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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for November 21, 2014.

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 14:24:34
ARB Newsclips for November 21, 2014. 

This is a service of the California Air Resources Board’s Office
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CAP AND TRADE

Whitehouse Sees Carbon Fee Bill Boosting Climate Discussion with
Republicans. Carbon fee legislation introduced Nov. 19 will
establish the baseline for productive bipartisan discussions on
climate change in the next Congress, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse
(D-R.I.) said. Whitehouse and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii)
introduced the American Opportunity Carbon Fee Act (no bill
number available), which would require large greenhouse gas
emitters to pay $42 for every ton of carbon pollution…
http://www.bna.com/whitehouse-sees-carbon-n17179912118/ 

Ontario may join cap-and-trade carbon emission trade system.
Ontario has not ruled out joining the Quebec-California
cap-and-trade system to limit the emission of greenhouse gases.
"We are just beginning our conversations and our discussions, a
partnership with industries," Environment and Climate Change
Minister Glen Murray said Thursday.
http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/politics/archives/2014/11/20141120-185243.html

 
CLIMATE CHANGE

NOAA: Globe sets 5th hottest-month record of 2014. Despite a
bitter U.S. cold snap, the globe is rushing hell-bent toward its
warmest year on record with last month setting the fifth monthly
heat record of the year. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration announced Thursday that last month was the hottest
October on record worldwide. The 58.43 degrees Fahrenheit (14.74
Celsius) beat out October 2003.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SCI_RECORD_HOT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
 

UN climate fund falls short of $10 billion target. A U.N. fund
that will help poor countries tackle climate change has fallen
short, for now, of its target of collecting $10 billion,
officials said Thursday. About 30 countries meeting in Berlin
pledged a total of $9.3 billion toward the Green Climate Fund,
according to Germany's development ministry, which co-hosted the
conference. Last week, the U.S. pledged $3 billion, the biggest
amount so far.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_CLIMATE_FUND?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


China Climate Pledge Needs 1,000 Nuclear Plant Effort. China,
which does nothing in small doses, will need about 1,000 nuclear
reactors, 500,000 wind turbines or 50,000 solar farms as it takes
up the fight against climate change. Chinese President Xi Jinping
agreement last week with President Barack Obama requires a
radical environmental and economic makeover.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-21/latest-china-revolution-seeks-great-leap-for-clean-energy.html


Car-Driving Dream Faces China’s Carbon Reality: Chart of the Day.
China’s pledge to cap greenhouse gas output may curtail
car-ownership dreams across the world’s most-populous nation,
even as domestic auto sales are on pace to top a record 23
million vehicles in 2014. The CHART OF THE DAY tracks annual
carbon emissions by the world’s two biggest economies, with
China’s output almost doubling in the decade since U.S. levels
began to fall, according to BP Plc statistics.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-20/car-driving-dream-faces-china-s-carbon-reality-chart-of-the-day.html


The Magical Thought That's Assumed in Climate Studies. Residents
exercising amid heavy smog on the Bund in Shanghai as local
meteorological. Here's one way to phrase the basic climate change
conundrum: There's a huge gap between the volume of pollution
emitted every year and how much scientists say we can safely send
aloft. This has a weird implication for potential fixes
governments may need in the future.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-20/the-magical-thought-that-s-assumed-in-climate-studies.html


U.N. Green Fund gets $9.3 billion in pledges at Berlin
conference. The U.N. Green Climate Fund (GCF) is a major part of
a plan agreed in 2009 whereby rich countries agreed to give $100
billion a year from both public and private sources from 2020 to
help developing nations reduce carbon emissions and adapt to a
changing global climate.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/20/us-climatechange-fund-idUSKCN0J41V020141120?feedName=globalEnergyNews&feedType=RSS&virtualBrandChannel=14230


Garcetti proposes L.A. climate change summit of U.S., China
mayors. Following up on last week's U.S.-China climate change
agreement, Mayor Eric Garcetti said Friday he would invite
leaders of Chinese and American cities to a summit in Los Angeles
next year to kick-start efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions
in both countries.
http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-los-angeles-eric-garcetti-china-20141121-story.html

http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article4046697.html


40% decline in polar bears in Alaska, western Canada heightens
concern. The number of polar bears in eastern Alaska and western
Canada has declined by 40%, according to a scientific study that
raises more questions about the impact of global warming on the
creature that has become the symbol of some of its worst effects.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-polar-bear-decline-20141117-story.html


Climate change to increase flood, crop insurance losses. Climate
change could substantially increase losses in taxpayer-backed
flood and crop insurance programs in coming decades, according to
a new government report. The Government Accountability Office
found that exposure to losses for property insured under the two
programs grew by 8% to $1.4 trillion over the past six years
because of population growth and increased property values in
hazard-prone areas.
http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/politics/2014/11/20/climate-change-flood-insurance-crop-insurance-losses/19271715/


Canada pledges $265m to Green Climate Fund. Harper government
fulfils promise to help developing countries address climate
impacts. The Canadian government has revealed it will give
US$265m (C$300m) to a UN fund aimed at helping the world’s
poorest countries invest in clean energy technologies and cope
with the effects of climate change.
http://www.rtcc.org/2014/11/21/canada-pledges-265m-to-green-climate-fund/#sthash.nUHT1fr5.dpuf

Climate Investments ‘Falling Short’ of 2°C Goal. Staving off the
worst impacts of climate change by investing in clean energy and
smart climate adaptations makes economic sense, but a new report
shows that investments are still lagging globally. At the same
time, the dropping costs of clean energy, particularly solar,
mean that companies are doing more with less.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/climate-investments-2degrees-goal-18363


DROUGHT

Capitol Hill talks on drought bill dry up, to resume next year.
Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California on Thursday pulled
the plug on secret, high-stakes negotiations over a water bill
for her drought-plagued state, saying she and fellow lawmakers
will try again next year. Feinstein’s unexpected move ends, for
now, what had become an increasingly contentious fight over
ambitious drought-fighting legislation whose details few people
have seen.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/article4034913.html#storylink=cpy


Feinstein bails on water effort – for now. Whatever the
legislative sausage was, the legislation to address California’s
drought issues never made it out of the machine in Washington.
But its chief chef, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, plans to resume work
in 2015 with a Republican-controlled Congress. Details of Ms.
Feinstein’s water bill never leaked. But how it was being cobbled
together irritated more than a few -- from environmental groups
to Democratic congressmen.
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=27191 

Fremont gardeners showcasing water-saving plants. As area lawns
brown and lush plantings wither, resourceful gardeners everywhere
are beginning to embrace a new normal and looking for ideas to
create the next generation of water-wise California gardens.
Coming to the rescue are a handful of community demonstration
gardens staffed by master gardeners and dedicated to the
proposition that a drought-tolerant …
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_26977442/fremont-gardeners-showcasing-water-saving-plants


Secret California water deal left high and dry in D.C.  A
Congressional back room water deal has sprung a leak. After
months of secret negotiations and without a single public
hearing, a bill that would have built dams and reservoirs in
California - and rolled back environmental laws - has been
shelved. At least for now. California's record drought prompted
both the House and Senate to pass their own version of water
bills.
http://www.scpr.org/news/2014/11/20/48208/secret-california-water-deal-left-high-and-dry-in/


DIESEL EMISSIONS

EPA to award up to $5M for projects to reduce diesel emissions at
ports. EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ) will
award up to $5M combined for proposals (EPA-OAR-OTAQ-14-07) that
achieve significant reductions in diesel emissions in terms of
tons of pollution produced by diesel engines and diesel emissions
exposure, from fleets operating at marine and inland water ports
located in areas of poor air quality.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2014/11/20141121-epaports.html 
 
FUELS

EPA delays decision on ethanol in gas. The Obama administration
is delaying a decision on whether to reduce the amount of ethanol
in the nation's fuel supply.  Last year the Environmental
Protection Agency proposed to reduce the amount of ethanol in
fuel for the first time. The decision angered corn growers and
ethanol companies who have since lobbied the government to
reverse the decision. The EPA said Friday it expects to make a
final decision next year.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ETHANOL_IN_GASOLINE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


OTHER RELATED STORIES
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-21/renewable-fuels-proposal-for-2014-withdrawn-by-epa-after-delay.html

http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/article4046601.html


Harvard sued over push for fossil fuels divestment. Seven Harvard
University students have filed a lawsuit asking a judge to force
the university's governing body to divest from fossil fuel
companies. The lawsuit filed Wednesday alleges investment in
those companies violates the university's duties as a public
charity. The complaint asks the court to compel the Harvard
Corporation, the governing body, to stop investing any of its
$36.4 billion endowment in gas, coal and oil companies.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_HARVARD_DIVESTMENT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Gulf Coast Embraces U.S. Coal Shippers Rejected by West. When it
comes to exporting American coal, the West Coast’s loss is the
Gulf Coast’s gain. While environmental opposition has stymied
plans to build terminals in California and the Pacific Northwest,
the Mississippi River town of Darrow, Louisiana, has a new $300
million export facility. It’s part of a regional expansion that
will increase capacity by 66 percent to 119 million metric tons
by 2017…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-21/gulf-coast-embraces-u-s-coal-shippers-rejected-by-west-freight.html


VEHICLES

Toyota recalls nearly 423K Lexuses for fuel leaks. Toyota is
recalling nearly 423,000 Lexus luxury brand cars in the U.S. to
fix fuel leaks that can cause fires. The recalls affect the 2006
to 2011 GS, 2007 to 2010 LS and the 2006 to 2011 IS models.
Toyota says that the cars' fuel lines have nickel phosphate
plating to protect against corrosion. Some lines could have been
built with particles coming in contact with a gasket.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_LEXUS_RECALL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


High-speed rail officials say construction will be a net positive
for the environment. State officials supporting California's
high-speed rail project held an event in Fresno this week
showcasing cleaner-burning diesel construction equipment. The
goal: to demonstrate the agency's efforts to make the project a
zero-net contributor to carbon emissions. The California High
Speed Rail Authority says it will use a variety of steps to
offset pollution it produces in building and eventually operating
the train network.
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2014/11/21/high-speed-rail-officials-say-construction-will-be.html?page=all


LA Auto Show 2014: BMW's i3 named Green Car of the Year. MW's i8
has been named the LA Auto Show's 2015 Green Car of the Year. The
all-electric plug-in vehicle is a high-performance sports car
with a conscience. The $42,275 German runabout, which has an
electric motor capable of producing the equivalent of 170
horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque, has a range of 80 to 100
miles. Introduced to American buyers in 2013, the car won the
award in its second year of production.
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-la-auto-show-green-car-year-20141119-story.html


GREEN ENERGY

China Shale Boom Fizzles as Clean Energy, Imports Take Lead.
China has sharply cut its output target for shale, signaling the
country’s drilling boom is fizzling out before it even gets
going. The nation has reduced its goal for the end of the decade
to a third of an earlier estimate, as difficult geology, lack of
infrastructure and limited exploration rights conspire against
shale-gas ambitions. Big gas import deals, a lower oil price and
China’s commitment to clean energy are also weighing on shale’s
promise.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-21/china-shale-boom-fizzles-as-clean-energy-imports-take-spotlight.html


EU Risks Blackouts Without Clean-Coal Inducement, IEA Says.
Europe faces power shortages in the next decade unless it
balances its drive for low-carbon energy with investment in
clean-coal and nuclear generation, according to the International
Energy Agency. Policy makers must boost incentives for coal-fired
power that includes carbon-capture technology and spur investment
in new atomic plants to replace aging reactors…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-21/europe-risks-blackouts-without-clean-coal-inducement-iea-says.html


Unclear If Congress Can Complete Tax Extenders Package This Year,
Carper Says. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), a member of the Senate
Finance Committee, said Nov. 20 that discussions are ongoing, but
it's “not at all clear” that Congress can complete work this year
on a two-year, $85 billion package of tax extenders that includes
dozens of renewable energy incentives.
http://www.bna.com/unclear-congress-complete-n17179912430/ 

SolarCity inks deal with Wal-Mart; shares surge. Shares of
SolarCity Corp. soared Friday morning after the company said it
would provide Wal-Mart with solar power. The San Mateo,
Calif.-based company’s stock rose as high as $56.94 a share, up
6% from Thursday's close. The solar power producer said it inked
a four-year deal to install solar power projects for Wal-Mart at
facilities in up to 36 states. 
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-solarcity-stock-20141121-story.html
http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article4045455.html  

BLM rejectes application for Silurian Valley energy project. The
Bureau of Land Management on Thursday denied a Spanish company's
application to build a controversial renewable energy facility in
the Mojave Desert's remote Silurian Valley, deciding the
sprawling project “would not be in the public interest.” The
closely watched decision is considered a bellwether for how the
federal agency will handle future requests to develop renewable
energy projects…
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-1121-silurian-rejection-20141121-story.html


MISCELLANEOUS

AT&T to pay California $52 million in hazardous waste disposal
settlement. AT&T Inc (T.N) will pay $52 million in civil
penalties and environmental compliance as part of a settlement
with California over illegal dumping of hazardous waste but won't
be required to clean up the resulting contamination, state
officials said on Thursday. State officials said it marked the
first enforcement action in California against a
telecommunications company for mishandling of electronic waste.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/21/us-usa-at-t-california-idUSKCN0J50AG20141121?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews


OPINONS

The Term ‘Polar Vortex’ Goes Back to the Days of Dickens. Back in
the news during the recent cold snap, the phrase ‘polar vortex’
goes back to the days of Dickens. As frigid winds and mammoth
snowfall battered the U.S. this past week, a now-familiar item in
our weather lexicon returned: the “polar vortex,” a large
low-pressure zone that can push a mass of cold air down from the
North Pole to more temperate climes.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/the-term-polar-vortex-goes-back-to-the-days-of-dickens-1416586355?KEYWORDS=CLIMATE+CHANGE


No matter where you plug in, electric cars are greener. Letters
to the editorOpinionAutomotive Industry. To the editor: While I
agree about the growing market for electric vehicles, I take
issue with the authors' conclusions about the carbon emissions of
EVs. ("Are electric cars greener? Depends on where you live,"
Op-Ed, Nov. 16). An updated analysis we recently completed at the
Union of Concerned Scientists found that everywhere in the U.S.,
an EV produces lower carbon emissions…
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/readersreact/la-le-1121-friday-electric-cars-20141121-story.html


Keystone XL pipeline pumps out political nonsense.  Like most
debates in Congress, the fight over the Keystone XL pipeline is
driven by posturing and partisanship rather than common sense. On
Tuesday, this phenomenon was on full view as the Senate took a
vote that fell short of overriding environmental concerns and
giving the pipeline the go-ahead.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/topoftheticket/la-na-tt-keystone-xl-pipeline--20141119-story.html


In a self-driving future, we may not even want to own cars.
Personal transportation is on the cusp of its greatest
transformation since the advent of the internal combustion
engine. With the rise of self-driving vehicles, ride-sharing,
traffic congestion and environmental regulation, we may not even
own cars in the future, much less drive them. A glimpse of the
coming revolution can be seen in the models debuting this week at
the Los Angeles Auto Show.
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-1121-la-auto-show-future-of-driving-20141121-story.html#page=1


Our Voice: Cope with the drought by thinning forests. A U.S.
Forest Service analysis of the 2013 Mountain Fire showed that
controlled burns and other efforts to thin the forest were
effective in some areas. However, the efforts have been paltry.
Richard Minnich, a fire ecologist and UCR professor, calls
prescribed burns that have been carried out in the past decade
"postage stamps." Much more needs to be done.
http://www.desertsun.com/story/opinion/editorials/2014/11/20/thin-forests/70033002/


CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: U.S.-China climate pact swindle. Historic.
Such is the ubiquitous description of the climate agreement
recently announced in Beijing between Barack Obama and Xi Jinping
in which China promised for the first time to cap carbon
emissions. If this were a real breakthrough, I’d be an
enthusiastic supporter. I have long advocated for a tangible
global agreement to curb carbon.
http://www.pe.com/articles/china-754650-carbon-agreement.html 

CHRIS MOONEY: Winter weather doesn't refute global warming.  If
you live in the U.S., you have been feeling insanely cold lately.
The area south of Buffalo got 5 feet of snow this week -- an
extreme winter weather outburst that is being blamed for a tragic
five deaths -- and the Weather Channel says that parts of the
Midwest and Great Lakes region may experience "one of the longest
sub-freezing spells on record for the month of November."
http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/opinion/hot-topics/x1952131475/Winter-weather-doesnt-refute-global-warming


Column recycles standard lies on global warming. Eugene
Robinson's column, "Do-nothing politics hamstrings nation's
development," began with a full paragraph of bogus global warming
statements presented as facts. Still, the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change has raised the certainty of its global warming
doomsday scenario from 90 to 95 percent based on computer
projections that have utterly failed to predict…
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/general-news/20141120/tri-valley-letters-coverage-lately-is-leaving-a-bit-to-be-desired


BLOGS

Clean Energy and Job Creation Go Hand-in-Hand in San Antonio.
While many are prophesizing the Environmental Protection Agency’s
Clean Power Plan (CPP) as doomsday for the electricity sector,
Texas utilities are telling a different story. The CPP will limit
– for the first time ever – carbon emissions from existing power
plants. One utility in particular, CPS Energy in San Antonio,
“has already embraced a low-carbon
strategy…http://www.forbes.com/sites/edfenergyexchange/2014/11/21/clean-energy-and-job-creation-go-hand-in-hand-in-san-antonio/


Oil And Gas Methane Rules Could Help U.S. Meet New Climate
Targets, Report Says. The Environmental Protection Agency can cut
methane emissions from oil and gas production in half with new
national standards, a move that could help the United States meet
new pollution cutting targets pledged in a climate deal with
China last week, a new report recommends.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/20/oil-and-gas-methane-rules_n_6190754.html


DOE reports progress on development of low-carbon and renewable
sources of hydrogen production. The US Department of Energy (DOE)
Fuel Cell Technologies Office’ (FCTO) 2014 Hydrogen and Fuel
Cells Program Annual Progress Report (earlier post)—an annual
summary of results from projects funded by DOE’s Hydrogen and
Fuel Cells Program—described progress in the field of hydrogen
production.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2014/11/20141121-doeh2.html 

The public is wrong on climate, as it was on slavery, women’s
rights. The latest public opinion study out of Yale’s Project on
Climate Change Communication has all the usual hints of optimism
we’ve seen in the Project’s many other climate reports. According
to “Climate Change in the American Mind,” released this week, a
majority of Americans support regulating carbon pollution from
coal-fired power plants, funding research for renewable energy,
yada, yada.
http://grist.org/politics/the-public-is-wrong-on-climate-as-it-was-on-slavery-womens-rights/


Republicans were wrong about China’s climate commitment. Almost
as soon as President Barack Obama and President Xi Jinping
announced their landmark climate deal last week, there was a
torrent of criticism that the pact let China off the hook.
Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)
complained that “the agreement requires the Chinese to do nothing
at all for 16 years.” The argument goes like this: The U.S.
committed to deeper, faster cuts than it had before — reducing
carbon emissions 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025.
http://grist.org/politics/republicans-were-wrong-about-chinas-climate-commitment/





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