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newsclips -- CARB Newsclips for April 13, 2017.
Posted: 13 Apr 2017 16:19:01
CARB Newsclips for April 13, 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 (ARB) staff invites you to participate in an ongoing series of public working meetings to discuss: (1) changes to the pathway carbon intensity application and evaluation process, (2) improvements to reporting and credit generation processes, and (3) the integration of third-party verification requirements under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). The next meeting will be held at the California Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters Building as follows: Monday, April 17, 2017, 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. • Fossil and Renewable Natural Gas, Including Biomethane From Dairy and Livestock Operations Today’s notice is intended to confirm the dates, provide the times and location, and supply instructions on how to participate (in-person, over the phone, or webcast). This information along with discussion papers and other materials for review will be posted at http://www.arb.ca.gov/fuels/lcfs/lcfs_meetings/lcfs_meetings.htm 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 On Monday, April 24th, the California Air Resources Board will host a research seminar focusing on household transportation choices and commitments of statewide greenhouse gas reductions required by SB 375. Announcement available here: https://www.arb.ca.gov/research/seminars/mokhtarian/mokhtarian.htm The California Energy Commission and the California Air Resources Board (ARB) will jointly conduct a workshop to discuss potential methodologies to establish greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets for 2030 to be used by California’s local publicly owned electric utilities (POUs) when preparing their individual integrated resource plans (IRP), as mandated by Senate Bill 350, the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015 (de León, Chapter 547, Statutes of 2015). SB 350 calls for the ARB to establish 2030 GHG reduction targets in coordination with the Energy Commission and California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The workshop will be held Monday, April 17, 2017 at 1:00 p.m. The location of the workshop will be: CALIFORNIA ENERGY COMMISSION 1516 Ninth Street First Floor, Art Rosenfeld Hearing Room Sacramento, California The Draft SB 350 Clean Transportation Access Guidance Document is an initial step in identifying the main barriers and providing initial recommendations as a framework to address them moving forward. Recommendations include steps that the Legislature, communities, State and local planning, transportation, and air quality agencies can take to overcome specific barriers and begin to formulate innovative, meaningful solutions. Many of the recommendations build upon current actions State and local agencies are implementing to increase access to transportation electrification for all Californians. The guidance documents are now available for public review and comment at: https://www.arb.ca.gov/transoptions CARB is seeking public input on the Draft SB 350 Clean Transportation Access Guidance Document. To submit written feedback, please contact Ms. Ashley Dunn, Air Pollution Specialist, at (626) 459-4385 or by email at ashley.dunn@arb.ca.gov. CAP AND TRADE California’s Cap-and-Trade Program Survives Legal Challenge. Last week, California’s Cap-and-Trade Program to reduce carbon emissions was handed a victory when a state appeals court ruled that program’s auction of emissions permits does not constitute an illegal tax because the program is voluntary and the emissions permits have value. http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2017/04/13/californias-cap-and-trade-program-survives-legal-challenge/ Group of US States Considers Carbon Pricing Options. A handful of US states are looking at the possibility of passing legislation aimed at slashing carbon emissions, including through the use of a carbon tax, with Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island among those considering such a move. The three states are already part of the market-based Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)… http://www.ictsd.org/bridges-news/bridges/news/group-of-us-states-considers-carbon-pricing-options AIR POLLUTION Sensing trouble, automakers prepare to bargain with EPA, CARB on emissions. For most new-car buyers, haggling is a necessary evil. Now, car companies themselves are learning just how unpleasant haggling can be, as they try to find common ground with the Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board on the subject of auto emissions. http://www.washingtonpost.com/cars/sensing-trouble-automakers-prepare-to-bargain-with-epa-carb-on-emissions/2017/04/13/38da20a6-2004-11e7-bb59-a74ccaf1d02f_story.html?utm_term=.1f8803c482a9 There's fear that the EPA's request for a court delay may lead to dirtier air. When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency adopted a stricter smog limit in 2015, forcing states to reduce emissions, many people were disappointed. At the time, the agency reduced the ground-level ozone standard to 70 parts per billion, down from the 75-ppb standard adopted in 2008 under the George W. Bush administration. http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-epa-smog-rules-20170412-story.html Akron, Cleveland, Youngstown air pollution still is among Ohio's worst. Three metropolitan areas in Northeast Ohio were among 72 areas in the U.S. that suffered through more than 100 days of unhealthy air pollution in 2015, according to a report released today by the Environment America Research & Policy Center. The Akron area paced Northeast Ohio with 188 days of moderate to unhealthy levels of soot particles in the air… https://www.law360.com/california/articles/912897/vw-dealer-class-attys-who-asked-for-29m-in-fees-get-3m?nl_pk=b680a054-4635-45ae-aa8d-034a58a44dd9&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=california CLIMATE CHANGE Scientists seek holy grail of climate change in Oman's hills. Deep in the jagged red mountains of Oman, geologists are drilling in search of the holy grail of reversing climate change: an efficient and cheap way to remove carbon dioxide from the air and oceans. They are coring samples from one of the world's only exposed sections of the Earth's mantle to uncover how a spontaneous natural process millions of years ago… https://apnews.com/366018c9cda94eec91a5e2c3c822fbb6/Scientists-seek-holy-grail-of-climate-change-in-Oman's-hills Scott Pruitt Faces Anger From Right Over E.P.A. Finding He Won’t Fight. When President Trump chose the Oklahoma attorney general, Scott Pruitt, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, his mission was clear: Carry out Mr. Trump’s campaign vows to radically reduce the size and scope of the agency and take apart President Barack Obama’s ambitious climate change policies. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/12/climate/scott-pruitt-epa-endangerment-finding.html?_r=0 California looks to hire federal government’s science expats turned off by Trump’s climate rhetoric. Over 400 inquiries after CPUC president urges career environmental experts to ‘come west’ More than 400 environmental scientists and experts have sought work in California following the Trump administration’s clampdown on climate science, according to the California Public Utilities Commission. https://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/california-looks-to-hire-federal/content?oid=24092726 The Strange Case of the Liana Vine and Its Role in Global Warming. On a hot, buggy morning in January, Stefan Schnitzer, a Marquette University biologist, spritzed insect repellant on his forearms, tucked khakis into knee-high rubber boots, and hiked three miles from his lab at The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute to a study plot in the Panamanian jungle. Ticks and, on occasion, dengue fever-carrying mosquitos infest … http://e360.yale.edu/features/the-strange-case-of-the-liana-vine-and-its-role-in-global-warming Okla. bill targets 'existing scientific theories'. A bill moving through the Oklahoma Legislature encourages public school teachers to question hot-button scientific issues like climate change and evolution. The proposed law by state Sen. Josh Brecheen (R) would provide assurance to teachers that they can help students parse the "scientific strengths and weaknesses of existing scientific theories." https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060053039 DIESEL ACTIVITIES Group wants emissions settlement to pay for clean-energy school buses. A Nevada trust fund whose money was born from an automaker’s cheating on emissions tests should be used to buy clean-energy school buses, a local political advocacy group said today. Chispa Nevada, a UNLV-based division of the Washington, D.C.-based League of Conservation Voters, says the Clean Buses for Healthy Niños… https://lasvegassun.com/news/2017/apr/12/group-wants-emissions-settlement-to-pay-for-clean/ FUELS British Columbia was once a leader in fighting climate change. Now, it's embracing fossil fuels. British Columbia promotes itself as “Super, Natural,” and for many years it was praised for walking that talk. Nearly a decade ago, the province enacted North America’s first tax on carbon emissions, putting it on the cutting edge of government efforts to fight climate change. The economy grew even as emissions declined. http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-fg-trans-mountain-pipeline-2017-story.html Carbon Emissions Factor Into Major Oil Sands Shakeup. As global companies abandon the Canadian oil sands at a time of low oil prices and huge losses, some of them are also concerned that producing one of the world’s most carbon-laden fossil fuels may be bad business in a warming world. A wave of sell-offs began last year when Murphy Oil and Norway’s Statoil decided to pull out of the oil sands. http://www.standard.net/Government/2017/04/13/Carbon-Emissions-Factor-Into-Major-Oil-Sands-Shakeup Shell releases sustainability report, says it spent $193 million on 'social investments'. Royal Dutch Shell spent nearly $193 million worldwide last year on voluntary social investments, including hundreds of thousands spent in Beaver County. The company released that figure in an annual report Wednesday that tracks Shell’s progress in enacting sustainable principles across its vast portfolio. https://www.ellwoodcityledger.com/news/shellcracker/shell-releases-sustainability-report-says-it-spent-million-on-social/article_eecaabf2-424b-5a62-b291-16cad1209f35.html VEHICLES California Boosts Funding For Electric Vehicle Charging Stations. Plans to build more electric vehicle charging stations in California received a boost Wednesday in the form of a $15 million grant that state officials hope will grow much larger. The initial money was approved by the state’s Energy Commission to create incentives for business parks, apartment complexes and individuals to install charging stations. http://www.capradio.org/93623 Ford faults VW's charging station plan. Competing automakers are joining the chorus of opposition to Volkswagen's plan to invest in electric vehicle charging stations following its emissions cheating. Volkswagen's settlement with environmental regulators and drivers requires it to spend $2 billion over the next 10 years to spur sales of clean vehicles by building out the electric vehicle charging infrastructure. https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060053068/search?keyword=california GREEN ENERGY Hydrogen fuel cell cars creep up _ slowly _ on electrics. Hydrogen fuel cell cars could one day challenge electric cars in the race for pollution-free roads — but only if more stations are built to fuel them. Honda, Toyota and Hyundai have leased a few hundred fuel cell vehicles over the past three years, and expect to lease well over 1,000 this year. But for now, those leases are limited to California… https://apnews.com/b2619c9200b4428cbbf2d9158986fab2/Hydrogen-fuel-cell-cars-creep-up-_-slowly-_-on-electrics Wal-Mart pairs energy storage with solar in Southern Calif. Wal-Mart, the country's largest brick-and-mortar retailer, announced on Tuesday that it will install 40 megawatt-hours of batteries at its outlets in Southern California. It is the first large-scale energy storage project at Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which has previously tried out batteries at pilot scale. This bigger adoption will trim energy costs and help the company… https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/04/13/stories/1060053033 MISCELLANEOUS Meet the congressman who is pushing for a Charles Darwin Day. U.S. Rep. Jim Himes has taken on the role of promoting Darwinism in the House of Representatives, saying he believes it's the type of legislation his southwestern Connecticut constituents want him to pursue at a time when skepticism surrounds science. https://apnews.com/3bccf53188ea425f9d0cd9626ddc30ed/Meet-the-congressman-who-is-pushing-for-a-Charles-Darwin-Day OPINIONS As Trump threatens world climate pact, will India keep its promises to cut emissions? Not long ago, global environmental activists looked at India with worry. The world’s fastest growing major economy — and one of its fastest growing emitters of carbon — was building coal-fired power plants at a rapid clip while its leaders argued that burning the carbon-spewing fossil fuel was necessary for the country’s development. http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-india-climate-2017-story.html Will Interior secretary’s visit to Yosemite inspire him to protect our national treasures? Ryan Zinke should forgive Californians for any skepticism as he confers with Gov. Jerry Brown on his first visit to California as President Donald Trump’s Interior secretary. The former state senator and congressman from Montana arrives in Sacramento on Thursday representing a president who denies climate change, advocates… http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/editorials/article144258264.html#storylink=cpy The death of diesel: has the one-time wonder fuel become the new asbestos? Diesel was the dream fuel, promoted by governments and the car industry as a cheaper way to save the planet. Then the cracks started to appear. A shopper at a supermarket asks for a plastic bag, only to have his head slammed into the checkout counter by the “green police” (“You picked the wrong day to mess with the ecosystem, plastic boy”). https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/apr/13/death-of-diesel-wonder-fuel-new-asbestos Is Your Fund Manager Paying Attention to Climate Risk? Most Americans believe climate change is real. A recent Yale University survey found that 70% think global warming is happening while only 13% think it isn't. Those who understand that global warming is mainly caused by humans outnumber those who think it is mostly just a natural occurrence (55% to 30%), and that margin has been growing over time. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/fund-manager-paying-attention-climate-110000283.html BLOGS As Oil and Gas Industry Goes Big in the Permian, Efforts to Tackle Emissions Will Be Telling. Much ink has been spilled recently about big new oil and gas investments in the Permian Basin across West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico. What some are dubbing “Permania” includes a more than $6 billion investment by ExxonMobil in New Mexico acreage and an almost $3 billion one… http://blogs.edf.org/energyexchange/2017/04/13/curb-your-enthusiasm-and-your-methane-as-oil-and-gas-industry-goes-big-in-the-permian-efforts-to-tackle-emissions-will-be-telling/