What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for August 4, 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

Don’t Like Obama’s Clean-Power Plan? Fine, Here’s Cap and Trade.
Republican governors who boycott the Obama administration’s new
power-plant regulations may instead get an offer they can’t
refuse: a cap-and-trade system many of them also opposed. Five
years after Republicans in Congress shot down President Barack
Obama’s plan for carbon trading, Obama unveiled rules to combat
climate change.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-04/don-t-like-obama-s-clean-power-plan-fine-here-s-cap-and-trade

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/03/usa-climate-capandtrade-idUSL1N10E1TZ20150803?virtualBrandChannel=11563

http://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-climate-change-20150804-story.html

http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Obama-climate-plan-may-give-California-company-in-6422725.php
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/08/03/epa-clean-power-plan-calls-for-bigger-greenhouse-gas-reductions
 
http://www.nationaljournal.com/energy/obama-climate-carbon-tax-EPA-cap-and-trade-20150803?ref=t.co

http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/29125/20150804/new-york-attorney-general-praises-federal-power-plant-rules

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2015/08/8573285/obama-emissions-plan-has-roots-new-york-debate?top-featured-image


Obama Just Created a Carbon Cap-and-Trade Program. As the Obama
Administration honed its historic new climate rules affecting
power plants, it began thinking about electricity more broadly.
It was a shift in perspective that in the end may produce the
nation’s newest system for trading pollution. Instead of looking
solely at how each state could reduce pollution from its
electricity sector…
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/obama-just-created-a-carbon-cap-and-trade-program-19309


EPA proposes carbon trading to deal with reluctant states.
Republican governors who refuse to comply with President Obama's
new climate plan might find themselves facing a more detested
option: cap and trade. In addition to the Clean Power Plan
released yesterday, EPA also publicized a proposal revealing how
it will handle states that refuse to submit their own plans for
emission reductions from the power sector.
http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060022940 

AIR POLLUTION

How China's Economy Suffers When It Tries to Cut Pollution. While
China is boosting infrastructure spending, it is also keen to
make a good impression, even at an increasing economic cost.
Sometimes, Chinese policy making seems to tug the economy in
different directions. Take the past week. Premier Li Keqiang
paved the way for fresh spending to lay drainpipes across the
country's cities…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-03/china-s-policy-paradox-blue-skies-and-drain-pipes


Good day to play outside? Learn about air pollution to find out.
Changing behaviors can lead to fewer code red (or worse) days in
the D.C. area. Have you ever run around outside on a hot summer
day, and suddenly your lungs feel as though they’re burning? You
could be overly tired. Or your lungs may be reacting to
pollutants and chemicals in the air.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/good-day-to-play-outside-learn-about-air-pollution-to-find-out/2015/08/03/3708e168-30a5-11e5-97ae-30a30cca95d7_story.html


Breathe deep: Valley air quality has best July in two decades. 
July hasn’t been so nice since 1995 in the San Joaquin Valley.
We’re talking about dirty air, and the lack of it last month. For
21 days last month, the air did not exceed the eight-hour federal
health standard for ozone — a corrosive gas that attacks the
lungs, skin and eyes.
http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/earth-log/article29936400.html#storylink=cpy


UPDATE: Air quality advisories for Humboldt and Trinity counties.
Smoke levels in these area(s) have been classified as Unhealthy
and are creating a health hazard. Smoke is being generated by the
numerous fires of the Humboldt Lightning Complex, Mad River
Complex, Rail Fire, River Complex, Fork Complex, and Barker Fire.
Smoke will likely settle in nearby canyons, valleys, and basins…
http://www.times-standard.com/general-news/20150804/update-air-quality-advisories-for-humboldt-and-trinity-counties


CLIMATE CHANGE

California is ahead of the game as Obama releases Clean Power
Plan. President Obama's plan to cut carbon pollution from power
plants over the next 15 years will force states to address
climate change by pushing them to act more like California. The
Clean Power Plan announced Monday poses significant challenges
for states that rely on coal-fired power plants for much of their
electricity…
http://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-climate-change-20150804-story.html
 

City of San Diego Details Ambitious Climate Action Plan. The plan
could cut the city’s greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2035. A
more detailed look at the city of San Diego's ambitious climate
action plan was published Friday, including specific strategies
for how the city will work against climate change.
http://www.kpbs.org/news/2015/aug/04/san-diego-climate-action-plan-details-announced/


Brown administration applauds Obama emissions order. President
Barack Obama’s announcement of new regulations to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. power plants met Monday with
significant interest from much of the country, including from
Republicans who said they would challenge the measure in court.
In California? Little fuss besides an atta-boy from Gov. Jerry
Brown.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article29902360.html#storylink=cpy


Kevin de León brings climate change appeal to California Latinos.
With California’s environmental movement derided by critics as
elitist and overwhelmingly white, state Senate President Pro Tem
Kevin de León is working to broaden its appeal. Joined by
billionaire activist Tom Steyer, De León appeared on Univision
Los Angeles on Sunday to make the case to Spanish-speaking
audiences.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article29872852.html#storylink=cpy


Is US now a climate change leader? How Obama's new plan measures
up. The climate change plan announced by the Obama administration
Monday is not as aggressive as plans by some other countries. But
it suggests the US is serious about the issue and gives the
country new credibility in climate talks.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2015/0804/Is-US-now-a-climate-change-leader-How-Obama-s-new-plan-measures-up


CLIMATE CHANGE: California leads nation in greenhouse-gas policy.
 State’s landmark 2006 climate change law puts California ahead
of Obama’s carbon-emission cutting requirements. California
officials had little to worry about Monday, Aug. 3, when the
Obama administration released plans for tough greenhouse-gas cuts
for the nation’s power plants.
http://www.pe.com/articles/california-775799-state-percent.html

More Californians believe in global warming.  More than 60
percent of Californians — including a majority in every region of
the state, from the inland areas to the coast — say global
warming is already affecting California, a new poll from the
Public Policy Institute of California finds. But one group of
Californians is much less convinced: Republicans.
http://www.dailydemocrat.com/20150803/more-californians-believe-in-global-warming


FUELS

Oil Prices Tumble Again, Hurting Drillers But Helping Drivers.
Falling oil prices have put downward pressure on gasoline prices,
now averaging $2.65 a gallon — about 85 cents cheaper than a year
ago. Falling oil prices have put downward pressure on gasoline
prices, now averaging $2.65 a gallon — about 85 cents cheaper
than a year ago.
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/08/03/429059026/oil-prices-tumble-again-hurting-drillers-but-helping-drivers







Fact or Fiction?: Natural Gas Will Reduce Global Warming
Pollution. Has burning natural gas instead of coal helped the
U.S. economy decarbonize? It's complicated. Is natural gas enough
to combat climate change? A drop in U.S. carbon dioxide pollution
in recent years stems from burning natural gas instead of coal.
Or does it? Given that the U.S. bid to combat climate change…
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-natural-gas-will-reduce-global-warming-pollution/


VEHICLES

Electric Car-Sharing Opens for Low-Income Angelenos.  Electric
cars will soon be available to low-income residents of Los
Angeles through a new car-sharing project.
The California Air Resources Board has awarded a $1.6 million
grant to the City of Los Angeles and its community partners for a
pilot project that provides electric vehicle car-sharing options
in low-income communities.
http://ens-newswire.com/2015/08/02/electric-car-sharing-opens-for-low-income-angelenos/


Electric Car Ignorance Breeds Dislike, Says German Study.
Daimler, the parent of company of luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz,
recently completed a large-scale study of electric cars and
consumer attitudes toward them in its home country of Germany.
Called eMERGE, the program ran from May 2013 to June 2015, using
a fleet of 146 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive electric cars.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1099404_electric-car-ignorance-breeds-dislike-says-german-study


Tesla calls for stricter regulations to support electric
vehicles. Tesla believes that stricter emissions regulations will
be a benefit. Fuel economy targets in the United States could
become a major benefit for Tesla Motors. As the U.S. begins to
consider relaxing regulations concerning fuel economy, several
automakers are breathing a sigh of relief, but Tesla is pushing
for stricter regulations on the auto industry.
http://www.hydrogenfuelnews.com/tesla-calls-for-stricter-regulations-to-support-electric-vehicles/8522916/


OPINIONS

Climate-Change Putsch.  States should refuse to comply with
Obama’s lawless power rule. Rarely do American Presidents display
the raw willfulness that President Obama did Monday in rolling
out his plan to reorganize the economy in the name of climate
change. Without a vote in Congress or even much public debate,
Mr. Obama is using his last 18 months to dictate U.S. energy
choices for the next 20 or 30 years.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/climate-change-putsch-1438642218?mod=rss_opinion_main


Obama’s Flexible Fix to Climate Change. For many years, I used to
spend at least part of the summer in the gorgeous Laurentides
region of Quebec, an hour northwest of Montreal. By the
mid-1980s, with each return trip, I could see a growing
environmental threat to the area’s beauty: More and more trees
were dying. When I asked people what was happening, the answer
was simple: “pluie acide,” or acid rain…
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/04/opinion/joe-nocera-obamas-flexible-fix-to-climate-change.html?_r=0


Editorial Obama's Clean Energy Plan doesn't go far enough.  The
coal industry already has its legal claws honed for a court
battle over President Obama's Clean Energy Plan, which was
unveiled Monday, claiming that it will cost too much and render
people jobless. Certainly, in the short term at least, slowing
climate change by reducing carbon emissions won't be cheap and it
won't be easy. But the science shows: We don't have a choice.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-climate-change-obama-clean-energy-plan-20150804-story.html


 Carson Bruno: Australia can teach us about drought.  Just as
students across California are working through their required
summer reading lists, California's officials should add a piece
to theirs: "Water Markets in Australia: A Short History"
published by Australia's National Water Commission. Providing a
snapshot into how Australia's dysfunctional water trading system
evolved into an efficient one…
http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_28579516/carson-bruno-australia-can-teach-us-about-drought


Views You Can Use: A Climate Plan That Lasts? Obama wants to wean
America off coal, but Congress may stand in his way. President
Barack Obama unveiled a plan Monday to reduce carbon emissions
from power plants, calling it “the biggest, most important step
we’ve ever taken to combat climate change.” The Clean Power Plan
aims to reduce emissions by 32 percent, from 2005 levels by 2030.
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2015/08/04/pundits-react-to-obamas-climate-change-clean-power-plan


BLOGS

The Insiders: Obama’s latest global warming plan is about his
legacy, not policy. The latest iteration of the administration’s
Clean Power Plan isn’t really meant to impact the environment or
produce more energy. It is fair to say that it is just another
attempt by President Obama to make an ideological point. Only
Obama’s most committed apologists will herald this pseudo-plan as
a legitimate achievement.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2015/08/04/the-insiders-obamas-latest-global-warming-plan-is-about-his-legacy-not-policy/


Here's where over 90% of the extra heat from global warming is
going and the billions of dollars it's costing us. It's no
surprise that climate change is raising summer temperatures in
many parts of the globe, but what you might not know is where
most of that extra heat is going. Scientists estimate that as
much as 90% of it is heading straight into our oceans, and that
has major consequences not only for marine wildlife but for the
world's economy.
http://www.businessinsider.com/ocean-is-absorbing-heat-from-climate-change-2015-8#ixzz3hsJmTV6P



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