What's New List Serve Post Display
Below is the List Serve Post you selected to display.
newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for June 3, 2016.
Posted: 03 Jun 2016 16:17:37
ARB Newsclips for June 3, 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 South Korea unveils emissions crackdown to tackle smog. South Korea on Friday said it will introduce real-world emissions tests of diesel vehicles from 2017 and unveiled ambitious new targets for eco-friendly vehicle sales, as Asia's second-biggest diesel car market tries to tackle air pollution. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-south-korea-emissions-idUSKCN0YP0EF Korea's Air Is Dirty, But It's Not All Close-Neighbor China's Fault. Minhae Kim didn't check air pollution levels before bringing her one-year-old to Seoul's Yongsan Family Park. Perhaps she should have. On this day — and on most days this spring — the measures of the most dangerous kind of pollution in Seoul exceed… http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/06/03/478796463/koreas-air-is-dirty-but-its-not-all-close-neighbor-chinas-fault Spare the Air alert called for Friday. The second Spare the Air alert of the season is called for Friday in the Bay Area because of forecasts for unhealthy smog levels. Temperatures are expected to climb to 100 degrees in inland valleys, accelerating the conversion of auto and factory pollution into smog. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued the alert, for the second day in a row… http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_29970771/spare-air-alert-called-friday http://www.pleasantonweekly.com/news/2016/06/03/spare-the-air-alert-proclaimed-for-2nd-straight-day Your Office Air Is Killing You. An invisible killer had infiltrated Sto-Rox High School. When workers installed a cell tower on top of the school outside Pittsburgh, no one realized the exhaust spewed by its diesel generator was being sucked into the building’s ventilation system and inhaled by everyone inside. http://www.newsweek.com/2016/06/10/indoor-air-pollution-revolution-465531.html CLIMATE CHANGE Global energy leaders look to nitty gritty of climate accord. Energy leaders from countries that pump out 75 percent of the world's climate-changing emissions talked Thursday on the nitty-gritty of putting last year's Paris climate accord into action, including funding the needed global technology overhaul. The annual gathering of energy leaders representing 23 countries and the European Commission was one of… http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CLIMATE_CHANGE_AFTER_PARIS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Alaska’s huge climate mystery — and its global consequences. In recent years, climate scientists have grown increasingly concerned about a carbon problem in the far north. The fear is that with the higher latitudes of the planet warming extremely rapidly, that heat itself, and some of its consequences — such as raging wildfires in northern forests — could unleash a climate disaster. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/06/03/alaskas-huge-climate-mystery-and-its-global-consequences/ AAAS Symposium Highlights Steps to Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions. A range of policy solutions is necessary to reduce carbon dioxide emissions generated by the energy and transportation sectors, speakers at a 6 May symposium on energy and the economy said. http://www.azocleantech.com/news.aspx?newsID=23390 Climate change could trigger toxic corn: what can be done? Climate change and extreme weather events stress crops out – enough to make them toxic for human and animal consumption. But scientists see challenge as opportunity to find more efficient ways to grow food. Crops respond to the stress of warming temperatures… http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2016/0602/Climate-change-could-trigger-toxic-corn-what-can-be-done Melting Alaska may not accelerate climate change as expected, scientists now say. The results of new research released by the U.S. Geological Survey have surprised scientists: Alaska is not likely to emit as much carbon this century as they'd previously expected. The report marks the first statewide inventory of natural sources of carbon emissions and carbon storage. http://www.adn.com/alaska-news/environment/2016/06/01/melting-alaska-may-not-accelerate-climate-change-as-expected-scientists-now-say/?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=c72a97a7ef-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-c72a97a7ef-327747457 CBO: Climate change will make hurricane damage more expensive. Climate change and development along the nation's shores will send hurricane damages soaring by $120 billion in the next 60 years, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said yesterday. The report from Congress' nonpartisan budget agency, requested by Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), estimated that destruction from hurricanes in the United States… http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/06/03/stories/1060038237 FUELS U.S. ethanol prices at 18-month highs raise expectations of rising output. The rise in U.S. ethanol prices, which hit their highest in 18 months on Thursday, could be about to lose steam as the move draws more production back into the market and potentially puts off buyers, traders and experts said. Cash prices have been following futures prices for ethanol, corn and gasoline higher. http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-ethanol-idUSL1N18U208 Los Angeles gasoline jumps on Chevron El Segundo power outage - trade sources. Los Angeles CARBOB gasoline prices jumped more than 10 cents on Friday following a power outage at Chevron's 269,000 barrel per day El Segundo refinery near Los Angeles, according to three trade sources. Chevron did not immediately respond to a request for comment. http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL1N18V0RP Bionic leaf converts energy from the sun better than nature does. Researchers at Harvard have created a device that mimics the natural process of photosynthesis, taking solar energy and converting it into chemical energy or liquid fuel. Researchers at Harvard University have created a system that allows them to store the energy… http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2016/0603/Bionic-leaf-converts-energy-from-the-sun-better-than-nature-does Underwater Greek city isn't a city, after all. Scientists first thought that they had found an ancient city's columns and floors, but an absence of other cultural remnants made them think twice. When divers off the shores of Greece's Zakynthos island found smooth floors and what looked to be circular column bases, they thought that they had found the remains of an ancient civilization. http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2016/0603/Underwater-Greek-city-isn-t-a-city-after-all Texas to vote on challenging federal methane rules. Texas oil and gas regulators may join the legal fight against federal methane-reduction rules for the oil industry. The Railroad Commission of Texas, which oversees energy production, is scheduled to vote Tuesday on challenging the federal plan. Two of the three commissioners said through representatives that they're in favor of suing the government. http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2016/06/03/stories/1060038228 VEHICLES GM’s Opel Refutes Emissions Allegations as German Review Begins. General Motors Co.’s European Opel division said it has submitted documents to the German Transport Ministry to allay doubts over its engine technology and denied a magazine’s renewed allegations that it might use illegal motor software. “We will continue the constructive dialogue with the authorities… http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-O8719A6JTSEH01-2G1TH48TJ7KASL41K2N0QP5QME http://www.autonews.com/article/20160603/COPY01/306039924/opel-refutes-emissions-allegations-as-german-review-begins Electric-car battery costs not too sensitive to lithium prices. Relatively low lithium-ion battery-cell prices are crucial to keeping the prices of electric cars reasonable. But how much does the volatility of the price of lithium itself affect the prices of those cells? Global lithium prices have doubled over the last six months, leading to a scramble for new supplies of the metal. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1104286_electric-car-battery-costs-not-too-sensitive-to-lithium-prices Will a gas shortage in France spike electric car sales? Renault, a French automaker, has amped up its marketing of electric cars, hoping to take advantage of gas shortage in France. When it comes to spurring electric-car sales, it seems a gas shortage is pretty helpful. In France, strikes have brought the oil industry to a standstill, leading to a shortage of fossil fuels and lines at pumps. http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/In-Gear/2016/0603/Will-a-gas-shortage-in-France-spike-electric-car-sales VW RECALL Volkswagen Receives Approval to Fix Emissions Cheat Software in Germany. The fixes are for the software on Passat, CC and Eos models with two-liter diesel engines. Volkswagen AG said it will immediately recall 800,000 cars fitted with emissions cheat software after Germany’s motor vehicle authority approved the auto maker’s proposed fix for the issue. http://www.wsj.com/articles/volkswagen-receives-approval-to-fix-emissions-cheat-software-in-germany-1464962891 http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL8N18V2UL EU Still Questions Volkswagen Data on CO2 Emissions, Documents Show. German car maker says revised data showed cars run within EU environmental limits. The European Commission continues to doubt Volkswagen AG ’s data on carbon-dioxide emissions, despite assurances by the car maker and the German government that emissions didn’t break European Union rules… http://www.wsj.com/articles/eu-still-questions-volkswagen-data-on-co2-emissions-documents-show-1464863775 ENERGY Two investors are betting they can make a profit from coal by burning hardly any of it. QuickTake Confronting Coal. Daniel Kretinsky, 40, and Patrik Tkac, 43, are trying to capitalize on Europe’s rapid expansion into renewables by embracing the fuel, a mainstay of European energy before efforts to curb global warming, in its new role as a backup for when the wind dies down and the sun fails to shine. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-02/investors-bet-coal-has-a-future-as-backup-to-renewable-energy?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=8a947456d3-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-8a947456d3-327747457 Australia’s Momentum Continues To Build Toward Renewable Energy Target. Australia’s Clean Energy Council insists momentum continues to build for the country’s renewable energy sector as it progresses toward its 2020 Renewable Energy Target. According to a new analysis of the progress of Australia’s Renewable Energy Target, published this week by the Clean Energy Council… http://cleantechnica.com/2016/06/02/australias-momentum-continues-build-toward-renewable-energy-target/ Experts see N.Y. offshore wind project as key to clean energy goals. The Obama administration's decision yesterday to lease 81,000 acres of ocean area off New York for wind energy development could be the linchpin to reaching Gov. Andrew Cuomo's (D) goal of sourcing 50 percent of the state's electricity with renewable resources by 2030, clean energy advocates and public officials said. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/06/03/stories/1060038239 Clean energy gathering sees 'no backtracking' from Paris. Energy ministers from around the world converged on the Bay Area this week to convert the soaring rhetoric and aspirational targets of the Paris climate summit into air conditioning units and research and development dollars. The Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) and Mission Innovation meetings, which occurred side by side, saw a largely overlapping group of countries… http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/06/03/stories/1060038238 OPINIONS Renewable Energy Isn't About to Doom Oil. For hydrocarbon doomsayers, there's good news and bad news. In 2015, there were record investments in renewable energy, and record capacity was added, much of it in emerging economies. Yet despite the huge investment, the global share of fossil fuels is not shrinking very fast. Renewables such as wind, solar and geothermal still account for a tiny share of energy production… http://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-06-01/renewable-energy-isn-t-about-to-doom-oil The Id That Ate the Planet. On Tuesday the political arm of the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of America’s most influential environmentalist groups, made its first presidential endorsement ever, giving the nod to Hillary Clinton. This meant jumping the gun by a week on her inevitable designation as the presumptive Democratic nominee, but the NRDC Action Fund is obviously… http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/03/opinion/the-id-that-ate-the-planet.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FGlobal%20Warming&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection Cheaper fuel may be on the horizon thanks to an unlikely source. If you drive — or even if you don't — fuel prices are probably on your mind. But paying more at the pump isn't the only thing people are concerned about; they're also increasingly aware that relying on gasoline is terrible for the planet. As far back as 1826, people have been researching alternatives to highly-polluting gasoline. http://www.businessinsider.com/cheaper-fuel-from-an-unlikely-source-2016-6 BLOGS Proposal by California Dem. would allow prosecution of climate change skeptics. If California State Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, has his way, those who disagree with the idea of man-made climate change could be sued by prosecutors for allegedly deceiving the public on the risks of climate change, the Washington Times reported Thursday. http://www.examiner.com/article/proposal-by-california-dem-would-allow-prosecution-of-climate-change-skeptics Industry Study Applies Own Numbers to EDF Study, Strengthens Our Case for Regulation. The natural gas industry group Our Nation’s Energy (ONE) Future Coalition released a paper yesterday applying their own set of assumptions to an earlier analysis commissioned by EDF, which had shown that oil and gas methane emissions can be dramatically reduced for about a penny per thousand cubic feet of gas sold. http://blogs.edf.org/energyexchange/2016/06/03/industry-study-applies-own-numbers-to-edf-study-and-makes-a-strong-case-for-regulation/ A Record Year For Renewable Energy. This week the Renewables 2016 Global Status Report (GSR) was released by the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21). REN21 is a global renewable energy network that connects governments, nongovernmental organizations, research and academic institutions, international organizations and industry to share information and advance renewable energy. http://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2016/06/03/a-record-year-for-renewable-energy/#56c816042066 California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.