What's New List Serve Post Display

What's New List Serve Post Display

Below is the List Serve Post you selected to display.
newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for December 13, 2016.

Posted: 13 Dec 2016 14:09:00
ARB Newsclips for December 13, 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

Cows and rice paddies boost methane emissions: study. Global
methane emissions from agriculture and other sources have surged
in recent years, threatening efforts to slow climate change, an
international study has found. Researchers led by French
Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE)
reported that methane concentrations in the air began to surge
around 2007 and grew precipitously in 2014 and 2015.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-environment-methane-idUSKBN14100L


Air Resources Board Sets Goals for 2017(Video). As we head into a
new year, what plans are being made for California’s Air
Resources Board? Capital Public Radio’s state government reporter
Ben Bradford recently spoke with Mary Nichols, chair of the
board, about its goals for 2017, including the future of cap and
trade, which is set to expire in 2020.
http://www.capradio.org/news/insight/2016/12/12/insight-121216b/


EPA issues new rule for Texas plants in likely test for Pruitt.
U.S. EPA is again seeking to impose new pollution control
requirements on Texas coal-fired power plants under its regional
haze program, potentially triggering a high-stakes test of the
incoming Trump administration's attitude toward air quality
regulation. In a proposed rule released late Friday…
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/12/12/stories/1060047054 

CLIMATE CHANGE

Scientists are frantically copying U.S. climate data, fearing it
might vanish under Trump. Alarmed that decades of crucial climate
measurements could vanish under a hostile Trump administration,
scientists have begun a feverish attempt to copy reams of
government data onto independent servers in hopes of safeguarding
it from any political interference.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/12/13/scientists-are-frantically-copying-u-s-climate-data-fearing-it-might-vanish-under-trump/?utm_term=.5ba1643e597b

Polar bear numbers seen declining a third from Arctic sea ice
melt. Rising temperatures that melt sea ice in the Arctic will
probably reduce the polar bear population by a third over the
next few decades, and the same warming trend is likely to worsen
the decline of wild reindeer, scientists said on Monday. The new
findings by university and government researchers were presented
as part of a panel discussion about climate impacts… 
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-environment-climate-arctic-idUSKBN14205I?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=ad36e4f673-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-ad36e4f673-327747457


Peabody Bondholders Tout Donald Trump’s Plan to Roll Back
Emission Rules. 
Peabody Energy bondholders buoyed by Donald Trump’s promise to
‘bring back coal 100%’. President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to
roll back the Obama administration’s signature proposal for
reducing greenhouse gas emissions will be a boon to creditors of
Peabody Energy Corp., according to bondholders who want a say in
the coal miner’s debt restructuring.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/peabody-bondholders-tout-donald-trumps-plan-to-roll-back-emission-rules-1481647278
 

Trump's Election Leaves Scientists In A Climate Of Uncertainty.
Thousands of Earth scientists are in San Francisco this week to
talk about climate change, volcanoes and earthquakes. And another
tectonic topic: President-elect Donald Trump. As president, Trump
will oversee a huge government scientific enterprise. Agencies
like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA
have satellites collecting valuable data on the climate.
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/12/13/505309445/trumps-election-leaves-scientists-in-a-climate-of-uncertainty?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=ad36e4f673-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-ad36e4f673-327747457

Polar Vortex And Global Warming: Will Winters Get Colder? Climate
Change Could Make Icy Blasts More Common. Freezing temperatures
and ice-cold winds were expected to descend upon the Midwest and
Northeast United States this week in what some scientists
predicted would be a repeat of record-low temperature conditions
nearly three years ago that led to widespread damages and several
deaths.
http://www.ibtimes.com/polar-vortex-global-warming-will-winters-get-colder-climate-change-could-make-icy-2458840


What you should know about the polar vortex. In the Midwest and
Northeast of the US, residents should prepare for temperatures 20
to 30 degrees below the average. Many Americans are bundling up
this week, as frigid temperatures mark the return of the polar
vortex. Scientists say that although many of us will feel the
vortex’s chilly effects intensely this week…
http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2016/1213/What-you-should-know-about-the-polar-vortex


Satellite data reveal pace of glacier melt. Scientists have used
25 years' worth of satellite data to reconstruct the dissipation
of West Antarctica's glaciers. Glaciers in the region — including
the Pine Island, Thwaites, Pope, Smith and Kohler glaciers — are
currently shrinking by 7 meters of height per year. All of them
are connected to the Amundsen Sea, and their melt-off is
contributing to sea-level rise across the planet.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/12/13/stories/1060047073 

DROUGHT

Drought to intensify in Kenya in 2017, new early warning system
shows. Kenya needs to brace itself for worsening drought in 2017,
the United Nations said on Tuesday, using a new early warning
system that predicts the availability of forage for animals in
the country's arid livestock-dependent north. People and animals'
lives are at risk because they have not had a chance to recover
from drought in 2014 as rains were also poor in 2015 and 2016…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-kenya-drought-idUSKBN1421WH

California drought: Project to retrofit one of Bay Area’s largest
dams doubles in cost, face. Reflecting problems at other aging
reservoirs, a $200 million project to drain and repair one of the
Bay Area’s largest dams to reduce the risk of it collapsing in a
major earthquake will double in cost and be delayed by at least
two more years. Managers at the Santa Clara Valley Water
District, based in San Jose…
http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/12/12/california-drought-project-to-retrofit-one-of-bay-areas-largest-dams-doubles-in-cost-faces-long-delays/


DIESEL ACTIVITIES

How one state senator wants to clean up truck pollution.  Aiming
to help pay for California Gov. Jerry Brown’s effort to take the
dirtiest big rigs off the road, state Sen. Tony Mendoza,
D-Artesia, is pushing a $600 million bond to fund cleaner trucks
and goods movement. Mendoza introduced legislation last week that
would place a bond measure on the June 2018 ballot to support
Brown’s sustainable freight program…
http://www.presstelegram.com/environment-and-nature/20161212/how-one-state-senator-wants-to-clean-up-truck-pollution

EPA to Reduce Diesel Emissions. The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency has awarded a total of $6,329,500 in Diesel Emission
Reduction Act funds to public and private partners in California,
Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii and American Samoa. EPA’s Acting Regional
Administrator, Alexis Strauss made the announcement at a meeting
of the international Commission for Environmental Cooperation in
Long Beach, California.
http://agnetwest.com/2016/12/12/epa-reduce-diesel-emission/ 

FUELS

Rapid rise in methane emissions in 10 years surprises scientists.
Methane warms planet 20 times as much as similar CO2 volumes but
lack of monitoring means scientists can’t be sure of sources.
Emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas methane have surged in
the past decade, threatening to thwart global attempts to combat
climate change.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/12/rapid-rise-methane-emissions-10-years-surprises-scientists


With Oil Sands Ambitions on a Collision Course With Climate
Change, Exxon Still Stepping on the Gas. Despite understanding
environmental risks, the company and Canada remain committed to
extracting and exporting Alberta’s carbon-heavy fuel source.
ExxonMobil placed a risky bet on the tar sands of Canada, even
though they contain some of the dirtiest oil in the world and the
company's own scientists had documented the link between fossil
fuels and global warming.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/12122016/exxon-climate-change-investigation-tar-sands-oil-development-canada?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=ad36e4f673-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-ad36e4f673-327747457


Aurora Co-op joining forces with ethanol company. One of the
largest co-ops in Nebraska is combining its assets with those
owned by a California-based ethanol company to create a new
entity. Aurora Cooperative Elevator Company said it will combine
its Aurora West Grain Elevator, loop track, related land and
other assets with the two Aurora ethanol plants and related
assets owned by Pacific Ethanol. The Aurora co-op also is
contributing $30 million in cash.
http://journalstar.com/business/agriculture/aurora-co-op-joining-forces-with-ethanol-company/article_8b45f3a3-7841-5069-bed0-43e04886d676.html


New biofuels laboratory opens in Australia.  A new biocrude and
biofuels laboratory has opened in Queensland, Australia, on the
site of the Northern Oil advanced biofuels pilot plant in
Gladstone. Southern Oil and JJ Richards & Sons, joint venture
partners in the Northern Oil Refinery at Yarwun, near Gladstone,
built the multi-million dollar laboratory with funding support
from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
http://biofuels-news.com/display_news/11530/new_biofuels_laboratory_opens_in_australia/


Fossil fuel divestment doubled since last year. Advocates of
divestment from fossil fuel companies celebrated the growth of
their movement yesterday and called it a potential "bulwark"
against an incoming Trump administration intent on rolling back
many of President Obama's climate regulations. Institutions and
individuals controlling $5.2 trillion in assets worldwide have
pledged to sell off their holdings in fossil fuel…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/12/13/stories/1060047078 

GREEN ENERGY

Trump picks former Texas Governor Perry as energy secretary.
Donald Trump has chosen former Texas Governor Rick Perry to head
the U.S. Department of Energy, a source close to the
president-elect said, putting him in charge of an agency he
proposed eliminating during his bid for the 2012 Republican
presidential nomination.
The choice of Perry adds to the list of oil-drilling advocates
skeptical about climate change…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-energy-perry-idUSKBN1421PT


PV installations soar amid record solar demand growth. Robust
demand for clean energy set the U.S. solar industry on its
strongest growth spurt in history between July and September,
with 4.1 gigawatts of new photovoltaic capacity coming online
during the third quarter, industry officials announced this
morning. The surge in new installations, representing a 191
percent increase from the third quarter of 2015…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/12/13/stories/1060047079 

OPINIONS

Addressing income inequality is critical to California’s
prosperity. When the California Economic Summit convenes in
Sacramento on Tuesday, regional stewards from throughout the
state will be asking the hard questions about what else can be
done to restore upward mobility. While we have many pressing
problems, addressing income inequality is foundational to our…
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article119508553.html#storylink=cpy


BLOGS

New Delhi’s Air Pollution Rises Again. Air pollution in New Delhi
spiked again last week, covering the city in a thick, toxic smog
that resulted in reduced visibility, as harsh winter days
approach. The Indian capital’s air quality has been at hazardous
levels for much of the past week, according to measurements taken
by the U.S. embassy. Real-time air quality data from India’s
Central Pollution Control Board…
http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2016/12/12/new-delhis-air-pollution-rises-again/
 

Air pollution and neighborhood stress appear to harm aging brain.
Combination of stressors could mean more cognitive impairment for
vulnerable older adults, USC researcher says. ven with key steps
taken to decrease air pollution in recent decades, there are
serious health effects connected to auto exhaust and other
pollutants in the air we breathe, especially for older adults.
http://news.usc.edu/113160/air-pollution-and-neighborhood-stress-appear-to-harm-aging-brain/


How Companies Set Internal Prices on Carbon. Despite the
uncertainty created by the recent election, companies around the
globe are demonstrating a commitment to keeping climate change in
check. More than 300 American companies signed an open letter to
President-elect Trump urging him not to abandon the Paris
agreement. Others are acting on their own to reduce emissions in
their daily operations, by setting an internal price on carbon.
http://blogs.edf.org/climate411/2016/12/12/how-companies-set-internal-prices-on-carbon/




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

ARB What's New

preload