What's New List Serve Post Display

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

Board Meeting: On July 27 in Sacramento, the California Air
Resources Board will consider the following items: Proposed
Amendments to the Market-Based Compliance Mechanism Regulation
(Cap-and-Trade Regulation); Proposed Compliance Plan for the
Federal Clean Power Plan; and Volkswagen Zero-Emission Vehicles
Investment Plan.
https://www.arb.ca.gov/board/ma/2017/ma072717.pdf 

The California Air Resources Board (ARB or Board) staff has
posted a report on ARB's Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) credit
transfer activity covering information on recent credit volumes
transferred, credit prices and price trends through June 2017. 
Staff publishes monthly LCFS credit transfer activity reports on
the second Tuesday of every month.  

The monthly credit transfer activity reports can be accessed
here:
https://www.arb.ca.gov/fuels/lcfs/credit/lrtmonthlycreditreports.htm
      

Staff also publishes weekly LCFS credit transfer activity reports
on the Tuesday of every week.  

The weekly credit transfer activity reports can be accessed
here:
https://www.arb.ca.gov/fuels/lcfs/credit/lrtweeklycreditreports.htm
      


_______________________________

The Air Resources Board (ARB) announces the launch of its new
California Dairy and Livestock GHG Reduction Working Group (Dairy
Working Group) and Subgroup list serves that will provide
interested stakeholders with up-to-date information about current
activities and processes.  Sign-up for the main Dairy Working
Group process List Serve:
https://www.arb.ca.gov/listserv/listserv_ind.php?listname=dairy  
    


AIR POLLUTION

Maryland threatens to sue EPA over cross-state air pollution
rule.
For almost a year, Maryland officials have been pressing the
federal government to address pollution from neighboring states
that it says contributes to the formulation of harmful
ground-level ozone. Last year, the Maryland Department of the
Environment indicated 70% of the state's ozone pollution was
coming from other states. The EPA gave itself a six-month
extension to act on the request, but Grumbles said that expired
July 15.
http://www.utilitydive.com/news/maryland-threatens-to-sue-epa-over-cross-state-air-pollution-rule/447791/


Air pollution could increase risk of premature death.
Long-term exposure to air pollutants may be linked to an
increased risk of premature death, according to a recent study.
The study used data from 60 million Americans aged 65 and or more
years, which is 97% of that population. The air pollutants that
are associated with premature death, according to the
researchers, include airborne fine particulate matter and ozone.
These pollutants still cause a risk when the exposure levels are
below the national standard.
http://www.mcknightsseniorliving.com/news/air-pollution-could-increase-risk-of-premature-death/article/675325/


CAP AND TRADE

California governor to extend climate change bill 10 years.
When Arnold Schwarzenegger was the governor of California, he
backed environmental legislation that's become one of the world's
most closely watched initiatives in the fight against global
warming. On Tuesday, Schwarzenegger will join his successor,
Jerry Brown, as Brown keeps alive a cap and trade program that
both men have urged the rest of the world to emulate.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/APFN_US_CALIFORNIA_CLIMATE_CHANGE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Related articles:
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2017/07/25/gov-jerry-brown-sign-cap-and-trade-extension-global-warming/

https://www.voanews.com/a/california-governor-to-extend-climate-change-bill-10-years/3957912.html

Cap-and-Trade Measure Good for Job Creation Says Clean
Transportation Tech Industry Organization.
An industry group representing more than 175 clean transportation
technology companies said the bipartisan vote by the legislature
and today's approval by the Governor to extend California's
greenhouse gas Cap-and-Trade program will be create jobs and
promote sustainable economic development.
http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/Cap-and-Trade-Measure-Good-for-Job-Creation-Says-Clean-Transportation-Tech-Industry-Organization-1002203158


CLIMATE CHANGE

Despite Climate Change Setbacks, Al Gore 'Comes Down On The Side
Of Hope'.
Former Vice President Al Gore helped shape the conversation about
climate change with An Inconvenient Truth. Now he's back with a
sequel — called An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, due out
next month — and it follows Gore as he continues the crusade he
made famous with that first film. The movie shows Gore standing
in Miami floodwater, flying over imploding boulders of ice in
Greenland and in Paris — trying to push the climate agreement
over the finish line.
http://www.npr.org/2017/07/24/538391386/despite-climate-change-setbacks-al-gore-comes-down-on-the-side-of-hope


Related articles:
http://www.businessinsider.com/al-gore-inconvenient-sequel-interview-trump-2017-7


Trump administration lining up climate change 'red team'.
The Trump administration is in the beginning stages of forming an
adversarial "red team" to play devil's advocate in a plan to
debate the facts behind global warming and take on what skeptics
call climate alarmism. The White House and the Environmental
Protection Agency are recruiting scientists by enlisting the help
of the Heartland Institute, considered to be the lead think tank
for challenging the majority of scientists on climate change.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/trump-administration-lining-up-climate-change-red-team/article/2629124


Video: Climate change challenges sinking city of Venice.
Venice is a world class wonder. A city built on more than 100
small islands, connected by a maze of bridges and canals. The
largest is the Grand Canal with its famous Rialto Bridge. Over
the centuries, Venice has stood the test of time, but today this
island city is under siege like never before…from “rising” seas
and a “flood” of tourists.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/climate-change-challenges-sinking-city-venice/


As The Climate Changes, Kenyan Herders Find Centuries-Old Way Of
Life In Danger.
Out here, in West Pokot County, Kenya, the landscape looks like
Mars — red clay, rocks, and in the distance, a mountain so bare
it looks like a giant boulder. Stephen Long'uriareng, 80, has
walked two hours to bring her two cows and goats to this watering
hole. It's really just a dam carved out the earth, where the rain
water mixes with mud and turns into a dark brown color.
http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/07/23/538373985/as-the-climate-changes-kenyan-herders-find-centuries-old-way-of-life-in-danger


Acting on climate change is Africa’s opportunity.
Acting on the climate remains firmly on the global agenda. It
remained a top priority for all but one of the G20 leaders who
gathered in Germany this month. That is because it is
increasingly clear that strong action is in the economic
self-interest of countries at all stages of development.
https://www.ft.com/content/48e7ca40-712e-11e7-aca6-c6bd07df1a3c 

Climate change scientists 'very worried' Greenland ice sheet
might start to melt 'faster and faster'.
Scientists are “very worried” that the Greenland ice sheet might
start to melt “faster and faster”, a leading scientist has said.
The problem is that the warmer weather is allowing more dark
algae to grow on the ice. Because ice is white, it reflects much
of the sun’s energy, but dark algae absorb the heat, increasing
the rate of melting.
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change-scientists-greenland-ice-sheet-melt-faster-worried-algae-a7858876.html


DIESEL ACTIVITIES

Uber’s Going Big Into Trucking Business, and Nowhere Bigger Than
Texas.
One of the biggest technology disruptors when it comes to
shuttling people is now trying to transform the way goods are
moved around the country. This spring, Uber launched Uber
Freight, an app that matches truck drivers with loads of goods to
pick up and deliver. Texas played a key role in the San
Francisco-based tech giant’s inroads. Routes between Dallas,
Houston and San Antonio served as its test ground before the
app’s launch.
http://www.ttnews.com/articles/ubers-going-big-trucking-business-and-nowhere-bigger-texas

FUELS

US fuel ethanol production continues to grow in 2017.
US production of bioethanol has continued to grow in 2017,
according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Through the first six months of 2017, US weekly ethanol
production averaged 1.02 million barrels per day (b/d), an
increase of 5% over the same period in 2016.
http://biofuels-news.com/display_news/12642/us_fuel_ethanol_production_continues_to_grow_in_2017/


New report calls for cap on biofuels crops grown by farmers.
This has happened in other parts of the world where food crops
were replaced with biofuels production. Instead, the researchers
from the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAENG) have said the UK
should grow energy crops on marginal land which is unsuitable for
food production or housing, or has been degraded through
deforestation.
https://www.fginsight.com/news/new-report-calls-for-cap-on-biofuels-crops-grown-by-farmers-23149


DOE Announces Up To $8 Million In Funding For Algae Biofuels
Projects.
On July 11, 2017, DOE announced the selection of three projects
focused on reducing the costs of producing algal biofuels and
bioproducts that will receive up to $8 million in funding. The
projects aim to generate high-impact tools and techniques for
increasing the productivity of algae organisms and cultures and
biology-focused breakthroughs.
http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=92a6c2c4-3d75-483b-bbab-9f29b042a84d


Queen's University given £8m for renewable energy research.
Queen's University in Belfast has been awarded more than £8m in
research funding from an EU cross-Irish border scheme. The money
will be used for renewable energy projects with a particular
focus on wave and tidal power generation. Known as the Bryden
Centre for Advanced Marine and Bio-Energy Research, it will
recruit 34 PhD students and six post-doctoral research
associates.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-40691668 

Environmental report on pipeline favorable for developers.
The Atlantic Coast Pipeline intended to carry natural gas across
West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina would have some
adverse environmental effects, including impacts on water
resources, forest and other habitats, but most could be reduced
to insignificant levels, an assessment by federal regulators
found. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees
interstate natural gas pipelines, released its final
environmental impact statement Friday for the proposed 600-mile
(965-kilometer) pipeline, which has broad support from political
and business leaders but is staunchly opposed by
environmentalists and many affected landowners.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/APFN_US_ATLANTIC_COAST_PIPELINE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


VEHICLES

Toyota set to sell long-range, fast-charging electric cars in
2022: paper.
Toyota Motor Corp is working on an electric car powered by a new
type of battery that significantly increases driving range and
reduces charging time, aiming to begin sales in 2022, the
Chunichi Shimbun daily reported on Tuesday. Toyota's new electric
car, to be built on an all-new platform, will use all-solid-state
batteries, allowing it to be recharged in just a few minutes, the
newspaper said, without citing sources.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-toyota-electric-cars-idUSKBN1AA035


Volkswagen's 5 electric cars start in 2019: what we know so far.
As Volkswagen works to look toward the future, following its
damaging diesel deceit, electric cars and plug-in vehicles will
be front and center in its product publicity. The German
automaker has already hinted at its future electric cars with a
handful of concepts, but its first high-volume electric cars
won't arrive until 2019. What do we know about Volkswagen's five
upcoming electric cars? We break it down below. 
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1111692_volkswagens-5-electric-cars-start-in-2019-what-we-know-so-far


Toyota could finally start mass producing electric cars thanks to
China.
Toyota has long been one of the most reticent large automakers
when it comes to producing all-electric vehicles. It had no
problems with hybrids, e.g. the Prius, but the Japanese automaker
would only produce the bare minimum when it came to zero-emission
mandates, e.g. the Rav4 EV in California, and they quickly
lobbied to change those mandates.
https://electrek.co/2017/07/24/toyota-mass-producing-electric-cars-china/


VW/AUDI RECALL

German automakers' shares fall on diesel emissions concerns.
The German auto industry's troubles over excessive diesel
emissions are looming larger. Shares in the three biggest German
automakers fell Monday after a newsmagazine report claimed they
had colluded for years over diesel technology. BMW was off 2.6
percent, Daimler 3.7 percent and Volkswagen 2.6 percent. Shares
also fell Friday after Der Spiegel published its findings
online.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/APFN_EU_GERMANY_DIESEL_EMISSIONS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


VW exec to plead guilty in diesel emissions cheating scandal.
A Volkswagen official at the heart of the German automaker's
wide-ranging diesel emissions cheating scandal plans to plead
guilty in the case. "Prosecutors and lawyers in the Volkswagen AG
criminal case informed U.S. District Judge Sean Cox this morning
that defendant Oliver Schmidt has decided to plead guilty,"
according to a statement from U.S. district court this morning.
http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2017/07/25/volkswagen-executive-pleads-guilty/508367001/

GREEN ENERGY

U.S. Mayors Back 100% Renewable Energy, Vow to Fill Climate
Leadership Void.
As the nation's mayors closed their annual meeting on Monday in
Miami Beach, they sent a clear signal that cities are looking for
action on climate change and are eager to fill a policy gap
created by the Trump administration. The United States Conference
of Mayors, which includes both Republican and Democratic mayors
from cities across the nation, adopted a series of resolutions
that are far more assertive than federal climate policy,
including a pledge supporting cities' adoption of 100 percent
renewable energy by 2035.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/26062017/mayors-conference-supports-100-percent-renewable-energy-electric-vehicles-climate-change


Marathon markup to tackle 21 land, renewable energy bills.
The House Natural Resources Committee will begin consideration of
21 bills tomorrow, including bipartisan legislation to promote
renewable energy development on public lands and a measure that
would develop a central database for federal land properties.
Members will gather to give opening statements tomorrow before
reconvening to consider amendments and vote on the measures
Wednesday.
https://www.eenews.net/eedaily/2017/07/24/stories/1060057766 

Scotland breaks new record as wind energy provides equivalent
118% of the country’s electricity need.
In June, wind turbines produced 1,039,001MWh, which could meet
Scotland’s energy needs for 6 consecutive days. Analysis by WWF
Scotland of data provided by WeatherEnergy found that during the
first six months of 2017, wind turbines produced  6,634,585MWh of
electricity, an increase of 24% compared to the respective months
in 2015.
http://www.climateactionprogramme.org/news/scotland-breaks-new-record-as-wind-energy-provides-equivalent-118-of-the-co


Green energy giants on verge of war.
War has broken out between two of Britain’s largest green energy
suppliers ahead of a boardroom showdown that could clear the way
for one of the ¬industry’s biggest names to launch a
controversial takeover of its rival. Aim-listed Good Energy will
square up to Ecotricity later this week in a bid to crush its
competitor’s controversial plan to infiltrate the board months
¬after taking a large stake in the company. Dale Vince, the
multi-millionaire founder of Ecotricity, became the biggest
shareholder of his long-time rival in October after clinching a
25.3pc stake worth £9m.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/07/22/green-energy-giants-verge-war/

MISCELLANEOUS

360 camera, drones: AP team gears up for a melting Arctic.
One of the big benefits of being a text reporter is that I can
travel fairly light - a notebook, pencils and sharpeners. The
same can't be said for my colleagues, Associated Press
photographer David Goldman and video journalist David Keyton.
When their assignment is to document climate change's impact on
the Arctic Circle's Northwest Passage - and do it from aboard an
icebreaker - they don't have the luxury of dropping by a camera
shop for a forgotten item or getting it shipped.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NEW_ARCTIC_THE_JOURNEY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


OPINIONS

California Shows How States Can Lead on Climate Change.
California, which has long been a pioneer in fighting climate
change, renewed its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas
emissions last week by extending, to 2030, its cap-and-trade
program, which effectively puts a price on emissions. It’s a
bold, bipartisan commitment that invites similarly ambitious
policies from other states, and it sends a strong signal to the
world that millions of Americans regard with utmost seriousness a
threat the Trump administration refuses to acknowledge, let alone
reckon with.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/24/opinion/california-climate-change-cap-trade.html


To save his climate change program, Jerry Brown sacrificed his
bullet train.
When he was cajoling lawmakers to extend the centerpiece of
California’s ambitious climate change program, Gov. Jerry Brown
talked a lot about hard choices and the compromises necessary to
get politically controversial legislation passed. Turns out that
to get a deal, Brown may have sacrificed one of his own pet
projects — California’s bullet train.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-cap-and-trade-bullet-train-20170724-story.html


Cap and trade’s cost: California’s fire prevention fee.
In order to win votes for AB398, the measure extending
California’s cap-and-trade program through 2030, Gov. Jerry Brown
offered a sweetener to Republicans representing rural areas: a
suspension of the state fire prevention fee. State lawmakers
approved the fire fee during the recession in June 2011. It’s a
levy that’s intended to support fire prevention in the
(overwhelmingly rural) areas where the state shoulders primary
firefighting responsibility. Most of the hundreds of thousands of
fee payers pay less than $200 a year for each habitable
structure.
http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/Cap-and-trade-s-cost-California-s-fire-11342452.php


Representative Babin gets it.
God bless Texas. I’m going to admit, I wasn’t fond of Texas when
I first started traveling with George. My first real trek all the
way across the state was done in July, when Texas officially
becomes hotter than Satan’s blowtorch. I may have made a snap
judgment on my initial dislike for Texas, because every time we
got out of the truck, my skin evaporated immediately. (Y’all
remember – I grew up in Georgia. It gets hot there, but it’s a
wet heat. You puddle. In Texas, you shrivel and blow away.)
http://www.overdriveonline.com/representative-babin-gets-it/ 

'Clean cars' will save us from climate change deniers.
Donald Trump has, as we all know, withdrawn America from the
Paris Climate Change Accords. The biggest, most promising
international agreement since the founding of the United Nations.
It was to be expected. He said he would. When he took office, the
official White House website removed every mention of climate
change. Except for the promise to get rid of the Climate Action
Plan.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2017/07/cars-save-climate-change-deniers-170720151012940.html


BLOGS

This framework could help measure climate action in cities.
How can cities ensure that new actions being taken to mitigate
climate change don’t negatively affect broader issues of equity?
Likewise, how does a multinational company prove that a
sustainable urban development project it is investing in is
having a significant local impact — and global ramifications?
https://www.greenbiz.com/article/framework-could-help-measure-climate-action-cities


Study: Utilities knew about climate change risks decades ago.
American electric utilities knew decades ago about the role
fossil fuels play in climate change, according to a study
released Tuesday. The Energy and Policy Institute study, citing
industry documents, found that utilities and industry groups were
aiming to investigate the “effects of carbon dioxide” on the
environment — including rising temperatures and sea levels — as
early as the 1970s.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/343636-study-utilities-knew-about-climate-change-risks-decades-ago