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newsclips -- CARB Newsclips for March 2, 2017.
Posted: 02 Mar 2017 15:30:35
CARB Newsclips for March 2, 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 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=workshops 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 Request for Proposal (RFP): Data Monitoring, Collection, and Analysis for Projects Granted under Fiscal Year (FY) 2014-15 Air Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) and Low Carbon Transportation Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) Investments. The California Air Resources Board is seeking a contractor to monitor, collect, and analyze data for heavy-duty vehicle, off-road equipment, and bulk ship projects granted under AQIP and Low Carbon Transportation GGRF Investments, as identified in the fiscal year (FY) 14-15 Funding Plan approved by the Board in June 2014. The contractor shall collect and monitor vehicle and facility data, as applicable, such as vehicle specifications and performance data, as well as capital costs and operation and maintenance data for vehicles and facilities. RFP Information: The Data Monitoring, Collection, and Analysis for Projects Granted under FY 14-15 AQIP and Low Carbon Transportation GGRF Investments RFP advertisement is available at: https://caleprocure.ca.gov/pages/Events-BS3/event-search.aspx (Event ID 0000004538). In order to submit a response, please register on the Cal eProcure website at: https://caleprocure.ca.gov/pages/ The final date for the proposal submission is Friday, March 24, 2017, 3:00 p.m., Pacific Standard Time. The staff of the California Air Resources Board (CARB or Board) conducted a public workshop to discuss potential regulatory changes to CARB’s Heavy-Duty Vehicle Inspection Program (HDVIP) and Periodic Smoke Inspection Program (PSIP) on February 28, 2017. A recording is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEcpQ36igsc The slide presentation is available here: https://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/hdim/meetings/opacity_workshop_presentation_02-28-2017.pdf CAP AND TRADE Scant demand for California pollution permits. California saw another three months of weak demand for pollution permits amid persistent uncertainty about the future of the state's cap on carbon emissions, according to state data released Wednesday. California will take in only about $8 million from an auction that could have generated $592 million or more if all permits were sold. http://www.apnewsarchive.com/2017/California-saw-another-three-months-of-weak-demand-for-pollution-permits-amid-persistent-uncertainty-about-the-future-of-the-state-s-cap-on-carbon-emissions/id-f073e4cc3b34433cab9a7e2a1e69e015 California’s cap and trade auction another washout. February’s quarterly auction of carbon dioxide emission allowances under California’s cap and trade program was another financial washout for the state. Results for last week’s auction were posted Wednesday morning, revealing that just 16.5 percent of the 74.8 million metric tons of emission allowances were sold at the floor price of $13.57 per ton. http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article135781558.html#storylink=cpy Only a few drips of cash expected from cap-and-trade auction. California's cap-and-trade program limped through another weak auction of pollution permits last month, according to results provided by state regulators Wednesday. Demand for the permits, which are required to release greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, has fluctuated over the last year amid questions about the program's long-term viability. http://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-ca-essential-politics-updates-cap-and-trade-1488398264-htmlstory.html Money From Cap-And-Trade Plummets (Again). For the third time in four quarters, California’s most prominent program to fight climate change brought in a fraction of the revenue state officials projected. Under the cap-and-trade program, companies must purchase pollution credits that allow their emissions. But results released Wednesday show the latest quarterly auction of those credits… http://www.capradio.org/articles/2017/03/01/money-from-cap-and-trade-plummets-(again)/ Carbon Tax? Cap and Trade? Oregon Lawmakers Weigh Options For Reducing Emissions. What’s the best way for Oregon to reduce its contributions to climate change? Supporters and opponents weighed in Wednesday at a legislative hearing on five bills that aim to reduce Oregon’s carbon emissions. Dozens of people lined up at a joint committee hearing to testify in support of taking action to cap carbon emissions… http://www.opb.org/news/article/oregon-lawmakers-weigh-two-options-for-reducing-carbon-emissions/ Low cap-and-trade auction ahead of Ontario's. A joint Quebec-California cap-and-trade auction has yielded less-than-stellar results, just three weeks ahead of Ontario's first auction and a year before the province plans to link its own system with that market. Ontario is set to hold an auction on March 22 in its new cap-and-trade system, which limits how much pollution companies can emit. http://www.waterloochronicle.ca/news-story/7166556-low-cap-and-trade-auction-ahead-of-ontario-s/ 'Anemic' demand for cap-and-trade permits plagues state. California's latest auction of greenhouse gas permits saw low demand, hurting state revenue, according to figures released yesterday. The Feb. 22 auction sold just 16.5 percent of the 75 million allowances put up for auction by California; its trading partner, Quebec; and utilities that receive allowances to sell. The allowances fetched $13.57 per ton, the floor price set by the state. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060050817/search?keyword=california 'They're not going to work for one.' Exxon and a carbon tax? Exxon Mobil Corp. commands attention and gets it. So energy and climate experts naturally took notice last week when CEO Darren Woods said charging a fee on greenhouse gases across the United States is a good idea. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/03/02/stories/1060050813 AIR POLLUTION L.A. keeps building near freeways, even though living there makes people sick. Are you one of the 2.5 million Southern Californians already living in the pollution zone? 1 dot = 1 person living within 1,000 feet of a freeway in 2010 For more than a decade, California air quality officials have warned against building homes within 500 feet of freeways. and with good reason: People there suffer higher rates of asthma… http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-me-freeway-pollution/ Freeway pollution: How we reported the story. On Thursday we published a report detailing the home-building near high-pollution zones next to freeways. This is how we reported the story. How we measured housing growth. Under the California Public Records Act, The Times obtained a database of building permits from the City of Los Angeles dating to 2005; the year state air quality regulators began warning… http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-freeway-pollution-how-20170227-story.html Regional anti-pollution agency says rainstorms cut down on ‘winter smog’ this year. Southern California’s anti-smog agency said the region breathed a little easier this winter after seeing a sizeable decrease in air pollution. The South Coast Air Quality Management District pointed to rainy weather for the improved air quality — several rain storms cleansed the air… http://www.sgvtribune.com/environment-and-nature/20170301/regional-anti-pollution-agency-says-rainstorms-cut-down-on-winter-smog-this-year Air quality data shows pollution from Torrance refinery far higher than others in Southern California. Over the past four years, the Torrance refinery has released more pollution into the air via unplanned flaring than the six other oil refineries in Southern California combined, according to data just released by the region’s air quality watchdog. The figures put the scale of the air pollution… http://www.dailybreeze.com/environment-and-nature/20170301/air-quality-data-shows-pollution-from-torrance-refinery-far-higher-than-others-in-southern-california Critics seek state probe of Bay Area air district’s alleged destruction of records. An alliance for workers called Wednesday for the state Attorney General’s Office to investigate claims that the Bay Area’s air district destroyed records about industrial pollution. At a public meeting of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District Board, eight speakers urged board… http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/03/01/critics-seek-state-probe-of-air-districts-alleged-destruction-of-records/ Federal waivers at risk, but California contends state air standards will remain. California policymakers and regulators maintain the state’s stringent environmental standards will be preserved and enforced even if the federal government fails to renew necessary waivers for the state. California received a waiver from the federal administration that allows the state to enact its own emission standards on the automobile sector. https://analytics.icis.com/federal-waivers-at-risk-but-california-contends-state-air-standards-will-remain/ (BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY) CLIMATE CHANGE U.S. Republican Issa joins bipartisan House caucus on climate change. U.S. Republican Representative Darrell Issa of California has joined the Climate Solutions Caucus, a bipartisan group of lawmakers dedicated to fighting climate change, spokesmen for the group and Issa said on Wednesday. The group, founded a year ago by Florida lawmakers looking to slow the effects of global warming… http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL2N1GF009 EU Nears Final Talks on Emissions Trading. System is cornerstone of bloc’s efforts to curb global warming. European Union officials are gearing for final talks on the future shape of the bloc’s emissions-trading system, a cornerstone of the EU’s efforts to curb global warming, after the bloc’s governments agreed Tuesday to accelerate reductions in carbon discharges by industry. https://www.wsj.com/articles/eu-nears-final-talks-on-emissions-trading-1488395593 Antarctica temperature hit 63.5 degrees, sets new record high temperature. The continent of Antarctica officially has a new record high temperature of 63.5 degrees, scientists from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced Wednesday. The record was set on March 24, 2015, at the Argentine Research Base Esperanza, located near the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2017/03/01/antarctica-new-record-high-temperature/98538084/ Why California Is Environmentalists' Trump Card. Unique authority granted to the golden state allows it to have a profound impact on emissions regulations. With Scott Pruitt, a close ally of the oil and gas industry, now confirmed as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, environmentalists are bracing for a broad assault on former President Obama’s green legacy… https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/03/why-california-is-environmentalists-trump-card/518301/ Global warming made Australia's record-breaking, sizzling summer 50 times more likely. Millions of Australians just endured a sizzlingly hot summer, with three blistering heat waves enveloping much of southeastern Australia during January and February sending temperatures soaring as high as 48.2 degrees Celsius, or 118.7 degrees Fahrenheit. http://mashable.com/2017/03/02/australia-record-heat-global-warming/#pJ7_7nWSPEqK Thinning sea ice can weaken glaciers and raise oceans. Thinning sea ice in the Arctic can cause glaciers to break apart and contribute to sea-level rise, according to new research. Thick sea ice helps prevent icebergs from breaking off glaciers, because it places pressure on the land-based mass of snow and ice. But if that sea ice is reduced… http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/03/02/stories/1060050787 DROUGHT Snowpack levels surge in the Sierra Nevada, helping to power California out of drought. lunging the long, metal rod into the snow beneath his feet in the mountain town of Phillips, state snow survey chief Frank Gehrke measured the Sierra Nevada snowpack Wednesday not against California’s recent, historic drought but against its biggest rain years. “It’s in the top two or three, three or four snow accumulations for March,” Gehrke said, standing on a 9-foot-high pillow of fresh powder Wednesday morning. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-snowpack-survey-march-20170301-story.html Rains Ease the Drought — and Boost California’s Power Supply, Too. Even as dam spillways are put to the test and parts of Northern California flood, there’s a silver lining to all the rain, beyond ending the drought. It gives California more hydroelectric power. “In the thick of the drought last year and previous years, the dam levels all over the Northwest actually were low. https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/03/01/rains-ease-the-drought-and-boost-californias-power-supply-too/ California Drought Status: Flooding Causes $50 Billion In Damage After State's Wettest Season. Just as California’s long-standing drought was finally almost alleviated, another problem hit the state in its wake. After one of the wettest seasons in recent memory, California officials estimated Wednesday they would need $50 billion to control flooding in the state. http://www.ibtimes.com/california-drought-status-flooding-causes-50-billion-damage-after-states-wettest-2501129 VEHICLES Stop-start cars push battery metal lead into investors' focus. Investors are starting to focus on lead due to the large amounts of the metal in batteries used in increasingly popular stop-start cars produced by automakers aiming to comply with stringent new emissions legislation. In stop-start autos the engine automatically cuts off when a car comes to a stop and restarts as the foot comes off the brake… http://www.reuters.com/article/us-lead-batteries-stopstart-analysis-idUSKBN1692HN FIAT/CHRYSLER (FCA) FCA Warns Investors It Could Face Billions In Fines Over Diesel Emissions Cheats. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has told its shareholders that it may face fines of up to $4.6 billion if federal regulators determine that the company fitted diesel control devices on its vehicles. The Detroit News reports that FCA recently informed investors that it had received subpoenas and information requests from the U.S. Department of Justice, Security and Exchange Commission and a number of states’ attorneys. http://www.carscoops.com/2017/03/fca-warns-investors-it-could-face.html GREEN ENERGY Newly Completed Wind Farm Helps Westar Reach Emissions Milestone. Thanks to the completion of its Western Plains wind farm, Topeka, Kan.-based Westar Energy Inc. is now meeting more than half of the annual electricity needs of its customers with emissions-free power. The 280 MW Western Plains wind farm, located in Ford County and comprising 2.3 MW Siemens turbines, began full operations on March 1. http://nawindpower.com/newly-completed-wind-farm-helps-westar-reach-emissions-free-milestone As wind grows, so does its opposition. Oklahoma wind developers are fresh off a record-setting year. Only Texas installed more wind capacity in 2016, a fact that thrusts the Sooner State's power markets into a sudden transition and is agitating opponents along the way. Wind barely registered in Oklahoma a decade ago, but it now accounts for 20 percent of the state's electricity generation. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/03/02/stories/1060050773 MISCELLANEOUS Trump poised to lift federal coal ban, other green rules: White House. U.S. President Donald Trump will target a handful of Obama-era green regulations, including a federal coal mining ban and an initiative forcing states to cut carbon emissions, in an executive order as soon as next week, a White House official told Reuters on Wednesday. Trump and his fellow Republicans who control Congress… http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-energy-idUSKBN168592?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=e35c47f85d-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-e35c47f85d-327747457 Scientists Identify 208 Natural Minerals That Formed From Human Activity. A team of researchers has identified 208 new natural minerals that couldn't have formed from natural chemical processes, but largely from human activities. The study published in the journal American Mineralogist suggests that the activities of people on… http://www.itechpost.com/articles/89426/20170302/scientists-identify-208-natural-minerals-formed-human-activity.htm OPINIONS What Do We Want From California Climate Policy? When you listen closely to debates over California climate change policy, it becomes clear that the disagreements are along two dimensions: what is the best approach to meeting the state’s goals and what exactly are those goals. I think the differences are increasingly about different goals, rather than about different methods of achieving those goals. http://www.theenergycollective.com/severinborenstein/2399458/want-california-climate-policy AQMD should stand by air-quality plan — and public process: Guest commentary. This Friday, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) Governing Board will vote on the 2016 Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP), a comprehensive document that sets the region’s air quality goals for the next four years and determines how the AQMD will attain them. http://www.dailynews.com/opinion/20170301/aqmd-should-stand-by-air-quality-plan-and-public-process-guest-commentary BLOGS California-Quebec carbon market participants appear to wait for future auctions and more information. Carbon auction results released today show low demand for California’s carbon allowances in the first carbon auction of 2017, with only 18% of allowances selling. The results say more about the many milestones that are ahead for the cap-and-trade program rather than anything… http://blogs.edf.org/climatetalks/2017/03/01/california-quebec-carbon-market-participants-appear-to-wait-for-future-auctions-and-more-information/ REPORT: CA Utilities Are Leaking Lots of Gas – but There’s a Way to Stop It. A new report confirms with greater accuracy than ever before that California natural gas utilities are letting huge amounts of their product escape into the atmosphere – about 6.6 billion cubic feet in 2015. That’s more than the amount of gas released during last year’s Aliso Canyon disaster… http://blogs.edf.org/energyexchange/2017/03/01/report-ca-utilities-are-leaking-lots-of-gas-but-theres-a-way-to-stop-it/ Air Pollution Particles May Fertilize Oceans, Study Finds. Scientists may have found an upside to air pollution. A new study found that two pollutants coming out of the smokestacks at coal-fired power plants interact to make a kind of fertilizer for ocean-dwelling plankton. That may help increase how much planet-warming carbon dioxide the plankton absorb. The authors didn't study the size of the fertilizer effect. http://www.voanews.com/a/pollution-particles-fertilize-oceans/3745610.html California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.