What's New List Serve Post Display

CARB Newsclips for February 28, 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.

CARB BUSINESS

March 1, 2017: Public Workshop to Discuss Proposed 15-Day Changes
to the Small Off-Road Engine Evaporative Emissions Regulations.

The Air Resources Board (ARB or Board) invites you to participate
in a public workshop to learn about proposed 15-day changes to
the ARB small off-road engine (SORE) evaporative emissions
regulation amendments presented to the Board in November 2016.
http://o7.arb.ca.gov/bbscal/uploads/2017/11371-soremarch2017workshopnotice.pdf
 


One or more workshops/meetings have been scheduled and are now
located in ARB's Workshop Calendar. Please go to:
http://www.arb.ca.gov/app/calendar/cur_evnt.php?type=workshop s  

which links to meeting details, including:

March 7, 2017: SB 375 Targets Update Workshop March 7, 2017.
more info
https://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/sb375/meetings/meetings.htm  

March 9, 2017: SB 375 Targets Update Workshop March 9, 2017.
more info
https://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/sb375/meetings/meetings.htm     

March 14, 2017: SB 375 Targets Update Workshop March 14, 2017.
more info
https://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/sb375/meetings/meetings.htm    

The California Air Resource Board has posted an updated Notice of
Upcoming Low Carbon Fuel Standard Credits Release for Non-Metered
Residential Electric Vehicle Charging.

http://www.arb.ca.gov/fuels/lcfs/workgroups/elect/022217notice.pdf
  

CAP AND TRADE

Preventing Leaks – That Is, the Cap-and-Trade Kind. As engineers
shore up storm-damaged dams and levees, there are other kinds of
leaks to consider – the kind caused by state climate change law,
such as Cap-and-Trade. The Air Resources Board (CARB) plans to
amend Cap-and-Trade’s “leakage” rules, and many industries are
worried the changes may increase leakage. So what is leakage?
It’s when Cap-and-Trade’s compliance costs cause emissions to
decrease in California…
http://www.davisvanguard.org/2017/02/preventing-leaks-cap-trade-kind/


Sarnia uneasy as cap and trade enters next phase. Sarnia is in
the crosshairs of Ontario’s new ‘Cap and Trade’ system and that’s
casting a cloud of uncertainty over the entire local economy,
officials of all stripes say. Some 24% of Ontario’s industrial
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are generated locally…
http://thesarniajournal.ca/sarnia-uneasy-as-cap-and-trade-enters-next-phase/

AIR POLLUTION

Five Months After Incident, Agencies Still Haven’t Pinpointed
Source of Vallejo Fumes. Five months after dozens of Vallejo
residents sought medical treatment after being overpowered by an
unbearable odor that spread over their community, a collection of
federal, state and local agencies have failed to follow up on the
cause or declined to release results of their investigations.
https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/02/28/five-months-later-agencies-still-havent-pinpointed-source-of-vallejo-fumes/

 
Torrance city defends deadly refinery chemical that others want
banned.  At a time when state lawmakers and air quality
regulators are weighing a possible ban on a deadly chemical used
at refineries in Torrance and Wilmington, Torrance City Fire
Department officials plan to defend the chemical at a public
meeting Tuesday evening.
http://www.scpr.org/news/2017/02/27/69415/torrance-city-defends-deadly-refinery-chemical-tha/


Rift divides top air quality regulators. A rift has developed
between two of the Los Angeles region's most important overseers
of air pollution laws, one that might take an act of the state
legislature to resolve. In a recent meeting, the head of the
board that oversees air quality in the LA basin has accused the
majority of an independent hearing board -- one that decides how
to enforce local smog and emissions rules…
http://www.scpr.org/news/2017/02/27/69395/rift-divides-top-air-quality-regulators/

CLIMATE CHANGE

With Climate Change, California Is Likely To See More Extreme
Flooding. Californians are in shock that after five years of too
little water, the problem now is too much. All eyes in California
have been on Oroville Dam, where a broken spillway forced major
evacuations. But the damage from winter storms has gone beyond
the dam in the northern part of the state. Downstream, rivers are
running high and levees have been breaching.
http://www.npr.org/2017/02/28/517495739/with-climate-change-california-is-likely-to-see-more-extreme-flooding


China Causing Climate Change? Myths Surround Country's Role In
Causing Energy Problems, More Carbon Emissions. China has long
been blamed for its contribution to climate change due to
extensive manufacturing and the burning of fossil fuels. But
according to new data, China is not only on track to meet its
carbon reduction goals – it will likely surpass them by a long
shot.
http://www.ibtimes.com/china-causing-climate-change-myths-surround-countrys-role-causing-energy-problems-2499048


Idaho Legislature signs off on school science standards that
leave out climate change.  The Senate Education Committee voted
Monday to approve new science standards for Idaho public schools
that do not address the human impact on climate change. The vote
essentially kicks the question of including climate change down
the road a year… 
http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/education/article135334149.html#storylink=cpy


‘Shell knew’: oil giant's 1991 film warned of climate change
danger. Public information film unseen for years shows Shell had
clear grasp of global warming 26 years ago but has not acted
accordingly since, say critics. The oil giant Shell issued a
stark warning of the catastrophic risks of climate change more
than a quarter of century ago in a prescient 1991 film that has
been rediscovered.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/feb/28/shell-knew-oil-giants-1991-film-warned-climate-change-danger


DROUGHT

California water supplies to improve for some Central Valley
Project customers. Many of the farms and cities that rely on
water from the federal government’s Central Valley Project will
get their full allotment this year, including many in the
Sacramento area, thanks to bountiful supplies of rain and snow
this winter throughout California. Others, however, have been put
in a wait-and-see mode, a sign that the operators of…
http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article135467159.html#storylink=cpy


Drought-busting snow pushes Lake Tahoe to highest mark since
2006. The drought-busting snow and rain in the mountains around
Lake Tahoe have pushed the lake to its highest level in more than
a decade. After suffering through five consecutive years of
drought, hydrologists say the alpine lake atop the Sierra now has
enough water to fill…
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/6720219-181/drought-busting-snow-pushes-lake-tahoe


DIESEL ACTIVITIES

Volvo concept truck uses hybrid power to cut fuel use, emissions.
Because they cover significantly more mileage than the average
passenger car, with much worse fuel economy, large commercial
trucks are a major source of emissions. Last year, Volvo Trucks
aimed to address this issue with a concept truck that
demonstrated…
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1109095_volvo-concept-truck-uses-hybrid-power-to-cut-fuel-use-emissions


VW RECALL

EU parliament says governments delayed new rules on car
emissions. European governments delayed stricter car engine
emissions tests by six years and did not do enough to uncover
cheating by car manufacturers, a European Parliament report into
the dieselgate scandal said on Tuesday. The investigation into
Volkswagen's emissions test cheating also blamed…
http://www.businessinsider.com/r-eu-parliament-says-governments-delayed-new-rules-on-car-emissions-2017-2


GREEN ENERGY

Next up on Trump’s energy list. President Trump is big on keeping
the promises he made on the campaign trail. Since taking office,
Trump and his top aides have boasted about the White House's
commitment to the pledges he made on the stump, many of which
involve rolling back Obama administration regulations and
expanding domestic energy production.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/02/28/stories/1060050682 

MISCELLANEOUS

Trump Plans to Begin E.P.A. Rollback With Order on Clean Water.
President Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Tuesday
aimed at rolling back one of former President Barack Obama’s
major environmental regulations to protect American waterways,
but it will have almost no immediate legal effect, according to
two people familiar with the White House plans.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/28/us/politics/trump-epa-clean-water-climate-change.html?_r=1
 




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