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ARB Newsclips for November 5, 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

Calif. proves that its cap-and-trade program works, with one
hiccup. California's cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases
finished accounting for its first two years of operations last
week, with nearly all businesses turning in allowances to cover
their emissions. The California Air Resources Board reported
yesterday that out of 290.7 million metric tons of carbon
dioxide…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/11/05/stories/1060027520 

AIR POLLUTION

National Parks Fail EPA Ozone Mandates. Tourists visit national
parks to get away from pollution, but 26 popular sites fail EPA
clean air standards. The EPA's newest ozone pollution threshold
has placed 26 national parks at non-compliant levels. But while
the rest of the nation's communities must spend billions
conforming to the new normal…
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/11/04/national-parks-fail-epa-ozone-mandates


Los Angeles smog comparison riles Utah air quality agency. Utah
air quality regulators are firing back at the Sierra Club after
an online blog by its national director said visibility at two of
the state's national parks is akin to 1970 Los Angeles. The
Sierra Club's Michael Brune wrote in the Huffington Post last
month that Utah's high desert national parks are "plagued by
smog,"…
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865640689/LA-smog-comparison-riles-Utah-air-quality-agency.html


India: Severe warning issued for pollution levels in Delhi as
temperatures start dropping. he deadly smog that covers the
world's most polluted city, New Delhi, during the winter months
is back, only much sooner bumping up the polluted air quality
level to "severe". Pollution levels in the city are expected to
be at its peak on 5 November, according to a forecast.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/india-severe-warning-issued-pollution-levels-delhi-temperatures-start-dropping-1527329


ASARCO to Pay $163.5M, Cut Toxic Emissions.  ASARCO has agreed to
a settlement with the EPA and US Department of Justice that
requires the company to spend $150 million to install new
equipment and pollution control technology to reduce emissions of
toxic heavy metals at a large copper smelter in Hayden, Arizona.
The company will also fund local environmental projects valued at
$8 million…
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2015/11/05/asarco-to-pay-163-5m-cut-toxic-emissions/#ixzz3qe4MwM4X


CLIMATE CHANGE

Saudi pilot carbon storage project may boost recovery rates at
giant oilfield. Saudi Arabia's first carbon capture and storage
pilot project, located at its Ghawar oilfield, may boost oil
recovery rates by 20 percentage points, oil minister Ali al-Naimi
said. Carbon storage schemes are being promoted around the world
as a way to slow global warming by preventing the release of
carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/05/saudi-carboncapture-idUSL8N13025Z20151105#CtbM7KgiVtODkBPb.99


Why a Paris climate agreement could actually be very good for the
U.S. With the 2015 UN climate conference looming less than a
month away, there’s a strong economic reason for the United
States to support a strong international agreement to curb carbon
emissions, says a new report: There are trillions of dollars to
be gained at home from other countries’ climate mitigation
efforts.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/11/05/why-a-paris-climate-agreement-could-actually-be-very-good-for-the-u-s/


Scientists Study Links Between Climate Change and Extreme
Weather. Did climate change cause that heat wave? That hurricane?
That drought? A new collection of studies examined extreme
weather events last year, including drought, floods and storms,
to look for signs that climate change was a cause or contributor.
The papers are part of a broader effort to recognize the effects
of climate change…
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/06/science/climate-change-extreme-weather-global-warming.html?_r=0


California revs up for Paris climate-change summit. In the wonky
world of climate change, California’s presence at the United
Nations summit in Paris next month is expected to be a
star-studded affair. There will be an actual movie star, former
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who jump-started some of the state’s
most ambitious efforts to slow global warming.
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-california-paris-climate-change-delegation-20151104-story.html


Berkeley assesses greenhouse emission reduction efforts. The city
reduced greenhouse gas emissions 9 percent between 2000 and 2013,
but that's not enough, Chief Resilience Officer Timothy Burroughs
told the City Council at a Nov. 3 work session on Berkeley's
Climate Action Plan. Berkeley won't meet its goal of cutting
emissions 33 percent below the 2000 level by 2020…
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_29071549/berkeley-assesses-greenhouse-emission-reduction-efforts


Scientists warned the US president about global warming 50 years
ago today. On 5 November 1965 climate scientists summarized the
risks associated with rising carbon pollution in a report for
Lyndon Baines Johnson. Fifty years ago today, as the American
Association for the Advancement of Science highlighted, US
president Lyndon Johnson’s science advisory committee sent him a
report entitled Restoring the Quality of Our Environment.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2015/nov/05/scientists-warned-the-president-about-global-warming-50-years-ago-today

BP: ‘Modest’ Carbon Price Would Make Carbon Capture Economical.
BP says a “modest” price on carbon would make some types of
renewable energy competitive with gas-fired power and would make
carbon capture technology economical, according to the oil
giant’s Technology Outlook. In the annual report, BP says the
power sector offers the greatest scope for reducing carbon
emissions. In the power sector…
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2015/11/04/bp-modest-carbon-price-would-make-carbon-capture-economical/#ixzz3qdyv5Gsa


Extreme Heat Is Defining Climate Change. The lasting legacy of
climate change will be heat. The land, the oceans, all of it.
It’s the tie that binds and while the global average temperature
is the defining metric, the increasing incidence of heat waves
and longer lasting extreme heat is how the world will experience
it.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/extreme-heat-climate-change-19641?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+climatecentral%2FdjOO+Climate+Central+-+Full+Feed


Attribution Studies Hone in on Climate Change Signal. From
Hawaii’s flurry of hurricanes, to record high sea ice in
Antarctica, and a heat wave that cooked the Australian Open like
shrimp on a barbie, 2014 saw some wild weather. How much of that
was tied to climate change is what scientists around the world
tried to answer in the…
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/attribution-studies-hone-climate-signal-19640


Warming Is Increasing Wildfire Risks in California. Extreme
wildfire seasons have been afflicting drought-parched California
in recent years, and new computer modeling indicates that the
state will continue to become more susceptible to ruinous fires
as the world continues to warm. But the scientists behind an
ambitious new study, which combined historical fire records and
data with projections for a warming world…
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/climate-change-increases-wildfire-risks-in-california-19643


Scientists wary of new research showing more ice on frozen
continent.  A recent study published in the Journal of Glaciology
that found the Antarctic ice sheet is expanding because
accumulated snowfall is outpacing melting glaciers has drawn
sharp criticism from many climate scientists. While it does not
contradict the science on global warming, it has pried open a
long-standing debate…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/11/05/stories/1060027517 

Legal action supporting EPA climate rule reveals more discord in
states. Republican-led Florida is among the 26 states suing U.S.
EPA in an attempt to kill the Clean Power Plan, the Obama
administration's newly released rule aiming to slash the nation's
carbon emissions 32 percent by 2030. But that doesn't mean
everyone in Florida wants the climate rule to go away.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/11/05/stories/1060027491 

Climate deal would save the U.S. economy money – report. An
international agreement that spurs other countries to contain
greenhouse gas emissions would be a "windfall" for the United
States' economy, according to a new report by the Institute for
Policy Integrity. The think tank, housed at New York University's
School of Law, published a paper today contending that a strong
outcome at the…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/11/05/stories/1060027514 

DROUGHT

Heavy snows in Sierra Nevada raise hopes of relief from drought.
A day of heavy snow may have turned swaths of the Sierra Nevada
into a winter landscape, but it's too early to tell if it will
have a lasting effect on the winter snowpack, forecasters say.
The early November storm dumped more than a foot of snow over
Lake Tahoe, according to the National Weather Service…
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-1104-snow-20151104-story.html


McCarthy: Use high-speed rail funds to quench California’s
drought. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a persistent
critic of California’s high-speed rail program, said that the
funds for the project should be diverted to quench the state’s
severe drought. The California Republican made the proposal
Wednesday after the Los Angeles Times reported that the system’s
contractor pegged the cost of building…
http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article43045029.html#storylink=cpy


Rain Brings Some ‘Drought Relief’ To California, Nevada. The
storms that brought rain and snow to California and Nevada over
the past week brought slight improvement in the drought. But, the
U.S. Drought Monitor released November 5 says with four
consecutive years of drought, "this precipitation was just a
start to moisten the soils in the Sierra Nevada, thus no changes
were made in the Sierra."
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2015/11/05/rain-brings-some-drought-relief-to-california,-nevada/


DIESEL ACTIVITIES

Cheap diesel deals big setback to natural gas truck sales. Sales
of trucks powered by natural gas are sputtering and growth will
be far weaker this year than last as tumbling diesel prices
prevent drivers from switching over to the cleaner-burning fuel
even though it is cheaper than it has been in years. Sales of
medium and heavy duty natural gas trucks are expected to rise
less than 1 percent this year…
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/05/us-natgas-vehicles-idUSKCN0SU0GJ20151105#o515pv4kHe7DwUzA.99


FUELS

Pacific Ethanol sees 2015 U.S. ethanol exports up slightly.
Pacific Ethanol Inc sees total U.S. ethanol exports up slightly
this year at about 900 million gallons, due to strong demand from
Brazil and globally, said the company's chief Neil Koehler during
an investor earnings call on Thursday. "We see continued strength
and even growth in exports," Koehler said. Total U.S. exports
were about 850 million gallons in 2014.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/05/usa-pacificethanol-idUSL1N13029I20151105#qQXgmiuTvuLEpb1C.99


Supercritical biodiesel plant at ethanol refinery now
operational. Nearly two years after the project was announced,
the 5 MMgy supercritical biodiesel plant in Annawan, Illinois, is
operational. Designed and built by Jatrodiesel Inc., the
innovative facility is co-located with the 125 MMgy CHS-owned
Patriot Renewable Fuels ethanol plant, leveraging the existing
refinery’s infrastructure, steam, and distillers corn oil
byproduct for biodiesel feedstock.
http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/articles/585495/supercritical-biodiesel-plant-at-ethanol-refinery-now-operational


VEHICLES

Mysterious electric car start-up Faraday plans $1-billion
factory. Faraday Future, a mysterious electric car start-up
taking shape in Nissan’s former U.S. sales office in Gardena,
said it plans to sell its first vehicle in 2017 and is looking to
make a $1-billion investment in a factory. The company founded by
former Tesla Motors employees said Wednesday that it was eyeing
several locations, including California, Georgia...
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-faraday-auto-factory-plan-20151105-story.html


How A Folding Electric Vehicle Went From Car Of The Future To
'Obsolete' A few years ago, engineers at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology debuted a design, a decade in the making,
for a car that would transform urban transportation. They called
it the CityCar. It's a small, electric two-seat pod, with "robot
wheels." It looks like a futuristic Volkswagen Beetle.
http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2015/11/05/454693583/how-a-folding-electric-vehicle-went-from-car-of-the-future-to-obsolete


Oregon's Pitch To Electric-Car Industry: Come Test New Stuff
Here! New Stuff Here! When it comes to raw numbers of electric
cars sold, California leads. However, just to the north, the
small state of Oregon has long been a pioneer and a trendsetter
when it comes to electric mobility.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1100663_oregons-pitch-to-electric-car-industry-come-test-new-stuff-here


Are gasoline cars going extinct? Major carmakers may be ditching
gasoline and diesel powered vehicles sooner than we thought.
We’ve seen predictions of the death of the automotive industry
before; even the death of the car salesman, and, more recently,
the death of diesel. To be clear, the automobile isn’t going
anywhere – on form and function…
http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Energy-Voices/2015/1105/Are-gasoline-cars-going-extinct


Energy efficient cars, fridges seen aiding climate, GDP. Tougher
energy efficiency standards ranging from cars to fridges could
cut annual world greenhouse gas emissions by about a tenth by
2030 while also spurring economic growth, an international report
said on Thursday. The study, by the Global Commission on the
Economy and Climate, urged the Group of 20 to do more to improve
the energy use of vehicles…
http://www.businessinsider.com/r-energy-efficient-cars-fridges-seen-aiding-climate-gdp-2015-11


VW RECALL

VW luxury cars in Europe fitted with same devices as in U.S.
Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) luxury diesel cars in Europe are fitted
with the same software that American regulators say was used to
cheat emissions tests in the United States, the carmaker said on
Thursday. U.S. regulators said on Monday that about 10,000 VW
cars in the United States - including some Audi and Porsche
models… 
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/05/us-volkswagen-emissions-idUSKCN0SU2JI20151105


VW Carbon Cover-Up May Tarnish EU Image at Global Talks in Paris.
Volkswagen AG may have just driven a hole into the European
Union’s leadership aspirations for international talks next month
on a pact to fight climate change. The German company said on
Tuesday an internal probe showed carbon-dioxide emissions in
around 800,000 vehicles were understated, an irregularity it
estimated could cost 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion).
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-04/vw-carbon-cover-up-may-tarnish-eu-image-at-global-talks-in-paris


Problems caused by Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal expand.
The fallout from Volkswagen's emissions-cheating scandal
intensified Wednesday, as investors dumped the company's stock
and a credit rating firm downgraded its debt. European regulators
demanded that VW speed up its investigation into the cheating…
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-volkswagen-problems-expand-20151105-story.html


GREEN ENERGY

Covering the world in solar panels would alter climate – study.
What would happen if the world's cities and deserts were
blanketed in solar panels? The deserts of the U.S. Southwest
would get hotter, though most other deserts would get cooler, and
experience less rain. Cities would get a shade cooler, and
civilization could run entirely on the power of the sun.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2015/11/05/stories/1060027516 

MISCELLANEOUS

Gov. Jerry Brown had state workers research oil on family ranch.
Gov. Jerry Brown last year directed state oil and gas regulators
to research, map and report back on any mining and oil drilling
potential and history at the Brown family's private land in
Northern California. After a phone call from the governor and
follow-up requests from his aides, senior staffers in the state's
oil and gas regulatory agency…
http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-brown-state-research-oil-ranch-20151105-story.html


California delays opening of crab season amid toxic scare. The
California Fish and Game Commission voted Thursday to delay
opening of the crab-fishing season as officials scramble to deal
with a coastal algae bloom that’s left Dungeness crabs with a
potentially fatal toxin called domoic acid. Meeting by conference
call, the commission voted 3-0 to delay the recreational crabbing
season, which was supposed to begin Saturday.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article43186440.html#storylink=cpy


OPINIONS

California's Drought Demands Better Markets. California's cities
are adapting to the state's worst-in-a-century drought, hitting
aggressive targets for water reduction set by Governor Jerry
Brown in April. The bigger challenge is to change the behavior of
farmers, who consume 80 percent of the state's water and have so
far been spared the same magnitude of restrictions.
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-11-04/california-s-drought-demands-better-markets


Global warming is its own solution. The National Bureau of
Economic Research has concluded a study that indicates global
warming causes lower birth rates. We are saved. Lower birth rates
means less carbon pollution. Less carbon pollution means a halt
in global warming. Global warming is the solution for global
warming. Oh brother!!!
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article43058379.html#storylink=cp


Letter: Say ‘yes’ to Clean Power Plan.  As a mother and
grandmother, I am deeply concerned about air pollution and my
children and grandchild’s health. Air pollution can trigger
asthma attacks, interfere with lung development and increase
adverse birth outcomes. Air pollution can also change our climate
and trigger extreme weather events. To protect our families, we
must significantly reduce carbon pollution.
http://www.concordmonitor.com/opinion/19311742-95/letter-say-yes-to-clean-power-plan


Why has carbon capture and storage not taken off yet? For all of
the talk about green energy one fact still remains clear; fossil
fuels are going to continue to be used in enormous quantities for
decades to come. From China and India to the U.S. and Canada, the
world is flooded with growing markets looking for new sources of
fossil fuels and developed markets coming up with new ways to
extract those fossil fuels.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Energy-Voices/2015/1105/Why-has-carbon-capture-and-storage-not-taken-off-yet

BLOGS

The Insiders: Inconvenient numbers for the global warming crowd.
Some important numbers that will affect the global warming debate
came out in the media this week and they are worth reviewing. 
First — and most incredibly — the New York Times revealed that
the amount of coal China burns has been underreported by about 1
billion tons a year, and has been underreported for the last 15
years.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2015/11/04/the-insiders-inconvenient-numbers-for-the-global-warming-crowd/


OPEC proves fracking is no panacea. November marks the one-year
anniversary of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Country’s
(OPEC) decision to continue its excessive rate of production
despite spiraling oil prices on international markets. The result
was easily predicted by anyone with only a rudimentary
understanding of economics…
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-environment/259148-opec-proves-fracking-is-no-panacea


All eyes on China as climate summit approaches.  Ahead of the
historic climate meeting beginning later this month in Paris, all
eyes are on how China -- the world's largest carbon polluter --
will navigate global negotiations to cap carbon and help curb
catastrophic global warming. With new official data released this
week revealing that China is burning significantly more coal than
it had previously disclosed…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-groundtruth-project/all-eyes-on-china-as-clim_b_8480026.html


International Action On Climate Has Already Saved The U.S. $200
Billion. Critics of carbon-reduction efforts often rely on
rhetoric about how expensive regulations would be, but a new
report from economists at New York University found that
international efforts to reduce carbon have already benefited the
United States some $200 billion, and more reductions…
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/11/05/3719323/is-america-freeloading-on-international-carbon-reductions/


U.S. Electric Sector Expected To Hit Lowest CO2 Emissions In 20
Years. This will be the first time the industry emits fewer than
2 billion metric tons since 1995. The U.S. electric sector is
expected to hit its lowest carbon emissions since 1995 this year,
partly due to the widespread closure of coal-powered power plants
over the past five years, a Sierra Club report released Wednesday
found.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/coal-emissions-lowest-20-years_563a5fb1e4b0b24aee488d72





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