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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for December 11, 2013.
Posted: 11 Dec 2013 13:58:44
ARB Newsclips for December 11, 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 EU Carbon Falls as Nations Opt for Flexible Surplus-Fix Option. Carbon fell for the first time in six days after European Union governments gave their initial support to the most flexible version of a rescue plan for the bloc’s emissions market. Carbon allowances declined as much as 5.2 percent after member states at a EU Climate Change Committee meeting in Brussels favored a scenario that withholds fewer permits from auctions in 2014 than the 400 million under an alternative option. Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-11/eu-carbon-falls-as-nations-opt-for-flexible-surplus-fix-option.html U.K. Urged to Keep Carbon Goal Even as Energy Costs Climb. The U.K.’s ambition to cut carbon emissions by half is affordable and mustn’t be watered down, the government’s adviser on global warming said. “There is no reason to change the budget,” John Gummer, chairman of the Committee on Climate Change and a member of the parliament’s upper house, said in London. The advice is included in a report today that concludes a two-part review of Britain’s target to reduce emissions by half by 2025 from 1990 levels. Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-11/u-k-urged-to-keep-carbon-goal-even-as-energy-costs-climb.html Australian offset scheme hits milestone but future uncertain. Australia this week surpassed 3 million credits issued under its carbon offset scheme for agriculture, forestry and waste, but uptake of new projects is low with regulatory uncertainty weighing heavily on project developers, experts say. The Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) was launched in 2011 under the former Labor government to drive emission reductions in sectors…Posted. http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/12/11/australia-carbon-idINL3N0JQ1FX20131211 Report: Big U.S. Businesses Ready For A Carbon Price. First came the news that a majority of the American public and many big investors are increasingly open to curbing the effect of global warming and supportive of mitigating carbon emissions by government action. Now comes a new report from the CDP revealing that many of the largest U.S. and global companies are ready for it too. The CDP, which released its report last week, analyzed data from many of the biggest companies in the U.S. or doing business here. Posted. http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelkrancer/2013/12/11/report-big-u-s-businesses-ready-for-a-carbon-price/ Guangdong to Start Carbon Auction With China’s Highest Price. China’s southern province of Guangdong will start auctioning 3 million metric tons of carbon permits on Dec. 16 with the highest debut price in the nation. Guangdong, the largest of seven carbon markets planned in China, set a minimum of 60 yuan ($9.90) per ton of emissions for the auction, according to a statement distributed on the website of the provincial Development and Reform Commission. Posted. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-12-11/guangdong-to-start-carbon-auction-with-china-s-highest-price AIR POLLUTION Justices Hear Case on Cross-State Pollution Rules. The Supreme Court heard arguments on Tuesday in a knotty environmental case over how to hold states responsible for air pollution that drifts across their borders and causes harm in downwind states. If there was consensus among the justices, it concerned only the complexity and difficulty of the issues before them. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/11/us/justices-hear-arguments-on-cross-state-air-pollution-rules.html?hpw&rref=politics Air pollution battle pits administration against GOP-led states. The Supreme Court seems receptive to the call for tougher environmental rules to reduce cross-border air pollution from Midwestern and Southern states. In a regional air pollution battle with partisan overtones, the Obama administration appeared to make headway Tuesday in persuading the Supreme Court to allow tougher federal environmental standards to prevent ozone and other emissions from coal-producing Midwestern and Southern states from wafting over Northeastern states. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-court-air-pollution-20131211,0,709478.story#ixzz2nC0WqOU1 China: Here Are Some Great Things About Toxic Air. China' You can’t make this stuff up. On Sunday, with swaths of eastern China shrouded in a polluted haze, Chinese state media decided to release a list of five “surprising benefits” of smog. Here, courtesy of Wang Lei, an editor for China Central Television’s website, are five good things about bad air: Posted. http://world.time.com/2013/12/09/china-here-are-some-great-things-about-toxic-air/#ixzz2nBxBD4OT CLIMATE CHANGE Corbett pick gets nod after climate change dustup. Pennsylvania state senators have confirmed Gov. Tom Corbett's latest nominee to be his environmental protection secretary, but not before a dustup over climate change. Christopher Abruzzo won the Senate's 42-8 confirmation vote Tuesday to head the Department of Environmental Protection. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Corbett-pick-gets-nod-after-climate-change-dustup-5052582.php Free app will measure your carbon footprint. If you want to know what your carbon footprint is — either for yourself or for your small business — there’s an app for that. The California Air Resources Board developed a free app for iTunes and Android that allows users to calculate their carbon footprint. To use the calculator, a user plugs in his or her car’s mileage rating, and other factors, such as how much is spent on electricity or natural gas. Posted. http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2013/12/11/free-app-will-measure-your-carbon.html California Releases Draft Climate Change Preparation Plan. The draft “Safeguarding California Plan” is an update of the state’s 2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy. It outlines the preparations needed in nine key sectors like energy, public health, agriculture and water. The plan recommends a long-term sustainable funding source for climate change mitigation and better coordination between government agencies, private business and individual citizens. http://www.capradio.org/14451 B.C.’s once-lauded green agenda now in disarray. It was not that long ago that B.C. was being hailed as a leader in the fight against rising greenhouse gas emissions. Former premier Gordon Campbell was the toast of enviro-crusaders everywhere, his bold reduction targets held up as an example of the kind of brave political leadership required to save the Earth from burning up. Mr. Campbell, of course, was pushed from office prematurely, the victim of one of the biggest public policy blunders in recent memory – the harmonized sales tax. Posted. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/bcs-once-lauded-green-agenda-now-in-disarray/article15857839/ Global Climate Change Primarily Impacting Fresh Water Supply says Climatologist. The primary impact of global warming and climate change will be on the availability of fresh water, according to former NASA Climatologist DeWayne Cecil. This comes as bad news in a world already experiencing widespread water shortages, water wars, famine and drought. Posted. http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/2013/12/11/global_climate_change_primarily_impacting_fresh.htm Scrapping sea level protection puts Australian homes at risk. As the science on the coastal impacts of climate change gets stronger, the protections for Australia’s coastal communities are getting weaker. If that continues, everyone will pay. Along the eastern seaboard of Australia, where most of us live, state governments are relaxing their policies and largely leaving it to local councils to decide if homes can be built in low-lying areas. The Queensland government confirmed this week that sea level rise will be removed from its State Planning Policy…Posted. http://theconversation.com/scrapping-sea-level-protection-puts-australian-homes-at-risk-21271 USGS releases tool quantifying county-scale impacts of climate change. Wondering what the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's most recent report might mean for your county? Yesterday, the U.S. Geological Survey released an online tool to help. Developed in collaboration with Oregon State University's College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, the tool provides future temperature and precipitation projections for all counties within the contiguous United States. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059991647/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY IPCC scientists outline areas of climate uncertainty, but panel's future is also uncertain. Scientists affiliated with the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) highlighted areas for future scientific focus during a presentation at the American Geophysical Union conference here. While the IPCC scientists focused on presenting areas of scientific interest, they were repeatedly asked about the future of the panel and its reports. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2013/12/11/stories/1059991629 BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY DIESEL EMISSIONS CARB sued over older trucks. A lawsuit filed by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) against the California Air Resources Board (CARB) last week seeks an injunction against the agencies truck and bus emission regulations because those rules interfere with interstate commerce and discriminate against out-of-state truckers. “It’s not about emission compliance of older trucks or newer trucks; it’s about violating the Commerce Clause” of the U.S. Constitution, Norita Taylor, OOIDA’s spokesperson, told Fleet Owner. Posted. http://fleetowner.com/regulations/carb-sued-over-older-trucks http://www.forconstructionpros.com/news/11273174/lawsuit-calls-carb-truck-retrofit-rules-a-barrier-to-interstate-commerce Under fire, facing suit: CARB hears from truck owners. Already under fire from many in the trucking industry and facing a new lawsuit, the California Air Resources Board unveiled new exemptions and hinted it would consider other loopholes for its Truck and Bus Regulation last week. Though CARB’s Truck and Bus Rule went into effect two years ago, most small trucking fleets haven’t been required to install diesel particulate filters or replace older trucks until January 2014. As the deadline approached, complaints about the rule have increased. Posted. http://www.landlinemag.com/Story.aspx?StoryID=26296#.Uqi_PhCB33U Federal judges reject EPA rule on heavy-duty truck engine emissions. Federal appellate judges today again threw out a U.S. EPA rule related to its approval of heavy-duty truck engines that did not meet its air standards. At issue is a long-running challenge to EPA's rulemaking following its 2001 engine emission standards for smog- and soot-forming nitrogen oxides, or NOx. The standards required manufacturers to cut emissions by 95 percent by 2010. The industry split on how to accomplish that goal. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2013/12/11/stories/1059991672 BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY FUELS Uphill Battle in Europe Over Fracking. A recent lecture on energy and climate change at the London School of Economics and Political Science by John Browne, the former chief executive of the oil giant BP, showed how contentious the debate on the merits of extracting natural gas from shale rock has become in Britain and Europe. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/12/business/energy-environment/uphill-battle-in-europe-over-fracking.html?_r=0 California said to be poised for oil boom – maybe. To hear the oil industry tell it, California stands poised for an economic boom. Development of the Monterey Shale, a vast geologic formation that could hold 15.4 billion barrels of oil, will flood the state with new jobs and tax revenue, according to the industry and its allies. They've used that argument as an effective shield against environmentalists bent on banning fracking in California. But not everyone is convinced the Monterey Shale can be developed, at least not on a grand scale. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/California-said-to-be-poised-for-oil-boom-maybe-5054568.php Biofuels industry struggles with economic, political climate biofuel industry faces hurdles. Companies developing renewable fuels and chemicals face extraordinary political uncertainty in getting the government to support their needs, said speakers at a San Diego conference on industrial biotechnology. The renewable-fuel market is now dominated by ethanol, produced from corn and added to gasoline. That mandate has been widely criticized for competing with food production and for a questionable energy benefit. Posted. http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/dec/11/tp-biofuels-industry-struggles-with-economic/ VEHICLES Fiat 500e Wins Road & Track’s Best Electric Car for 2013. With all electric vehicles on the market such as the Tesla Model S, it was surprising that the Fiat 500e won Road & Track’s Best Electric Car for 2013. But you have to stop and consider, while this car is on the tiny side, it delivers some undeniably fun to drive feature, including 111 horsepower that will run for 87 miles on a single charge. The regenerative braking system and handling also helped put this subcompact into the winners circle. Posted. http://automotivediscovery.com/fiat-500e-wins-road-tracks-best-electric-car-2013/9218359/?mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRoks6rLZKXonjHpfsX56ekoWKS%2BlMI%2F0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4ASsFiI%2BSLDwEYGJlv6SgFSrfMMbd52bgEUhE%3D GREEN ENERGY U.S. poised to pass Germany in solar installation for first time in 15 years. Germany is still the world's juggernaut when it comes to installed solar, with twice the capacity of second-place Italy and roughly five times that of the United States. For the first time in 15 years, however, the United States appears to be closing that gap, surpassing Germany in 2013 in terms of new installed solar power. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059991645/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY MISCELLANEOUS Mercury pollution a step closer to being curbed. Mercury, a neurotoxin and one of the world's most prevalent pollutants, has been a public health concern for decades. But its days as a major environmental health issue may be numbered under a new international treaty that limits its use for the first time. The U.N. treaty, known as the Minamata Convention, has been signed by about 140 countries and, in November, the United States became the first to ratify it. http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Mercury-pollution-a-step-closer-to-being-curbed-5052908.php Health report ranks CA 21st in nation. Though Californians are more physically active than their peers in other states, obesity is on the rise, according to a nationwide health report released Tuesday by the nonprofit United Health Foundation. The 24th annual “America’s Health Rankings” report for 2013 examines a range of publicly available government data to rank states across 31 categories, from smoking and drug deaths to infant mortality and diabetes. Posted. http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/dec/10/health-report-united-california/ BLOGS Purify The Air As You Ride, With This Photosynthesis Bike. Developed by designers in Bangkok, this bike is like a two-wheeled plant, powered by your feet. Bicycles are often cited as the most efficient modes of transportation in the world. They’re five times more efficient than walking, and 100 calories on a bike can send a person three miles. In a car, 100 calories would only take a passenger 280 feet. What if a bike of the future could perform more than one function, earning even more efficiency brownie points? ...Posted. http://www.fastcoexist.com/3023176/purify-the-air-as-you-ride-with-this-photosynthesis-bike#1