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UN CLIMATE TALKS

Kenya’s Council of Churches launches climate change campaign
ahead of Paris conference.
While calling for global carbon emissions cuts, Kenya’s National
Council of Churches has launched a multifaith campaign to lobby
governments, industries and multilateral agencies to agree on a
binding treaty at the UN climate change talks in Paris later this
year. A new protocol is expected to be adopted at the meeting,
known as COP21, to replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which is due
to expire. That protocol required that state signers reduce
greenhouse gas emissions, based on the premise that global
warming exists and human-made carbon dioxide emissions have
caused it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/kenyas-council-of-churches-launches-climate-change-campaign-ahead-of-paris-conference/2015/08/21/a66e94cc-483c-11e5-9f53-d1e3ddfd0cda_story.html


DIESEL ACTIVITIES

CARB Touts ‘Most Promising’ Technologies That Could Cut GHG
Output From Reefers.
Electric and hydrogen cell-powered transport refrigeration units
are the “most promising” technologies that can be used to reduce
reefer emissions over the next five to 10 years and beyond,
according to California environmental regulators....
http://www.ttnews.com/gateclient/premiumstorylogin.aspx?storyid=39242


DROUGHT

Jerry Brown says California’s groundwater management ‘not
aggressive enough’.
Gov. Jerry Brown said in an interview aired Sunday that
California is not aggressive enough policing use of the state’s
groundwater, promising stepped-up oversight in future years.
Brown’s remarks on NBC’s “Meet the Press” followed the release of
a study tying climate change to the worsening effects of
California’s drought.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article31965159.html


California drought may exacerbate wildlife-human encounters.
The scarcity of food in the wild has been blamed for unusual
animal activity during California's drought including a recent
bear attack, mountain lion sightings and an uptick in orphaned
animals. But the devastating four-year drought that's dried up
streams and vegetation isn't the sole cause, state officials and
experts say. Instead, they say the drought is exacerbating
long-term trends and natural animal behaviors in a state that is
becoming increasingly developed.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CALIFORNIA_DROUGHT_WILDLIFE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


FUELS

RFS’ biofuel requirements saved 589.3M tons of carbon emissions
over past decade.
Over its 10-year lifespan, the Renewable Fuel Standard’s (RFS’)
requirement to substitute biofuels for fossil fuels has displaced
nearly 1.9 billion barrels of foreign oil and reduced US
transportation-related carbon emissions by 589.33 million metric
tons, according to a new analysis released by the Biotechnology
Industry Organization (BIO).
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/08/20150824-bio.html 

Southern California gas prices drop for 35th time in 38 days.
The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in
Los Angeles County dropped today for the 35th time in 38 days,
decreasing 1.8 cents to $3.706. The average price has dropped
59.6 cents over the past 38 days, including 2.8 cents on
Saturday, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price
Information Service.
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/business/20150823/southern-california-gas-prices-drop-for-35th-time-in-38-days


Gasoline Falls to $2.7073 a Gallon in Lundberg Survey.
The average price for regular gasoline at U.S. pumps fell 0.35
cent in the past two weeks to $2.7073 a gallon, according to
Lundberg Survey Inc. The survey covers the period ended Aug. 21
and is based on information obtained from about 2,500 filling
stations by the Camarillo, California-based company.
http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=39248 

VEHICLES

California limits hybrid rebates to households earning less than
$500,000.
Hundreds of Californians with household incomes of $500,000 or
more have collected state subsidies for buying electric and
hybrid cars under a program that is criticized as a taxpayer
handout to the wealthy. State regulators, in response, are
restricting the subsidies to Californians who earn less than
$250,000 or couples taking in less than $500,000. But that
standard is also under fire from some lawmakers and anti-tax
activists, who ask why subsidies worth up to $5,000 are given to
people who can already afford the cars.
http://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-pol-electric-cars-20150824-story.html


California Shoots for 1.5 Million ZEVs by 2025.
Sacramento and Amsterdam may be 5,374 miles apart as Boeing
flies, but they’ve been collaborating on climate, energy, and
sustainable transportation since 2013, most recently in the
zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) movement. The Netherlands claims to
have 5 percent of those vehicles sold worldwide, and California
holds one of every six. The rest might be in Québec, which joined
the alliance this month to accelerate the global adoption of
electric-drive vehicles. 
http://www.independent.com/news/2015/aug/23/california-shoots-15-million-zevs-2025/


Hyundai To Launch All-Electric 'Prius Fighter' Model In 2016:
Tip.
Hyundai's ambitious plans to offer more green cars than any other
maker except Toyota may have tilted slightly toward electric
cars. At least, that is, if a tip from a source close to the
company is to be believed. According to the report, Hyundai has
decided that it will offer an all-electric "AE" version of its
forthcoming dedicated "Prius fighter," a high-tailed and
aerodynamically efficient hatchback, before the end of next
year.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1099702_hyundai-to-launch-all-electric-prius-fighter-model-in-2016-tip


GREEN ENERGY

President Obama Announces New Actions to Bring Renewable Energy
and Energy Efficiency to Households across the Country.
President Obama is committed to taking responsible steps to
address climate change, promote clean energy and energy
efficiency, drive innovation, and ensure a cleaner, more stable
environment for future generations. That is why at Senator Reid’s
National Clean Energy Summit later today, he is announcing a
robust set of executive actions and private sector commitments to
accelerate America’s transition to cleaner sources of energy and
ways to cut energy waste.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/08/24/fact-sheet-president-obama-announces-new-actions-bring-renewable-energy


Related articles:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBAMA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-NTL9BP6JIJV301-1VB0APRI6RE30J68I8SG1OJHK7

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/obama-renewable-energy_55db2bade4b04ae49703a7b7?kvcommref=mostpopular


California pushes forward on renewable power.
At a Pacific Gas and Electric power plant east of San Francisco,
greenhouse gases flow from a stack as the air shimmers from heat,
with no dirty cloud of pollution in sight. In the distance, wind
turbines spin slowly under a cloudy sky. And nearby in the city
of Antioch, local schools are celebrating the addition of solar
panels to their roofs and parking structures. “If you look
around, it’s really clean,” said Ben Stanley, PG&E’s plant
manager, as he showed how the gas facility makes electricity for
northern California.
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/business/20150823/california-pushes-forward-on-renewable-power


Related articles:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/-335158-ocprint--.html 
http://grist.org/climate-energy/california-looks-to-boost-clean-energy-with-ambitious-new-climate-bill/


Measuring wind energy’s effectiveness and growth.
The Aug. 11 Economy & Business article “Wind-generated energy
advancing at rapid rate” left out important information. I wish
it had included the total cost of wind power before the wind
production tax credit is applied. The article also should have
cited the second- and third-biggest types of new
electricity-generating capacity. The article said, “it’s
important to note that costs would not be so low without the wind
production tax credit, or PTC.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/measuring-wind-energys-effectiveness-and-growth/2015/08/21/3d08522c-45d3-11e5-9f53-d1e3ddfd0cda_story.html


MISCELLANEOUS

Want to keep your lawn from going brown? Try Soil2O.  
Many Southern California lawns are going brown as cities
implement stiffer water restrictions amid the state’s ongoing
drought. But before you rip out your grass and replace it with
drought-tolerant plants, a Jupiter, Fla.-based company says, “not
so fast.”
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/general-news/20150822/want-to-keep-your-lawn-from-going-brown-try-soil2o


OPINIONS

When firefighters speak out on climate change, we ought to listen
up.
Climate change is worsening the fires that ravage many parts of
America each year. Grime-streaked firefighters battling one of
the 167 active wildfires currently scorching portions of the US
west will tell you as much. What they have encountered on the
firelines in the past few years is evidence that everything has
changed as a result of global warming.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/24/firefighters-climate-change-drought


Can California meet its ambitious greenhouse gas goals?
When President Obama announced his controversial and ambitious
Clean Power Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power
plants, Californians gave a collective yawn. The president's goal
of generating 28% of the nation's electricity from renewable
resources by 2030 paled next to California's push, which began
nearly a decade ago, to fuel 33% of its electrical needs with
solar, wind and other renewables by 2020.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-climate-change-20150823-story.html




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