What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for August 8, 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

Council tells Governor to just say 'no' to gas tax.  Gasoline
taxes in California would increase by at least 16 cents a gallon,
and perhaps as much as 76 cents a gallon, if the next step in the
implementation of the state’s greenhouse gas cap and trade
program takes effect as planned in January.  Porterville City
Council voted unanimously Tuesday in favor of a resolution
requesting that the state delay the portion of the program that
applies to gasoline and diesel fuel.  Posted. 
http://www.recorderonline.com/news/council-tells-governor-to-just-say-no-to-gas-tax/article_b1d6f442-1e46-11e4-a1cd-001a4bcf6878.html


AIR POLLUTION

Pot smokers sue San Diego, say long drives to dispensaries
pollute air.  Medical marijuana smokers in San Diego say the city
has forced their pot shops to locate in remote areas and that
means the drives to and from will increase air pollution — and
ultimately, harm their lungs.  The Union of Medical Marijuana
Patients has filed a lawsuit, saying the city is violating the
California Environmental Quality Act, United Press International
reported.  Posted. 
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/aug/8/marijuana-smokers-sue-san-diego/


Earth Log: Time for reading, writing, protecting kids from ozone.
 School is starting up again. In August heat. Parents, you need
to limit your child's exposure to ozone and reduce air pollution.
 It's not calculus, but it is not simple, unless you just focus
on carpooling.  With carpooling, two families get together to
share rides for their children and cut air pollution by half for
those two families. BY SUBSCRIPTION.  Posted. 
http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/08/08/4060847/time-for-reading-writing-protecting.html?sp=/99/406/263/


EPA plan for cleaner stoves draws heat from industry groups.
Representatives from the fireplace and barbecue industries this
week met with senior U.S. EPA officials to air concerns about the
agency's plans for reducing pollution from wood-burning stoves
and heaters. At the meeting Tuesday, the Hearth, Patio and
Barbecue Association and United States Stove Co. told EPA they
were concerned about the costs of compliance and the agency's
test methods for determining emissions, according to a meeting
record posted yesterday. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060004267/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

EPA to take over Wis. program for fine particle emissions. U.S.
EPA plans to take over part of Wisconsin's program for reducing
fine particle pollution after finding that the state has fallen
short in meeting requirements mandated by the Clean Air Act.
Wisconsin failed to submit a complete plan by a July 2012
deadline under the act's Prevention of Significant Deterioration
(PSD) program, EPA said in a pre-publication Federal Register
notice. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060004263/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

CLIMATE CHANGE

Spikes in sea-level rise create more coastal damage than
hurricanes – study. Hard-to-detect spikes in sea level -- driven
by ocean currents and wind patterns -- may be worse for beach
erosion than some hurricanes, and climate change could make the
spikes worse on swaths of the East Coast, according to a new
study. The research in Geophysical Research Letters is worrisome
for coastal planners, as sea-level spikes or "anomalies" -- which
are different from sea-level rise driven by climate
change…Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060004245/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

Researchers find the weaker 'sister' of El Niño by studying
ancient clamshells. In the 21st century, El Niño weather events
have been a shadow of their ferocious selves. In 1998, they
caused massive floods in Peru, Ecuador and California as well as
record high temperatures and monster droughts in Australia and
Indonesia. Scientists have called the current El Niño-Southern
Oscillation (ENSO) system "Modoki," which translates in Japanese
to "the same, but different." Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060004243/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

New England is a model for reducing emissions -- EPA official.
New England could be a model for tackling carbon emissions as the
Obama administration pushes for national reductions in
greenhouses gases, said a U.S. EPA official. Curt Spalding, EPA
administrator for Region 1 in New England, praised the nine
Northeastern states for the progress they had made in reducing
emissions. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060004239/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

DROUGHT

California's invisible reservoirs. Imagine if California
discovered a natural reservoir that could hold as much water as
all the existing reservoirs in the state. Such a reservoir would
allow Californians to store even more water in wet periods and
help the state outlast the type of drought currently plaguing us
(which is not over despite some recent splashes of monsoonal
moisture). Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/California-s-invisible-reservoirs-5675711.php


DIESEL EMISSIONS

Truck Electrification System to be Tested at Ports of Los
Angeles, Long Beach.  A project testing a new way to power trucks
with electricity is moving forward along selected highway lanes
near the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.  The South Coast
Air Quality Management District, which is the air pollution
control agency for all of Orange County and the urban portions of
Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, has selected
a company to install a catenary system.  Posted. 
http://www.truckinginfo.com/channel/fuel-smarts/news/story/2014/08/truck-electrification-system-to-be-tested-at-ports-of-los-angeles-long-beach.aspx
  

Clearing the path for enforcement: EPA grants waiver for CARB's
'Smartway Rule'.  The California Air Resources Board won a
regulatory victory this past week when the Environmental
Protection Agency ruled in its favor – clearing the path for
enforcement of an expensive trucking regulation.  In a decision
the EPA posted to its website, EPA approved a waiver to allow
enforcement of CARB’s Smartway Rule and its requirements for
aerodynamic equipment for trucks and trailers driving in
California.  Posted. 
http://www.landlinemag.com/Story.aspx?StoryID=27474#.U-Th8oXxCFI


VEHICLES

Electric scooter startup comes to city's 'Innovation District. 
The city's strategy to attract cleantech companies to its growing
"Innovation District" has begun yielding results, as another
electric vehicle startup has moved to the area.  GenZe, an
electric-powered scooter maker, moved last month from Palo Alto
to south Fremont, where Tesla's factory and other green companies
have set up shop.  Posted. 
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_26293301/electric-scooter-startup-comes-citys-innovation-district
  

Stakeholders debate pending heavy-duty vehicle mpg rules. A new
round of fuel-efficiency standards for heavy-duty vehicles is
coming down the pipeline. So far, the push for improved fuel
economy has been well-received. But continued support for the
standards will depend on their ability to save stakeholders
money. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060004242/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

OPINIONS

Dan Walters: Legislature ducking debate on big fuel price hike.
When the Legislature adjourns this month, it will likely leave
Assembly Bill 69 still sitting in the Senate Rules Committee,
thereby avoiding an election-year debate on whether California
motorists should cough up billions of extra dollars when they buy
gas. The measure, introduced by Assemblyman Henry Perea,
D-Fresno, and backed by quite a few other Democrats…Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/08/07/6613685/dan-walters-legislature-ducking.html#mi_rss=Dan%20Walters#storylink=cpy


Economic arguments to act on climate change: Your Say. Using
Chinese inaction as an excuse for ignoring global warming is a
mistake, a USA TODAY editorial argued, because China has begun
addressing its environmental problems. Comments from Facebook are
edited for clarity and grammar: Everyone is always saying the
United States should lead by example. Posted.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/08/07/climate-change-economy-jobs-business-your-say/13750543/


BLOGS

Uncertainties of scale affect REDD+ schemes. Maps used to
determine tree cover as part of schemes to reduce deforestation
have errors owing to scale and pixels. These can be corrected,
say Betha Lusiana and colleagues.  The ability of a REDD+ scheme
to meet its national target for reducing emissions from
deforestation and degradation plus conservation requires
understanding how its processes are linked across scales, from
local through provincial to national and international levels.
Posted.
http://blog.worldagroforestry.org/index.php/2014/08/07/uncertainties-of-scale-affect-redd-schemes/#sthash.03biZsg5.dpuf


Why Getting Fresh Air Is So Good For You.  While we grew up
frolicking through fields, swinging at the park and cruising
along on our bikes, as adults, many of us spend most of our time
indoors. But all of those hours spent outside were actually good
for more than using up our unlimited, childhood energy. As it
turns out, science shows that some fresh air really will do you
good.  Posted. 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/08/tk-ways-fresh-air-impacts_0_n_5648164.html


Communities Near Oil Refineries Must Demand Cleaner Air. In Port
Arthur Texas, home to eight oil and chemical industrial sites,
the egg-like, putrid smell of toxic chemicals spews from oil
refinery smokestacks every hour of every day. That stench stands
as a reminder to the people who live there that what they smell
and breathe is, indeed, making them sick. Posted.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-garcia/communities-near-oil-refi_b_5662559.html?page_version=legacy&view=print&comm_ref=false



Plug In 2014: BMW i DC Fast Charger is poised to change the EV
game.  It looks like it's just a blue box on a pole, but BMW's
new i DC Fast Charger represents a much bigger deal than just the
lowest-cost SAE Combo Charger on the market. BMW sees it as the
key to getting more drivers into electric vehicles. As Robert
Healey, the EV infrastructure manager for BMW of North America
told us, "For [BMW], the future is clear. DC charging really is
the future."  Posted. 
http://green.autoblog.com/2014/08/07/plug-in-2014-bmw-i-dc-fast-charger-change-ev-game/




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