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newsclips -- Newsclips for December 15, 2014
Posted: 15 Dec 2014 12:19:30
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. UN CLIMATE TALKS: LIMA Paris climate summit faces tougher job after modest Lima deal A Paris summit in 2015 will face a tougher task to agree a U.N. deal to slow climate change after the hopes of many that cooperation between Washington and Beijing would be a magic key to end global gridlock dissolved in chaotic preparatory talks in Lima. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/15/us-climatechange-lima-idUSKBN0JT0G320141215 Climate Talks Yield Plan to Spread Burden of Emission Cuts The U.S. and other wealthy countries persuaded their developing-nation peers to advance a framework that for the first time would spread the burden of economically painful emission cuts across all nations. The compromise reached at early Sunday at climate talks in Lima—part of negotiations aimed at reaching a final, comprehensive climate pact next year in Paris—would require every country to submit plans for cutting their carbon footprints in the coming months. http://www.wsj.com/articles/climate-talks-notch-progress-with-plan-for-emission-cuts-1418542019?KEYWORDS=air+pollution A Climate Accord Based on Global Peer Pressure Shortly before 2 a.m. on Sunday, after more than 36 straight hours of negotiations, top officials from nearly 200 nations agreed to the first deal committing every country in the world to reducing the fossil fuel emissions that cause global warming. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/15/world/americas/lima-climate-deal.html&assetType=nyt_now Climate negotiators in Peru 'did the bare minimum,' one critic says International negotiators in Peru agreed early Sunday on some essential building blocks for a global accord to address climate change, most notably an unprecedented agreement that all countries commit to cutting heat-trapping emissions. http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-peru-climate-deal-20141213-story.html Deal reached at U.N. climate change talks in Peru ...countries who accused rich nations of shirking their responsibilities to fight global warming and pay for its impacts. Peru's environment minister... http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-peru-climate-deal-20141213-story.html Gaps Between Rich and Poor Slow Race to a Climate Deal The path to a climate deal in Paris next year is littered with obstacles, foremost being how to differentiate between what rich nations must do to cut pollution and what commitments will be accepted by developing countries, such as India and Brazil. Last week, envoys from some 190 countries gathered in Lima took a first step toward the goal of binding all nations to greenhouse-gas limits. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-15/-monsters-divide-rich-and-poor-on-road-to-climate-deal.html Lima conference in danger of missing the rainforest for the trees I applaud the Guardian for taking the lead in covering the UN's climate change conference in Lima, and for tackling some of its inherent contradictions. For example, your article Lima climate talks on track for record carbon footprint (theguardian.com, 10 December) highlights the conference of the parties' (Cop) surprisingly negative environmental impact this year. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/dec/14/lima-cop-20-danger-missing-rainforest-for-the-trees-european-union1 'Weak’ deal salvaged at U.N. climate summit in Peru Climate negotiators salvaged a compromise deal in Lima early Sunday that sets the stage for a global pact in Paris next year, but rejected a rigorous review of greenhouse gas emissions limits. More than 30 hours behind schedule, delegates from more than 190 countries agreed on what information should go into the pledges that countries submit for the expected Paris pact. http://www.sfgate.com/world/article/Weak-deal-salvaged-at-U-N-climate-summit-in-5956815.php At UN climate talks, a crack in rich-poor barrier ...Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during the Climate Change Conference COP20 in Lima Peru, Friday, Dec. 12, 2014.... http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_27134704/deal-reached-at-un-climate-talks-peru Climate change deal talks head into overtime Negotiators from around the globe haggled Saturday over the final elements of a draft climate change deal that would, for the first time in history, commit every nation to cutting its greenhouse gas emissions — yet... http://www.sfgate.com/world/article/Climate-change-deal-talks-head-into-overtime-5955361.php After 30 hours of overtime haggling, diplomats agree on a new approach to deal with climate change A battle over how the world will tackle climate change dragged into more than 30 hours of overtime ending early today with a thin agreement that puts governments on a path to a new global warming accord in 2015 but does little to ensure it is ambitious enough to avoid the most dangerous impacts. http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060010528/print CAP AND TRADE New Campaign Shows How CA Climate Change Laws Help Disadvantaged Communities Today The Greenlining Institute launched a new campaign to highlight how California's climate change and clean energy laws bring jobs and consumer savings to communities of color and low-income neighborhoods across California even as they fight smog and promote health. Centerpiece of the new campaign is a just-launched website, UpLiftCA.org, with the tagline, "Our Air. Our Jobs. Our Neighborhoods." http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/2398991 AIR POLLUTION In Navajo country, coal gives life — and takes it, some say rom her bedroom window, Cynthia Dixon watches the cloud of soot rise from the coal mine near her sheep spread. Down the road, a hulking coal-fired electrical plant spews a yellow plume that stains the horizon. Many days, she finds a layer of black dust coating the inside of her trailer home. Farmers who have worked the land for decades say fouled air from the mine and nearby Four Corners coal-fired power plant has shriveled fruits and vegetables in the field. And there are fewer eagles and jack rabbits, which once thrived on the Navajo Reservation, they add. http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-new-mexico-coal-20141215-story.html#page=1 China’s Coal Addiction Brings Scourge of Black Lung When the shortness of breath he suffered for months became so labored that it fractured his sleep, coal miner Ruan Fayou knew he needed help. It took another year, multiple hospital visits and repeated shunting between bureaucracies for Mr. Ruan to determine he was suffering from pneumoconiosis, a disease commonly known by its most vivid symptom: black lung. http://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-coal-addiction-brings-scourge-of-black-lung-1418593741 Coal demand growth will slow through 2019, says International Energy Agency. Growth in demand for coal will slow over the next five years as the United States and Europe reduce consumption and China implements air pollution policies, according to the International Energy Agency. The Paris-based group said China will still account for three-fifths of global coal growth… http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/coal-demand-growth-will-slow-through-2019-says-international-energy-agency/article/2557388?custom_click=rss Richmond hosts first forum on Brown's refinery safety task force In the first of what they hope will be a series of public information meetings in Richmond and across the state in communities near California's 13 oil refineries, state and county officials on Thursday outlined the rapidly changing petroleum industry's impact in the area and the regulatory framework that is trying to catch up. "It takes great cooperation from a range of agencies and the public to be effective," said county Supervisor John Gioia, of Richmond, who is also a member of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. http://www.contracostatimes.com/west-county-times/ci_27121827/richmond-hosts-first-public-meeting-governors-refinery-safety CLIMATE CHANGE Poll: Half of Republicans back limits on carbon ...will be undoing environmental regulations they claim will harm the economy, chief among them President Barack Obama's plans to limit heat-trapping carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants. The results of a new poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and Yale University... http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/article4443102.html Capturing Carbon as a Byproduct of Running a Fuel Cell The more that engineers look, the more they find unexpected ways to capture carbon dioxide, a gas that scientists say threatens global climate stability. Until now, most efforts to capture carbon have been expensive, in dollars and in energy. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/15/business/capturing-carbon-as-a-byproduct-of-running-a-fuel-cell.html?_r=0 Climate Change Takes A Village It's a Wednesday morning in late August, the first day of classes at the Shishmaref School. The doors of the pale blue building haven't opened yet, and the new principal is hurriedly buttering toast in the kitchen for the students’ breakfasts. Teachers are scrambling to make last-minute adjustments to their classrooms, while anxious kids, ranging from pre-K students through high schoolers, wait on the porch, their jackets zipped against the chill of the early-morning air. It's all so incredibly normal, you might not know that, just a few years ago, no one thought Shishmaref would be here anymore. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/14/shishmaref-alaska-climate-change-relocation_n_6296516.html Study: Hotter days in US mean less cold cash Hotter days mean less cold cash for Americans, according to a new study matching 40 years of temperatures to economics. Days that averaged about 77 degrees ended up reducing people's income by about $5 a day when compared with days that were about 20 degrees cooler. A county's average economic productivity decreases by nearly 1 percent for every degree Fahrenheit that the average daily temperature is above 59… http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SCI_HOT_DAY_ECONOMICS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Is a Two-Degree Limit on Global Warming Off Target? After two weeks of grinding meetings in Lima, Peru, the world’s climate negotiators emerged this weekend with a deal. They settled on preliminary language, to be finalized a year from now in Paris, meant to help keep the long-term warming of the planet below 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/16/science/earth/is-a-two-degree-limit-on-global-warming-off-target.html&assetType=nyt_now&_r=0 Bill Nye Wants To Call Climate Skeptics "Deniers" But Really, We Should Just Call Them Wrong ...scientific case that human activity is changing the climate. Inhofe's belief that global warming is “the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American... http://www.forbes.com/sites/fayeflam/2014/12/15/bill-nye-the-science-guy-says-we-should-call-self-described-climate-skeptics-deniers-but-really-we-should-just-call-them-wrong/ DIESEL EMISSIONS CARB Finalizes Changes The California Air Resources Board has finalized changes to its truck regulations. The changes will allow some owner-operators and small fleet owners extensions for complying with emissions regulations. The changes are expected to be effective by the end of the year. http://www.gobytrucknews.com/carb-finalizes-changes/123 FUELS Will cheap oil kill Keystone? Greens who want President Barack Obama to kill the Keystone XL pipeline are adding a new weapon to their arsenal of protests and lawsuits — the world’s glut of cheap oil. The same collapse in oil prices that is pumping dollars into motorists’ wallets also risks undermining the case for building the 1,179-mile pipeline in two crucial ways: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/oil-keystone-xl-113551.html#ixzz3Lz4wOi54 California report emphasizes need for renewable gas standard The nonprofit Bioenergy Association of California published a report in November detailing why California needs a renewable gas standard (RGS). The report concludes that the biogas sector needs an effective regulatory framework and greater long-term certainty to reach the level of market penetration that will drive down costs and enable biogas to compete with the historically low cost of natural gas. http://biomassmagazine.com/articles/11313/california-report-emphasizes-need-for-renewable-gas-standard Hydrogen Fueling Arrives in Sacramento, CA The Ramos Oil Company located in West Sacramento, California is now offering drivers the ability to fuel their hydrogen powered vehicles. The new hydrogen station is equipped with state-of-the-art technology developed by Linde North America. http://domesticfuel.com/2014/12/12/hydrogen-fueling-arrives-in-sacramento-ca/ VEHICLES Hybrids A Better, More Cost-Effective Way To Cut Carbon Today, Study Says The hydrogen fuel-cell cars being promoted as the future of zero-emission... http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1095694_hybrids-a-better-more-cost-effective-way-to-cut-carbon-today-study-says GREEN ENERGY Coal-heavy electric cooperatives take hard line on EPA Clean Power Plan The nation's electric cooperatives have choice words for U.S. EPA and its proposed rule to curb greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants. In nearly 200 pages of provocative comments, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association takes EPA to task for what it sees as unlawfully usurping the states' proper role in regulating the electric sector. http://www.eenews.net/energywire/stories/1060010539/print Native Americans challenge construction of Mojave Desert solar plant A federally recognized Indian tribe has filed a lawsuit to block construction of a solar energy facility that will replace 4,000 acres of ancestral homelands in the Mojave Desert with reflective photovoltaic panels. http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-native-americans-solar-20141212-story.html Batteries That Will Save the Planet ...to make.” This in spite of the recent launch of the Tesla S, the Nissan LEAF, the Chevrolet Volt and the announcement of a slew of new hybrid and pure-electric cars across the automotive spectrum, from econoboxes to two Porsche luxury hybrids. The problem Manjoo and others foresaw was several-fold:... http://www.newsweek.com/batteries-will-save-planet-291528 MISCELLANEOUS AM Alert: Tom Steyer, legislative leaders discuss California’s climate future California’s legislative leadership joins billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer for a forum on climate change in Oakland today, hosted by his political advocacy group NextGen Climate America. The California Climate Leadership Forum, starting at 1 p.m. at the Kaiser Center, will focus on the state’s climate policy and its impact on local communities, as well as new approaches to addressing climate change. State Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León and Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins will deliver keynote addresses, as will Steyer, a big political player who spent $30 million in 2012 to help pass an energy conservation measure, Proposition 39. http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article4457312.html#storylink=cpy Grant to let scientists monitor global warming at UC reserves Scientists at UC Santa Cruz are creating a statewide “climate change observatory” where researchers and students will monitor the impact of global warming on plant and animal life throughout the university’s statewide network of protected natural reserves — nearly 40 areas set aside for study in widely varied environments. http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/Grant-to-let-scientists-monitor-global-warming-at-5956914.php At 83, Georgian still leading clean air efforts Four years after he left office, former Houston County Commission Chairman Ned Sanders is still performing an important civic duty. The commission recently reappointed Sanders to another term on the Middle Georgia Clean Air Coalition, which has a mission of keeping the region in compliance with federal clean air standards. That is critically important to Robins Air Force Base and the prospects of bringing new industry to the area. http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/At-83-Georgian-still-leading-clean-air-efforts-5956314.php OPINION The truth about that “hidden gas tax” The video begins with a white van pulling into a gas station on Jan. 1, 2015. “Oh, come on, this is ridiculous,” the driver declares as he looks at the price on the pump. “There goes the college fund,” he grumbles. “I tried to tell him,” his young daughter lectures in a video that has drawn 220,000 YouTube views. A “hidden gas tax” is about to raise prices from 16 to 76 cents a gallon, she warns, citing a 2010 estimate from the California Air Resources Board. http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/diaz/article/The-truth-about-that-hidden-gas-tax-5953730.php Why you should love paying 10 cents more per gallon California drivers have been delighted to see gasoline prices dropping lately, down more than a dollar a gallon since early summer. It's no mystery what's causing it: Crude oil prices have fallen steeply, lowering the cost for refiners that process crude into gasoline. In the competitive refining business, when costs change, prices quickly follow. http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-borenstein-gas-prices-emissions-20141214-story.html China’s Double-Edged Pact Whether China is a climate hero or a climate villain is a matter of polarized debate. At one extreme, the world’s biggest carbon-emitter is portrayed as a wasteful bogeyman that obstructs efforts to halt global warming and “steals” clean-tech jobs through unfair practices. At the other extreme, people see Beijing’s policies as the planet’s best hope: With its aggressive plans to green its economy… http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/16/opinion/chinas-double-edged-pact.html?_r=0 BLOGS At Climate Talks in Lima, Not ‘Same as it Ever Was’? Longtime readers will recall how I’ve cited the Talking Heads lyric “same as it ever was” quite often over the years in assessing negotiations aimed at forging a new global agreement on slowing global warming and limiting its impacts. Some observers at the latest round of negotiations, which ran overtime and ended this morning in Lima, Peru, insist things are no longer the way they were, and that a new theme song may be in order. I was not at the talks this year, so I’m drawing on input from a variety of contacts who were. http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/14/at-climate-talks-in-lima-not-same-as-it-ever-was/?src=twr&gwh=261C0960A42638C1627A539C4D9998DF&gwt=pay&assetType=opinion Keep talking about climate change, Democrats Yale University has funded an interesting new Associated Press poll that goes deep into Americans’ attitudes towards climate change. Hopefully, its findings will encourage Democrats to talk as much as possible about the issue. The key findings are that Americans believe by 56-20 that global warming is happening; 72 percent are very or moderately worried about it; and 50 percent say human activity is a key cause. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2014/12/12/keep-talking-about-climate-change-democrats/ Black Lung: The Experience in Other Jurisdictions China is only the latest country to grapple with black lung. The U.S. and Britain, among others, dealt with legions of cases decades ago. In the U.S., the proportion of coal workers afflicted with black lung reached 7.7% in the 1968-1980 period, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2014/12/15/black-lung-the-experience-in-other-jurisdictions/?KEYWORDS=air+pollution Carbon Markets Link In $500 Million Clean Energy Investment North America’s carbon markets have raised over $500 million for clean energy projects and successfully completed the first linked international auction in the past month, highlighting the potential for expansion and international system linkages to fight climate change. California’s cap-and-trade market held its first joint auction with Quebec’s system, raising $407 million and demonstrating carbon pricing works across international borders, while the Northeast United States’ Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) generated $94 million in its 26th auction. http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/15/carbon-markets-link-in-500-million-clean-energy-investment/ New York’s air in decent shape, says EPA, but you need a Ph.D to figure that out Thanks goodness the Environmental Protection Agency cut to the chase Monday when it came to New York State’s air. Sort of. In a proposed rule filed in the Federal Register, the bible of government proposals and findings, it informs us of what seems vaguely understandable in the English most of us speak… http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dc/epa-good-news-n-y-air-blog-entry-1.2045603 At COP 20 in Lima, tracing a path to cap greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions from coal and oil in China The COP 20 negotiations in Lima, Peru have entered the final push, with negotiating parties seeking a deal out of Lima that sets a clear path for reaching an agreement in Paris next year that puts the globe on a path to rapidly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. China and the US, through their joint climate announcement in Beijing last month, have given the talks new momentum (see here for the backstory on how they reached a deal), adding to the EU’s 2030 climate commitment to reduce its emissions by 40% by 2030. http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/alin/at_cop_20_in_lima_tracing_a_pa.html New Studies Close in on Methane Leaks and Bolster Calls for Strong E.P.A. Rules A new peer-reviewed analysis of sources of leaks in natural gas drilling and well operations strongly bolsters growing calls for the Environmental Protection Agency to settle on regulations cutting wasteful, harmful emissions of methane from both new and existing oil and natural gas wells. Methane is the main constituent of natural gas but also a powerful heat-trapping gas that is often accompanied by other pollutants that can worsen local air pollution. http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/10/new-studies-close-in-on-methane-leaks-and-bolster-calls-for-strong-e-p-a-rules/?emc=edit_tnt_20141215&nlid=46426900&tntemail0=y&assetType=opinion Climate change is threatening the existence of the world’s most amazing bird "Moonbird," they call him. Or sometimes, just "B95" -- the number from the band on his leg. Moonbird is the most famous, charismatic member of a group of mid-sized shorebirds called Rufa red knots, whose numbers have plummeted so dramatically in the past several decades that they just became the first bird ever listed under the Endangered Species Act with climate change cited as a "primary threat." http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/12/15/climate-change-is-threatening-the-existence-of-the-worlds-most-amazing-bird/ 3 Climate Lessons From Lima This post was co-authored with Romina Picolotti and V. Ramanathan. Climate change cannot be solved without leadership from heads of... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/durwood-zaelke/three-climate-lessons-fro_b_6318156.html?ir=Politics&utm_hp_ref=politics California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.