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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for May 16, 2016.
Posted: 16 May 2016 14:19:31
ARB Newsclips for May 16, 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 Carbon trading in a non-market economy: China dives in. When it comes to learning about emissions trading, China has had a leg up. The world's leading emitter of greenhouse gases has spent 15 years scouting the globe to learn from the mistakes of other nations and find the best ways to build a trading system of its own, which could become the world's largest. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/05/16/stories/1060037246 AIR POLLUTION Mexico City lifts year’s 4th smog alert after a day. Mexico City authorities have lifted a smog alert one day after ozone levels rose above 150 percent of acceptable limits. A statement from the metropolitan area’s environmental commission said favorable weather conditions Sunday morning and rains in the afternoon led to a reduction. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_MEXICO_POLLUTION_ALERT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT OTHER RELATED STORIES https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/mexico-city-emits-new-pollution-alert-for-high-ozone-levels/2016/05/14/569ffe52-1a34-11e6-971a-dadf9ab18869_story.html Study finds toxic metals in Los Angeles homes near gas leak. Homes located near a gas well blowout that spewed the nation's largest-known release of methane had higher levels of toxic metals that could have caused symptoms Los Angeles residents have suffered from for months, public health officials said. Tests found barium… http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CALIFORNIA_GAS_LEAK?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT OTHER RELATED STORIES http://www.ocregister.com/articles/gas-378367-ocprint-health-well.html Justices won't touch $236M verdict in Exxon Mobil pollution. The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it will not hear Exxon Mobil's appeal of a $236 million judgment for its use of a gasoline additive that contaminated groundwater in New Hampshire. The court's order leaves in place a jury verdict involving contamination by the chemical MTBE. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SUPREME_COURT_POLLUTION_TRIAL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Governments Seek Rules for Paris Climate Deal; Temperatures Soar. Governments began work on Monday on a rule book to implement the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit global warming, with the United Nations urging stronger action after a string of record-smashing monthly temperatures. NASA said at the weekend that last month was the warmest April in statistics… http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2016/05/16/world/europe/16reuters-climatechange-talks.html?_r=0 Mexico City emits new pollution alert for high ozone levels. Mexican authorities have issued a new smog alert for the capital after ozone levels rose above 150% of acceptable limits. It’s the fourth time this year that Mexico City has seen such an alert, which triggers additional restrictions on automobile usage. On Sunday 20% of vehicles will be barred from the streets of the capital and the surrounding suburbs. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/05/14/mexico-city-new-pollution-alert/84400572/ Once declared a model for fighting air pollution, Mexico City again chokes. As the evening thunder turned to rainfall last week, residents savored the cooling and cleansing effects of long-awaited spring showers. For more than a month, Mexico's capital had been in the grip of a prolonged stretch of unseasonable heat, sparse winds and some of the worst air pollution the city has seen in more than a decade. http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article77648227.html#storylink=cpy Winds put Coachella Valley under dust advisory. A dust advisory has been issued by the South Coast Air Quality Management District as a result of the strong, gusty winds blowing off and on throughout the Coachella Valley on Sunday. The windblown dust and sand are causing unhealthy conditions, especially for people with asthma… http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/local/2016/05/15/scaqmd-issues-windblown-dust-advisory-for-coachella-valley/84421040/ 'Smog is our best advertising': pollution has an upside for some. For companies who bottle pure mountain air, like one in Canada, plummeting air quality is a business opportunity. For the rest of us, it’s a killer. For one company, at least, the world’s escalating air pollution crisis has an upside. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/may/14/climate-change-smog-pollution-bottled-air E&C panel set to vote on bill stalling ozone rule. At a House subcommittee markup last week, Republicans were in lockstep agreement that states need plenty more time to meet U.S. EPA's new ozone standard. Democrats were equally adamant that no delay is warranted. http://www.eenews.net/eedaily/2016/05/16/stories/1060037274 CLIMATE CHANGE Obama and Nordic leaders: Economic activity in the Arctic must pass climate test. President Obama and the leaders of five Nordic nations agreed Friday to apply strict environmental standards and climate goals to commercial activities in the Arctic, a pledge that could have major implications for everything from future energy exploration to fishing and shipping in the region. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/05/13/obama-and-nordic-leaders-economic-activity-in-the-arctic-must-pass-climate-test/?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=b47437eee0-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-b47437eee0-327747457 GOP: EPA is violating court hold on climate rule. Top Republican lawmakers are accusing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of violating a Supreme Court order to stop enforcing its climate change rule for power plants. In a Friday letter to the agency, leading members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee… http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/279894-gop-epa-is-violating-court-hold-on-climate-rule?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=b47437eee0-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-b47437eee0-327747457 April breaks global temperature record, marking seven months of new highs. Latest monthly figures add to string of recent temperature records and all but assure 2016 will be hottest year on record. April 2016 was the hottest April on record globally – and the seventh month in a row to have broken global temperature records. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/16/april-third-month-in-row-to-break-global-temperature-records Global warming worsens with record temps, widespread coral bleaching. Six months after 195 nations vowed tougher action to curb global warming, the problem has only grown worse, with higher accumulations of greenhouse gas emissions, record worldwide temperatures and widespread coral bleaching from hotter ocean waters. http://www.kvue.com/news/nation-now/global-warming-worsens-with-record-temps-widespread-coral-bleaching/196720956 Global Warming to Spur More Fires in Alaska, in Turn Causing More Warming. Dangerous cycle includes more tundra blazes and threats to the boreal forests, as well as the people of Alaska, new research shows. As firefighters continue their struggle to contain the destructive forest fire that has already ravaged Fort McMurray, Alberta, new evidence shows that global warming… http://insideclimatenews.org/news/16052016/global-warming-spur-wildfires-alaska-climate-change-permafrost-tundra Paris climate deal rules sought. Governments have begun work on implementing the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit global warming. The planning comes after NASA reported last month was the warmest April in statistics dating back to the 19th century, the seventh month in a row to break temperature records. http://www.themercury.com.au/news/breaking-news/paris-climate-deal-rules-sought/news-story/656640f69991e5de4a5f2d4b240c0453 How Global Warming Is Making Some Diseases Even Scarier. The link between climate and vector-borne infections. Americans should expect a surge in deaths from heat waves, flooding, and respiratory disease as the climate warms, according to a wide-ranging White House report released last month. And what spells disaster for humans could also be a boon to infectious microbes and the animals that transmit them. http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/05/climate-change-mosquitos-inquiring-minds Ontario to spend $7-billion on sweeping climate change plan. The Ontario government will spend more than $7-billion over four years on a sweeping climate change plan that will affect every aspect of life – from what people drive to how they heat their homes and workplaces – in a bid to slash the province’s carbon footprint. Ontario will begin phasing out natural gas for heating, provide incentives to retrofit buildings and give rebates to drivers who buy electric vehicles. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ontario-to-spend-7-billion-in-sweeping-climate-change-plan/article30029081/?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=b47437eee0-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-b47437eee0-327747457 Climate plays big role in displacement, report finds. The number of internally displaced people worldwide hit a disturbing record last year, according to a new report finding that millions of people who lost their lives in 2015 did so due to natural disasters. Together, conflict, violence and disasters caused 27.8 million incidents of displacement in 2015… http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/05/16/stories/1060037244 DROUGHT Gov. Brown extends state's drought restrictions. The State Water Resources Control Board will decide May 18 whether to lift the conservation target in place since June 2015 for urban water users. And, said Felicia Marcus, chairwoman of the State Water Resources Control Board, "This is not a time to start using water like it's 1999". Now, after a winter that refilled many reservoirs and brought snowpack… http://thevillagessuntimes.com/2016/05/16/gov-brown-extends-states-drought-restrictions/ FUELS Nigerians brace for more fuel queues. The growing fleet of tankers stuck off Nigeria unable to unload their cargoes of diesel and petrol is an even-present reminder for President Muhammadu Buhari that another fuel crisis is looming on the horizon. At least 75 ships with two and a half million tonnes of fuel are waiting for importers… http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL5N1895YH Biofuels Plant in Hawaii Is First to Be Certified as Sustainable. The trucks roll in and out of the plant at a business park nestled near papaya farms and a forest preserve on the Big Island here, an operation that transforms waste cooking oils, animal fats, fruit and seeds into biodiesel fuel, nearly 13,000 gallons a day. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/14/business/energy-environment/biofuels-plant-in-hawaii-is-first-to-be-certified-as-sustainable.html VEHICLES South Korea to fine Nissan for allegedly bogus emission data. South Korea's Environment Ministry said Monday that it will fine Nissan's South Korean operation for manipulating emissions tests on its sports utility vehicle models, an allegation Nissan is denying. The ministry said it will fine Nissan Korea Co. 330 million won ($28,000) and recall 814 Qashqai vehicles sold since November. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_SKOREA_NISSAN_EMISSIONS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Southern California Edison plugging into electric-vehicle charging market. Southern California Edison is looking to increase the number of public electric vehicle charging stations in California by 16 percent. The investor-owned utility received approval in January from the California Public Utilities Commission to spend $22 million to offset the cost of installing 1,500 public charging stations… http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/environment-and-nature/20160515/southern-california-edison-plugging-into-electric-vehicle-charging-market Tesla wants to sell electric cars in Michigan; state couldn't care less. You don't see a lot of Teslas in Michigan. It's not because the three U.S. automakers headquartered there aren't interested in the electric cars produced by a Silicon Valley company founded just 12 years ago. It's because state laws bar the company from selling its cars online to state residents—and Tesla has no interest in using old-style... http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1103970_tesla-wants-to-sell-electric-cars-in-michigan-state-couldnt-care-less European electric and plug-in hybrid sales for January-March 2016. European sales of electric cars and plug-in hybrids were up 29 percent between January and March over the same period last year. The total of 23,160 sales pushed plug-in cars past the 1-percent barrier in terms of total European new-car sales. In the midst of that push, there was also a lead change among battery-electric cars. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1103965_european-electric-and-plug-in-hybrid-sales-for-january-march-2016 Stanford team develops nanofiber air filters for efficient high-temperature removal of. A team at Stanford has developed high-efficiency (>99.5%) polyimide-nanofiber air filters for the removal of PM2.5 from exhaust streams. In a paper published in the ACS journal Nano Letters, the researchers report that the new polyimide nanofibers exhibit high thermal stability. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/05/20160516-zhng.html VW RECALL Norway's oil fund to sue Volkswagen over emissions scandal. Norway's $850 billion oil fund plans to sue Volkswagen over the company's emissions-cheating scandal. Officials from the sovereign wealth fund on Monday confirmed a report in the Financial Times saying it will join a class-action lawsuit in Germany in coming weeks. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/APFN_EU_NORWAY_OIL_FUND_VW?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT GREEN ENERGY Germany Just Got Almost All of Its Power From Renewable Energy. Clean power supplied almost all of Germany’s power demand for the first time on Sunday, marking a milestone for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s “Energiewende” policy to boost renewables while phasing out nuclear and fossil fuels. http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-O79N0S6K50Y901-7EV1LIU0T20D6ISCI70B3HVI3O SandRidge Energy Files for Bankruptcy Protection. Oklahoma City oil and gas company becomes latest victim of downturn in energy sector. SandRidge Energy Inc. became the latest victim of the prolonged downturn in energy sector, filing for bankruptcy protection Monday after reaching a deal with its creditors to swap $3.7 billion in debt for control of the oil and gas company. http://www.wsj.com/articles/sandridge-energy-files-for-bankruptcy-protection-1463404621 Energy efficiency is a must for California buildings moving forward. Rows of newly minted houses sit at the foot of Blue Mountain in the sprawling Spring Mountain Ranch development near Riverside. Solar panels mark every rooftop of the nearly 785-acre development. http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/environment-and-nature/20160514/energy-efficiency-is-a-must-for-california-buildings-moving-forward Another One Bites the Dust: DOE Pulls Carbon Capture Project’s Funding. Funding for a large carbon capture and storage project in Texas has been pulled by the US Department of Energy. This move will effectively kill the Texas Clean Energy Project, the project’s developer, Summit Texas Clean Energy, told Inside Climate News. In February the DOE denied Summit Texas Clean Energy’s… https://www.environmentalleader.com/2016/05/16/another-one-bites-the-dust-doe-pulls-carbon-capture-projects-funding/ Energy firm to build world's largest offshore turbine farm. Norwegian energy company Statoil ASA will build the world's largest floating wind farm after winning a seabed lease today. The company plans to have five 6-megawatt turbines in the North Sea about 15 miles off the coast of Scotland, which will generate electricity by the end of next year. http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/05/16/stories/1060037299 Business models may be biggest breakthrough for clean tech. A way to make money with intermittent renewable power in a shaky energy market may be the most important invention to fight climate change, experts say. Cheaper batteries, taller wind turbines and more efficient photovoltaics are important advances for cutting greenhouse gas emission… http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/05/16/stories/1060037264 OPINIONS Are subsidies killing U.S. solar companies? The oil price rout has caused a lot of headaches in the renewable industry, especially in the heavily subsidized U.S. solar sector, which is suffering some setbacks even as solar installations are growing rapidly. Solar power suppliers are scaling back operations as demand is growing slower than expected, and the sector is wondering where to go from here. http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2016/05/15/oilprice-solar-power-companies-subsidies/84331716/ Travel and its effects on the environment. So now we should embrace global warming as a benefit to travel? What's next: iceberg melting tours; watch the polar bear demise package deal; Iceland and its disappearing glacier cruise? We should be concerned more about our carbon footprint and the legacy we are leaving generations to come. http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/la-tr-0515-letters-20160508-snap-story.html Oil industry strikes back. Sen. Jim Beall prefers to dig into the fine details of how to go about structuring a gasoline tax increase to pay for road repairs. To make that point, the San Jose Democrat piled a stack of papers 2 feet high onto his desk. Not much with a sound bite, Beall declared: “It is very important that I focus on the transportation infrastructure for the good of the state.” http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/dan-morain/article77553572.html#storylink=cpy California's train of fraught. The California High-Speed Rail Authority’s newly approved 2016 business plan concedes that the state lacks funding to build the full high-speed rail system. The latest version of the plan shows the state is at least $30 billion short of the funding required to build the project. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/high-715877-rail-speed.html College of Marin gets Tesla batteries for solar power storage. Workers install the new Tesla battery storage system. The high-tech Tesla battery installations that could save College of Marin about $10,000 a month popped up on campus last week. The energy storage system with home, commercial and industrial applications, is designed to store and distribute electricity generated by the school’s solar arrays. http://www.marinij.com/article/NO/20160515/NEWS/160519871 Ron Whitehurst: Biological farms protect people, soil, climate. Ventura County boasts a century of pioneering, biologically based pest management. Many local farmers practice sustainability by avoiding needless use of toxins. They might welcome the request in the proposed Farmworker Bill of Rights that the county of Ventura… http://www.vcstar.com/opinion/columnists/ron-whitehurst-biological-farms-protect-people-soil-climate-321cc892-7c33-3e61-e053-0100007f7e8d-379468451.html Oil industry deceives voters as it targets supporters of SB 350. If you thought the state Capitol fight over last year’s bill that would have cut California’s dependence on polluting oil was over, think again. The oil industry is taking direct aim this year at the bill’s supporters and indirect aim at its author, Senate Pro Tem Kevin de León, through the avenue of electoral politics. http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article77269267.html#storylink=cpy Dan Walters: Drought may threaten arcane water rights system. After years of drought, winter rain and snow generated close to a normal supply of water for much of California. As winter turned to spring, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced allocations to farmers. Rice growers and other farmers in the Sacramento Valley north of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta were pleased to learn they would receive 100… http://www.vcstar.com/opinion/columnists/dan-walters-drought-may-threaten-arcane-water-rights-system-326bd1bd-79b1-411e-e053-0100007faa27-379468601.html Climate change demands an electrifying solution. Recent forest fires are yet another reminder of the effects of climate change and the need to reduce greenhouse gases through, among other steps, better transportation systems. CONFRONTED by the stark images of yet another destructive forest fire, this time afflicting our neighbors to the north in Alberta, Canada, we are reminded of recent fires raging across our own state. http://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/climate-change-demands-an-electrifying-solution/ AQMD air policies put children at risk: Guest commentary. As a mom, I am extremely worried about the state of our air. My 4-year-old daughter has asthma, undoubtedly brought on by our region’s overwhelming amount of air pollution. Over her short lifetime, she’s been rushed to the hospital five times due to intense asthma attacks. http://www.sgvtribune.com/opinion/20160513/aqmd-air-policies-put-children-at-risk-guest-commentary Latino leaders in the West focusing on water issues. As Californians continue to face a mounting list of significant water challenges – including an aging infrastructure, growing population, degraded ecosystems, over reliance on groundwater, disjointed management of water resources by government agencies, and not least of all climate change and drought… http://www.desertsun.com/story/opinion/contributors/valley-voice/2016/05/15/valley-voice-nuestro-rio-latino-leaders-west-water-issues/84351732/ BLOGS Ethanol blending shrinking margins for refiners. Federally mandated ethanol blending is adding extra pressure to the faltering profits of U.S. refiners. The worst crude oil downturn in a generation, which at first helped refiners’ profits, has now passed through to the fuel prices. Now, gasoline is cheaper than the ethanol that refiners have no choice but to use. http://fuelfix.com/blog/2016/05/13/ethanol-blending-shrinking-margins-for-refiners/ Time to Brace for Frantic Two Years on Climate Change. “The press used to ask me for many years: ‘Why is this going so slowly?’” said Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), as she opened the latest round of climate-change negotiations - and the last before her term ends in the summer. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-zwick/time-to-brace-for-frantic_b_9990614.html California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.