What's New List Serve Post Display

CARB NEWSCLIPS FOR April 17, 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 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
    

CAP AND TRADE

That $52-billion road bill just made California's next climate
change move a heavy lift. It took late-night cajoling and nearly
$1 billion in deal sweeteners for Gov. Jerry Brown and top
Democrats to muscle through a $52-billion tax-and-fee plan just
over a week ago to repair California’s roads. Now they have to do
it all again. Brown and legislative leaders have another daunting
battle ahead over the fate of the cap-and-trade program, the
centerpiece of California’s efforts to combat climate cha
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-transportation-climate-change-politics-20170414-story.html

AIR POLLUTION

China’s bad air adds to the San Joaquin Valley’s problems, but
the toxic nightmare is already here. Fireworks erupted late on a
clear Sunday morning – a wedding during Golden Week celebrations
honoring Chinese independence. It was in full swing only a short
time before a cloud of soot turned the air into a murky mess in
this port city of 9 million. The air-quality index leaped from a
healthy green to a lung-searing red.
http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article144777599.html#storylink=cpy


Calif. Air Resources Board Asks Federal Government To Toughen
Train Emission Standards. California's top air quality agency is
asking the federal government to toughen emission standards for
trains. The California Air Resources Board says pollutants coming
from locomotives are dangerous for communities living near rail
yards.
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2017/04/14/calif-air-resources-board-asks-federal-government-to-toughen-train-emission-standards/

https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/04/17/stories/1060053161  
https://ngtnews.com/carb-submits-petition-stricter-locomotive-emissions-standards


Tracking air quality block by block. A local environmental
advocacy group last week launched a first-of-its kind monitoring
project, installing air quality sensors in the densely packed
neighborhoods near this city’s port to give the people who live
and work there on-the-ground readings of pollutants that can
seriously injure their health.
http://www.dailynews.com/environment-and-nature/20170415/tracking-air-quality-block-by-block
 

Air pollution as bad for wellbeing as partner's death, say
researchers. Authors of Can Clean Air Make You Happy? say
exposure to nitrogen dioxide can be as damaging as ‘big-hitting’
life events. The effect on wellbeing of exposure to nitrogen
dioxide, a gas mostly produced in diesel fumes, is comparable to
the toll from losing a job, ending a relationship or the death of
a partner, research suggests.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/apr/17/air-pollution-as-bad-for-wellbeing-as-partners-death-say-researchers


"Bad" air may impact "good" cholesterol increasing heart disease
risk. Traffic-related air pollution may increase cardiovascular
disease risk by lowering levels of high-density lipoprotein
(HDL), commonly known as “good” cholesterol, according to new
research in the American Heart Association’s journal
Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. Scientists
have long known that air pollution increases the risk of…
http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/51035 

U.S. air quality improves 'dramatically' — report. Toxic air
releases are down by half over the last 10 years, according to a
new report. The report from the Association of Air Pollution
Control Agencies compares U.S. EPA and other agency data from
states, including the 20 states that serve on the AAPCA board of
directors, to show that federal, state and local air quality
agencies have made progress in "virtually every measure of air
pollution control."
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/04/17/stories/1060053167 

CLIMATE CHANGE

Wintry wolverine has cub in Belgium, beating climate-change odds.
The wolverine, a carnivore confined to colder climates since the
last Ice Age, has re-established a tenuous foothold further south
in a Belgian wildlife park. A female cub of the species that also
includes badgers and martens was born in February in the Domain
of the Caves of Han park south of Brussels…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-belgium-wildlife-idUSKBN17G0TJ

Scientists just found a strange and worrying crack in one of
Greenland’s biggest glaciers. Scientists examining satellite
images of one of Greenland’s largest glaciers believe they have
found an unexpected new crack in its floating ice shelf that
could contribute to a dramatic break in coming years. The
Petermann Glacier, located in the high Arctic at 80 degrees North
latitude…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/04/14/scientists-just-found-a-strange-and-worrying-crack-in-one-of-greenlands-biggest-glaciers/?utm_term=.ea2916f954f3


Climate Change Reroutes a Yukon River in a Geological Instant. In
the blink of a geological eye, climate change has helped reverse
the flow of water melting from a glacier in Canada’s Yukon, a
hijacking that scientists call “river piracy.” This engaging term
refers to one river capturing and diverting the flow of another.
It occurred last spring at the Kaskawulsh Glacier, one of
Canada’s largest, with a suddenness that startled scientists.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/17/science/climate-change-glacier-yukon-river.html?_r=0


Salesforce Achieves Net-Zero Emissions, Improves Greenpeace
Standings. Cloud computing company Salesforce has achieved
net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, more than 30 years ahead of
schedule, the company announced. Salesforce achieved this in part
by executing two 12-year renewable energy agreements in the last
year and supporting sustainable development projects through…
https://www.environmentalleader.com/2017/04/salesforce-achieves-net-zero-emissions-improves-greenpeace-standings/


How Climate Change Altered One Glacier and Two Watersheds With
Alarming Speed. Researchers document how quickly one melting
glacier in Canada that used to feed two rivers began feeding only
one. The accelerated melting of one of Canada's largest glaciers
from climate change reached a tipping point last May, scientists
reported Monday. That event triggered a rare phenomenon known as
"river piracy,"…
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/17042017/global-warming-glaciers-melt-canada-yukon-kaskawulsh-climate-change-river-piracy


Why people have to learn to live with wildfires. Communities
across the Western U.S. and Canada may have to adapt to living
with the ever-increasing threat of catastrophic wildfires as
global warming heats up and dries out forests across the West,
according to a University of Colorado study published Monday.
Residents living in neighborhoods adjacent to forests — known as
“wildland-urban interface” zones…
http://grist.org/article/why-people-have-to-learn-to-live-with-wildfires/


How to study ancient climate? With a time machine, of course. A
young American geologist, Julie Brigham-Grette, traveled to
Russia in 1991 to study a question that had puzzled U.S.
scientists for years. They saw accumulating geological evidence
that the Arctic and the Antarctic had been much warmer in the
distant past than the poles are today.
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/04/17/stories/1060053132


Climate and coal policies may sink or swim together. A safe
climate and a future for the coal industry have long been viewed
as diametric opposites, but in a world where the Paris Agreement
is in force and Donald Trump is in the White House, their
fortunes may now be linked. Some coal advocates argue that
domestic policies to promote carbon capture, utilization and
storage (CCUS)…
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/04/17/stories/1060053140


Climate change dogging Republicans at town halls.  A new issue is
pushing its way into Republican town hall meetings already
boiling over with anger over health care, the refugee ban and
Trump's ties to Russia: climate change. Over the Easter recess,
constituents blasted a number of GOP lawmakers for their views on
basic climate science. And while few voters ever list climate
change as an issue that brings them to the polls…
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/04/17/stories/1060053137


DROUGHT

How the drought changed California forever. California’s historic
five-year drought is officially over, washed away with the
relentlessly drenching rains, floods and snowstorms of this
winter. But just as tougher building codes and better emergency
planning follow major earthquakes, the brutally dry years from
2012 to 2016 are already leaving a legacy, experts say, changing
the way Californians use water for generations to come.
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/04/15/how-the-drought-changed-california-forever/


From Moonscape To Lush: Photographs Capture California Drought's
Story. In California, an extremely wet winter put an end to the
state's record-breaking drought. Heavy rainfall also produced
welcome spring scenes — like replenished reservoirs and fields in
bloom. "It's a completely different look," says Justin Sullivan,
a Getty Images photographer who took before-and-after style
photos of drought-stricken areas.
http://www.npr.org/2017/04/17/523969466/from-moonscape-to-lush-photographs-capture-california-droughts-story


DIESEL ACTIVITIES

Tesla set to unveil electric semi-truck this September, Musk
says. The electric car maker's CEO also said the company will
give buyers a first look at a pickup truck within 24 months.
Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk says the company plans to unveil an
electric semi-truck in September. Musk tweeted the announcement
Thursday. He offered no other details about the semi, such as
whether it will be equipped…
http://www.canadianmanufacturing.com/manufacturing/musk-says-tesla-to-unveil-electric-semi-truck-this-september-190766/


FUELS

Alaska brings ambitious LNG export project to FERC. The state of
Alaska plans to submit an application to the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission today for construction of a $40 billion to
$45 billion pipeline and export project aimed at commercializing
the state's giant North Slope natural gas reserve. The Alaska
Gasline Development Corp.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/04/17/stories/1060053123 

Enviros push to continue legal battle over EPA standards. A
coalition of environmental groups is urging a federal court to
allow litigation to continue over Obama-era standards for methane
emissions from new oil and gas operations. The Sierra Club, the
Natural Resources Defense Council, the Environmental Defense
Fund…
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/04/17/stories/1060053134 

Ky. city hires climate resilience chief.  Kentucky coal country
just hired someone to address the impacts of climate change. Eric
Friedlander, previously with Louisville's Department of Community
Services, was named the city's chief resilience officer last
week. The title comes with a broad portfolio — but in a city
that's one of the fastest-warming heat islands in the country,
climate change is a significant issue.
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/04/17/stories/1060053145


VEHICLES

Companies building battery cars, drones and hyperloops part of
new tech-transit cluster in Southern California. When the space
race faded and the Cold War cooled, that signaled the beginning
of the end of Southern California’s aerospace industry. But the
decline of that once dominant industry opened up opportunities
for others in need of high-skilled help.
http://www.presstelegram.com/business/20170416/companies-building-battery-cars-drones-and-hyperloops-part-of-new-tech-transit-cluster-in-southern-california


China car dilemma: Beijing wants electric, buyers want SUVs.
Automakers face a dilemma in China’s huge but crowded market:
Regulators are pushing them to sell electric cars, but buyers
want gas-guzzling SUVs. The industry is rattled by Beijing’s
proposal to require that electric cars make up 8 percent of every
brand’s production as early as next year. Consumers are steering
the other way:
http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2017/04/17/china-car-dilemma-beijing-wants-electric-buyers-want-suvs/100577518/


Germany Increased Electric Car Charging Points 27% In 2016. The
vitality and satisfaction of early EV adopters keeps on
increasing. A vast market of electric car enthusiasts is
prompting companies to offer more electric cars and more charging
stations. Cleaner air, quieter roads, quieter neighborhoods, and
precision autonomous features are where it’s at.
https://cleantechnica.com/2017/04/17/germany-increased-electric-car-charging-points-27-2016/


General Electric : GE and Southern California Edison Debut
World’s First Battery-Gas Turbine Hybrid. GE (NYSE: GE) and
Southern California Edison (SCE), an Edison International (NYSE:
EIX) company today unveiled the world's first battery-gas turbine
hybrid system in Norwalk, California. This is the first of two
units that GE has delivered for SCE only months…
http://www.4-traders.com/GENERAL-ELECTRIC-COMPANY-4823/news/General-Electric-GE-and-Southern-California-Edison-Debut-World-rsquo-s-First-Battery-Gas-Turbine-H-24217892/


Lobbyist urges restraint on CAFE changes.  Automakers are urging
restraint as academics propose alternatives to vehicle mileage
and emissions standards that the Trump administration has started
reconsidering. Car companies have told the government the current
emissions standards through 2025 are difficult to meet because
Americans are buying gas-guzzling trucks.
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/04/17/stories/1060053139


VW RECALL

Proposed $800 million VW diesel settlement vexes companies,
activists. A proposed $800 million state settlement with
Volkswagen over its emission-cheating scandal could shape the
highway landscape for electric vehicle drivers and boost sales of
green cars in California for the next decade. But as regulators
consider the German automaker’s plan, companies and
environmentalists are fighting…
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/04/17/proposed-800-million-vw-diesel-settlement-vexes-companies-activists/


Volkswagens pile up by the thousands awaiting fix or scrap yard
in buyback. Volkswagen is making progress settling U.S. legal
claims from its emission-cheating scandal, but one challenge
looms unresolved: What to do with the hundreds of thousands of
diesel cars it is being forced to buy back? The German automaker
agreed last year to buy back about 500,000 diesels…
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2017/04/volkswagens_pile_up_by_thousan.html


VW Reveals Nationwide EV Charging Plans. Volkswagen will rapidly
build a nationwide EV charging network at hundreds of sites
across 40 states within the next 3 years, according to new plans
revealed last week. The new network stands to dramatically expand
the long-distance driving utility of current and future
all-electric vehicles.
http://www.hybridcars.com/vw-reveals-nationwide-ev-charging-plans/


GREEN ENERGY

Apple Says Three More Suppliers to Use Solely Renewable Power. 
IPhone maker expands sustainability push into its supply chain.
Another three Apple Inc. suppliers committed to using solely
renewable energy to manufacture components for the iPhone maker.
Compal Electronics Inc., Sunwoda Electronic Co. and Biel Crystal
Manufactory Ltd. have made the pledge, bringing the total number
of Apple suppliers seeking to use just renewable…
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-13/apple-says-three-suppliers-to-use-solely-renewable-power


Saudis Target 30 Solar, Wind Projects in $50 Billion Pledge.
Saudi Arabia will develop 30 solar and wind projects over the
next 10 years as part of the kingdom’s $50 billion program to
boost power generation and cut its oil consumption. The world’s
biggest exporter of crude oil will produce 10 percent of its
power from renewables by 2023, Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih
said Monday at a conference in Riyadh.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-17/saudis-seek-30-solar-wind-projects-in-50-billion-pledge


Oklahoma to end tax credit that propelled wind production.  A
state tax credit that helped propel Oklahoma to third in the
nation in its capacity to generate electricity from wind is
coming to an end, but it will be years before state coffers see
results of the change. Gov. Mary Fallin on Monday signed
legislation that rolls back a 10-year tax credit for electricity
generated by zero-emission facilities that was launched in 2003.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/77f7d58a9ada42c5b54fae2225fc59df/oklahoma-legislation-would-end-tax-credits-wind-energy


Germany Strikes Offshore Wind Deals, Subsidy Not Included.
European governments have spent large sums of money in recent
years subsidizing giant offshore wind projects in hopes of
creating a clean source of energy that could eventually pay for
itself. Now that moment may be here — and a lot sooner than
expected.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/14/business/energy-environment/offshore-wind-subsidy-dong-energy.html?_r=0


Big Business Pushes Coal-Friendly Kentucky To Embrace Renewables.
Kevin Butt's job is to find cleaner ways to power Toyota. One of
the hardest places to do that is at the automaker's sprawling
plant in central Kentucky, a state where nearly 90 percent of
energy still comes from coal. Butt points out a new engine
assembly line, where a conveyor belt moves in a slow circle.
http://www.capradio.org/news/npr/story?storyid=523763826 

Unsubsidized wind and solar now the cheapest source for new
electric power. Between 2015 and 2021, China is expected to
install 40% of all worldwide wind energy and 36% of all solar.
While investments in renewable energy slumped last year, a big
drop in unsubsidized costs for new wind and solar power
installations indicated that they remain popular energy
alternatives.
http://www.computerworld.com/article/3190409/sustainable-it/unsubsidized-wind-and-solar-now-the-cheapest-source-for-new-electric-power.html


Microsoft strikes deal to buy more renewables. Microsoft Corp.
has struck a deal with Washington state's largest utility to
boost the technology giant's supply of renewable energy. Under
the terms of a preliminary settlement with Puget Sound Energy
(PSE), renewables will account for at least 25 percent of
Microsoft's power purchases through 2020 and 40 percent of its
electricity consumption beyond 2021.
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/04/17/stories/1060053144


OPINIONS

Governor Brown fails the environmental justice test. Gov. Jerry
Brown is one of those environmentalists, the kind that think
globally and neglect locally. Brown recently traveled to
Washington, D.C., to emphasize the state’s commitment to climate
change mitigation and nuclear disarmament. Those issues are
important, and I admire his commitment…
http://www.sfexaminer.com/governor-brown-fails-environmental-justice-test/


Lawmakers face a new decision that will affect your wallet. Gov.
Jerry Brown and the Legislature got a reprieve when the
California Court of Appeal upheld the legality of the
cap-and-trade program, the complicated mechanism that seeks to
curb greenhouse gas emissions by placing a price on carbon.
Cap-and-trade certainly has generated revenue for the state, $4.4
billion and counting.
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/editorials/article144554914.html#storylink=cpy


LOIS HENRY: 'Unpopular' science plays a vital role in getting at
the truth. Is PM2.5 killing people, or not? It seems like a basic
scientific question. Yet, as a recently published study shows,
the science is anything but settled. Despite significant
questions in this new paper, which echo a growing number of other
studies published in recent years, there is almost zero
discussion in the scientific…
http://www.bakersfield.com/columnists/lois-henry-unpopular-science-plays-a-vital-role-in-getting/article_f491737f-15a6-54a9-a023-82799ea75c85.html


California’s war on carbon: Is it winning? The centerpiece of
California’s effort to reduce carbon emissions, an auction system
for pollution credits known as cap and trade, has faltered badly
in the past year. Businesses have bought far fewer credits than
expected, depriving the state of an expected windfall for such
big-ticket items as high speed rail. That doesn’t mean the state
isn’t making progress in its crusade against carbon, however:
http://www.fresnobee.com/article144648379.html#storylink=cpy 

5 toughest challenges that Southern California’s ports face in
months ahead. Rough seas ahead? Mario Cordero knows that.
Cordero, former chair of the Federal Maritime Commission and
longtime figure in the shipping industry, was chosen Friday to
run the Port of Long Beach. The cargo hub partners with the Port
of Los Angeles to comprise the busiest port complex in the
nation.
http://www.presstelegram.com/business/20170415/5-toughest-challenges-that-southern-californias-ports-face-in-months-ahead


Surprise: 70% Of Millenials Do Not Want Electric Vehicles. 70
percent of millenials do not want to buy an electric car and are
much more interested in puchasing a traditional internal
combustion engine vehicle, according to a new report. In
addition, about two thirds would have significant reservations
about riding in a self-driving car. However, Tesla, the car
manufacturer most closely associated with electric vehicles…
https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2017/04/17/surprise-70-of-millenials-do-not-want-electric-vehicles/#78bd98213f66


BLOGS

Researchers Produce High-Quality Ink from Air Pollution. The
pollution coming out of your tailpipe could be recycled into
high-quality ink according to a group of researchers from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Their “KAALINK” device
hooks onto the vehicle’s tailpipe and captures some of the air
pollution produced by the combustion engine. This “soot” is then
recycled into high-quality ink.
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/plugged-in/researchers-produce-high-quality-ink-from-air-pollution/


More than ever, EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory Program is Vital
to Understanding Methane Emissions. In its 2017 GHGI Inventory,
published last week, EPA estimates 2015 methane emissions from
the U.S. oil and gas industry were 8.1 million metric tons, which
is enough to fulfill the domestic heating needs for over 5
million homes. In addition to estimating 2015 emissions…
http://blogs.edf.org/energyexchange/2017/04/17/more-than-ever-epas-greenhouses-gas-inventory-program-is-vital-to-understanding-methane-emissions/


Electric Car Drivers/Utilities Key To Emissions-Free Future. San
Diego County leads the nation in Solar PV and EV adoption. As a
ten year practitioner of both EV driving & Solar PV renewable
energy generation, and nine years as a San Diego County Planning
Commissioner leading on complex energy and transportation issues,
allow me to share some of my “lessons learned” and insights with
you.
http://insideevs.com/electric-car-driversutilities-key-to-emissions-free-future/


US West enters 'new era' of unstoppable wildfires because of
climate change, experts warn. 'This is bigger than us and we're
going to have to adapt to wildfire, rather than the other way
around'. The western United States has entered a “new era of
wildfires” with average temperatures now two degrees Celsius
higher and the burning season nearly three months longer than
during the 1970s, researchers have warned.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/wildfires-global-warming-climate-change-us-west-california-oregon-firefighters-a7686996.html
 

Lunar-Based Solar Power Concept Could Solve The World’s Energy
Crisis. If the moon can be turned into a solar power station, our
energy problems for sustainable and affordable electric power on
a global scale will be solved. For forty years now, Dr. David
Criswell — retired physicist from the University of Houston — has
been advocating the use of sunlight on the moon as a source of
electricity.
http://wallstreetpit.com/113206-lunar-based-solar-power-solve-worlds-energy-crisis/


Biofuels backers still trying to get a read on President Trump. A
biofuels industry leader says the jury is still out on the Trump
administration’s attitude toward biofuels. Doug Durante,
executive director of the Clean Fuels Development Coalition, says
the industry is still trying to figure out how to deal with the
new administration. One thing is for sure, Durante says the
ethanol industry’s argument that it reduces greenhouse gas
emissions…
http://www.radioiowa.com/2017/04/17/biofuels-backers-still-trying-to-get-a-read-on-president-trump/


'Detergent' Molecules May Drive Recent Methane Changes. A new
NASA- and Department of Energy-funded study finds that recent
increases in global methane levels observed since 2007 are not
necessarily due to increasing emissions, but instead may be due
to changes in how long methane remains in the atmosphere after it
is emitted.
The second most important human-produced greenhouse gas after
carbon dioxide, methane is colorless, odorless...
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6814 

Volkswagen Spending $300M to Begin Electrifying America. New
effort to install chargers in 11 markets part of $15B settlement.
Volkswagen is getting ready to build $300 million worth of new EV
chargers in 11 markets. Volkswagen is making the first “payment”
on its $15 billion settlement with the United States as it
unveiled its spending $300 million on new chargers for electric
vehicles through its Electrify America subsidiary.
http://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2017/04/volkswagen-spending-300m-to-begin-electrifying-america/


U.S. scientist suggests focusing on shared benefits of addressing
climate change. Arguing that people care more about improving
human health than reducing greenhouse gas emissions, a leading
U.S. scientist at Stanford University suggests focusing on the
shared benefits of addressing climate change, including job
creation, health and safety, instead of talking about the
polarized topic.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-04/17/c_136213856.htm