What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for February 5, 2014. 

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.


AIR POLLUTION

E.P.A. Staff Struggling to Create Pollution Rule.  In marathon
meetings and tense all-day drafting sessions, dozens of lawyers,
economists and engineers at the Environmental Protection Agency
are struggling to create what is certain to be a divisive but
potentially historic centerpiece of President Obama’s climate
change legacy. If the authors succeed in writing a lawsuit-proof
regulation that is effective in cutting carbon emissions from
America’s 1,500 power plants…Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/05/us/epa-staff-struggling-to-create-rule-limiting-carbon-emissions.html?hpw&rref=science&_r=0
 

Wide gap between New Delhi, Beijing smog policies.  Think twice
before taking a deep breath in New Delhi, where worsening air
pollution has drawn comparisons with Beijing, the world's
pollution poster child. On bad days in India's congested capital,
the air is so murky it slows traffic to a crawl. Conversations
are punctuated with rasping coughs. Weak bands of sunlight filter
through a grainy sky. Posted.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/feb/05/wide-gap-between-new-delhi-beijing-smog-policies/


CLIMATE CHANGE

UK greenhouse gas emissions rose 3.2 percent in 2012: government
data. Britain's greenhouse gas emissions rose 3.2 percent in 2012
from a year earlier due to a move from natural gas to coal for
power generation and increased use of heating during a cold
winter, final government data showed on Tuesday. Britain, the
world's ninth largest emitter in 2012, saw greenhouse gas
emissions reach 581.2 million tons compared to 563.2 million tons
in 2011. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/04/us-britain-emissions-idUSBREA130LJ20140204


Next Phase of Obama’s Executive Push: Climate Hubs.  On the heels
of the Senate’s passage of a long-awaited farm bill, the Obama
administration is to announce on Wednesday the creation of seven
regional “climate hubs” to help farmers and rural communities
respond to the risks of climate change, including drought,
invasive pests, fires and floods. White House officials described
the move as one of several executive actions that President Obama
will take on climate change without action from Congress. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/06/us/next-phase-of-obamas-executive-push-climate-hubs.html

 http://www.vcstar.com/news/2014/feb/04/7-new-climate-hubs-to-help-rural-areas-adapt/#ixzz2sT5lXwoL
   

Texas: State Gets Power to Grant Emissions Permits.  The
Environmental Protection Agency gave the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality authority over greenhouse gas permitting on
Tuesday, ending a long battle between the federal agency and the
state. There will be a 30-day public comment period. Texas, the
country’s leading producer of greenhouse gases…Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/05/us/texas-state-gets-power-to-grant-emissions-permits.html
 

Cities Almost Double Climate Actions Over 2 Years, C40 Says. The
world’s 63 biggest cities have almost doubled the activities they
undertake to reduce climate change since 2011, according to a
report from the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. “Mayors have
real power to cut emissions and improve climate resilience, and
they are taking action,” C40 chairman, Rio de Janeiro Mayor
Eduardo Paes, said at the release of the report at the group’s
Mayors Summit in Johannesburg today. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-05/cities-almost-double-climate-actions-over-two-years-c40-says.html
 

Bloomberg lauds major cities group for 2-year climb in climate
actions. Cities participating in the C40 Cities Climate
Leadership Group have undertaken climate-related actions at an
unprecedented clip over the past two years, according to an
internal analysis conducted by the organization. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059994018/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY 

Farm bill has some conservation provisions, but climate impacts
unclear. The 2014 farm bill offers some conservation provisions
that could encourage climate mitigation practices, experts said
yesterday, but it's hard to tell whether these amendments will
lead to clear greenhouse gas reductions. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059994047/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

Climate change will increase U.K.'s heat-related deaths 257% by
2050 – study. Deaths caused by hot weather in the United Kingdom
are predicted to rise considerably over the next 40 years due to
climate change, according to a new study published in the Journal
of Epidemiology and Community Health. The number of annual
heat-related deaths is expected to increase 257 percent by 2050,
with people older than 75 the most at risk, the researchers said.
Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059994016/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

Lakes' decline reflects climate change. The shallow lakes on
Alaska's Arctic coastal plain have been hit by climate change and
now melt sooner in the season. Many also don't freeze to the
bottom in winter anymore. "The decline after 2006 is quite
sharp," said Cristina Surdu of the University of Waterloo in
Ontario. "This is another piece in the puzzle of climate change
in the region. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059994020/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

DROUGHT

California lawmakers preparing $644 million drought relief bill.
California's senate leader is preparing a $644 million emergency
drought relief bill designed to quickly fund shovel-ready
projects to combat the state's severe water shortage, according
to a draft of the bill. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/05/us-california-drought-bill-idUSBREA1405320140205


USDA launches fund to help drought-stricken California farmers.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will make $20 million
available to California farmers to boost water conservation
efforts amid one of the worst droughts in state history. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-usda-drought-20140204,0,5365940.story


As California drought persists, federal aid begins to flow. The
Agriculture Department on Tuesday offered new aid to
water-starved California farmers, while lawmakers tussled over
competing anti-drought proposals. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/02/04/6128405/as-california-drought-persists.html


California drought: House water bill exposes deep partisan
divide. The House of Representatives is expected to pass a water
bill Wednesday that Republicans call a necessity for
drought-stricken California, but which Democrats label a "water
grab" and political power play that undermines years of delicate
negotiations. Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_25063251/california-drought-house-water-bill-exposes-deep-partisan


Agencies ask consumers to cut water usage by 20%.  Inland Empire
water officials are urging people to be water wise to help combat
the recent statewide drought emergency that has been declared by
Gov. Jerry Brown. In 2009, the state set an interim goal of
saving 10 percent of residential water consumption by 2015, along
with a mandate of saving 20 percent by 2020, said Douglas
Headrick, general manager of San Bernardino Valley Municipal
Water District. Posted.
http://www.sbsun.com/environment-and-nature/20140204/agencies-ask-consumers-to-cut-water-usage-by-20


California's Thirsty Almonds. How the water-intensive crop is
helping drive the governor's $25 billion plan to ship water to
the desert. Dan Errotabere's family has been farming the dry
soils of the western San Joaquin Valley for nearly a century. His
grandfather primarily grew wheat and other grains. His father
grew vegetables and other annual crops almost exclusively. But in
1999, Errotabere decided to plant his first almond tree. Posted.
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/californias-thirsty-almonds/Content?oid=3830095


California Water Officials Made the Drought Worse. There is
evidence that our current water shortage is worse than it should
have been because of questionable decisions made by state water
officials. And as a result, many communities may unnecessarily
face severe shortages this year, while others, including much of
Southern California, are flush with water. Posted.
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/california-water-officials-made-the-drought-worse/Content?oid=3830041


As Water Supply Reaches Record Low, California Combats Drought
With Black-Ops Weather Control Technology From Vietnam War. As
the severity of the drought has escalated in recent months, the
state has ramped up efforts to induce rainfall through a
controversial weather modification technology known as cloud
seeding.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/williampentland/2014/02/04/as-water-supply-reaches-record-low-california-combats-drought-with-black-ops-weather-control-technology-from-vietnam-war/

Republican drought bill heads to House floor. The House Rules
Committee yesterday approved a rule allowing consideration of
eight amendments to H.R. 3964, which seeks to secure more water
for farmers in California's parched Central Valley by reversing
environmental protections for fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin
River Delta. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/eedaily/stories/1059994040/  BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

Obama threatens to veto House bill offering more water for Calif.
Farms. The White House has threatened to veto a bill to give
farmers more of California's scant water supplies. Obama said the
bill "would not alleviate the effects of California's current
drought and would disrupt decades of work that supports building
consensus, solutions and settlements that equitably address some
of California's most complex water challenges." Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2014/02/05/stories/1059994089  BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

FERC extends utility's low water flows in drought-stricken
watershed. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. is getting help from
federal regulators as drought conditions have triggered
aggressive water conservation efforts at California's dams and
hydroelectric plants. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on
Monday told PG&E it could keep water flow rates at a minimum for
its Potter Valley Project hydroelectric plant and water basin
north of San Francisco. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2014/02/05/stories/1059994022  
FUELS

EPA files court brief defending 2013 renewable fuel target. U.S.
EPA is defending its 2013 biofuel mandate in the face of a court
challenge brought by a small refinery and oil industry trade
groups. In a 113-page brief filed late yesterday in the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, EPA says it
reasonably exercised its authority in increasing the renewable
fuel volume targets. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1059994073/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

VEHICLES

App helps foster carpool connections.  The publicly funded
program that matches drivers with people looking for rides is
designed to get cars off the road and reduce traffic and air
pollution. Amin merged onto Highway 101 during the morning
commute. Traffic already was starting to back up through downtown
Santa Rosa, but Amin and Toister flew past in the carpool lane,
chatting about the latest alternative fuel cars. Posted.
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20140204/articles/140209835


GREEN ENERGY

As renewables come online, business models, regulatory structures
lag – panel. Fifty years from now, the U.S. electrical grid will
look less like a one-way exchange of supply and demand than a
network of interchangeable power sources, batteries, appliances
and devices. It will be smart enough to balance the intermittency
of solar and wind power, while simultaneously optimizing the
power demands of hundreds of millions of customers…Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059994030/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

BLOGS

NASA employee study finds EVs are 10 times better than expected.
Getting a thumbs up from the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) is priceless – just ask Toyota. It's right
up there with the Tesla Model S gaining support from Consumer
Reports in the wake of four fires. A pilot program at NASA's
Kennedy Space Center has found that electric vehicles driven by
employees are reducing greenhouse gas emissions at a much higher
rate than expected. Posted.
http://green.autoblog.com/2014/02/05/nasa-employee-study-evs-10-times-better-than-expected/


The Danger in Energy Now is Not Dependency, but Complacency. This
is a pivotal year for the U.S. economy. After five years of
contraction followed by a fragile recovery, we are now returning
to stability and growth.  During the period of slowdown, no part
of the economy changed more than energy. When America went into
the Great Recession, it was dependent on foreign oil to make the
economy run. Posted.
http://blog.aee.net/the-danger-in-energy-now-is-not-dependency-but-complacency?utm_campaign=21st+Century+Electricity+System&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=11846807&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_wVKTHwU4uFMAYzHPR35_WjdS5DcFMgf1TU5TWVIPB5-6p57Lc-KJptVfBeFfW8FVo7ESqAep-ZS_KVf-hpR6nHID9bg&_hsmi=11846807
 



California is in a drought emergency.
Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.