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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for January 20, 2015
Posted: 20 Jan 2015 15:14:39
ARB Newsclips for January 20, 2015. 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 Weyerhaeuser pays $37K fine for air pollution over limits. Weyerhaeuser Co.’s Columbus pulp mill is paying a $37,500 civil fine for exceeding emissions limits during a 2013 test. Based in Federal Way, Washington, Weyerhaeuser agreed to pay the fine to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. A Nov. 24 order published by the department says that Weyerhaeuser’s boiler exceeded limits for emitting fine particles. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jan/19/weyerhaeuser-pays-37k-fine-for-air-pollution-over-/#ixzz3PNpZ2nzm SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: Wood-burning ban extended through Tuesday. Regional air quality officials have issued a fireplace wood-burning ban at least through Tuesday, Jan. 20, because of unhealthful air quality. The ban, which started Sunday will be in place until midnight Tuesday, applies to the greater Los Angeles area, Orange County and the Inland Empire, according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District. District officials said the ban may be extended several more days. http://www.pe.com/articles/air-758499-burning-ban.html Coughing neighbors make Bay Area rethink outdoor cooking. The booming popularity of outdoor kitchens among homeowners in the San Francisco Bay Area has an increasing number of their neighbors coughing and hacking from the smoke, leading air-quality officials to consider tightening rules on wood-burning pizza ovens and smokers. Residents like Noelle Robbins of Alameda are calling complaint lines and public officials to urge limits on backyard grilling and barbecuing. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OUTDOOR_KITCHENS_SMOKY_AIR?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT CLIMATE CHANGE The End of the Partisan Divide Over Climate Change. The revelation late last week that global average temperatures set a new record in 2014 seemed to underscore a political and cultural shift on climate change that, by many accounts, was already well underway. From the stock markets and Wall Street to the boardrooms of Big Oil — and even the living rooms of Republican voters — the era of reflexive skepticism and denial of basic climate science appears to be coming to a close. http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomzeller/2015/01/18/the-end-of-the-partisan-divide-over-climate-change/ Latest climate change battle may center on food pyramid. The political clash over climate change has entered new territory that does not involve a massive oil pipeline or a subsidy for renewable energy, but a quaint federal chart that tries to nudge Americans toward a healthy diet. The food pyramid, that 3-decade-old backbone of grade-school nutrition lessons, has become a test case of how far the Obama administration is willing to push its global warming agenda. http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-climate-food-20150118-story.html A Bad Day for Climate Change Deniers … and the Planet. It’s not often that the climate change deniers get clobbered three times in just two days. But that’s what happened with the release of a trio of new studies that ought to serve as solid body blows to the fading but persistent fiction that human-mediated warming is somehow a hoax. Good news for the forces of reason, however, is bad news for the planet—especially the oceans. http://time.com/3672276/climate-change-oceans/ Pope’s climate-change stand deepens conservatives’ distrust. Conservative distrust of Pope Francis, which has been building in the U.S. throughout his pontificate, is reaching a boiling point over his plan to urge action on climate change — and to do so through a document traditionally used for the most important papal teachings. For months, Francis has been drafting an encyclical on the environment and global warming which he hopes to release by June or July. Encyclicals are written with the help of a small group of advisers working under strict secrecy. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/popes-climate-change-stand-deepens-conservatives-distrust/2015/01/19/848bdd56-9fef-11e4-91fc-7dff95a14458_story.html Scientists turn CO2 in solid rock in potential fix to climate change. In Iceland scientists are developing a new way to cut carbon emissions and improve air quality by turning toxic air in solid rock. CCTV’s Zhang He reported this story from Reykjavik, Iceland. To store carbon dioxide underground, Iceland scientists dissolve CO2 in water, and inject it into reactive volcanic basalt rock. Within a year, over 80 percent of the CO2 will transform into solid carbonate minerals, experts said. http://www.cctv-america.com/2015/01/16/scientists-turn-co2-in-solid-rock-in-potential-fix-to-climate-change Billionaire Tom Steyer eyes climate change, education in potential Senate bid. Billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer, who is weighing a run for the U.S. Senate seat that will be vacated by Barbara Boxer in two years, is outlining a policy agenda focused on climate change, education and tax reform and pledging to serve only one term if he cannot achieve his goals, sources close to Steyer said Sunday. http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-steyer-senate-20150118-story.html California’s Forests: Where Have All the Big Trees Gone? California has lost half its big trees since the 1930s, according to a study to be published Tuesday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences—and climate change seems to be a major factor. The number of trees larger than two feet in diameter has declined by 50 percent on more than 46,000 square miles of California forests, the new study finds. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/01/150119-california-forests-shrinking-climate-drought-science/ Food diversity under siege from global warming, U.N. says. Climate change threatens the genetic diversity of the world's food supply, and saving crops and animals at risk will be crucial for preserving yields and adapting to wild weather patterns, a U.N. policy paper said on Monday. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/19/us-food-climatechange-un-idUSKBN0KS1N420150119 Pope's statement on climate change: 5 things to know. Pope Francis, who pledged on the day of his installation as pontiff to make the environment a priority, is drafting a highly anticipated encyclical on ecology and climate change. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_POPE_CLIMATE_CHANGE_5_THINGS_TO_KNOW?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT DROUGHT California drought could end with storms known as atmospheric rivers. California's drought crept in slowly, but it could end with a torrent of winter storms that stream across the Pacific, dumping much of the year's rain and snow in a few fast-moving and potentially catastrophic downpours. Powerful storms known as atmospheric rivers, ribbons of water vapor that extend for thousands of miles, pulling moisture from the tropics and delivering it to the West Coast, have broken 40% of California droughts since 1950, recent research shows. http://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-atmospheric-rivers-20150119-story.html DIESEL ACTIVITIES CARB fines four for fuel switch failures. The California Air Resources Board has fined four shipping companies a combined $146,719 for failing to switch from bunker fuel to cleaner, low-sulfur marine distillate fuel upon entering Regulated California Waters – within 24 nautical miles of the California coast. http://www.marinelog.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=8596:carb-fines-four-for-fuel-switch-failures&Itemid=230 http://www.marinelink.com/news/california-shipping-fines384137.aspx VEHICLES Solar plane pioneers lay out round-the-world flight plan. The team behind a Swiss-made solar-powered aircraft that is attempting to fly around the world said Tuesday the clean-energy plane will stop in India, China and the United States in a historic journey set to begin as early as next month. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_ABU_DHABI_SOLAR_PLANE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT GREEN ENERGY Green-Energy Inspiration Off the Coast of Denmark. Before dawn one morning in October, a handful of Americans gathered at a lonely pier on Samso, a small Danish island about four hours from Copenhagen. Bundled in layers of fleece and wool, the Americans, mostly from islands off the Maine coast, had come to get a closer look at a wind farm — 10 mighty turbines spinning in the Kattegat strait — that has helped make Samso a symbol for a greener future, one powered entirely by renewable energy. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/18/business/energy-environment/green-energy-inspiration-from-samso-denmark.html?_r=0 Google Makes Two More Solar, Wind Investments. We’re barely three weeks into 2015, and Google has already disclosed two substantial investments in renewable energy projects. The total so far: more than $1.5 billion. The most recent transaction (its 19th so far) will see the Internet giant put $76 million into the Balko Wind project in Oklahoma, according to a Google spokesman. http://www.forbes.com/sites/heatherclancy/2015/01/19/google-makes-two-more-solar-wind-investments/ U.S. Solar Industry Sees Growth, But Also Some Uncertainty. The solar energy business is growing fast, thanks in part to a steep drop in panel prices. The Solar Energy Industries Association reports that prices dropped by more than half since 2010. But the industry's future looks a little hazy. Generous government subsidies expire soon and the price for natural gas — a competitor that's also used to generate electricity — keeps dropping. http://www.npr.org/2015/01/19/377719667/u-s-solar-industry-sees-growth-but-also-some-uncertainty MISCELLANEOUS Time For a Reality Check On Computer Models. First, a new study by economists at Iowa State University exposed the absurdity of the results from economic models used by the California Air Resources Board to estimate indirect land use change (ILUC) emissions for biofuels regulated under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard. http://www.ethanolproducer.com/articles/11816/time-for-a-reality-check-on-computer-models Preserved Under Fiberglass Domes, a Counterculture Spirit Thrives. The trill of panpipes from a yurt wafted across the mulch hillocks of the Domes, a 1970s experiment in communal housing in which students live in igloolike fiberglass domes and snuggle up in snow-white interiors of plastic foam. Although plenty of campuses offer specialized housing — often reserved for vegans, teetotalers, athletes and other like-minded souls — it is probably safe to say that there is no place quite like the Domes, an early venture into sustainable living at the University of California, Davis. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/21/us/domes-at-uc-davis-counterculture-spirit-thrives.html?ref=earth OPINIONS Make Forests Pay. In the last 40 years, more than one billion acres of tropical forests have vanished, equivalent in size to over half of the continental United States. The rate of cutting, burning and clearing shows no signs of abating. Tropical forests store huge amounts of carbon. When their trees are cut or burned, the carbon is eventually released into the atmosphere, mixing with oxygen to form the long-lasting greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. The pace of deforestation is so great today that it accounts for an estimated 12 to 15 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions annually. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/20/opinion/a-carbon-offset-market-for-trees.html?emc=eta1 BLOGS Report: Hyundai to cut price of fuel cell vehicle in Korea to compete with Toyota. The Korea Herald reports that unnamed sources say that Hyundai Motor has decided to lower the price of the Tucson fuel cell sport utility vehicle to compete with Toyota Motor’s Mirai fuel cell car. Gwangju City, which purchased five Hyundai FCVs last year, has a plan to buy 10 more Tucson FCVs this year for use during the Gwangju Summer Universiade in July, the newspaper reported. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/01/20150119-hyundai.html BMW i3 Electric Car To Appear In Super Bowl TV Ad. Advertising is crucial for automakers trying to explain the benefits of electric cars to an often-skeptical public. So what better forum than the advertising mecca that is the Super Bowl? While teams battle for the National Football League championship during Super Bowl XLIX, BMW will try to catch customers' attention with an ad for its i3 electric car on Sunday, February 1. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1096360_bmw-i3-electric-car-to-appear-in-super-bowl-tv-ad Beijing’s toxic air is literally off the charts. No matter what desperate steps the Chinese government takes — banning coal-burning plants within the city limits, shuttering more than 300 factories, wiping out old vehicles and boilers, forcing heavy trucking to go nocturnal — this just keeps happening: Beijing’s smog has yet again soared off the charts. http://grist.org/cities/beijings-toxic-air-is-literally-off-the-charts/ Why cheap gas can’t kill the electric car. From 2010 to 2014, U.S. electric car sales surged from almost nothing to about 120,000 per year. But the haters and doubters persist. Analysts and investing forums are buzzing about a coming stagnation. After all, in the past seven months the price of oil has collapsed from $115 a barrel to below $50. Gasoline prices have plummeted, too, fast approaching $2 per gallon nationally, and commuters are rejoicing. That means a key selling point for electric vehicles — low fuel costs — is gone. The electric car appears to be in trouble. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-cheap-gas-cant-kill-the-electric-car/2015/01/16/131341ba-9c10-11e4-bcfb-059ec7a93ddc_story.html California needs cost-effective clean energy solutions now: Guest commentary. In the 1970s, the smog in Southern California was so bad we couldn’t even see the nearby San Gabriel Mountains from downtown. Smog alerts forced school kids indoors, canceled outdoor events and sent people to emergency rooms. In 2015, our air may look cleaner, but we still have much to do to eliminate air pollution. We also now face the added challenge of tackling climate change. http://www.dailynews.com/opinion/20150116/california-needs-cost-effective-clean-energy-solutions-now-guest-commentary California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.