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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for February 12, 2014.
Posted: 12 Feb 2014 13:44:13
ARB Newsclips for February 12, 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. CAP AND TRADE CO2 Capture Could Raise Wholesale Energy Price 80 Percent. Requiring the use of carbon capture and sequestration technologies at coal-fired power plants could increase the wholesale price of electricity between 70 percent and 80 percent, an Energy Department official said. Julio Friedmann, deputy assistant secretary for clean coal at the Energy Department…Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2014-02-12/co2-capture-could-raise-wholesale-energy-price-80-percent.html S.Korea risking sky high carbon prices, worry for exports – analysts. South Korea's refusal to revise estimates of future greenhouse gas emissions could earn it the world's highest carbon price, and have a potentially damaging impact on its export-oriented industry, according to a report released by Thomson Reuters Point Carbon. The country's environment ministry last month decided to stick to previous projections on how much carbon dioxide (CO2)…Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/12/south-korea-carbon-idUSL3N0LG1AE20140212 Chevrolet buying carbon credits from U.S. colleges, universities. Chevrolet is launching a new greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction program that will see it buy carbon credits from colleges and universities in the United States. According to the Detroit automaker, Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., and Valencia College in Orlando, Fla., are the first post-secondary institutions to register for the program that will see Chevrolet buy carbon credits…Posted. http://www.canadianmanufacturing.com/cleantech/financing/chevrolet-buying-carbon-credits-from-u-s-colleges-universities-132536 Calif. ARB releases GHG scoping plan update; more ZEVs, “LEV IV”, MD and HD regulations; ZEV for trucks; more LCFS. The California Air Resources Board released the draft proposed first update to the AB 32 Scoping Plan, which guides development and implementation of California’s greenhouse gas emission reduction programs. The Air Resources Board is required to update the Scoping Plan every five years. Posted. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2014/02/20140211-arb.html AIR POLLUTION China to Fight Air Pollution With $1.65 Billion Fund. China will set up a 10 billion yuan ($1.65 billion) fund to reduce air pollution in the country’s largest cities, according to a release from a State Council meeting at which Premier Li Keqiang presided. Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-12/china-to-fight-air-pollution-with-1-65-billion-fund.html Big Island power plant pollution permit rejected. The Environmental Protection Agency has ordered the state's Clean Air Branch to modify or reissue an air-pollution permit for a proposed Big Island power plant that would generate electricity from eucalyptus trees and other plant matter. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy ruled Friday the Clean Air Branch failed to take into consideration pollutants that would be generated by the startup…Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/business/energy/article/Big-Island-power-plant-pollution-permit-rejected-5225185.php http://www.vcstar.com/news/2014/feb/11/big-island-power-plant-pollution-permit-rejected/ CLIMATE CHANGE White Roofs Could Offset Summer Warming by 2100. Painting building roofs white could cool some major cities baking in the intensifying heat of a changing climate. How much benefits white roofs could bring depend on the region of the country they’re installed in and the season, new research shows. Keeping cities cool in the summer is becoming increasingly important as more people move to urban areas, which currently house over 80 percent of the country’s population. Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-12/white-roofs-could-offset-summer-warming-by-2100.html Shrinking Stockton's footprint. Patch up those leaks. Change those light bulbs. Sort those recyclables. Stockton's draft "climate action plan," published this month after more than five years of deliberation, reads almost like a multimillion-dollar honey-do list. In reality, it is a sweeping set of strategies to reduce the impact of Stockton's future growth - strategies that will require a "substantial effort" by the entire community during a time of economic distress. Posted. http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140212/A_NEWS/402120325 Olympians speak out on climate change as Sochi warms up. Climate change has made its way to the Olympics. Athletes are banding together to urge action, saying rising temperatures are putting winter sports in jeopardy. More than 100 winter Olympians, led by Americans, have signed a petition urging world leaders to fight climate change as balmy weather creates slushy conditions at the Sochi Games. Posted. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/12/olympians-speak-out-climate-change/5395837/ These Maps Show Which Areas Of The Country Have The Biggest Carbon Footprints. It's no secret that the U.S. is one of the biggest carbon emitters around. Households in the U.S. alone are responsible for 20% of greenhouse gas emissions, even though they account for just over 4% of the global population. But which areas in the U.S. are contributing the most? These interactive maps from the University of California, Berkeley show where the U.S. has the biggest carbon footprint. Posted. http://www.businessinsider.com/carbon-footprint-maps-2014-1#ixzz2t8B7G4Qm California’s rate of CO2 cuts ‘need to be doubled’ after 2020. California may have to cut greenhouse gas emissions twice as fast as current levels after 2020, involving an expansion of the sectors covered by targets and tougher caps on energy and transportation, state regulators said on Monday. In an update of an existing proposal to cut emissions to 80% below 1990 levels 2050, California’s Air Resources Board (Carb) said that more sectors, such as buildings, waste management and agriculture, would be required to make emissions cuts. Posted. http://www.rtcc.org/2014/02/11/californias-rate-of-co2-cuts-needs-to-be-doubled-after-2020/#sthash.whMdtq4U.dpuf Technology exchange may be key to U.S.-India climate talks. Technical cooperation rather than political wrangling will move the needle on energy and climate change between the United States and India, a top Indian business leader said yesterday. The two countries have moved further apart in recent years on a range of energy issues in the political sphere, particularly the effort to reduce emissions of the powerful greenhouse gases known as hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059994461/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY DROUGHT Government Money Is No Answer to California Drought. The drought in California is one of the state's worst weather-related disasters in decades, despite some recent rainstorms. The images are dramatic: Folsom Lake in the north is so dry that receding waters have revealed a Gold Rush ghost town. Farmland is bare and parched, which will lead to increases in food prices nationwide. Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-12/government-money-is-no-answer-to-california-drought.html Battle Over California Drought Solution. California's drought is becoming a hot issue on Capitol Hill, where bills from Senate Democrats and House Republicans offer rival solutions on how to best aid water-starved farmers. Posted. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303874504579377241109393218 Drought blocking passages to sea for California coho salmon. By now, water would typically be ripping down Scott Creek, and months ago it should have burst through a berm of sand to provide fish passage between freshwater and the ocean. Instead, young coho salmon from this redwood and oak-shaded watershed near Santa Cruz last week were swirling around idly in a lagoon. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2014/02/12/6150275/drought-blocking-passages-to-sea.html#storylink=cpy Sens. Feinstein, Boxer propose emergency drought legislation. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer proposed emergency drought legislation Tuesday ahead of President Obama's planned visit to Fresno, as Democrats scrambled to counter GOP charges that trying to save rivers and fish during California's historic drought is destroying the nation's chief source of fruits and vegetables. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/Sens-Feinstein-Boxer-propose-emergency-drought-5225957.php http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140212/A_NEWS/402120324&cid=sitesearch DROUGHT: Water wholesaler ups efficiency rebates to $40 million. The region’s main supplier of imported water doubled its conservation rebate program to $40 million on Tuesday, Feb. 11, to cover an expected surge in demand as consumers try to cut water use in the face of severe drought. The Metropolitan Water District board approved another $20 million through fiscal year 2014-2015 for incentives on such water-saving devices as rain barrels and soil moisture sensors…Posted. http://www.pe.com/local-news/local-news-headlines/20140211-drought-water-wholesaler-ups-efficiency-rebates-to-40-million.ece Senate drought bill offers $300 million, no waiving of environmental laws. California's and Oregon's Democratic senators offered a drought relief bill Tuesday that stands in stark contrast to the Republican bill the House approved last week, setting up a tough battle when lawmakers eventually try to merge the two. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/portal/news/ci_25116907/senate-drought-bill-offers-300-million-no-waiving Despite storm, Calif. still faces drought worries. A major winter storm hit California and left several feet of new snow in the high Sierras and drenched lower elevations with rain during the weekend, which slightly mitigated the state's drought conditions, officials said Monday. The storm doubled how much moisture was in the snowpack of the Sierra Nevada range, an important measure of how much the state has in surface water…Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059994428/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY House Dems introduce companion bill to Senate effort. Democratic House members late yesterday introduced a companion bill to a Senate effort to deal with California's drought. Rep. Jim Costa's (D-Calif.) "California Emergency Drought Relief Act" mirrors a bill introduced yesterday by California and Oregon's senators aimed at providing emergency funding and improving the flexibility of water infrastructure in drought-stricken California. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/eedaily/2014/02/12/stories/1059994452 BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY Senators introduce bill to ease water crunch in parched Calif. Senators from California and Oregon introduced legislation today aimed at providing emergency funding and improving the flexibility of water infrastructure in drought-stricken California. The "California Emergency Drought Relief Act" would direct federal agencies to manage water flows in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to benefit the Central Valley Project, the water supplier for millions of Californians. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/2014/02/11/stories/1059994420 BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY FUELS Investor group demands fossil fuel companies disclose carbon asset risk. A group of investors with combined assets of over $200 billion filed shareholder resolutions on Wednesday with ten energy companies, including Exxon Mobil and Southern Co, demanding they disclose their strategies for competing in a lower-carbon future. Led by the New York State Comptroller's office, which alone handles $160 billion in assets, the investors focused on the companies' "carbon asset risk," …Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/12/usa-climate-disclosure-idUSL2N0LH0PB20140212 Republicans seek Keystone approval; foes vow to risk arrest. Dozens of Republican senators on Tuesday called on the White House to approve the Keystone XL pipeline as foes vowed to risk arrest at protests against the controversial project. President Barack Obama will have the final say on whether to allow the pipeline that could deliver as much as 830,000 barrels per day of Canadian oil sands crude to U.S. Gulf Coast refiners, a decision not expected for many months. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/12/us-usa-keystone-idUSBREA1A23S20140212 Plan issued to replace nuclear power. State utility regulators recommended a major expansion to Southern California energy supplies on Tuesday to compensate for the recent retirement of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. Investor-owned electrical utilities San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison would each be authorized to contract construction of new power plants and clean-energy resources…Posted. http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/feb/11/nuclear-replacement-plan-published/ EPA's diesel fracking rules are credibility test for companies and regulators. The recommendations U.S. EPA issued yesterday for hydraulic fracturing with diesel ingredients aren't likely to slow drilling or even increase paperwork. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2014/02/12/stories/1059994434 BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY VEHICLES Toyota Issues Recall for Hybrids, Over Software Glitch. Toyota Motor issued a recall Wednesday of all of the 1.9 million newest-generation Prius vehicles it has sold worldwide because of a programming glitch that could cause their gas-electric hybrid systems to shut down. Roughly half of the recalled Priuses are in Japan, while 713,000 are in North America and 130,000 are in Europe…Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/13/business/international/toyota-issues-another-recall-for-hybrids-this-time-over-software-glitch.html Car Emissions Hurt You More Than Electricity Generating: Here's Why. As an electric car owner, you're probably used to the accusatory look people give you when they inquire as to where your electricity comes from. The answer they're looking for is power stations, of course--before launching into a tirade about plug-in vehicles being just as dirty as regular combustion vehicles. Only they aren't. Even ignoring the fact that EV efficiency means their carbon emission output is lower…Posted. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1090291_car-emissions-hurt-you-more-than-electricity-generating-heres-why Audi blazes a trail in biofuel production. Like many automakers, Audi is adopting a suite of technologies to make its products less damaging to the climate. The German car company is making more efficient turbocharged direct injection engines, designing its cars to be more aerodynamic and adding hybrid and electric vehicles to its lineup, among other things. But unlike most automakers, Audi is also expanding an initiative to develop biofuels. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059994460/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY GREEN ENERGY Power line opponents surge against wind energy transmission project. Mike Ford shoved the rifle he carries for coyotes onto the dashboard, and his old Dodge diesel truck took out rumbling over frozen pasture to carry hay to cattle. It hadn't gone a hundred feet before Ford started in on the people trying to - his word - "steal" his land. Too strong? "To me it's not," he said, the window down and temperature at minus 3. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2014/02/12/6150265/power-line-opponents-surge-against.html#storylink=cpy Study challenges claims that wind power can change the weather. Several studies in recent years concluded that wind farms may alter weather patterns, sparking debate about the side effects of renewable energy. Now, scientists report in a new study that there is little cause for concern, at least on one continent. While results from other locations may differ, the findings conclude that an approximate doubling of wind power by the end of the decade will have "limited impacts" on temperature and precipitation in Europe. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059994441/print BY SUBSCRIPTION Green energy group sees 'kinks in the armor' of natural gas power after Calif. Shortages. A grueling cold snap last week stretched natural gas supplies in California, prompting the state's grid operator to call on users to cut their electricity use. Environmentalists have seized on the California Independent System Operator's Feb. 6 "Flex Alert" as evidence that the state should switch to renewable power sources…Posted. http://www.eenews.net/energywire/stories/1059994462/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY OPINIONS COLUMN-Blame Britain's floods on rainfall over Indonesia: Kemp North America's bitter cold and Britain's intense storms and flooding are due to heavy rain, caused by higher coastal temperatures, in Indonesia and tropical western Pacific via shifts in the jet stream, the UK Meteorological Office says. ("Recent storms and floods in the UK" Feb. 11). A "persistent pattern of enhanced rainfall" - 50 percent higher than normal in December and January…Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/12/britain-flooding-climate-idUSL5N0LH2KW20140212 COLUMN-Better batteries are key to climate change: Kemp Finding a better way to store electrical energy is the single biggest breakthrough needed to tackle climate change. But the goal of developing batteries that are lighter, as well as more compact, powerful and affordable remains frustratingly elusive. Virtually all usable energy on Earth originates from the sun: wind, solar, wood, even fossil fuels. Oil, gas and coal are simply the fossilized remains of organisms…Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/11/climate-change-batteries-idUSL5N0LG30R20140211 Cut Carbon Pollution. “E.P.A. Staff Struggling to Create Pollution Rule” (news article, Feb. 5) highlights coal-state concerns about a Natural Resources Defense Council plan for cutting carbon pollution from the nation’s existing power plants, the biggest source of the pollution driving dangerous climate change. Our approach takes into account the different mix of power generation sources in each state, allows each state broad flexibility…Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/12/opinion/cut-carbon-pollution.html?_r=0 BLOGS IHS says global production of EVs, PHEVs will skyrocket 67% this year. Electric vehicles are known for their brisk acceleration. When it comes to projected EV production levels for 2014, there's going to be some speeding up. According to research firm IHS Automotive, global plug-in vehicle production will increase to about 403,000 this year, up from 242,000 in 2013. That 67 percent growth marks an acceleration rate even higher than the 44 percent production growth rate the segment saw last year. Posted. http://green.autoblog.com/2014/02/12/ihs-global-production-evs-phevs-skyrocket-67-percent/ Exide sues AQMD regulators, not to block rule, it says, but to ask for more time. Vernon-based Exide, the battery recycler whose emissions have stirred public concerns about health impacts, has filed a lawsuit in LA Superior Court to have a recently-passed air quality rule scrubbed. Posted. http://www.scpr.org/blogs/environment/2014/02/11/15815/exide-sues-aqmd-regulators-not-to-block-rule-it-sa/ California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.