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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for November 9, 2015.
Posted: 10 Nov 2015 09:51:05
ARB Newsclips for November 9, 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 Top EU court set for view on legality of free carbon permit rules. A top EU court adviser will on Thursday deliver an opinion on whether the European Commission's calculations to decide free carbon allowances are legal, in a case brought by refiners OMV, Esso Italiana and big chemical firms. Analysts say the case is unlikely to affect prices on the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS)… http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL8N12X4BY20151109 AIR POLLUTION Heavy smog shrouds northeastern China as winter begins. Air quality reached extremely hazardous levels in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang, as northern China began to burn coal to heat homes for winter. Real-time data released by the Shenyang Environmental Protection Agency Sunday showed the density of the poisonous tiny airborne matters known as PM2.5… http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_CHINA_POLLUTION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Even Moderate Air Pollution Could Trigger Severe Heart Attacks: Study. New findings link modest particulate pollution to heart risks in people with coronary disease. Even moderate levels of air pollution have now been linked to increased risk of heart attacks in people with heart disease. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-09/even-moderate-air-pollution-could-trigger-severe-heart-attacks-study http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2015/11/08/smoggy-days-linked-to-most-severe-type-of-heart-attack Marathon meeting over waste transfer facility in Huntington Beach ends without resolution. Residents of the Oak View neighborhood finally had their chance to tell officials from the South Coast Air Quality Management District and an independent hearing board how they feel and what they think should be done about pollution from a nearby dump… http://www.ocregister.com/articles/rainbow-691142-facility-residents.html Airpocalypse now: China pollution reaching record levels. In some areas level of harmful particles in the air were 56 times the levels considered safe by the World Health Organisation. Residents of north-eastern China donned gas masks and locked themselves indoors on Sunday after their homes were enveloped by some of the worst levels of smog on record. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/09/airpocalypse-now-china-pollution-reaching-record-levels Judges blast EPA's 'wrong' language in Calif. diesel case. A panel of Washington, D.C.-based federal judges appears inclined to reject U.S. EPA's argument that a California air pollution case belongs in their court. Judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sharply criticized EPA's arguments today that their court is the correct venue for industry groups' challenges to EPA's approval of California rules to cut pollution from nonroad diesel engines… http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/11/09/stories/1060027711 CLIMATE CHANGE New York finds Peabody climate statements misleading. Peabody Energy, the world's biggest private-sector coal company, violated New York laws with misleading statements to investors and the public about the financial risks from climate change and potential regulatory responses, New York's attorney general said Monday. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CLIMATE_CHANGE_INVESTIGATIONS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT UK: In 1st, global temps average could be 1 degree C higher. This year is on track to be a record 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter than the 19th-century average, hitting a symbolic milestone in the temperature rise that scientists blame mostly on human activities, Britain's weather service said Monday. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CLIMATE_COUNTDOWN_GREENHOUSE_GASES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT OTHER RELATED STORIES http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/09/us-climatechange-summit-temperatures-idUSKCN0SY1F220151109#KdVBxt12vu6wrzC3.99 http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-NXJRC6SYF02901-4F347TAO12SIEV2MP8OEV23R8R http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL8N1342G720151109 Senegal: Saloum Delta islands on frontline of climate change. The place where Fatou Faye's kitchen once stood is now outlined with short branches of mangroves, a small and perhaps futile attempt to prevent the sea from destroying the rest of her house. The rising sea levels pushing into the waters of... http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AF_SENEGAL_DISAPPEARING_ISLANDS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT China promises action on climate ahead of Paris talks. China has changed course and emerged as a leader in curbing greenhouse gas emissions six years after it was accused of obstructing the last high-level climate talks in Copenhagen. Heading into this month's Paris meeting, the world's biggest source of climate-changing gases has yet to accept binding limits. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_CHINA_CLIMATE_TALKS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT World Bank: Climate change could result in 100 million poor. Climate change could push more than 100 million people into extreme poverty by 2030 by disrupting agriculture and fueling the spread of malaria and other diseases, the World Bank said in a report Sunday. Released just weeks ahead of a U.N. climate summit in Paris, the report highlighted how the impact of global warming is borne unevenly… http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CLIMATE_COUNTDOWN_POVERTY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT White House says Obama will press ambitious climate targets in Paris. The White House said on Monday that President Barack Obama will press for an agreement at the Paris climate talks that reflects ambitious climate targets. Obama and other world leaders will meet in Paris later this month to work on a plan to reduce the effects of climate change. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/09/us-usa-climate-obama-idUSKCN0SY27920151109 The unbearable lightness of Chinese emissions data. To get a sense of how hard it is to measure greenhouse gas emissions in China, it pays to visit the Deqingyuan poultry farm on the outskirts of Beijing, where streams of chicken manure are piped from wooden sheds to an industrial gas digester that rises above the ground like a tethered balloon. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/08/us-china-climatechange-insight-idUSKCN0SX0WS20151108#WSbbFaz7aqCcJgEW.99 U.N. climate fund approves first projects ahead of Paris summit. A multi-billion dollar fund set up by the United Nations to help poor countries tackle climate change approved its first eight projects on Friday, a key step before a global climate summit starts on Nov. 30. The Green Climate Fund (GCF), which approved its first $168 million in aid… http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/06/us-un-climatechange-finance-idUSKCN0SV1F020151106#HeLbByzAE3zCwTJi.99 Greenhouse gases hit new milestone, fueling worries about climate change. Greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere reached another grim milestone earlier this year as carbon dioxide levels surpassed the symbolic threshold of 400 parts per million across much of the planet… http://www.ocregister.com/articles/report-691250-carbon-gases.html http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/world/2015/11/09/greenhouse-gases-reach-record-high/75441504/ http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/environment/2015/11/09/climate-countdown-greenhouse-gases/75442166/ http://www.ivpressonline.com/news/science/un-agency-carbon-dioxide-levels-hit-record-high-in/article_e6a0e466-4046-50c5-b412-5f71ab3b738c.html Climate change a likely culprit for declines in ocean fish. Fish populations off California’s coast have plummeted more than 70 percent in the last four decades, and scientists’ best guess is that climate change is to blame. The precipitous decline has occurred ecosystemwide in the California current, a stretch of the Pacific that runs from the Pacific Northwest to Baja California… http://www.ocregister.com/articles/fish-691164-ocean-water.html Climate Change May Put Over 100 Million Into Poverty By 2030 – Report. Climate change could drive more than 100 million people into poverty by 2030 largely due to difficulties producing crops, according to a new World Bank report. Around the world, climate change could lead to a 5% decline in crop yields by 2030 and 30% by 2080. http://fortune.com/2015/11/09/climate-change-world-bank-poverty-report/ Images Show Impact of Sea Level Rise on Global Icons. Long-term sea level rise set in motion by near-term carbon emissions threatens major coastal cities across the world. Here we present paired images showing how iconic locations — in London, Shanghai, Mumbai, Sydney, Rio de Janeiro… http://www.climatecentral.org/news/global-icons-at-risk-from-sea-level-rise-pictures-19633?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+climatecentral%2FdjOO+Climate+Central+-+Full+Feed Green Climate Fund Must Fight Corruption Before It Can Beat Global Warming. Over the past five years, wealthy countries have been contributing billions of dollars to a fund designed to rescue the poorest countries from the effects of climate change. It’s like a complicated, politically charged Kickstarter campaign in which the reward is saving the planet. http://www.newsweek.com/green-climate-fund-must-fight-corruption-it-can-beat-global-warming-391771?piano_d=1 Climate impacts threaten to expand poverty worldwide. Without policies to protect the world's most vulnerable from crop failure, natural disasters, waterborne diseases and other impacts of climate change, 100 million more people could sink into poverty by 2030, the World Bank said. The report unveiled yesterday is one of a growing number of high-level studies linking poverty to climate change. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/11/09/stories/1060027680 Companies became more valuable under emissions law. Standing before banking professionals at an investment forum, Philipp Krüger, a Swiss finance professor from the University of Geneva, reversed the message of conservative politicians on regulation: Climate policies can benefit, not hamstring, the firms they directly affect. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/11/09/stories/1060027681 Gas pumps might carry warnings of planetary warming. Some cities in the metropolitan Vancouver, British Columbia, region are considering placing dire warnings about the consequences of climate change on local gas pumps. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/11/09/stories/1060027666 DROUGHT Drought drives bears into California town in search of food. Tourists and animal lovers hoping to see a bear in Sequoia National Park this fall probably stand a better chance of spotting one in this tiny town at the park's entrance. Three Rivers is literally crawling with hungry bears driven down from the mountains by drought in search of food to fatten up for winter. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CALIFORNIA_DROUGHT_BEARS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT OTHER RELATED STORIES http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Drought-drives-bears-down-to-foothill-town-in-6618832.php http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/environment/2015/11/09/california-drought-bears/75445172/ http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/11/09/drought-drives-bear-into-california-town-in-search-of-food/ California drought shrinks winter digs for migratory birds. With their red heads, 7-foot (2.13 m) wingspan and a trilling call, migrating Sandhill Cranes provide a dramatic sunset spectacle as they land by the thousands in wetlands near Sacramento each night during the fall and winter. But the state's ongoing drought has left the cranes… http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/07/us-california-drought-birds-idUSKCN0SW0H720151107#omyvMkHpKEysuRRM.97 This map of climate change attitudes around the world might surprise you. The Pew Research Center is out with a survey of climate change attitudes from around the world. What caught our eye? A map showing relative concern about climate change from country to country. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/11/09/this-map-of-climate-change-attitudes-around-the-world-might-surprise-you/ Dueling drought relief bills reveal stark differences. As California enters the fifth consecutive year of unprecedented drought, Congress is debating two competing bills designed to provide federal drought relief to California agriculture. The proposals reveal stark differences in proposed federal water and environmental policy. http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article43480272.html#storylink=cpy LA County governments limits car washes to once a month. In the wake of criticism over wasted water, the Los Angeles County government has cut its car washing to once a month. In August it was reported that some county supervisors wash their cars two or three times a week despite calls for county residents to limit water use during California's drought. http://www.fresnobee.com/news/state/california/article43721064.html#storylink=cpy Drought believed to be hastening tree deaths in Los Angeles. Thousands of trees in the city of Los Angeles are at risk of dying because of an infestation that appears to be worsened by the punishing statewide drought. A Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services report warns the Xylella fastidiosa infestation is affecting trees across… http://www.dailynews.com/general-news/20151107/drought-believed-to-be-hastening-tree-deaths-in-los-angeles Relief from the drought found in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. For Southern Californians struggling through the worst drought in the history of the state, relief may finally be here — or at least a sprinkle of relief. Rain has arrived, but it is confined to a 2,500-square-foot windowless room in a museum exhibition on the Miracle Mile, open to a handful of people who are let in… http://www.ocregister.com/articles/water-691109-people-rain.html DIESEL ACTIVITIES Frost & Sullivan forecasts Gasoline Particulate Filters to climb from 50,335 units now to 4.2-4.6 million units by 2020. Gasoline direct injection (GDI) is a strategy to improve fuel efficiency that is rapidly gaining market acceptance. However, unlike conventional gasoline engines, gasoline direct injection engines produce particulate matter, as do diesels, and emission controls will become an issue… http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/11/20151108-pf.html FUELS Analysis: Polarized politics dictated Obama Keystone call. President Barack Obama's decision to block the Keystone XL oil pipeline has exposed an endlessly polarized Washington, and likely hardened its divides. Obama is now being praised to the skies by environmentalists and most Democrats, and denounced in apocalyptic terms by Republicans and the business community. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_KEYSTONE_POLITICS_ANALYSIS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Keystone off the table, but back East, pipeline fight builds. Carolyn and Ian Reilly and their four children left Florida's sprawl in 2010 to farm 58 acres in rural Virginia, raising beef cattle, chicken and hogs. Then a year ago, they learned a natural gas pipeline would slice through part of their farm and their lives took another dramatic turn. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_PIPELINE_TO_PROTESTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Showa Shell’s 49 MW Biomass Power Plant Starts Operations. Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K., a Japanese refiner, said it has completed a 49-megawatt biomass power plant south of Tokyo. The plant in Kanagawa prefecture began commercial operations earlier this month, the company said in a statement Monday. It’s Showa Shell’s first biomass power project. http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-NXJDOW6JIJUY01-0O0J97GLSFM8HODLCP07H0BUIE Survey: US gasoline prices up a penny over past 2 weeks. The average price of gasoline rose a penny over the past two weeks, to $2.25 a gallon. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg reports Sunday that the slight increase comes after prices previously fell 63 cents over 19 weeks. Lundberg says the end of the price decline comes as crude costs jumped a bit. http://www.chicoer.com/business/20151108/survey-us-gasoline-prices-up-a-penny-over-past-2-weeks Another day, another setback for Canada's producers. The Obama administration's rejection of TransCanada Corp.'s Keystone XL oil pipeline project Friday is only the latest setback for Canadian oil producers. Its oil and gas industry has suffered blow after blow this year, and more pain is in store as companies there struggle to cope with an unexpected economic and political storm that has sunk their fortunes. http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2015/11/09/stories/1060027669 Pipeline's defeat could translate to rail gains. President Obama's decision to reject the Keystone XL pipeline Friday could come with a heavy side of tank cars. Canadian energy companies need about a dozen crude-laden trains each day to replace the volume of oil that could have been transported through KXL. http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2015/11/09/stories/1060027677 How a 2012 book helped two teams of journalists probe Exxon's changing view of climate risks. With the launch of an investigation into Exxon Mobil Corp.'s climate stance by New York's attorney general, talk of wide-ranging tobacco-style litigation against Exxon and other oil and gas companies has amplified. But if the Exxon inquiry does blow up into a battle against civil and criminal charges… http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/11/09/stories/1060027682 VEHICLES Electric-Car Drivers Will Pay For DC Fast-Charging 12-To-1 Over Level 2. A growing fleet of electric cars will need a comprehensive network of public charging stations, but those who build and maintain those stations have some choices to make. They have to provide charging infrastructure that will be useful to the public, but is also financially sustainable. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1100804_electric-car-drivers-will-pay-for-dc-fast-charging-12-to-1-over-level-2 Electric-Car Drivers Don't Pay Their Share? Actually, No One Does. The annual registration fees for electric cars implemented by several states have been the subject of much controversy. Electric-car advocates view the fees as a form of harassment, and a hindrance to electric-car sales. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1100816_electric-car-drivers-dont-pay-their-share-actually-no-one-does 2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Price To Start At $29,270. The 2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid will start at $29,270, and will be offered in only two of the four trim levels available for its gasoline counterpart. That base price--which includes a $900 destination charge--buys a RAV4 Hybrid XLE, one step up from the base LE trim level offered on gasoline models. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1100825_2016-toyota-rav4-hybrid-price-to-start-at-29270 Report: Hyundai launching new brand of electrified vehicles in January: hybrid first, then PHEV and EV. The Korea Times reports that Korea-based Hyundai Motor will launch its new brand of electric vehicles scheduled for January. The first model of Hyundai’s new car brand—tentatively named “AE”—will be first introduced as a hybrid electric vehicle, followed by PHEV and full-EV editions… http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/11/20151109-hyundai.html VW RECALL VW offers diesel owners $1,000 in gift cards and vouchers. Volkswagen is offering $1,000 in gift cards and vouchers as a goodwill gesture to owners of small diesel-powered cars involved in an emissions cheating scandal. The offer announced Monday goes to owners of 482,000 cars in the U.S., many who are angry at the company because they paid extra for the cars to be environmentally sensitive without losing peppy acceleration. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_VOLKSWAGEN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT OTHER RELATED STORIES http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/09/us-volkswagen-emissions-idUSKCN0SY1UO20151109?virtualBrandChannel=11563 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/10/business/international/volkswagen-offers-1000-to-diesel-owners.html http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2015/11/09/vw-offers-diesel-owners-1000-in-gift-cards-and-vouchers/ http://www.ocregister.com/articles/diesel-691287-owners-volkswagen.html http://autoweek.com/article/vw-diesel-scandal/volkswagen-offers-500-gift-card-goodwill-package-diesel-owners http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/In-Gear/2015/1109/Volkswagen-diesel-owners-to-get-1-000-in-gift-cards http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/foreign/2015/11/09/volkswagen/75447976/ http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/11/08/455248618/report-says-volkswagen-will-attempt-to-compensate-defrauded-diesel-owners Details of Volkswagen's offer for diesel owners. Volkswagen said Monday it's offering a goodwill package to current owners of its 2.0-liter diesels in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Volkswagen acknowledged in September that the vehicles don't meet U.S. emissions standards and contain software that allowed them to cheat on emissions tests. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_VOLKSWAGEN_GLANCE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Greenpeace targets Volkswagen over emissions scandal. Environmental activists protested outside the main entrance to Volkswagen headquarters in Wolfsburg, unfurling a banner reading "Das Problem" - a play on the carmaker's marketing slogan "Das Auto." The Greenpeace protest Monday comes after Volkswagen announced last week that it had "understated" the carbon dioxide emissions on 800,000 vehicles. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_GERMANY_VOLKSWAGEN_PROTEST?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Volkswagen managers afraid to travel to the U.S.: paper. Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) managers are worried about traveling to the United States, a German newspaper reported on Saturday, saying U.S. investigators have confiscated the passport of an employee who is there on a visit. Citing company sources, the Suddeutsche Zeitung said Volkswagen believes… http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/07/us-volkswagen-emissions-idUSKCN0SW0QB20151107#ksM40LF72yXkiLY7.99 EU Asks Volkswagen For Emissions Details Within 10 Days. In letter, the EU seeks for ‘further clarifications’ on emissions of VW cars. The European Union’s climate commissioner is asking Volkswagen AG to supply within 10 days details on recently revealed “irregularities” related to carbon-dioxide emissions from its vehicles, according to a letter sent to VW’s chief executive on Monday. http://www.wsj.com/articles/eu-asks-volkswagen-for-emissions-details-within-10-days-1447096891?mod=pls_whats_news_us_business_f&alg=y VW Board Meets After Employees Flagged Latest Emissions Faults. Volkswagen AG will need to perform significant engine repairs on 540,000 cars in Germany, highlighting the complicated task the company faces as its top executives met after disclosing further emissions irregularities last week. The recall is still planned to start by early next year, the Federal Motor Transport Authority said Monday. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-08/volkswagen-says-its-employees-flagged-latest-emissions-faults Volkswagen Seeks to Rebuild Trust With U.S. Initiative. German auto maker looks to appeal to customers, dealers following emissions scandal. Volkswagen AG, struggling to get out in front of its emissions-cheating scandal, is trying to overcome missteps in its crisis-fighting strategy and plans to announce a new sales initiative in the U.S… http://www.wsj.com/articles/volkswagen-seeks-to-rebuild-trust-with-u-s-initiative-1446995472 Galvanized by VW Scandal, E.P.A. Expands On-Road Emissions Testing. Concerned that cheating on vehicle emissions could be prevalent across the automobile industry, regulators in the United States and Canada are significantly expanding their on-the-road emissions tests to cover all makes and models of diesel cars. The tests, which come in the wake of Volkswagen’s admission that it… http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/09/business/energy-environment/epa-expands-on-road-emissions-testing-to-all-diesel-models.html?ref=energy-environment&_r=2 http://www.ocregister.com/articles/road-348868-ocprint-tests-testing.html VW doubles down on electric vehicles, hoping to move beyond the diesel scandal. Volkswagen’s renewed focus on hybrid and electric vehicles may be its last great hope of containing the fallout from a rapidly spreading diesel emissions scandal that has engulfed its Porsche and Audi brands – and, most recently, even some of its gasoline-powered cars. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/diesel-691041-vehicles-electric.html What emissions scandal? Volkswagen still sees sales growth in US. Despite an emissions-cheating scandal, Volkswagen’s brand appears to have weathered the storm: at least one model experienced its best month on record. American consumers appear to have at least one virtue: they’re forgiving. Despite an emissions-cheating scheme that scientists estimate will result in… http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/In-Gear/2015/1109/What-emissions-scandal-Volkswagen-still-sees-sales-growth-in-US Volkswagen investor Nordea to sue over emissions fixing. The €190bn Scandinavian fund manager is the first major investor in the carmaker to signal such legal moves. Nordea, the €190bn (£135.6bn) Scandinavian fund manager, has become the first major investor to signal it is preparing to sue Volkswagen over the carmaker’s manipulation of emissions tests. http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/nov/08/nordea-will-sue-volkswagen-vw-emission-fixing GREEN ENERGY Newfangled Energy Stocks Disappoint. Renewable-energy ‘yieldcos’ soared, then fizzled. Will they reinvent themselves When they were first launched, “yieldcos” lit up the stock market like fireworks with their impressive dividends and the prospect of even higher yields to come. But these new renewable-energy stocks flamed out as dramatically as they appeared… http://www.wsj.com/articles/newfangled-energy-stocks-disappoint-1447038121 Final desert renewable energy plan coming Tuesday. The long-awaited day has finally arrived. State and federal officials plan to release part one of the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan on Tuesday, nearly seven years to the day after then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called for such a plan. The document will designate clean energy development zones and conservation areas across 10 million acres… http://www.desertsun.com/story/tech/science/energy/2015/11/09/final-desert-renewable-energy-plan-coming-tuesday/75467484/ Energy minister expects UK to miss renewables target, leaked letter shows. Letter from Amber Rudd revealing UK is forecast to fall 3.5 percentage points short of target exposes ‘dark side of government energy policy’, says Greenpeace. The energy secretary, Amber Rudd, has been accused of misleading the public after a leaked letter revealed that the UK is predicted to fall short of its European Union… http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/09/energy-minister-expects-uk-to-miss-renewables-target-leaked-letter-shows Renewable Energy Supply to Double in Major Economies. Renewable energy supply in eight major economies will collectively more than double by 2030 due to new national climate and energy plans, according to a study by the think tank World Resources Institute (WRI). Wind turbine generators are pictured in Desert Hot Springs, California on July 11, 2011. http://www.climatecentral.org/news/renewable-energy-supply-to-double-19650?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+climatecentral%2FdjOO+Climate+Central+-+Full+Feed Barrier-breaking physicist clears path for solar power. The leader of the Department of Energy effort to drive down the cost of solar power enjoys a big challenge. When Lidija Sekaric was recruited for the SunShot initiative in 2010, she turned up her nose at the program's goal -- lowering the installed cost of solar from $2 a watt to 50 cents by 2020. http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/11/09/stories/1060027624 MISCELLANEOUS GOP takes control of AQMD. A concerted, back-channels effort by Republican leaders has succeeded in gaining a board majority at the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which oversees the regulation and compliance of everything from power plants to gas stations. The selection of Republican Dwight Robinson, a Lake Forest councilman, will give the GOP a 7-6 edge that could result in less stringent air quality policies. LOCAL 1 http://www.ocregister.com/articles/air-348850-ocprint-block-gop.html OPINIONS Airpocalypse, again. With winter coming, China hit by ‘doomsday’ smog. "Fairyland or doomsday?" Sure looks like doomsday. China's state-backed news agency asked Monday. Walking the line between cluelessness and dark comedy, Xinhua's English-language Twitter account on Monday called global attention to what may be the worst air pollution… https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/11/09/airpocalypse-again-with-winter-coming-china-hit-by-doomsday-smog/ The war against Exxon Mobil. If you care about free speech, you should pay attention to the campaign now being waged against Exxon Mobil. More than 50 environmental and civil rights groups have written Attorney General Loretta Lynch urging her to open a “federal probe” of the giant energy firm. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have also joined the chorus. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-war-against-exxon-mobil/2015/11/08/094ff978-84a6-11e5-8ba6-cec48b74b2a7_story.html Dueling drought relief bills reveal stark differences. As California enters the fifth consecutive year of unprecedented drought, Congress is debating two competing bills designed to provide federal drought relief to California agriculture. The proposals reveal stark differences in proposed federal water and environmental policy. http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article43480272.html#storylink=cpy California needs to rid the Valley of cancer-causing pesticide. Ten million pounds. It’s hard to wrap your head around that number, but that was the amount of glyphosate, commonly known by its brand name Roundup, used in California in 2013. As a result, when state officials add glyphosate to the list of known cancer-causing chemicals, as they’re expected to do soon, they will be unmasking a 5 million… http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article43617405.html#storylink=cpy Timely reminder of an El Niño's havoc. Central and Southern California are in the midst of a four-year drought, and any talk about an above-average rainy season this fall and winter is welcome news. Two months ago, I wrote about a “Godzilla El Niño” being forecasted by Bill Patzert, a climatologist with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/nino-690966-rain-super.html Expect global warming rhetoric to heat up. Let’s be blunt. Forty years of global warming hysteria never has been about the globe getting warmer, or saving the planet. It’s always been about control and money. Their control. Your money. If you need to be told who “they” are, you haven’t been paying attention. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/emissions-690952-gore-control.html Letter: End subsidies for fossil fuel industry, too. End subsidies for fossil fuel industry, too. Joseph Neff’s letter Tuesday (“End subsidies for solar and wind power”) ignores the fossil industry’s tax breaks that rob our public treasury. The biggest fossil fuel subsidy we all pay is for the economic damage from climate change. Ask farmers and their laid-off employees if the 1,000-year drought has hurt them. http://www.chicoer.com/opinion/20151107/letter-end-subsidies-for-fossil-fuel-industry-too Climate Change: Don’t Forget the Warming Oceans. As the Paris climate meeting rapidly approaches, the preparatory discussions have been remarkably silent on the crucial links between global warming and the health of the world’s oceans. This is a missed opportunity to galvanize global political will behind significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. http://www.newsweek.com/climate-change-dont-forget-warming-oceans-391678?piano_d=1 BLOGS The Reality Gap in the Push to Close the Global Warming ‘Emissions Gap’ in Paris. Year by year, the great transition away from the world’s risky carbon-based path to progress is said to be just around the corner. This year’s Emissions Gap report from the United Nations Environment Program, aiming to energize Paris climate talks next month, was released today with this headline… http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/11/06/the-reality-gap-in-the-push-to-close-the-global-warming-emissions-gap-in-paris/?_r=0 Symbolic Politics, the Keystone Pipeline, and Climate Policy in the Real World. From burying a car at the first Earth Day to the campaign to ban the Keystone Pipeline, U.S. environmentalists have long demonstrated an affinity for symbolic politics. We obviously knew that one buried car wouldn't stop air pollution, and any reasoned analysis would acknowledge that stopping one pipeline would not eliminate global warming. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven-cohen/symbolic-politics-the-key_b_8509482.html California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.