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newsclips -- Newsclips for August 22, 2014
Posted: 22 Aug 2014 14:09:37
ARB Newsclips for August 22, 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 California Carbon Permits Sell Out at $11.50 in Auction. California, which releases more greenhouse-gas emissions than any other U.S. state except Texas, sold 22.5 million carbon allowances at auction for $11.50 each, just above analysts’ expectations. Units of BP Plc (BP/), Chevron Corp. (CVX), Edison International (EIX), PG&E Corp. (PCG), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) were among the companies that qualified to purchase the permits put up for sale Aug. 18, a report posted today on the state Air Resources Board’s website shows. Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-21/california-carbon-permits-sell-out-at-11-50-in-auction.html http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/21/usa-california-carbonauction-idUSL2N0QR2JW20140821 http://www.sacbee.com/2014/08/21/6645911/californias-latest-carbon-auction.html#mi_rss=Business#storylink=cpy http://www.environmentalleader.com/2014/08/22/carbon-auction-raises-331-8m/ http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060004812/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY AIR POLLUTION Coal gas boom in China holds climate change risks. Deep in the hilly grasslands of remote Inner Mongolia, twin smoke stacks rise more than 200 feet into the sky, their steam and sulfur billowing over herds of sheep and cattle. Both day and night, the rumble of this power plant echoes across the ancient steppe, and its acrid stench travels dozens of miles away. This is the first of more than 60 coal-to-gas plants China wants to build…Posted. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_CHINA_COAL_GAS_BOOM?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Coal-gas-boom-in-China-holds-climate-change-risks-5705029.php State to ask for lower air permit fee increase. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources Air Pollution Control Program, which enforces the federal Clean Air Act in the state, could be insolvent by late 2016 after a proposal to raise permit and emission fees fell apart, state officials said. A proposed permit and emission fee schedule received support from industry leaders earlier this year but late objections prompted the DNR to offer a new schedule that would make it more difficult for the already cash-strapped program to operate…Posted. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MO_AIR_PROGRAM_PERMITS_MOOL-?SITE=MOKEN&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/State-to-ask-for-lower-air-permit-fee-increase-5705514.php U.S. EPA makes strides in air toxics but work remains in cities: report. The United States has made progress in reducing dangerous air pollution since 1990 but work remains to reduce risks for the country's most overburdened urban areas, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's top official said on Thursday. The EPA released to Congress its second report on integrated air toxics, citing "substantial progress" toward reducing levels of contaminants such as arsenic…Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/21/us-usa-epa-airtoxins-idUSKBN0GL1QJ20140821 http://www.greencarcongress.com/2014/08/20140822-epa.html Natural Gas Production Falls Short in China. Jin Peisheng, a drilling rig foreman, knows the challenges of trying to extract natural gas from a coal seam under the cornfields here in north-central China. Cracks in the subterranean coal are flooded with water that needs to be pumped out before the gas will emerge. The coal seams are so cold that gels injected into the well, which are meant to help release the gas, sometimes become gummy and block the flow instead. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/22/business/energy-environment/chinas-effort-to-produce-natural-gas-falls-far-short.html?_r=0 Irwindale Sriracha factory opens its doors: Owner hopes tourism will quell criticism. Beginning this week, hundreds of truckloads of fresh-picked red jalapeño chili peppers are making their way to the city of Irwindale to be ground into Sriracha hot sauce. At the height of the August to November chili harvest, 30 to 40 trucks travel each day from a Ventura County farm to the Huy Fong Foods plant on Azusa Canyon Road, just south of the Santa Fe Dam. Posted. http://www.scpr.org/news/2014/08/22/46143/irwindale-sriracha-factory-opens-its-doors-owner-h/ Big polluter reduces coal use for first time in 100 years. China reduced its coal consumption for the first time in about a century during the first half of 2014. In previous years, coal imports grew by double digits. This year growth was just .9 percent in China. At the same time, domestic coal production decreased by 1.8 percent. The declines are happening after China doubled its coal use to power rapid economic growth over the past decade. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060004806/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY GDP calculations that factor in air pollution show higher levels of economic growth. Calculations of market performance that are adjusted to account for the cost of pollution and greenhouse gas emissions don't necessarily produce a dismal outlook for economic growth, according to a new research paper. In fact, they would show a higher economic growth in the U.S. economy since 1999. "It is widely recognized that indices that focus exclusively on market production, such as gross domestic product (GDP), are incomplete," wrote Nicholas Muller in the study. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060004840/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY CLIMATE CHANGE How the U.S. and Korea Could Work Together to Reduce Carbon Emissions. Even as the shale-gas boom has dramatically changed America’s energy mix and pricing, the U.S. still burns a lot of coal. Because the fleet of domestic coal-fired power plants includes many aging facilities, it isn’t burned efficiently. A study by researchers at Duke University and the University of Calgary has compared coal burning in the U.S. and Korea and proposed a novel way to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions. Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-22/how-the-u-s-and-korea-could-work-together-to-reduce-carbon-emissions.html Australian Premier Tony Abbott under fire as 'environmental vandal'. In less than a year as Australian government leader, Prime Minister Tony Abbott has drawn more ire from environmentalists than most anti-regulation crusaders manage in a full term in office. He delivered last month on his chief campaign promise to make the land Down Under the first to repeal a functioning carbon tax on the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-australia-abbott-environment-20140819-story.html Bay Area billionaire's climate-change ads leave fact-checkers cold. Bay Area billionaire Tom Steyer's blitz against candidates who are soft on climate change is underway in seven states, but some prominent fact-checking groups say he's emitting enough hot air to melt a few glaciers. Negative reviews from watchdogs like PolitiFact, FactCheck.org and the Washington Post are dogging one of the nation's biggest political donors…Posted. http://www.mercurynews.com/nation-world/ci_26382278/billionaires-climate-change-ads-leave-fact-checkers-cold?source=rss http://www.contracostatimes.com/News/ci_26382517/Bay-Area-billionaires-climatechange-ads-leave-factcheckers-cold http://www.insidebayarea.com/News/ci_26382517/Bay-Area-billionaires-climatechange-ads-leave-factcheckers-cold Pause in global warming caused by Atlantic and Southern ocean heat sinks – study. Newly published data suggest that a hiatus in rising global air temperatures in the 21st century is the result of heat sinks deep in the Atlantic and Southern oceans. The trend is likely connected to roughly 30-year global warming and cooling cycles, according to researchers. The study could put to rest a long-standing debate among scientists about why air temperature rise had halted after a period of rapid increases at the end of the 20th century. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060004801/print BY SUBCRIPTION ONLY Record year for simultaneous temperature highs and lows in U.S. To date, 2014 has had the largest number of record warm and record low-temperature days to occur simultaneously in the United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). "This is the most unusual year we've seen in terms of bipolar temperatures," said Deke Arndt, a climate scientist with NOAA's National Climatic Data Center. "We've seen twice as much record cold and twice as much record hot days." Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060004805/print BY SUBSRIPTION ONLY Sun's activity influences regional climate change and skeptics – study. Almost every scientist agrees that the Earth is warming. But how important is the sun? According to a study released this week, the star that heats and lights our planet year-round plays a notable -- and poorly understood -- role in natural climate change on Earth. This influence on natural climate change pales in comparison with the changes human activity is inflicting on the climate, according to the researchers. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060004808/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY Big turbine maker feels the breeze of growing U.S. markets. Vestas Wind Systems A/S, the world's largest wind turbine maker, said the U.S. market continues to show high activity, but the industry is starting to focus on whether the production tax credit (PTC) will be renewed before the end of the year. The Danish manufacturer announced turbine orders of 800 megawatts in the United States in the second quarter, which accounted for most of the 18 percent increase in total orders for the company versus last year. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060004799/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY DROUGHT Ban on filling swimming pools hits communities in parched California. The California dream of owning a house with a sparkling swimming pool is drying up for would-be swimmers in communities across the state as some local water districts have banned homeowners from filling empty pools in drought-stricken areas. The restrictions come as California struggles through its third year of a catastrophic drought that has threatened a half-million acres of farmland…Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/21/us-usa-california-pools-idUSKBN0GL2D120140821?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews 63 trillion gallons of groundwater lost in drought, study finds. The ongoing drought in the western United States has caused so much loss of groundwater that the Earth, on average, has lifted up about 0.16 inches over the last 18 months, according to a new study. The situation was even worse in the snow-starved mountains of California, where the Earth rose up to 0.6 inches. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-63-trillion-gallons-of-groundwater-lost-in-drought-study-finds-20140821-story.html http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-groundwater-20140822-story.html 190 drought maps reveal just how thirsty California has become. It doesn't take much to understand why California is so worried about drought. Reservoirs are ever-dwindling. Rainfall is sporadic at best. And let's not forget about the millions of gallons of precious water recently flooding the streets of Brentwood. More than 80% of California is in extreme drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, and the state's condition isn't expected to improve in the near future. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-g-california-drought-map-htmlstory.html Fewer plants crimp foraging by bees. California’s record drought hasn’t been sweet to honeybees, and it’s creating a sticky situation for beekeepers and honey buyers. The state is traditionally one of the country’s largest honey producers, with abundant crops and wildflowers that provide the nectar that bees turn into honey. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2014/08/21/6646223/fewer-plants-crimpforaging-by.html#mi_rss=Business#storylink=cpy ‘Life After Lawns’ gives insight into drought-tolerant yards. “Life After Lawns: 8 Steps From Grass to a Waterwise Garden” (CreateSpace, 2014) is a simple guide to transforming your lawn into a breathtaking drought-tolerant oasis. “Drought-tolerant oasis” may sound like an oxymoron. An oasis is lush and green, you are thinking, so how could such a place be drought tolerant, too? An oasis is also a respite from the storm, a place where you find relief from the desert all around. Posted. http://www.dailynews.com/lifestyle/20140821/life-after-lawns-gives-insight-into-drought-tolerant-yards California drought has wild salmon competing with almonds for water. The ongoing California drought has pitted wild salmon against farmers in a fight for water. While growers of almonds, one of the state's biggest and most lucrative crops, enjoy booming production and skyrocketing sales to China, the fish, it seems, might be left high and dry this summer—and maybe even dead. Posted. http://www.scpr.org/news/2014/08/21/46157/california-drought-has-wild-salmon-competing-with/ American West is so dry that the land is rising. If you live out West, you've likely noticed that things have been pretty dry lately. What you probably haven't noticed is that the ground beneath your feet is also a little bit higher in elevation -- an average of 4 millimeters higher, to be exact. It may be hard to believe, but new research using data from hundreds of different GPS stations shows it to be true: The current drought in the American West is so bad that the loss of water weight has actually caused the land to rise. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060004809/print BY FUELS Pipeline giant sidesteps KXL-style permitting fight. Enbridge Inc. is poised to carry out a novel new strategy for avoiding the presidential permitting process that Keystone XL has been mired in for years, shifting extra volumes of Canadian oil between pipelines on its sprawling continental network with the State Department's blessing. The pipeline titan's plan involves building four interconnections between its Alberta Clipper and Line 3 projects, both of which run from the oil sands region of Alberta to Wisconsin. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/energywire/stories/1060004824/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY VEHICLES EU regulators seek to close car emissions testing loopholes. EU regulators are preparing draft legislation that will require vehicle fuel use to be tested on roads rather than in laboratories, looking to close loopholes that allow car makers to exaggerate fuel-saving and emissions credentials. Already from Sept. 1, slightly tougher EU testing standards will be enforced, in line with a global push for accuracy. More-stringent standards are likely to be opposed by automakers. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/21/us-eu-autos-idUSKBN0GK0WP20140821?feedType=RSS http://www.autonews.com/article/20140820/COPY01/308219999/eu-regulators-aim-to-close-car-emissions-testing-loopholes Advances in battery chemistry and hydrogen production may bring affordable zero-emissions vehicles closer to reality. Batteries and hydrogen fuel cells are vying to become the cheapest, cleanest way to power vehicles, in hopes of one day unseating the gasoline engine as the propulsion system of choice. Recent breakthroughs have brought both technologies closer to that goal. With fuel economy standards ratcheting up under President Obama's climate action agenda, automakers are under pressure to put more zero-emission vehicles on the market. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060004813/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY HIGH-SPEED RAIL Fresno City Council again rejects train station master plan money. The Fresno City Council has decided the best way to plan for high-speed rail is to assume the train will never get here. The council on Thursday rejected $1 million in grants that would have paid for a master plan showing how downtown can get the biggest boost from the bullet train. The vote was 3-3, with Council Members Lee Brand, Paul Caprioglio and Clint Olivier voting no. Posted. http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/08/21/4081580_city-council-again-rejects-train.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy GREEN ENERGY DWP is still slow to turn on home solar energy systems. When Gerry Hans remodeled his Hollywood Hills home, he chose green options such as landscaping with native plants, a system to recycle gray water and a $40,000 rooftop solar installation to provide electricity to the home. The solar panels were installed in January, but they haven't pushed a single electron into the house: Hans is still waiting for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to install a meter and turn it on. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-solar-powerless-20140822-story.html Clean energy bill: AB 2145 would stifle program Santa Clara County cities hope to adopt. Community Choice energy programs allow local governments to provide cleaner and greener energy as an alternative to PG&E, often at less cost to residents and businesses. But Assembly Bill 2145 would insert a number of roadblocks in the way of consumers and businesses from accessing cleaner electricity. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/News/ci_26374183/Clean-energy-bill:-AB-2145-would-stifle-program-Santa-Clara-County-cities-hope-to-adopt Calif. lawmakers pass bill forcing cities to cut rooftop solar red tape. California cities and counties must adopt a streamlined process for permitting residential solar under a bill that passed the state Legislature yesterday and was headed to Gov. Jerry Brown's (D) desk. A.B. 2188, from state Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi (D), targets the "red tape" permitting procedures that can differ across 500 cities and counties statewide. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060004818/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY GE backs startup incubator aimed at boosting renewables. General Electric Co. yesterday announced plans to sponsor a California startup incubator aimed at nurturing new solar companies. Oakland-based SfunCube will receive funding and expertise from GE, which touted its experience working with startups and alternative energy. "We are impressed with SfunCube's unique incubator and accelerator and their explicit focus on solar…Posted. http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060004843/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY MISCELLANEOUS Anderson man gets 3 years for asbestos pollution. An Anderson man will spend more than three years in prison for demolishing a mill full of asbestos without properly protecting his workers or the people living in the area. U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles said in a press release that state health officials repeatedly told 37-year-old Scott Farmer that he had to stop the demolition work in the spring of 2013 and he ignored the orders. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Anderson-man-gets-3-years-for-asbestos-pollution-5703794.php OPINIONS Could shale revive China's flagging oil fields? Kemp. "I believe and will prove that our country is not deficient in oil reserves. If I can use my 20-year lifetime in exchange for a large oil field, I will." Those comments, recorded in an illustrated history of the Songliao Basin published by China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), are attributed to Wang Jinxi, an oil field worker who became a hero of Communist China during the 1960s and 1970s. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/22/china-shale-kemp-idUSL5N0QS1IN20140822 California drought continues to take heavy toll on reservoirs. he severe drought gripping nearly all of California eased ever so slightly this past week, but the state's reservoirs remain "seriously low," according to the latest figures released Thursday. The amount of the state that now falls under the "severe" drought category — the third-harshest on a five-level scale — was down to 97.5%, a slight improvement from the 99.8% share during the same period last week…Posted. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-california-drought-reservoir-levels-20140821-story.html Save water now, or face the consequences later. To the editor: You would think that a serious drought would require serious action. But it seems that water use actually has gone up. The trouble is, as with global warming, too many people either deny the drought's existence or just think it needs to be waited out. ("L.A. takes gentle approach to conserving water during drought," Aug. 18). The threat of fines only makes it an obvious money grab and is irrelevant to the issue (no amount of money can replace water once it's gone for good). Posted. http://www.latimes.com/opinion/readersreact/la-le-0820-wednesday-drought-fines-20140820-story.html Are we taking the drought seriously enough? To the editor: I got a postcard from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power last week informing me how to conserve electricity during hot summer months. Good to know, despite the absence of an electricity shortage. ("L.A's water ruler, DWP chief Marcie Edwards, on keeping the city hydrated," Op-Ed, Aug. 19). But for months there's been a barrage of news stories about the severity of the drought statewide…Posted. http://www.latimes.com/opinion/readersreact/la-le-0822-friday-dwp-water-20140822-story.html Livable communities at stake if fuels aren’t in cap and trade. An important environmental debate right now centers on whether transportation fuels should remain part of the cap-and-trade program under California’s climate change law. At stake is our future: Will it be one where we build sustainable neighborhoods, with access to transit, bike and pedestrian paths, and local services? Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2014/08/22/6645635/viewpoints-livable-communities.html Michelle Steel: Regulators blindside taxpayers with hidden tax. Just when California’s economy appears to be moving forward again, our state regulators have found yet another way to extract more dollars from consumers’ pockets and send them to Sacramento. Starting Jan. 1, 2015, the California Air Resources Board will greatly expand the state’s cap-and-trade program to include gasoline and diesel fuels, creating a “hidden gas tax” that will cost Californians billions of dollars. Posted. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/gas-632467-tax-californians.html Saving Lives with Fossil Fuels. What is the biggest global environment problem? Many believe it is global warming, after all, the issue gets the lion’s share of headlines and accounts for much of the hell-in-a-hand-basket environmental news we come across. But, as I previously wrote on this blog, 2.9 billion people living in energy poverty people face a more immediate problem: indoor air pollution. Posted. http://www.forbes.com/sites/bjornlomborg/2014/08/22/saving-lives-with-fossil-fuels/ Carbon fees are our payback to ourselves [Letter] Regarding Bob Bruninga's recent letter, "Carbon fees are a payback to Mother Nature (Aug. 19), carbon fees can also be payback to us, which would make them much more realistic politically. Rather than having the government tax fossil fuel corporations, which then pass the cost on to consumers, let's have a carbon pollution fee paid by fossil fuel companies and rebated monthly to every American. Posted. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bs-ed-carbon-20140821,0,4201328.story#ixzz3B9Amjt9H BLOGS Feds to Be Sued Over Solar Projects' Harm to Endangered Bird. A national wildlife protection group announced today that it intends to sue two federal agencies for failing to protect the federally Endangered Yuma clapper rail from being harmed at industrial-scale solar power projects in the California desert. The Yuma clapper rail, Rallus longirostris yumanensis, was listed as Endangered in 1967. Posted. http://www.kcet.org/news/rewire/solar/photovoltaic-pv/feds-to-be-sued-over-solar-project-harm-to-endangered-bird.html Don't even think about it: Why we are wired to ignore climate change. Climate change is a scientific fact. Scientists have become so bruised by their political battles that they have come to use much weaker language, declaring that climate change is "very likely" or "unequivocal." Let's just call it a fact, because that is what it is. There is plenty of uncertainty around how the climate is responding to these enormous changes, but being uncertain is not the same as being unsure. Posted. http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2014/08/22/why-we-wired-ignore-climate-change To Fight Climate Change we Have to Save the Rainforest. Most of us are concerned about how climate change will affect our corners of the world, but we need to be thinking about our most vital natural resources: tropical forests. Tropical and subtropical forests are the most biodiverse areas on the planet, and they even give us most of the oxygen we breathe. These forests provide us with wood for fuel, paper, and building materials, and the plant life provides the world with a critical carbon sink. Posted. http://theenergycollective.com/ecsjessica/469291/fight-climate-change-we-have-save-rainforest California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.