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ARB Newsclips for July 3, 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

UPDATE 3-Carbon wins lifeline after tight EU parliament vote. The
European Parliament after months of bitter debate backed a plan
on Wednesday to boost carbon prices, throwing a lifeline to the
EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and the bloc's push for greener
energy. EU politicians in Strasbourg voted 344-311 in favour of
temporarily removing up to 900 million permits from trade…Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/03/eu-carbon-market-idUSL5N0F91UA20130703

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/04/business/global/european-parliament-acts-to-support-emissions-trading-system.html?_r=0
 

EU lawmakers back plan to fix ailing carbon market. The European
Parliament on Wednesday backed a rescue plan for the world’s
biggest cap-and-trade system for emissions of carbon dioxide, the
most prevalent greenhouse gas from human activities. In a 344-311
vote, European lawmakers in Strasbourg, France, approved a
proposal to delay an auction of allowances in the EU’s emissions
trading scheme. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/eu-lawmakers-back-plan-to-fix-ailing-carbon-market/2013/07/03/288aaed4-e3e3-11e2-bffd-37a36ddab820_story.html

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jul/03/eu-lawmakers-back-cap-and-trade-fix/

http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/07/03/3372194/eu-lawmakers-back-cap-and-trade.html


AIR POLLUTION

Newport Beach shifts tactics in fire pit ban fight. Newport Beach
has withdrawn an application to state regulators to remove five
dozen fire rings from the city's beaches, but the bonfire battle
isn't over. City Manager Dave Kiff sent a letter to the
California Coastal Commission on Tuesday withdrawing the
application that sparked a heated debate between residents with
environmental concerns and others seeking to maintain a beach
tradition. Posted.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jul/02/newport-beach-shifts-tactics-in-fire-pit-ban-fight/

http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/07/02/3371799/newport-beach-shifts-tactics-in.html


Valley air officials urge firework restraint. For many, one of
the highlights of Independence Day is the fireworks show at the
end of the night. However, San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution
Control District officials remind Valley residents that fireworks
increase levels of dangerous particulate matter (PM) and pose a
health threat. 
According to air officials, fireworks release large qualities of
PM, such as soot, ash and metals. Posted.
http://thebusinessjournal.com/news/energy-and-environment/6748-valley-air-officials-urge-firework-restraint

http://www.ksby.com/news/local-agency-warns-that-air-pollution-can-diminish-due-to-fireworks/#_


CLIMATE CHANGE

World suffered unprecedented climate extremes in past decade:
WMO. The world suffered unprecedented climate extremes in the
decade to 2010, from heatwaves in Europe and droughts in
Australia to floods in Pakistan, against a backdrop of global
warming, a United Nations report said on Wednesday. Every year of
the decade except 2008 was among the 10 warmest since records
began in the 1850s…Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/03/us-climate-extremes-idUSBRE9620HF20130703
 
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-03/un-charts-unprecedented-global-warming-since-2000.html
 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/un-says-1st-decade-shows-accelerated-warming-with-more-climate-extremes/2013/07/03/71a5a46e-e3d6-11e2-bffd-37a36ddab820_story.html
  
http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/07/03/3372104/un-says-1st-decade-shows-accelerated.html


Blasting heat forecast for U.S. Western states. Residents of
western U.S. states awoke on Monday to more scorching heat that
was expected to break record highs and grip the region through
the early part of the holiday week, meteorologists said.
Temperatures were likely to hit well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit
(38 degrees Centigrade) in Fresno, California, Phoenix and to the
north in Boise…Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/01/us-usa-weather-heat-idUSBRE95S0AS20130701


Obama Seeks New U.S. Role in Climate Debate. When President Obama
barged into a meeting of leaders from Brazil, China, India and
other countries at a climate conference in Copenhagen in December
2009, he managed to extract a last-minute agreement to set a goal
to limit the rise in global temperatures. It was the high-water
mark of Mr. Obama’s leadership on climate change — even if the
deal was less than the Americans or Europeans wanted — but it has
been downhill ever since. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/03/us/politics/obama-seeks-to-reassert-us-role-in-climate-debate.html?pagewanted=all


Experts See New Normal as a Hotter, Drier West Faces More Huge
Fires. One of the deadliest wildfires in a generation vastly
expanded Monday to cover more than 8,000 acres, sweeping up sharp
slopes through dry scrub and gnarled piñon pines a day after
fickle winds and flames killed 19 firefighters. The gusty monsoon
winds where the Colorado Plateau begins to drop off into the
Sonoran Desert…Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/us/experts-see-a-hotter-drier-west-with-more-huge-fires.html?_r=1&&pagewanted=print


Ocean satellite dies after 11 1/2-year mission. Jason-1, a
satellite that for more than a decade precisely tracked rising
sea levels across a vast sweep of ocean and helped forecasters
make better weather and climate predictions, has ended its useful
life after circling the globe more than 53,500 times, NASA
announced Wednesday. The joint U.S. and French satellite was
decommissioned this week after its last remaining transmitter
failed, according to a NASA statement. Posted.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/07/03/3372411/ocean-satellite-dies-after-11.html#storylink=cpy


Spike in greenhouse gas emissions to come from Amazon's dams?
Current and future plans to expand hydroelectric power in the
Brazilian Amazon are contributing to a sharp rise in carbon
emissions from the nation with the third-most greenhouse
emissions, scientists claim. The Amazonian dam, Tucuru, produces
more greenhouse gases than Brazil's largest city, São
Paulo…Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059983822/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

FUELS

Obama Revamps $8 Billion Coal Program Amid Objections. Under fire
from coal producers and lawmakers from coal-producing states, the
Obama administration is revamping an $8 billion federal
loan-guarantee program to help companies reduce their carbon
dioxide emissions. The plan announced yesterday is part of a
broader strategy for dealing with the risks of climate change
that President Barack Obama unveiled last week. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-03/obama-revamps-8-billion-coal-program-amid-objections.html


Oil passes $101 on supply drop in US, worries that Egypt crisis
may threaten supplies. The price of oil rose above $102 a barrel
for the first time in 14 months on concerns about Middle East
supplies and signs of an increase in U.S. demand for fuel.
Around midday Wednesday, U.S. benchmark oil was up $1.63 to
$101.23. It rose to $102.18 a barrel earlier, a high since May of
last year. Oil has not closed above $100 since May 3, 2012.
Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/oil-rises-near-100-a-barrel-as-egypt-protests-continue-traders-eye-increase-in-us-demand/2013/07/02/597f0dd4-e382-11e2-bffd-37a36ddab820_story.html


A monstrous market in the making takes 'all of the above'
approach to supply. Rebecca Liebert doesn't worry much about
China. It doesn't concern her, for instance, that China makes a
relatively small contribution to her business's global portfolio
today. UOP, a subsidiary of U.S.-based Honeywell International
Inc., sells technology used in various parts of the natural-gas
value chain. China has explicitly stated its intention to use
more gas. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/stories/1059983843/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

VEHICLES

Tesla Motors White House petition passes 100K signatures — a
small win for electric cars? A White House petition to make it
legal for Tesla Motors to sell its revolutionary cars directly to
consumers surpassed its goal of 100,000 signatures today —
meaning it’ll get an official response from the Obama
administration. Many people may not know it, but Tesla is barred
from selling its vehicles in many states, which require
businesses to obtain a “dealership license” before being able to
sell cars en mass to people. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/03/idUS132668746820130703


UPDATE 1-Toyota to recall 185,000 cars globally, including Yaris.
The world's best-selling carmaker, Toyota Motor Corp, said it was
recalling around 185,000 vehicles globally, including the Yaris
compact, owing to a glitch in the electric power steering system
that could make the steering heavier. Models of the Yaris, known
in Japan as the Vitz, that were made between November 2010 and
March 2012, have been recalled. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/03/toyota-recall-idUSL3N0F91AT20130703


HIGH-SPEED RAIL

Rail authority: State's bullet trains to reduce future greenhouse
gases. Operations of California's high-speed rail system between
2022 and 2050 could remove between 27.1 million and 44.9 million
tons of greenhouse gases by shifting travelers from automobiles
and airplanes to electric-powered high-speed trains. The
greenhouse-gas estimates were included in a report this week from
the rail agency to the state Legislature Posted.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/07/02/3371300/rail-authority-states-bullet-trains.html#storylink=cpy


Calif. says line will start reducing GHG emissions in 2022.
California's planned statewide high-speed rail system will
displace the carbon emissions of 31,000 vehicles in its first
year of operation, state officials said today. The $68.4 billion
rail line, slated to begin construction later this summer, will
eventually reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 44.9 million
tons by 2050, when it stretches from Sacramento to San Diego.
Posted. http://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/stories/1059983828/print
BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

GREEN ENERGY

Solar Groups Seek Tea-Party Support. Renewable-Energy Firms Seek
Conservative Backing as Utilities Seek to Trim Price They Pay
Homeowners.  As the solar-power industry skirmishes with
utilities over the growth of the home solar-panel business, it is
enlisting a new political ally: tea-party activists and
conservative groups. Renewable-energy firms have traditionally
sought help from the political left by touting the environmental
benefits of greener power. Posted.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323689204578573720128231396.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_5


Japan Sets Up Clean Energy Fund to Revitalize Regional Economies.
Japan’s Ministry of the Environment set up a fund to invest in
clean energy projects to support regional companies and reduce
carbon dioxide emissions. The ministry has set aside 1.4 billion
yen ($14 million) for the fund for fiscal 2013, said Kazuhiro
Okuma, an official in charge of the fund. The fund will invest in
projects with private investors for as much as a half of equity.
Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2013-07-02/japan-sets-up-clean-energy-fund-to-revitalize-regional-economies.html


Conservation, cooler temps help California power grid. A second
day of conservation efforts and slightly lower temperatures
helped the California power grid avoid potential problems on
Tuesday as a widespread heat wave across the West begins to
moderate. The region's power supply also improved Tuesday
afternoon as PG&E Corp's 1,122-MW Diablo Canyon 1 nuclear reactor
reconnected to the grid and began to increase output, the utility
said. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/03/us-utilities-california-heatwave-idUSBRE96013620130703


Arlington house makes a green statement. Construction is underway
in what developers call the first super-energy-efficient
single-family home of its kind in Arlington, a four-bedroom,
four-bathroom, more than 3,000-square-foot silver-level LEED
structure. The house, at 5734 Eighth St. N., is being built with
U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design certification in mind. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/realestate/arlington-house-makes-a-green-statement/2013/07/03/2049e834-dd12-11e2-85de-c03ca84cb4ef_story.html


State puts Soitec solar projects on fast track. California is
streamlining government approvals for two prospective solar farms
in East County, giving a boost to the French semiconductor
company Soitec as it expands solar manufacturing at a factory in
San Diego's Rancho Bernardo neighborhood. Aided by a $25 million
grant from the Department of Energy, Soitec outfitted its local
factory and ramped up production in earnest this year to supply
an initial slate of utility-scale projects. Posted.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jul/03/soitec-solar-fast-track/
 

MISCELLANEOUS

Calif. officials recommend expansion of West’s largest hazardous
waste dump. California regulators are recommending allowing a
major expansion of the largest hazardous waste dump in the
Western United States, even though some residents blame the dump
for birth defects and have opposed the expansion, officials said
on Tuesday. The California Department of Toxic Substances Control
said it has issued a draft expansion permit that would allow the
landfill near Kettleman City…Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/calif-officials-recommend-expansion-of-wests-largest-hazardous-waste-dump/2013/07/02/cfdbfb7e-e34e-11e2-bffd-37a36ddab820_story.html

http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/07/02/3371013/calif-recommends-expansion-of.html

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-07-02/calif-dot-recommends-expansion-of-hazardous-dump

http://www.modbee.com/2013/07/02/2790209/state-grants-preliminary-ok-for.html#storylink=cpy


Decisions on toxic sites spark fury in 2 communities. In Vernon,
a judge allows Exide to resume operations that had been suspended
for alleged pollution violations. In the Central Valley, a state
agency OKs expansion of a hazardous waste dump. A major toxic
waste dump near a Central Valley hamlet is poised to expand, and
a troubled battery recycler in Vernon has been cleared to reopen
according to key decisions Tuesday that sparked fury in nearby
low-income communities. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-hazardous-waste-dtsc-20130703,0,949753.story


OPINIONS

COLUMN-Lesser-known CO2 storage idea merits attention: Wynn.
Technology that would convert carbon dioxide from a scourge on
the climate to beneficial products is inching towards commercial
reality and is already cheaper than carbon capture and storage.
CO2 can, in theory, be converted in the making of such products
as concrete, plastics and minerals. (See Chart 1) There are major
problems, however. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/03/column-wynn-co2-conversion-idUSL5N0F72FC20130703


Viewpoints: Climate action plan will help protect health. Climate
change is already affecting our health in California, and the
health of millions of people in the United States and around the
world. Extreme heat is predicted to affect anywhere from 1.7
million to 28 million Californians by mid- to late-century, and
even by conservative estimates, 420,000 will be exposed to
coastal flooding. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/07/03/5541226/climate-action-plan-will-help.html#storylink=cpy


See through high-speed smokescreen. Citizens for California High
Speed Rail Accountability (CCHSRA) has recently noticed the
criticisms by some members of the press over activities to
restrict funding to the California High-Speed Rail Project by
local congressmen. CCHSRA would like to add factual evidence to
support the decisions being made by Reps. David Valadao, Jeff
Denham and Kevin McCarthy. Our organization has learned the
following over the last two years: Posted.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/07/02/3371482/see-through-high-speed-smokescreen.html#storylink=cpy


BLOGS

Why Chevron is suing one of D.C.’s most powerful lobbying firms
over…the Amazon jungle? It’s a monumental battle of wills, money
and egos. The oil giant Chevron, the third-biggest U.S. Company
by revenue, has sued Patton Boggs, the nation’s premier legal and
lobbying firm, for concealing and promoting fraudulent
information in a case that was born in the jungles of the Amazon.
Chevron has also convinced a New York federal judge to allow
it...Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/07/02/why-chevron-is-suing-one-of-d-c-s-most-powerful-lobbying-firms-over-the-amazon-jungle/?print=1


New rules for EV charging etiquette. The EV equivalent of spam is
parking an internal combustion vehicle at a spot where there's a
charger (also known as getting ICE'd), or leaving your electric
vehicle in a charge space long after you've juiced up. Now that
plug-ins are going mainstream, and municipalities from San Diego
to New York City are installing charging stations in public
places we've got to learn to play nice and share. Posted.
http://green.autoblog.com/2013/07/03/new-rules-for-ev-charging-etiquette/
 

Congress could lower alt-fuel requirements in new Open Fuel
Standard Act. Congress is considering a revised version of the
Open Fuel Standard Act, an Act that was originally introduced two
years ago but failed to pass. Representatives Eliot Engel (D-NY)
and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) introduced a bipartisan bill that
would require more and more new vehicles to be able to run on at
least some non-petroleum fuels. Posted.
http://green.autoblog.com/2013/07/03/congress-could-lower-alt-fuel-requirements-in-new-open-fuel-stan/

LowCVP study identifies cost-effective options for cutting bus
emissions.  A wide range of technologies can cut carbon emissions
from buses and provide a short-term payback at current fuel
prices and subsidy levels, according to a new report prepared for
the UK’s Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP) by Ricardo.
Overall, the study indicates that significant improvements in bus
CO2 can be achieved in the medium to long term through
development, incentivization (or regulation) and implementation
of new vehicle technologies and fuels. Posted.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2013/07/lowcvp-20130703.html 

Worldwide Prius sales top 3-million mark; Prius family sales at
3.4 million. Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announced that as of
the end of June, worldwide cumulative sales of the Prius
gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle (generations I, II and III)
passed the 3-million mark. (The figure is based on worldwide
cumulative sales through the end of May 2013 plus June sales in
the US.) Total global Prius nameplate sales (the expanded Prius
family) are at 3.436 million units. Posted.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2013/07/prius-20130703.html 

DOE releases draft of $8B loan guarantee solicitation for
advanced fossil energy projects. The US Department of Energy
(DOE) released a draft for comment of an $8-billion loan
guarantee solicitation for innovative and advanced fossil energy
projects and facilities that substantially reduce greenhouse gas
and other air pollution. The program is part of President Obama’s
climate action plan. (Earlier post.) Posted.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2013/07/doe-20130703.html