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ARB Newsclips for May 20, 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

New Hampshire a big step closer to getting $236M from Exxon. New
Hampshire is a big step closer to getting a $236 million judgment
after the U.S. Supreme Court said this week it wouldn't hear
Exxon Mobil's appeal regarding its use of a gasoline additive
that contaminated groundwater in the state. The case involved
MTBE, or methyl tertiary butyl ether, a petroleum-based gasoline
additive…
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_POLLUTION_TRIAL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Carbon dioxide levels jump by record amount due to El Nino. The
amount of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the air jumped by the
biggest amount on record last month, a rise amplified by El Nino,
scientists say. Carbon dioxide levels increased by 4.16 parts per
million in April compared to a year earlier…
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SCI_CARBON_DIOXIDE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Exide and California regulator head into mediation over lawsuit. 
A bankruptcy judge has approved an agreement between Exide
Technologies and a California pollution regulator to enter into
mediation to try to resolve the regulator's $80 million lawsuit
against the maker of lead-acid batteries. The South Coast Air
Quality Management District had sued Exide in state court…
http://www.reuters.com/article/bankruptcy-exide-idUSL2N18H09A 

States want piece of settlement money. The National Association
of Clean Air Agencies is asking that any settlement with
Volkswagen AG over vehicle emissions be spent on reducing air
pollution. NACAA released a set of recommendations today for how
the government should disburse the money. A top request is for
state and local air pollution agencies to get a piece of the pie.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060037624/search?keyword=california


ALISO CANYON

Health officials push SoCalGas to professionally clean Porter
Ranch homes. Los Angeles County health officials plan to ask a
judge on Friday to once again modify the relocation program for
Porter Ranch residents so Southern California Gas Co. can pay to
professionally clean all their homes of dust particles found to
contain some contaminants.
http://www.dailynews.com/health/20160519/health-officials-push-socalgas-to-professionally-clean-porter-ranch-homes


CLIMATE CHANGE

India Records Its Hottest Day Ever As Temperatures Soar To 124 F.
Almost all of India is experiencing higher than normal
temperatures for this time of year. The severe heat wave that
stifled India last May caused at least 2,300 deaths across the
country. It was, according to Jeff Masters, Weather Underground’s
director of meteorology, the fifth deadliest heat wave in Earth’s
recorded history.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/india-hottest-temperature-51-degrees_us_573ebeade4b0613b5129e8b4?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=e53b689d9c-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-e53b689d9c-327747457

Norway's greenhouse gas emissions rise, despite promised cuts.
Norway's greenhouse gas emissions rose by 1.5 percent last year,
lifted by the oil and gas sector and industry, making it harder
for Oslo to keep promises of deep cuts to limit global warming,
official data showed on Friday. Emissions rose to the equivalent
of 53.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from 53.2 million in
2014…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-norway-carbon-idUSKCN0YB12E?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=e53b689d9c-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-e53b689d9c-327747457
.

Investors in World’s Top Coal Shipper Pass Climate-Change Motion.
Glencore Plc investors agreed that the largest exporter of coal
burned for power should provide more information on risks to its
business from growing levels of government legislation to tackle
climate change.
http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-O7FBNU6JIJVD01-4IMFP5A83BCGSGEAPMMIL146HA

Moniz, lawmakers call nuclear critical to climate goals. Jobs,
national security and climate change were all part of an urgent
appeal at an emotional summit yesterday on Capitol Hill to keep
America's nuclear fleet running. "We are supposed to be adding
zero carbon sources, not subtracting or simply replacing by
building to just kind of tread water," said Energy Secretary
Ernest Moniz.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/05/20/stories/1060037602 

Bear hybrid -- the pizzly -- might be a creation of warming.
Climate change may be responsible for a grizzly-polar bear
hybrid. The Arctic, which is warming at twice the global rate, is
seeing grizzly and polar bear ranges overlap in recent years.
While polar bears appear to be spending more time on land due to
shrinking ice, grizzlies are moving north for cooler weather.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/05/20/stories/1060037577 

DROUGHT

Many California cities predict no conservation requirements under
new water rules. Before throngs of TV news cameras in April last
year, Gov. Jerry Brown stood on a patch of bare Sierra dirt that
should have been covered in snow and told Californians they had
to be unified in conserving water.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article78771857.html#storylink=cpy


Drought hangs tough as feds project dry winter in California. The
end of the historic California drought appears increasingly
unlikely, at least anytime soon, with new long-range forecasts
hinting at a warm, dry winter for much of the state. The monthly
outlook released Thursday by the U.S. Climate Prediction Center
cites a 33 percent chance… 
https://app.meltwater.com/report/573f18c2964eb43b0b14df8c/inbox/160613/open/documents/21TIJn7zdMvXQdOaPA-IAalfZp8?type=search&s=mail-digest&name=CA%20ARB%20News&uId=558b29e945a2e7b6898a9b3b&cId=5548d88552a7c462a6eadb7e&dId=21TIJn7zdMvXQdOaPA-IAalfZp8&sentiment=V&isHosted=true&id=160613&companyId=5548d88552a7c462a6eadb7e&publishTime=1463731200000&op=open


Californians navigate changing tide of drought rules.
California’s decision to let local entities regulate how much
water people use has residents hoping their bills will get a
little more manageable and their yards a little less ugly.  Lee
Nguyen, a 64-year-old retiree in Irvine, believes she has done
her part to help in the five-year drought.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/water-716545-local-state.html


What drought? Nestle plans $35M bottled water plant in Phoenix.
The world's largest water bottler intends to open a bottling
plant in Phoenix, tapping a growing thirst for its product in a
desert region stressing over its uncertain water future. Nestle
Waters will spend $35 million to revamp a west Phoenix warehouse…
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/05/19/drought-nestle-plans-bottled-water-plant-phoenix/84631928/


Drought Conditions Improve In California, Nevada. The lastest
drought update shows that as California moves toward the dry
summer months, conditions continue to improve. Improvement comes
as the California State Water Resources Control Board ended
mandatory statewide water conservation regulations. The new
regulations allow local water districts to set their conservation
targets…
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2016/05/19/drought-conditions-improve-in-california,-nevada/


Drought water rates end at Contra Costa Water District. "' Water
rates for some 200,000 Central Contra Costa residents will drop
in early June after the Contra Costa Water District board agreed
Wednesday to end a temporary drought surcharge. With plenty of
water this year, the water board decided there…
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/walnut-creek/ci_29915099/drought-water-rates-end-at-contra-costa-water


Lake Mead shrinks to record low amid ongoing Western drought. The
surface level at Lake Mead has dropped as planned to historic low
levels, and federal water managers said Thursday the vast
Colorado River reservoir is expected to continue to shrink amid
ongoing drought. The closely controlled and measured lake shrunk
Wednesday to its lowest point since Hoover Dam…
http://www.ivpressonline.com/news/nation/lake-mead-shrinks-to-record-low-amid-ongoing-western-drought/article_3324ead2-29cf-5e5b-846d-fa183612cd34.html

http://www.ivpressonline.com/news/nation/lake-mead-shrinks-to-record-low-amid-ongoing-western-drought/article_3324ead2-29cf-5e5b-846d-fa183612cd34.html

FUELS

Oil Eases as Rising Dollar Curbs Investors’ Commodity Appetite.
Crude fell as the dollar rebounded against its peers, making
commodities denominated in the U.S. currency less attractive as
an investment. Futures dropped as much as 1.5 percent in New
York. The dollar, which rose as much as 0.2 percent against a
basket of peer currencies, was buoyed by speculation the Federal
Reserve may raise rates in June.
http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-O7G5TP6K50YH01-1EKTH0PR12UQJVS0A0UFJQKVO4

California Dairy Turns Cow Waste Into Power. Forty-five percent
of California’s methane emissions come from dairies, the largest
source of the potent greenhouse gas in the state. The 700 cows on
Cace Van Steyn’s dairy farm in Elk Grove excrete about 98,000
pounds of manure and urine every day. All that waste produces
methane.
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2016/05/19/california-dairy-turns-cow-waste-into-power/


LNG safety rules could get Band-Aid fix. Federal safety rules for
liquefied natural gas facilities are woefully out of date,
relying on a standard published before the shale gas revolution,
but any change to the rules could take years. At a public meeting
held by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration this week, safety rules were continuously
described as outmoded.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2016/05/20/stories/1060037596

VEHICLES

GM offers debit cards or longer warranties in mileage case.
People who bought or leased 2016 General Motors SUVs with
overstated gas mileage on the window sticker will be getting
compensated, the automaker said Friday. Those who purchased their
SUV will get to choose a debit card or an extended warranty,
while lessees will receive the debit card.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GENERAL_MOTORS_MILEAGE_OVERSTATED?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Third Annual AltCar Expo in Oakland showcases alternative-fuel
vehicles. In California, cars have long held dominion over both
the state's transportation network and the public's imagination.
It only takes a drive during peak weekday commute hours on a Bay
Area freeway to understand just how dependent residents are on
the automobile. But while environmentalists and transportation
experts agree that reducing the region's auto dependency is
paramount in stemming climate change, there's no evidence to
think that cars will be disappearing from city streets and
highways anytime soon.
http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_29914450/third-annual-altcar-expo-oakland-showcases-latest-alternative


Peapod adds two LH hydraulic hybrids delivery trucks to fleet.
Peapod, the leading online grocer in the US, took delivery of its
first two hydraulic hybrid delivery trucks this month. The
vehicles, existing Workhorse walk-in vans with GM gasoline
engines and equipped with the Lightning Hybrids Energy Recovery
System (ERS), are in service on the streets of Chicago and were
partially paid for by the…
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/05/20160520-lh.html 

What brands do Tesla buyers also look at? BMW should worry.
Looking at their future product plans, the established German
luxury carmakers have now clearly started to take electric-car
maker Tesla Motors seriously. Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and
Porsche are all expected to launch at least one Tesla-targeting
electric vehicle apiece over the next few years.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1104060_what-brands-do-tesla-buyers-also-look-at-bmw-should-worry


VW RECALL

Scandal-hit VW agrees to 4.8 percent pay rise for workers.
Automaker Volkswagen and Germany's industrial union have agreed
to increase wages 4.8 percent by next year in an economy where
the cost of living is flat - the kind of raises that could help
the 19-country eurozone lift inflation from dangerously low
levels. The company said Friday that almost 120,000 workers would
get 2.8 percent more on Sept. 1…
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_VOLKSWAGEN_WAGE_DEAL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


GREEN ENERGY

Pro-nuclear GOP senator urges Tennessee to reject wind farm.
Republican U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander is urging his fellow
Tennesseans to oppose what he calls an "unsightly" wind farm near
the Cumberland Mountain State Park. The longtime supporter of
nuclear power argued on the Senate floor this week that the 23
wind turbines Apex Clean Energy wants to install are "massive"
and would spoil the "natural beauty of our state."
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_UNSIGHTLY_WIND_FARM?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Mirrors spark fire at world's largest solar-thermal plant. A
small fire shut down a generating tower at the world's largest
solar-thermal power plant, leaving the sprawling facility on the
California-Nevada border operating at only a third of its
capacity, authorities said. Firefighters had to climb some 300
feet up a boiler tower at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating
System in California after the fire…
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SOLAR_PLANT_FIRE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

http://www.modbee.com/news/business/article78797282.html#storylink=cpy


Wind tax credit sparks controversy. Wyoming state lawmakers and
the developer of the largest onshore wind farm in the country are
butting heads. At issue is a plan to raise Wyoming's wind
generation tax. Power Company of Wyoming LLC officials say the
measure muddies the future of their proposal to construct 1,000
turbines in a southern region of the state.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/05/20/stories/1060037607 

This is how cities of the future will get their energy. In the
global effort to fight climate change, cities have some of the
greatest potential– and the greatest imperative — to make a
difference. With an increasing global migration into the world’s
urban areas, which are expected to support at least two-thirds of
the total human population by 2050…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/05/20/this-is-how-cities-of-the-future-will-get-their-energy/


MISCELLANEOUS

Humans damaging the environment faster than it can recover, UN
finds.  Radical action is needed to combat increasing rate of
environmental damage to water sources, land, biodiversity and
marine life, report shows. Degradation of the world’s natural
resources by humans is rapidly outpacing the planet’s ability to
absorb the damage, meaning the rate of deterioration is
increasing globally…
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/19/humans-damaging-the-environment-faster-than-it-can-recover-report-finds?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=e53b689d9c-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-e53b689d9c-327747457


OPINIONS

Beyond Twitter, Donald Trump’s Views on Climate Change Are
Unclear. So far, Donald J. Trump has said very little about
climate change and energy policy beyond his Twitter posts on the
issues. He has called global warming a “hoax,” for example, and
claimed that the Chinese fabricated climate change (just a joke,
he later said).
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/21/science/donald-trump-global-warming-energy-policy-kevin-cramer.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=e53b689d9c-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-e53b689d9c-327747457&_r=0


Let's give up the climate change charade: Exxon won't change its
stripes. Every year at the shareholders’ annual meeting, there is
an attempt to push the company on reducing emissions. It’s time
to stop trying and divest instead. In 1990, a small group of
investors offered a resolution at Exxon’s annual shareholder’s
meeting asking that it “develop a company-wide plan to reduce
carbon dioxide emissions.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/may/20/exxon-shareholders-climate-change-reform-divest


The $10 Billion Solution to Climate Change. Even if the world
keeps rolling out solar panels and wind farms at the current,
record rate, the chance of meeting our climate change targets
remains thin. That’s because China, India, and other parts of the
developing world, while embracing renewables, are still building
hundreds of coal plants to produce cheap, reliable power without
having to depend on the variability of the sun and wind.
http://fortune.com/2016/05/20/climate-change-nuclear/ 

Solar power investments don’t pay off. Ivanpah is a 640,000
megawatt-hour solar farm in California that received $1.5 billion
in taxpayer-funded federal loans. The project benefited from a
loan-guarantee program where taxpayers bear the risks and the
solar industry gets favorable rates to protect its profits.
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/opinion/2016/05/19/solar-power-bad-investment/84639258/






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