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newsclips -- CARB Newsclips for March 29, 2017
Posted: 29 Mar 2017 12:13:05
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 Air Resources Board (ARB or Board) will conduct a public meeting at the time and place noted below to consider Truck Field Enforcement Activities and New Screening Technology for High Emitting Vehicles. DATE: April 27, 2017 TIME: 9:00 a.m. LOCATION: California Environmental Protection Agency Air Resources Board Byron Sher Auditorium, 2nd Floor 1001 I Street Sacramento, California 95814 WEBCAST: http://www.cal-span.org/ Air Resources Board staff have posted a white paper on the health benefits of physical activity and air pollution exposure while walking and bicycling for transportation. Download the White Paper: https://www.arb.ca.gov/research/vprp/physical_activity_and_health_final_161216.pdf For more information, including the White Paper and other resources, visit our Built Environment webpage: https://www.arb.ca.gov/research/vprp/vprp.htm A fact sheet summarizing this document can be found here: https://www.arb.ca.gov/html/fact_sheets/physical_activity_fact_sheet.pdf CAP AND TRADE Even As Trump Scuttles Climate Policy, Diehards Propose New Cap-And-Trade System For Auto Emissions. What would possess two Obama Administration veterans to propose that the Trump Administration—which on Tuesday revoked much of Obama's climate legacy—implement a cap and trade program to reduce auto emissions? A new cap-and-trade proposal was unveiled Monday by Cass Sunstein, now of Harvard Law School, who headed Obama's effort to streamline regulations, and Michael Greenstone, now of the University of Chicago, who served as chief architect of Obama's "social cost of carbon" policy, which enabled the government to consider the climate impacts of nearly everything it does—until Trump abandoned the policy yesterday. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2017/03/29/as-trump-guts-climate-protections-diehards-propose-cap-and-trade-for-auto-emissions/#5daaa9c12302 AIR POLLUTION U.S. National Academies panel endorses controversial human air pollution tests. A panel of outside experts has broadly endorsed U.S. Enivronmetnal Protection Agency’s (EPA's) use of voluntary human testing in air pollution studies, saying in a new report that the controversial practice yields valuable data not obtainable through other means. Although health risks to participants can't be ruled out, the odds of long-term harm from the laboratory tests are "unlikely to be large enough to be of concern," according to the report, released today by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/03/us-national-academies-panel-endorses-human-air-pollution-tests Vehicle ban: Green bodies laud SC for safeguarding public health. Green bodies on Wednesday lauded Supreme Court’s decision to ban sale and registration of vehicles which are not BS-IV compliant, terming it as an acknowledgment to the public health crisis and a step in right direction towards fighting air pollution. Terming it a “significant” step forward, they said the decision sends out a message that the automobile industry will have to walk the extra mile to address the expansive concern around public health and is also a “crucial” step in putting public health above business interest of few. http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/vehicle-ban-green-bodies-laud-sc-for-safeguarding-public-health/story-xyi2NAndNwLibD9hqdviYM.html South Korea joins ranks of world’s most polluted countries. South Korea has joined the ranks of the world’s most polluted countries, with air pollution in the first months of this year soaring to record levels. Long associated with Asian capitals such as Beijing or Delhi, hazardous smog has for weeks blanketed Seoul — a city now appearing among the world’s three most polluted in daily rankings. https://www.ft.com/content/b49a9878-141b-11e7-80f4-13e067d5072c CLEAN POWER PLAN Trump Administration Seeks Delay in Ruling on Climate Plan. Hours after President Donald Trump signed an executive order seeking to undo his predecessor's efforts to curb climate change, his administration has asked a federal appeals court to postpone ruling on lawsuits over Obama-era restrictions on carbon emissions. The regulations - known as the Clean Power Plan - have been the subject of long-running legal challenges by about two dozen mostly Republican-led states and industry groups that profit from burning coal. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TRUMP_CLIMATE_PLAN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Trump, in break from other world leaders, digs in on coal. Declaring an end to what he's called "the war on coal," President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that eliminates numerous restrictions on fossil fuel production, breaking with leaders across the globe who have embraced cleaner energy sources. The order makes good on Trump's campaign pledge to unravel former President Barack Obama's efforts to curb global warming, eliminating nearly a dozen measures in an effort to boost domestic energy production, especially oil, natural gas and coal. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/APFN_US_TRUMP_CLIMATE_PLAN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT California, NY vow to fill climate-change void left by Trump. The governors of California and New York said Tuesday that they will push ahead with their aggressive climate change policies despite President Donald Trump's executive order that seeks to boost the coal industry. Democratic Govs. Jerry Brown of California and Andrew Cuomo of New York said in a joint statement that they will help fill the void left by Trump's decision to unravel former President Barack Obama's plan to curb global warming. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TRUMP_CLIMATE_PLAN_BLUE_STATES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT China affirms climate pledge after Trump rolls back rules. China promised Wednesday to stick to its climate commitments after President Donald Trump eased U.S. curbs on coal and oil use, opening the way for Beijing to assert itself as a leader in environmental policy. China is the No. 1 emitter of climate-changing greenhouse gases but also the top investor in solar, wind and other renewable energy. It has promised to cap coal use and rein in growth of carbon dioxide emissions. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_CHINA_US_CLIMATE_CHANGE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT China, EU reaffirm climate pledges after Trump backs away. Nations led by China and the European Union rallied around a global plan to slow climate change on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump began undoing Obama-era plans for deep cuts in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Trump's order on Tuesday, keeping a campaign promise to bolster the U.S. coal industry, strikes at the heart of an international Paris Agreement in 2015 to curb world temperatures that hit record highs in 2016 for the third year in a row. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-global-idUSKBN1701DN Environmental groups vowing to fight Trump climate actions. Environmental groups that have hired extra lawyers in recent months are prepared to go to court to fight a sweeping executive order from President Donald Trump that eliminates many restrictions on fossil fuel production and would roll back his predecessor's plans to curb global warming. But they said they'll take their first battle to the court of public opinion. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ENVIRONMENTALISTS_CLIMATE_PLAN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/environmental-groups-vowing-fight-trump-climate-actions-46437705 Undoing the Clean Power Plan Will Be a Legal Nightmare. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed a dramatic executive order to dismantle his predecessor’s climate change policies, with EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and coal miners at his side. Framing it as a lifeline to coal jobs, Trump said, “We’re ending the theft of American prosperity.” Even coal industry executives doubt that the order will lead to many new jobs. Its main actual function is to instruct Pruitt to withdraw and rewrite the Clean Power Plan, an EPA rule that requires states to make plans to cut carbon pollution from power plants. Under former President Barack Obama, the Clean Power Plan was the cornerstone of the U.S. strategy to meet greenhouse gas cutting goals contained in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, which may now be impossible to reach. https://newrepublic.com/article/141686/undoing-clean-power-plan-will-legal-nightmare Trump's repeal of Clean Power Plan gets mixed Montana reception. Even before President Donald Trump declared the Clean Power Plan dead, the autopsy in Montana was underway. Coal advocates hailed the repeal as the break coal needs to rebound from several years of bad economic news. Groups concerned about climate change said, unfortunately, the repeal would undo little. Challenged in court by 24 states, including Montana, the plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions was never put to use. http://billingsgazette.com/news/trump-s-repeal-of-clean-power-plan-gets-mixed-montana/article_c71f60b9-46a2-5d0b-822b-34833101959f.html As Trump reverses Obama’s climate plans, China’s leadership moment arrives. For years, U.S. opponents of climate action used China as an excuse. Why, they asked, should the United States adopt measures to slow climate change that would be overwhelmed by a rapidly growing Chinese economy, fueled by coal plants spewing greenhouse gases? How things have changed. This year, it is the Chinese government that has continued to embrace bold climate action, while President Trump on Tuesday moved to roll back a signature U.S. climate program aimed at capping emissions from coal plants and other sources — even as his administration is also seeking to slash government funding for research into better renewable technologies. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/03/29/as-trump-reverses-obamas-climate-plans-chinas-leadership-moment-arrives/?utm_term=.ec98ba506ae0 The Trump EPA: A Dramatic Shift From the Obama Era. The Trump administration took steps Tuesday toward dismantling former President Obama’s signature climate regulation, the Clean Power Plan, as President Donald Trump signed an executive order the White House promises will both bring back jobs and help the climate. "[We are] bringing back our jobs, bringing back our dreams and making America wealthy again,” the president said during an address at the EPA. EPA administrator Scott Pruitt said the new administration believes in “pro-growth and pro-environment” policies during an interview on Fox News Tuesday. http://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/2017/03/28/trump-epa-dramatic-shift-from-obama-era.html Undoing Clean Power Plan could mean short-term savings, long-term uncertainty for Mo. Utilities. Through an executive order issued Tuesday, President Donald Trump launched his long-anticipated assault on his predecessor’s climate policies. One of the cornerstones targeted by Trump’s “Energy Independence” order is the Clean Power Plan — a rule from the Environmental Protection Agency that would reduce by 2030 carbon emissions from electricity generation by 32 percent from 2005 levels, with each state required to meet certain thresholds. http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/undoing-clean-power-plan-could-mean-short-term-savings-long/article_ec14e5b0-edcc-5d5f-9f3a-475eda3ae9bd.html Trump Can Scrub the Clean Power Plan, But the West Will Stay Green. The West likely will continue greening its electricity supply despite President Donald Trump’s executive order today aimed at wiping out much of former President Barack Obama’s consequential actions to rein in climate change. But progress will be slower and spottier than it would have been. https://www.wired.com/2017/03/trump-can-kill-clean-power-plan-west-will-stay-green/ Trump Administration Seeks Halt to Clean Power Plan Review. President Donald Trump took yet another step toward dismantling his predecessor’s climate-change legacy, asking a federal appeals court to halt its review of carbon-emission rules for power plants. Trump, who famously called climate change a hoax in a 2012 tweet, on Tuesday signed an executive order that starts unraveling a raft of rules and directives to combat climate change. That’s now been followed by a bid to temporarily place on hold a 26-state suit challenging the centerpiece of President Barack Obama’s environmental agenda -- the Clean Power Plan -- so the new administration can dismantle it ahead of a ruling on its legality. https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-03-29/trump-administration-asks-court-to-halt-clean-power-plan-review Clean Power Plan architect calls Trump's energy executive order a 'kick in the stomach'. Janet McCabe spent years developing the centerpiece of the Obama administration’s strategy to reduce greenhouse gases and slow climate change. So when President Trump this week started efforts to roll back that work, McCabe called it “quite a kick in the stomach.” McCabe, the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency office that wrote the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, talked about the expansive executive order Trump signed, which included directing a rewrite of the Clean Power Plan rules limiting greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/03/29/janet-mccabe-calls-trumps-energy-executive-order-kick-in-the-stomach/99771222/ Trump's order on Clean Power Plan good for Russia, bad for US: Syracuse profs. President Trump's executive order today ordering the roll-back of the Clean Power Plan would be "terrible" for America and good for Russia, a pair of Syracuse University professors said today. The power plan, put in place under President Obama, would cut carbon dioxide emissions by 32 percent in an effort to slow human-induced climate change. Getting rid of the plan, and allowing the planet to keep heating up, would benefit Russians, said SU law professor David Dreisen, who has written three books on environmental law. http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2017/03/rollback_of_clean_power_plan_would_be_help_russians_syracuse_prof.html Trump wants to kill Obama's climate plan. What does that mean for renewable energy in the West? President Donald Trump took a major step toward removing the United States from global efforts to fight climate change Tuesday, ordering federal officials to start dismantling Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan. But even as Trump signed that executive order in Washington, renewable energy advocates out West were doubling down on their efforts to clean up the power grid. At stake is the future of solar farms, wind turbines and coal plants across 11 western states, and a proposal from California Gov. Jerry Brown to bring them all under the umbrella of a unified power grid. http://www.desertsun.com/story/tech/science/energy/2017/03/28/trump-wants-kill-obamas-climate-plan-what-does-mean-renewable-energy-west/99729402/ Trump's energy plan reversal spells trouble in Hawaii. President Donald Trump’s reversal of President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan does not bode well for Hawaii’s burgeoning renewable energy industry. On Tuesday, Trump signed the an executive order that starts the process of unraveling the Clean Power Plan and tells federal agencies to take a look at policies related to climate change in an effort to bring back coal jobs and make the country more energy independent. http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/news/2017/03/28/trumps-energy-plan-reversal-spells-trouble-in.html Was the Clean Power Plan Really Bad for the Economy? As President Trump today pulls the first strings in unraveling President Obama's signature climate change regulation, he will claim he's saving Americans from skyrocketing electricity bills and putting coal miners back to work. In truth, that's hard to show. Experts say it's difficult to get more than a rough estimate of how the Clean Power Plan would influence power costs, since natural gas and renewable energy prices play a role, as do state choices about trading systems. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/was-the-clean-power-plan-really-bad-for-the-economy/ States vow to defend rule. The attorneys general of 16 states and the District of Columbia today vowed to protect U.S. EPA's regulations on carbon dioxide emissions from President Trump's directive on energy. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D) led the coalition, along with the attorneys general from Vermont, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Virginia, California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington. http://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/2017/03/28/stories/1060052217 VEHICLES Self-healing membrane extends life of hydrogen fuel cells. The saying goes that time heals all wounds, but when it comes to technology, time is much better at causing those wounds. Rather than always replacing parts, fixing things or just throwing them away, researchers have developed materials that can patch themselves up as required, which could lead to self-healing electronics, paints and even spaceship hulls. Now, researchers at the University of Delaware (UD) are working on extending the life of membranes in hydrogen fuel cells by equipping them with similar self-healing powers. http://newatlas.com/self-healing-membrane-fuel-cell/48659/ BMW to produce a low-volume hydrogen fuel-cell car in 2021. BMW CEO Harald Krueger reinforced last week the company’s commitment to launch a hydrogen fuel-cell car in the next five years for “larger model series and long distances.” BMW will produce a low-volume fuel-cell car in 2021, with wider availability in 2025, he said. In 2015, BMW unveiled their vision of a future fuel cell-powered BMW. At their secret facility in Miramas, France, BMW let us test drive a 5 Series Gran Turismo equipped with the new technology. At the time, the Munich-based automaker said that the biggest hurdle in the adoption of fuel cells is the infrastructure. http://www.bmwblog.com/2017/03/29/bmw-produce-low-volume-hydrogen-fuel-cell-car-2021/ Toyota Mirai billboards scrub nitrogen oxides while touting hydrogen fuel-cell sedan. If green cars can reduce emissions, why shouldn't their advertising do the same? That's the theory behind a series of billboards in relevant California markets that advertise the Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell sedan. But these billboards will do more than try to attract the eyes of potential customers stuck in traffic on the highways below their perches. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1109570_toyota-mirai-billboards-scrub-nitrogen-oxides-while-touting-hydrogen-fuel-cell-sedan Auto Buying Guide: The safest electric vehicles. Sales of electric vehicles and hybrids may have taken it on the chin as gasoline prices dipped, but the green vehicle class continues to grow in both model selection and sales volume. The Insurance Institute For Highway Safety has now completed a new round of testing, applying its newly updated and more rigorous criteria to four EVs: The Tesla Model S, BMW i3, Chevy Volt and Toyota Prius Prime. IIHS had already evaluated the Nissan Leaf. http://www.ftleavenworthlamp.com/business/20170327/auto-buying-guide-safest-electric-vehicles GREEN ENERGY Beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev commits to 100 percent renewable energy. Brewing powerhouse Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) has committed to secure all of its purchased electricity from renewable sources by 2025. In an announcement on Tuesday, the business said that its commitment would help to "shift 6 terawatt-hours of electricity annually to renewable sources in the markets where AB InBev operates." http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/29/beer-giant-anheuser-busch-inbev-commits-to-100-percent-renewable-energy.html MISCELLANEOUS Air pollution makes surprisingly good art supplies. Plumes of diesel exhaust contain a mixture of things both nasty and harmless. A lot of it, however, is carbon. Carbon can be useful and (as you might recall from school) is often jet black in color. Start-up Graviky has created an exhaust filter that can pull 95% of the carbon soot from diesel exhausts, and then transform this into useable, purified, black ink or paint. The result is what co-founder Anirudh Sharma calls Air-Ink, and it's already being used in markers and oil-based paints. https://www.engadget.com/2017/03/27/air-pollution-makes-surprisingly-good-art-supplies/ BLOGS California Stays Its Course toward More EVs and Plug-Ins. California last week resolved to push full speed ahead with its greenhouse-gas emissions standards and zero-emission-vehicle (ZEV) program for 2022 through 2025. Some see this as strong pushback against the leadership of the federal EPA, which is signaling a more lax approach to climate-change-related regulation, including a pending review of federal fuel-economy requirements. If federal mileage requirements are relaxed, there will be less pressure on automakers to build advanced-technology vehicles such as electric cars, plug-in hybrids, and fuel-cell vehicles. However, California’s own Advanced Clean Cars program continues, to varying degrees, to be effective at mandating these in the Golden State—and soon, more aggressively in nine other states that use the California emission standards. http://blog.caranddriver.com/california-stays-its-course-toward-more-evs-and-plug-ins/ Jane Goodall Says Trump’s Efforts To Derail Climate Action Are ‘Immensely Depressing’. In the face of enormous environmental challenges, including climate change and a biodiversity crisis, Jane Goodall, now 82, continues to spread a hopeful message about the future. But even the famed conservationist, a natural optimist, can recognize a dark day for the planet when she sees one. Asked about President Donald Trump’s signing of an executive order earlier in the day to reverse Obama-era policies aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions, Goodall told The Huffington Post that she found it “immensely depressing.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jane-goodall-trump-executive-order-climate_us_58daa028e4b07634059f9a0e California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.