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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for June 21, 2013.
Posted: 21 Jun 2013 11:30:38
ARB Newsclips for June 21, 2013. 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. CAP AND TRADE Obama Raises the Cost of Carbon Emissions 60 Percent. The U.S. Department of Energy’s new efficiency standards for microwave ovens aren’t exactly a sizzling read. Amid the dry, technical language it’s easy to miss the significance of a few passages that the Obama administration tucked into the obscure regulation without consulting anyone. They amount to a sweeping change in the way the U.S. measures the effects of carbon emissions and will reverberate well beyond the kitchen. Posted. http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-06-20/obama-raises-the-cost-of-carbon-emissions-60-percent%23r=rss AIR POLLUTION As Beijing air pollution worsens, some American expats clear out. Business opportunities abound in China, but some U.S. executives working in the capital say the health of their families is more important. After nearly two decades in Beijing, David Wolf knew it was time for a change when his 11-year-old son, Aaron, somberly asked him, "Dad, when you were growing up, did you ever have PE outdoors?" Wolf had grown up in smog-choked Los Angeles in the 1970s, but even that wasn't nearly as bad as Beijing today. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-china-escape-20130620,0,1354486.story Indonesia plans air tactic as Singapore haze worsens. Air pollution in Singapore soared to record heights for a third consecutive day, as Indonesia prepared planes and helicopters Friday to battle raging fires blamed for hazardous levels of smoky haze in three countries. The blazes in peat swamp forests on Indonesia's Sumatra island have sent massive plumes of smog across the sea to neighboring Singapore and Malaysia, both of which are growing impatient with Indonesia's response to the problem that occurs nearly every year. Posted. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/06/21/singapore-air-pollution/2444901/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/singapore-haze-hits-worst-level-yet-indonesia-readies-planes-copters-to-fight-sumatra-fires/2013/06/21/7d07589a-da33-11e2-b418-9dfa095e125d_story.html Science review prompts concerns about another delay for ozone standard. U.S. EPA is currently "working to revise the schedule" for its review of a new standard on ozone pollution, the agency said, prompting concerns from environmentalists that the proposal could come at least a year later than expected. Observers had expected the agency to propose new national ambient air quality standards, or NAAQS, before the end of this year and to finalize them next year. The agency is expected to consider lowering the current NAAQS for ozone -- a major component of smog -- from 75 parts per billion to between 60 ppb and 70 ppb. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1059983290/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY CLIMATE CHANGE New Obama climate plan may draw from panel's recommendations. Clues about what to expect in a White House package of climate measures expected within weeks might be found in a report given to the president in March by a blue-chip team of scientists and business leaders. The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), led by President Barack Obama's chief science adviser John Holdren, listed six major components that should be central to the administration's second-term climate change strategy. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/20/us-usa-climate-panel-idUSBRE95J19U20130620 May global temperature ties as third warmest on record. Last month was among the hottest Mays in the 134-year global record, tying with 1998 and 2005 as the third warmest. According to an analysis released Thursday by the National Climatic Data Center, May’s combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces was 1.19°F above the 20th century average of 58.6°F. The agency reported that regions experiencing record warmth included north-central Siberia, west-central Australia…Posted. http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-may-temperature-third-warmest-20130620,0,2256698.story Gov. urges nurses to help fight climate change. Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday challenged his allies in the nation's largest nurses union to look beyond their own immediate concerns and help organize a movement to address global climate change. The Democratic governor enjoyed an enthusiastic reception from a packed room of nurses wearing red shirts at the National Nurses United conference in San Francisco. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_23503232/gov-urges-nurses-help-fight-climate-change http://www.modbee.com/2013/06/20/2771817/gov-urges-nurses-to-help-fight.html http://www.vcstar.com/news/2013/jun/20/gov-urges-nurses-to-help-fight-climate-change/ http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jun/20/gov-urges-nurses-to-help-fight-climate-change/ US energy tax provisions doing nothing to limit GHG emissions: study. Current federal energy-tax provisions are doing almost nothing to reduce US greenhouse-gas emissions, according to a US Treasury Department-sponsored study released Thursday. The study, conducted by the National Research Council, found that roughly $48 billion in energy-sector tax expenditures -- including oil and gas depletion allowances, production tax credits for wind and other renewable energy sources and biofuels provisions -- have had minimal impact. Posted. http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/ElectricPower/21188426 Obama aide promises support for Fla., other states threatened by sea-level rise. At a conference that touched on everything from the possible submergence of the Florida Keys to contaminated drinking water wells, President Obama's principal environmental adviser told south Florida officials yesterday that the "next step" in the administration's efforts on climate change involves supporting state and local governments. White House Council On Environmental Quality chief Nancy Sutley did not say whether additional money or…Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059983263/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY Drought is shifting to Four Corners region. The Southwest is shaping up to become the new epicenter of drought this summer, with impacts ranging from uncontrolled wildfires to poor winter wheat yields. Overall, this spring saw a higher-than-average snow cover, but sparse snowfall in May led to the third-lowest rate of snow cover on record for that month, Deke Arndt, chief of the climate monitoring branch at the National Climatic Data Center, said during a teleconference yesterday. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059983241/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY Climate change will fundamentally alter forests, agency says. The 21st century will see U.S. forests fundamentally altered by climate change, both gradually and by more abrupt "disturbances" like fires, insect outbreaks and floods, a new synthesis of research by the Forest Service finds. "Our challenge is that our perception is based on what we have seen in the past," said Dave Cleaves, climate adviser for the Forest Service. "In the future, we're looking towards a combination of stressors and disturbance regime" for which there may be no precedent. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059983242/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY DIESEL EMISSIONS CARB: We’re stepping up truck enforcement at border, ports. Trucking companies are used to warning drivers about getting approached at border towns by individuals with cash and offers to haul special freight. But a new effort by the California Air Resources Board is warning them about a new form of illegal activity centered on trucks at border towns and ports: illegal dray offs. In a news release, CARB said it is warning business owners that trucks with freight originating from or heading to a California port or rail facility must meet requirements of the state’s Port Drayage Rule including registration with CARB as drayage trucks. Posted. http://www.landlinemag.com/Story.aspx?StoryID=25361 http://www.greencarcongress.com/2013/06/arb-20130620.html FUELS EPA won't confirm fracking-pollution tie in Wyo. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday it is dropping its longstanding plan to have independent scientists review its finding that hydraulic fracturing may be linked to groundwater pollution in central Wyoming. The EPA is standing by its findings, but state officials will lead further investigation into the pollution in the Pavillion area. The area has been a focus of the debate over whether fracking can pollute groundwater ever since the EPA's initial report came out in late 2011. Posted. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_FRACKING_GROUNDWATER_POLLUTION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT http://www.sfgate.com/business/energy/article/EPA-won-t-confirm-fracking-pollution-tie-in-Wyo-4612790.php BP shuns advanced biofuels investment in EU. Oil major BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research) is directing investment in advanced biofuels to the United States and South America due to uncertainty about the European Union's future regulatory environment, a senior executive said. "At the moment we are not contemplating investing in second-generation cellulosic (ethanol) in Europe simply for the reason that there is not enough certainty on what the market conditions will be like," Phil New, head of BP Biofuels, said in an interview. Posted. http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/06/21/uk-bp-biofuels-idUKBRE95K0N520130621 What you need to know about ethanol in gas. Chances are you don't pay too much attention to the stickers on the gas station pump when you fill up your car except perhaps the one associated with the octane rating you prefer. After all, the worst that could happen are some relatively small differences in performance, right? Not so, if you accidentally put E15, a blend of 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline, in the majority of the cars on the road today. Posted. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/know-ethanol-gas-100000473.html Food fight as chain restaurants push to end renewable fuel standard. Chain restaurants have once again joined the renewable fuel standard battle, supporting legislation to eliminate the federal mandates. Yesterday, the National Council of Chain Restaurants (NCCR) urged Congress to repeal the RFS, saying government-imposed requirements for corn ethanol production have significantly increased business costs for fast food chains. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059983247/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY Natural gas still 'stubbornly resistant to globalization' – IEA. The world of natural gas is no economist's dream: For all of the world's supply, it struggles to flow where it's wanted. That's the picture emerging from the International Energy Agency's latest outlook for natural gas, issued yesterday: a swelling world stock of the stuff that leaves some regions oversupplied and others hungry. "Gas remains the fuel of contradictions," IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven wrote in the report.” Posted. http://www.eenews.net/energywire/stories/1059983240/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY REFINERY Capitol Alert: Chevron Corp. taking political fire from both right and left. It's been a rough week, politically speaking, for Chevron, one of the state's oldest and largest corporations, as it takes fire from the left and the right. Chevron, which has been dodging political and legal bullets over a 2012 fire at its refinery in Richmond, is under fire from farmers, especially Republican farmers, over hefty political contributions to a group that backs Democrat Leticia Perez in her state Senate battle with Republican farmer Andy Vidak. Posted. http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/06/20/3352566/capitol-alert-chevron-corp-taking.html#storylink=cpy VEHICLES Electric car maker Tesla unveils 90-second battery pack swap. Tesla Motors Inc. on Thursday unveiled a system to swap battery packs in its electric cars in about 90 seconds, a service Chief Executive Elon Musk said will help overcome fears about their driving range. The automaker will roll out the battery-swapping stations later this year, beginning along the heavily-traveled route between Los Angeles and San Francisco and then in the Washington-to-Boston corridor. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/21/tesla-swap-idUSL2N0EW23220130621 http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/forget-charging-electric-car-tesla-plans-test-battery-swapping-article-1.1377760 Chinese City Proposes Vehicle Restrictions to Reduce Smog. One of China’s most polluted cities has proposed to limit vehicle ownership through a lottery, becoming the latest locality to do so in the world’s largest auto market as air quality and traffic congestion worsen. Shijiazhuang, the capital of steel-producing Hebei province surrounding Beijing, will restrict the number of new vehicles to 100,000 this year and limit households to owning two cars, according to a Shijiazhuang Daily report posted on the local government’s website yesterday. Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-19/capital-of-chinese-province-with-worst-smog-restricts-car-sales.html Panel Adopts New Rules for Taxi of Tomorrow. One month after a judge blocked the Bloomberg administration’s initial plans for a near-uniform fleet of yellow cabs, the Taxi and Limousine Commission on Thursday approved an adjusted set of rules in a bid to introduce its Taxi of Tomorrow as scheduled this fall. The vote, 7 to 1, is likely to prompt another deluge of litigation from yellow taxi operators who have opposed the plan, which would require nearly every cab to be a Nissan NV200. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/21/nyregion/panel-adopts-new-rules-for-taxi-of-tomorrow.html?pagewanted=print Why Honda's Unloading Electric Cars for Cheap. When Honda Motor (HMC) introduced its all-electric Fit EV in July 2012, it set a modest goal of delivering 1,100 of the lease-only cars in two years. Yet through May, the company had found just 176 takers for the plug-in. Consumers didn’t leap to pay $389 a month for a subcompact that can go only about 82 miles before it needs recharging, especially when the gas-powered version gets 30 miles a gallon…Posted. http://origin-www.businessweek.com/printer/articles/127908-why-hondas-unloading-electric-cars-for-cheap Let’s Hope You’re Not Trying to Sell an Electric Car Anytime Soon. In May 2012, the average trade-in value for a 2011 Nissan Leaf was around $25,000. A year later, that same car’s value had fallen to roughly $15,000. According to a new report from the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), plug-in electric vehicles such as the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf depreciate in value at a rate much higher than traditional gas-powered cars, as well as hybrids like the Toyota Prius. Posted. http://business.time.com/2013/06/21/lets-hope-youre-not-trying-to-sell-an-electric-car-anytime-soon/#ixzz2Wry8aPeg Honda introduces Accord hybrid and plug-in in Japan; hybrid in US in October. Honda Motor Co., Ltd. has introduced the new Accord Hybrid in Japan. Featuring the new Sport Hybrid i-MMD (intelligent Multi-Mode Drive) powertrain, the Accord Hybrid offers fuel economy of 30.0 km/L (70.6 mpg US, 3.33 L/100 km) on the JC08 cycle. The company also introduced the Accord Plug-in Hybrid, with fuel economy (gasoline plus electricity) of 70.4 km/L equivalent (165.6 mpg US, 1.42 L/100 km) on the JC08. Posted. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2013/06/honda-20130621.html HIGH-SPEED RAIL California Rep. Jeff Denham juggles national, local needs on House rail panel. High-speed rail has dominated the transportation debate in California in recent years, but the state has other passenger and freight rail needs that have received less attention, transportation experts say. Supporters of rail investments may have a Washington ally in Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif., chairman of the House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials. Posted. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/06/20/194514/california-rep-jeff-denham-juggles.html#.UcQRcPnvv_Q#storylink=cpy GREEN ENERGY IEA head economist urges efficiency push in energy sectors. The International Energy Agency's chief economist yesterday cautioned against not taking energy efficiency policies seriously when looking at how energy industries might lower their contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions. Speaking at Columbia University, IEA head economist Fatih Birol stressed that energy industries are still the main culprit when it comes to carbon levels in the atmosphere, contributing two-thirds of the planet's output. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/energywire/stories/1059983217/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY MISCELLANEOUS Americans consider the environment in what they buy, survey shows. More than half of Americans consider the effects on the environment of products and services they buy, according to a new national survey. “Consumer behavior has become an important way Americans express their values and concerns, leading to new products and services, creating and destroying markets, and influencing the policies and actions of companies large and small,” according to the report, Americans’ Actions to Limit Global Warming April 2013…Posted. http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-americans-consider-environment-purchases-20130620,0,4041237.story UC Davis professor earns prestigious prize for environmental work. UC Davis professor Daniel Sperling, one of the nation's most influential transportation thinkers and policymakers, is the recipient of the 2013 Blue Planet Prize, sometime called the Nobel Prize for environmental science. The prize, presented by a Japanese foundation, comes with $500,000 award. "I am deeply honored to receive the Blue Planet Prize, and I share it with my many brilliant and passionate collaborators," Sperling is quoted in a university news release. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/20/5510423/uc-davis-professor-earns-prestigious.html#storylink=cpy Scientists worry over dwindling tri-colored blackbird population in California. The use of pesticides and other farming practices are causing a dramatic decline in the population of what was once one of the state's most populous bird species: the tricolored blackbird. A recent estimate has pegged the population of the small, dark and swift-moving birds at 260,000. That's down from 400,000 birds counted in 2008, according to an Audubon California survey. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/21/5513307/scientists-worry-over-dwindling.html#mi_rss=Our%20Region#storylink=cpy OPINIONS COLUMN-Study opens new cracks in scientific front on climate change: Gerard Wynn. A major recent study has put the cat among the pigeons on climate change, challenging the size of the problem in the near-term and the role of a recent slowdown in warming. The paper, published in the journal Nature Geoscience in May, involved scientists from 14 institutions and calculated that more extreme climate change was now less likely, after taking into account slower warming in the past decade. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/21/column-wynn-climate-science-idUSL5N0EV2OE20130621 Don't waste tax dollars on uncertain high-speed rail plan. Monday's editorial ("Denham errs with HSR comments") mischaracterized my position regarding rail funding. But that doesn't change the fact the California high-speed rail project is no longer what voters approved in 2008. These stimulus dollars were meant for shovel-ready projects, and to date not one shovel has been turned. Posted. http://www.modbee.com/2013/06/20/2772339/dont-waste-our-tax-dollars-on.html Why such hysteria over fracking? Studies have shown repeatedly that fracking is fundamentally safe. It creates jobs and cuts dependence on foreign oil. So why is there still such backlash? Is hydraulic fracturing — used for more than 60 years to produce oil and natural gas — safe? The "safe fracking" question has been asked and answered many times over by government regulators, scientists and other technical experts, and they have concluded that hydraulic fracturing is a fundamentally safe technology. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-zierman-california-fracking-moratorium-20130621,0,1007838.story State needs safeguards on fracking. Before fracking becomes a major industry in the California, the last remaining bill providing some oversight should be passed. Less than a month ago, there were several major bills to provide oversight of hydraulic fracturing in California. Most of them died in their respective houses, and now only one is left. The Legislature should pass the remaining bill, SB 4, and Gov. Jerry Brown should sign it into law. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-0621-california-fracking-20130621,0,4240150.story BLOGS With Incentives, There Is New Hope for Smith Electric’s Truck Plant in the Bronx. On a late fall day in 2011, politicians gathered in the South Bronx to celebrate the startling news that Smith Electric Vehicles would open a 90,000-square-foot plant near Hunts Point to assemble electric delivery trucks. “Today is an amazing day in God’s country,” said Borough President Rubén Díaz Jr. The plan was for Smith to begin production in the second quarter of 2012. Posted. http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/21/with-incentives-there-is-new-hope-for-smith-electrics-truck-plant-in-the-bronx/?_r=0&pagewanted=print Friday rant: Change we can’t believe in edition. This is about you. I will be brief. But first a word about Obama. He’s taking some further action to help curb climate change. That’s good. But about a week ago there was a quote in the paper from an administration official about how when the president talks about climate, the little insta-reaction dial-o-meters (measuring how people are reacting in real time to the speech) “plummet.” Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/tom-toles/post/friday-rant-change-we-cant-believe-in-edition/2013/06/20/860f771e-d9d0-11e2-9df4-895344c13c30_blog.html California’s “ABAG Ghettos” Much of what you hear about California’s leading edge environmental legislation deals with the impact of the new-in-2013 “cap and trade” levies on manufacturing and utilities, the refusal to exploit the Monterrey shale and off shore oil and gas deposits, the rush toward electric cars and solar power, and the relation to fleeing employers. This posting will deal with the emerging picture of what it will do to people living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Posted. http://www.redstate.com/bbowen7/2013/06/20/californias-abag-ghettos/