Utilities Commission would have to approve the proposal.
Posted.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/business/ci_26324112/pg-e-natural-gas-rates-could-be-reduced


HIGH-SPEED RAIL

Central Valley bullet train construction gets federal go-ahead. 
Federal officials on Tuesday cleared the way for construction of
a major segment of the California bullet train project: 114 miles
of track from Fresno to Bakersfield. After months of reviewing
the proposed route and related environmental studies, the Surface
Transportation Board conditionally approved the longest section
of the Central Valley alignment, exempting it from further board
oversight. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-high-speed-rail-20140812-story.html?track=rss


GREEN ENERGY

Palm Desert ‘green’ deal questioned. A consultant who was
initially told he would likely win, but eventually lost, a
$130,000 environmental programs contract for Palm Desert through
the Coachella Valley Association of Governments is raising
questions about the process. Ted Flanigan, president of
Irvine-based EcoMotion, said not winning the Green for Life
contract was “a shocking experience, and it was a very
disappointing experience,” after the contract was ultimately
awarded to Terra Nova Planning and Research, based in Palm
Desert. Posted.
http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/2014/08/13/palm-desert-green-deal-questioned/13989317/


OPINIONS

Dan Walters: New water bond may be close, but it’s not fully
cooked yet. Chances are that sometime Wednesday the Legislature
will place a new water bond issue on the Nov. 4 ballot. But it’s
not certain, because as of late Tuesday, not all Democratic
legislators had signed onto a $7.2 billion plan and it still
lacked votes it needs from Republicans even if all Democrats were
aboard. Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic legislative leaders
fashioned the plan – a $6.995 billion bond and $200 million from
previously authorized water bonds…Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/08/12/6624165/dan-walters-new-water-bond-may.html#mi_rss=Dan%20Walters#storylink=cpy


Making the Case for High-Speed Rail. Most American passenger
trains, including Amtrak’s popular Acela service, run at speeds
that are far slower than the superfast European and Japanese
trains that can zip along at 200 miles per hour or more. The main
reason is that, despite modest investments, American lawmakers
have not given high-speed rail the priority it deserves.
High-speed rail can play an important role in the nation’s
transportation system by reducing congestion at airports and on
highways. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/13/opinion/making-the-case-for-high-speed-rail.html?_r=0
 

BLOGS

Links between city design, health shown in study. The results
showed that increased intersection density was significantly
linked to reduction in obesity at the neighborhood level and of
obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease at the
city level. The more intersections, the lower the disease rates.
In a rare study of how street network design affects public
health, researchers at the University of Colorado Denver and the
University of Connecticut have discovered that older, more
compact cities promote more walking and biking and are generally
healthier than many newer cities. Posted.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140811125153.htm 
 
RIVERSIDE: UCR again ranks as one of America’s greenest schools. 
For the third consecutive year, Sierra Magazine has included the
University of California, Riverside on its list of  “America’s
Coolest Schools,” which is a list of the nation’s greenest
colleges and universities. UCR finished with a score of 577.98
out of a possible 1,000 points, placing it 90th among the schools
surveyed. UCR’s score improved about 12% 
The America’s Coolest Schools list is the result of a
self-reported survey that is open to all four-year undergraduate
colleges and universities in the United States. Posted.
http://blog.pe.com/colleges-universities/2014/08/13/riverside-ucr-again-ranks-of-as-of-americas-greenest-schools/





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