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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for May 13, 2016.
Posted: 13 May 2016 12:50:10
ARB Newsclips for May 13, 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 Ontario Chamber of Commerce urges one-year delay on cap-and-trade plan. The Ontario Chamber of Commerce is urging the provincial government to delay the implementation of its cap-and-trade plan for one year, saying key questions remain unanswered. The plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is set to take effect next year, but Ontario's Liberal government has not released… http://www.chathamdailynews.ca/2016/05/12/ontario-chamber-of-commerce-urges-one-year-delay-on-cap-and-trade-plan How America's regions learned from Europe's mistakes. In 2010, after the Democratic-led U.S. Senate failed to pass a federal emissions trading system, the measure was widely diagnosed as politically dead. New England states picked up some of the pieces and soldiered on, but in the West, the outlook, compounded by the recession and newly elected Republican governors who insisted the measure was a hidden tax… http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/05/13/stories/1060037170 AIR POLLUTION California's Super-Pollutant Problem. The state known for environmental innovation is also struggling with high levels of some of the worst pollutants out there. In California, six cities are ranked in the top 10 nationwide for the highest levels of "super pollutants," even though the state has some of the nation's strictest clean air regulations. How can this be? The perfect storm of environmental and demographic conditions… http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-05-12/californias-super-pollutant-problem Life in San Joaquin valley, the place with the worst air pollution in America. The air quality in this sunbaked California area known as ‘America’s salad bowl’ has been identified as the worst in the US. Residents are concerned, but low wages mean long hours out in the thick of it. http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/13/california-san-joaquin-valley-porterville-pollution-poverty Enviros applaud methane rule, look to next phase. Environmental groups yesterday cheered new federal methane rules, but said the real climate push will come after U.S. EPA gathers on-the-ground information about emissions from existing oil and gas facilities. The New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) controlling methane from new and modified sources represent the first time that… http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/05/13/stories/1060037205 Bakken emits 275K tons of methane annually, NOAA study. The oil-rich Bakken Shale is leaking hundreds of thousands of tons of methane per year, which is less than the federal government has estimated, according to new research. Based on air samples collected in 2014 over the Bakken, which spans parts of North Dakota, Montana and Canada… http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2016/05/13/stories/1060037201 Obama, Nordic leaders to huddle on climate. Nordic country leaders meet with President Obama at the White House today for a wide-ranging discussion that will include climate change, in particular its impact on the global north. In its statement announcing the summit last month, the White House listed environmental protection and "advancing sustainable development" as areas of focus. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/05/13/stories/1060037181 ALISO CANYON Metals found in dust of Porter Ranch homes linked to post-leak symptoms. Some Porter Ranch residents learned late Thursday that the dust samples collected in their homes more than a month ago showed evidence of metals that were consistent with those found at the natural gas well that blew out near their neighborhood last year. http://www.dailynews.com/health/20160512/metals-found-in-dust-of-porter-ranch-homes-linked-to-post-leak-symptoms http://www.scpr.org/news/2016/05/12/60583/porter-ranch-barium-and-other-metals-found-to-be-t/ CLIMATE CHANGE The vicious cycle that makes people afraid to talk about climate change. If you want to understand why it is that on a planet wracked by climate change, people still don’t talk much about climate change, then this may be the key: They’re people. Or, more specifically, they’re evolved social mammals who are acutely attuned to how they are perceived by the other evolved… https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/05/12/the-vicious-cycle-that-makes-people-afraid-to-talk-about-climate-change/ Climate Change and the Case of the Shrinking Red Knots. Animal migrations combine staggering endurance and exquisite timing. Consider the odyssey of a bird known as the red knot. Each spring, flocks of the intrepid shorebirds fly up to 9,300 miles from the tropics to the Arctic. As the snow melts, they mate and produce a new generation of chicks. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/17/science/climate-change-bird-red-knots.html?_r=0 Trump taps climate change skeptic, fracking advocate as key energy advisor. Republican presidential contender Donald Trump has asked one of America's most ardent drilling advocates and climate change skeptics to help him draft his energy policy. U.S. Republican Congressman Kevin Cramer of North Dakota - a major oil drilling state… http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-energy-idUSKCN0Y41ZP http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2016/05/13/us/politics/13reuters-usa-election-trump-energy.html http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/279842-trump-adviser-pushes-him-to-back-carbon-tax Ahead of UN climate talks, world’s poorest urge early action. World must adapt to meet the unavoidable impacts of climate change head on or face the consequences says DRC envoy. A coalition of the world’s poorest countries will ask the developed world to boost their planned greenhouse gas cuts when they meet for UN climate talks in Bonn next week. http://www.climatechangenews.com/2016/05/13/ahead-of-un-climate-talks-worlds-poorest-urge-early-action/?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=d652ddb9e7-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-d652ddb9e7-327747457 Bay Area Voters Will Decide Next Month If They Want To Pay To Adapt To Sea Level Rise. California has long been a leader in tackling climate change. But in June, voters in the San Francisco Bay area will have the chance to take their state’s commitment to addressing the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation a step further. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/05/12/3777790/bay-area-sea-level-rise-environmental-tax/?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=d652ddb9e7-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-d652ddb9e7-327747457 Young Forests Can Store ‘Enormous’ Amounts of Carbon. Woodland areas that regrow after forest fires, logging operations or other disturbances can sequester huge amounts of carbon dioxide and they play an unexpectedly valuable role in mitigating climate change, according to a study by 60 scientists from across the globe. http://www.climatecentral.org/news/young-forests-store-enormous-amounts-carbon-20348 USDA wants to persuade farmers to mitigate climate change. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack shared May 12 the first results of USDA's Building Blocks for Climate Smart Agriculture and Forestry, one year after the plan was unveiled at Michigan State University. In addition to providing specific goals and results of the many actions USDA is taking to help farmers… http://southeastfarmpress.com/soybeans/usda-wants-persuade-farmers-mitigate-climate-change Pershing: Climate deal could take effect this year. When climate change negotiators meet in Germany next week for midyear U.N. talks, they'll face the dual task of preserving the excitement of last year's landmark deal while starting the more mundane work of setting it in motion, U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change Jonathan Pershing said yesterday. It won't be an easy feat, the top U.S. negotiator said. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/05/13/stories/1060037206 Shrinking shorebird struggles to survive as Arctic warms. The rapidly warming Arctic has messed up key ecological connections in the region and spilled over into the fate of a tiny Arctic shorebird that makes one of the most epic migrations ever observed. Red knots are shrinking in size, which has affected their ability to find the right insects to feed on… http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/05/13/stories/1060037183 Canada wildfire releasing 'large amount' of CO2. The tables have turned for Fort McMurray's forests, which usually absorb CO2. Early in Canada's fire season, the blaze there has burned some of those trees, releasing much of their stored greenhouse gases back into the air. The Fort McMurray wildfires have released the equivalent of up to 5 percent of the country's annual greenhouse gas emissions… http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/05/13/stories/1060037164 DROUGHT Severe And Extreme Drought Eases In California. The U.S. Drought Monitor released May 12 shows some minor improvement in California drought conditions and the removal of the short-term drought designation. But the seasonal outlook shows drought persisting through the dry season as California’s drought continues for a fifth consecutive year. http://www.capradio.org/72803 DIESEL ACTIVITIES The German transport ministry says General Motors' Opel division has been asked to appear before a commission looking into diesel emissions controls. The German transport ministry says General Motors' Opel division has been asked to appear before a commission looking into diesel emissions controls after an environmental group claimed two of its models are able to reduce pollution controls. http://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2016-05-13/gms-opel-asked-to-appear-before-german-emissions-panel FUELS House bill proposes capping ethanol content in gasoline at 9.7%. US Representatives Bill Flores (R-TX), Peter Welch (D-VT), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Jim Costa (D-CA) have introduced legislation—H.R. 5180 —that would cap the maximum volume of ethanol blended into the transportation fuel supply at 9.7% of projected gasoline demand as determined by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/05/20160513-flores.html VEHICLES GM's Opel to appear before German diesel emissions panel. The German transport ministry says General Motors' Opel division has been asked to appear before a commission looking into diesel emissions controls after an environmental group claimed two of its models are able to reduce pollution controls. The environmental group, DUH, says it has tested Opel's Zafira and Astra models and claims… http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_OPEL_EMISSIONS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT GM lags on emissions, EV goals. General Motors Co. is falling behind its targets for electric vehicles and fleetwide emissions as consumers flock to less fuel-efficient vehicles. The automaker, like the rest of the industry, is meeting and exceeding fuel economy standards set by the federal government. Its cars incorporate increasingly more hybrid or electric features. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/05/13/stories/1060037207 VW RECALL VW sales rise for first time since emissions scandal. Volkswagen sales recover with 5.4% increase as major European economies all post rises in new car registrations. Volkswagen’s cars sales across Europe returned to growth last month for the first time since the diesel emissions scandal broke last September. New passenger car registrations in the EU in April were up 9% on a year earlier to 1.3m vehicles… https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/may/13/vw-sales-rise-diesel-emissions-scandal GREEN ENERGY China to boost energy storage 10-fold to cut power waste –industry. China is expected to raise its power storage capacity by ten-fold to 14.5 gigawatts by 2020, as the world's second-biggest economy tries to cut massive waste from renewable energy projects, an industry association said. China is the world largest wind and solar power producer, but some regions are estimated… http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL3N1873CH UPDATE 1-Dutch offshore wind tender attracts bids from Shell, RWE and Vattenfall. Some of Europe's biggest energy companies, including Shell, RWE and Vattenfall, are competing in a Dutch offshore wind tender seen as one of the biggest green energy projects on offer in Europe this year. The Dutch government has an ambitious target to more than quadruple its offshore wind energy capacity by 2023… http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL5N18A3W1 MISCELLANEOUS National project to harness microbes for health, environment. We share our bodies and our surroundings with teeming communities of microbes that are crucial to the health of people and the planet, and now the Obama administration is beginning a major project to better understand those invisible ecosystems - even control them. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MICROBE_PROJECT_WHITE_HOUSE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT OPINIONS The most polluted city in the world isn’t Beijing or Delhi. What's the most polluted city in the world? Some might point to Beijing, the Chinese capital, and its now legendary smog problem. Others may point toward India, where Delhi's own air pollution problems are become similarly infamous. However, a new report from the World Health... https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/05/13/the-most-polluted-city-in-the-world-isnt-beijing-or-delhi/ El Niño’s Devastation. To the Editor: Re “Early Spring and El Niño Fuel Inferno in Canada” (news article, May 6): The destructive wildfire in Fort McMurray, Alberta, must be a concern for the whole world. In fact, many developing countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Pacific are suffering under El Niño’s devastating and far-reaching effect. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/14/opinion/el-ninos-devastation.html Big Oil stands in way of clean air. Bakersfield parents Jessica Sida-Romero and Eugene Romero have spent many restless nights with their sons Nathan, 3, and Andrew, 11, who suffer from asthma. They closely monitor air quality, and when the air is bad, the boys can’t play outside. http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article77258857.html#storylink=cpy Drought? What drought? San Onofre surfers want their beach showers back. Gene Lee poured a jug of water over his head after a recent surf session at San Onofre State Beach. The San Clemente surfer understood when the state needed to turn off the showers in the midst of the drought last year, and he still brings water from home for his after-surf rinse. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/water-378062-ocprint-state-san.html Wynne can’t fix cap-and-trade. The Ontario Chamber of Commerce should have gone further when it urged Premier Kathleen Wynne to delay her cap-and-trade carbon pricing scheme by a year, until Jan. 1, 2018. It should have called on Wynne to scrap it, and replace it with a carbon tax that is 100% revenue neutral to the public. http://www.torontosun.com/2016/05/13/wynne-cant-fix-cap-and-trade BLOGS The Deadly Problem of Urban Air Pollution. A new World Health Organization report paints a disturbing picture of the quality of air in cities around the globe. Pollution levels increased 8 percent between 2008 and 2013 worldwide and more than 80 percent of people who live in cities that measure their air quality are exposed to sulfates, nitrates, black carbon and other pollutants at levels that exceed W.H.O. limits. http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/05/12/the-deadly-problem-of-urban-air-pollution/ Thanks El Niño, But California’s Drought Is Probably Forever. Drought is a tricky thing to define. It is not just a matter of how little water falls out of the sky. If it were, you would be forgiven for believing that California’s wettish winter had ended, or even alleviated, the worst drought in state history. But no. http://www.scpr.org/news/2016/05/12/60583/porter-ranch-barium-and-other-metals-found-to-be-t/ EPA Cracks Down on Methane Leaks in the Wake of California Disaster. Almost three months to the day that a southern California utility work crew finally capped a massive, runaway natural gas leak that allowed more than two million tons of methane gas to escape into the atmosphere above the San Fernando Valley… http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2016/05/13/EPA-Cracks-Down-Methane-Leaks-Wake-California-Disaster These 10 Cities Are Choking On The Planet’s Worst Air Pollution. Dirty air kills some 3 million people worldwide each year. Urban air pollution is on the rise and, to little surprise, those living in some of the world’s poorest cities are breathing in the worst of it. The World Health Organization on Thursday released updated data showing more than 80 percent… http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/air-pollution-2016-world-health-organization_us_5735275ee4b077d4d6f2b165 Watching Climate Change in Action at South Pole. The Global Monitoring Division (GMD) specializes in making long-term, continuous measurements of trace gases in the atmosphere which affect the Earth’s climate. GMD operates six baseline observatories that stretch from the Arctic Circle to the South Pole. These facilities act as the backbone of our data collection efforts. http://blogs.voanews.com/science-world/2016/05/13/watching-climate-change-in-action-at-south-pole/ California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.