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CAP AND TRADE

Canada’s GHG emissions rose in 2013, leaving little room to meet
2020 target.  Canada’s greenhouse-gas emissions rose in 2013,
propelled by higher oil and gas production, Environment Canada
said in a report to the United Nations that suggests the country
has little hope of meeting its international commitments.
Ministers in the Conservative government have frequently touted
the fact that the production of GHGs has declined since 2005, but
that decrease reflects the steep losses during the 2008-09
recession.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/canadas-ghg-emissions-rose-in-2013-leaving-little-room-to-meet-2020-target/article24039176/


Ontario’s Cap-and-Trade Regime Seen Raising C$2 Billion a Year. 
A carbon cap-and-trade system in Canada’s most populous province
is projected to raise as much as C$2 billion ($1.6 billion)
annually, early government and third-party estimates show. It’s
not yet clear which industries will be left paying the most, and
details of Ontario’s plan, including a timeframe for its
deployment, are still being worked out. The province announced
last week it would join Quebec’s cap-and-trade system.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-21/ontario-s-cap-and-trade-regime-seen-raising-c-2-billion-a-year


AIR POLLUTION

Hundreds of Chinese Cities Don’t Meet Air Standards, Report
Finds.  Air pollution data from the Chinese government shows that
more than 90 percent of 360 Chinese cities failed to meet
national air quality standards in the first three months of this
year, according to a report released on Tuesday by Greenpeace
East Asia. Interior provinces were found to have the most
polluted cities during those months.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/22/world/asia/hundreds-of-chinese-cities-dont-meet-air-standards-report-finds.html?ref=energy-environment&_r=0


Central, Western China Have Worst Air Pollution, Greenpeace Says.
 China’s central and western regions had the worst air pollution
in the nation during the first quarter, according to Greenpeace
East Asia. Henan, Hubei, Hunan and Sichuan were among the 10
worst-polluted provinces in the three months ended March 31,
Greenpeace said in an e-mailed statement.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-21/central-western-china-have-worst-air-pollution-greenpeace-says


CLIMATE CHANGE

Plants may not protect us against climate change.  Plants are one
of the last bulwarks against climate change. They feed on carbon
dioxide, growing faster and absorbing more of the greenhouse gas
as humans produce it. But a new study finds that limited
nutrients may keep plants from growing as fast as scientists
thought, leading to more global warming than some climate models
had predicted by 2100.
http://news.sciencemag.org/climate/2015/04/plants-may-not-protect-us-against-climate-change


DROUGHT

Brown calls tiered water ruling ‘a straitjacket' for conservation
efforts.  An appellate court Monday struck down a Southern
California city's method of charging water users based on a
tiered-rate...	
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article19098585.html


California court ruling could limit drought fighting tools. 
...In this April 17, 2015 photo, Jim Reardon, who is awaiting a
ruling from a California appeals court regarding his suit over
tiered water rates, stands...
http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_27956346/california-court-ruling-could-limit-drought-fighting-tools

http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/California-court-ruling-could-limit-drought-6213118.php


FUELS

Renewables Beat Fossil Fuels Second Year in a Row.  Start
spreading the news: The world is now deploying more renewable
energy in the production of electricity—more wind and solar
power, in particular—than it is fossil fuels. And it has been
since 2013, according to the analysts at Bloomberg New Energy
Finance. That year, the world added 143 gigawatts of new
renewables capacity, compared to the 141 gigawatts of power
generated by coal, natural gas and oil combined.
http://ecowatch.com/2015/04/21/renewables-beat-fossil-fuels-bloomberg/


VEHICLES

Lightning-fast Tesla Model S tops Auto Club's best Green Cars
ranking.  Expect to spend some green if you want to purchase the
vehicles at the top of the best Green Cars list AAA published
Monday. Six of the top 10 cars tested by the Automobile Club of
Southern California’s Automotive Research Center cost about
$50,000 or more and two are in the $100,000 range.
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-aaa-green-car-rankings-20150420-story.html


GREEN ENERGY

Obama administration sets agenda to modernize energy
infrastructure.  The Obama administration on Tuesday announced
plans to modernize the country's aging energy infrastructure and
make it more resilient to challenges ranging from extreme weather
to changing domestic energy production. The Quadrennial Energy
Review, more than a year in the making, recommends a program that
would accelerate natural gas pipeline replacement, modernize the
Strategic Petroleum Reserve and award up to $350 million to help
states improve the reliability of their electricity delivery.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/21/us-usa-energy-infrastructure-idUSKBN0NC1ME20150421


Batteries and Renewable Energy Set to Grow Together.  The future
of American energy, according to one widely held view, will
include solar panels and wind turbines continuing to proliferate,
churning out ever more electricity and eventually eclipsing
fossil fuels to help offset the forces of climate change.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/21/science/batteries-and-renewable-energy-set-to-grow-together.html


Solar Power Makes Electricity More Accessible On Navajo
Reservation.  ...vehicle up so it can charge back up," he says.  
 Terry, who now works as the renewable energy specialist for the
Navajo Tribal Utility Authority,...
http://www.kqed.org/news/story/2015/04/21/160803/solar_power_makes_electricity_more_accessible_on_navajo?category=u.s.&source=npr

MISCELLANEOUS

New bill could legalize paid carpooling.  Carpooling is one of
the most popular services transport network companies like Uber,
Lyft and Sidecar offer, but it faces a problem. Under California
law, paid carpooling is prohibited. Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San
Francisco) is hoping to change that. Introducing AB 1360 on
Monday, Ting said the bill would change a Californian law written
in 1961 that doesn’t allow passengers in a commercial ride to
each be charged separately for sharing the ride. 
http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-tnc-carpooling-20150420-story.html


Bay Area bike-share program about to rev up.  ...The
transportation agency is taking over the bike program from the
Bay Area's air quality district. The air district in turn will
take...	
http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_27846775/bay-area-bike-share-program-about-rev-up


OPINIONS

The True Benefits of Wind Power.  Texas prides itself on being a
national leader, whether it be in barbecue, football or wind
energy. That’s why when someone misguidedly attacks one of our
strengths—as Randy Simmons did in an opinion article republished
by Newsweek last week—as a Texan, I can’t remain silent.
http://www.newsweek.com/true-benefits-wind-power-323595 

The Pope, the Poor and Climate Change.  This Wednesday we mark
Earth Day. A week from now, the Vatican will add its own
contribution to what Pope Francis calls “human ecology” in the
form of a summit called “Protect the Earth, Dignify Humanity.”
The summit will in turn be followed by an encyclical some time
later this year.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-pope-the-poor-and-climate-change-1429572692


BLOGS

Artificial Photosynthesis Advance Hailed As Major Breakthrough. 
In what's being called a win-win for the environment and the
production of renewable energy, researchers at Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/20/artificial-photosynthesis-environment-energy_n_7088830.html?utm_hp_ref=world&ir=WorldPost




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