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CARB Newsclips for August 11, 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
hearing at the time and place noted below to consider approving
for adoption the proposed amendments to California Evaluation
Procedures for New Aftermarket Catalytic Converters. 

DATE:             September 28, 2017

TIME:             9:00 A.M.

LOCATION:         California Environmental Protection Agency
                  Air Resources Board
                  Byron Sher Auditorium
                  1001 I Street
                  Sacramento, California  95814
Electronic submittal:  
              http://www.arb.ca.gov/lispub/comm/bclist.php    

______________________________

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) invites you to
participate in a public workshop to begin discussing concepts for
minimizing community health impacts from seaports, railyards, and
warehouses/distribution centers.   

Workshops will be held at the locations and dates shown below.
Both workshops will follow the same format and present the same
material.

LOS ANGELES
Tuesday, August 29, 2017, (1:00 – 3:00 pm) Junipero Serra
Building
320 West 4th Street, Los Angeles, California 90013

SACRAMENTO (also webcast)
Wednesday, September 6, 2017, (1:00 – 3:00 pm) California
Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters, Sierra Hearing
Room
1001 I Street, Sacramento, California 95814

For more information on this workshop, please see the meeting
notice at:  https://www.arb.ca.gov/gmp/sfti/FreightFacility.htm  
   

______________________________

Northern California Truck Owners and Operators -- You’re invited
to attend a One-Stop Truck event in Santa Rosa on Wednesday,
August 30. At this event, you’ll be able to get help with all of
your CARB compliance questions, get up-to-date info on truck
rules, learn about financial incentives to help purchase new
trucks, visit with vendors, and check out the latest clean
trucks.

Here's what you will find at this One-Stop event: 
• One-on-one compliance assistance (Asistencia en español
disponible)
• Enforcement inspection demo
• Truck and bus and off-road regulation overview • New technology
options for compliance • Funding options for on-road trucks • CHP
Inspection update • Industry vendors & local agency booths •
Clean vehicle/technology displays
For more information and to sign up to attend, please visit our
One Stop Truck Event webpage:
www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/truckstop/azregs/onestop.htm   or call the
Diesel Hotline at 866-634-3735     

___________________________

AIR POLLUTION

Study: Fines for illegal pollution plummet under Trump. Fines for
illegal pollution have plummeted under President Donald Trump,
according to analysis by an environmental advocacy group. The
Environmental Integrity Project looked at that civil penalties
paid by polluters during the first six months under Trump. The
group published an analysis Thursday that found penalties were
less…
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TRUMP_ENVIRONMENTAL_FINES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


CLIMATE CHANGE

2016 weather report: Extreme and anything but normal. Last year's
global weather was far more extreme or record-breaking than
anything approaching normal, according to a new report. The U.S.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday
released its annual checkup of the Earth, highlighting numerous
records including hottest year, highest sea level, and lowest sea
ice in the Arctic and Antarctica.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SCI_BAKED_2016?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Study finds climate change altering Europe's river floods.
Climate change is affecting the timing of river floods across
Europe and societies may have to adapt to avoid future economic
and environmental harm, scientists said Thursday. River floods
are among the costliest natural disasters worldwide, causing
annual damages of more than $100 billion.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_EUROPE_CHANGING_FLOODS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Science Says: Trump team garbles climate science. President
Donald Trump and his cabinet often avoid talking about the
science of climate change, but when pressed what they have said
clashes with established mainstream science, data and
peer-reviewed studies and reports. Even the federal government's
own reports - including a draft science study…
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SCI_SCIENCE_SAYS_CLIMATE_CHANGE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Court Scuttles Rule Cutting Potent Greenhouse Gas. The decision
makes efforts to cut hydrofluorocarbons more difficult both in
the U.S. and globally. One of the most powerful climate
pollutants on earth, hydrofluorocarbons or HFCs, account for a
small portion of U.S. climate pollution, but scientists say it’s
important for countries to urgently cut them just because they’re
so potent—and growing.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/court-scuttles-rule-cutting-potent-greenhouse-gas/

Federal climate report finds ‘extreme’ conditions, despite
Trump’s cold shoulder. A new federal report could again challenge
the Trump administration’s dismissive stance on global warming,
finding that last year the planet was hotter than any time in
well over a century and witnessed perhaps the most significant
climate disruption in modern history.
http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Fed-climate-report-finds-extreme-11749180.php

MA rolls out new rules to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Gov.
Charlie Baker's administration will issue a set of new rules
aimed at bringing Massachusetts into full compliance with an
ambitious state law that calls for a 25 percent reduction in
greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the decade. The
regulations being rolled out on Friday include clean energy…
http://www.sacbee.com/article166639037.html#storylink=cpy 

John Harte to present proof of global warming at Quarryhill. High
in the Rocky Mountain, climate change is getting the scientific
proof that should settle the question once and for all: Is the
earth getting warmer? “We’re at about 9,600 feet on the Western
Slope, about half-way between Aspen and Crested Butte right at
the edge of the Maroon Bells Wilderness,” said John Harte…
http://www.sonomanews.com/news/7295004-181/john-harte-to-present-proof?ref=most&artslide=0


Under court order, San Diego County releases revamped climate
plan — proposes 90 percent green energy future. San Diego County
released a draft climate plan on Thursday, pledging to
dramatically reduce greenhouse-gas emission by limiting
backcountry sprawl and using at least 90 percent renewable energy
by 2030.
The proposed blueprint for fighting global warming comes five
years…
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/environment/sd-me-county-cap-overhaul-20170810-story.html


U.S. emissions probably won’t increase under Trump, study says.
But they won’t fall, either. Carbon-cutting efforts in the United
States may be more resilient to Trump administration policies
than expected, according to a new study. But under even one term
for President Trump, the nation will still fall behind on an
ambitious Obama-era plan for reducing emissions over the next few
decades.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/08/11/u-s-emissions-probably-wont-increase-under-trump-study-says-but-they-wont-fall-either/?utm_term=.53ffa40833f8

Millennials think their cash can affect climate change.
Millennials are driving a U.S. surge in sustainable investment.
That generation — defined as people between 18 and 35 years old —
is twice as likely as other age groups to "invest in companies or
funds that target social or environmental outcomes," according to
a new survey from Morgan Stanley.
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/08/11/stories/1060058671


DIESEL ACTIVITIES

Railroads fined for violating state’s drayage truck regulation.
The California Air Resources Board reached settlements with
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) and Union
Pacific Railroad Company (UPRR) to resolve violations of the
state's drayage truck regulation, which requires cleanup of
trucks servicing the state's busy ports and intermodal rail
yards.
http://www.publicnow.com/view/74BBA7B4D0AD63F8A28029C3CD07CE93879BE432?2017-08-11-00:30:11+01:00-xxx8112
http://scvnews.com/2017/08/10/carb-reaches-settlement-with-railroads/
 

FUELS

Cooking gas shortages force Venezuelans to turn to firewood.
Venezuelan homemaker Carmen Rondon lives in the country with the
world's largest oil reserves, but has spent weeks cooking with
firewood due to a chronic shortage of home cooking gas - leaving
her hoarse from breathing smoke. Finding domestic gas cylinders
has become increasingly difficult, a problem that oil industry
analysts attribute to slumping oil output in the OPEC nation…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-gas-idUSKBN1AQ23Q 

Carmaker lobbyist urges fuel-economy deal to keep emission
limits, but stretch them out (updated). Automakers appear to have
united behind a surprising position: reviews of emission rules
should not involve scrapping the current standards. The Alliance
of Automobile Manufacturers, a lobbying group that represents
automakers building cars in the U.S., has suggested the Trump
administration should back a deal…
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1111930_carmaker-lobbyist-urges-fuel-economy-deal-that-could-raise-cafe-requirements


Oil and gas industry loses latest row over Obama standards. The
oil and gas industry will not have another shot at swiftly
delaying Obama-era greenhouse gas restrictions. A federal appeals
court yesterday rejected industry groups' request to reconsider a
July decision ordering U.S. EPA to enforce New Source Performance
Standards for methane emissions from oil and gas sites. A
coalition of states and industry groups made the request last…
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/08/11/stories/1060058675

Trump admin targets CO2 standards for cars. The Trump
administration has reopened the Obama-era greenhouse gas
standards for vehicles manufactured between 2021 to 2025. U.S.
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and Transportation Secretary
Elaine Chao yesterday signed and published a notice asking for
comments on the rules. President Trump announced he would review
the tailpipe standards at the request of automakers in March.
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/08/11/stories/1060058680


VEHICLES

Trump Administration Targets CO2 Standards for Vehicles.
California officials have vowed a fierce legal battle if the
federal rules change. The Trump administration has reopened the
Obama-era greenhouse gas standards for vehicles manufactured
between 2021 to 2025. U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao…
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/trump-administration-targets-co2-standards-for-vehicles/

GREEN ENERGY 

New map shows wind farms spreading rapidly across US. 52,000
large wind turbines in 41 states now generate twice as much
electricity as in 2010. Wind power started in California in 1981
when the Altamont wind farm in Alameda County was built as a
reaction to the Arab Oil Embargo of the 1970s. But now, as a new
map released Thursday shows, the industry is spreading rapidly
across the United States…
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/08/10/new-map-shows-wind-farms-spreading-rapidly-across-us/


Proponents rally in Santa Cruz for state clean energy bill. Even
as state lawmakers look to completely displace fossil fuel energy
use in California within 38 years, Santa Cruz County is helping
to move the conservation needle forward locally. On Wednesday in
Santa Cruz, state lobbyist group Environment California launched
an 11-city tour in support of the pending Senate Bill 100.
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/article/NE/20170809/NEWS/170809620


MISCELLANEOUS

The Scripps Research Institute ranked first worldwide in science.
The Scripps Research Institute ranks first worldwide in the
quality and impact of its science, besting world-renowned
research centers such as MIT, the National Institutes of Health
and Stanford University, according to a report by the top-tier
scientific journal Nature. Privately held TSRI scored the highest
impact…
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/biotech/sd-me-scripps-science-20170810-story.html


OPINIONS

Staid utility investing world upended by green energy revolution:
James Saft. The formerly staid, predictable world of utilities
investing faces a revolution as the price of solar and wind
energy plunges, creating new winners and losers. Generally
tightly regulated and thus with reliable cash flows, utility
stocks and bonds have long been beloved by pension funds and
other conservative investors for their safe income generation.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-markets-saft-idUSKBN1AR03N 

BLOGS

California Senate Leader Kevin de Léon Blasts Trump at Chamber of
Commerce Luncheon. California State Senate leader Kevin de Léon
on Thursday blasted President Donald Trump’s policies, pledged to
tackle housing costs, and support the film industry in a
wide-ranging State of the State address to the Hollywood Chamber
of Commerce. Speaking at the third annual luncheon on the…
http://variety.com/2017/biz/news/kevin-de-leon-trump-california-tax-credit-chamber-of-commerce-1202523298/


Scientists warn climate change is leading to deaths on massive
scale in India. As many as 59,000 suicides in India over the last
three decades can be attributed to climate change. And unless
global carbon emissions are curbed, at least four per cent of
India’s population will face near-fatal six-hour heatwaves at
least once between the years 2071-2100.
https://www.thenational.ae/world/asia/scientists-warn-climate-change-is-leading-to-deaths-on-massive-scale-in-india-1.618504


Climate Action: Global Transition Away from HFCs. In India and
the world, governments, businesses, and environmental groups
continue to make steady progress toward phasing down the use of
harmful climate-damaging hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in air
conditioners, as shown in the recent Bangkok talks. While the
recent decision of the DC Circuit Court to limit the
Environmental Protection Agency’s regulations…
https://www.nrdc.org/experts/anjali-jaiswal/climate-action-global-transition-away-hfcs-moving-forw
 

As US leadership on climate falters, California steps up.
President Trump may want to withdraw the United States from the
Paris Climate Agreement, but California, the most populous US
state, is intent on pushing ahead with significant climate
legislation regardless. In August 2016, the California
Legislature set a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more
than 40% below today’s levels by 2030.
https://www.chinadialogue.net/blog/9976-As-US-leadership-on-climate-falters-California-steps-up/en


Why Pollution Trading Will Never Be the Climate Solution for
California—or Anywhere Else. Carbon prices have never been high
enough to drive the technological innovation to fully stop carbon
pollution. The planet’s largest carbon trading, or cap-and-trade
platform, the European Union Emissions Trading System (or EU ETS)
was introduced 12 years ago.
http://www.alternet.org/environment/why-pollution-trading-will-never-be-climate-solution-california-or-anywhere-else