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ALISO CANYON

California seeks to avoid power outages after Aliso Canyon gas
leak.
Power generators in the greater Los Angeles area face up to 14
days of natural gas shortages severe enough to cause blackouts
this summer in the aftermath of the months-long methane leak at
the Aliso Canyon gas storage field, state energy regulators
warned on Tuesday. Forecasting the likelihood of power
disruptions as the region's warm-weather demand for electricity
peaks, regulators called for greater conservation and other
measures to help offset gas supplies lost as Aliso Canyon remains
partially shut down indefinitely.
http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-california-sempra-ener-alisocanyon-u-idUSL2N1781K4


AIR POLLUTION

California audit: Valley air pollution district charges too
little.
The California State Auditor released a report Tuesday pointing
out that the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District
charges far less for its permits than is allowed under state law.
The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District was formed
when eight county agencies with similar responsibilities were
merged. It includes San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera,
Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Kern counties. The district is
responsible for ensuring compliance with air quality standards
set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article70069647.html 

Smog-Alert Car Ban Jams Metro, Buses in Mexico City.
Mexico City residents packed buses and subway cars and many
walked or biked to work Wednesday, as authorities barred millions
of vehicles from the streets due to a pollution alert. Under new
regulations imposed after the capital recently experienced its
worst air-quality crisis in over a decade, the Phase 1 alert was
declared when smog levels hit 1½ times acceptable limits on
Tuesday.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_MEXICO_POLLUTION_ALERT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


CLIMATE CHANGE

Which countries are most at risk from climate change and how can
we help?
The countries most vulnerable to climate change are among the
poorest and least able to respond. How to resolve that dilemma
and help these places adapt to a warming world remains among the
knottiest problems facing climate financing. The good news is
that identifying those most in need – step one – is now a good
deal easier thanks to a global league table developed by the
University of Notre Dame.
http://www.latimes.com/world/global-development/la-fg-global-climate-irin-04042016-story.html


Cities Are the Front Lines for Action on Climate Change.
When it comes to confronting the challenge of climate change,
cities are on the front lines. From rising seas submerging
coastal property to precipitation changes in the desert, climate
impacts are here—and undeniably local. Climate change may have
once been the ultimate slow-moving and global threat, but our
residents and our critical infrastructure are already feeling its
effects. The threats to our economies are serious enough that the
risks of continued inaction can no longer be ignored.
http://time.com/4282916/clean-power-plan/ 

EPA head says Paris agreement will require more climate work from
next administration.
As the United States works to meet the climate change goal agreed
to in Paris last year, actions taken by President Barack Obama to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions will need to be expanded,
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy said
Tuesday. The EPA head said the next administration would need to
help promote technologies like carbon capture, nuclear energy and
electric cars. She cited efforts now to better understand the
extent to which emissions from airplanes and landfills are
contributing to global warming.
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2016/04/05/epa-head-says-next-administration-must-continue-climate-change-work-to-meet-paris-goal/?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=7577f8c8b6-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-7577f8c8b6-327749509


NASA Is Facing a Climate Change Countdown.
The concrete block perches absurdly atop a piling, elevated about
10 feet above the beach sand. Is it art? A bulky milepost?
Carlton Hall pointed to the puzzling object and explained that it
was once a tie-down block for securing structures like antenna
towers. Dr. Hall, the chief scientist for the space center’s
ecological program, said that when he started working here a few
decades ago, the block had been buried. Now the sand that
enveloped it is gone, swept away by the forces of coastal erosion
and storms.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/05/science/nasa-is-facing-a-climate-change-countdown.html


Maldives becomes fourth island state to ratify Paris climate
deal.
The Maldives has become the fourth small island state to announce
it has ratified the Paris climate agreement, two weeks before an
official UN signing ceremony in New York. Parliament voted to
approve the pact on Tuesday, which commits countries to limit
global warming to well below 2C above pre-industrial levels, and
target net zero carbon emissions before 2100.
http://www.climatechangenews.com/2016/04/06/maldives-becomes-fourth-island-state-to-ratify-paris-climate-deal/?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=7577f8c8b6-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-7577f8c8b6-327749509


Scientists Blame El Niño, Warming for 'Gruesome' Coral Death.
The coral on the South Pacific sea floor around Kiritimati looked
like a boneyard in November - stark, white and lifeless. But
there was still some hope. In April, color returned with fuzzy
reds and browns, but that's not good news. Algae has overtaken
the lifeless coral on what had been some of the most pristine
coral reefs on the planet, said University of Victoria coral reef
scientist Julia Baum said after dozens of dives in the past week.
Maybe 5 percent will survive, she estimated.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SCI_CORAL_DEATH?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


CAP AND TRADE

UCLA Luskin Center study shows low-income Californians benefit
from cap-and-trade.
Low-income Californians feel the pinch when gasoline, electricity
and natural gas prices increase. And it’s logical to think that
the state’s cap-and-trade program might add to those expenses.
But this program is generating billions of dollars to provide an
array of benefits to Californians, especially those living in
disadvantaged communities.
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/ucla-luskin-center-study-shows-low-income-californians-benefit-from-cap-and-trade


DROUGHT

California doesn't let a drought go to waste.
Researchers at the University of Twente in the Netherlands
recently announced a startling global statistic. About two-thirds
of the world’s population experience a severe water scarcity for
at least one month during the year. About half of these 4 billion
people live in India and China. And the country that comes in
third for periodic water shortages? The United States, with
California as drought central. Yet something just as startling
should be noted about California and how its 39 million people
have responded to a long and historic dry spell.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2016/0405/California-doesn-t-let-a-drought-go-to-waste


FUELS

Can we use 'reverse photosynthesis' to make biofuels?
German scientists say they have discovered a way to significantly
speed up the process of making fuel from biomass, which includes
non-food plant material such as wood or grass. Researchers have
discovered that monooxygenases, enzymes already widely used to
make bioplastics and biofuel — a clean-burning fuel, or ethanol,
made from agricultural waste instead of petroleum — work
significantly faster and more efficiently when exposed to
sunlight. The enzymes break down biomass to release sugars from
plant fibers which are then fermented into ethanol. But without
sunlight, the process takes a long time.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2016/0405/Can-we-use-reverse-photosynthesis-to-make-biofuels


VW RECALL

U.S., Volkswagen may not reach emissions deal by April 21 -
government official.
The top U.S. environmental official expressed uncertainty on
Tuesday about whether the Obama administration and Volkswagen AG
(VOWG_p.DE) will meet an April 21 court deadline to come up with
a plan to address excess emissions from 580,000 diesel vehicles
sold in the country. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy told
reporters that the two sides were in "really robust" ongoing
talks but said she did not know if they would agree to a deal by
April 21. She declined to say if the administration would accept
a partial fix of the polluting vehicles or if it would insist
that Volkswagen offer to buy them all back.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emission-epa-idUSKCN0X21R0


GREEN ENERGY

In Race to Improve Batteries, Nanotechnology Provides Hope.
In the global race to create more efficient and long-lasting
batteries, some are betting on nanotechnology - the use of
minuscule parts - as the most likely to yield a breakthrough.
Improving batteries' performance is key to the development and
success of many much-hyped technologies, from solar and wind
energy to electric cars. They need to hold more energy, last
longer, be cheaper and safer.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_BATTERIES_NANOTECHNOLOGY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Newly approved Mojave Desert solar plant quickly criticized.
Despite objections from environmentalists, the Obama
administration on Tuesday approved the 287-megawatt Soda Mountain
solar energy plant for a remote part of the Mojave Desert. The
1,767-acre project being developed by Bechtel is located on land
managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, about six miles
southwest of Baker.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/project-711009-mountain-blm.html


VEHICLES

Is carbon the right reason to get buyers to go electric?
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.csmonitor.com/Business/In-Gear/2016/0406/Is-carbon-the-right-reason-to-get-buyers-to-go-electric


OPINION

Efficient buildings are key to state’s clean-energy push.
Making our homes and businesses more energy efficient should be a
no-brainer. Switching out incandescent light bulbs, upgrading our
heating and air-conditioning systems and other improvements save
energy and money, and reduce pollution. Yet despite billions of
dollars in taxpayer- and ratepayer-funded incentives and rebates,
our efficiency efforts in California aren’t keeping pace with
increasing electricity demand.
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article70090332.html


Is the proposed Port of L.A. rail yard an environmental bait and
switch?
After more than 10 years of analysis, a 5,000-page environmental
impact report, countless public hearings and seven lawsuits, a
judge last week blocked plans to build a new rail yard at the
Port of Los Angeles. The new yard, to be known as the Southern
California International Gateway, was planned as a $500-million,
153-acre freight transfer point where trucks could deliver
containers from the nearby docks to trains ready to haul the
cargo across the country. 
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-port-rail-yard-20160406-story.html




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