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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for August 7, 2015.

Posted: 07 Aug 2015 12:02:14
ARB Newsclips for August 7, 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.

AIR POLLUTION

ClearSign wins contract for emission-curbing system from Tesoro.
ClearSign Combustion Corp (CLIR.O), a small company whose
technology helps refiners cut nitrogen oxide emissions, has
signed a deal with Tesoro Corp (TSO.N) to retrofit a Los Angeles
refinery heater with a combustion control system. The refinery,
which supplies 50 percent of the jet fuel used by Los Angeles
International Airport, is aiming to halve nitrogen oxide
emissions by 2020…
http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/08/07/uk-clearsign-tesoro-contract-idINKCN0QC1FG20150807


China Gets a Little More Fresh Air. Idled factories, less coal
use, and lower emissions make breathing easier. On a Tuesday
afternoon in late July, a newlywed couple prepared to pose for
their wedding portraits in front of Beijing’s historic Drum
Tower. Lily Chen, 28, in a sparkling white gown and tiara,
checked her makeup in a mirror—and then looked up the Air Quality
Index (AQI) on her smartphone.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-06/pollution-china-gets-a-little-more-fresh-air


Fire, weather shift Red Bluff skies full of haze.  Skies were
full of haze throughout Thursday prompting the Tehama County Air
Pollution Control District to issue an air advisory announcing
the county had reached an unhealthy air quality range.  A
majority of Thursday saw the county sitting at unhealthy
conditions for all groups and a caution that everyone should
limit outdoor exposure.
http://www.redbluffdailynews.com/general-news/20150807/fire-weather-shift-red-bluff-skies-full-of-haze


San Joaquin Valley enjoys best July air quality in decades. The
San Joaquin Valley had three weeks of healthy air in July for the
first time in 20 years. The Fresno Bee reports that for 21 days
last month, the air didn't exceed the eight-hour federal health
standard for ozone — a harmful gas that attacks the lungs, skin
and eyes. The Valley averages only five or six good air days a
month.
http://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/San-Joaquin-Valley-enjoys-best-July-air-quality-in-decades-320966541.html


CLIMATE CHANGE

Green California Just Won the Climate Fight, Now Comes the Pain. 
Here’s some irony for you. California, the world’s pioneer of
climate change policy, may actually lose out on some clean power
thanks to President Obama’s federal limits on carbon pollution.
The Golden State built its push for fewer climate-warming
emissions on a hefty dose of clean power from nearby states. So
what happens if states decide to keep that energy for themselves
to meet their own needs under Obama’s Clean Power Plan?
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-06/green-california-just-won-the-climate-fight-now-comes-the-pain


Matterhorn glacier reveals remains of Japanese climbers missing
for 45 years. One night in August 1970, two young Japanese
climbers set up a tent in the Swiss Alps. They wanted to rest up
for the next day’s ascent up a 9,200-foot glacier at the base of
the 14,692-foot Matterhorn mountain when a sudden snowstorm took
them by surprise, police told Reuters. The climbers vanished and,
for decades it seems, were entombed in ice.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/08/07/matterhorn-glacier-reveals-remains-from-long-lost-japanese-climbers-missing-45-years/


Gov. Brown highlights climate change risks at site of Rocky fire.
In his quest to force tougher action on climate change, Gov.
Jerry Brown has traveled to China, Mexico, Canada, even the
Vatican. But he was much closer to home on Thursday, just a
couple dozen miles from the ranch his family has owned for
generations. Standing in front of scorched hills, the smell of
smoke lingering in the air…
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-rocky-fire-brown-20150807-story.html


Jerry Brown says 'California is burning' and climate change is to
blame. The devastating Rocky Fire in Lake County is showing signs
that the imminent danger is diminishing, but the state faces an
even bigger threat, Gov. Jerry Brown warned on Thursday. Brown
traveled to the scorched hillside at Cowboy Camp, just off
fire-ravaged Highway 20…
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Jerry-Brown-says-California-is-burning-and-6429417.php

Carbon War Room's Peter Boyd on the 'entrepreneurial NGO'.  After
serving as launch director for the Richard Branson-backed climate
think tank Carbon War Room in 2009, Peter Boyd went on to serve
as the organization's chief operating officer until late 2014.
Around that time, Carbon War Room merged with the Rocky Mountain
Institute. Boyd, meanwhile, has a total of more than 15 years of
strategy…
http://www.greenbiz.com/article/carbon-war-rooms-peter-boyd-entrepreneurial-ngo


Silicon Valley Lab Fighting Global Warming With Cloud Brightening
Project. Some scientists in Silicon Valley may have to come up
with a way to combat climate change. Only on 5, Kiet Do shows us
how cloud brightening would work, if tests are successful.
(video)
http://www.msn.com/en-us/video/watch/silicon-valley-lab-fighting-global-warming-with-cloud-brightening-project/vp-BBlqLLT


Caribbean's largest oil and gas producer promises to slash GHGs.
The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean's largest
producer of oil and gas, pledged yesterday to ratchet down its
greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. In a formal submission to the
United Nations, the twin island country -- one of the wealthiest
in the region thanks to its large fossil fuel reserves -- said it
will curb carbon…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/08/07/stories/1060023146 

DOD study: Climate change is a security threat—now. There's a
standing joke among military meteorologists and Navy
oceanographers: Soldiers, sailors and airmen often say they are
not interested in climate, but they care a lot about the weather.
That attitude is slowly changing among senior leaders, based on
the conclusions of a Pentagon report to Congress on the national
security implications of climate change.
http://defensesystems.com/articles/2015/08/07/dod-climate-change-threat-report.aspx
DROUGHT

Making Water More Liquid. When water is scarce, letting people
trade it gets the precious resource to where it’s needed most.
The water wells in the rich farmland of California’s Central
Valley keep getting deeper, and the pumps keep getting more
powerful. Farmers have agreed to reduce their usage of surface
water, but nothing stops them from looking for water beneath
their properties. So, in the fourth year of a devastating
drought, down they go…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-06/to-ease-california-s-drought-make-water-easier-to-trade


Judge halts release of names of DWP customers who got grants to
replace lawns.  Heeding the call to conserve water, tens of
thousands of Southern California residents and businesses
replaced their lawns with drought-tolerant landscaping with the
help of $340 million in grants from the Metropolitan Water
District. Government officials have praised those who got rid of
their grass.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-turf-personal-data-20150807-story.html


Treasures revealed as California drought drains lakes. The
Lakeview Motel's name is false advertising these dry days. The
same thing is true for the Paradise Cove Lodge down California
178. That's because the water level in man-made Lake Isabella has
dropped about 59 feet since the last big wet year in 2011. There
are 32,632 acre-feet of water in the lake -- 5.8 % of the lake's
capacity...
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-0806-drought-submerged-20150806-story.html#page=1


Water use continues to drop in Napa.  A sign on Oak Circle in
Yountville warns of watering restrictions. Napa has reported a
second consecutive month reaching conservation targets set by the
state during California’s drought.  The city reduced its July
consumption by about 29 percent from the same month in 2013… 
http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/water-use-continues-to-drop-in-napa/article_c87dc107-f3c1-5fda-ab6e-7239b0b06736.html


FUELS

Why Native Alaskans Support Shell's Arctic Drilling. Activists
trying to stop Shell's offshore oil drilling in the U.S.'s Arctic
Ocean region invoke the interests of native Alaskans. "These
communities depend on this environment for food and resources and
have stewarded it for centuries," Greenpeace says, as part of its
"The People vs. Shell" campaign—what the group describes as
possibly "the most important fight in…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-06/why-native-alaskans-support-shell-s-arctic-drilling


King Coal, Long Besieged, Is Deposed by the Market. In April
2005, President George W. Bush hailed “clean coal” as a key to
“greater energy independence,” pledging $2 billion in research
funds that promised a new golden age for America’s most abundant
energy resource. But a decade later, the United States coal
industry is reeling as never before in its history…
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/07/business/energy-environment/coal-industry-wobbles-as-market-forces-slug-away.html?_r=1


Record prices, profits for gasoline in July.  As gas prices
slowly drop across the region, California motorists can breathe a
sigh of relief after spending $1.2 billion more on gas than the
rest of the nation in July, while refineries brought in record
profits, according to Consumer Watchdog. The group, a nonprofit
that advocates on behalf of consumer interests, said California
drivers spent $201 more…
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/prices-332705-ocprint-profits-year.html


VEHICLES

2016 Chevrolet Volt to offer more range than predecessor.
Chevrolet's plug-in hybrid sedan, the Volt, will be getting an
upgrade for 2016. The Volt's new, second-generation Voltec
powertrain will give the Volt a pure EV range of 53 miles, nearly
a 40 percent improvement over the first-generation Volt, which
offered a 38-mile range. Charged in full, the Volt will travel up
to 53 miles gas-free…
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/volt-332743-ocprint-car-model.html


2016 Volkswagen e-Golf SE: $30K Price For New Electric Car
Version. The 2016 Volkswagen e-Golf electric car's base price
will drop by some $4,500 compared to the 2015 model, thanks to
the addition of a new entry-level model. The VW e-Golf SE will
start at $29,815 including destination, before any Federal,
state, or local incentives.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1099471_2016-volkswagen-e-golf-se-30k-price-for-new-electric-car-version


GREEN ENERGY

Infant U.S. wave-to-energy industry looks to build more testing
facilities. In the wave energy world, progress means having
"steel in the water." Now that gadgets are graduating from mere
prototypes to pre-commercial machines, their engineers must find
the best places to try them out in the open ocean. "You can learn
a lot in the lab, but in order to prove commercial viability, you
need to prove ocean viability…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/08/07/stories/1060023142

USDA offers $63M to boost renewables, efficiency. The Agriculture
Department has set aside $63 million in loans and grants for
renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. USDA will help
fund 264 projects through the Rural Energy for America Program
(REAP). The department estimates the projects will generate or
save 207.8 million kilowatt-hours of electricity.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/08/07/stories/1060023171 
 
OPINIONS

Electric Cars as a Source of Capital.  Electric cars, at least,
can be capital goods even when not being driven. Vehicle-to-grid
(V2G) technology can turn the big battery in a Tesla, Volt, or
other electric car into a power plant. The Aug. 3 Notable &
Quotable about Uber increasing capital-stock formation is an
intriguing notion and, I’m sure, correct as far as it goes.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/electric-cars-as-a-source-of-capital-1438892675


Tesla Has to Start Acting Like a Car Company. The relationship
between Wall Street and the auto industry has always been
contentious, with automakers balancing their huge capital needs
and long-term business model against investors' relentless focus
on short-term returns. Tesla has turned this struggle on its head
in its short time as a public company…
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-08-06/tesla-has-to-start-acting-like-a-car-company


COMMENTARY: Electric vehicles on verge of disruption. Back in
1898, New York City hosted a global environmental summit.
Flummoxed, the assembled experts disbanded early without agreeing
on workable solutions. What daunting crisis brought about this
precursor of today's big UN climate conferences?  Fast-growing
cities were propelling travel via horse-drawn buggies…
http://paloverdevalleytimes.com/main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=807&ArticleID=21720


BLOGS

The reality of global warming: We’re all frogs in a pot of slowly
boiling water. In 2009, global leaders agreed to try not to let
the world warm more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial
times. This is sometimes seen as a rule of thumb for keeping on
the right side of climate change, within “safe” territory. But
that’s not at all how scientists meant it…
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2015/08/07/before-the-century-ends-it-may-be-too-hot-for-people-to-work-outside/


NOAA as certain as it gets about a quiet Atlantic hurricane
season. Don’t expect a lot of hurricanes late this summer and
fall, but don’t let your guard down. That’s the screaming message
of the updated Atlantic hurricane forecast released today by the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA’s
Climate Prediction Center now says there is a 90 percent chance…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2015/08/06/noaa-as-certain-as-it-gets-about-a-quiet-atlantic-hurricane-season/


State legislators support climate action at NCSL's Seattle
conference. Legislators from states all over America gathered in
Seattle this week, and climate change was at the top of the
agenda. The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), the
largest non-partisan organization supporting state legislators,
hosted the four day summit to explore the wide variety of issues
that confront states.
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/ahaq/state_legislators_support_clim.html


Cars could be more efficient if 95 octane is the new 'regular'.
The Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Transportation
and Air Quality is starting to think that raising the octane
level that's considered to be regular gas could go a long way
toward making modern, downsized engines even more efficient.
95-octane gas could be possible, but the investigation into the
issue is still getting underway.
http://www.autoblog.com/2015/08/07/95-octane-cars-more-efficient-report/


Tesoro settles pollution suit from California regulators for $4
million. Texas-based oil manufacturer Tesoro Corp. has agreed to
pay $4 million to settle a lawsuit claiming the company spewed
smog- and ozone-producing pollutants at its refinery in Martinez.
Bay Area air quality regulators announced the deal Wednesday
after an eight-year investigation found that refinery workers
disposed…
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2015/08/06/tesoro-settles-pollution-suit-from-california-regulators-for-4-million/




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

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