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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for June 10, 2015
Posted: 10 Jun 2015 12:17:59
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 EPA says it intends to regulate emissions by US airliners. The government is proposing to regulate aircraft emissions in much the same way as power plants, saying they are a threat to human health because they contain pollutants that help cause global warming and therefore should be regulated. The Environmental Protection Agency announcement Wednesday clears the way for possible U.S. adoption of international emissions standards, which are expected to be released next year. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_AIRPLANES_POLLUTION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT OTHER RELATED STORIES http://www.wsj.com/articles/obama-administration-to-take-aim-at-airline-emissions-1433946834 http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/10/usa-aviation-carbon-idUSL1N0YW0HY20150610?virtualBrandChannel=11563 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/11/business/energy-environment/epa-says-it-will-set-rules-for-airplane-emissions.html?_r=1 Emissions From Energy Have Slowest Gain Since 2009 Drop, BP Says. Carbon dioxide emissions from energy use had the slowest growth last year since a drop in 2009 as Chinese consumption of coal flattened, according to BP Plc. Output of the greenhouse gas from burning fossil fuels rose 0.5 percent from the previous year, London-based BP said Wednesday in its annual Statistical Review of World Energy. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-10/emissions-from-energy-have-slowest-gain-since-2009-drop-bp-says Coal Confronting Bigger Threat Than Obama’s Rules for Clean Air. U.S. coal companies worried that the Obama administration’s proposed clean-air rules will put them out of business face a bigger threat: natural gas. Shale formations in the eastern U.S. are yielding record amounts of gas, pushing prices of the fuel in the region below coal, which had been 61 percent less expensive on average since 2001. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-09/coal-confronting-bigger-threat-than-obama-s-rules-for-clean-air Challenges to Proposed Clean Power Plan Are Premature, D.C. Circuit Says in Dismissal. Federal appellate judges dismissed challenges to the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed carbon dioxide emissions limits for power plants June 9, saying they are premature, but one judge left open the possibility of similar lawsuits in the future. http://www.bna.com/challenges-proposed-clean-n17179927524/ MORENO VALLEY: Study on proposed World Logistics Center called ‘legally inadequate'. An environmental report on the proposed project -- which would stretch 700 football field -- could be vulnerable to court challenges, air board says. The developer, however, sticks by the report. State air quality officials say that Moreno Valley’s environmental analysis of a proposed warehousing complex with enough indoor space for 700 football fields is “legally inadequate” and needs major revisions. http://www.pe.com/articles/city-769741-air-health.html Heat, wind prompt health alerts. Temp reaches near-record high on Monday. Although the official start of summer is still almost two weeks away, the heat has already arrived. Temperatures reached 106 degrees on Monday — one degree short of the record high of 107 seen in 2013 — and are forecast to stay near the century mark through the weekend. The clouds rolled in on Tuesday to give some relief from the beating sun… http://www.turlockjournal.com/section/12/article/29505/ CLIMATE CHANGE Panel passes measure cutting EPA's budget. A House panel passed a spending measure on Wednesday that cuts the budget at the Environmental Protection Agency by 9 percent and blocks the Obama administration from advancing new rules to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Republicans used their majority to pass the bill by voice vote. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CONGRESS_ENVIRONMENTAL_SPENDING?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT What countries have offered for Paris climate agreement. A global climate agreement being negotiated this week in Bonn is supposed to apply to all countries, from large industrialized economies to tiny island nations. But the major climate polluters are expected to lead the way by setting targets for reducing emissions of climate-warming gases including carbon dioxide… http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_CLIMATE_WORLD_TARGETS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Green groups urge ban on corporate polluters at UN climate talks. Environmental groups urged governments on Wednesday to ban oil companies and other big corporate polluters from any involvement in U.N. talks on slowing climate change, saying any role was like letting an arsonist work as a fire fighter. They presented a petition to "kick big polluters out of climate policy" at 190-nation talks in Bonn on curbing global warming… http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/10/climatechange-companies-idUSL5N0YW2B020150610 Obama Persuades Unilever, Wal-Mart to Help Farmers Cut Emissions. Unilever NV, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and other large companies reliant on agriculture agreed to encourage farmers who supply them to cut carbon pollution, the White House said, as President Barack Obama pushes forward on initiatives to try to stem climate change. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-10/obama-persuades-unilever-wal-mart-to-help-farmers-cut-emissions EU, China Said to Ready Climate Pact in June Before Global Deal. The European Union and China are planning an agreement this month on fighting climate change before nations worldwide gather to iron out a global emissions-cutting deal, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. The pact to be signed June 29 will promote closer ties in using low-emission technologies and developing carbon markets and sustainable cities… http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-09/eu-china-said-to-ready-climate-pact-in-june-before-global-deal-iapf4x8g Obama Administration Readies Big Push on Climate Change. Proposals to curb emissions from trucks, airplanes, oil and natural-gas operations, and power plants. The Obama administration is planning a series of actions this summer to rein in greenhouse-gas emissions from wide swaths of the economy, including trucks, airplanes and power plants, kicking into high gear an ambitious climate agenda… http://www.wsj.com/articles/obama-administration-readies-big-push-on-climate-change-1433873269 House Republicans Take Hatchet to Obama's Environmental Budget. Spending bill would block enforcement of the administration’s rules on power plants. House Republicans are teeing up another attack on the Obama administration's climate plan, proposing to slash the Environmental Protection Agency's budget and blocking the tentpole rule limiting emissions from power plants. http://www.nationaljournal.com/energy/house-republicans-take-hatchet-to-obama-s-environmental-budget-20150609?utm_content=buffer94604&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer Canada, U.S., Mexico Establish Working Group for Climate Change. Canada, the United States and Mexico have established a ministerial-level working group on climate change and energy issues. Greg Rickford, Canada’s minister of natural resources, reached the deal — along with U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Pedro Joaquin-Coldwell, Mexico’s energy secretary — during a meeting of North American energy ministers. http://www.theyucatantimes.com/2015/06/canada-u-s-mexico-establish-working-group-for-climate-change/ Why These Tiny Island Nations Are Planning To Sue Fossil Fuel Companies. On Monday, the seven of the world’s wealthiest nations met in southern Germany and pledged to decarbonize the world’s energy systems by 2100, while limiting global warming to 2°C. Later that evening, in the South Pacific, representatives from six decidedly smaller countries also took a stand against climate change. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/06/10/3667580/south-pacific-climate-change-lawsuit/ Climate negotiators finalize global agreement to combat GHGs from deforestation. A key international strategy to prevent emissions from cutting down forests was finalized yesterday in Bonn, Germany, ahead of a potential global climate accord in Paris this December. After a series of talks stretching over the last decade, negotiators at the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change's conference… http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/06/10/stories/1060019959 Where are the future hot spots on Earth? NASA's 'big data' project pinpoints them. Using multiple climate models and hundreds of terabytes of data, NASA has projected global temperatures and rainfall around the world from 2050 until 2100. The result: Scientists and policymakers can now pull up information that simulates how individual cities and towns may fare on a given day in the distant future. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/06/10/stories/1060019944 DROUGHT Gov. Brown says 'spaceship Earth' approach will see California through drought. Even as the state struggles through an epic water crisis, Gov. Jerry Brown assured residents Tuesday that technology, adaptation and “a more elegant” way of living would ultimately preserve the California dream for generations to come. In a broad-ranging conversation that touched on the “existential threat” posed by man-made global warming… http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-brown-drought-20150609-story.html#page=1 Crisis or not? Jerry Brown avoids offering stern advice on drought. In his latest iteration as California’s governor, Jerry Brown seems to have cracked the code of the state’s quirky politics. The code: We’ll elect you, if you promise to fix the mess and leave us alone. That is what Brown has done, scurrying to Sacramento after his 2010 election and taking on the state’s faltering economy with little in the way of public splash. http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-jerry-brown-drought-analysis-20150610-story.html Drought hastens decline of the Joshua tree, California's desert symbol. Under canopies of dead angular branches and drooping fronds, University of California, Riverside ecologist Cameron Barrows made his way across a forest of skeletal Joshua trees that have not reproduced in decades. As Barrows explained, it's a tough time to be a Joshua tree. http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article23644450.html#storylink=cpy California's Rice Crop Predicted To Be 30 Percent Below Normal. Because of California's historic drought, the state's rice crop will be 30 percent below normal –- at 375,000 acres. Experts say the smaller planting will hurt the economy and wildlife that depend on shallow flooded fields. Tim Johnson, the President of the California Rice Commission says the largest impact will be felt in the small towns like Colusa… http://www.capradio.org/articles/2015/06/09/californias-rice-crop-predicted-to-be-30-percent-below-normal/ Drought Sparks Extra Wildfires - And State Fire Costs. California firefighters have burned through their budget this fiscal year as the state battles its way through a fourth year of drought. The most recent spending totals available show that as of the end of March, Cal Fire had already spent more than $430 million. http://www.capradio.org/articles/2015/06/09/drought-sparks-extra-wildfires-and-state-fire-costs/ Warning of 'catastrophe,' Gov. Brown presses case for water tunnels. The system of levees and pumps that delivers water to much of California is in danger of collapse and must be reconfigured, Gov. Jerry Brown (D) said yesterday. Speaking in Los Angeles, Brown pressed a plan to build two 30-mile-long tunnels beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta, the state's water hub. http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/06/10/stories/1060019993 DIESEL ACTIVITIES County Denies ExxonMobil Request to Haul Oil by Truck. Energy Company Close to Exhausting Storage Capacity After Shutdown of Ruptured Pipeline. With legal repercussions anticipated regardless of her decision, Dianne Black denied on Tuesday an emergency permit filed by ExxonMobil to truck crude oil from Las Flores Canyon Facility along Highway 101 to a refinery about 70 miles north. http://www.independent.com/news/2015/jun/10/county-denies-exxonmobil-request-haul-oil-truck/ FUELS Energy industry has reached watershed on fossil fuels, says BP. British firm said last year’s global emphasis on issues including climate change and a resurgence in US oil changed the sector’s balance of power. The global energy industry reached a watershed in 2014 as global emphasis on climate change, a slowing Chinese economy and a resurgence in US oil affected fossil fuel producers, according to BP. http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jun/10/energy-industry-has-reached-watershed-on-fossil-fuels-says-bp Environmental Working Group Prefers Keystone Pipeline to Low-Carbon Renewable Fuels. No, Really. In recent weeks the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and others have been promoting a study that suggests corn ethanol is worse for the climate than the controversial Keystone XL pipeline and gasoline produced from Canadian tar sands. http://theenergycollective.com/gcooperrfa/2238096/environmental-working-group-prefers-keystone-pipeline-low-carbon-renewable-fuels- VEHICLES Startup’s new idea: Free EV charging for the masses. San Francisco startup Volta believes charging an electric car in public should be free, at least for the driver. Volta’s charging stations, installed in parking lots and garages, are all sponsored by companies seeking a little green publicity. The businesses — which so far include Whole Foods, Sungevity and the Oakland Athletics baseball team — pay for the equipment and the electricity, which drivers can tap for free. http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Startup-s-new-idea-Free-EV-charging-for-the-6317331.php Five Cities Get Free Electric-Car Charging Stations At 'Socially Responsible' Businesses. There are a variety of organizations working to increase public electric-car charging infrastructure, and they're primarily motivated by the merits of electric cars themselves. But what if charging infrastructure was viewed from the perspective of social responsibility? What if locations for charging stations were chosen based on the… http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1098652_five-cities-get-free-electric-car-charging-stations-at-socially-responsible-businesses Chevy Impala Natural-Gas Version Delayed By A Year Over Unspecified Concerns. Back in October 2013, General Motors announced plans to launch a "bi-fuel" version of its new Chevrolet Impala full-size sedan. It billed the planned Impala variant as the only production full-size sedan capable of running on both gasoline and compressed natural gas (CNG). http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1098653_chevy-impala-natural-gas-version-delayed-by-a-year-over-unspecified-concerns Used Electric Cars: Which Hold Their Value Best? Which Is Worst? Used electric cars starting to enter the market in higher numbers, letting advocates suggest that if the purchase price of a new plug-in car is too high, buyers can look at used options. The usual metric of retained-value calculations can be tricky for plug-ins… http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1098663_used-electric-cars-which-hold-their-value-best-which-is-worst Tesla Model X Update, Toyota 'Prius Prime,' Used Electric Cars: Today's Car News. Today, we've got news from Tesla's annual shareholder meeting, including an update on the Model X electric crossover, Toyota's trademark of the name "Prius Prime," and the best and worst used electric cars. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1098669_tesla-model-x-update-toyota-prius-prime-used-electric-cars-todays-car-news GREEN ENERGY UPDATE 2-SMA Solar joins forces with Siemens to target large solar projects. Germany's SMA Solar and engineering company Siemens have teamed up to equip utility-scale solar parks with technology to link them to power grids in an effort to benefit from rising global demand for photovoltaics. Demand for solar panels has grown steadily in recent years… http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/10/sma-solar-siemens-idUSL5N0YW17020150610?feedType=RSS&feedName=everything&virtualBrandChannel=11563 UAE's Masdar in talks with Germany's RWE on green energy projects – source. United Arab Emirates green energy firm Masdar may invest in renewable energy projects jointly with Germany's RWE, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. "Masdar is in discussions about potential investments in renewable energy projects with RWE," the Abu Dhabi source said, declining to be named as the matter is not yet public. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/10/emirates-germany-renewables-idUSL5N0YW2Z820150610 Why Concentrating Solar Power Has Cheap Storage And A Bright Future. Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems have seen explosive growth because of their stunning 99 percent price drop in the past quarter century. As a result, the other form of solar power — concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) — is a small fraction of the solar market. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/06/10/3455181/concentrating-solar-power-csp-storage/ Record boost in new solar power continues massive industry growth. UK leads European solar energy expansion to help renewables overtake output of nuclear power as industry leaders hail ‘tipping point’ for the technology. A record amount of solar power was added to the world’s grids in 2014, pushing total cumulative capacity to 100 times the level it was in 2000. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/09/record-boost-in-new-solar-power-continues-massive-industry-growth Tesla says it will double capacity of home energy storage product and push a utility-scale option. The home energy storage product that Tesla Motors Inc. unveiled one month ago is getting an upgrade and now will have twice its original capacity, company CEO and co-founder Elon Musk said yesterday. The electric carmaker heard some criticisms about its Powerwall energy storage offering after its May 1 unveiling… http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/06/10/stories/1060019963 New study outlines path to 100% renewables in all 50 states. Wind, water and sunlight could meet demand for all energy -- not just electricity -- in every state by midcentury, according to a new report. The study, published yesterday in the journal Energy and Environmental Science, concluded that the path to a cleaner future is technically feasible and affordable and would save thousands of lives from avoided pollution… http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/06/10/stories/1060019960 World needs to ramp up battery use, energy storage to meet climate targets – report. Meeting global demand for vast amounts of carbon-free energy under an international climate accord will require deep investments in energy storage technologies, according to new findings from the International Renewable Energy Association (IRENA). http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/06/10/stories/1060019945 Texas, Colo. show how to integrate renewables as carbon plan looms – report. Electric systems in Texas and Colorado are demonstrating that a range of actions can be used to successfully and reliably integrate large amounts of renewable energy, according to a new report completed for the Advanced Energy Economy Institute. http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2015/06/10/stories/1060019943 MISCELLANEOUS China issues draft environmental tax law. China has issued a draft environment tax law which proposes targeting air, water, noise and solid waste pollution through levies on polluters, the Cabinet's Legislative Affairs Office said on Wednesday. It proposed the following levy rates: 1.2 yuan on air pollutants, 1.4 yuan on water pollutants, and a range of 5 to 30 yuan for solid waste, it said. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/10/china-environment-tax-idUSL3N0YW3V220150610 Tesla in line for $15 million in California job creation tax credits. Tesla Motors is positioned to get the largest tax credit grant of dozens of companies from a special California economic development program. California officials are recommending that the Palo Alto electric car manufacturer receive $15 million of the $49.5 million in tax credits planned in the latest disbursement. http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-tesla-grabs-california-subsidy-20150609-story.html EPA carbon rule could create 300,000 net jobs, despite hit to coal – study. A new report from the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute argues that U.S. EPA's impending Clean Power Plan could create a net total of nearly 300,000 new jobs when it goes into effect in 2020. The direct gains, which EPI characterizes as "a small net boost in employment," would come from an increase in energy efficiency installation… http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/06/10/stories/1060019966 USDA doles out $6.7M in rural grants. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will announce today more than $6.7 million in grants for 544 renewable energy and efficiency projects. The funding comes from the Rural Energy for America Program, a farm bill program intended to facilitate renewable energy development in rural America. "These grants will help farmers, ranchers and small business owners use more renewable energy… http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/06/10/stories/1060019997 OPINIONS State board is unfairly taking water from San Joaquin Valley. Our water crisis is both natural and man-made. Since California’s last major reservoirs opened in the early 1970s, our population has grown by 67 percent, but our water storage capacity has grown by only 1 percent. Last November, voters approved a $7.5 billion bond issue to improve water infrastructure, build new storage and make our groundwater basins sustainable. http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article23602333.html#storylink=cpy Ontario cap-and-trade policy can help fight climate change. The following editorial was written by Bloomberg View editors: Ontario recently announced plans to address climate change. Canada's most populous province thus joins a trend: Where national governments fail to act, states and cities are stepping up. Is that a good thing? It depends. http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article23644561.html#storylink=cpy Timm Herdt: Placing a big wager on green. They don’t much like to admit it, but there are very few times when California senators take on a truly big idea, one with the power to transform California, shape the economy for decades to come, and potentially steer a course for the world. Last week was one of those times. http://www.vcstar.com/opinion/columnists/timm-herdt/timm-herdt-placing-a-big-wager-on-green_92611037 AB 32 creates positive results. Alex Breitler’s article “Going Clean” (May 28) highlights the great news about California’s climate legislation: it is working for Stockton. Much of our city has long been designated “disadvantaged” under CalEnviroScreen due to high levels of pollution and poor socioeconomic indicators. This designation plays out in higher rates of asthma, which result in a greater number of missed school and work days, lower incomes… http://www.recordnet.com/article/20150607/OPINION/150609752 A Sky Full of Bureaucrats. Will the EPA’s new rules actually save the ozone? Writing in the Wall Street Journal recently, political scientist Charles Murray confronted readers with the reality of the modern regulatory state and raised a pointed question: How do myriad rules help us when they often cannot be measured or enforced? Murray's liberal detractors should know that he is not on a crusade to jettison regulatory policies that have made our country safer, cleaner and fairer. http://www.usnews.com/opinion/economic-intelligence/2015/06/10/epa-ozone-rules-will-just-put-bureaucrats-in-charge-of-air-quality LOIS HENRY: The Kern River is dry, city is up a creek. We are in very, very serious water trouble. Who cares about soccer parks and golf courses? I’m talking about options and deals being discussed right now to keep water flowing to some parts of the city. Of course, water games are being played even as the situation becomes more dire by the day. But let’s come back to that. http://www.bakersfield.com/Columnists/2015/06/09/The-Kern-River-is-dry-city-is-up-a-creek.html BLOGS An EV Charging Startup Raises $7.5M To Give Away Electricity For Free. Can charging station owners make good money when electric cars are far from being mainstream? A startup, Volta Industries, decided that securing advertising dollars for each station makes a better business model. Now the company has lined up $7.5 million to prove its case. Volta announced Wednesday that it’s raised $4.5 million in equity for Series A… http://www.forbes.com/sites/uciliawang/2015/06/10/5754/ Opportunities for Streamlined, Cost-Effective, and Legally Durable Implementation of the Clean Power Plan. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will finalize the Clean Power Plan, which will create our nation’s first-ever standards for carbon pollution from existing fossil fuel-fired power plants. These power plants account for almost 40 percent of U.S. carbon pollution, so these new standards are critical to mitigating climate change and protecting public health. http://blogs.edf.org/climate411/2015/06/09/opportunities-for-streamlined-cost-effective-and-legally-durable-implementation-of-the-clean-power-plan/ State legislature season ends poorly for coal lobbyists (again). The end of spring coincides with the adjournment of most state legislatures. Before we all run off to plan pool parties to beat the summer heat (likely exacerbated by climate change), I'd like to take a moment and reflect on some heartening trends in state capitols. http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/ahaq/state_legislature_season_ends_.html China, India reject calls for tougher climate goal at UN talks. Development needs cited by emerging superpowers as science and geopolitics clash at Bonn negotiations. China, India and Saudi Arabia are calling for discussions on a tighter global warming goal to be shelved, to the dismay of countries vulnerable to future climate impacts. http://www.rtcc.org/2015/06/10/china-india-reject-calls-for-tougher-climate-goal-at-un-talks/#sthash.tt7cWpZv.dpuf Warm weather deepens chill on natural gas markets. With the weather heating up, U.S. natural gas markets are cooling down. Strong production and the fear that gas inventories could be headed to record highs have sent benchmark prices down by about 40 percent from a year ago. Demand eventually will rise as new electric power plants, industrial projects and natural gas export terminals step up their intake. http://fuelfix.com/blog/2015/06/09/warm-weather-deepens-chill-on-natural-gas-markets/ California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.