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

The Air Resources Board (ARB or Board) will conduct a public
meeting at the time and place noted below to consider updates to
ARB’s Enforcement Policy. 

DATE:			September 28, 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
The draft Enforcement Policy may also be obtained from ARB’s
website at:
https://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/policy2017.htm 

____________________________________

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.

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 espańol
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

How should Los Angeles and Long Beach ports clean the air?
The mayors of Los Angeles and Long Beach have promised to get to
near zero emissions at the nation’s busiest port complex – but
just how to achieve that ambitious goal is still being debated. 
Now the public will get a chance to weigh in. On Wednesday, port
officials will hold one of the few public meetings before a rare
joint meeting of the two commissions that run the Long Beach and
Los Angeles ports. A vote on the final draft of a $14 billion
clean air plan will take place in November. 
http://www.dailynews.com/article/20170828/NEWS/170829509 

Grid Study Resurrects Debate Over Utility Air Pollution Permits.
The Energy Department’s electric grid study is reviving debate
over possible changes to Clean Air Act permitting requirements,
underscoring industry arguments that the regulations limit
coal-fired power plants’ ability to improve efficiency. The grid
study commissioned by Energy Secretary Rick Perry, released Aug.
23, makes a number of suggestions to boost baseload power,
including changes to wholesale energy markets to better value the
reliability and resiliency that supporters argue coal and nuclear
provide.
https://www.bna.com/grid-study-resurrects-n73014463779/ 

Air Quality Worsens Throughout The Region.
Growing fires -- fueled by hotter, dryer weather -- have led to
deteriorating air quality through much of the region. Many
communities have air readings in the Unhealthy range. Here are
some representative Air Quality Index readings from around the
region, as of Monday morning ...
http://ijpr.org/post/air-quality-worsens-throughout-region#stream/0


CLIMATE CHANGE

Governments face 'wave of legal action' over climate change
inaction as natural disasters worsen, activists warn.
A "wave of legal action" over climate change has already begun
and cases will become more likely to succeed as the scientists
get better at attributing extreme weather events to global
warming, activists have warned. Writing in the journal Nature
Geoscience, lawyers from ClientEarth in London and Earth & Water
Law in Washington DC said events previously regarded as “acts of
God” could increasingly land humans with a bill for damages.
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change-sue-governments-companies-legal-action-warning-natural-disasters-clientearth-a7917106.html


How Hurricane Harvey is tied to the California heat wave.
A high-pressure system is lingering over California and the
western region, causing extreme heat. This system is expected to
continue through the week, bringing record-breaking temperatures
with it. This high-pressure system is also keeping Tropical Storm
Harvey from moving inland. As long as the system remains, Harvey
will continue its downpour of rain, making it one of the nation’s
most powerful storms.
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/08/29/how-hurricane-harvey-is-tied-to-the-california-heat-wave/


Southampton Town Officials Close To Getting State Climate
Certification.
Southampton Town may soon get special state certification for its
environmental efforts, opening the doorway for future grant
funding. New York State’s Climate Smart Communities Certification
Program helps local governments reduce their carbon footprint
through a recognition rating system. Southampton Town is already
registered as a “climate-smart community” under the program but
has yet to become certified—a status that only 15 municipalities
in the state have achieved, including East Hampton Town last
year.
http://www.27east.com/news/article.cfm/General-Interest-Southampton/531531/Southampton-Town-Officials-Close-To-Getting-State-Climate-Certification


VEHICLES

California looks to boost electric-car rebate program.
California would spend up to $3 billion under a bill to widely
expand its fledgling consumer rebate program for zero-emission
vehicles. The state has already spent nearly $450 million in
subsidies, but the Los Angeles Times reported that so far, the
rebates haven't boosted sales much. In 2016, of the just over 2
million cars sold in the state, only 75,000 were pure-electric
and plug-in hybrid cars. To date, out of 26 million cars and
light trucks registered in California, just 315,000 are electric
or plug-in hybrids.
http://www.kcra.com/article/california-looks-to-boost-electric-car-rebate-program/12108618


Renault-Nissan and Dongfeng partner to build electric cars for
China.
Another major automaker is setting up a dedicated joint venture
to build EVs for the growing demand in China, joining Ford and
Volkswagen: This time, it’s Nissan-Renault, which will work with
China’s Dongfeng Motor, an automaker it partnered with last year
to open its first factory in China. Automakers from outside China
basically need a local dancing partner in order to make and sell
vehicles in the country, without incurring huge import taxes that
would basically render their operations unsustainable.
https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/29/renault-nissan-and-dongfeng-partner-to-build-electric-cars-for-china/?ncid=mobilenavtrend


GREEN ENERGY

Can California get 100 percent of its electricity from
renewables?
The City Council threw its weight Monday behind legislation that
would require California to deliver 100 percent of its
electricity from renewable and carbon-free sources by 2045. The
ambitious goal is the focus of Senate Pro Tem Kevin De Leon’s
bill introduced in May. The bill passed the state Senate, but
needs approval from the Assembly and Gov. Jerry Brown.
http://www.dailynews.com/article/20170828/NEWS/170829497 

Thousands give up control of home thermostats during a heat
wave.
During this week’s heat wave, utilities will urge residents to
ease up on the air conditioning. But in a growing number of
Southern California homes, smart thermostats are changing the
temperatures automatically. The energy-saving tactic is made
possible by the growing popularity of so-called smart
thermostats, home temperature control devices that are connected
to WiFi. That makes it possible to control home heating and
cooling systems from afar.
http://www.scpr.org/news/2017/08/28/75111/thousands-give-up-control-of-home-thermostats-duri/


OPINIONS

Spending cap-and-trade funds: Give priority to most vulnerable.
Now that it’s reconvened, the state Legislature faces critical
decisions about where and how to spend over $1 billion raised by
the state’s cap-and-trade program to fight climate change. Those
decisions will affect the lives, health and jobs of millions of
Californians, and will have an outsized impact on those facing
pollution and poverty.
http://capitolweekly.net/cap-and-trade-spending-vulnerable-priority/


Global Warming Didn’t Cause Hurricane Harvey. Here’s What Did.
The rain is still falling, and lives are still very much at risk
in Houston. It’s early to be talking about the role of climate
change in the awful events unfolding in Texas. But at this
moment—when the world is watching and the U.S. president and
majority party in Congress are in deep denial about the reality
of global warming—we think it is appropriate to restate what
current science tells us.
http://fortune.com/2017/08/29/hurricane-harvey-global-warming/ 

If Donald Trump won't tackle climate change, then Chicago will.
While the Trump administration is dropping the mantle of
leadership on climate change, American cities from coast to coast
are picking it up. From small towns to metropolises and from the
coasts to the heartland, Republican and Democratic mayors are
united in common cause to curb emissions, shrink our carbon
footprints and fight for a greener future.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/29/if-donald-trump-wont-tackle-climate-change-then-chicago-will


Electric cars aren't perfect but are a good option.
Kudos to Herman Ackerman (“Electric vehicle owners still getting
a free ride,” Aug. 26) for reminding us about subsidy and tax
issues related to road repairs. Ackerman is correct that electric
vehicle owners are getting subsidies that reduce the cost of
their vehicles and will be charged only a token $100 per year in
lieu of gas taxes.
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/sd-electric-cars-tesla-utak-letters-20170828-story.html


BLOGS

Port of Long Beach (California) Accomplishes Significant Air
Pollution Reductions.
Through its Clean Air Action Plan, the Port of Long Beach in
California has managed to greatly reduce local air pollution
levels, according to the most recent annual Emissions Inventory.
Altogether, the Port of Long Beach has managed to reduce local
diesel particulate matter air pollution by 88%, and nitrogen
oxide air pollution by 56%. Local greenhouse gas emissions were
also reduced by 22% — all compared to 2005 levels.
https://cleantechnica.com/2017/08/29/port-long-beach-california-accomplishes-significant-air-pollution-reductions/


Why Are Electric Cars and Public Charging Like Hot Dogs and
Buns?
Despite the world being full of technological advancement, we
still have ways to improve. Electric cars, as an example, are
nowhere as easy to charge as taking a gasoline-powered car to a
gas station for a fill. What occurs in minutes for one, might
take nearly an hour (or longer) for the other. The real problem
comes when figuring out how to deal with the sudden influx of new
electric cars and not enough chargers. So what needs to come
first, the chicken or the egg?
http://www.thedrive.com/sheetmetal/13873/why-are-electric-cars-and-public-charging-like-hot-dogs-and-buns


Bloomberg: Electric Cars Are Everywhere Except Here, Now.
Today, EVs make up only fraction of total car sales worldwide
(about ~777,000 out of 92 million registrations in 2016), but
more and more markets are exceeding 1% market share, and we are
now entering the 2nd generation of the modern-day plug-in vehicle
– more mainstream offerings, which are more affordable, with
longer ranges (the Tesla Model 3, Chevrolet Bolt EV/Opel
Ampera-e, Renault ZOE Z.E. 40 and upcoming Nissan LEAF in
September to name just a few).
http://insideevs.com/electric-cars-are-everywhere-except-here/ 

Harvey adds new urgency to climate change debate.
Climate scientists looking to assign blame for Hurricane Harvey
say that climate change is not likely to be a direct cause of the
devastating storm. But global warming has undoubtedly played a
role in the storm and its historic precipitation, since warmer
seas fuel higher-volume storms, scientists say.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/348317-scientists-global-warming-drove-up-harvey-rainfall-totals