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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for July 10, 2015.

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 12:55:08
ARB Newsclips for July 10, 2015. 

This is a service of the California Air Resources Board’s Office
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individual websites to view some of the following news articles.

CAP AND TRADE

Stiglitz Calls Climate Talks a 'Charade,' Pushes Plan C. The
liberal economist says voluntary agreements don't work and
cap-and-trade is 'doomed to failure'. Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel
laureate economist, is trying to persuade global-warming
negotiators that they're marching up a blind alley.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-10/stiglitz-calls-climate-talks-a-charade-pushes-plan-c


Scientists issue carbon price call to curb climate change. 
Academics and economists called Friday for a price on carbon and
an end to fossil fuel subsidies to help curb rampant greenhouse
gas emissions harming Earth's climate system. Rather than an
economic burden, such measures offered novel money-making
opportunities that would also ensure a liveable planet for future
generations…
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/scientists-issue-carbon-price-call-curb-climate-change-151011304.html


Ontario Needs New Trick To Meet Climate Change Promises.
Ontario’s cap-and-trade system to cut greenhouse-gas emissions is
its Next Big Thing in the province’s fight against climate
change. The Liberal government really needs one if it’s going to
live up to its own rhetoric on the issue, according to its own
environment commissioner.
http://www.pressreader.com/canada/ottawa-citizen/20150710/281698318419809/TextView


AIR POLLUTION

White House opens doors to eleventh-hour pleas on Clean Power
Plan. Multiple state environmental regulators will meet Tuesday
with senior Obama administration staff in an attempt to shape the
final version of the forthcoming U.S. EPA rule to curb carbon
emissions from power plants.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/07/10/stories/1060021579 

CLIMATE CHANGE

(Some) Republicans Get Religion on Climate. The party’s
anti-regulation wing finds ways to call for change.  Jerry Taylor
talks with passion about how climate change should be a
conservative issue. While environmentalists on the left focus on
controlling carbon emissions, Taylor argues the right should be
looking at climate change the way it looks at financial risk.
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-07-10/-some-republicans-get-religion-on-climate


Fossil fuel firms risk wasting billions by ignoring climate
change, says IEA. Energy companies are making a ‘strategic
mistake’ and could waste billions of dollars of investment by
thinking they are immune to climate policy, says IEA chief
economist Fatih Birol. The world’s fossil fuel companies risk
wasting billions of dollars of investment by not taking global
action to fight climate change seriously…
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jul/09/fossil-fuel-firms-risk-billions-ignoring-climate-change-iea


Sea Levels Could Rise At Least 20 Feet. Even if world manages to
limit global warming to 2°C — the target number for current
climate negotiations — sea levels may still rise at least 6
meters (20 feet) above their current heights, radically reshaping
the world’s coastline and affecting millions in the process.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/sea-levels-rise-20-feet-19211


New Zealand Raises Emission Reduction Target: Care Taken Not To
Upset The Economy. In a significant step, New Zealand raised its
greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets and said it still
wanted a climate change policy that is attainable and affordable
for the agrarian economy. Accordingly, New Zealand will be
cutting emissions to 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.
http://www.ibtimes.com.au/new-zealand-raises-emission-reduction-target-care-taken-not-upset-economy-1455345


DOE suspends stimulus funding for Calif. carbon-capture project.
The Department of Energy has suspended Recovery Act funding for a
California project to trap carbon emissions from a coal-fired
power plant, an agency spokeswoman said. DOE had set aside $408
million in stimulus funds for Hydrogen Energy California LLC's
effort to produce power from coal and petroleum coke…
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/07/10/stories/1060021604

DROUGHT

Careful water use could ease climate threats to food –
scientists. Farmers face growing threats to their crops from more
frequent drought and other extreme weather in coming decades, but
using water more efficiently could help them protect food and
water supplies, experts said. Globally, drought so severe it used
to come once in 100 years is now expected to occur as often as
every 30 years…
http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL8N0ZQ3JC20150710


Water, Water Everywhere? Caribbean Adds to Global Drought.
Californians are suffering an historic drought, Brazilians are
rationing water and Chile’s Atacama desert is creeping south. Now
Caribbean nations from Jamaica to Trinidad that have been praying
for rain are counting their losses. A region vulnerable to
devastating hurricanes, the Caribbean is enduring its worst
drought in at least five years due to the El Nino weather
pattern.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-10/water-water-everywhere-caribbean-adds-to-global-drought


Southland water district ends popular lawn-removal rebate
program. When Gov. Jerry Brown called on drought-weary
Californians to reconsider their love of thirsty, nonnative
landscaping, some businesses and homeowners responded by tearing
out their once-cherished lawns. Additional motivation for
swapping out grass for drought-resistant plants came in the form
of cash rebates offered by local governments and water agencies.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-mwd-turf-rebates-20150710-story.html


Got sand? Drought prompts California state beaches to shut off
outdoor showers. Thousands of beachgoers will soon feel the
drought's impact in the dry shower heads of dozens of state
beaches. State park officials ordered the outdoor showers at 38
state beaches, many of them in Southern California, shut off as
of July 15 to conserve water during the drought.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-outdoor-showers-20150710-story.html

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/07/10/california-beaches-rinse-stations-drought/29950513/


Strong El Niño Set to Bring California Drought Relief.  For
California, the relief couldn't come soon enough. El Niño has
strengthened and will likely peak in the late fall and last until
the spring, bringing much-needed relief to regions in California
affected by drought, federal weather officials said Thursday. The
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said there
is now a 90% chance…
http://time.com/3952081/el-nino-california-drought-noaa/ 

DIESEL ACTIVITIES

Officials look to reduce diesel emissions at Mobile port. The
Alabama State Port Authority is partnering with the Alabama
Department of Environmental Management to reduce emissions from
four diesel locomotives at the Port of Mobile. Officials said
Thursday that automatic shut-down and starting systems that have
been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will be
installed on several locomotives… 
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jul/9/officials-look-to-reduce-diesel-emissions-at-mobil/#ixzz3fRNfKyMZ


This 100 Percent Electric Eighteen-Wheeler Just Hit The Road In
Germany. n Tuesday, an all-electric tractor-trailer hit the road
in Munich, Germany — the first time such a large electric vehicle
made by a European manufacturer has gone into regular service in
Europe, according to BMW, the company behind the project. The
40-ton truck has a range of about 62 miles per charge, which
takes three or four hours.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/07/09/3678546/all-electric-big-rig-truck-hits-the-road-in-germany/
http://ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=38808  

FUELS

Is fracking harmful? New California study says more data is
needed.  An independent scientific study of hydraulic fracturing
in California called Thursday on state and federal agencies to
determine what chemicals are used in the oil well-stimulation
technique and how they might affect the environment and human
health.
http://www.dailybreeze.com/environment-and-nature/20150709/is-fracking-harmful-new-california-study-says-more-data-is-needed

Businesses fight bill to allow public access to commercial water,
energy usage. The drought has raised calls among newspapers and
environmental groups to access data on the state’s biggest
commercial water users. Anyone could look up the water and energy
usage of a private business under legislation that is now pending
before a Senate judiciary committee.
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2015/07/10/businesses-fight-bill-to-allow-public-access-to.html


Shell may drop the word 'oil' from its U.S. operations. Royal
Dutch Shell’s U.S. unit is considering dropping the word “oil”
from its name. The company’s director of upstream Americas
business, Marvin Odum, told the Toronto Global Forum on Thursday
that the name Shell Oil CO. is “a little old-fashioned, I’d say,
and at one point we’ll probably do something about that,”
Bloomberg reports.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/247510-shell-may-drop-the-world-oil-from-its-us-operations


$18 Million Algae Biofuel Blast From US Energy Department. Tesla
or no Tesla, the US Department of Energy is determined to stake
out a place for liquid fuel in the sustainable personal transport
world of the future, and to that end the agency is placing an $18
million bet on six new algae biofuel projects. The ultimate aim
is to bring the cost of algae down to a cost of $3 compared to
gasoline by 2030.
https://cleantechnica.com/2015/07/10/18-million-algae-biofuel-blast-us-energy-department/


Unknowns about chemical, water impacts put Calif. at risk –
study. Numerous unanswered questions exist about the effect of
unconventional oil drilling in California, including the toxicity
of chemicals used and whether fluids disposed in pits threaten
groundwater, a long-awaited study of hydraulic fracturing said
yesterday.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2015/07/10/stories/1060021584 

VEHICLES

Diesel VW sets fuel-economy record. Automotive journalist Wayne
Gerdes and electronics engineer Bob Winger set a Guinness World
Record this week for lowest fuel consumption in a non-hybrid car
during their 48-state drive in Volkswagen’s diesel-powered Golf
TDI. The Golf produced 81.17 mpg, beating the previous non-hybrid
record of 77.99 mpg. The Golf also topped the hybrid vehicle
record of 74.34 mpg.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/fuel-670992-hydrogen-car.html

Could getting rid of human drivers reduce vehicle emissions by 90
percent? Would replacing human-driven cars with self-driving
vehicles nearly eliminate greenhouse gas emissions? A study
reports replacing private cars with self-driving electric taxis
could reduce emissions by 90 percent. The most straightforward
way to reduce automotive emissions is probably to just get rid of
cars.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/In-Gear/2015/0709/Could-getting-rid-of-human-drivers-reduce-vehicle-emissions-by-90-percent

http://www.modernreaders.com/are-self-driving-cabs-the-key-to-reducing-emissions-from-vehicles/28019/lorenzo-tanos


US: new rebates for electric cars in California target the poor &
the rich. New rebates in the US Californian state address
consumers with low incomes giving them more buying opportunity
and eliminate rebates for the more financially endowed locals. A
massive $373 million in grants has been approved by the
California Air Resources Board (CARB) to support
alternative-fueled cars…
http://www.inautonews.com/us-new-rebates-for-electric-cars-in-california-target-the-poor-the-rich


China Built 25,000 Electric Cars & Plug-In Hybrids In June Alone.
The Chinese vehicle market is now the world's largest, and has
been for a few years now. And the country's government-industrial
complex has ambitious plans to dominate global production of
plug-in electric vehicles, both for reasons of competitiveness
and as one effort to start to reduce…
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1099081_china-built-25000-electric-cars-hybrids-in-june-alone-this-year


Russian Plutocrats Crave Tesla Model S; Electric Carmaker
Resists. Tesla Motors is working to establish its presence in
many markets outside the United States, but there's one country
the electric-car maker hasn't explored so far. The company's
products aren't officially sold in Russia, even though there is
apparently quite a bit of demand.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1099073_russian-plutocrats-crave-tesla-model-s-electric-carmaker-resists


GREEN ENERGY

Big Oil Worth $100 Billion for Solar After Biggest Plant Ordered.
Solar energy developers may be able to earn $100 billion or more
by selling equipment to the oil industry for extracting heavy
grades of crude, the head of the company that is developing the
world’s biggest solar heat plant said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-10/big-oil-worth-100-billion-for-solar-after-biggest-plant-ordered


Renewable Energy Generation Wins Planning Consent for U.K. Wind.
Renewable Energy Generation Ltd., a British low-carbon asset
developer, was granted permission to build a wind farm after the
U.K. government said it plans to scrap subsidies to the
technology. The company gained planning consent to build an
8-megawatt facility in Wales, it said Friday in an e-mail.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-10/renewable-energy-generation-wins-planning-consent-for-u-k-wind


REFILE-Greek renewable power projects stalled by turmoil.
Ambitious Greek renewable power projects aimed at reducing the
country's dependence on energy imports from Russia will be on
hold for some time as the threat of exit from the euro prompts
investors and financiers to put the brakes on initiatives. Greece
has submitted proposals on economic reforms in a last-ditch
effort…
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/10/greece-energy-renewables-idUSL8N0ZQ22320150710?virtualBrandChannel=11563


Scottish energy minister blasts end to onshore wind subsidies as
‘anti-business’. The government's decision to end onshore wind
subsidies a year early has been slammed as "anti-business" by
Fergus Ewing, Scottish energy minister. Speaking after an onshore
wind summit in Glasgow yesterday, Ewing criticized the end of the
Renewables Obligation (RO) scheme…
http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2417153/scottish-energy-minister-blasts-end-to-onshore-wind-subsidies-as-anti-business


Facebook's new data center will run entirely on renewable energy.
Facebook will build its fifth data center in Fort Worth, Texas.
The second-most visited website in the world is building another
data center, this time in Fort Worth, Texas, Facebook announced
this week. This will be Facebook’s fifth data center, following
ones in Oregon, North Carolina, Iowa, and Sweden.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/2015/0710/Facebook-s-new-data-center-will-run-entirely-on-renewable-energy


As Obama heads to Africa, his signature energy program there
seeks firmer footing. Power Africa, the Obama administration's
effort to infuse billions of energy investment dollars across
sub-Saharan Africa, is entering its third year focused on
completing up to 30,000 megawatts of new generation projects
while adding 60 million new grid connections across the world's
least-electrified continent.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/07/10/stories/1060021561 

MISCELLANEOUS

First electric planes fly over English Channel. Airbus flew its
electric plane across the English Channel for the first time
Friday — hours after an independent French pilot made a similar
voyage, beating the aeronautics giant in this symbolically
important step toward making electronic flight viable in the long
term. Several companies in different countries are developing
electric planes…
http://www.sfgate.com/business/technology/article/First-electric-plane-flies-over-English-Channel-6376928.php


Modesto awarded $327K for its urban forest. Modesto’s urban
forest is about to get a lot greener. The California Department
of Forestry and Fire Protection has awarded the city nearly
$327,000 to plant 5,000 trees over the next couple of years and
to help the city’s nursery, which reopened this year after
closing in 2008 because of budget cuts.
http://www.modbee.com/news/article26930674.html#storylink=cpy 

OPINIONS

U.S. gasoline cracks hit multi-year highs on strong fuel demand:
Kemp. 
Tremendous demand for gasoline in the United States has pushed
refining margins for motor fuel to the highest seasonal level in
a decade. U.S. refiners currently earn a gross margin before
costs and taxes of 65 cents per gallon for turning Brent into
gasoline and 77 cents for processing WTI
(link.reuters.com/xek25w).
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/10/us-usa-refining-kemp-idUSKCN0PK14L20150710


Editorial GOP water bill in Congress should be rejected. The
latest version of a bill by House Republicans to override
California's management of its water system and undermine
environmental protections — in the name of emergency drought
relief and food security — is longer and more detailed than the
ones that preceded it, but much the same in its substance…
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-water-bills-20150710-story.html


Stop the oil train project. Dear Editor, 350 Silicon Valley is
organizing a rally to Stop the Phillips 66 Oil Train project that
would bring daily mile-long trains loaded with dangerous tar
sands crude through San Jose to their refinery in Nipomo, in San
Luis Obispo County. The rally is part of a nationwide week of
action to mark the two-year anniversary of the oil train
explosion which killed 47 people in Lac Megantic, Quebec.
http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_28460967/letters-july-20-milpitas-post


Trash plastic turf. Thank you to the Sjoberg family of Fresno for
their gray-water recycling efforts (article July 1). The benefits
of their positive approach contrast sharply with the negative
impacts of artificial turf. My concerns about widespread
installation of plastic lawns, such as those proposed by
Granville Homes, include disease, weeds and heat.
http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article26867188.html#storylink=cpy


The Pope and cap-and-trade. Pope Francis' Encyclical is out --
there's a lot to like in this document, some very deep truths.
But something is missing, too. Many climate scientists believe
that if the earth's surface temperatures are allowed to increase
more than 2 degrees C (3.6 deg. F) above preindustrial levels,
then unacceptable consequences (such as massive polar-cap melts…
http://www.contracostatimes.com/lafayette/ci_28459741/letters-walnut-creek-lamorinda-growth-walnut-creek-pope


Many chemicals on federal list of asphalt plant emissions.
Building a hot mix asphalt next to suburban homes in Rancho
Calaveras may benefit county tax revenues but what harm will it
cause to local people and wildlife? What environmental impact
reports have been submitted to the county and state and Federal
Environmental Protection Agency for the local public to review?
http://www.calaverasenterprise.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/article_d261d6ea-2693-11e5-ad63-a730f16f6af8.html


National Geographic Sea Level Rise Map. fact of sea level rise -
National Geographic News - Global sea level rise map - global
warming & climate, Global sea level rise map use the window in
the top left of the map frame to change the amount of sea level
rise.
http://levne-zajezdy.eu/images/Antarctica%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20Map


BLOGS

The Power and Potential of Improving Water Efficiency:
CaliforniaToilets. Debates about water in California, the western
U.S., and indeed, worldwide, have traditionally focused on the
question of how best to further expand water supply to meet some
hypothetical future increase in water demand. And the solution
frequently offered is to build massive new infrastructure in the
form of dams and reservoirs, drill more groundwater wells…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-h-gleick/the-power-and-potential-o_b_7766040.html


Oil & Gas Industry Mangles More Facts, Turns EDF Study Results
Upside Down.  A new set of peer-reviewed scientific papers
pointing to 50 percent higher than estimated regional methane
emissions from oil and gas operations in Texas were published
this week. And like clockwork, the oil and gas industry's public
relations machine, Energy In Depth…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-brownstein/oil--gas-industry-mangles_b_7770514.html


Coal Divestment Is Just the Beginning - Let's Not Forget About
Oil & Gas. The "end of coal" is no longer an activist pipe dream.
It's a reality that's gaining growing acceptance from High Street
to Wall Street as investors divest billions of dollars from this
dirtiest of fossil fuels. But the end of coal won't solve the
climate crisis.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charlie-wood/coal-divestment-is-just-t_b_7766310.html


Washington State wants to limit EV incentives for expensive cars.
Tesla Model S, BMW i3 Among Models That Will No Longer Qualify
For Perk. California has been making moves to eliminate plug-in
vehicle incentives for residents who are best equipped to foot
the bill for their new plug-in hybrids or electric vehicles. Now,
it looks like Washington State is doing the same. Is this a new
Pacific Coast thing?
http://www.autoblog.com/2015/07/10/washington-state-limit-ev-incentives-expensive-cars/


Caterpillar Helps to Protect 2,100 Acres of Coastal Wetlands in
California. Marked by the sweeping visuals of shorebirds and the
scurried nature of crabs on the sandy horizon, coastlines are
among the most dynamic environments on earth – continually shaped
and reshaped by waves, winds, tides and storms. These natural
ecosystems thrive amidst the constant change, and have even
developed the capacity to shape that change.
http://www.justmeans.com/article/caterpillar-helps-to-protect-2100-acres-of-coastal-wetlands-in-california#sthash.NLcunOZO.dpuf



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

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