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ARB Newsclips for October 25, 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

A tax on carbon pollution faces surprising opposition. Some
environmental groups and social justice advocates are fighting a
proposed emissions tax in Washington. What gives? Court Olson
spent about 50 hours last summer and fall approaching hundreds of
strangers at suburban Seattle bus stops and farmers markets to
talk about climate change.
http://www.hcn.org/articles/a-proposed-carbon-tax-in-washington-faces-surprising-opposition


AIR POLLUTION

China to Have World's Largest Nuclear Capacity in 15 Years: WNA.
China is set to overtake the United States to have the world's
largest nuclear capacity over the next 10 to 15 years as it races
to build new reactors to combat pollution, the World Nuclear
Association (WNA) said on Tuesday.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2016/10/25/world/asia/25reuters-asia-nuclear.html


World Logistics Center, air district agree to cash settlement for
Moreno Valley project. Lawsuit deal calls for firm to pay up to
$26 million for clean-air programs. A lawsuit settlement between
Moreno Valley and regional air quality officials over the planned
World Logistics Center calls for the developer to pay millions
toward air cleanup programs. Under the agreement, developer
Highland Fairview will pay the South Coast Air Quality Management
District 64 cents per square foot…
http://www.pe.com/articles/air-816710-district-environmental.html


New report shows spike in poor air quality days in Paradise. The
Butte County Air Quality Management District has released the
summer's air quality report, and the number of poor air quality
days in Paradise is up. Preliminary data shows that in Paradise,
seven days in 2016 exceeded the 2008 federal ozone standard. In
2015, stricter ozone standards were put in place.
http://www.krcrtv.com/news/local/butte/new-report-shows-spike-in-poor-air-quality-days-in-paradise/131381608


Valero to pay $249,000 for Benicia refinery air violations.
Valero Refining Co. has agreed to pay nearly a quarter of a
million dollars to settle violations of air quality regulations
at its Benicia plant, officials said Monday. The Solano County
refinery violated emission limits on nine occasions, reported
hydrocarbon leaks from storage tanks six times…
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1106876_green-car-reports-2017-best-car-to-buy-nominee-toyota-prius-prime


CLIMATE CHANGE

UN weather agency: Heat-trapping gas surges beyond milestone. The
World Meteorological Organization says heat-trapping gases in
Earth's atmosphere are growing faster than before, surging
permanently beyond a troubling milestone. The United Nations
agency says global carbon dioxide levels, which first reached 400
parts per million last year, are likely to stay above that
symbolic 400 milestone all year and for generations to come.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SCI_GREENHOUSE_GAS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Company climate change plans too weak to meet Paris goals –
survey. Plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions by big companies
represent only a quarter of the amounts needed to limit global
warming under targets agreed last year by almost 200 nations, a
study showed on Tuesday. "More companies are acting, but still
have a long way to go,"…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-business-idUSKCN12P0BW?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=7f18b10c2c-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-7f18b10c2c-327747457


Greenhouse gases milestone shows need for action: WMO. Greenhouse
gases rose to a symbolic milestone in 2015, taking climate change
into a new phase which could last generations even if governments
act to curb man-made global warming, the U.N. World
Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Monday. Globally
averaged concentrations of carbon dioxide, the main man-made
greenhouse gas, reached 400.0 parts per million (ppm) in the
atmosphere…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-carbon-idUSKCN12O0WL


Climate change is disturbing hundreds of bird species, including
our beloved osprey. There are many epic animal migrations in
nature, and one is currently underway in the D.C. area. Millions
of birds are in the process of escaping the cold, polar air and
flocking south, some to as far away as Brazil. Today, Washington,
D.C., sits in the middle of the Atlantic Flyway, but climate
change will greatly alter avian ranges and migration patterns.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2016/10/25/climate-change-is-disturbing-hundreds-of-bird-species-including-our-beloved-osprey/


Obama administration expects climate deal to speed up. The quick
approval of the Paris Agreement on climate change could lead to a
faster timetable for countries to implement their plans to reduce
carbon emissions, an Obama administration official said Tuesday.
U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change Jonathan Pershing said a
climate change meeting in Morocco next month will see a more
aggressive implementation plan for the Paris Agreement.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/obama-administration-expects-climate-deal-to-speed-up/article/2605525


Species may be listed as threatened based on climate change
projections, court says. Federal authorities may list a species
as “threatened” based on climate models that show habitat loss in
the coming decades, an appeals court decided Monday. The state of
Alaska, oil company groups and Alaskan natives had challenged a
decision by the federal government to list a sea ice seal
subspecies as threatened and deserving of protection.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-species-climate-projections-20161024-snap-story.html

http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2016/1025/With-an-eye-on-climate-change-court-gives-bearded-seals-endangered-status

Reservoirs Provide Tap Water Yet Significantly Contribute to
Climate Change. Hydropower dams are generally thought to be a
clean source of electricity. By moving water through turbines,
dams can generate large amounts of electricity almost
continuously and without causing air pollution. It’s partly for
these reasons that more than 3,700 hydroelectric dams are
currently proposed or under construction worldwide.
https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2016/10/25/reservoirs-provide-tap-water-yet-significantly-contribute-to-climate-change/

How climate change is expanding the desert. Climate change is
causing the deserts of China to grow, displacing thousands of
people who live along their fringes. Nearly a fifth of the
country is currently desert land, and experts estimate this area
is growing at a rate of 1,300 square miles every year.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/10/25/stories/1060044737

The polar vortex is coming back. The polar vortex in recent years
has brought the kind of miserable cold to northern states that
made it hard to breathe outside. We're probably in for more of
the same. That's the finding of a new study published yesterday
in the journal Nature that finds that as the Arctic warms, it is
shifting the polar vortex to Europe. That in turn will bring more
bursts of frigid cold to North America.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/10/25/stories/1060044745 

Scientists say El Niño altered disease risk in U.S. Weather
changes associated with El Niño have drastic regional effects on
disease in the United States and could hold important lessons as
the climate warms, according to a new study. Temperature
inversions in the Pacific Ocean that occur irregularly every few
years lead to weather patterns that ripple across the United
States…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/10/25/stories/1060044754 

Now a new study says coffee decline not from warming. The coming
coffee Armageddon, caused by a fungal disease that devastates
coffee crops and spread by climate change, may be a myth. The
spread of coffee leaf rust may not be advanced by climate change,
a new study contends. Researchers found that there is no evidence
that a recent drop in Colombia's coffee production could be
attributed to a warming planet…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/10/25/stories/1060044755 

Ancient trees played big role in climate change — study. New
research into the Earth's atmospheric conditions 300 million
years ago has uncovered evidence that ancient forests were major
contributors to shifts in the planet's climate. Using a
collection of fossil plants preserved in the Illinois Basin, the
study…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/10/25/stories/1060044748 

Everyone likes the HFC amendment — except the U.S. Senate 
Having spent years trying to avoid entering into a climate treaty
that would require Senate ratification, the Obama administration
has almost certainly just joined a climate treaty that will
require Senate ratification.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/10/25/stories/1060044756 

ALISO CANYON

Aliso Canyon 1 year later: Health study stuck in limbo amid
cancer fears
At the top of Tampa Avenue, in their Porter Ranch home, Candice
Garcia and her family fell ill with rashes on their faces, their
chests and hands. Headaches began, and her daughter’s asthma
became worse.
http://www.dailynews.com/health/20161024/aliso-canyon-1-year-later-health-study-stuck-in-limbo-amid-cancer-fears


DIESEL ACTIVITIES

Regulators Announce Date for Greenhouse Gas Phase 2 Final Rule. A
rule aimed at reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas
emissions from heavy- and medium-duty trucks will take effect in
two months, federal regulators announced Oct. 25. The
Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration worked jointly on the rule, and the
agencies indicated in the Federal Register that Dec. 27 will be
the final rule’s official start date.
http://ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=43671

FUELS

In California's Methane-Reduction Crosshairs, Dairy Industry
Faces Regulation for the First Time. As with California's other
climate action efforts, this one could provide a roadmap for
other states or for federal regulation, which the industry will
likely fight. Despite heavy pushback from the state's livestock
producers, California Gov. Jerry Brown last month signed a law
aimed at cutting methane emissions from cattle operations, the
largest source of heat-trapping methane in the country's biggest
dairy-producing state.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/24102016/methane-gas-global-warming-climate-change-california-dairy-industry-regulation-first-time-jerry-brown
   

VEHICLES

Green Car Reports 2017 Best Car To Buy nominee: Toyota Prius
Prime. The 2017 Toyota Prius Prime is a far, far better plug-in
hybrid than its predecessor. It defaults to electric-only
operation, it has 25 miles of EPA-rated electric range and in
electric operation, it is by far the most energy-efficient
vehicle you can buy this year in the U.S.
And when it reverts to running as a standard hybrid car, it's
rated at 54 mpg combined.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1106876_green-car-reports-2017-best-car-to-buy-nominee-toyota-prius-prime


VW RECALL

Judge approves $15 billion Volkswagen emissions settlement.  A
federal judge in San Francisco has approved a nearly $15 billion
court settlement of most claims against Volkswagen for its
emissions-cheating scandal. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer
signed the order Tuesday approving the largest auto-scandal
settlement in the nation's history. Volkswagen admitted last year
that about 475,000 VWs and Audis with 2-liter four-cylinder
diesel engines were programmed to cheat on emissions tests.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_VOLKSWAGEN_EMISSIONS_SCANDAL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


OTHER RELATED STORIES
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-idUSKCN12P22F?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=Social

http://www.wsj.com/articles/volkswagen-s-14-7-billion-buyback-deal-on-emissions-scandal-approved-1477409939

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2016/10/25/business/25reuters-volkswagen-emissions.html

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2016/10/25/volkswagen-settlement-approved/92719174/

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Judge-approves-Volkswagen-emissions-settlement-10283809.php

http://www.krcrtv.com/news/judge-approves-volkswagens-15b-emissions-settlement/131424871

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/court-approves-15-billion-volkswagen-emissions-settlement/

http://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2016-10-25/judge-approves-volkswagen-emissions-settlement

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/foreign/vw-emissions-scandal/2016/10/25/vw-approval/92722172/

http://www.businessinsider.com/r-update-1-us-judge-approves-147-billion-settlement-over-vw-diesel-vehicles-2016-10

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/us-judge-approves-dollar147-billion-settlement-over-vw-diesel-vehicles/ar-AAjnUPH?ocid=ansmsnnews11
http://www.autoblog.com/2016/10/25/volkswagen-midsize-three-row-suv-origin-video/

http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/What-Volkswagen-owners-can-expect-from-the-diesel-10297917.php

 http://www.rediff.com/business/report/fifteen-billion-volkswagen-emissions-settlement-approved/20161025.htm

http://phys.org/news/2016-10-billion-volkswagen-emissions-settlement.html


What Volkswagen owners can expect from the diesel settlement. A
federal judge on Tuesday approved a settlement between Volkswagen
AG and about 475,000 owners of diesel cars that don't meet U.S.
emissions standards. Volkswagen admitted last year that the cars
were programmed to cheat on emissions tests. The German automaker
will spend up to $10 billion to either buy the cars back or fix
them and compensate owners.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_VOLKSWAGEN_OWNERS_QA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

OTHER RELATED STORIES
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/4a1fbe7a17bf4e5c82d6d1d1794e8997/what-volkswagen-owners-can-expect-diesel-settlement

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/10/25/us/ap-us-volkswagen-owners-qa.html
 

Nissan: $2B in VW diesel settlement for EV infrastructure could
be a boon for all (except hydrogen). 28 companies warned the DOJ
last month that the money could upset the apple cart. VW's diesel
scandal is causing a small civil war in the electric vehicle
world. Last month, 28 companies sent a letter to the Department
of Justice saying that the way that the automaker's $14.7-billion
settlement...
http://www.autoblog.com/2016/10/25/nissan-2b-vw-diesel-settlement-ev-infrastructure/


Germany’s VW Probe Hasn’t Implicated Top Brass, Prosecutor Says.
For more than a year, investigators on three continents have
pored over documents and testimony, digging for evidence that
Volkswagen AG’s top leadership approved the diesel-cheating
program that has plunged the carmaker into crisis. In Germany,
the hunt has come up empty so far.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-25/germany-s-vw-probe-hasn-t-implicated-top-brass-prosecutor-says


Volkswagen Needs to Convince EU That Damaged Cars Will Be Fixed.
Volkswagen AG is facing renewed pressure to repair the damage
caused by its diesel emissions scandal, with the European Union
calling on the carmaker to start compensating affected consumers
and show clear proof that vehicles will be fixed within the
coming year. VW “should clearly identify what will be offered to
consumers and this in a similar manner” across the 28-nation
bloc…
http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-OFJQ1DSYF01W01-7CDSUG2PN9P6MN33VL5S2HPAV3


GREEN ENERGY

Solar Winds’ Spur Geomagnetic Storm That May Affect Power Lines.
Charged particles flowing from the sun have touched off a strong
geomagnetic storm across the Earth that can disrupt power grids,
satellites and radio navigation systems. Geomagnetic conditions
increased early Tuesday before weakening by midday, according to
the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-25/-solar-winds-spur-geomagnetic-storm-that-may-affect-power-lines


Renewable energy capacity overtakes coal. The IEA says in a new
report that last year, renewables accounted for more than half of
the increase in power capacity. The report says half a million
solar panels were installed every day last year around the world.
In China, it says, there were two wind turbines set up every
hour. Renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar and hydro are
seen as a key element in international efforts to combat climate
change. http://www.bbc.com/news/business-37767250 

RELATED ARTICLES
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/oct/25/keep-it-in-the-ground-renewable-energy-breaks-new-records
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/energy-green/sd-fi-iea-report-20161024-story.html


New regulations threaten Calif. landfills. The landfill gas
industry in California is facing two emerging threats: more
stringent environmental regulations and the competitive renewable
energy market. A landfill in Riverside County, Calif., operated
by Waste Management Inc. recently decided to shut down its
generators to comply with a new regional rule to cut emissions of
nitrogen oxides, pollutants that contribute to smog.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2016/10/25/stories/1060044741 

MISCELLANEOUS

Looking out for No. 2: Dogs sniff out fecal pollution.  Some
specially trained dogs are helping humans curb themselves. A
company that has trained dogs to recognize the smell of human
fecal bacteria has been sniffing out sources of water pollution
nationwide, discovering broken sewer pipes, leaking septic tanks
and illegal sewage discharges, to the delight of environmental
groups and government agencies.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_POO_SNIFFING_DOGS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Bill Gates Foundation Gives $210 Million to Seattle-Based
University. Microsoft founder Bill Gates through his foundation
has donated $210 million to an initiative based at the University
of Washington in Seattle aimed at improving people's health
around the world, university officials said on Tuesday.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2016/10/25/us/25reuters-university-bill-gates-foundation.html


OPINIONS

Washington State’s Ambitious Carbon Tax Proposal. Anybody hoping
for a robust national discussion about climate change this
election year has been sorely disappointed. But one state,
Washington, has been having just such a debate, thanks to an
ambitious ballot proposal that would impose a tax on carbon
emissions. The proposal, Initiative 732, started as a long-shot
campaign by an economist…
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/24/opinion/washington-states-ambitious-carbon-tax-proposal.html?mabReward=CTM&_r=0






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