What's New List Serve Post Display

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

California Greenhouse Gases Reduced Well Below Stringent "Cap”
Individual facilities that emit greenhouse gases are required to
report to the California Air Resources Board exactly how much
they pollute. Those regulated under the state’s cap and trade
program reduced their emissions by four percent in 2013. That
reduction puts them 11-percent below the state’s cap on
emissions, which is the maximum allowed.  
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2014/11/05/california-greenhouse-gases-reduced-well-below-stringent-cap/


Calif. regulators, N.Y. back greens in hazardous-emissions
lawsuit 
California air quality regulators and the state of New York are
seeking permission to argue in support of environmentalists in a
lawsuit that calls into question how stringent U.S. EPA emissions
standards for hazardous air pollutants must be.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060008423/feed 



AIR POLLUTION

670,000 smog-related deaths a year: the cost of China's reliance
on coal
Smog caused by coal consumption killed an estimated 670,000
people in China in 2012, according to a study by researchers that
tries to put a price tag on the environmental and social costs of
the heavy reliance on the fuel.
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1632163/670000-deaths-year-cost-chinas-reliance-coal


China Will Limit Pollution from Steel and Cement 
The Chinese government for the first time has said publicly that
it will cap carbon dioxide emissions from two major polluting
industries, but its impact on the nation's overall climate change
mitigation remains unclear.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/china-will-limit-pollution-from-steel-and-cement/


A town — in Texas, of all places — bans fracking
Across the country, hydraulic fracturing — pumping water, sand
and chemicals into shale to release oil and gas, also known as
“fracking” — has been both highly lucrative and highly
criticized. Opponents claim it is an environmental disaster that
pollutes the air, contaminates the groundwater and can trigger
earthquakes. Its boosters argue it’s the key to energy
independence for America and creates jobs, millions of them.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/11/06/a-town-in-texas-of-all-places-bans-fracking/


Stockton pollution levels monitored as air quality goes online
Stockton residents can now access live air pollution data from
the suburb’s air quality monitor.  The Stockton monitor is the
last monitor in the Lower Hunter air quality monitoring network
to go online.  The network’s other monitors are located at
Newcastle, Beresfield, Wallsend, Mayfield and Carrington.
http://www.theherald.com.au/story/2680355/stockton-air-quality-goes-online/?cs=316


CA Smog Plan Approved By State & EPA Isn't Tough Enough: Lawsuit
Despite undeniable progress after decades of smog-abatement
measures, the air quality in the Los Angeles Basin continues to
be among the worst in the U.S. A new plan to clean the region's
air still further was adopted by the local South Coast Air
Quality Management District...	
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1095287_ca-smog-plan-approved-by-state-epa-isnt-tough-enough-lawsuit


Spare the Air alerts begin for San Benito, Monterey and Santa
Cruz counties
The Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District will
begin announcing wintertime Spare the Air alerts for Monterey,
San Benito and Santa Cruz counties.  The air district will send
out notifications by 3 p.m. each day when conditions warrant a
"spare the air" alert.  Most of these will specifically apply to
the San Lorenzo Valley area.
http://www.kionrightnow.com/news/local-news/spare-the-air-alerts-begin-for-san-benito-monterey-and-santa-cruz-counties/29566430


San Joaquin Valley air turns unhealthy 
San Joaquin Valley air turns unhealthyFresno BeeThey warned area
school officials to keep an eye on the hourly pollution updates
posted on the web page of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution
Control District. If monitors show pollution is at Level 5 — the
highest level — district officials urge ...and more
http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/11/05/4219676/san-joaquin-valley-air-turns-unhealthy.html




CLIMATE CHANGE

Republican Sweep Highlights Climate Change Politics In Alaska
On election night in a hotel ballroom in Anchorage, Alaska, Sen.
Lisa Murkowski picked up a chair and waved it over her head.  "I
am the chairmaaaaaaaaaaan!" she shouted.  The Republican takeover
Tuesday night puts Murkowski in charge of the Senate Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources.
http://www.npr.org/2014/11/06/361896179/republican-sweep-highlights-climate-change-politics-in-alaska


Inslee Says He’s Undaunted And Optimistic About Climate Programs,
Even After Election
Undaunted and optimistic – that’s the attitude Gov. Jay Inslee
says he has about working with the legislature after Tuesday’s
elections.  The governor says the state Supreme Court mandate to
fund K-12 education under the McCleary decision should prod
lawmakers to work together, even with the status quo of a
Republican-controlled Senate.  
http://www.kplu.org/post/inslee-says-he-s-undaunted-and-optimistic-about-climate-programs-even-after-election




DIESEL EMISSIONS

CARB offers multiple free classes on California emissions
compliance 
With a new year of emissions enforcement approaching, the
California Air Resources Board is offering several free courses
for anyone in the trucking industry who wants to learn more about
complying with its regulations.  At least three of CARB’s classes
will be available online by webinar.
http://www.landlinemag.com/Story.aspx?StoryID=27926#.VFulbxamOa8




FUELS

Coal’s Defender-in-Chief Tries to Shift Debate About Fuel
Greg Boyce, who leads the world’s biggest publicly traded coal
company, wants people to focus on the fuel’s virtues, not its
warts. His pitch: cheap and abundant coal should be used to drive
economic growth and help the world’s impoverished improve their
lives.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-06/coal-s-defender-in-chief-tries-to-shift-debate-about-fuel.html


The LCFS is Under Siege in California
A pending overhaul of California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard could
mean lower ratings for natural gas vehicles as a means to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions – and hence less support for NGVs when
it comes to grants and incentives and the emerging cap-and-trade
market for GHGs.
http://www.fleetsandfuels.com/fuels/cng/2014/11/lcfs-under-siege-in-california/




VEHICLES

With 2015 e-Golf, VW hits the green
When the 2015 Volkswagen Golf was nominated for 2015’s Green Car
of the Year, the entity that offers the prestigious eco award
didn’t specify which version, most likely because there are so
many.  There’s the lickety-split Golf turbo diesel that yields an
impressive 45 mpg highway; the turbo gas model that gets a
slightly less impressive 37 mpg; and, available at dealers now,
VW’s first all-electric e-Golf, offering an eyeball-popping 126
mpg equivalent that should come stamped with an Al Gore approval
on its front bumper.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/golf-641099-car-miles.html 



GREEN ENERGY

Inslee lays out first clean-energy ideas
Gov. Jay Inslee unveiled some alternative-energy boosting
proposals Wednesday but left big potential pieces of
environmental policy in the background.  Wednesday's proposals
addressed electric vehicles and solar power while Inslee's big
ticket items — tackling carbon emissions and low-carbon fuels —
are still in the brainstorming stages.
http://crosscut.com/2014/11/05/under-the-dome/122695/inslee-lays-out-few-clean-energy-ideas/




MISCELLANEOUS

Professor fuels trip on chicken fat, vegetable oil	
A Middle Tennessee State University professor is driving from Key
West, Florida, to Seattle in a vehicle fueled by waste chicken
fat and waste vegetable oil from school dining facilities.
Alternatives fuels researcher Cliff Ricketts will begin his
journey on Thursday, stopping at MTSU along the way and arriving
in Seattle next week. The School of Agribusiness and Agriscience
faculty member will be driving a 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit pickup
truck on the 3,550-mile trek. Ricketts said in a news release
from the school that his goal and passion is to keep the U.S.
from using foreign oil. 
http://www.modbee.com/news/business/article3595348.html 
Household cleansers can foul up indoor air quality
Love of My Life and I remembered quickly on our trip to the East
Coast last month, how unused to forced air heating we are. As
crisp, fall weather rushed in, rumbling came from the vents to
make us comfortable (which it did). We slept with the windows
open that we might not dry up like beef jerky.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2014/11/05/3334512_household-cleansers-indoor-air.html?rh=1


5 Greener Alternatives to Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers
Gas-powered leaf blowers are the scourge of neighborhoods, and
with good reason. They’re so noisy, they can impair gardeners’
hearing and make people cranky from listening to all that racket.
Most leaf blowers are powered by polluting 2-stroke engines.
According to California’s Air Resources Board, 2-stroke engines
emit several pounds of particulate matter into the air every hour
they are used.
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/5-greener-alternatives-to-gas-powered-leaf-blowers.html




BLOGS

How to manage carbon prices — Lessons from the Northeast
Recently, the U.S. Energy Information Administration posted a
revealing graph that could be interpreted as suggesting that
efforts to prevent high carbon prices in the Regional Greenhouse
Gas Initiative (RGGI) emissions trading market have failed. RGGI
is a consortium of northeastern U.S. states that have agreed to
limit the greenhouse gas emissions of carbon dioxide from
electric power generation through a regional emissions trading
(i.e., cap-and-trade) program. 
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/223130-how-to-manage-carbon-prices-lessons-from-the-northeast


Environmentalists Mostly Counting Election Losses Despite $85
Million Outlay
Environmental groups watched in shock last night as many of the
seats they considered shoo-ins fell to GOP control—leaving the
movement examining its big-money midterm strategy and how to push
climate action forward with a Republican Congress.
http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20141105/environmentalists-mostly-counting-election-losses-despite-85-million-outlay


Athens Passes Fracking Ban, Three Other Ohio Cities Don't
The college town of Athens, Ohio voted by 78 percent to outlaw
fracking and related activities on Tuesday, standing in stark
contrast to three other towns in the state that failed to pass
similar measures.
http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20141106/athens-passes-fracking-ban-three-other-ohio-cities-dont






California is in a drought emergency.
Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.