What's New List Serve Post Display
Below is the List Serve Post you selected to display.
newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for August 29, 2016.
Posted: 29 Aug 2016 14:11:23
ARB Newsclips for August 29, 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 Wynne heads to Mexico to promote trade and cap-and-trade. Premier Kathleen Wynne is headed to Mexico to remind officials there that Ontario is wide open for business. With all the Trump-fuelled talk of trade protectionism in the U.S. presidential election, Premier Kathleen Wynne is headed to Mexico to remind officials there that Ontario is wide open for business. https://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2016/08/28/wynne-heads-to-mexico-to-promote-trade-and-cap-and-trade.html AIR POLLUTION Grants available to swap out wood stoves: As winter approaches, air quality district urges replacement August 29, 2016, 05:00 AM Daily Journal staff report. More than $3 million in funds are available for property owners to swap out their old wood stoves for cleaner alternatives. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s Wood Smoke Reduction Incentive Program allows homeowners and property owners to access funds… http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articles/lnews/2016-08-29/grants-available-to-swap-out-wood-stoves-as-winter-approaches-air-quality-district-urges-replacement/1776425167380.html#sthash.hErvmHRI.dpuf CLIMATE CHANGE California climate change laws: More electric cars, solar power expected under tough new rules. California is already a world leader in developing environmental policies that address climate change. But under a landmark bill sent to Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday requiring far steeper reductions in greenhouse gas emissions than anything the state has ever attempted… http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_30298296/california-climate-change-laws-electric-cars-solar-power The World’s Largest Purchaser Wants Its Suppliers to Disclose, Reduce GHG Emissions. With an estimated annual spend that exceeds $450 billion, the US federal government is the largest buyer of goods and services in the world. So rules it establishes for suppliers affect a huge number of companies - those that currently supply goods and services as well as firms looking to win government contracts. http://www.environmentalleader.com/2016/08/29/the-worlds-largest-purchaser-wants-its-suppliers-to-disclose-reduce-ghg-emissions/#ixzz4Ijtc9ejw Countries With Pro-Nuclear Agenda Making Slower Progress On Climate Change. A new study of European countries has found that countries with strong commitments to nuclear energy are making slow progress when it comes to their climate change targets. The new study, published in the journal Climate Policy and authored by researchers at the University of Sussex… http://cleantechnica.com/2016/08/29/countries-pro-nuclear-agenda-making-slower-progress-climate-change/ Letters: There is a simple solution to climate change. Dangers of climate change real. Mr. Stein’s assertion that we need more fossil fuels ignores the stark reality of climate change. The dangers posed by rising sea levels and increasing occurrences of extreme weather events are omitted from his analysis. He argues that it’s reckless to move away from fossil fuels but what’s actually reckless is ignoring these dangers. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/important-727191-conventional-opinion.html DROUGHT As California struggles with an ongoing, historic drought, researchers are racing to find ways to address the state's lack of water. And there is new evidence that blending wastewater may go a long way toward fixing that water deficit in an affordable way. Scientists at the University of California at Riverside, in a study published in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Science & Technology earlier this month… http://www.ibtimes.com/california-drought-2016-wastewater-blend-could-help-lawns-crops-2408580 DIESEL ACTIVITIES Sacramento County cleans up diesel fleet with renewable fuel. Sacramento County has begun a pilot program to use clean renewable diesel in its fleet of more than 400 trucks and heavy equipment. The three-month program is basically an agreement for a bulk fuel purchase of Neste Renewable Diesel, said Keith Leech, head of the county’s fleet division and parking department. http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2016/08/29/sacramento-county-cleans-up-diesel-fleet-with.html FUELS Oil Resumes Decline Amid Doubts of Market-Stabilization Deal. Oil declined amid doubts that producers will agree on a deal to stabilize the market when global suppliers meet next month for informal talks. Futures decreased as much as 2.1 percent in New York. Iran’s plan to continue boosting crude output until it regains its pre-sanctions OPEC market share is dimming prospects of collective action… http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-28/oil-falls-near-47-a-barrel-as-u-s-crude-rig-count-unchanged Diesel Is Dying, But It's Going to Be an Expensive Funeral: Gadfly. Oil industry investors are all too familiar with the concept of "stranded assets": the risk that climate policies make hydrocarbon resources financially unviable. It's not just oil. In Europe, coal and gas-fired power stations have been left stranded by solar and wind's ascendance, resulting in billions of euros of impairments. There are reasons to think Europe's autos industry might be sidelined too. http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-OCIBK66KLVR701-2095AGLMOLACCUNVF0HU77L909 Research into cow burps could cut methane emissions, and budgets. Less food efficient cows produce up to 30 per cent more methane. Scientists are finding that some cows are more efficient than others. At the Lacombe Research Station, heifers take turns sticking their heads into a computerized feeder for a mouthful of pellets. As they snack, a sampling tube and infrared detector measures the contents of their burps. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/cow-burp-methane-research-1.3738402 HIGH-SPEED RAIL House hearing to tackle Calif. project woes. A House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee today will examine California's high-speed rail project, which has been plagued with delays and cost overruns. The project's price tag was about $33 billion in 2008 when state voters first approved a bond measure for it. Now the high-speed line to connect San Francisco with Los Angeles is expected to cost $118 billion. http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/08/29/stories/1060042138 VW RECALL Volkswagen Dealerships Hopeful Over Potential Payout from Emissions Scandal. Volkswagen expected to pay $1.2 billion collectively to dealers; specific details expected end of September. Volkswagen dealers nationwide are largely striking a hopeful tone on news of the auto maker’s deal with some 650 Volkswagen franchise dealerships in the U.S. over its emissions scandal. http://www.wsj.com/articles/volkswagen-dealerships-hopeful-over-potential-payout-from-emissions-scandal-1472242427 Piech Queried Winterkorn on VW Scandal in March 2015, Bild Says. Former Volkswagen AG Supervisory Board Chairman Ferdinand Piech tried unsuccessfully to query ex-Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn about the emissions scandal a month before the two had a public falling out, Bild am Sonntag reported. http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-OCM6R56JTSE801-0NUC2VRG637N8JDNVH4BCS62QN http://autoweek.com/article/car-news/piech-questioned-winterkorn-vw-diesel-scandal-broke GREEN ENERGY Chinese, British energy officials discuss Hinkley Point nuclear project. Senior Chinese and British energy officials have met to discuss the Hinkley Point nuclear project after the British government's surprise decision to delay the $24 billion plan upset China, one of the backers of the scheme. Top Chinese energy official Nur Bekri met Lucy Neville-Rolfe, British minister of state for energy… http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-britain-nuclear-idUSKCN1141LI Which State Is a Big Renewable Energy Pioneer? Texas. The Lone Star state has added more wind-based capacity than any other, as part of an aggressive energy diversification that seeks to skirt ideological land mines. On a blustery February night, the Texas electricity market hit a milestone. Nearly half the power flowing onto the grid came from wind turbines… http://www.wsj.com/articles/which-state-is-a-big-renewable-energy-pioneer-texas-1472414098 France Plans Tender for 3 Gigawatts of Solar Plants by 2020. France announced an upcoming tender for 3 gigawatts of solar power plants. Energy Minister Segolene Royal put out a request for project proposals for solar farms, according to a statement on the ministry’s website. It is seeking six projects with 500 megawatts of capacity apiece. The solar farms will be built between 2017 and 2020. http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-OCII9F6JTSE901-7KUBDINDN56NKDE6GBF052QHQM Energy storage is taking on a greater role in the power grid. But how big can it get? In a fast-developing industry teeming with technologies that promise to be the next big thing, energy storage appears to be the biggest. Its supporters not only sing its praises but also tout what they say is its inevitability. “We’re going to have 10 times as much energy storage on the grid by the end of this decade… http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-energy-storage-future-20160829-snap-story.html Clean Energy Is Booming In Historically Conservative States. The Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas just became the new home of the country’s largest rooftop solar installation, a sprawling 26,000-panel array smack dab in the middle of Sin City. The project is just the latest jewel in the crown for Nevada solar energy geeks. http://cleantechnica.com/2016/08/29/clean-energy-booming-historically-conservative-states/ Wind & Solar Aren’t Alternative Energy Anymore. Alternative energy is a term that gets bandied about a lot and is often applied to wind, solar, and other forms of renewable generation. But there are multiple other terms that also are applied and misapplied across forms of generation. Often, alternative is used interchangeably with sustainable, carbon neutral, green and distributed. http://cleantechnica.com/2016/08/28/wind-solar-arent-alternative-energy-anymore/ OPINIONS Achieving big cut in California carbon emissions will be chess game. Gov. Jerry Brown and other politicians celebrated last week when the Legislature passed two bills that require deeper reductions in California’s carbon emissions. “This is a real commitment backed up by real power,” Brown said after Senate Bill 32 and Assembly Bill 197 were approved, mandating a 40 percent reduction from 1990-level emissions by 2030. http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/politics-columns-blogs/dan-walters/article98139537.html#storylink=cpy WHY IT MATTERS: Climate Change. THE ISSUE: It's as if Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump live on two entirely different Earths: one warming, one not. Clinton says climate change "threatens us all," while Trump tweets that global warming is "mythical" and repeatedly refers to it as a "hoax." Measurements and scientists say Clinton's Earth is much closer to reality. http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/WHY-IT-MATTERS-Climate-Change-9189974.php A Pity About Gary Johnson - He Was Right First Time About A Tax Being the Free Market Solution. Whether or not climate change is happening is not something for me to describe or discuss – go talk to my colleagues over on the environmental desks. When it comes to the economic policy of what should happen if it does then that is me. And the answer here is simple, as I’ve said a number of times before – a carbon tax. http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2016/08/29/a-pity-about-gary-johnson-he-was-right-first-time-about-a-tax-being-the-free-market-solution/#17c0ea194608 New Solar Forecasting System Could Save Industry Hundreds Of Millions. A new solar forecasting system could save the solar power industry hundreds of millions of dollars and make it easier for grid operators and utilities to integrate high penetration levels of variable resources like solar into the electric grid. The new system, called Sun4Cast, was developed by… http://www.forbes.com/sites/williampentland/2016/08/29/new-solar-forecasting-system-could-save-industry-hundreds-of-millions/#4802c27c4ad2 VW diesel buyback: Here's what it's like to be an owner, so far. A Volkswagen TDI owner in Portland, Oregon, who's a good friend of this site is taking us along for the ride as he prepares to sell back his 2010 Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen TDI. The car, which only has 43,000 miles on it, was purchased new from a Portland-area dealer and maintained very well. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1105796_vw-diesel-buyback-heres-what-its-like-to-be-an-owner-so-far Letter to the editor: Fight for cleaner air is a fight to save lives. As an allergist-immunologist, I see firsthand the impacts that air pollution has on my patients. Studies have long warned health professionals about the harm caused by dangerous levels of air pollution. However, we’ve never had nationwide information about how that air pollution affects the well-being of the people living in each community – until now. http://www.pressherald.com/2016/08/27/letter-to-the-editor-fight-for-cleaner-air-is-a-fight-to-save-lives/ California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.