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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for May 9, 2016.

Posted: 09 May 2016 13:00:55
ARB Newsclips for May 9, 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

UK government accused of pursuing 'gimmicks' to tackle air
pollution. Green lawyers criticise government after it emerged
experts were commissioned to explore whether high-tech paint
could reduce NO2 levels. Lawyers have accused the government of
pursuing gimmicks to tackle illegal air pollution, after it
emerged experts
were…http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/09/uk-government-accused-of-pursuing-gimmicks-to-tackle-air-pollution


CLIMATE CHANGE

China's Shanghai allows use of surplus permits in extended carbon
scheme. The Shanghai carbon market, one of China's pilot
emissions trading schemes, will allow participants to use surplus
permits from the last three years of trading to comply with
emissions targets over 2016-2018, the local government said on
Monday. China is preparing to launch a nationwide carbon trading
scheme next year…
http://www.reuters.com/article/china-carbon-idUSL3N1861W5 

Why outgoing U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon was willing to bet big on a
climate change deal. Ban Ki-moon, the globetrotting
secretary-general of the United Nations, sat inside the Mayflower
Hotel in Washington on a rainy morning this week, sounding
relaxed and reflective. One floor below, the ballrooms were
bustling with business leaders, academics and government
officials, who had gathered for a Climate Action 2016 summit.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/05/06/u-n-chief-from-day-one-i-made-climate-change-the-top-priority/?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=5822b5d00b-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-5822b5d00b-327747457


After the Pacific Ocean swallows villages and five Solomon
Islands, a study blames climate change.  As the ocean rose, they
had to flee. “The sea has started to come inland, it forced us to
move up to the hilltop and rebuild our village there away from
the sea,” said Sirilo Sutaroti, 94, a leader of the Paurata
tribe, to a group of Australian environmental scientists.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/05/09/after-the-pacific-ocean-swallows-villages-and-five-solomon-islands-a-study-blames-climate-change/


New York Plans to Make Fighting Climate Change Good Business.  A
governor wants to lead on green energy. The state’s utilities are
nervously falling in line. Young entrepreneurs are buzzing,
determined to be part of the generation that finally solves
climate change. To most ears, that might sound like California,
where all those things and more are happening. But it also
describes New York.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/10/science/new-york-plans-to-make-fighting-climate-change-good-business.html


S. Florida Republicans lead their party from climate change
denial. Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo and Democratic Rep. Ted
Deutch, whose South Florida districts are already enduring
increased flooding, salt water intrusion and other effects of
rising sea levels, are leading the first truly bipartisan
congressional effort to tackle climate change.
http://www.fresnobee.com/news/politics-government/article76193132.html#storylink=cpy


Exxon scrambles to contain climate crusade. A green campaign to
make the company pay for climate change is besieging the oil
industry and its conservative allies. On Nov. 3, ExxonMobil
dispatched its top lobbyists to Capitol Hill on an urgent mission
— tamping down an escalating campaign aimed at making the
country’s largest oil company pay a legal and political price for
its role in warming the planet.
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/exxon-climate-campaign-222920#ixzz48AyqSplp
 

Hillary Clinton’s Plan to Combat Climate Change. If elected
President, Clinton would tackle global warming via energy
supplies. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, if elected
president, likely wouldn’t prioritize a sweeping rule on climate,
her campaign chairman, John Podesta, said Friday.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/hillary-clinton-s-plan-to-combat-climate-change/


Great Barrier Reef: tourism operators urge Australian government
to tackle climate change. Letter calls for rapid shift to
renewable energy after natural wonder affected by worst coral
bleaching event yet seen. Tourism operators have broken their
silence about the worst crisis ever faced by the Great Barrier
Reef…
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/07/great-barrier-reef-tourism-operators-urge-australian-government-to-tackle-climate-change?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=5822b5d00b-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-5822b5d00b-327747457


Governments Should Study Worst-Case Warming: U.N. A United
Nations panel of scientists seeking ways for nations to limit
global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius should not dissuade
governments from concentrating on bleaker scenarios of higher
temperatures as well, its former chief said. Nations should be
considering the potential impact of temperature rises of as much
as 4 degrees Celsius (7.2 Fahrenheit)…
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/governments-should-study-worst-case-warming-20325?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+climatecentral%2FdjOO+Climate+Central+-+Full+Feed
 

Scientists create new model to map warming-related threats.
Global warming could reshuffle forests in North America as
southern species move north, and now scientists have create a
model to map out the changes. Subtropical species could colonize
the forests of the Cascade Mountain range on the United
States-Canada border. The U.S. Gulf Coast's woodlands could start
looking more like Cuba, and Texas like the hot, dry…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/05/09/stories/1060036867 

Senate leader promises 'concerted push' to cement GHG target.
California lawmakers hope to enshrine greenhouse gas policies
through 2030, as renewed anxieties surface about the state's
legal footing. The head of the state Senate said last week that
he would resume efforts to pass S.B. 32, a bill by state Sen.
Fran Pavley (D) setting 2030 emissions targets that floundered…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/05/09/stories/1060036892 

DROUGHT

California Eyes Conservation Changes as Drought Eases.
Drought-stricken California is taking a look at its strict water
conservation measures after a welcome rainy winter in parts of
the state. State water officials were expected Monday to propose
revising conservation rules that initially called for a 25
percent savings and were later eased to 20 percent.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/05/09/us/ap-us-california-drought.html


10 percent of state out of drought, report says. A new drought
report says all but 10 percent of California is locked in drought
– but that's actually good news. A weekly U.S. drought monitor
released Thursday shows just under 90 percent of the state is
locked in moderate to exceptional drought. That's the first time
since early 2013 that even that small percentage of the state has
been ranked drought-free.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/drought-377173-ocprint-francisco-state.html


CALIFORNIA DROUGHT: Governor Brown orders continued water
cutbacks. Brown says drought is a regular occurrence and water
conservation must be a part of everyday life. Saying the drought
is not over despite the rain and snow we had this year, Gov.
Brown has extended his water-cutback orders, establishing
longer-term water conservation measures, including permanent
monthly water use reporting…
http://www.pe.com/articles/water-802376-brown-orders.html 

EBMUD may end drought surcharges. Many East Bay water customers
may soon see the end of drought financial pain: a 25 percent
emergency surcharge on water bills.
Saying they have enough water this year, East Bay Municipal
Utility District managers recommend that the water board vote
Tuesday to abolish the surcharge tacked on…
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/general-news/20160507/ebmud-may-end-drought-surcharges


Middle East drought in historical perspective.  A recent study
released by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) concludes that the current drought that began in 1998 in
the eastern Mediterranean Levant  – which includes Cyprus,
Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Turkey – is the
region’s worst dry spell since 1100 C.E. NASA scientists
reconstructed our regional drought history…
http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/49520 

DIESEL ACTIVITIES

CARB unveils plan to require 'near zero emission' trucks.; If you
thought scientists tasked with cutting emissions in California
were above using cow farts to power big rigs, you’d be wrong. The
world’s most powerful truck emissions regulator has crafted a
plan to do what truck makers, freight industry leaders and
environmental organizations haven’t been able to do: drastically
reduce emissions while making goods movement more efficient.
http://www.landlinemag.com/Story.aspx?StoryID=31104#.VzC3t00UWUl


Air district, manufacturers to work on developing zero-emission
trucks. The regional air quality agency that oversees Inland
skies has received $23.6 million in funding for a program
to develop and demonstrate zero-emission short-haul trucks that
originate at seaports and use several freight corridors. The
project includes several other California air-quality agencies…
http://www.dailynews.com/environment-and-nature/20160508/air-district-manufacturers-to-work-on-developing-zero-emission-trucks


FUELS

Canada's Oil Output Spared Fire Damage Seen Able to Rebound.
Canada oil-sands producers including Suncor Energy Inc. could
resume production within a week after the threat subsides from
wildfires that cut as much as 40 percent of the region’s output.
A quick restart depends on whether companies managed shutdowns
properly and if power and pipeline infrastructure is unscathed…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-09/canada-s-oil-output-spared-fire-damage-seen-able-to-bounce-back?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=5822b5d00b-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-5822b5d00b-327747457


Saudi Minister Has Task of Easing Dependence on Oil. He was known
as the “maestro,” the man whose every word was dissected by oil
traders and moved markets. For two decades, Saudi Arabia’s oil
minister, Ali al-Naimi, was the architect of Saudi and OPEC
cartel policies, including the one that has now sent the price of
oil into a deep collapse.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/09/business/saudi-minister-has-task-of-easing-dependence-on-oil.html


Cattle grazing, biofuel crops could replace sugar production.
Hawaii company Alexander & Baldwin is considering cattle grazing
and crops used to make biofuels as it phases out sugar production
at the state's last sugar plantation. The company held a
conference call with investors last week covering topics like a
grazing trial on the island and weighing the possibility of
leases for large-scale ranching.
http://napavalleyregister.com/business/cattle-grazing-biofuel-crops-could-replace-sugar-production/article_51e41e36-a254-528f-89b2-ff68c58a8a5b.html


Mobil's Chief Executive Warned of CO2 From Oil Sands Fuels in
1982. Concerned that carbon-heavy fuels would speed up global
warming, the CEO put his trust in the United Nations and federal
scientists to point the way to solutions. The CEO of Mobil
Corporation warned in 1982 that burning Canadian oil sands fuels
could lead to a buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere with
calamitous effects.
http://insideclimatenews.org/news/09052016/mobil-oil-chief-executive-warned-climate-change-co2-oil-sands-fuels-tar-sands-1982-exxon


VEHICLES

California Invites Power Utilities Into the Car-Charging Market.
In California, more than 200,000 electric cars are on the road.
But Governor Jerry Brown wants to raise that number to 1.5
million by 2025. Getting there requires figuring out something
oil companies had to deal with a century ago: how to keep cars
juiced up. “Nobody’s going to buy an electric car unless they see
charging equipment…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-05/california-invites-power-utilities-into-the-car-charging-market


Another study confirms electric cars have lower carbon emissions,
in Minnesota this time. It's a very reasonable question: electric
cars themselves have no tailpipe emissions, but what about the
power plants used to recharge them? After more than a dozen
studies and five-plus years of plug-in car sales, we know the
answer.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1103820_another-study-confirms-electric-cars-have-lower-carbon-emissions-in-minnesota-this-time


World's first fuel-cell car-sharing program to launch in Germany.
Car-sharing services have become increasingly popular over the
past few years, and many of them operate fleets of
battery-electric cars. Now, a German company believes it's time
to pair this new approach to car use with hydrogen fuel-cell
vehicles. The Linde Group—which manufactures and distributes
industrial gases…
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1103841_worlds-first-fuel-cell-car-sharing-program-to-launch-in-germany


Tesla projects total 2016 sales of 80,000 to 90,000 electric
cars. Tesla Motors projects sales of 80,000 to 90,000 electric
cars in 2016, and now believes it will produce 500,000 cars per
year by 2018, rather than 2020. Those two goals were revealed
during Tesla's first-quarter earnings call last Wednesday, and
would take the company a long way from the 50,000 cars it
delivered in 2015.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1103846_tesla-projects-total-2016-sales-of-80000-to-90000-electric-cars


VW RECALL

VW Shares Up on Activist Investor Demands for Restructure. TCI’s
demands for change add to the criticism of the car maker’s
handling of the emissions scandal. Volkswagen AG shares jumped
nearly 4% on Monday, outpacing Frankfurt’s broader blue-chip
index, as traders took heart from activist investor TCI’s demands
to restructure the company.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/vw-shares-up-on-activist-investor-demands-for-restructure-1462808246?mod=pls_whats_news_us_business_f


GREEN ENERGY

EUROPE POWER-Spot lifted by low renewables, strong consumption.
European spot electricity prices for next-day delivery rose on
Monday, lifted by increased demand and lower supply from solar
and wind energy sources, while the year-ahead position gained
alongside oil. Power consumption in Germany is expected to rise
by about 2 gigawatts (GW) on Tuesday and by about 1 GW in France
after… http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL5N1862CN


The 10 Worst States for Solar Power. These states could produce a
ton of clean energy, but they're choosing not to. A lot has been
said already about the success of the states that are leading the
adoption of solar energy. There's plenty to celebrate, as solar
installations smash records and as the industry grows 12 times
faster than the US economy.
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/05/10-worst-states-solar-power


Storage top obstacle to island's quest for energy independence.
Best known for its resorts and white sand beaches, the Dutch
Caribbean island of Aruba is also making a name for itself as a
leader in renewable energy. The country has set an ambitious
target of getting 100 percent of its power from renewable sources
by 2020. Its leaders say by the end of next year the island will
be halfway to that target.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/05/09/stories/1060036870 

OPINIONS

RPT-COLUMN-Brazil's fuel consumption falls as economy shrinks:
Kemp. Brazil's consumption of gasoline and diesel is falling as
the country's commodity-driven boom falls apart and the economy
shrinks. Brazil's gasoline sales grew at an average annual rate
of nearly 7 percent between 2004 and 2014 while diesel use was up
by more than 4 percent per year.
http://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-oil-kemp-idUSL5N1833ZF?feedType=RSS&feedName=rbssEnergyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FUSenergyNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Energy%29


Why this could finally be the election where climate change
matters. Donald Trump, now the presumptive Republican
presidential nominee, has said that “I’m not a big believer in
man-made climate change.” Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, is a strong
proponent of climate change action, and a supporter of continuing
President Obama’s policies on the matter…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/05/09/why-this-could-finally-be-the-election-when-climate-change-matters/


Gulf Coast Climate Risks. To the Editor: Re “Resettling the First
American ‘Climate Refugees’ ” (“Carbon’s Casualties” series,
front page, May 3): It’s the poorest who are on the front lines
of our fight against climate change around the world, and
Louisiana is no exception. This historic federal investment into
community-based approaches to helping these families adapt to
climate change will have to be replicated across the globe.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/09/opinion/gulf-coast-climate-risks.html?_r=0


Dan Walters: Water rights will be next big California fight.
After years of drought, winter’s rain and snow storms generated
close to a normal supply of water for California. As winter
turned to spring, the Bureau of Reclamation announced allocations
to farmers. Rice growers and other farmers in the Sacramento
Valley…
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/politics-columns-blogs/dan-walters/article76119407.html#storylink=cpy


Paying to pollute through cap-and-trade is not a tax. Consider
this scenario: An industrial facility purchases a permit at a
state-run auction so it can legally emit 1 ton of pollution in
California. Although the company is regulated under a statewide
program to cap and steadily reduce emissions from large sources,
it’s not required to buy the permit.
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/california-forum/article75264292.html#storylink=cpy


Water Is the Climate Challenge, Says World Bank. How will climate
change affect you? Probably through water.  That’s the major
message of a new World Bank report that finds the way governments
treat water can have a profound effect on the economy. Good water
management could lead to a six percent increase in global GDP by
2050…
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2016/05/09/water-is-the-climate-challenge-says-world-bank/#ixzz48BHGC3fw


Big oil and renewables were once arch enemies. That’s suddenly
changing. If you think about it, fossil fuel companies moving
into renewables makes a lot of sense. They already have expertise
in generating energy, and getting it from A to B efficiently and
cost-effectively. Large oil profits have paid for investment in
the development of expertise…
http://qz.com/678825/big-oil-and-renewables-were-once-arch-enemies-thats-suddenly-changing/


BLOGS

Climate Change for the Impatient: A Nuclear Mini Ice Age.
Everyone has heard about climate change caused by fossil fuels,
which threatens to raise Earth’s average surface temperature by
about 3-5°C by the year 2100 unless we take major steps toward
mitigation. But there’s an eerie silence about the other major
climate change threat…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/max-tegmark/climate-change-for-the-im_b_9865898.html


US carbon emissions drop, now 12% below 2005 levels. Transition
from coal to natural gas gets most of the credit. US carbon
emissions were down slightly in 2015, continuing a period in
which economic growth has been accompanied by relatively flat
emissions. Compared to 2005, however, the current numbers
represent a 12 percent drop.
http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/05/us-carbon-emissions-drop-now-12-below-2005-levels/


California's search for greener semi-trucks gets a bit more real.
The quest for a cleaner semi-truck has been a long one, and
there's no real end in sight. The EPA's SmartWay Transport
Partnership (SmartTruck) has been working for years to increase
the fuel efficiency of the ubiquitous good haulers. California
is, as usual, about to step in front with a new method of
greening up the fleet.
http://www.autoblog.com/2016/05/06/california-greener-semi-trucks/





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

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