What's New List Serve Post Display

CARB Newsclips for March 8, 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

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) invites you to
participate in a public workshop on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2017-18
Funding Plan for Low Carbon Transportation Investments, Air
Quality Improvement Program (AQIP), and the potential $25 million
Volkswagen settlement funds for zero-emission vehicle (ZEV)
aspects of vehicle replacement programs. The meeting will be held
at the following time and place:

Date:                     Thursday, April 6, 2017
Time:                     9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Place:                    Cal/EPA Headquarters Building
                              Coastal Hearing Room, Second Floor
                              1001 I Street
                              Sacramento, California 95814

A meeting notice for the workshop is posted at: 
https://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/aqip/meetings/meetings.htm . 
                                                                 
                                           
Staff at the California Air Resources Board (ARB) invites you to
participate in workshops on updates to Senate Bill 375 regional
passenger vehicle greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets
for California's Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO).
The workshops will be held at the locations and dates below, and
will follow the same format and presentation. 

SACRAMENTO:  March 9, 2017 (also webcast)

FRESNO:  March 14, 2017 

For more information on these workshops, visit the ARB SB 375
website and see the meeting notice at:
https://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/sb375/meetings/meetings.htm

On March 14, 2017, at 1:30 pm, the California Air Resources Board
(CARB) staff is providing an online training webinar to discuss
tool changes, clarifications, and guidance document updates for
Electric Power Entities for 2016 data reported in 2017.   The
session will include a staff presentation and time for
questions.

Slides for the webinar will be posted at the following link prior
to the start time:
http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/reporting/ghg-rep/guidance/guidance-training.htm
  

The GHG reporting regulation and additional information are
available here:
http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/reporting/ghg-rep/ghg-rep.htm.

Updated guidance documents will be posted prior to the webinar. 
In addition, updated Excel reporting workbooks for Electric Power
Entities (EPE) will be posted prior to the webinar at the
following link: 
https://www.ccdsupport.com/confluence/display/calhelp/Reporting+Form+Instructions#EPE

. 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 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.

CAP AND TRADE

AIR POLLUTION

How can Wales tackle air pollution? Air pollution is a "public
health crisis" second only to smoking, according to Public Health
Wales. Air pollution contributes to 2,000 deaths in Wales each
year - that's 6% of all deaths. Research has found children who
live on very polluted roads have slower lung development and can
be more likely to cough and wheeze, while traffic pollution can
also contribute to heart and lung problems in adults.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-39203185 

CLIMATE CHANGE

EU says to beef up climate diplomacy to save Paris agreement. EU
foreign ministers on Monday said the bloc would strengthen
diplomacy to promote the fight against climate change in the face
of a possible U.S. exit from the Paris agreement. U.S. President
Donald Trump campaigned on promises to reverse the climate-change
initiatives of his predecessor…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-climatechange-trump-idUSKBN16D25H?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=fbfa302bd2-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-fbfa302bd2-327747457

Warming may disrupt four-fifths of world's oceans by 2050: study.
Global warming will disrupt four-fifths of the world's oceans by
2050 if greenhouse gas emissions keep rising, threatening fish
that are the main source of food for a billion people, scientists
said on Tuesday. Curbs on man-made emissions, however, would give
marine life more time to adapt to warming conditions or for
marine life from algae to cod to shift to cooler waters nearer
the poles, they said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-oceans-idUSKBN16E24S


RPT-From Africa to Asia, governments considering 'green' bond
sales. A raft of developing countries are considering selling
bonds earmarked for environmental projects, potentially
accelerating growth in a market seen as crucial to efforts to
keep global temperatures in check. France and Poland have in
recent months become the first sovereigns to issue 'green' bonds,
previously the domain mainly of development banks and companies.
http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-bonds-green-idUSL5N1GK1SZ


Trump adviser Peter Thiel questions restricting carbon emissions.
Peter Thiel, the technology investor and advisor to President
Donald Trump, questioned the global push toward restricting
carbon emissions as "group think" while speaking Tuesday at an
international energy conference here. "I'm not sure I'm an
extreme skeptic of climate change, but I have my doubts about the
extreme ways that people…
http://www.sfgate.com/technology/article/Trump-adviser-Peter-Thiel-questions-restricting-10985006.php


Australia's summer broke 205 weather records, climate group says.
More than 200 weather records were broken during Australia's most
recent summer, a climate group has warned. The Climate Council
report, titled "Angry Summer", said the season was defined by
intense heatwaves and bushfires in eastern Australia but heavy
rain and flooding in the west. It showed climate change was being
felt across Australia, the researchers said.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-39175668 

Pacific states reaffirm climate commitments for Trump era. Eleven
years ago, as a Republican president did little to address
climate change, the states of California, Oregon and Washington
agreed to work together to fight carbon emissions. Yesterday,
they agreed to do it again. There was no pressing legal need for
the heads of three state utility commissions to sign a memorandum
of understanding.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/03/08/stories/1060051120 

Nominee declines to discuss climate change. The nominee to become
the third-highest official at the Department of Justice said
yesterday she would enforce environmental regulations but didn't
directly answer questions about climate change. Rachel Brand,
President Trump's pick to be associate attorney general, said at
a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/03/08/stories/1060051099

It's like a 'divorce' if U.S. ditches climate pact – Stern. The
Trump administration would damage the United States' global
prestige if it withdraws from the Paris Agreement, Todd Stern,
the former special envoy for climate change, warned yesterday. In
a post on the Brookings Institution's website, Stern said that
exiting from Paris would be "an act of reckless disregard for
United States standing in the world’.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/03/08/stories/1060051098 

Alaskan caribou are adapting to warming. Alaska's iconic caribou
herds appear to be surviving changes in the Arctic climate,
despite shifts in the time periods during which their food
supplies are most plentiful, according to a recent study. The
report indicated that Alaska caribou apparently aren't facing
what is known as a mismatch, a phenomenon created when caribou
give birth…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/03/08/stories/1060051096 

DROUGHT

NASA images reveal impact winter storms have had on
drought-ravaged California. It’s a photo that is making farmers,
skiers and thirsty people across the Golden state very happy.
Satellite photographs from the NASA Earth Observatory show the
drastic change this winter’s almost-ceaseless rain and snow have
had on the California landscape from 2014 – when the state was
suffering through a devastating drought.
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/03/08/nasa-images-reveal-impact-winter-storms-have-had-on-drought-ravaged-california.html


FUELS

Saudis to take ownership of country's largest refinery. Saudi
Aramco will soon assume sole ownership of the United States'
largest oil refinery. The Saudi Arabian oil giant will take over
the massive Port Arthur Refinery in Texas within the next three
months. The move comes as part of an agreement Monday between
Saudi Aramco and Royal Dutch Shell PLC to dissolve their joint
venture, Motiva Enterprises LLC.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/03/08/stories/1060051079 

VEHICLES

Lamborghini open to considering all-electric supercar: CEO.
Lamborghini is open to an all-electric addition to its line-up of
luxury sports cars, its chief executive said on Wednesday,
evidence that German parent Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) interest in
producing zero-emission vehicles could extend to the very top end
of its brands.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-autoshow-geneva-lamborghini-strategy-idUSKBN16F296


Enviros steel for battle if Pruitt takes aim at car standards.
California environmentalists are preparing for a federal battle
over the state's ability to carry out its existing greenhouse gas
rules for vehicles. Media outlets reported over the weekend that
the Trump administration is considering how to undo a January
move by the Obama administration to lock in fuel economy rules
for passenger vehicles through 2025.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/03/08/stories/1060051121 

Former Tesla executives to build battery factory. Two former
Tesla Inc. executives are planning to build a $4 billion battery
plant in the Nordic region. Peter Carlsson and Paolo Cerruti, who
both previously oversaw Tesla's global supply chain, announced
yesterday that they hope to start producing lithium-ion batteries
by 2020. The two executives are betting that the factory will
help them…
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/03/08/stories/1060051081 

VW RECALL

EPA auditor to review emissions testing checks after VW case. A
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency watchdog plans to review
whether the agency's internal controls are effective at detecting
vehicle emissions fraud, the EPA's Office of Inspector General
said. In a memo dated Monday, the inspector general said it will
"begin preliminary research to determine…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-emissions-idUSKBN16F231 

Merkel Says She Learned About VW Diesel Cheating From the Media.
Chancellor Angela Merkel said she learned of Volkswagen AG’s
cheating on diesel emissions the day after the U.S. government
disclosed it and later told then-CEO Martin Winterkorn that VW
had put the German car industry’s reputation at risk. Merkel
testified for more than two hours on Wednesday before German
lawmakers probing…
https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-03-08/merkel-says-she-learned-about-vw-diesel-cheating-from-the-media

http://www.timesnow.tv/business-economy/article/angela-merkel-to-face-questioning-in-volkswagen-%E2%80%98dieselgate%E2%80%99-case/57217


FIAT/CHRYSLER (FCA)

Fiat Chrysler's merger options dwindle as Volkswagen rejects
overtures. Fiat Chrysler (FCHA.MI) boss Sergio Marchionne's
attempts to find a partner were frustrated for a second time in
as many days on Wednesday, as Volkswagen (VW) joined General
Motors (GM) in dismissing any interest in talks with their
smaller rival. Marchionne said on Tuesday that European market
leader VW (VOWG_p.DE) would be…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-autoshow-geneva-volkswagen-fiat-chrys-idUSKBN16F14I


GREEN ENERGY

Big Battery Installations Surge After Gas Leak in California. The
biggest natural gas leak in U.S. history led to a boom in
large-scale energy-storage systems, the technology that’s long
considered the elusive link to integrating solar and wind power
into electric grids. U.S. homes and businesses -- primarily
utilities -- installed storage systems with 336 megawatt-hours of
capacity in 2016…
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-07/big-battery-installations-surge-after-gas-leak-in-california


MISCELLANEOUS

MEDIA ADVISORY: 27 electric trucks coming to Fontana freight yard
and two rail yards  SAN BERNARDINO - On Friday, the State of
California, San Bernardino Council of Governments (SBCOG) and
partners Daylight Transport and BYD celebrate the arrival of the
first of 27 next-generation zero-emission electric yard and
service trucks in San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Fontana. The
trucks were funded by $9 million from the State's climate
change-fighting cap-and-trade program.
http://www.publicnow.com/view/BC1D0B8CB7D12030BAA50AF45DED1B5B2B45B939


OPINIONS

China's 'blue skies' dreams mean red flags for industrial metals:
Andy Home. 
"We will make our skies blue again".  That was the rallying call
issued by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the start of the
country's annual meeting of parliament. Any lingering doubts that
air pollution has moved to the very top of Beijing's political
agenda should be dispelled.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-pollution-ahome-idUSKBN16F1XR


OTHER VIEWS: Air pollution around the world takes a staggering
toll. Despite calling for clean air and clean water in his first
speech to a joint session of Congress last week, President Trump
is reportedly aiming to cut the Environmental Protection Agency’s
staff by a fifth. Maybe Trump really believes there are enough
“superfluous” EPA programs — such as, apparently, those
addressing climate change…
http://www.bakersfield.com/opinion/other-views-air-pollution-around-the-world-takes-a-staggering/article_87f45fa7-0959-579b-a275-e621ef0da7eb.html
 

Editorial: GOP owns Trump attack on the Earth. Republicans are
killing the planet. We say that because President Donald Trump
was their nominee and they own him – golden locks, who knows what
stocks and barrel of childish tweets. Yesterday brought the news
that 52,000 square miles of permafrost – an area about six times
as large as New Hampshire – in Canada’s Northwest Territories has
melted…
http://www.concordmonitor.com/Republican-attack-on-the-planet-8531354

BLOGS

Dozens of Advocacy Groups Challenge EPA on Factory Farm
Pollution. Rural communities demand clean water, not
environmental rollbacks. While the Trump administration orders
the EPA do less to protect Americans from dirty air and water,
and Congress threatens to dismantle the agency altogether, Food &
Water Watch and 34 advocacy organizations are demanding that the
agency do more to protect communities from factory farms.
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/news/dozens-advocacy-groups-challenge-epa-factory-farm-pollution
 

Future climate change will affect plants and soil differently. A
new study has found that soil carbon loss is more sensitive to
climate change compared to carbon taken up by plants. In drier
regions, soil carbon loss decreased but in wetter regions soil
carbon loss increased. A new European study has found that soil
carbon loss is more sensitive to climate change compared to
carbon taken up by plants.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170307100311.htm 



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