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ARB Newsclips for April 12, 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

In the US, the cost of illnesses triggered by air pollution is
falling. In the endless tug-of-war between industry and
regulators over air pollution, industry issues repeated warnings
about the economic costs of regulation, but rarely mentions costs
of pollution to society. Yet, according to the World Health
Organization, air pollution causes 3.3 million premature deaths
worldwide.
http://news.trust.org/item/20160412092050-47444?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=72b81f3b5f-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-72b81f3b5f-327747457


ALISO CANYON

'This is a threat. This is not a report.' Critics call blackout
warnings a scare tactic to keep Aliso Canyon open. If energy
agencies and utilities ever want to scare consumers, they need
say little more than "blackouts." Those rolling power outages,
well remembered from the state's energy crisis of 2000-01, sit at
the heart of the case California energy officials are making to
keep the troubled Aliso Canyon…
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-gas-field-20160412-story.html


Porter Ranch: Residents say SoCal Gas is behind on relocation
payments. Some residents who fled their homes  in the wake of the
four-month natural gas leak near Porter Ranch say Southern
California Gas Company has delayed paying all reimbursements for
food, mileage and housing the residents say they were promised.
http://www.scpr.org/news/2016/04/11/59454/porter-ranch-residents-say-socal-gas-is-behind-on/


CLIMATE CHANGE

Obama’s rapid move to join the Paris climate agreement could tie
up the next president. In late March, when the United States and
China jointly declared that they’d be moving to immediately sign
and then join the Paris climate agreement “as early as possible
this year,” it was seen as the latest show of joint leadership by
the two largest emitters. But there’s another possible
implication that went largely unnoticed.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/04/11/obamas-fast-move-to-join-the-paris-climate-agreement-could-tie-up-the-next-president/?postshare=2451460392873876&tid=ss_tw&utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=72b81f3b5f-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-72b81f3b5f-327747457


A California farmer who is preparing for climate change. Don
Cameron expects farmers will see some of the biggest effects as
the climate changes, and he says growers need to take proactive
steps to prepare. For 35 years, he has been the vice president
and general manager of Terranova Ranch near Fresno, and he has
noticed rising temperatures…
http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/environment/2016/04/11/california-farmer-who-preparing-climate-change/82905732/


Political storm clouds outlook for Brazil's climate change plan. 
As at least 130 countries prepare to sign the Paris climate
agreement in New York later this month, environmental experts
have warned that enthusiasm for climate change action may be
waning in Brazil. The political and economic crises now rocking
the Latin American heavyweight could undermine the key role
played by Brazil in shaping the new international deal to curb
global warming, they say.
http://news.trust.org/item/20160412092050-47444?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=72b81f3b5f-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-72b81f3b5f-327747457


Those ambitious global warming goals? The world may not know how
to reach them. In 11 days, on Earth Day, world leaders will
assemble at the United Nations in New York to sign the Paris
climate agreement. That document pledges to hold the planet’s
warming to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial
levels, and even to aspire to a 1.5 degree C temperature limit.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/04/11/those-ambitious-global-warming-goals-the-world-may-not-know-how-to-reach-them/


Climate Change and Copper-Contaminated Wetlands Could Lead to
Amphibian. According to a team of researchers from the University
of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, the disappearance
of two amphibian species, which include the southern leopard frog
and the southern toad, may be accelerated by the effects of
copper-contaminated wetlands and climate change.
http://www.azocleantech.com/news.aspx?newsID=23278 

More rail, fewer roads could be cheaper and greener – study.
Building a transportation infrastructure that will keep global
warming to 2 degrees Celsius might be cheaper than continuing as
normal, according to an analysis by the World Resources
Institute. The 2-degree pathway requires more investment in rail,
buses and vehicle technology, but less in road infrastructure and
parking…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/04/12/stories/1060035440 

Paris climate goals don't include 'realities,' researcher says.
The Paris climate accord forged last December leaves a yawning
gap between the science and the politics of climate change,
creating a murky path to meeting its objectives, according to one
scientist.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/04/12/stories/1060035434 

DROUGHT

Sierra Nevada Snow Won’t End California’s Thirst. Thanks in part
to El Niño, snowpack in the Sierra Nevada is greater than it has
been in years. With the winter snowfall season winding down,
California officials said that the pack peaked two weeks ago at
87 percent of the long-term average. That’s far better than last
year, when it was just 5 percent of normal…
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/12/science/california-snow-drought-sierra-nevada-water.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=photo-spot-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

FUELS

Biodiesel in MN Has Big Effect on Lowering Emissions.  According
to a new analysis from the American Lung Association of
Minnesota, using biodiesel has had a dramatic effect on lowering
harmful tailpipe emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO2). The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cites mobile transportation
accounts for more than half of all air pollution in the U.S.
http://energy.agwired.com/2016/04/12/biodiesel-in-mn-has-big-effect-on-lowering-emissions/


VEHICLES

NREL releases study on public sentiments on PEVs. NREL has
released a new report presenting the findings of a study on the
public’s sentiments regarding plug-in vehicles (PEVs), with a
focus on vehicle purchasing behaviors, awareness, and barriers to
acceptance. Conducted in February 2015, the study—“Consumer Views
on Plug-in Electric Vehicles-National Benchmark Report”…
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/04/20160412-nrel.html 

House Republicans hint at debate over car emissions. Members of
the House Energy and Commerce Committee pressed for details
yesterday on an upcoming review of fuel economy standards.
Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Reps. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) and
Michael Burgess (R-Texas) sent a letter to the heads of U.S. EPA
and the National Highway Traffic Safety…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/04/12/stories/1060035435 

VW RECALL

Volkswagen delays recall of 160,000 cars due to software glitch.
Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) will slightly delay the recall of 160,000
Passat and Skoda cars in Europe after software updates aimed at
fixing emission violations failed to work, it said on Monday.
Checks by the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA)
showed that fuel consumption of some 2.0 liter diesel engines had
increased following a software update to fix the problems, a
spokesman for the company said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emission-idUSKCN0X8272

 
Volkswagen's board to discuss giving up bonuses.  Volkswagen AG's
executive board is expected Tuesday to discuss voluntarily giving
up a portion of management's bonuses for 2015 amid growing
pressure from shareholders and labor leaders. The company's top
executives are being urged to make a strong show of solidarity
with workers…
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/volkswagens-board-to-discuss-giving-up-bonuses-2016-04-12-74854119


GREEN ENERGY

Argentina aims for $5 bln investment in renewable energy by 2018.
Argentina aims to rake in $5 billion in investments in renewable
energy by 2018 with the goal of reducing its energy deficit, a
government official told Reuters, as hopes for near-term
increased output from the Vaca Muerta shale field fade.
http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL5N17B4HN 

MISCELLANEOUS

Longtime SF environmental leader Blumenfeld leaving EPA. It can
take a while to settle into a new job in a federal bureaucracy,
but Jared Blumenfeld managed to get his feet wet within months of
taking over as regional administrator for the Environmental
Protection Agency. He’d barely taken the oath of office in 2010
before he was sloshing through acid water at a polluted mine in
Northern California.
http://www.sfchronicle.com/science/article/Longtime-SF-environment-leader-leaving-EPA-7241940.php?t=00157c94fc1210a92f&cmpid=twitter-premium


OPINIONS

Earth to Volkswagen: Get a Grip. There's something otherworldly
about the problems engulfing Volkswagen, a carmaker nominally
from Germany but increasingly divorced from reality. Take the row
that's broken out about whether or not VW executives should get
bonuses for last year. For any right-thinking resident of planet
earth, the answer is quite straightforward: nein, not a nickel.
http://www.bloomberg.com/gadfly/articles/2016-04-12/volkswagen-should-get-a-grip-on-bonuses


Another View: Diablo Canyon isn’t part of clean energy future.
The Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant is facing a clear
operational conflict. While its licenses from the federal Nuclear
Regulatory Commission are set to last until 2024 and 2025, its
leases from the State Lands Commission expire in 2018 and 2019.
Some are urging the commission to grant an interim lease through
2025…
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article71213282.html


BLOGS

Ignoring Climate Change Symptoms Will Lead to Terminal Diagnosis.
 As a nurse, I can tell you how hard it is to be present when
someone is getting the news of a terminal diagnosis. Worse yet is
when there were signs, many of them, that were ignored. Signs
that, had they acted, would have likely resulted in a very
different outcome.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ronda-seifert/take-climate-change-symptoms-seriously-terminal_b_9662164.html


Climate Change May Be Causing Earth’s Poles To Shift.  Scientists
solve mystery of why the planet’s axis is tilting eastward. The
position of Earth’s axis has dramatically shifted, likely because
of melting ice sheets (fueled by climate change) and natural
changes in water storage on land, according to a new study in the
journal Science Advances.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/earth-poles-climate-change_us_5706c52ee4b0537661892db4





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