What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for August 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

Carbon Permits Rise on China’s First Market to Exceed EU Price. 
Carbon permits rose on the Shenzhen Emissions Exchange, the first
of seven trial markets in China, to a price exceeding those in
Europe, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Shenzhen
carbon allowances for 2013 increased to 43 yuan ($7) a metric ton
yesterday, up from 28 to 32 yuan a ton on June 18, the first day
of trading, said Charlie Cao, a Beijing-based analyst for New
Energy Finance. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-21/carbon-permits-rise-on-china-s-first-market-to-exceed-eu-price.html


Analysis: Foes of Obama climate policy prepare battle over cost
of carbon.  After its first review, a panel of technical experts
from 11 government agencies raised the so-called "social cost of
carbon," known as SCC. The measure is used by many arms of the
U.S. government to determine the financial benefits of new
regulations since 2010.The new 2020 forecast of $43 a ton was a
58 percent jump from the previous estimate, made in 2010. The
issue is to be reviewed biannually. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/20/us-epa-carbon-tax-analysis-idUSBRE97J0YK20130820


California ‘Freebies’ Drive Carbon to 2013 Low: Energy Markets.
Carbon prices in California have slumped to the lowest level this
year as the state weighs increasing the number of free permits
offered to polluters in an effort to kick-start the fledgling
market. Allowances for December delivery, which can be used by
companies from BP Plc (BP/) to Chevron Corp. (CVX) to cover
emissions as early as this year, dropped to $13.35 a metric ton
on Aug. 19, the lowest since Dec. 10, according to data compiled
by CME Group Inc. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-21/california-freebies-drive-carbon-to-2013-low-energy-markets.html


AIR POLLUTION

Hong Kong Air Pollution ‘Very High’ at All 3 Roadside Stations. 
Hong Kong’s Air Pollution Index was “very high” at all three of
the city’s roadside-monitoring stations, according to data from
the Environmental Protection Department’s website. The index was
122 in the Central business district and 119 in Causeway Bay as
of 7 a.m. local time. The reading in Mong Kok was 106. A reading
of more than 100 triggers a government warning for people with
heart or respiratory illnesses to avoid prolonged stays in
heavy-traffic areas. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-21/hong-kong-air-pollution-very-high-at-all-3-roadside-stations.html


CLIMATE CHANGE 

Expert brings public health into climate change.  Temperatures
are intensifying. Sea levels are climbing. Wildfires are
spreading. None of this is news to Dr. Linda Rudolph, a Bay Area
expert on climate change. What worries her most, however, are the
human health disasters that global warming may end up unleashing.
Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Expert-brings-public-health-into-climate-change-4747377.php


Scientists Turn to Melted Ice to Make Climate-Change Case.  A
report from an international scientific team due next month will
probably focus on a range of evidence that the Earth is warming
rather than just changes in air temperature, according to a
climate scientist who has seen drafts of parts of the study. The
rate of polar ice melting, warming of oceans and the steady rise
of sea levels all point to a planet heating up, said Kevin
Trenberth, a senior scientist in the climate analysis section at
the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-19/scientists-turn-to-melted-ice-to-make-climate-change-case.html


Scientists nearly certain that humans have caused global warming.
 It is all but certain that human activity has caused a steady
increase in global temperatures over the past 60 years, leading
to warmer oceans and an acceleration in sea-level rise, according
to findings in the most recent climate change report by an
international panel of scientists. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/scientists-nearly-certain-that-humans-have-caused-global-warming/2013/08/20/d6e4a20a-09b8-11e3-b87c-476db8ac34cd_story.html


Coastal flooding could cost cities $60 billion by 2050, study
says. Coastal flooding could cost big cities more than $60
billion a year by mid-century, with losses jumping even more
dramatically if nothing is done to counter rising sea levels and
subsiding land, a new study has found. A team of researchers
analyzed data on flood exposure in 136 of the world’s largest
coastal cities to project steep increases in economic losses,
from an estimated $6 billion a year in 2005 to $52 billion by
2050 based on changes in population, economic growth and
urbanization. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-coastal-flooding-economic-losses-20130820,0,1830419.story


Gimme shelter: Wall Street braces for next superstorm. Heading
into the heart of hurricane season 10 months after Sandy slammed
the New York metropolitan area, Wall Street has had time to
reassess and revamp backup plans. Sandy's storm surge caused the
first weather-related, 48-hour closure of markets since the Great
Blizzard of 1888. Posted.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9241734/Gimme_shelter_Wall_Street_braces_for_next_superstorm


FUELS

Coming Full Circle in Energy, to Nuclear.  I’m staring over the
edge of a cliff into a seam of coal some 80 feet thick running
along a chasm cut deep into the earth. A gargantuan claw rips a
massive bite from the slab and swings it into the bed of a
preposterously large dump truck. Scott Durgin, who manages the
mine for Peabody Energy, tries hard to communicate its enormous
scale. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/21/business/economy/coming-full-circle-in-energy.html?ref=earth


VEHICLES

Tesla's challenge: Build an affordable car without government
help. Now that Tesla Motors has turned a profit, and its Model S
electric car has scored the top federal safety rating and the top
Consumer Reports rating, what’s left for the upstart Palo Alto
automaker? Plenty. What Tesla has accomplished is remarkable, and
it appears on track to become the first successful automotive
start-up in a century. Investors certainly think so, having
pushed the stock up 323% this year. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-tesla-model-s-20130820,0,4137969.story


Ferrari Plans More Hybrids to Follow $1.34 Million LaFerrari.
Ferrari SpA plans to build more hybrid vehicles following the
success of the 1 million-euro ($1.34 million) LaFerrari as the
manufacturer works to attract environmentally conscious wealthy
buyers. “I don’t believe in the electric cars, but I strongly
believe in hybrids,” Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo said in
a Bloomberg Television interview with Sara Eisen at the
manufacturer’s headquarters in Maranello, Italy. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Ferrari-Plans-More-Hybrids-to-Follow-1-34-4748478.php


GREEN ENERGY

Solar customer caught unawares by PG&E bill, receives a notice
saying he owes more than $7,000. A PG&E customer has learned the
hard way how the utility company bills for power generated by
solar panels and how asking a few questions can save thousands of
dollars. After John Church had solar panels put on his roof last
year, he installed a swimming pool, figuring the alternative
power system would help with the cost of heating it. When his
monthly PG&E bill never exceeded $35, he thought his solar system
was working pretty well. Then, in July, he received a notice
saying he owed $7,228.32. Posted.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/breaking-news/ci_23895089/hayward-solar-customer-caught-unawares-by-pg-e


MISCELLANEOUS 

NH pols ask DOE for further review of power plan. New Hampshire's
congressional delegation has asked the federal Department of
Energy to do a more rigorous review of a contentious proposal to
build a 187-mile electric transmission line through the northern
part of the state. The senators and representatives, in a letter
to Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, cite a change in the route of
the proposed Northern Pass project and concerns they've heard
from constituents. Posted.
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2013/aug/20/nh-pols-ask-doe-for-further-review-of-power-plan/#ixzz2ccOUj5mN


NYC considers 10-cent charge for plastic bags. Months after the
mayor proposed a ban on foam takeout containers, City Council
members have found a new target to make the city greener: the
plastic bag. City Council members Brad Lander and Margaret Chin
announced Tuesday what they called a common-sense bill to cut the
use of single-use plastic shopping bags. Under the proposal, all
grocery stores and retailers would be compelled to charge
customers 10 cents for every bag used. Posted.
http://www.modbee.com/2013/08/20/2874180/nyc-considers-10-cent-charge-for.html#storylink=cpy


OPINION

Climate change reaching crisis point. The scientific consensus on
climate change is growing grimmer and more definitive.
Regrettably, the political will to do something about it,
especially in this country, continues to lag. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/editorials/article/Climate-change-reaching-crisis-point-4747568.php


Reducing Emissions. In “New Tools Pinpoint Natural Gas Leaks,
Maximizing a Fuel’s Green Qualities” (Business Day, Aug. 7), new
technology is described that some say can improve the way we
detect methane emissions in the country’s vast natural gas
pipeline system. But zeroing in on methane releases is only the
first step in reducing the amount of this potent greenhouse gas
that we put into the atmosphere. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/19/opinion/reducing-emissions.html?src=recg


BLOG

Land Rover announces Range Rover hybrids. Big as they are with
all their differentials and transfer cases, SUVs are arguably
better suited towards hybrid propulsion than most vehicles. But
one of the biggest names in the business has yet to go down that
route. That is, until now. Posted.
http://www.autoblog.com/2013/08/21/land-rover-announces-range-rover-hybrids/


Mercedes reveals S500 plug-in hybrid, rated at three liters per
100 km. The third model in the lineup of Mercedes-Benz S-Class
hybrids has arrived: the S500 Plug-in Hybrid brings with it a
0-to-62 mile-per-hour time of 5.5 seconds, 30 kilometers (nearly
19 miles) of electric-only operation and a fuel economy rating of
three liters per 100 kilometers on the European cycle (78.41 mpg
US, though that's not apples-to-apples). Posted.
http://www.autoblog.com/2013/08/20/mercedes-s500-plug-in-hybrid-official/


New report points to a sure disaster. If you are at the beach
this week, you probably don’t want to hear about the latest
climate report, as opposed to weather report. Spoiler alert!
Here’s the scientists’ assessment: Unless we reduce carbon
emissions dramatically, we are looking at a sea-level rise of 21
inches to 36 inches by the end of this century. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2013/08/20/new-report-points-to-a-sure-disaster/


Leaked climate report: Ten nuggets worth noting. The latest
review of climate science from the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC), though not finalized, is making the
rounds.  The prevailing headline is that the panel is more
certain than ever that most of the warming observed in recent
decades is human-caused. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2013/08/20/leaked-climate-report-ten-nuggets-worth-noting/


What Al Jazeera America Didn't Say About Climate Change. During
its first day on the air, Al Jazeera America gave climate change
nearly half as much coverage as network news programs did during
the year 2012, all while avoiding common pitfalls like providing
false balance to those that deny the science and leaving the
crisis' manmade origins ambiguous. Posted.
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/08/21/what-al-jazeera-america-didnt-say-about-climate/195510