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ARB Newsclips for December 4, 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

California, Quebec Carbon Auction Raises $407M.  All 33.8 million
carbon allowance sold out at California and Quebec’s first joint
carbon auction, held Nov. 25, which raised about $407 million.
The cap-and-trade auction sold all 23.1 million allowances to
release carbon emissions this year, with companies paying 12.10 a
ton for the 2014 carbon credits. California and Quebec also sold
all 10.8 million allowances offered to release emissions in 2017.
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2014/12/04/california-quebec-carbon-auction-raises-407m/#ixzz3Kxmlf7tw


First joint Calif.-Quebec cap-and-trade auction sells out of
carbon permits. The first joint auction linking California and
Quebec's cap-and-trade markets sold out of permits for greenhouse
gas emissions, the Golden State said yesterday. Bidders grabbed
all of the 23.07 million available allowances that can be used to
cover emissions from this year. Those went at a price of $12.10
per carbon ton, above the $11.34 per ton price floor.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2014/12/04/stories/1060009923 


Valley legislators take aim at gas prices. State Senator Andy
Vidak (R-Hanford) and Assemblyman Jim Patterson (R-Fresno)
introduced a set of bills this week aimed at stopping the state's
cap-and-trade regulation for fuel producers. Beginning Jan. 1,
companies that either make or sell transportation fuel would have
to comply with California's cap-and-trade program…
http://mail.thebusinessjournal.com/news/government-and-politics/14992-valley-legislators-take-aim-at-gas-prices


China's carbon trading markets hold promise, but need major
revisions – study. Pilot carbon trading programs in seven Chinese
provinces got off the ground with remarkable speed and are
curbing billions of tons of CO2 annually, but they need to see
dramatic improvements before the government can impose a national
cap-and-trade system, a major new study finds.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2014/12/04/stories/1060009921 

AIR POLLUTION

San Joaquin Valley struggling with conforming to new EPA
guidelines. The San Joaquin Valley may have quite possibly the
worst levels of ozone in all of the U.S., being considerably
worse than much of southern California, according to a report. 
The statistics speak for themselves, as posted by the California
Air Resources Board website, with nearly 2,000 bad days since the
end of the 20th century.
http://www.sciencerecorder.com/news/san-joaquin-valley-struggling-with-conforming-to-new-epa-guidelines/


EPA battles 3-front legal assault on chrome plating standards.
U.S. EPA was forced to play a complicated defense today in
federal court as environmental groups, two states and a trade
association challenged its air standards for chrome plating
facilities. The 2012 standards apply to about 1,300 facilities
that dip products as large as airplane components and bumpers and
as small as gardening tools in chromium baths, adding a coating
that prevents corrosion.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060009857/feed 

CLIMATE CHANGE

EPA Clean Power Plan to Cut Reliability, Cost Billions of
Dollars, FERC’s Philip Moeller Says. A federal energy regulator
issued a harsh critique of the Environmental Protection Agency's
clean power plan, predicting it will threaten electric grid
reliability and cost billions of dollars to implement.
http://www.bna.com/epa-clean-power-n17179917922/ 

Lima Climate Talks Begin With Optimism, Fresh Challenges Facing
World Leaders. The newest round of United Nations climate talks
got under way Dec. 1 in the Peruvian capital with pleas for
action from organizers, delegation heads and environmental groups
and a promise from the president of the negotiations that it
would produce a significant draft agreement.
http://www.bna.com/lima-climate-talks-n17179917937/   

2014 set to be hottest year on record, U.N. climate agency
reports. This year is on track to be the hottest on record, with
rising sea surface temperatures linked to the spread of extreme
weather events around the globe, the United Nations climate
agency reported Wednesday. The global average air and sea
temperatures for the first 10 months of 2014 were 1.03 degrees
Fahrenheit over the 1961-1990…
http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-world-climate-20141203-story.html

http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/12/03/4266993/un-weather-agency-2014-on-track.html##storylink=cpy

http://www.climatecentral.org/news/wmo-warns-lima-delegates-2014-may-be-hottest-year-18392#sthash.yWc6VY8F.dpuf
   

Green groups urge climate fund to exclude fossils. Environmental
groups are demanding tighter rules on climate finance for poor
nations after an Associated Press investigation showed Japan
bankrolled coal-fired power plants with money earmarked for
fighting global warming.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/article4261426.html#storylink=cpy
http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Green-groups-urge-climate-fund-to-exclude-fossils-5932945.php
 

White House says 16 cities leading US on climate. The White House
is singling out Boston, San Francisco, Seattle and 13 other
cities for leading their peers in efforts to address climate
change. The winners of the competition for cities will receive
additional government resources to deal with global warming's
impacts, including data tools and a dedicated coordinator to help
cities access federal funding.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/12/03/4267086/white-house-says-16-cities-leading.html##storylink=cpy


CO2 Takes Just 10 Years to Reach Planet’s Peak Heat. In a study
that could have important ramifications on estimating the
impacts, costs and benefits of reducing carbon dioxide emissions,
new research shows that CO2 brings peak heat within a decade of
being emitted, with the effects then lingering 100 years or more
into the future.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/co2-emissions-peak-heat-18394#sthash.XW7QW8yP.dpuf


World Climate Talks In Lima Aim To Move Beyond Kyoto Treaty.
Every year the United Nations invites environmental experts and
diplomats from around the world to negotiate ways to slow global
warming. This year's meeting runs this week and next in Lima,
Peru. Some say these conferences are a warming planet's best
hope. Some say they're a United Nations jamboree. Most agree that
recent sessions have seen mixed success at best.
http://www.capradio.org/news/npr/story?storyid=368315203 

DROUGHT

It's official: California storm didn't cure the drought. Despite
a “respectable” amount of rain this week across all of
California, it wasn’t enough for federal agencies to improve the
state’s drought picture, new data released Thursday show. In a
report that likely surprises very few, the U.S. Drought Monitor
said of the storm that hovered over California since Monday:
“More than this is needed to offset the accumulated deficits.”
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-california-rain-drought-monitor-20141204-story.html

http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/12/03/4266627_california-falls-short-of-water.html?sp=/99/170/&rh=1#storylink=cpy


Latest California drought bill causes new dust-up. A new
California water bill slated to hit the House floor next week
would boost irrigation deliveries to farms south of the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, nudge along planning for new dams
and capture more storm runoff for human use. It would not
authorize dam construction, repeal an ambitious San Joaquin River
restoration plan or last longer than the state’s current drought.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/12/04/4268566/latest-california-drought-bill.html?sp=%2f99%2f406%2f557%2f#storylink=cpy


House GOP Offers New California Drought Relief Bill. After the
collapse of secret negotiations to send more water to Central
Valley farmers, California’s Republican lawmakers have come up
with a completely new water bill. It’s an early sign of the GOP’s
rising power after last month’s election. The newest drought bill
will bring more water to Central Valley farmers over the next 18
months.
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2014/12/03/house-gop-offers-new-california-drought-relief-bill/

http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=27276 

DIESEL EMISSIONS

Company rebuilds buses to run on zero-emission, clean technology.
An old bus that was destined for the scrap yard will soon be
hauling commuters to and from their destinations again. Complete
Coach Works, a Riverside company that rebuilds and rehabilitates
old buses, recently received a $12 million contract from the
Indianapolis Transportation Agency to convert 21 diesel buses
into non-emission electric vehicles.
http://abc7.com/technology/company-rebuilds-buses-to-run-on-zero-emission-clean-technology/417882/


FUELS

Average fuel economy for new cars in US in November unchanged
from October. The average fuel economy (window-sticker value) of
new vehicles sold in the US in November was 25.3 mpg (9.3 l/100
km)—unchanged from the value in October, according to the monthly
report from Dr. Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle at the
University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI).
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2014/12/20141204-umtri.html 

DOE awarding up to $7M to two projects to develop advanced
logistics for bioenergy feedstocks. The US Department of Energy
(DOE) will award up to $7 million for two projects aimed at
developing and demonstrating ways to reduce the cost of
delivering bioenergy feedstocks to biorefineries. Examples of
bioenergy feedstocks include corn stover, switchgrass, and woody
biomass.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2014/12/20141204-doe.html 

Low Gas Prices Won't Affect Loyal Owners As 2016 Toyota Prius
Hybrid Looms. In the auto industry, it's generally assumed that
as gas prices drop, so do sales of green cars. Most consumers
consider switching to more fuel-efficient, hybrid, or plug-in
electric cars because of their anticipated lower fuel costs--but
if gas is already inexpensive, the math doesn't look as good.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1095746_low-gas-prices-wont-affect-loyal-owners-as-2016-toyota-prius-hybrid-looms


Asian firms team up for Sacramento LNG project. Two publicly
traded Australian companies and one privately held investment
group with ties to Indonesia have announced plans to pursue a
liquefied natural gas project on California's coastline.
Controlling partner Australian Oil Co. (AOC) has formed a joint
venture dubbed Cal LNG to pursue projects on the U.S. West Coast,
with an initial focus on the Sacramento basin, the company said
this week.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2014/12/04/stories/1060009904 

VEHICLES

Californians Now Buy A Plug-In Electric Car For Every 2 Hybrids.
The difference between electric cars and "electrified" cars has
tripped up numerous reporters, carmakers, and analysts over the
years. Electric cars plug into the wall and power their wheels,
partly or fully, with an electric motor running on energy from a
battery pack.
"Electrified cars," on the other hand, include not only electric
cars but any vehicle that has an electric motor providing any
torque in its powertrain--which is to say, hybrids as well.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1095742_californians-now-buy-a-plug-in-electric-car-for-every-2-hybrids


Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Vehicle Tax Credit Expires This Month: Will It
Be Renewed? Financial and other incentives are widely viewed as a
good way to kickstart the adoption of new green vehicles, largely
to compensate for their higher prices against conventional
gasoline cars. But just as Toyota is building up to next fall's
launch of its 2016 Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle in the U.S.
market…
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1095734_hydrogen-fuel-cell-vehicle-tax-credit-expires-this-month-will-it-be-renewed


GREEN ENERGY

NextEra Energy to Buy Most of Hawaiian Electric for $2.6 Billion.
Company Says Deal Will Bring Cleaner, Renewable Energy to Hawaii.
NextEra Energy Inc. agreed to acquire most of Hawaiian Electric
Industries Inc. for about $2.6 billion, a deal it said would
bring cleaner, renewable energy to Hawaii. Hawaiian Electric
supplies power to about 450,000 customers, or 95% of Hawaii’s
population…
http://online.wsj.com/articles/nextera-energy-to-buy-most-of-hawaiian-electric-for-2-6-billion-1417646396

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-12-04/nextera-buys-hawaii-s-biggest-utility-in-green-energy-test-case


House Approves Tax Bill With One-Year Extension of Wind, Energy
Incentives. The House voted Dec. 3 to pass tax legislation that
would only extend the wind production tax credit and other energy
incentives through the end of 2014, a move that clean energy
advocates said would result in lost jobs and halt new projects.
The $42 billion bill (H.R. 5771) also would retroactively extend
other energy tax credits that expired at the end of 2013…
http://www.bna.com/house-approves-tax-n17179917975/ 

Landmark wind turbine to be back in full operation.  A northern
Michigan wind turbine that repeatedly broke down after being in
service for nearly two decades is expected to be back in full
operation within a month. WPBN-TV reports (http://bit.ly/1wxeDxb
) Traverse City Light & Power signed over ownership and
operations of the 160-foot turbine Wednesday to Heritage
Sustainable Energy LLC.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article4271628.html#storylink=cpy


Next legislative session could be end for Kansas’ renewable
energy standard. Republicans may have gained enough seats in the
Kansas House to end the state’s renewable energy standard, and
activists on both sides of the issue are preparing for a fight in
the next legislative session. The policy, known as the renewable
portfolio standard, requires utility companies to get 20 percent
of their power…
http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article4202126.html#storylink=cpy


Solar power expected to triple by 2020, pushed by developing
countries. A sustained push toward clean energy solutions in
emerging economies of Asia, Central and South America, the Middle
East and Africa will push solar photovoltaic capacity worldwide
to nearly 414 gigawatts by 2020, a three-fold increase from
current levels, according to new figures released by GlobalData.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2014/12/04/stories/1060009922 

CO2 key to new, cheaper material for electric cars, wind turbines
– study. Researchers have developed a way to use carbon emissions
to produce a green, low-cost energy storage device that can
provide a rapid charge or discharge of power important for
electric vehicles and wind turbines. The presence of CO2 is key
to a new process developed by Oregon State University to create
nanoporous graphene that is
strong…http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060009860/feed 

OPINIONS

The Scientist Who Gave a Name to Global Warming. 1988 James
Hansen, then director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space
Studies, introduces the idea of “global warming” to the public at
a Senate hearing in Washington. I had testified several times
during the 1980s without much effect, the immediately preceding
testimony being in late 1987. After that, I met with the staffer
who had arranged it and expressed the opinion that “global
warming” …
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-12-04/global-warming-james-hansen-on-introducing-it-to-the-public


Our Voice: Make rooftop solar power easy to obtain. All options
should be on the table to encourage rooftop solar in the
Coachella Valley. When the Coachella Valley Association of
Governments launched its Clean Energy CV Upgrade last year, it
opted to go with the Ygrene Energy Fund, which is based in Santa
Rosa. It opted not to go with the Home Energy Renovation
Opportunity (HERO) program, which is based in San Diego.
http://www.desertsun.com/story/opinion/2014/12/02/make-rooftop-solar-easy/19806795/


Giving Climate Pact Legal Teeth Could Make It Toothless. As
negotiators gather in Peru for a critical round of climate talks,
U.S. delegates are straining to explain what they call a
“counterintuitive” reality: For next year’s global climate
agreement to be effective, commitments made under it must not be
legally binding.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/climate-pact-with-legal-teeth-could-be-toothless-18396#sthash.EfiAWW5y.dpuf


‘Nuff Said: CO2 Emissions Plan Moves to Next Step. The coal
industry calls it a devastating volley in a “war on coal,” while
the Obama administration considers it major progress in its fight
against climate change. The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency’s Clean Power Plan comes with a dry name, but it’s one of
the most significant ways the federal government is trying to
curtail carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. to combat global
warming.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/co2-emissions-plan-moves-forward-18397#sthash.Ge9Htjvs.dpuf


BLOGS

On Smaller Farms, Including Organic Farms, Technology and
Tradition Meet.
I spent yesterday morning at a remarkable meeting of young
farmers meshing tradition and technology to sustain healthy soils
and produce bountiful crops in a changing economy and climate.
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/04/on-smaller-farms-including-organic-farms-technology-and-tradition-meet/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Agriculture&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs®ion=Body


Vive La Linkage: California and Quebec Working Together to Fight
Climate Change. The holiday season is often considered a time to
stop and take stock of the things that we are thankful for, and
to celebrate the accomplishments of the past year. Today,
California and Quebec have one more thing to celebrate: the
successful completion of their first-ever joint cap-and-trade
auction, which marks the last of many steps to fully harmonize
the two carbon markets.
http://blogs.edf.org/californiadream/2014/12/03/vive-la-linkage-california-and-quebec-working-together-to-fight-climate-change/


Dear U.N.: Coal plants don’t count as climate-friendly projects.
One of the ways the U.N. hopes to help developing countries
prepare for climate change is through a mechanism called the
Green Climate Fund (GCF). In 2009, rich countries pledged to come
up with $100 billion a year, by 2020, to help poorer parts of the
world get ready to face a problem that they, by and large, didn’t
cause. So far, rich nations have pledged about $10 billion.
http://grist.org/news/dear-u-n-coal-plants-dont-count-as-climate-friendly-projects/


Tesla goes Down Under December 9th. Not too long after Tesla
stepped in to scoop up some of the engineers left behind as Ford,
GM and Toyota announced shuttering production Down Under, the
California-based EV company will start selling its Model S in
Australia. Beginning Tuesday, December 9, sales will begin in
Sydney, bringing a California-style plug-in change to the
country's automotive landscape.
http://green.autoblog.com/2014/12/04/tesla-goes-down-under-december-9th/
 

DOE's EV Everywhere workplace charging program is working. One US
Department of Energy plug-in vehicle charging-station program is
geared to turn this country into ... Norway? Not literally, but
the DOE's EV Everywhere Workplace Charging Challenge was launched
early last year to get more companies to install on-site charging
stations in order to increase plug-in vehicle adoption.
http://green.autoblog.com/2014/12/04/doe-ev-everywhere-workplace-charging-program-working/
  




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