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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for December 7, 2015.
Posted: 07 Dec 2015 14:49:19
ARB Newsclips for December 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 Beijing Issues Red Alert Over Air Pollution for the First Time. Officials in the Chinese capital declared for the first time on Monday evening that the thick smog blanketing the city was bad enough to require a red alert, the highest level of alarm. It was the first time a code red had been sounded since Beijing announced an emergency air pollution response system with multicolored warnings in 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/08/world/asia/beijing-pollution-red-alert.html Electric Scooters, and a Network. Across Asia, motorized two-wheeled vehicles provide mobility for the masses, but emissions from hundreds of millions of scooters and motorcycles are responsible for more than half of traffic pollution in many cities, choking the air with hazardous levels of benzene and particulate matter, in addition to greenhouse gases. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/08/business/energy-environment/electric-scooters-and-a-network.html Study Sees Possible Dip in World Carbon Dioxide Emissions. Global carbon dioxide emissions may be dropping ever so slightly this year, spurred by a dramatic plunge in Chinese pollution, according to a surprising new study by a scientific team that regularly tracks heat-trapping pollution. The unexpected dip could either be a temporary blip or true hope that the world is about to turn… http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/12/07/world/europe/ap-eu-climate-countdown-pollution-peak.html Conservative judge predicts court battle over EPA 'co-benefits'. As opponents sparred in court last week over the fate of a major U.S. EPA rule to slash mercury emissions, a federal judge forecast that the next big fight over the rule will center on how the agency measures so-called co-benefits. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is grappling with how to handle EPA's standards to cut … http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/12/07/stories/1060029089 Health groups press EPA for new methane emissions limits. U.S. EPA should forge ahead with new emissions limits for methane and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from existing oil and natural gas operations, similar to what it is already proposing for new sources, more than 600 nurses, doctors and other health care professionals said in a letter Friday. http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/12/07/stories/1060029090 CLIMATE CHANGE Surprisingly good news for the Earth’s climate: Greenhouse gas pollution dropped this year. Emissions of man-made greenhouse gases appear to have declined slightly in 2015, scientists said Monday, reflecting what experts say is an encouraging, though likely temporary, pause in the steady rise in pollutants blamed for climate change. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/12/07/surprisingly-good-news-for-the-earths-climate-greenhouse-gas-pollution-dropped-last-year/ Bernie Sanders puts forward ambitious plan to combat climate change. Presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday released a highly ambitious plan to combat climate change, a problem he pointedly says is being perpetuated by the “billionaire fossil fuel lobby.” The plan, which reads like an environmentalist’s wish list, seeks to reduce U.S. carbon pollution by 40 percent by 2030… https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/12/07/bernie-sanders-puts-forward-ambitious-plan-to-combat-climate-change/ New Data Suggest Period of Soaring Global Emissions May Have Peaked. Industrial emissions of greenhouse gases rose only slightly in 2014 and appear to be on track to decline in 2015, according to new data that raise the possibility that a period of rapid global emissions growth may be coming to an end. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/08/science/carbon-emissions-decline-peak-climate-change.html From the Archives, 2005: How Much Warming Is Too Much? There was one small problem with the first treaty addressing global warming, in which 193 countries pledged to avoid “dangerous” human interference with the climate: There was no accepted definition of “dangerous.” http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/cp/climate/2015-paris-climate-talks/from-the-archives-2005-how-much-warming-is-too-much How Big Business Found Religion on Climate Change. CEOs still don’t care about the whales. At a black-tie event in an opulent ballroom late in 2014, a grim figure at a podium warned of the “catastrophic impact of climate change.” “While there is still time to act,” he admonished, “the window of opportunity is finite and shrinking.” http://fortune.com/2015/12/07/big-business-climate-change/ UN CLIMATE TALKS At U.N. climate talks, top officials turn up heat for final week. A four-year global effort to craft a binding deal to brake rising world temperatures enters an intense home stretch on Monday, with senior officials in Paris stepping up pressure to resolve the most contentious points. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, dispatched to secure a deal meant to cement President Barack Obama's legacy as a guardian of the environment… http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-summit-idUKKBN0TO0C820151207 UN Officials Warn of Climate Disaster if Paris Pact Fails. Talks on a universal climate pact shifted to a higher gear Monday with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urging governments to set off an "energy revolution" to rein in heat-trapping carbon emissions and avert disastrous global warming. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/12/07/world/europe/ap-climate-countdown.html Scientists Enlist the Big Gun to Get Climate Action: Faith. The cold hard numbers of science haven't spurred the world to curb runaway global warming. So as climate negotiators struggle in Paris, some scientists who appealed to the rational brain are enlisting what many would consider a higher power: the majesty of faith. It's not God versus science, but followers of God and science together trying to save humanity and the planet, they say. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/12/06/world/europe/ap-eu-climate-countdown-god-factor.html Climate Talks Shift From Binding Targets to 'Name and Shame'. It's clear at this point that even if the international climate accord being negotiated in suburban Paris becomes legally binding, it won't include punitive measures like trade sanctions or embargoes on straggler countries that fail to meet their commitments. "The only penalty for falling short on efforts to fight global warming… http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/12/07/world/europe/ap-climate-countdown-peer-pressure.html Kerry Off to Paris Again for Climate Conference. Secretary of State John Kerry is headed back to Paris, to join negotiators there trying to break through impasses on a climate change agreement. Kerry left Washington late Sunday to return to the talks in the French capital that he and President Barack Obama were at just a week earlier. Kerry, who has made climate change a priority as secretary of state… http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/12/06/us/politics/ap-us-kerry.html The Latest: India Urges Strong Rich Country Moves on Climate. The latest news related to the U.N. climate conference in Paris, which runs through Dec. 11. All times local: 8:55 a.m. India's environment minister is urging industrialized nations to take strong action and make sacrifices to fight climate change, as Paris climate talks enter a second, crucial week. Prakash Javadekar said in a statement Sunday night that "India is here to ensure that rich countries… http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/12/07/world/asia/ap-climate-countdown-the-latest.html Paris Climate Talks: How Often to Ratchet, and How Much? There is (officially) less than a week to go at the Paris climate conference, and Monday is the start of the “high-level segment,” where foreign ministers and secretaries of state start wrangling over the toughest parts of the text. One wonky but important question yet to be resolved is the question of ratcheting – how often, how much? http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/cp/climate/2015-paris-climate-talks/paris-climate-talks-how-often-to-ratchet-and-how-much Despite Push for Cleaner Cars, Sheer Numbers Could Work Against Climate Benefits. As United Nations climate conferees meet near here, Eric Feunteun wishes everyone could agree: If the world is going to curb climate change, there is no choice but to stop driving cars that burn fossil fuels. “If we want affordable, practical and fully green technology,” Mr. Feunteun said in an interview in an office building on the edge of… http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/08/business/energy-environment/despite-push-for-cleaner-cars-sheer-numbers-could-work-against-climate-benefits.html Chasing a Climate Deal in Paris: ‘We’re Just Warming Up,’ Jerry Brown Says. Gov. Jerry Brown of California is known for making off-the-cuff remarks; now in his fourth term as governor (the first two were from 1975 to 1983), he rarely uses prepared remarks. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/cp/climate/2015-paris-climate-talks The Latest: IEA Chief Wants End to Fossil Fuel Subsidies. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator Gina McCarthy says Republicans and others fighting the Obama administration's efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants are going to lose — and might as well get over it. Despite a lawsuit and Congress voting to repeal to the regulation… http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/12/07/world/asia/ap-climate-countdown-the-latest.html Trust and Money at Core of Crucial Paris Talks on Climate Change. The international climate change negotiations entering their second and final week encompass a vast and complicated array of political, economic and legal questions. But at bottom, the talks boil down to two issues: trust and money. In this global forum, no one questions the established science that greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels… http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/07/world/europe/trust-and-money-at-core-of-crucial-paris-talks-on-climate-change.html?ref=world In Paris, Schwarzenegger and Brown unite seeking climate action. It was like the debut of a environmentally themed buddy cop drama, with a political odd couple joining together against a common foe. In one chair was California’s current governor, Jerry Brown, the cerebral Democrat known for dropping Latin phrases into Capitol press conferences. http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-paris-climate-talks-schwarzenegger-brown-story.html Brown pushes cities, states to set tough environmental targets. More than a year and a half ago, Franz Untersteller, the environment secretary for the German state of Baden-Württemberg, stepped into a meeting with Gov. Jerry Brown in Sacramento. Untersteller was visiting California to learn about energy policy, but the conversation shifted to how the two states… http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-me-pol-sac-climate-brown-agreement-20151206-story.html Jerry Brown finds theme song: ‘Eve of Destruction’. On his second day in Paris, Gov. Jerry Brown found music. Delivering a speech tied to the United Nations climate summit, Brown warned a crowd the world is “on a track of destruction” if it does not move quickly to counteract effects of climate change. http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article48319365.html#storylink=cpy Jerry Brown’s MOU life in Paris. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, hearing one night this spring that Jerry Brown planned to “convene government leaders from around the world” for a climate change announcement, smiled broadly and surmised that the governor had “another MOU” in the works. It was a safe bet. http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article48303625.html#storylink=cpy Paris climate talks: biggest polluters back tougher warming target. US, China, Canada and EU among big carbon emitters at UN summit supporting 1.5C target to protect most vulnerable countries such as small island states. The world’s biggest climate polluters rallied around a stronger target for limiting warming on Monday, saying they were open to the 1.5C goal endorsed by the most vulnerable countries. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/07/paris-climate-talks-biggest-polluters-back-tougher-warming-target Arnold Schwarzenegger says climate campaigns need to focus on 'right now' not 2050. Green campaigners should stop talking about the risks from climate change in 2050 and talk about “right now”, the former governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has said. “It drives me crazy when people talk about 30 years from now, rising sea levels and so on… http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/07/arnold-schwarzenegger-climate-campaigns-need-focus-right-now-not-2050?CMP=twt_gu 10 U.S. Senators Travel To Paris To Show Their Support For An International Climate Deal. With the first week of the U.N. climate summit coming to a close, the world appears increasingly nearer to reaching to an international deal on climate action. Back in the United States, a coalition of Republican senators and representatives have been hard at work to stymie such a deal… http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/12/05/3728661/democratic-senators-support-climate-deal-in-paris/ Russia pledges not to stand in the way of Paris climate deal. Vladimir Putin assures that his negotiators will not block an agreement that has the backing of other major countries. Russia has pledged not to stand in the way of a deal at the Paris climate change conference, removing another obstacle to a potential agreement, the Guardian has learned. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/07/russia-pledges-not-to-stand-in-the-way-of-paris-climate-deal Climate Change Is Killing Us, Literally — And Here's How. Climate change may be bad for people but it's good for bugs. Germs of all kinds, as well as mosquitoes and other disease carriers, will live longer in warmer weather because cold kills them. They'll find more areas with the hot, humid conditions they need to thrive. Disease-carrying insects have already begun to move into new territory… http://www.capradio.org/news/npr/story?storyid=458487877 Carbon Farming Gets A Nod At Paris Climate Conference. This week, world leaders are hashing out a binding agreement in Paris at the 2015 U.N. Climate Change Conference for curbing greenhouse gas emissions. And for the first time, they've made the capture of carbon in soil a formal part of the global response to the climate crisis. http://www.capradio.org/news/npr/story?storyid=458063708 How Climate Change Became the Central Development Issue. Just a decade ago, humanitarian groups working to address everything from education to poverty competed with climate change for public attention and development dollars. Now, leaders of groups focused on solving a whole slew of development issues say that climate change has become central with its effects permeating to other key problems. http://time.com/4137733/climate-change-development/ The president's deal-shaper takes the stage in climate talks. Todd Stern doesn't mind being the bad guy. The Obama administration's special envoy for climate change said he knows personal attacks come with the territory of pushing often-unpopular U.S. positions before the United Nations. Over the nearly seven years http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/12/07/stories/1060029066 DROUGHT Drought in cities: Will people get tired of water-saving demands? Dead lawns. Buckets in showers. Low-flow toilets. In 2015, people in cities from Merced to Tulare made changes inside and outside their homes, some grudgingly to avoid a water penalty and some willingly out of a sense of civic duty. http://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article48403240.html#storylink=cpy FUELS UCLA–UC Berkeley paper outlines how CA can boost biofuel production to cut pollution and help the economy. California has not taken full advantage of opportunities to increase its in-state production of biofuel, despite state policies that encourage biofuel consumption, according to a policy paper by the Climate Change and Business Research Initiative at the UCLA and UC Berkeley law schools. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/12/20151207-calibiofuels.html A global 'free-for-all' fueled by OPEC. The world's prime force for moving oil prices has seemingly thrown in the towel, signaling to its members that they can pump as much crude as they like. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, at a long and contentious meeting in Vienna last week, failed to make a decision on anything, including on a possible revision to the combined production target of 30 million barrels a day set in 2011. http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2015/12/07/stories/1060029053 VEHICLES Plug-In Electric Car Sales In Nov: Volt Strong, But Leaf, i3 Decline (UPDATED). Sales of plug-in electric cars generally fall off a bit as the weather gets colder, and it's the same this year, with November sales slightly down on those of October. The new 2016 Chevrolet Volt continued strong, even though it's on sale only in California and a few other states, but weakness in the Nissan Leaf and BMW i3 was stronger. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1101281_plug-in-electric-car-sales-in-nov-volt-strong-but-leaf-i3-decline Hyundai introduces IONIQ: compact car with BEV, PHEV or HEV powertrains. Hyundai Motor announced the name of its advanced, alternative-fuel compact vehicle due for launch in 2016: the Hyundai IONIQ. The car will be available with battery-electric electric (BEV), plug-in gasoline/electric hybrid (PHEV), or gasoline/electric hybrid (HEV) powertrains… http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/12/20151207-ioniq.html GREEN ENERGY Green ETFs Struggle, Thanks to Fall in Oil. Lower oil prices pressure shares of renewable energy companies. The environment is in the spotlight, with the Paris climate talks in full swing. But investors in “green” exchange-traded funds have learned from experience that these funds have yet to establish a long-term footing. There are all sorts of ETFs in this sector. http://www.wsj.com/articles/green-etfs-struggle-thanks-to-fall-in-oil-price-1449460370 Change Isn’t as Easy as a Flip of a Switch. The spinning blades of wind turbines produced 9 percent of Germany’s electricity in 2014. Most of those turbines are in the north of the country, near Denmark and the Netherlands, or off the coast in the North Sea. The majority of Germany’s electricity demand, however, comes from some 400 miles to the south, in the factories and corporate headquarters of Bavaria. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/08/business/energy-environment/change-isnt-as-easy-as-a-flip-of-a-switch.html Denmark, a Green Energy Leader, Slows Pace of Its Spending. Not long ago, Denmark was making headlines for harvesting so much wind power that it was leading the way in generating renewable energy, while becoming a center of innovation and growth for green and clean technology. Then, in June, a center-left government was replaced by a right-wing, minority coalition determined… http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/06/world/europe/denmark-a-green-energy-leader-slows-pace-of-its-spending.html OPINIONS The Invisible Spill Spewing the Gases of a Half-Million Cars. Call it the invisible spill. You can’t see it, but it’s there -- a steady stream of natural gas seeping out of the pipe casing in a well in Southern California that may spew as much greenhouse gas into the air as a half-million cars do in a year. Pipeline operator Sempra Energy says it may take three to four months to plug. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-05/the-invisible-spill-spewing-the-gases-of-a-half-million-cars California's appearance at the climate change talks belies an L.A. oil and gas health threat. Gov. Jerry Brown and a delegation of California officials are in attendance at the U.N. climate change conference in Paris. They are there, in part, to tout the state's efforts to cut carbon pollution and simultaneously grow the economy. Yet as much as California's environmental progress deserves recognition… http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-sauls-los-angeles-oil-well-dangers-20151207-story.html In Paris climate summit, a beginning not an end. No single agreement should be expected to be the final solution to the climate crisis, writes Heather Zichal, a former climate adviser to President Obama. Today marks the final week of COP 21 in Paris, the latest UN brokered negotiation to address the global climate crisis, and with it comes high expectations that world leaders… http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Energy-Voices/2015/1207/In-Paris-climate-summit-a-beginning-not-an-end BLOGS The 2°C limit on global warming. “NEVER before has a responsibility so great been in the hands of so few,” declared Christiana Figueres, head of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the opening of COP21 in Paris. The UNFCCC, an environmental treaty, has been signed by more than 190 countries since its inception in 1992. http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2015/12/economist-explains-4?cid1=cust/noenew/n/n/n/2015127n/owned/n/n/nwl/n/n/NA/email Energy Efficiency Is the Largest Contributor to Reducing CO2 Emissions. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), energy efficiency can deliver 38 percent of what is needed to keep our planet within the two degree scenario of global warming by 2050. Taking that into account, we should put energy efficiency first when we discuss solutions to climate change. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/niels-b-christiansen/energy-efficiency-is-the_b_8655434.html Climate Negotiators Won't Protect Oceans. The oceans occupy 71 percent of Earth's surface and they account for over 95 percent of the biosphere, the planet's living space. It is shameful that the climate negotiators in Paris have removed the ocean impacts from the climate crisis and that they are refusing to protect them. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-reese-halter/climate-negotiators-wont-_b_8736396.html Forests: Big Player in the Fight against Climate Change. Forests are often described as the "lungs of the planet," and their ability to absorb immense volumes of carbon dioxide makes them a tremendous asset in the fight against climate change. Cutting forests down not only negates that ability; it also adds significantly to global warming. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-jenkins-/forests-big-player-in-the_b_8737166.html We May Get Some Good News About Global Carbon Emissions This Year. But don't celebrate too much. There's still a long way to go. As world leaders meet in Paris to negotiate a climate deal, a study released Monday brings some good news: Global carbon emissions likely stalled and possibly decreased this year. If the final data show the world's CO2 emissions have dropped, it will be the first recorded decrease during a "period of strong global economic growth," according to the study published in the journal Nature Climate Change. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/global-carbon-emissions-2015_565f3e33e4b072e9d1c45ccf California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.