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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for March 28, 2016.

Posted: 28 Mar 2016 14:36:59
ARB Newsclips for March 28, 2016. 

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

China's polluted Hebei promises clean-up for 2022 Winter Games.
The top official in China's northern province of Hebei, one of
the country's most polluted, has vowed to use the staging of the
2022 Winter Olympics to drive efforts to cut smog, promote clean
energy and ease dependence on heavy industry.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-china-pollution-idUSKCN0WU0LQ?virtualBrandChannel=11563


Supreme Court won’t hear EPA air pollution case. The Supreme
Court declined Monday to hear a case on how the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) enforces air pollution rules. In the
case, Ohio v. Sierra Club, Ohio maintains that a state does not
need to submit a plan to reduce pollution levels after being
found to…
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/274453-supreme-court-wont-hear-epa-air-pollution-case


CLIMATE CHANGE

Overlooked Tool to Fight Climate Change: A Tweak in Fuel
Standards.  One of the best new opportunities to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions might be to tweak a bureaucratic
regulation we’ve had around for close to four decades.  Changing
vehicle fuel efficiency standards — if done properly — could not
only reduce emissions from cars and trucks, but also set the
nation on a path that…
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/03/29/upshot/overlooked-tool-to-fight-climate-change-a-tweak-in-fuel-standards.html?_r=1
 

Scientists: Expect more rock slides with climate change.  A pair
of local scientists say climate change may bring one more thing
to worry about: rock slides from out of the blue. It’s a caution
they raised this month after studying a high cliff in Yosemite
National Park to find out why mountainous rocks fall from high
places for no obvious reason.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Scientists-Expect-more-rock-slides-with-climate-7109200.php


Oil industry gears up for new climate fight. A Harvard economist
known globally for his work on climate change policy sat in the
Sacramento office of the oil industry’s lobbying firm recently,
making the case that California is fighting global warming the
wrong way.

The state has a good cap-and-trade system, Robert Stavins said,
but some of its other environmental policies are weakening it. He
pointed to a rule known as the low carbon fuel standard, which is
supposed to increase production of clean fuels.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/fuel-709862-standard-carbon.html


Scientists fly glacial ice to south pole to unlock secrets of
global warming. High on Mont Blanc, huge ice cores are being
extracted to help researchers study the alarming rate of glacial
melt. In a few weeks, researchers will begin work on a remarkable
scientific project. They will drill deep into the Col du Dôme
glacier on Mont Blanc and remove a 130 metre core of ice.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/mar/27/saving-glaciers-ice-cores-shipped-mont-blanc-antarctica-climate-change


The Gentle Giant’s Climate Problem. How the resources exposed by
a melting north won’t help Canada’s economic future—and could
hurt it. Canada would be poised to become a new agricultural,
resource-rich superpower if it weren’t for the rocks—and all that
water. In northeast Alberta, at the furthest edge of Canada’s
great plains, lie the tar sands.
http://observer.com/2016/03/the-gentle-giants-climate-problem/ 

How to Talk Global Warming in Plain English. Scientists struggle
to convey the risks of climate change simply. In New Orleans, the
city’s planners would love to see block-by-block estimates of how
sea-level rise might affect neighborhoods and critical
infrastructure. In Seattle, they want to know how to shape their
municipal culture so that even basic budgeting decisions factor
in evolving climate patterns…
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-talk-global-warming-in-plain-english/

DROUGHT

Ethiopia to Miss 11% Growth Target as Drought Hurts Agriculture.
Ethiopia’s economy will expand by between 7 percent and 10
percent this fiscal year, missing the government’s target, as a
severe drought hurts agriculture.  “The economy will continue to
register growth, if not a double-digit fast economic growth…
http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-O4LSFI6KLVR501-77PFPF2PLNG04DHNSFVUT9US8K

Saudi land purchases fuel debate over US water rights. Saudi
Arabia's largest dairy company will soon be unable to farm
alfalfa in its own parched country to feed its 170,000 cows. So
it's turning to an unlikely place to grow the water-chugging crop
- the drought-stricken American Southwest. Almarai Co. bought
land in January that roughly doubled its holdings in California's
Palo Verde Valley…
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CALIFORNIA_DROUGHT_MIDDLE_EAST?SITE=CASON&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-03-28-02-21-31


Police escorts, curfews and long lines: What it takes to get
water in west India. A s two dozen policemen looked on, 25 giant
tanker trucks were loaded up with water from a small reservoir in
rural western India. Escorted by police vehicles, the tankers
filed down the dusty road about 12 miles to deliver the water to
Latur, a city of 500,000 people whose municipal water facilities
long ago ran dry.
http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-india-water-20160328-story.html


FUELS

California ARB posts discussion document on $500M FY 2016-17
spend for low carbon transportation and fuels; $230M to fund
CVRP. The California Air Resources Board (ARB) staff has posted a
discussion document prior to a 4 April 2016 public workshop on
the development of the FY 2016-17 Funding Plan for Low Carbon
Transportation and Fuels Investments and AQIP.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/03/20160328-arb.html 

Sugarcane, modified to produce oil, promises better biodiesel.
Biofuels offer the promise of lower emissions, but they are often
made from crops that might otherwise be used for food—or displace
food acreage. Given the scale of production needed for a given
biofuel to have a meaningful impact on carbon emissions, that's a
problem.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1103102_sugarcane-modified-to-produce-oil-promises-better-biodiesel


VEHICLES

Big Bear Lake pushing for first public vehicle charger.  Imagine
driving roughly 100 miles from downtown Los Angeles to the
tranquil mountain community of Big Bear Lake. You want to drive
around and see the sites, but if you are in an electric-powered
car, it might be time to think about fuel conservation. There’s
the trip home to think about.
There’s no publicly available vehicle charger in the Big Bear
area…
http://www.sbsun.com/environment-and-nature/20160327/big-bear-lake-pushing-for-first-public-vehicle-charger


Very cheap, low-range electric cars key for China, India: Nissan
CEO Ghosn. Carlos Ghosn, who runs automakers Nissan and Renault,
is one of the few auto executives who'll regularly take questions
from a roomful of more than 100 journalists. At last week's New
York Auto Show, many of the questions concerned plans by the
Renault Nissan Alliance for more and higher-volume electric cars.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1103053_very-cheap-low-range-electric-cars-key-for-china-india-nissan-ceo-ghosn

What's the best city for electric cars in the US? Researchers at
the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs
recently compiled a list of the most electric car-friendly US
cities in terms of infrastructure and incentives. Which city does
it the best? Since modern electric cars went on sale in volume
five years ago, some cities have been more eager to promote them
than others.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/In-Gear/2016/0328/What-s-the-best-city-for-electric-cars-in-the-US


EPA vs. Diesel Performance – Finding a Better Way. From the
modern automotive industry’s early days to now, there has been a
delicate balance of power between original equipment
manufacturers and government regulators regarding policies on
vehicle emissions. While OEMs integrate compliance with federal
standards into their corporate operations and accept it as a cost
of doing business….
http://www.trucktrend.com/news/1603-epa-vs-diesel-performance-finding-a-better-way/


Next Hyundai fuel-cell vehicle to be another SUV. The current
Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell was the first of the modern crop of
hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles to go on sale, and it's also the only
one with a crossover utility vehicle body. As the name suggests,
it's a (previous-generation) Tucson fitted with a fuel-cell
powertrain.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1103100_next-hyundai-fuel-cell-vehicle-to-be-another-suv

VW RECALL

VW diesel scandal now 6 months old; what have we learned? The
actual six-month anniversary of the Volkswagen diesel-cheating
scandal came 10 days ago, and news has continued to bubble up
since then. Most recently, all three parties who must agree on a
regulatory settlement (the EPA, the powerful California Air
Resources Board, and VW itself) were granted a further delay in a
court-mandated deadline to release plans for updates to 580,000
affected vehicles.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1103095_vw-diesel-scandal-now-6-months-old-what-have-we-learned


VW Isn’t the Only Car Maker Facing Billions in Emissions Fees.
Volkswagen went to court last week over the emissions scandal.
The US government is suing the automaker for cheating air
pollution tests and VW faces fines that could total as much as
$46 billion. But Volkswagen may not be the only automaker on the
hook for emissions failings.
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2016/03/28/vw-isnt-the-only-car-maker-facing-billions-in-emissions-fees/#ixzz44DbOuMu8


Volkswagen recalls 5,600 U.S. electric vehicles for stalling
issue. Volkswagen AG is recalling nearly 5,600 electric e-Golf
cars in the United States to address a battery problem that can
cause stalling, the company said Monday. VW said the recall
covers all electric vehicles it has sold in the United States
since it launched it in November 2014.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/volkswagen-recalls-5-600-u-electric-vehicles-stalling-170351289--finance.html


GREEN ENERGY

Energy Department backs power line from Plains to Southeast. The
U.S. Department of Energy said Friday it would partner with a
private firm hoping to build a transmission line to carry wind
power from the High Plains to the southeastern United States,
angering Arkansas politicians who believe the federal government
is helping the project bypass state utility regulators. The
agency, invoking the infrastructure-improvement Energy Policy Act
of 2005, said it would participate in the 705-mile Plains &
Eastern Clean Line transmission project…
http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article68280317.html#storylink=cpy


Wind turbines taller than the Empire State Building? Wind power
may not be the cheapest, most efficient, or even most common form
of renewable energy, but it is surely one of the most visually
impressive methods of power generation. Anyone who has driven
from Detroit to Toronto for instance can attest to the awe that
comes from seeing dozens of windmills rising hundreds of feet
into the air all turning in slow arcs with the wind.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2016/03/26/wind-turbines-taller-than-empire-state-building/79468004/


$30 Million Clean Energy Development Program Launched By
INTASAVE. The INTASAVE Energy program is deploying $30 million in
developing low and lower-income countries to install more clean
energy and low-carbon energy infrastructure. Initially, it is
focusing on such projects in Africa in the form of solar
nano-grids.
http://cleantechnica.com/2016/03/28/30-million-clean-energy-development-program-launched-intasave/


Momentum building behind U.S. wind energy. For the first time
ever, federal government uses congressional authority to join
wind power program. U.S. wind energy advocates scored a second
victory after the federal government gave its support to a
transmission line to service the wind power sector. For the first
time, the Department of Energy used authority mandated by…
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Industry/2016/03/28/Momentum-building-behind-US-wind-energy/6881459159450/


Solar group finds renewables win with independent voters.
Conservative candidates trying to woo independent swing-state
voters should talk more about the virtues of solar power,
according to new polling released last week by the Alliance for
Solar Choice (TASC). A survey of 600 independent voters in 11
states found that 90 percent of respondents favor increasing the
use of solar energy…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/03/28/stories/1060034655

OPINIONS

Letters: Bad timing of work on Carmel Valley Road. The Carmel
Valley supervisor’s office has just informed the Carmel Valley
citizens of the extensive road work currently being done on
Carmel Valley road for a several mile stretch. While, in general,
the county’s maintenance efforts must be applauded, the details
of this particular effort prompt more questions than applause.
http://www.montereyherald.com/article/NF/20160327/LOCAL1/160329788


New survey finds a growing climate consensus among
meteorologists. 96% of AMS members realize climate change is
happening, and most understand humans are responsible. There have
been multiple scientific studies that all concur: scientists know
that climate change is happening and it is largely caused by
humans.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2016/mar/28/new-survey-finds-a-growing-climate-consensus-among-meteorologists


How do clouds form? It's way more complex than we learned in
school. Researchers still have a lot to learn about the
processes, both macro and micro, that control clouds. The water
cycle is one of the first science lessons children receive in
elementary school.  The lesson may go something like this:
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2016/0328/How-do-clouds-form-It-s-way-more-complex-than-we-learned-in-school


The Way We Currently Monitor Air Pollution Near the Ship Channel
Sucks, Researchers Say. Houston is the petrochemical epicenter of
the United States, possibly the world. Yet we have no idea what
chemicals the people who live near the industrial tangle of
pipelines, train tracks, refineries and chemical plants along the
Houston Ship Channel have to breathe in every day…
http://www.houstonpress.com/news/the-way-we-currently-monitor-air-pollution-near-the-ship-channel-sucks-researchers-say-8263528


BLOGS

California proposes $230 million in funding for the Clean Vehicle
Rebate Project through 2017. Next week, the California Air
Resources Board (ARB) will hold a public workshop on the FY
2016-17 Funding Plan for Low Carbon Transportation and Fuels
Investments and AQIP. Under the current proposal, the Clean
Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP) would receive $230 million in
funding through 2017.
http://electrek.co/2016/03/28/california-funding-clean-vehicle/ 
 
The Wall Street Journal, Climate Change Denial, and the Galileo
Gambit. Fossil fuel companies have been misleading the public and
policymakers about the risks of their products for decades. These
corporations should obviously be held accountable.
It’s odd that we aren’t able to discuss this straightforwardly.
After all, accountability is common for other industries.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-e-mann/wall-street-journal-climate-change-denial_b_9551482.html




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

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