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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for April 1, 2016.

Posted: 01 Apr 2016 15:09:46
ARB Newsclips for April 1, 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.

CAP AND TRADE

In power-plant closure fund, a recognition of the energy grid’s
future
power-plant-closure-fund-recognition-energy-grids-future. State
lawmakers are preparing for more power plants to close, in
recognition of New York's shift away from traditional fossil
fuel-burning plants to power its energy grid. But
environmentalists are balking at what they plan to do about it.
http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2016/03/8595386/power-plant-closure-fund-recognition-energy-grids-future

Consumers Union: State’s transportation policies provide some
savings for Californians. California households are likely to
save up to $1,530 each year by 2030 from clean transportation
policies, according to a new report Thursday from Consumers
Union, the policy and advocacy division of Consumer Reports. The
report, conducted by ICF International, analyzes the consumer
impacts of California’s…
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=30268 

AIR POLLUTION

Officials: Plant owners to pay $8.5M for federal violations.
Federal authorities say the operators of a western Massachusetts
power plant will pay $8.5 million after agreeing to plead guilty
to tampering with air pollution monitoring equipment and
submitting false information to regulators.
http://www.modbee.com/news/business/article69162262.html#storylink=cpy

Torrance residents alarmed over agreement to restart ExxonMobil
refinery. Regulators appear poised to sign off on a proposed
agreement Saturday allowing ExxonMobil’s Torrance refinery to
exceed pollution limits as it resumes gasoline manufacturing,
angering some residents who wonder why the agency is bothering
with a public hearing at all.
http://www.dailynews.com/article/20160331/NEWS/160339889 

Air pollution is costing the US more than $4 billion a year.  Air
pollution contributes to 16,000 premature births in the United
States each year, costing $4.33 billion annually, a new study has
found. Most of the cost, $3.57 billion, is in lost productivity
related to the physical and mental disabilities that arise from
being born prematurely, Dr. Leonardo Trasande, an associate
professor at…
http://www.businessinsider.com/air-pollution-costs-us-4-billion-a-year-2016-3


ALISO CANYON

Porter Ranch: SoCal Gas scrimps on its promise to offset gas leak
damage. Following the massive, four-month natural gas leak near
Porter Ranch, the CEO of Southern California Gas Company publicly
vowed to offset the environmental damage from the estimated
100,000 metric tons of the potent greenhouse gas that escaped a
ruptured well. "We will develop and we will implement a plan to
mitigate…
http://www.scpr.org/news/2016/03/31/59088/socal-gas-scrimps-on-its-promise-to-offset-gas-lea/


CLIMATE CHANGE

Global regulators eye climate risk disclosure for listed
companies.  A global task force unveiled plans on Friday for all
listed companies to disclose in financial reports how
climate-related risks could hit their bottom line. The planned
regime will be voluntary, but companies could use it to comply
with existing mandatory disclosure rules in most G20 countries on
material risks to a company, including from climate change.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-g20-climatechange-accounts-idUSKCN0WY4Y9


Britain's greenhouse gas emissions fell 3.3 pct in 2015:
government. Britain's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions fell by 3.3
percent in 2015, largely due to a decline in coal-fired power
generation and marking the third straight yearly drop,
preliminary government data showed on Thursday. Output of the
heat-trapping gases in Europe's second-largest emitter behind…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-emissions-idUSKCN0WX1BW


Regulators Examine Financial Risks of Climate Change.  Exploring
disclosure rules and stress tests based on different climate
scenarios. Regulators around the globe are researching potential
risks to financial stability from a failure to contain climate
change or a sudden collapse in the value of fossil-fuel assets.
Institutions such as the Bank of England, the Financial Stability
Board…
http://www.wsj.com/articles/regulators-examine-financial-stability-risks-to-climate-change-oil-exposure-1459444688


Wine Industry in U.K. Braced for a Boost From Warmer Climate. The
U.K.’s 100 million pound ($144 million) wine industry will thrive
in warmer temperatures caused by climate change, so long as
investors carefully site vineyards and prepare for some poor
harvests caused by weather shocks. That’s the conclusion of
scientists at the University of East Anglia in a paper published
Friday…
http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-O4WR2N6KLVRW01-05K4BLSVJ51SNID7C0D6CCT0RC

http://www.sfgate.com/wine/article/How-is-climate-change-affecting-the-wines-of-the-7220443.php

Obama and President Xi of China Vow to Sign Paris Climate Accord
Promptly. President Obama and President Xi Jinping of China said
Thursday that they would sign the Paris Agreement on climate
change on April 22, the first day the United Nations accord will
be open for government signatures. Officials cast the
announcement as a…
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/01/world/asia/obama-and-president-xi-of-china-vow-to-sign-paris-climate-accord-promptly.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FGreenhouse%20Gas%20Emissions&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection


Study reveals hidden value of Baja California mangroves in
climate change fight. As climate change has heightened concerns
about the global decline of mangroves, a study released this week
found that such ecosystems along the desert coast of Baja
California may be more important than previously thought for
keeping heat-trapping carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
http://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-mangrove-study-20160331-story.html


New Antarctica ice loss model doubles sea-level rise estimates. A
melting Antarctica alone could raise oceans by more than 3 feet
by the end of the century if greenhouse gas emissions continued
unabated, roughly doubling previous total sea-level rise
estimates, according to new research. Scientists previously
thought glacial melt in Antarctica would raise sea levels…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/03/31/stories/1060034859

Lawmakers, health groups line up behind embattled EPA rule.  A
variety of Clean Power Plan supporters are coming out of the
woodwork this week as deadlines approach for federal court
filings. Today marks the last day parties can submit "friend of
the court" briefs to back U.S. EPA's embattled climate rule…
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2016/04/01/stories/1060034925 

Climate change creates winners and losers among birds. Birds of a
feather flock together, it's said -- and where climate change is
concerned, bird species on both sides of the Atlantic are
responding in similar ways. That's the finding from a new study
published yesterday in the journal Science, which shows rising
global temperatures are creating winners…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/04/01/stories/1060034932 

64 groups endorse Obama's $750M request for U.N. fund. More than
60 environmental, civil rights, faith, humanitarian and other
organizations yesterday said they support the Obama
administration's request to provide $750 million to a U.N. fund
for developing countries to address climate change.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/04/01/stories/1060034958 

DROUGHT

Average snowpack could prolong California water conservation.  A
nearly average spring snowpack in the Sierra Nevada will likely
prolong tough water conservation measures in drought-stricken
California — although the restrictions could be loosened in some
areas after an El Nino storm system drenched the northern half of
the state this winter, officials said.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/article69159507.html#storylink=cpy


Water Agency: 'Relax' Conservation Mandate For Northern
California. Some water providers in northern California say that
with near-normal northern Sierra snowpack, state water managers
should "relax" conservation mandates for the region. The comments
come a day after the season’s last Sierra Nevada snowpack
measurement and as the latest U.S. Drought Monitor…
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2016/03/31/water-agency-relax-conservation-mandate-for-northern-california/


Asia could feel severe water stress by 2050. Asia, home to
roughly half the world's population, could find itself high and
dry by the middle of the century, scientists say.
Coupled with climate change, Asia's explosive population growth
and uninhibited economic development could lead to a severe water
shortfall…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/03/31/stories/1060034858

DIESEL ACTIVITIES

Mexico urged to pass strong emissions limits for heavy trucks;
20,000 deaths cited. A lot of attention is paid to emissions from
cars, but heavy-duty trucks represent a major part of the problem
as well. Trucks cover more mileage than the average passenger car
every year, and with much worse fuel economy. That's led the U.S.
and Canada to tighten emissions standards for large trucks in
recent years.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1103173_mexico-urged-to-pass-strong-emissions-limits-for-heavy-trucks-20000-deaths-cited


FUELS

Oil companies drop their Clean Fuels fight. While the battle
against a state biofuels program won’t end entirely, a cluster of
oil companies and interest groups angling for a fight to repeal
the policy during the November election said Thursday it’s giving
up. The surrender ends a yearslong fight against Oregon’s
low-carbon fuel standard, also known as Clean Fuels because it
aims to…
http://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/4176293-151/oil-companies-drop-their-clean-fuels-fight#
 

EPA again urges companies to voluntarily seek out methane leaks.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has launched another
voluntary program urging oil and gas companies to seek out
methane leaks in their production system of their own accord.
Speaking at the Global Methane Forum in Washington D.C.
Wednesday, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said 41 companies had
already signed…
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2016/03/30/epa-again-urges-companies-to-voluntarily-seek-out-methane-leaks/?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=f3f5781296-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-f3f5781296-327747457


Science panel at odds over biomass blueprint. The fate of U.S.
EPA's framework that spells out how carbon emissions released
from the burning of bioenergy should be accounted for remains
uncertain after its Science Advisory Board (SAB) took up the
matter yesterday.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/04/01/stories/1060034934 

Trade group slams EPA's voluntary methane program. The oil and
gas industry's trade group yesterday predicted that few
exploration and production companies would join a new U.S. EPA
voluntary program to reduce methane emissions. The American
Petroleum Institute said companies have little incentive to join
the program…
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/04/01/stories/1060034935 

VEHICLES

Volkswagen Brand's U.S. Sales Decline 10% in Fifth Straight Drop.
Volkswagen AG’s namesake brand said its March U.S. sales fell 10
percent, declining for a fifth straight month as the German
automaker struggles after regulators revealed in September that
it cheated on diesel-emissions tests. Deliveries slid to 26,914,
Volkswagen said in a statement Friday.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-01/volkswagen-brand-s-u-s-sales-decline-10-in-fifth-straight-drop


A Lot Riding on Tesla’s Model 3 Unveiling. Electric-car maker
aims to prove its coming mass-market vehicle will sell at a
profit. Tony Wetzel is taking Thursday off to hang out at a Tesla
Motors Inc.  showroom outside of Boston and place a deposit on
the electric-car maker’s latest model. Referring to Thursday as
Model 3 Day—in recognition of the public debut of the Silicon
Valley auto maker’s first affordable vehicle…
http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-lot-riding-on-teslas-model-3-unveiling-1459362994

http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_29709508/tesla-model-3-customers-anticipation-builds


A Tesla For The Masses? Orders For Model 3 Top 100K In First
Hours. Tesla, the maker of electric vehicles, Thursday night
unveiled its mass-market Model 3. The car is expected to have a
range of 215 miles at a base price of $35,000 ($27,500 after
federal tax credits). Tesla CEO Elon Musk told a crowd of loyal
fans in Hawthorne, Calif., he is "fairly confident" the vehicle
will go on sale in 2017.
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/04/01/472640001/a-tesla-for-the-masses-the-model-3-is-unveiled-in-california


Electric Car Pledge: is carbon the right reason to get buyers to
switch? Buyers have many different reasons for choosing a plug-in
electric car. Creating marketing campaigns that address all of
them has bedeviled highly-paid professionals for five years. A
new campaign urging North American drivers to make their next car
an electric vehicle inadvertently highlights the challenge.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1103163_electric-car-pledge-is-carbon-the-right-reason-to-get-buyers-to-switch


Study: Lightweight Materials In Vehicles Increases Vehicle-Cycle
GHG Emissions But Improves Fuel Economy. The use of lightweight
materials (carbon-fiber reinforced plastic, wrought aluminum,
etc.) in vehicle manufacture results in higher vehicle-cycle
greenhouse gas emissions, but also in improved fuel-economy,
which leads to a net benefit as far as total life-cycle
greenhouse gas emissions go…
http://cleantechnica.com/2016/03/31/study-lightweight-materials-vehicles-increases-vehicle-cycle-ghg-emissions-improves-fuel-economy/

VW RECALL

Volkswagen's Looming Dividend Cut Shows Investor-Owner Divide. 
As Volkswagen AG’s first dividend cut in six years looms in the
wake of the diesel-emissions scandal, the carmaker must balance
the interests of labor, government and family power brokers
against those of investors who have felt short-changed for
years.
The carmaker’s two largest shareholders…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-31/volkswagen-s-looming-dividend-cut-shows-investor-owner-divide


EPA official who drafted Volkswagen order owns a VW. The director
of U.S. EPA's Air Enforcement Division found himself on the
sidelines as the federal government moved against Volkswagen over
the company's emissions-cheating scheme. Why? Because air
enforcement chief Phillip Brooks owns a Volkswagen car,
specifically one of the models that company had programmed with
software to skirt clean air rules.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/03/31/stories/1060034893 

GREEN ENERGY

Mexico Awards 1,720 Megawatts Of Wind & Solar In First Power
Auction. Seeking to boost the development of clean electricity
south of our border, Mexico has conducted its first power
auction, awarding 1,720 megawatts of wind and solar energy. This
auction took place following the government’s end of the state
electricity monopoly in 2013. Mexican government’s auction saw a
total of seven wind and solar organizations…
http://cleantechnica.com/2016/04/01/mexico-awards-1720-megawatts-wind-solar-first-power-auction/


Researchers Aim to Develop Battery and Solar Cell Hybrid from Two
Single Systems. In the FFG project SolaBat, TU Graz is entering
almost new research territory. Photovoltaic cells are to be
combined into one device with electrochemical energy storage
systems. Whether fair weather or foul, sustainable energy supply
must be independent of natural fluctuations of renewable energy
sources… http://www.azocleantech.com/news.aspx?newsID=23267

How America’s big data centers are going green. Tech companies
could substantially bolster the clean energy market. Data are
everywhere. With the number of Internet-connected devices
expected to jump to 38.5 billion worldwide in the next four
years, information is increasingly important to how we live.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Energy/2016/0330/How-America-s-big-data-centers-are-going-green
 

DOJ cracks down on alleged tax credits scheme. The Department of
Justice said it has discovered 90 people claiming fictitious tax
credits under an alleged "solar energy scheme," showing progress
in investigations for the associated federal court case. 
Justice sought an injunction against three companies and three
men last fall, claiming the group's solar lense…
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2016/03/31/stories/1060034833 

OPINIONS

Don’t Be Fooled by a Climate Change ‘Pause’.  Misconception:
There was a global warming “pause,” so climate change is bunk.
Actually: That’s like saying a temporary dip in the stock market
means that the best long-term investment strategy is keeping your
cash under the mattress. Those who deny the science of climate
change and the role of human activity…
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/02/science/climate-change-misconception-pause.html?_r=0


Deal with the drought or just keep suing? A recent statewide
public opinion survey found that Californians rank water supply
and the drought as top concerns facing the state – above the
economy, education, immigration and every other issue. We’ve
responded by removing lawns and taking shorter showers…
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/water-710276-project-california.html

How much rain did SoCal receive this winter? Not much at all.
It's the last day of March, which means it's the end of the
six-month period during which Southern California receives most
of its rain. So, during this El Niño winter, how much rain did
the region get? Not much at all. A number close to 100 would mean
it had been a typical year for precipitation…
http://www.scpr.org/news/2016/03/31/59075/how-much-rain-did-socal-receive-this-winter-not-mu/

Evolving California High Speed Rail Now Degraded To Only A
Commuter Train! When voters passed in the November 2008 election,
Prop 1A, they approved partially funding a 800 mile High Speed
Rail project, that was to run from San Francisco to San Diego.
The project was to be constructed quickly and be up and running
by 2020.
http://www.foxandhoundsdaily.com/2016/04/evolving-california-high-speed-rail-now-degraded-to-only-a-commuter-train/

BLOGS

Why it is time to rebuild the energy system.  A broad spectrum of
experts agree that if we are to meet the global climate
challenge, then a paradigm shift must occur away from the use of
fossil fuels and towards the widespread adoption of clean energy.
The urgency of the task is underscored by an ever-increasing body
of scientific evidence…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/georg-kell/why-it-is-time-to-rebuild_b_9589282.html




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

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