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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
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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.

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