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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for July 8, 2013
Posted: 08 Jul 2013 14:26:03
ARB Newsclips for July 8, 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 European, U.S. Climate Policies Trail California’s. As California pushes forward on a wide range of aggressive goals to curb its contribution to climate change, the same solution that’s the centerpiece of the state’s effort — a cap-and-trade market for carbon emissions — is moving forward in a big way on the international stage. The European Union voted Wednesday to strengthen the role of the continental cap-and-trade system. Posted. http://sfpublicpress.org/news/2013-07/european-us-climate-policies-trail-californias AIR POLLUTION Colorado eying air pollution rules for drilling. Air quality is the next frontier in Colorado's oil and gas debate, as state health officials consider new rules to deal with an industry that emits at least 600 tons of contaminants a day. Those emissions are now the main source of volatile organic compounds in Colorado and the third-largest source of nitrogen oxides…Posted. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CO_DRILLING_AIR_QUALITY_COOL-?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT http://www.sfgate.com/business/energy/article/Colorado-eying-air-pollution-rules-for-drilling-4652269.php To clean the air, Dutch scientists invent pavement that eats smog. What if the solution to smog was right where the rubber meets the road? Scientists in the Netherlands have found that installing special air-purifying pavement on city streets can cut air pollution nearly in half. Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology outfitted one block in the city of Hengelo, Netherlands, with paving blocks sprayed with titanium oxide, which has the ability to remove pollutants from the air and turn them into less harmful chemicals. http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-smog-eating-street-20130705,0,4941635.story Thermo King pays air pollution penalty. The California Air Resources Board says Bloomington, Minn.-based Thermo King Corp. has paid a $213,200 penalty in connection with violating state air pollution laws. ARB said the temperature-control systems manufacturer sold diesel particulate filters after conditional verification expired in 2011. The filters are used to reduce emissions from auxiliary power units…Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2013/07/06/5548184/thermo-king-pays-air-pollution.html#storylink=cpy Firefighters warn of extreme fire danger in Fresno County foothills. Nineteen of the country's best firefighters died last week in Arizona defending Yarnell, population about 700 — "where a desert breeze meets the mountain air," as the town's entrance sign reads. It also is where urban living meets wildlands. Firefighters dig in to protect people and property in places like this all over the arid West. Sometimes, nature suddenly takes their lives. Posted. http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/07/06/3377237/mountain-towns-in-peril.html Toxic hotspots revealed on state map. Barrio Logan, a port community at the intersection of freeways and industry, is the crossroads of pollution risk for San Diego County, according to CalEnviroscreen, a new state program that ranks communities by their environmental health. The California Environmental Protection Agency recently rolled out the program to highlight areas most affected by pollution. Posted. http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jul/07/environment-pollution-hotspots-calepa-barrio-logan/ State program ranks pollution hot spots. Barrio Logan, a port community at the intersection of freeways and industry, is the crossroads of pollution risk for San Diego County, according to CalEnviroscreen, a new state program that ranks communities by their environmental health. The California Environmental Protection Agency recently rolled out the program to highlight areas most affected by pollution. Posted. http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jul/08/tp-state-program-ranks-pollution-hot-spots/ CLIMATE CHANGE Water Warming to Boost Hydro, Nuclear-Power Costs: Study. Waterways warmed by climate change will increase electricity prices by as much as a third in southern Europe as producers struggle to cool power stations, a study showed. Countries from Romania to Bulgaria and Slovenia face the biggest price increases, according to research today from the Laxenburg, Austria-based Institute for International Applied Systems Analysis. Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-08/water-warming-to-boost-hydro-nuclear-power-costs-study.html Microbes will joust for survival in Earth's warming climate. The meek shall inherit the Earth, and that may not be a good thing, if the meek are cyanobacteria. It turns out that the ancient microbes lowest on Earth's food chain are sensitive sorts. Familiar strains of these organisms that provide "biological services" essential to complex life are about to lose the competition for a viable niche in a world turned warmer and more carbon-rich, according to two new studies. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-microbes-climate-20130702,0,509346.story Industry panning Obama's climate change push. President Barack Obama's push to fight global warming has triggered condemnation from the coal industry across the industrial Midwest, where state and local economies depend on the health of an energy sector facing strict new pollution limits. But such concerns stretch even to New England, an environmentally focused region that long has felt the effects of drifting emissions from Rust Belt states. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/business/energy/article/Industry-panning-Obama-s-climate-change-push-4646743.php Study challenges king crab 'invasion' as climate change threatens Antarctica. A study published last week challenges the popular academic claim that crabs may have disappeared from Antarctica millions of years ago only to return thanks to warming seas, and one of the authors believes the finding indicates how unprepared scientists are to track the effects of global warming on Antarctic species. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2013/07/08/stories/1059983972 BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY FUELS Natural Gas Futures Rise on Outlook for Hotter U.S. Weather. Natural gas futures gained in New York for the fourth time in five days on speculation that hotter weather may spur demand for the power-plant fuel. Gas rose as much as 3.5 percent as forecasts showed above-normal temperatures from the Northeast into central and western states through July 22, according to MDA Weather Services in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2013-07-08/u-s-natural-gas-gains-amid-forecasts-for-moderating-weather.html Fracking near Shafter raises questions about drilling practices. One afternoon last fall, Tom Frantz cradled a video camera in his hand and pointed it at an oil well on the edge of this San Joaquin Valley farm town. Workers shuffled amid trucks and drilling equipment, preparing the site for hydraulic fracturing – fracking, for short – the controversial drilling method that has the potential to spark an economic boom in California and perhaps even free the state from foreign oil. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/30/5534452/fracking-near-shafter-raises-questions.html#storylink=cpy Fervent foes devote their lives to fracking fight. Big energy companies have been trying for five years to tap the riches of the Marcellus Shale in southern New York, promising thousands of new jobs, economic salvation for a depressed region, and a cheap, abundant, clean-burning source of fuel close to power-hungry cities. But for all its political clout and financial prowess, the industry hasn't been able to get its foot in the door. Posted. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/business/energy/article/Fervent-foes-devote-their-lives-to-fracking-fight-4650976.php http://www.vcstar.com/news/2013/jul/07/fervent-foes-devote-their-lives-to-fracking/#ixzz2YTIBjmsY Refineries slide down GHG priority list. As U.S. EPA begins a long process to cut carbon from the country's electricity, a promise to reduce emissions from oil refineries lies in limbo. EPA missed its November 2011 deadline to propose standards for oil refineries. In the 20 months since, there has been little public discussion from the agency or the environmental groups that asked for the standards in the first place. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059983973/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY More churches embracing greener faith. The Boston-based United Church of Christ (UCC) has become the first national religious denomination in the United States to sweep its investment portfolio of companies profiting from fossil fuels in what activists say marks a historic divestment from carbon-heavy energy. The resolution passed last week will deny new investments from fossil fuel companies and unwind existing ones over the course of five years. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059983970/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY VEHICLES In Europe, Greener Transit on Existing Infrastructure. Vienna is employing some old-fashioned technology to run shiny new electric buses wending their way through the narrow inner-city streets. The Austrian capital is switching from buses powered by liquefied petroleum gas to a novel, first-of-its-kind fleet of electric buses that run unplugged, go anywhere, and recharge their batteries using the overhead power lines of older trams. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/08/business/energy-environment/greener-transit-in-europe-built-on-top-of-older-infrastructure.html?_r=0 Elements of Omnitrans' SBX rapid-transit line project taking shape. Officials at the public bus agency Omnitrans are touting the latest in their efforts give future riders of its developing transit service a better look at how that service will be different than regular bus service. Crews in the last month have been installing electronic ticket vending machines, security cameras, arrival/departure signs and emergency call lines at the Cal State San Bernardino station of the SBX rapid-transit line, a dedicated route bus service planned to go from CSUSB to Loma Linda. Posted. http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_23615768/elements-omnitrans-sbx-rapid-transit-line-project-taking#ixzz2YTQgggbs GREEN ENERGY China Seeks EU Solar-Panel Export Cap to Avoid Duties, SSN Says. China is proposing to limit exports of solar panels to the European Union to 10 gigawatts a year to avoid antidumping tariffs, the Shanghai Securities News said. China is asking the EU to reduce or remove duties on panels within the limit and pledged to keep prices at or above 50 euro cents ($64 U.S. cents) a watt, the newspaper said, citing Wang Sicheng, a researcher at the Energy Research Institute, an adviser to the government. Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2013-07-05/china-seeks-eu-solar-panel-export-cap-to-avoid-duties-ssn-says.html Biomass company excited to be headquartered in Sacramento. Situated amid homes in a quiet, leafy section of midtown Sacramento is the headquarters of one of the nation's leading biomass energy firms. "We're probably No. 4 or 5 in the country right now, but we want to be the largest," says Hugh Smith, president and CEO of Greenleaf Power LLC. Given what Greenleaf has done in short order in the comparatively young biomass power industry, Smith's words don't come off as an idle boast. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2013/07/07/5547833/biomass-company-excited-to-be.html#storylink=cpy Geothermal industry poised to heat up. Harnessing heat from the Earth's core often gets buried down the list of U.S. clean energy priorities, according to geothermal industry leaders. President Obama noted in his new climate plan that the United States has doubled the amount of electricity generated from wind, solar and geothermal energy over the last four years. The policy calls for doubling the amount of renewable electricity generation again. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059983975/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY MISCELLANEOUS Glendale tired of butts: 'Smokers will be fed to the bears' "Do not throw cigarette butts on the ground. Our squirrels are getting cancer," reads one sign on the north end of the Catalina Verdugo Trail in Glendale. Yes, it's a real sign installed by the city. Smoking is banned on city trails and parks, but traditional outreach hasn't prevented cigarette butts from piling up and there aren't enough code enforcement officials to patrol every trail. Tired of having stodgy signs ignored, city officials are giving humor a try. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-glendale-tired-of-butts-smokers-will-be-fed-to-the-bears-20130708,0,6562838.story Solar powered plane finishes journey, lands in NYC. A solar-powered aircraft completed the final leg of a history-making cross-country flight Saturday night, gliding to a smooth stop at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. The Solar Impulse touched down at JFK at 11:09 p.m., completing the final leg of the cross-continental journey that started in California in early May. For Saturday's final leg, the aircraft left Dulles International Airport a little before 5 a.m. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_23613822/solar-powered-plane-finishes-journey-lands-nyc?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com RAIL YARD State approves key railyard cleanup plan; owner objects. After years of rewrites and delays, state environmental officials on Wednesday approved a long-awaited plan for toxic cleanup of the central shops section of the downtown Sacramento railyard. The state authorization is seen as a key step in readying the 240-acre railyard for development as an extension of downtown with housing, offices and stores, as well as a major railroad technology museum. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2013/07/04/5544278/state-approves-key-railyard-cleanup.html#storylink=cpy Development Plan For Railyards Still Unclear as City Continues Infrastructure. Railroad tracks have been moved. Two bridges have been built with plans for connection to 5th and 6th streets. But, within walking distance of that progress are 200 acres of land in various stages of environmental cleanup. The California Department of Toxic Substances Control has approved three of five remediation action plans for long-time owner Union Pacific to clean up the land, which is now owned by Inland American Real Estate Trust. Posted. http://www.capradio.org/articles/2013/07/08/development-plan-for-railyards-still-unclear-as-city-continues-infrastructure/ OPINIONS Climate change is not the main cause of forest fires. The July 3 news article “Climate change, development and budget cuts fuel upward trend in wildfires” did not fully explore the main cause of this trend. We are feeling the effects of wildfire-suppression policies going back a hundred years. Forest management decisions by the U.S. Forest Service and other federal and state agencies created the unnaturally dense and uniform forests that now cover the western United States. Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/climate-change-is-not-the-main-cause-of-forest-fires/2013/07/05/7c9d1d2c-e4b5-11e2-bffd-37a36ddab820_story.html Dan Walters: California oil could boom again. When the Legislature's 2013 session began, one of its hottest topics – as indicated by the number of bills – was hydraulic fracturing, a technique to extract oil from shale thousands of feet below the earth's surface with high-pressure injection of water and chemicals. "Fracking," as it's popularly termed, has ignited an oil boom in other states and California is believed to have the nation's largest shale oil deposits in the Monterey Shale…Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2013/07/08/5550761/dan-walters-california-oil-could.html#mi_rss=Dan%20Walters Editorial: California needs comprehensive oil and gas rules. This is the moment of truth for California and extraction of fossil fuels. As The Bee's Tom Knudson reported last Sunday, the oil industry is gearing up to exploit "an enormous buried treasure called Monterey shale," a deep deposit that runs from Los Angeles to Modesto and is thought to contain more than 15 billion barrels of oil. There's nothing wrong with that. Refineries in the Golden State receive most of their crude oil from the Middle East…Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2013/07/07/5547908/editorial-california-needs-comprehensiveoil.html#storylink=cpy Editorial: A bold goal to cut toxic waste in California. The best way to avoid having to find somewhere to dump hazardous waste is to reduce how much must be put in landfills in the first place. So it should not be lost that accompanying the state's contentious decision last week to grant preliminary approval for expanding the West's largest toxic waste landfill is a new commitment to cut the amount of hazardous waste disposed in California in half by 2025. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2013/07/08/5550526/a-bold-goal-to-cut-toxic-waste.html#storylink=cpy Editorial: Upside of heat wave: Smog levels are lower. It may seem like a small comfort after seven consecutive days of triple-digit temperatures, but residents of the Sacramento region are breathing easier this summer than they did during California's last major heat wave. A combination of preferable weather conditions and federal, state and local efforts to reduce ozone emissions have paid off for people who care about their respiratory systems. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2013/07/06/5547902/upside-of-heat-wave-smog-levels.html Obama amiss again, this time on climate change. The economy stagnates. Syria burns. Scandals lap at his feet. China and Russia mock him, even as a "29-year-old hacker" revealed his nation's spy secrets to the world. How does President Barack Obama respond? With a grandiloquent speech on climate change. Posted. http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130708/A_OPINION0602/307080302&cid=sitesearch BLOGS Disruptions: How Driverless Cars Could Reshape Cities. By now, seeing one of Google’s experimental, driverless cars zipping down Silicon Valley’s Highway 101, or parking itself on a San Francisco street, is not all that unusual. Indeed, as automakers like Audi, Toyota and Mercedes-Benz make plans for self-driving vehicles, it is only a matter of time before such cars become a big part of the great American traffic jam. Posted. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/07/disruptions-how-driverless-cars-could-reshape-cities/ Is ridesharing the future of public transit systems, or the failure of them? Businesses aren’t the only interested parties in the guidance that public utilities regulators will provide about ridesharing services such as Uber, Sidecar and Lyft. Transit policy experts, advocates and environmentalists are watching what happens too. They’re divided about what impact ridesharing will have on the market for mass transit, and by extension the market for fossil fuel-combusting cars, the kind that still dominate the auto industry. Posted. http://www.scpr.org/blogs/environment/2013/07/08/14191/is-ridesharing-the-future-of-public-transit-system/ FIREWORKS: Celebratory displays add to pollution woes. Like many Americas, my wife and I joined some friends on the evening of July 4 for a municipal fireworks show. We toted lawn chairs to Riverside’s newly completed Bonaminio Park and watched as the colorful displays exploded over Mount Rubidoux. Posted. http://blog.pe.com/2013/07/05/fireworks-celebratory-displays-add-to-pollution-woes/ BLYTHE AREA: BrightSource gives up on big solar project. The Oakland-based BrightSource Energy Co. has officially pulled the plug on its Rio Mesa project, a 500-megawatt solar plant that was sought for a desert plateau near the Colorado River in eastern Riverside County, according to reports by KCET blogger Chris Clarke and the Desert Sun’s K Kaufmann. On July 1, the company filed a notice with the California Energy Commission to withdraw the project’s certification application, which ended company’s quest to develop the project. Posted. http://blog.pe.com/2013/07/07/blythe-area-brightsource-gives-up-on-big-solar-project/ How to Talk to Your Parents About Climate Change. Maybe it will turn out that human intelligence won't be favored by selection, and we'll soon grow ourselves into oblivion. But no matter what our eventual fate, I think it would do our souls good to at least try to slow down our self-destruction. After all, just because a penchant for murder and Kardashians seem to be inherent human flaws doesn't mean we shouldn't do our best to minimize them. Posted. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-vrooman/how-to-talk-to-your-paren_b_3556286.html