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CLIMATE CHANGE

White House enlists companies in climate push
The White House is enlisting corporate America to try to bolster
its push for an international climate change agreement. White
House officials say 81 companies have signed on to the American
Business Act on Climate pledge. That's an additional 68 companies
since the White House first unveiled the pledge in June.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_WHITE_HOUSE_CLIMATE_CHANGE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Other related articles:

http://time.com/4078217/walmart-mcdonalds-global-warming/?xid=homepage
http://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/PG-E-chief-meeting-with-Obama-joining-global-6576879.php
http://www.fresnobee.com/news/business/article40124088.html 
http://fortune.com/2015/10/19/white-house-climate-pledge/ 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/white-house-business-climate-change_56251c94e4b0bce3470179a5


Kerry: Climate change, food security key to global stability
The stability of the world is directly linked to climate change
and its impact on food security for billions of people, U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry said on Saturday. In a speech to
the Milan Expo, Kerry argued that unrest tied to climate
change-induced agricultural failure poses an international
threat. The Milan Expo is focused on food security, and Kerry
urged attendants to act quickly against climate change.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_UNITED_STATES_KERRY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Other related articles:
http://time.com/4077597/kerry-climate-speech/ 
http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFKCN0SB0PJ20151017 

Rich nations lag in 'fair share' of climate action - study
The United States and other rich nations are doing less than
their fair share to fight climate change under a U.N. accord due
in December while China is outperforming, a report by 18 civil
society groups said on Monday. Overall, governments' pledges for
curbs on greenhouse gas emissions are not enough to limit a rise
in temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit), seen as a
threshold for damaging heat waves, downpours and rising sea
levels, it said.
http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL8N12I0VN20151018


DROUGHT

Drought takes toll on 'agritourism' farms that once thrived on
Halloween crowds.
Bob Lombardi, 70, went ahead and planted two acres of baby bear
pumpkins in a corner of his shut-down ranch this year, just to
say he had farmed for 50 years. He hoed them every day by hand,
too, the way he and his wife, Joann, did in the beginning, when
they had youth, hope and water. All three are gone, and this may
be the end of Lombardi Ranch, a Santa Clarita landmark known for
its lavish Halloween pumpkin patch.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-pumpkins-drought-20151017-story.html


In the drought-parched Central Valley, a waiting game begins
The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. —
Book of Jeremiah, 8:20.  With October comes a waiting season.
Californians have more or less survived one more dry year — with
shower buckets and brown lawns, with ever deeper wells and
fallowed croplands; in short, with every trick known to those who
consume or manage water.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-san-joaquin-river-20151018-story.html

Drought Creates Fresh Produce Shortage At Central Valley Food
Banks
The four-year drought in California is beginning to squeeze food
banks. With less water for irrigation, farmers have planted fewer
row crops this year, and that's creating a shortage of fresh
produce at San Joaquin Valley food banks.
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2015/10/19/drought-creates-fresh-produce-shortage-at-central-valley-food-banks/


LA Times Says Climate Not to Blame for More Wildfires. They're
Wrong.
California Gov. Jerry Brown says climate change is responsible
for increased wildfire activity in the state. "It's a new normal.
California is burning." Needless to say, climate change isn't the
only culprit. Changing land use patterns are also at fault, as is
a century long habit of "fire exclusion," in which fires aren't
allowed to burn normally. This causes dry underbrush to build up,
producing huge amounts of tinder whenever a fire starts. Still,
climate plays a significant role too.
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2015/10/la-times-says-climate-not-blame-more-wildfires-theyre-wrong


DIESEL ACTIVITIES

Trailer Makers Say GHG Plan Exceeds EPA’s Legal Authority.
Trailer makers are troubled by the Phase 2 proposal on
greenhouse-gas emissions, with some asserting the agencies
involved exceeded their regulatory authority and others arguing
the mandates are overly aggressive and based on faulty
assumptions....
http://www.ttnews.com/gateclient/premiumstorylogin.aspx?storyid=39732


FUELS

Energy Commission Funding Supports Efficiency, Alternative Fuel
Projects
The California Energy Commission approved several grants,
contracts and loans that support projects that will help the
state meet its energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emission
reduction goals. A $2.7 million grant was awarded to the City of
Gardena's Gardena Municipal Bus Lines to conduct a
battery-electric repower bus demonstration, and a $2.6 million
grant was awarded to UC Riverside to demonstrate a community
scale energy generation system at the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe
Community Center in San Bernardino County. 
http://www.imperialvalleynews.com/index.php/news/california-news/5801-energy-commission-funding-supports-efficiency-alternative-fuel-projects.html


VEHICLES

New technology is keeping the air we breathe under an
unprecedented level of scrutiny.
Measure twice, cut once, they say. Unless you are trying to save
the planet.  In that case, measure and cut constantly. Rising
calls to create cleaner air and limit climate change are driving
a surge in new technology for measuring air emissions and other
pollutants — a data revolution that is opening new windows into
the micro-mechanics of environmental damage.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-sej-measuring-future-20151018-story.html


Hilton to expand electric vehicle charging program
Hilton Worldwide has announced plans to install electric vehicle
charging stations at 50 of its U.S. hotels by the end of the
year, with a goal of expanding to 100 hotels across the country,
and to properties internationally, by the end of 2016. The
program will cover all types of electric vehicles.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/hilton-345292-ocprint-year-mountain.html

Will Next Chinese Five-Year Plan Boost Electric Cars
Dramatically?
Over the past few years, the Chinese government has aggressively
promoted electric cars with incentives and preferential policies.
Those policies may finally be paying off, as multiple analyses
have shown a major increases in sales of electric cars and
plug-in hybrids in China this year. But China is still reportedly
falling behind previously-set sales targets, which may force the
government to take even more aggressive action.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1100507_will-next-chinese-five-year-plan-boost-electric-cars-dramatically


VW RECALL

Essential Part of the Volkswagen Diesel Repair Is the Owner
Even as Volkswagen embarks on the task of fixing the emissions
systems it disabled on almost 500,000 of its diesel vehicles in
the United States, the automaker faces another hurdle: persuading
owners to make the repair at all.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/19/business/the-owner-has-a-crucial-part-in-volkswagen-diesel-repair.html?ref=automobiles&_r=1


US models to be fixed in VW emissions cheating case.
Volkswagen has admitted that 11 million of its cars worldwide are
programmed to cheat on emissions tests, including 8.5 million
vehicles that will be recalled in Europe and another 482,000 cars
in the U.S. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says the
cars with 2-Liter four-cylinder diesel engines can still be
driven, even though they can spew ozone-causing nitrogen oxide at
10 to 40 times the legal limits. But affected models will need
changes to software and even hardware.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_VOLKSWAGEN_BUY_BACK_THE_CARS_GLANCE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

http://www.chicoer.com/business/20151019/us-models-to-be-fixed-in-vw-emissions-cheating-case

http://www.modbee.com/news/business/article40176339.html 

Lawsuits could force VW to buy back cheating diesels.
Volkswagen almost inevitably will have to compensate owners of
diesel cars equipped with emissions-rigging software. Some legal
experts say the automaker could be forced to buy back the cars
altogether. Many of the more than 200 lawsuits filed in the past
few weeks allege that for seven years VW marketed four-cylinder
diesel Golfs, Jettas, Beetles and Passats as clean alternatives
to gas engines, knowing all along that the cars were spewing
pollution that far exceeded legal limits.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_VOLKSWAGEN_BUY_BACK_THE_CARS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article40173642.html 

French police search VW offices in emissions probe
French authorities have searched the headquarters of Volkswagen
France as part of a local investigation into the emissions
testing scandal at the German automaker. Investigators from
France's environment and public health office conducted the
searches Friday at Volkswagen France's offices in
Villers-Cotterets, 52 miles north of Paris, and seized computer
equipment, the Paris prosecutor's office said Sunday.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_FRANCE_VOLKSWAGEN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Other related stories:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/18/us-volkswagen-emissions-france-idUSKCN0SC0SM20151018


GREEN ENERGY

Obama: Clean energy is good for business, not just
'tree-huggers'
The White House is enlisting Fortune 500 CEOs in its attempts to
reach a breakthrough agreement on climate change, announcing
agreements with 68 more companies committed to reducing their
greenhouse gasses ahead of international talks in Paris.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/10/19/more-companies-commit-obamas-climate-pledge/74211502/


From hearing aids to farming, solar energy powers climate
innovation.
Set against the might of climate change, can small measures like
solar-powered batteries or drip irrigation make a difference?
Innovations involving both are among 10 finalists in the 2015
Sustainia Award, an international competition for projects with a
potential to address the impact of climate change.
http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL8N12G3M320151019


Gary Griggs, Our Ocean Backyard: Countries makes strides with
renewable energy
After driving more than 5,000 miles along the coasts and through
four countries, we have had ample time to notice some differences
and similarities. We have also been paying frequently and
generously along the toll roads of Spain and Portugal and filling
up with gas at $1.10 to $1.30/liter, roughly $4.40 to
$5.20/gallon, a modest price to pay for what we have
experienced.
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/environment-and-nature/20151017/gary-griggs-our-ocean-backyard-countries-makes-strides-with-renewable-energy


MISCELLANEOUS

Clean air contest for Tulare County students
Students in grades kindergarten through 12 can enter artwork in
the Tulare County Association of Governments’ clean air contest.
The winner receives a free bicycle and helmet. The Walk & Roll
poster is intended to encourage students to show how they walk,
ride and roll to school in order to help clean the air in Tulare
County. Categories are kindergarten through grade one; grades two
and three; grades four and five; grades six to eight; and grades
nine to 12.
http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/education/article39628863.html


OPINIONS

There are some signs of change in our dealing with drought
OK, when it rains so hard that mud slides close down both main
highways out of the south end of the San Joaquin Valley, the
drought has to be over, right? Well, if you live around here, you
know the answer to that is no. Thursday was kind of weird that
way. North valley residents read and watched news accounts of mud
slides and flash floods, with Interstate 5 and Highway 58 through
Tehachapi covered by as much as 6 feet of mud. Then we walked
outside and looked around ... and there was nothing. No rain. No
flash floods. No mud slides.
http://www.chicoer.com/opinion/20151017/editorial-there-are-some-signs-of-change-in-our-dealing-with-drought


Climate doubt doesn't mean do nothing
As a self-described climate change “doubter,” columnist Joseph
Perkins expresses offense at the alternative label denier and
suggestions of validity in comparing climate change doubting with
denying the Holocaust or that smoking causes cancer. For
scientists like myself, this quibble over doubter vs. denier is
unimportant, akin to calling the tuber a “potato” or a
“po-TAH-to,” and bringing in the Holocaust and cigarette smoking
is an utter waste of emotional energy.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/climate-345261-ocprint-change-percent.html



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