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ARB Newsclips for June 27, 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

Watch Air Quality Above U.S. Cities Clear Up in Seconds. U.S.
city-dwellers can breathe easier than they have in years.
Satellite maps released this week by NASA show a pervasive drop
in nitrogen dioxide, which is emitted by cars, trucks, power
plants and other combustion-fired machinery. That’s a boon for
people who prefer inhaling air to corrosive industrial exhaust.
Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-27/watch-air-quality-above-u-s-cities-clear-up-in-seconds.html


CSU study: Simple steps on farm can cut pollution. Corn farmers
could slash carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to climate
change by nearly half simply by reducing the amount of fertilizer
they apply on their fields, according to a new study from
Colorado State University. The research by the CSU team also
found that a group of farmers reduced carbon emissions by 65
percent by tilling less often. Posted.
http://www.bcbr.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140627/EDITION/140629957&template=printart


EPA science advisers endorse tighter ozone standard. U.S. EPA
science advisers have officially endorsed a tighter ozone
standard in the range of 60 to 70 parts per billion. In a letter
to EPA yesterday, the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee
said the current standard of 75 ppb was too high to protect
people from asthma and other health problems. The committee said
it based its recommendation on scientific evidence from clinical,
epidemiological and animal toxicology studies. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060002104/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

EPA moves to cut greenhouse gases used in refrigeration. U.S. EPA
released a proposal today aimed at phasing out the use of potent
greenhouse gases in refrigerants and air conditioning. Written
under Clean Air Act authority, the new proposal would add
non-climate-forcing chemicals to the Significant New Alternatives
Policy Program, a list of approved chemical alternatives to
ozone-depleting substances controlled under the Montreal
Protocol. It will undergo a 60-day public comment period. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060002099/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

Walmart, 18 Other Companies Fined for VOC Emissions.  Nineteen
companies including Walmart and Bumble and Bumble have been fined
a total of $233,175 for air pollution violations in California,
according to the Air Resources Board.  The 19 cases involved
companies manufacturing or selling consumer products that
exceeded California’s standards for volatile organic compounds
(VOCs), amounting to more than 11 tons of excess VOC emissions. 
Posted. 
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2014/06/27/walmart-18-other-companies-fined-for-voc-emissions/


CLIMATE CHANGE

Some state agencies prepare to challenge new EPA carbon rule.
States have had several weeks to mull over U.S. EPA's Clean Power
Plan (CPP), which, once finalized, would set standards for
greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants. While most
are keeping mute as they analyze the rule and prepare to submit
comments, a few early movers have already taken action, either to
challenge the rule or comply with it -- and, in some cases, both.
Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2014/06/27/stories/1060002062
BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

DIESEL EMISSIONS

CARB Approves $85 Million for Clean Truck Technology Projects.
The California Air Resources Board said it has approved $85
million for advanced-technology, heavy-duty truck projects to
help improve the state’s air quality.  CARB said it plans on
spending $10 million to $15 million to purchase heavy-duty hybrid
and electric vehicles, such as delivery trucks, and about $25
million for large-scale pilot projects to demonstrate
zero-emission technology in the freight sector.  Posted. 
http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=35365&t=CARB-Approves-%2485-Million-for-Clean-Truck-Technology-Projects


FUELS

CBO predicts higher gas prices under the renewable standard.
Meeting the renewable fuel standard's total volume mandates would
raise gas prices and have a negligible effect on food prices,
according to the Congressional Budget Office. In a report
released yesterday, the office found that complying with the
renewable fuel volumes that Congress laid out in the 2007 RFS
would raise diesel prices by up to 14 percent by 2017. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060002085/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

VEHICLES

S.D. gets grant for 41 electric car chargers.  San Diego has been
awarded a $500,000 state grant to install 41 electric vehicle
charging stations throughout the city.  The goal is to encourage
more people to choose electric cars, which reduce air pollution
and help slow down climate change, by making it easier to charge
them.  Posted. 
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jun/26/tp-sd-gets-grant-for-41-electric-car-chargers/


GREEN ENERGY

Rooftop solar leases put off some buyers when homeowners sell. 
Dorian Bishopp blames the solar panels on his roof for costing
him almost 10 percent off the value of the home he sold in March.
 That's because instead of owning them he leased the panels from
San Jose-based SunPower, requiring the new owner of the house to
assume a contract with almost 19 years remaining. He had to shave
the asking price for the house in Maricopa, Arizona, to draw in
buyers unfamiliar with the financing arrangement.  Posted. 
http://www.insidebayarea.com/News/ci_26042228/Rooftop-solar-leases-put-off-some
 
http://www.contracostatimes.com/News/ci_26042228/Rooftop-solar-leases-put-off-some


MISCELLANEOUS

Feds nix eagle penalties for California wind farm.  A California
wind farm will become the first in the nation to avoid
prosecution if eagles are injured or die when they run into the
giant turning blades, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said
Thursday. The Shiloh IV Wind Project LLC, 60 miles east of San
Francisco, will receive a special permit allowing up to five
golden eagles to be accidentally killed over five years. Posted.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_WIND_ENERGY_EAGLE_DEATHS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


High-End Homes With High-End Air Purification Systems. The demand
for 'particle-free' living spurs some luxury developers to
install elaborate filtration systems. Alongside infinity pools
and gourmet kitchens, more high-end developers and luxury-home
builders are pitching a new amenity: freshly circulated, highly
scrubbed air. Posted.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/high-end-homes-with-high-end-air-purification-systems-1403823216


Test drive an electric car in Berkeley on Saturday at Farmers'
Market. The public is invited to test drive electric cars for
free from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday in an event sponsored by Bay
Area's regional air pollution and transportation planning
agencies.  It will be held at the Berkeley Farmers' Market on
Center Street between Milvia Street and Martin Luther King Jr.
Way.  Posted. 
http://www.contracostatimes.com/News/ci_26041054/Test-drive-an-electric-car-in
 
http://www.insidebayarea.com/News/ci_26041054/Test-drive-an-electric-car-in


OPINIONS

Court ruling is a victory for EPA authority. The following
editorial appeared in the Dallas Morning News on Friday, June 27:
The U.S. Supreme Court got it right this week when it upheld the
Environmental Protection Agency's authority to regulate
greenhouse-gas emissions. In two well-balanced rulings, a split
court made clear that the EPA has broad, but not unlimited,
authority and the court pointedly warned that it will take a dim
view if the EPA intrudes into the power of Congress or interprets
its powers too aggressively. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/06/27/6516981/court-ruling-is-a-victory-for.html#storylink=cpy

http://www.modbee.com/2014/06/27/3412861/court-ruling-is-a-victory-for.html
 


Editorial: Big Tobacco kills sensible e-cig bills. Rep. Jackie
Speier last week proposed federal legislation to regulate
e-cigarettes like tobacco products. Forgive us if our hopes are
less than high. Only a few months ago, state lawmakers in
California were full of plans to limit the sketchy electronic
devices, which heat a nicotine solution to create vapor that may
or may not be hazardous to the health of those who inhale it.
Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/06/27/6515470/editorial-big-tobacco-kills-sensible.html#storylink=cpy


BLOGS

Industry Complaints About the New EPA Carbon Pollution Rule?
We've Heard It All Before. The argument industrial polluters and
their friends in Congress are making against the new
Environmental Protection Agency plan to curb power plant carbon
emissions should sound familiar. After all, it's the same scare
tactic they trot out every time the government proposes stricter
emission controls: exaggerate the cost, overstate job losses, and
completely ignore the benefits. Posted.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elliott-negin/industry-complaints-about_b_5535545.html


EVs get support in Canada with big tax incentives, wireless EV
charging.  Perhaps a confluence of larger public and private
incentives will help EV reach the tipping point north of the
border. Canadian consumers are now privy to company, provincial
and dealership incentives that could total more than C$12,000
($11,200 US) for battery-electric cars such as the Smart ForTwo
ED and Ford Focus Electric.  Posted. 
http://green.autoblog.com/2014/06/26/ev-support-in-canada-with-tax-incentives-wireless-ev-charging/
 

To motivate climate activists, use optimism.  So it turns out,
hope is important.  Did we know that already? We sort of knew
that already. But — according to a new study put together by
Yale’s Climate Change Communication Project — hope is
particularly critical as a motivator in the very doom-heavy world
of climate change activism.  Posted. 
http://grist.org/climate-energy/to-motivate-climate-activists-use-optimism/






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