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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for January 9, 2017.
Posted: 09 Jan 2017 14:08:33
ARB Newsclips for January 9, 2017. 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 Beijing launches environmental police force to tackle air pollution. The smog-hit Chinese capital of Beijing will establish a police force to deal specifically with environmental offences as part of its efforts to clean up its air and crack down on persistent polluters. The smog police will crack down on open-air barbecues, garbage incineration, biomass burning and dust from roads, Beijing's acting mayor Cai Qi said on Saturday, according to the official Xinhua news agency. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-pollution-idUSKBN14T0NX http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/police-set-smog-squad-crack-down-causes-choking-beijing-air-pollution-1600061 http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/08/asia/china-smog/index.html http://www.environmentalleader.com/2017/01/china-now-police-force-deal-persistent-polluters/ London Breaks Annual Air Pollution Limits Five Days Into 2017. London broke the annual limit for air pollution just five days into 2017, according to data from the capital’s main monitoring system. A site on Brixton Road in south London surpassed hourly limits for nitrogen dioxide concentrations 24 times so far this year, breaking the European Union’s annual permitted limit of 18 breaches… https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-06/london-breaks-annual-air-pollution-limits-five-days-into-2017 From Iceland to Maldives, Chinese Seek ‘Lung Cleansing’ Trips(1). Toxic haze that settled over much of China during the last three weeks has triggered a flight reflex among residents, leading to the rising popularity of smog avoidance travel packages to far-flung locations such as Iceland and Antarctica. Traveler’s online keyword searches for terms such as “smog escape,” “lung cleansing” and “forests” had tripled amid the air pollution… http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-OJ934M6TTDSY01-3TTRS3R1PN4VR8MGUG2JCV616D Southern China Is Blanketed in Smog as Beijing Gets Slight Reprieve. With pollution levels receding in Beijing, parts of southern China, including Hong Kong, experienced dangerous levels of smog Monday as weather patterns pushed bad air into the region. The worsening conditions caused the Hong Kong government to warn of a “very high” health risk, particularly for the elderly, children and those with existing respiratory conditions. http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/09/world/asia/china-air-pollution-hong-kong.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=0fb063654e-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-0fb063654e-327747457&_r=0 Chinese Defy Pollution, a Stubborn Visitor. Like ghosts floating in a dim netherworld, the dancers twirled, spun and curtsied in smog so dense that couples a few steps away seemed to be murky apparitions suspended in a gray haze. Filthy air has swamped much of northern China for weeks, but some amateur dancers have stuck to their outdoor ballroom routines. http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/06/world/asia/china-smog-pollution.html?_r=0 Frosts Kill Dozens in Central Europe, Smog Forces Production Cuts. Severe frosts and snow storms killed at least 25 people in central Europe over the weekend, mainly in Poland, as temperatures in the region dropped below -30 degrees Celsius in some places. The Danube river was slowly freezing over in Budapest, a rare sight in recent years. Air pollution, mostly from airborne dust particles, forced production cutbacks at… http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2017/01/09/world/europe/09reuters-centraleurope-weather-freezing.html Live Global Map Lets You See Pollution In A New Way. It’s now possible to see on a map pollution rising up from cities and spreading around the globe on wind currents, in nearly real time. The airborne microfragments known as small particle pollution are important because they shorten the lives of millions of people each year. The captivating 3D visualization is the creation of a… http://www.kpbs.org/news/2017/jan/09/live-global-map-lets-you-see-pollution-whole-new-w/ EPA to issue regional haze regs, likely sparking lawsuits. U.S. EPA is poised to formally issue a package of changes to its regional haze regulations, opening the door for legal challenges. The package, various parts of which have drawn opposition from conservation groups, power producers and a coalition of Republican attorneys general, is set for publication in tomorrow's Federal Register. http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/01/09/stories/1060048052 CLIMATE CHANGE Landmark global scale study reveals potential future impact of ocean acidification on species' distribution. Ocean Acidification and the extent to which marine species are able to deal with low pH levels in the Earth's seas, could have a significant influence on shifting the distribution of marine animals in response to climate warming. This is one the findings of a landmark new study that has taken a first-ever global scale integrative approach… http://phys.org/news/2017-01-landmark-global-scale-reveals-potential.html#jCp US plan on threatened polar bears lacks teeth, critics say. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released its plan Monday for the recovery of threatened polar bears, acknowledging it will take no direct action for addressing the primary threat - greenhouse gases that contribute to the decline of sea ice habitat. Polar bears, the first species to be declared threatened or endangered because of climate change… http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_POLAR_BEAR_RECOVERY_PLAN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT OTHER RELATED STORIES https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/01/09/without-action-on-climate-change-say-goodbye-to-polar-bears/?utm_campaign=0fb063654e-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Inside Climate News&utm_term=.3065c1b44515 US had near record heat, costly weather disasters in 2016. With steamy nights, sticky days and torrential downpours, last year went down as one of the warmest and wildest weather years on record in the United States. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Monday that 2016 was the second hottest year in the U.S. as Alaska warmed dramatically and nighttime temperatures set a record. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SCI_HOT_WILD_YEAR?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT 2016 was hottest year ever recorded in New Zealand. Unusually warm winds and seas helped make last year the hottest ever recorded in New Zealand. The average temperature during 2016 was 13.4 Celsius (56.1 Fahrenheit), according to a report released Monday by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. That was nearly 1 degree Celsius warmer than normal and fractionally hotter than the previous record set in 1998. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_NEW_ZEALAND_RECORD_TEMPERATURES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Study documents tree species' decline due to climate warming. A type of tree that thrives in soggy soil from Alaska to Northern California and is valued for its commercial and cultural uses could become a noticeable casualty of climate warming over the next 50 years, an independent study has concluded. Yellow cedar, named for its distinctive yellow wood, already is under consideration for federal listing as a threatened or endangered species. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CLIMATE_WARMING_YELLOW_CEDAR?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Climate change should not be 'partisan issue,' Kerry says. Work to avert the problems caused by climate change should not be a partisan issue, outgoing Secretary of State John Kerry told students at an elite U.S. engineering school on Monday, in one of his final speeches as the nation's top diplomat. Kerry noted U.S. officials from military and intelligence leaders to the mayors of coastal cities agree the problem of… http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-kerry-idUSKBN14T1VH Human-Driven Global Warming Is Biggest Threat to Polar Bears, Report Says. Federal wildlife officials on Monday called climate change the biggest threat to the survival of the polar bear and warned that without decisive action to combat global warming, the bears would almost certainly disappear from much of the Arctic. “It cannot be overstated that the single most important action for the recovery of polar bears… http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/09/science/polar-bears-global-warming-climate-change.html http://www.sltrib.com/home/4798499-155/without-action-on-climate-change-say UW faculty angry at Wisconsin agency climate change revision. A group of University of Wisconsin-Madison professors criticized the state Department of Natural Resources on Monday for scrubbing its website of language that stated human activity is causing climate change, accusing the agency of ignoring facts and violating the public trust. The Republican-controlled DNR's revisions came last month. http://www.sfgate.com/news/education/article/UW-faculty-challenge-DNR-climate-change-revisions-10845010.php 99% of coral reefs to be impacted by climate change, study says. Climate change is having a damaging and long-lasting impact on the health of the ocean’s coral reefs, a new study has found. By the end of the century, 99 percent of coral reefs will be impacted each year by bleaching, a process in which reefs lose their coloring and are more susceptible to disease and death. http://www.sacbee.com/latest-news/article124752339.html#storylink=cpy Obama: US climate efforts can withstand 'near-term politics' President Barack Obama argued Monday the election of Donald Trump and a GOP Congress will not stop US efforts to fight climate change and spur clean energy development. The essay published online Monday in the journal Science goes through the scientific case for actions the administration has taken on climate change, energy efficiency and emissions… http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/09/politics/obama-climate-change-science-coal/index.html State sites still teach about climate change. Teachers and students in Wisconsin still have access to state-operated environmental education sites that discuss climate change, despite the Department of Natural Resources' recent move to scrub references to the concept from its website. The Department of Public Instruction will temporarily take over three educational programs previously administered by the DNR. http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com/story/news/local/2017/01/09/state-sites-still-teach-climate-change/96150006/ http://www.stevenspointjournal.com/story/news/local/2017/01/09/state-sites-still-teach-climate-change/96150006/ Rich countries dominate climate research — study. Developed countries' dominance in climate research may make it harder for poorer nations to participate effectively in the Paris climate agreement, according to a report published last week in Nature Climate Change. That imbalance is overwhelming: Researchers from industrialized countries published 10,442 scientific and technical journal articles in 2011… http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/01/09/stories/1060048006 FUELS US gas prices jump 12 cents over 3 weeks to $2.38 a gallon. The average price of regular-grade gasoline has surged 12 cents nationally over the past three weeks, to $2.38 a gallon. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said Sunday the hike mostly results from the gasoline market catching up with rising crude oil costs. Lundberg says the current price is 33 cents a gallon above what it was one year ago. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GAS_PRICES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT EMBARGOED-Gasoline taxes fall despite promises to slow climate change-study. Average taxes on gasoline worldwide have tended to fall in recent years despite promises by many nations to do more to limit global warming, a study showed on Monday. Gasoline, or petrol, the most common fuel used to power cars, emits the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide when burnt. Tax paid on the average litre of gasoline fell 13.3 percent to 24.2 cents in the first half of 2015… http://uk.reuters.com/article/energy-taxes-idUKL5N1EZ1YP Sensing Gains Ahead Under Trump, the Kochs Court Minorities. The crowd that thronged a gospel concert last month in Richmond, Va., was in for an unusual Christmas treat. “Your energy bill’s paid!” the M.C. declared between soaring numbers from recording artists like VaShawn Mitchell and Charles Jenkins, calling to a young woman from the audience, who shrieked and started twirling on the floor. http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/05/business/energy-environment/koch-brothers-fossil-fuels-minorities.html?_r=1 Obama admin spars with critics over methane rule. The fate of an Obama administration methane-slashing rule was on the line last week as critics and fans of the regulation argued over whether it should be halted. With government lawyers, environmentalists and supporting states on one side and industry groups and several opposing states on the other… http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/01/09/stories/1060048012 VEHICLES China boosts VW sales despite diesel emissions scandal. German automaker Volkswagen saw sales jump 16 percent in December for its namesake brand, propelled by a big increase in China, Volkswagen's biggest market. Global sales reported Monday rose to 567,900 from 487,700 despite the damage to the company's reputation from its scandal over cars rigged to cheat on diesel emissions tests. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_GERMANY_VOLKSWAGEN_SALES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT VW RECALL Second VW Employee Arrested Over Emissions Scheme. The Volkswagen executive who once was in charge of complying with U.S. emissions regulations was arrested during the weekend in Florida and accused of deceiving federal regulators about the use of special software that cheated on emissions tests. Oliver Schmidt, who was general manager of the engineering and environmental office for VW of America, was charged in a criminal complaint with conspiracy to… http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_VOLKSWAGEN_ARREST?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT OTHER RELATED STORIES http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2017/01/09/us/ap-us-volkswagen-arrest.html http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/09/business/volkswagen-diesel-emissions-investigation-settlement.html?_r=1 http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-volkswagen-arrest-20170109-story.html http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/01/09/fbi-arrests-top-volkswagen-executive-emissions-scandal/96340582/ http://www.scpr.org/news/2017/01/09/67927/second-vw-employee-arrested-over-emissions-scheme/ GREEN ENERGY Obama presses Trump not to back away from clean energy. President Barack Obama cast the adoption of clean energy in the U.S. as "irreversible," putting pressure Monday on President-elect Donald Trump not to back away from a core strategy to fight climate change. Obama, penning an opinion article in the journal Science, sought to frame the argument in a way that might appeal to the president-elect: in economic terms. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBAMA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Obama says push toward clean energy is 'irreversible' President Obama says trends toward clean energy are "irreversible" and will overcome "near-term politics" in an article he wrote Monday for the journal Science. The article, entitled "The irreversible momentum of clean energy," was published in the journal's policy forum, and details why the president believes there's no turning back from renewable energies such as solar, wind and geothermal. http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/sciencefair/2017/01/09/president-obama-science-journal/96342060/ http://www.pv-tech.org/news/eia-clean-energy-to-grow-even-if-trump-scraps-clean-power-plan Scott Wiener models state solar bill on S.F. law. Newly sworn-in state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, plans to introduce legislation Monday requiring all new construction in the state to include solar panels. The bill expands on a San Francisco city ordinance Wiener wrote while on the Board of Supervisors that requires solar panels to be put on new construction within the city… http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Scott-Wiener-models-state-solar-bill-on-S-F-law-10843577.php?t=848b1faa85&cmpid=twitter-premium Amazon to surpass 1 GW of clean energy capacity. Is it enough? Amazon.com Inc. this month will begin receiving the first of roughly 930 megawatts of new renewable energy in what could be one of the largest expansions of wind and solar power by a private-sector firm in 2017. The company's growing portfolio of clean power projects — whose collective capacity should reach 1.16 gigawatts by year's end… http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/01/09/stories/1060048034 A grim prognosis for Mission Innovation under Trump. President Carter installed 32 solar water heating panels on the White House roof in 1979, and President Reagan took them down in 1986. The decision was symbolic of the ideological divide between the two administrations on energy policy and how the two presidents sought to address challenges like the oil crisis and the lagging economy. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/01/09/stories/1060048035 MISCELLANEOUS San Diego’s Public Transit Growth Hits Speed Bump. Most effective transportation policies are highly unpopular. Just over a year after the passage of San Diego's Climate Action Plan, the city's goal of dramatically shifting its residents' commuting habits away from cars and toward public transit is slipping further from reach. http://www.kpbs.org/news/2017/jan/09/public-transit-ridership-falls-san-diego-seeks-sol/ OPINIONS Seeing the devastation of climate change in the ruins of Aleppo. I recently followed a drone through the ruined Syrian city of Aleppo, courtesy of YouTube. The destruction was sobering, to say the least. The camera glided by exploded apartment buildings and streets piled with rubble, block after city block. The political situation in Syria is contemptible, the impact of war on human lives horrendously tragic… http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-stier-climate-change-and-syrian-civil-war-20170106-story.html California must tighten fracking regulations. The Environmental Protection Agency’s final report on the impact of fracking on water supplies finds more danger than previously acknowledged — but there’s no way a Donald Trump administration is going to toughen the minimal federal regulations now in place. The president-elect already promised the industry last fall that he would try to end regulation of fracking, which involves injecting water and chemicals into the ground at high pressure to force oil and gas from rock formations. http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/01/06/editorial-california-must-tighten-fracking-regulations/ Climate change and farming: let's be part of the solution! What with rising rainfall in the west, and hotter, drier summers in the east, British farmers place plenty of challenges from global warming, writes Anna Bowen. But there are also positive opportunities for agricultural innovators to adapt their farming systems to changing conditions, make their operations more resilient and sustainable, and make themselves part of the solution. http://www.enn.com/climate/spotlight/50253 Why automakers spend heavily to promote gas guzzlers. When Nissan rolled out its all-electric Leaf in 2010, the company's bold advertising grabbed attention — and criticism. The spot, which premiered during an NFL game, showed a polar bear trekking south past pollution-spewing power plants and cars, until he meets a Leaf driver and hugs him. http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/01/09/stories/1060048038 BLOGS Drought and Equity in California. The Pacific Institute and the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water have released the first analysis of the impacts of the California drought on vulnerable communities and put forward recommendations to alleviate those impacts. The study focuses on three impacts of the drought: domestic water supply shortages, rising water costs, and declines in the salmon fishery. http://pacinst.org/news/drought-equity-california/ Getting a better grip on gas taxes. When 195 nations joined to fight climate change in the 2015 Paris Agreement, leaders hailed the occasion as “historic” and “a tremendous victory.” Others sounded notes of caution. Agreements and results are two different things, they said, especially when the agreements are nonbinding. Moreover, it can be difficult to measure the actions individual countries are taking due to a basic lack of reliable information and data. https://www.ioes.ucla.edu/article/getting-better-grip-gas-taxes/ The chances of Trump demanding a carbon tax to save the world from climate change is, to be polite, remote to non-existent. The introduction, or should I say, the force feeding of the Ontario carbon cap-and-trade, and the Alberta version, which they prefer to term a carbon “levy” were, and will be, dominate factors affecting prices in both provinces as well as Quebec. While the Ontario Government gave substantial forewarning of the intent to apply the cap-and-trade throughout 2016… http://www.trucknews.com/blogs/chances-trump-demanding-carbon-tax-save-world-climate-change-polite-remote-non-existent/ Global warming is creating a wildfire 'death spiral' in alpine areas, say climate change scientists. 'Landscape flammability, and thus fire, are likely to increase as a result of warming effects'. Global warming is creating a vicious feedback loop that could increase the number of wildfires in alpine areas, scientists have warned. After fire sweeps through an area, it can effectively clears the land and the researchers… http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/global-warming-wildfire-climate-change-environment-alpine-areas-australia-alps-fire-plants-flammable-a7517686.html New California Dam Proposed to Combat Climate Change Concerns. Nevada Irrigation District, which serves two California counties, wants to build a new reservoir on the Bear River to capture rainfall, amid concerns that climate change is shrinking Sierra Nevada snowpack. Americans have had one primary reason for building dams over the past century: capturing water for growth, whether on farms or in cities. Now a new dam proposed on California’s Bear River offers another reason: adapting to climate change. https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2017/01/09/new-california-dam-proposed-to-combat-climate-change-concerns?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=0fb063654e-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-0fb063654e-327747457 California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.