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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for January 14, 2015
Posted: 14 Jan 2015 13:10:07
ARB Newsclips for January 14, 2015. 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 Interests line up to spend cap-and-trade fund that could top $2.3B. California's cap-and-trade program to cut carbon emissions should bring in more than $2.3 billion in the next fiscal year, not just the $1 billion that Gov. Jerry Brown budgeted, the state's spending watchdog said yesterday. California's Legislative Analyst's Office reviewed the Democratic governor's proposed spending plan for fiscal 2015-16. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060011645/print AIR POLLUTION How carbon monoxide kills. Each year, about 30 Californians die of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning, according to the California Air Resources Board. More than 600 residents end up in the emergency room each year because of non-lethal exposures. Carbon monoxide, or CO, is an odorless and colorless gas produced when fossil fuels are burned. Carbon monoxide inhibits the blood’s ability to carry oxygen to body tissues including vital organs such as the heart and brain, according to the Air Resources Board. http://www.presstelegram.com/health/20150113/how-carbon-monoxide-kills L.A. Basin methane emissions found up to 61% higher than estimates. A new study that used a mountaintop sensor to measure air pollution in the Los Angeles Basin found emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, are up to 61% higher than government estimates. The study published Monday in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, is the latest to reveal official emissions inventories that underestimate the amount of the planet-warming pollutant being released into the atmosphere. http://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-methane-emissions-20150114-story.html Air tainted with soot lingers in San Francisco Bay Area. A stubborn dry weather pattern settled over Northern California in January, helping create some of the sootiest air in years for the 7.5 million people in the San Francisco Bay Area, air quality officials said Tuesday. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued its 11th-straight "Spare the Air" warning on Monday, forbidding most indoor and outdoor wood burning. http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/article6238044.html#storylink=cpy CLIMATE CHANGE Melting Glaciers Imperil Kathmandu, Perched High Above Rising Seas. A month’s walk from the nearest sea, Kathmandu -- elevation almost a mile -- is as vulnerable to climate change as the world’s coastal megacities. The capital of the poorest Asian country after Afghanistan already is feeling the effect: Rising temperatures are crimping power and food supplies as rural migrants stream to a city of 1 million that’s among the world’s most crowded. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-13/melting-glaciers-imperil-kathmandu-perched-high-above-rising-seas.html Polar bears migrate to Northwest Passages for longer lasting ice. Some polar bear clusters have slowly moved to islands north of Canada's mainland that are retaining the Arctic ice for longer, according to a new scientific study that predicts the migration, linked to climate change, would continue. The study published earlier this month in the journal PLOS ONE was based on DNA taken from nearly 2,800 polar bears in countries where the animals live - the United States, Russia, Canada, Greenland and Norway. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/14/us-usa-alaska-polarbears-idUSKBN0KN0CI20150114 Will we be hungry in a warming world? USDA wants to know. The agricultural livestock field will have to undergo systematic changes to cope with food security and sustainability problems in a climate-changed world, according to a new report commissioned by the National Academy of Sciences. By the year 2050, demand for animal protein is predicted to go up significantly as the global population reaches between 9 billion and 10 billion people. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/01/14/stories/1060011619 Climate change threatens to release some of nature's largest CO2 stockpiles. Peatlands across the world are vulnerable to fires as a result of climate change, according to a paper published this month in the journal Nature Geoscience. Peat-rich areas, which span every continent but are most prevalent in the northern high latitudes, not only contain more carbon than is stored in all other vegetation, but also store carbon that has not been part of the active carbon cycle for centuries, the authors say. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060011641/print Thunderstorms rain down ozone, study says. The mighty power of a thunderstorm might fill some of us with awe and dread, but what's happening up in the atmosphere during the booms and flashes has implications for climate change, a new study says. Research published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters shows that large storms move significant amounts of ozone from the stratosphere down to the troposphere, or the part of the atmosphere closest to Earth. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060011625/print Physicians say they are seeing impacts of climate change in patients. Health formed a big part of President Obama's pitch for new greenhouse gas rules, but most Americans don't make the connection between rising temperatures and problems like heart attacks, kidney stones and trouble breathing. However, a recent survey found that within a specialized subset of American doctors, most think that they are already seeing the impacts of a changing climate. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060011647/print DROUGHT Drought-plagued West warned to collect rain as snowpack disappears. The drought that has been socking Western states and farms for years has also dried up the mountain snowpack, prompting experts this week to call for a whole new system to collect rare rainfall. The influential American Farm Bureau, citing climate change, said a shift to collecting rain must happen now because it could take up to 30 years to build a new infrastructure. http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/west-warned-to-collect-rain-as-snowpack-melts/article/2558523 Sacramento beats L.A. in water conservation. Sacramento residents recently achieved something significant in dealing with the drought gripping California: In November, they used less water per person than residents of Los Angeles. According to data gathered by the State Water Resources Control Board, residents of Sacramento on average consumed 73 gallons of water per person each day in November… http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article6328806.html#storylink=cpy DIESEL ACTIVITIES California governor hangs hat on 7 mpg for diesel trucks. California Gov. Jerry Brown has announced ambitious plans to reduce the state’s use of oil that will rely on increased fuel mileage from passenger vehicles and big rigs. During his inaugural address in early January before the state legislature, Brown said he wants California to obtain half of its electricity from renewable sources and also wants to reduce the use of petroleum by cars and trucks in half. http://www.landlinemag.com/Story.aspx?StoryID=28329#.VLaotxY6coAhttp://www.landlinemag.com/Story.aspx?StoryID=28329#.VLaotxY6coA FUELS Obama moves to create first methane limits for gas drilling. The Obama administration laid out a blueprint Wednesday for the first regulations to cut down on methane emissions from new natural gas wells, aiming to curb the discharge of a potent greenhouse gas by roughly half. Relying once again on the Clean Air Act, the rules join a host of others that President Barack Obama has ordered in an effort to slow global warming despite… http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBAMA_METHANE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT OTHER RELATED STORIES http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-14/obama-unveils-plan-to-cut-methane-leaks-from-oil-gas-industry.html http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/14/us/politics/obama-administration-to-unveil-plans-to-cut-methane-emissions.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2015/01/14/us/14reuters-usa-climatechange-methane.html http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060011651/print Government predicts shale slowdown as oil falls. As oil's long slide continued, the Energy Department forecast Tuesday that production from U.S. shale operators will begin to tail off in the second half of the year. The decline would mark the first such drop in what has been a 6-year boom in U.S. onshore crude production. The price of oil fell Tuesday, dipping briefly under $45, before ending down 18 cents to $45.89 a barrel. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OIL_PRICES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Oil Output Seen Rising, Despite Fall in Its Price. Even with oil prices continuing to plummet and oil companies decommissioning drilling rigs every day, the Energy Department on Tuesday projected that domestic crude production would continue to rise in 2015, although growth would slow. The forecast of even more American supplies on an oversupplied global market was not unexpected, but it added to the probability that oil prices… http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/14/business/oil-prices-continue-to-fall.html Detroit's Blue Skies Clouded by Worries About Fuel Economy. Auto industry executives see nothing but blue skies in the U.S. market, especially compared with troubled Western European economies or slumping emerging markets. There is just one, increasingly vexing problem: The vehicles American consumers will pay a premium to own are not the fuel-sipping small cars or electricity-powered models that they… http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2015/01/13/business/13reuters-autoshow-fueleconomy-analysis.html VEHICLES Tesla Falls Most Since September as Musk Cites China Drop. Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA) tumbled the most in almost four months after Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk cited slowing sales in China amid charging concerns and said the electric carmaker won’t become profitable until 2020, when annual deliveries reach 500,000. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-14/tesla-falls-most-since-september-as-musk-cites-china-sales-drop.html Tesla Chief Asks Makers to Support Electric Cars. Elon Musk, chief executive of the electric car company Tesla, urged traditional automakers to step up their efforts at electrifying automobiles, saying that with gasoline prices hovering in the $2-a-gallon range, high fuel prices can no longer be expected to drive consumers toward alternatives. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/14/business/tesla-chief-asks-makers-to-support-electric-cars.html Honda Introduces Vehicle Powered by Hydrogen. The movement toward alternative-energy vehicles received another push on Tuesday when Honda unveiled a hydrogen-powered car it aims to begin selling in March 2016 in Japan. While much of the attention on alternative powertrains has focused on electric vehicles — thanks to the success of Tesla’s Model S and the potential of General Motors’ second-generation Chevy Volt… http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/14/business/honda-introduces-vehicle-powered-by-hydrogen.html GM introduces the Chevrolet Bolt, a cheaper electric car. In a debut that may have overshadowed its brand-name alternative-fuel vehicle, General Motors Co. on Monday at the Detroit car show unveiled the Chevrolet Bolt, an electric concept car the corporation signaled will address electric cars' primary shortcomings -- high starting prices and limited driving ranges. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060011642/print GREEN ENERGY FBI asked about de León energy-efficiency bill. The FBI has made an inquiry into legislation carried in recent years by California Senate leader Kevin de León, sources have told The Sacramento Bee. Agents had questions about a bill de León wrote that would have expanded ways for consumers to repay money they borrow to make energy-efficiency upgrades through their monthly utility bills, the sources said. http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article6372108.html#storylink=cpy MISCELLANEOUS Washington Governor Seeks New Taxes as a Court Order Looms. Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, stepped to the rostrum in the ornate House chamber of the Capitol here on Tuesday and called for the biggest increase in new tax dollars in state history. “The time of recession and hollowing out is behind us,” Mr. Inslee said in his State of the State address to lawmakers. “It is now time for reinvestment.” http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/14/us/washington-governor-seeks-new-taxes-as-a-court-order-looms.html OPINIONS Chamber's Donohue: Regulating Emissions Under Clean Air Law Doesn't Work. U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue said on Wednesday the business lobby does not believe the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions through the Clean Air Act is appropriate or workable. "While we strongly support technological solutions to address greenhouse gas emissions, we do not believe that the regulation of these emissions thru the Clean Air Act is appropriate or ... workable," http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2015/01/14/us/politics/14reuters-usa-climatechange-business.html Big Oil plays Chicken Little on gas prices and AB 32. For months, the warnings were endless: Come January, gas prices would jump as much as 76 cents a gallon. “Put the brakes on the Hidden Gas Tax!” implored countless Facebook ads. Anyone seeing pump prices skyrocketing? Never mind that oil prices plummeted last year as a gallon of regular dropped in California from $4.13 last summer to $2.59 now – $2.48 in the Sacramento region. http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/bruce-maiman/article6132519.html#storylink=cpy Spare the air with trees. Fresno has been my home for the last 32 years and I have no plans to leave when I retire. Unfortunately, more than one friend has told me lately that they will leave upon retirement because the air quality is so bad. I have asked myself if there is something more I can do about air quality since I, too, have health challenges that are aggravated by pollution. What about asking every home and business owner in Fresno to double the number of trees on their own property? http://www.fresnobee.com/2015/01/13/4328649_spare-the-air-with-trees.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy BLOGS Oil Slide and California’s Hidden Gas Tax. Did the oil price plunge obscure the effects of California’s cap and trade regulations for gasoline? A couple months ago, consumers and anti-tax advocates were in a frenzy, fretting that new rules taking effect Jan. 1 would cause a $0.15 to $0.75 spike in prices at the pump. Meanwhile, plunging oil values have flipped California gas station marquee digits down $0.31 in the past month, according to data from AAA. http://blogs.rollcall.com/energy-xtra/oil-slide-and-californias-hidden-gas-tax/?dcz Senate Expected To Vote On Whether Climate Change Is Real, As Part Of Keystone Bill. The Senate agreed Tuesday to move to debate on amendments to legislation that would force approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, another step toward the anticipated approval of the bill sometime next week. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said debate will be allowed on any amendment put forward, including one from Democrats attempting to put Congress on the record acknowledging that fossil fuels are driving climate change. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/13/climate-change-keystone-bill_n_6466380.html California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.