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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for July 6, 2015.

Posted: 06 Jul 2015 13:09:11
ARB Newsclips for July 6, 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.

CAP AND TRADE

White House quietly revises social cost of carbon. The White
House has slightly reduced its estimate for the social cost of
carbon (SCC) in response to public comments that officials
collected more than a year ago. The Office of Management and
Budget posted its revision of the controversial estimate
Thursday, immediately before the Fourth of July weekend.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/07/06/stories/1060021287 

AIR POLLUTION

Moreno Valley warehouse project raising concerns over air
quality.  A master planned warehouse development that would fill
nearly 700 football fields has raised concerns among state and
regional air quality regulators, the Riverside County
Transportation Commission and the American Lung Association. The
proposed World Logistics Center — with its 40.6 million square
feet of warehouses and 14,000 daily truck visits…
http://www.sbsun.com/environment-and-nature/20150705/moreno-valley-warehouse-project-raising-concerns-over-air-quality


Demand for Small Modular Reactors may be Impacted by Supreme
Court Ruling on EPA Coal Plant Emissions. On June 29th the US
Supreme Court threw out EPA’s coal emissions regulations that if
implemented would have forced many utilities to close older
coal-fired plants. The new emissions controls are aimed at
mercury and other toxic pollutants which are not removed from
stack emissions by current air pollution controls.
http://www.theenergycollective.com/dan-yurman/2245276/demand-small-modular-reactors-may-be-impacted-supreme-court-ruling-epa-coal-plant


CLIMATE CHANGE

No plan B if Paris climate summit ends in failure, says EU
climate chief. There is “no plan B” if the Paris climate
conference ends in failure, Europe’s climate chief has warned,
urging world leaders to intervene to force their ministers to
agree a landmark deal this December. In an exclusive interview
with the Guardian, Miguel Cañete, commissioner for climate
action…
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jul/06/no-plan-b-if-paris-climate-summit-ends-in-failure-says-eu-climate-chief?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=dlvr.it
 

Canada's new carbon emissions rules provide new hope for the
Keystone pipeline. TransCanada Corp. has written to U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry arguing that new Canadian rules on
emissions should persuade him to approve the construction of the
much-delayed Keystone XL pipeline. The proposed US$6.4 billion
project would carry an estimated 830,000 barrels of Canadian
crude oil per day from Hardisty…
http://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Canadas-Carbon-Emissions-Rules-Sparks-Hopes-For-Keystone.html#ixzz3f8BPDjKo


India 'will not announce' carbon emissions peak year. Prakash
Javadekar said that Delhi would submit plans to cut emissions to
the UN, but would not announce a target date for when it expected
its total carbon emissions to drop. His comments came two days
after China told the United Nations that its emissions would peak
around 2030. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-33353181 

DROUGHT

California water rates rise as cities lose money in drought.
Saving water doesn't always mean saving money in parched
California. Millions of Californians expecting relief on their
water bills for taking conservation measures instead are finding
higher rates and drought surcharges. Water departments are
increasing rates and adding fees because they're losing money as
their customers conserve.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CALIFORNIA_DROUGHT_RATE_HIKES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

OTHER RELATED STORIES 
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CALIFORNIA_DROUGHT_RATE_HIKES_GLANCE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/californias-rural-poor-hit-hardest-as-groundwater-vanishes-in-long-drought/2015/07/05/0ed88938-1452-11e5-9518-f9e0a8959f32_story.html
http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/article26530126.html 
 
http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/California-water-rates-rise-as-cities-lose-money-6367059.php

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2015/0705/Californian-cities-hike-up-water-rates-while-customers-conserve-amid-drought


Las Vegas completing last straw to draw Lake Mead water. It took
$817 million, two starts, more than six years and one worker's
life to drill a so-called "Third Straw" to make sure glittery
casinos and sprawling suburbs of Las Vegas can keep getting
drinking water from near the bottom of drought-stricken Lake
Mead. The pipeline, however, won't drain the largest Colorado
River reservoir any faster.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_VEGAS_WATER_LAKE_MEAD?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Almond Prices Surge as Sales Boom Collides With Drought. The
almond is having its moment. Though criticized for being a
water-thirsty crop grown mostly in California, almonds are more
popular than ever. And spreads made from the tree nut are
increasingly supplanting peanut butter in U.S. lunch boxes and
pantries. Americans are eating about 2 pounds of almonds per
person annually, double the amount they consumed just seven years
ago.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-06/almond-prices-surge-as-sales-boom-collides-with-drought


How NASA's Flying Laboratory Is Tracking California's Drought.
They're using a high-frequency laser that scans the ground
800,000 times a second. A team of scientists at NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory is tracking California’s snowpack levels
aboard a flying laboratory. It’s called the Airborne Snow
Observatory…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-06/how-nasa-s-flying-laboratory-is-tracking-california-s-drought

California’s rural poor hit hardest as massive drought makes
remaining water toxic.  Whenever her sons rush indoors after
playing under the broiling desert sun, Guadalupe Rosales worries.
They rarely heed her constant warning: Don’t drink the water.
It’s not safe. The 8- and 10-year-olds stick their mouths under a
kitchen faucet and gulp anyway.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/californias-rural-poor-hit-hardest-as-groundwater-vanishes-in-long-drought/2015/07/05/0ed88938-1452-11e5-9518-f9e0a8959f32_story.html


Drought Sends U.S. Water Agency Back to Drawing Board. Drew
Lessard stood on top of Folsom Dam and gazed at the Sierra
Nevada, which in late spring usually gushes enough melting snow
into the reservoir to provide water for a million people. But the
mountains were bare, and the snowpack to date remains the lowest
on measured record.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/06/us/california-drought-sends-us-water-agency-back-to-drawing-board.html?_r=0


Drought puts California pool repairman who works underwater in
high demand. In water-starved California, pool repairman Kevin
Wallace might be viewed as a hero in a scuba suit. The
63-year-old Wallace dives underwater in some of the best pools in
Southern California to fix rust spots, rebar, structural cracks
and drains, using a secret concoction of plaster-based compounds,
sterilizing agents and hardeners.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-pool-repairman-20150706-story.html


Embarrassed officials try to explain surge in water use. They
stuck out like skunks at a drought-resistant garden party. While
residential water consumers and suppliers throughout California
won praise for slashing water consumption 29% recently, a handful
of small water agencies caused bewilderment when they reported a
surge in water use in May.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-water-wasters-20150706-story.html


Cutting Edge Silicon Valley struggles to pitch water-saving tech
to farmers. Olivier Jerphagnon needed a customer. So he drove
toward the farmland north of Fresno, with his marketing director
by his side. They came to convince farmers that PowWow Energy's
Pump Monitor software can manage irrigation via smartphone. They
spotted a prospect off the side of Highway 99: a work crew near a
massive pump in an unmarked almond orchard.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-irrigation-innovation-20150705-story.html#page=1

Las Vegas completing last straw to draw Lake Mead water. It took
$817 million, two starts, more than six years and one worker's
life to drill a so-called "Third Straw" to make sure glittery
casinos and sprawling suburbs of Las Vegas can keep getting
drinking water from near the bottom of drought-stricken Lake
Mead.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Las-Vegas-completing-last-straw-to-draw-Lake-Mead-6367083.php


Baja California turns to desalination. Far from the Colorado
River, Baja California’s coastal regions are increasingly looking
to alternative sources of supply — and desalination has become a
favored option. Set to launch operations in 2017, the state’s
first utility-scale ocean desalination plant is under
construction in Ensenada, where residents have been subject to
water rationing.
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2015/jul/04/ensenada-san-quintin-desalination-plants/?st


City will keep filling lake with tap water. Park and Recreation
reducing water use 16% yet will replenish six recreational ponds.
San Diego’s plan to meet state-mandated water conservation
targets includes parching dog parks and “nonessential” grass, but
officials plan to continue pumping some 57 million gallons of tap
water per year into recreational ponds.
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2015/jul/06/city-will-keep-pumping-tap-water-into-lake/


DIESEL ACTIVITIES

First Commercially Ready Ship Emissions Capturing System
Approved. Clean Air Engineering-Maritime (CAEM) has received
California Air Resources Board (CARB) approval for the first
commercially ready ship emissions capturing system called the
Maritime Emissions Treatment System (METS).Clean Air
Engineering-Maritime (CAEM) has received California Air Resources
Board (CARB) approval for the first commercially ready ship
emissions…
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2015/07/06/first-commercially-ready-ship-emissions-capturing-system-approved/#ixzz3f8Ag3g7r


FUELS

U.S. ethanol makers race to expand even with policy uncertainty.
Some U.S. ethanol producers are racing to bring on capacity,
pushing output to fresh highs even as soaring corn prices tighten
margins and the nation's biofuels program faces prolonged
uncertainty. Betting on exports and robust domestic fuel demand,
four companies are finalizing expansions and projects that will
add 375 million gallons of corn-based ethanol capacity this year.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/06/usa-ethanol-output-idUSL1N0ZC2NK20150706?virtualBrandChannel=11563


State issues toughest-in-the-nation fracking rules. State
officials on Wednesday formally adopted new rules governing
hydraulic fracturing in California, setting in motion some of the
toughest guidelines in the nation for the controversial oil
extraction practice. The oil and gas agency also released its
environmental impact report that concluded fracking could have
“significant and unavoidable impacts” on a number of fronts…
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-state-issues-fracking-rules-20150701-story.html


U.S. ethanol makers race to expand even with policy uncertainty.
Some U.S. ethanol producers are racing to bring on capacity,
pushing output to fresh highs even as soaring corn prices tighten
margins and the nation's biofuels program faces prolonged
uncertainty. Betting on exports and robust domestic fuel demand,
four companies are finalizing expansions and projects that will
add 375 million gallons of corn-based ethanol capacity this year.
http://www.agweek.com/event/article/id/27212/group/Agribusiness/#sthash.VFApy944.dpuf


VEHICLE

A fleet of ‘robocabs’ could dramatically slash vehicle emissions,
study suggests. Whenever we hear the latest buzz about driverless
vehicles — like the ones currently in development by Google — one
of the first benefits brought up is safety. The gist is that the
vast majority of car accidents are the result of human error, and
taking the human out of the equation would thus make streets a
lot safer.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/07/06/new-research-suggests-that-robotaxis-could-be-good-for-the-planet/


America’s Lowest Carbon Footprint Cars. According to the U.S.
EPA, a plug-in hybrid like a Ford Fusion Energi can save 7,000
pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) tailpipe emissions per year
compared to a 26-mpg non-hybrid Fusion, or enough to plant 79
trees. This is based on 15,000 annual miles, the trees are just a
theoretical way to offset the greenhouse gases (GHG) released.
http://www.hybridcars.com/americas-lowest-carbon-footprint-cars/


GREEN ENERGY

RPT-French renewables power grid pilot shows limits of batteries
in Europe. A major pilot project by Europe's largest power
network operator to integrate power from rooftop solar panels
into the grid has shown that battery storage of renewable energy
is not yet economically viable in Europe. The conclusion is a
sobering one for proponents of sun and wind energy because as
more of it comes on tap…
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/06/utilities-grids-france-idUSL8N0ZM18F20150706?type=companyNews


Israeli Gas Boon Blocks Out Solar Industry Hopes. Renewable
energy projects’ prospects dashed as huge gas finds change the
government’s priorities. The residents of this village in the
Negev desert have everything they need to build a solar-panel
field: construction permits and loans, a contract with a company
to build the field, and plenty of sun. But Tarabin village
doesn’t yet have permission from the government to sell its solar
power to the national grid…
http://www.wsj.com/articles/israeli-gas-boon-blocks-out-solar-industry-hopes-1436187071?mod=rss_Technology


Solar energy revolution: Past point of no return. When the
SunShot Initiative was launched by the U.S. Department of Energy
in 2011, even I thought it was a little crazy to think the goal
of $1-per-watt solar energy was within reach. In this article
from April 2011, I said that $1 per watt by 2017 had a "fighting
chance" at best, but it was a long way off at the time.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/markets/2015/07/05/motley-fool-solar-energy/29583021/


New York sees strong growth in solar power installations. New
York state has seen a significant increase in solar power in the
last three years. Gov. Andrew Cuomo says Monday that installed
solar power generation tripled since 2011. That's just more than
twice the rate of the entire U.S. over the same period. While
solar power remains a relatively small source of electricity in
the state, the governor says the rapid growth reflects state
efforts to encourage renewable energy.
http://www.sfgate.com/business/energy/article/New-York-sees-strong-growth-in-solar-power-6368606.php


Renewable energy: Ukiah ‘70 percent carbon free’. Mel Grandi is
excited about Ukiah’s power. He is the city’s electrical utility
director, and is happy to talk about the carbon-free sources of
65- to 70 percent of that power. In 2008, Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger signed an executive order that “…all retail
sellers of electricity shall serve 33% of their load with
renewable energy by 2020.”
http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/general-news/20150703/renewable-energy-ukiah-70-percent-carbon-free


Marin businesses collecting food scraps for energy-saving
program. At San Rafael’s West Brooklyn Pizza Co., workers have
always strived to maintain an eco-friendly business by recycling
the bottles and plastics used at the restaurant. Within the past
three months, though, the workers’ efforts have been beefed up.
Uneaten pizza crusts left by customers…
http://www.marinij.com/environment-and-nature/20150705/marin-businesses-collecting-food-scraps-for-energy-saving-program


Solar & Wind = 74% of New US Electricity Capacity January–May
2015 (Exclusive). US renewable energy electricity capacity May
2015Wind power and solar power are increasingly the most
cost-competitive options for new electricity generation, and the
installation numbers for the first 5 months of 2015 are just
another data point showing that.
http://cleantechnica.com/2015/07/06/solar-wind-74-of-new-us-electricity-capacity-january-may-2015-exclusive/


Solar Impulse Sun-Powered Airplane Lands Safely In Hawaii. Nearly
four months after taking off from Abu Dhabi to attempt a
circumnavigation of the globe, the sun-powered Solar Impulse 2
airplane has crossed the Pacific Ocean. The plane landed in
Hawaii Friday, achieving another milestone in the attempt to fly
around the world with no onboard fuel.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1098992_solar-impulse-sun-powered-airplane-lands-safely-in-hawaii


German Wind-to-Hydrogen Plant Takes Car-Fuel Battle to Tesla.
After decades of research, Linde AG says the elements needed to
make hydrogen-fuelled cars a viable challenger to Tesla Inc.’s
battery-driven vehicles are finally falling into place. The
world’s largest industrial gas supplier will today open a plant
that uses wind power to convert water into the gas.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/news/2015/07/german-wind-to-hydrogen-plant-takes-car-fuel-battle-to-tesla.html


US Solar Production Is Being Vastly Underreported. Analysis from
SEIA and kWh Analytics shows that the US produced 50 percent more
solar than it’s getting credit for. Good news abounds in the
solar energy industry. Recently, California became the first
state to source more than five percent of its electricity from
solar power.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2015/07/us-solar-production-is-being-vastly-underreported.html

Nation's renewable energy consumption highest since the 1930s. Is
Utah doing enough? Opinions vary.  U.S. consumers are
increasingly turning to solar, wind and biomass for their energy
needs, driving domestic renewable energy consumption to its
highest peak since the 1930s. A recent analysis by the U.S.
Energy Information Administration — an independent research
service of the U.S. Department of Energy — found that renewables…
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865631967/Nations-renewable-energy-consumption-highest-since-the-1930s.html?pg=all


Renewable energy on tribal lands stalls out. Is the Bureau of
Indian Affairs delaying wind and solar projects? In 2008, the
Rosebud Sioux Tribe, in south-central South Dakota, was ready to
start developing the 30-megawatt Owl Feather War Bonnet wind farm
on tribal lands. The turbines would generate money for the tribe
and some of the power would go to homes on the nearly
2-square-mile reservation…
http://www.hcn.org/articles/federal-agency-shortcomings-stalling-solar-wind-tribal-winds


Kenya’s New Wind Farm Will Provide Nearly One Fifth Of The
Country’s Power. Last week Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta broke
ground on a major renewable energy project for the country and
for the African continent as a whole: a 310-megawatt wind farm
some 300 miles north of the capital city of Nairobi. The farm,
which will consist of 365 turbines when fully completed in
mid-2017…
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/07/06/3677104/kenya-builds-africas-largest-wind-farm/


MISCELLANEOUS

Former Transportation and Air Quality Director Oge says EPA doing
'pretty good job' with imperfect renewable fuels statute.
Following a heated public hearing on U.S. EPA's proposed
renewable volume obligations for 2014-2016, how open to change is
the agency as it crafts its final numbers? During today's
OnPoint, Margo Oge, former director of EPA's Office of
Transportation and Air Quality, discusses the challenges facing
the agency in determining volume obligations under the current
RFS. http://www.eenews.net/tv/videos/2005/transcript 

OPINIONS

As lakes drain, we must rethink water. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
officials, who operate the Central Valley Project, relied on a
faulty gauge in April and overestimated the amount of cold water
behind Shasta Dam.  That error might seem trivial, but not in
this fourth parched year of the drought. It is now cascading
throughout the water system, making clearer than ever that
Californians must rethink how water is used.
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/editorials/article26414845.html#storylink=cpy


EDITORIAL: Congress should kill ethanol mandate. The country’s
decade-old Renewable Fuel Standard requires increasing levels of
plant-based ethanol and biodiesel to be added to traditional
fossil fuels. It was supposed to be good for the economy and
great for the environment. It has been neither — and it could get
even worse. Under the RFS, most gasoline sold in the United
States is classified as E10…
http://www.reviewjournal.com/opinion/editorial-congress-should-kill-ethanol-mandate


BLOGS

Carbon fee legislation would cut gas emissions. Thank you for
your editorial on the New York ban on fracking (“A smart ban on
fracking,” July 1). You cited the grassroots victory over a
“well-funded gas and oil industry that has long been willing to
distort science in order to shape public opinion and policy on
critical issues like global warming.” We would like to add to
that success story.
http://blog.timesunion.com/opinion/carbon-fee-legislation-would-cut-gas-emissions/32835/


Autonomous Taxis Would Deliver Significant Environmental and
Economic Benefits. New Berkeley Lab study finds lower greenhouse
gas emissions on per-mile basis for driverless cars deployed as
taxis. Imagine a fleet of driverless taxis roaming your city,
ready to pick you up and take you to your destination at a
moment’s notice. While this may seem fantastical, it may be only
a matter of time before it becomes reality.
http://newscenter.lbl.gov/2015/07/06/autonomous-taxis-would-deliver-significant-environmental-and-economic-benefits/
    

This Humble Cactus Could Help Fuel Our Drought-Stricken World. 
As drought strikes broad regions of the world, farmers are
focusing on the crops that can feed people—not the crops that can
power their cars. But what if there was an energy crop that could
grow where traditional crops can’t? Even in a drought? Enter the
cactus. Climate change and drought aren’t just affecting
agriculture.
http://gizmodo.com/this-humble-cactus-could-help-power-our-drought-stricke-1715966241





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

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