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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for February 11, 2015.

Posted: 12 Feb 2015 13:03:32
ARB Newsclips for February 11, 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

‘Cap and Trade’ Could Bring Millions for Environmental Projects.
With the busy City College trolley station as a backdrop, local
government leaders on Tuesday called attention to $2 billion in
new funding for environmental projects under California’s
innovative “cap and trade” law.
http://timesofsandiego.com/politics/2015/02/10/cap-trade-bring-millions-environmental-projects/

 
AIR POLLUTION

Survey of Foreign Companies in China Finds Pollution a Growing
Problem. Foreign companies in China are struggling with growing
issues, including a perception that their businesses are less
welcome than before. Such problems have been building in the past
year, and they were underscored in survey results released on
Wednesday by the American Chamber of Commerce in China, which
also found for the first time in the survey’s 17-year history
that most companies were having greater troubles recruiting
executives because of air pollution.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/12/business/survey-of-foreign-companies-in-china-finds-pollution-a-growing-problem.html


New mobile air pollution monitor being tested in Los Angeles. The
ability to identify pollutants in the air is made difficult by
changing conditions and the fact that harmful substances are
usually invisible to the naked eye. A new vehicle being tested in
Los Angeles may change how air monitoring occurs by providing
real time data of toxic substances in the air.
http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/02/10/49759/new-mobile-air-pollution-monitor-being-tested-in-l/


Andean ice cap yields signs of 16th-century pollution. Traces of
pollution carried from a colonial silver mine hundreds of miles
away wound up trapped in the ice, suggesting that the Industrial
Era's impacts on the planet began earlier than previously thought
in some parts of the world. Traces of air pollution from
16th-century Spanish silver mines were discovered deep inside an
ice cap in the Peruvian Andes…
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2015/0210/Andean-ice-cap-yields-signs-of-16th-century-pollution


CLIMATE CHANGE

Opponents Say Talk of Offsetting Greenhouse Gas Emissions Could
Jeopardize Global Pact. Opposition to language proposing
worldwide “net-zero” greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century
surfaced Feb. 10, immediately after the language was added to the
draft negotiating text that will be the basis for this year's
Paris global climate agreement. The net-zero 2050 proposal,
offered by Switzerland at the United Nations climate talks in
Geneva, would allow countries and companies to offset greenhouse
gas emissions…
http://www.bna.com/opponents-say-talk-n17179922980/ 

UN deal to combat global warming complicated as length of draft
text balloons. 
Almost 200 nations complicated a drive for a U.N. deal to combat
climate change in 2015 on Wednesday by more than doubling the
length of a draft negotiating text to about 100 pages of
radically varying solutions. Government delegates said the
additions at the Geneva talks, set for Feb. 8-13, were to let all
countries air their views…
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/11/us-climatechange-talks-idUSKBN0LF1YZ20150211


Supply chain policies need work to save forests-think tank.
Governments, companies and investors still have significant work
to do if they are to stop global supply chains causing
deforestation and worsening climate change, a tropical forest
think tank said on Wednesday. A new ranking of 250 companies, 150
investors and lenders, 50 countries and regions…
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/11/us-deforestation-policy-commodities-idUSKBN0LF15320150211


Obama looks to raise $2 billion in climate change investments.
The Obama administration on Tuesday set a goal of raising $2
billion in philanthropic investments to fight climate change,
including technologies to slash carbon emissions. The Clean
Energy Investment Initiative is seeking investments to try to
bridge the "valley of death"…
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/10/us-usa-climate-whitehouse-idUSKBN0LE2JZ20150210?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews


What the massive snowfall in Boston tells us about global
warming. The snowfall in Boston lately is simply insane. The
local bureau of the National Weather Service has tallied up the
data and here’s how it looks — with all-time records for snow
within a 14-, 20-, and 30-day period: You could treat this as
ordinary weather, or, you could think about it in a climate
context.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/02/10/what-the-massive-snowfall-in-boston-tells-us-about-global-warming/


Panel Urges Research on Geoengineering as a Tool Against Climate
Change. With the planet facing potentially severe impacts from
global warming in coming decades, a government-sponsored
scientific panel on Tuesday called for more research on
geoengineering — technologies to deliberately intervene in nature
to counter climate change.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/11/science/panel-urges-more-research-on-geoengineering-as-a-tool-against-climate-change.html?rref=science&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region®ion=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well&_r=0


Man-made climate change may need man-made remedies, science panel
says
Refinery.  Alarmed by the rapid pace of climate change, a key
federal science panel is urging a major research effort into
high-tech schemes that could cool the planet if prevention fails,
potentially including giant machines to suck greenhouse gases
from the air, aerosol sprays shot into the atmosphere to reflect
sunlight back into space…
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-climate-technology-20150210-story.html#page=1

Sides square off over climate change proposals by California
Democrats. The release of climate change proposals by Senate
Democrats on Tuesday quickly spawned a heated debate over the
direction of California's economy and the potential effect of new
environmental regulations. Some unions and companies welcome the
legislation, saying it will lead to new jobs and foster a growing
market in clean energy technologies.
http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-82780012/ 

Senate Democrats embrace governor's climate change strategy.
Senate Democrats embraced new climate change goals Tuesday by
adopting Gov. Jerry Brown's call to increase the use of renewable
energy to 50 percent in 15 years and adding their own
initiatives. Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon and fellow
Democrats said they want to increase statewide renewable
electricity use to 50 percent…
http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article9694646.html#storylink=cpy


Here’s how California lawmakers plan to cut greenhouse gases. The
Chevron oil refinery in Richmond would take a backseat to
renewable energy sources as the new slew of state bills to combat
climate change would slash oil use in California in half by 2050
to meet Gov. Jerry Brown’s ambitious goals. In a move that could
shape California’s climate policies for decades to come,
legislators on Tuesday introduced a series of bills that would
slash oil use in half by 2050…
http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Here-s-how-California-lawmakers-plan-to-cut-6073418.php


Can 'climate intervention' help fend off global warming?
(+video). The National Academy of Sciences outlines a research
agenda for two broad approaches that may be needed as greenhouse
gas emissions continue to rise. A panel of scientists from the
United States is calling for more research into tools for
intentionally altering components of Earth's climate system as a
way to forestall or blunt the worst effects of global warming.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2015/0210/Can-climate-intervention-help-fend-off-global-warming-video


Paris Talks Won’t Achieve 2°C Goal: Does That Matter? Officials
involved with United Nations climate talks have been warning that
the next pact, which will be negotiated in December in Paris,
won’t alone hold global warming to less than 2°C, or 3.6°F. Those
warnings have triggered renewed concern for the future of the
planet as negotiators meet this week in Geneva, Switzerland, for
a round of lower-profile talks.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/paris-talks-wont-achieve-2-degree-goal-does-that-matter-18648


White House doubles down: Climate change more dangerous than
terrorism. The White House insisted Tuesday that the dangers
posed by climate change are greater for average Americans than
the threat of terrorism. Speaking to reporters, White House press
secretary Josh Earnest said Americans no longer face the same
threat of attack that they did prior to Sept. 11, 2001, crediting
the administration’s efforts to degrade organizations such as al
Qaeda.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/feb/10/wh-climate-change-more-dangerous-than-terrorism/#ixzz3RT0N65jL
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/232310-wh-more-americans-directly-affected-by-climate-change-than


Top lawmakers launch a clean energy 'gold rush' with sweeping new
climate change proposals. State legislative leaders for
California yesterday pitched an ambitious climate change agenda
as a job-creating vehicle. Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León
(D) unveiled an ambitious package of bills that would extend the
state's greenhouse gas targets to midcentury, expand the state's
renewable electricity target to 50 percent…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060013256/print 

Coal-heavy utility offers support for EPA's Clean Power Plan in
exchange for revisions. A coal-reliant electric utility, Ameren
Corp., is laying out changes U.S. EPA could make to its proposed
Clean Power Plan to earn the company's support for the proposed
rule. In a white paper released today, the utility -- which
produces 70 percent of its power from coal-fired plants…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060013253/print 

Website lets users buy international carbon offsets with credit
card. Want to buy a metric ton of forest carbon? As of yesterday,
all you need is an Internet connection and a credit card. Code
REDD, a California-based nonprofit, yesterday launched a website
where anyone can purchase forest carbon offsets for as little as
$5. Called "Stand for Trees," the crowdsourcing effort aims to
raise over $1 million for the projects described on the website…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060013230/print 

Shipping boom will increase warming, air pollution – report. As
Arctic ice melts, increased shipping through the region is
expected to exacerbate the impacts of global warming and
adversely affect human health, according to a new report by the
International Council on Clean Transportation.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060013219/print 

DROUGHT

Ranchers Bouncing Back, But Still Feel Effects Of Drought. Jim
Gates owns Nevada County Free Range Beef and was hit hard by the
drought last year. On this day, he hops out of his truck to open
the gate to his livestock pastures near Grass Valley. About 100
cows graze among the green rolling hills.
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2015/02/11/ranchers-bouncing-back,-but-still-feel-affects-of-drought/


Southern California may face water cuts. Southern Californians
may face water cutbacks this summer, the Metropolitan Water
District warned Monday after outlining options for rationing amid
the state’s fourth straight year of drought. Water restrictions
could trim the amount available to consumers by 5 percent to 10
percent, or perhaps more, according to the agency that serves as
the wholesale water supplier to the region.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/feb/09/environment-water-cutbacks-metropolitan/
 

NorCal getting more rain than SoCal. Now, after this past
weekend's soaking storms, there's a new difference emerging: the
drought. As the state faces a possible fourth year of drought,
Northern California is enjoying a healthy wet winter so far, with
rainfall levels at 100 percent of their historic average or above
in nearly every city, and reservoirs, while still not back to
normal, steadily filling.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_27503100/norcal-getting-more-rain-than-socal


FUELS

EU Shutters Most Coal, Natural Gas Power in Six Years. European
utilities shut more coal and natural gas power plants in 2014
than in any year since at least 2009 amid falling demand for
electricity and tougher pollution curbs, according to Bloomberg
New Energy Finance.  European Union power companies turned off 63
percent more coal- and gas-fed generation than they started…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-11/eu-shutters-most-coal-natural-gas-power-in-six-years


House Expected to Pass Keystone Bill Despite Obama’s Opposition.
The House on Wednesday is expected to pass a bill forcing the
administration to approve construction of the Keystone XL
pipeline, sending the measure to President Obama, who has vowed
to veto it. The Senate passed an identical measure in January.
While most congressional Republicans and some Democrats support
the pipeline…
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/12/us/politics/house-expected-to-pass-keystone-bill-despite-obamas-opposition.html


High levels of benzene found in fracking waste water. Hoping to
better understand the health effects of oil fracking, the state
in 2013 ordered oil companies to test the chemical-laden waste
water extracted from wells. Data culled from the first year of
those tests found significant concentrations of the human
carcinogen benzene in this so-called "flowback fluid." In some
cases, the fracking waste liquid…
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-fracking-20150211-story.html#page=1


Committee advances alternative fuel tax bill. A Senate committee
has advanced a bill that would add a new state tax on electric
and other vehicles that use nontraditional fuels. The Senate
Revenue Committee voted 5-0 Tuesday to recommend House Bill 9 and
send it to the Senate floor for debate. The House has already
approved the bill. The Wyoming Tribune-Eagle reports that the
proposal sets tax rates for a range of alternative fuels.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article9715811.html#storylink=cpy


VEHICLES

Lurching Start for Tesla in China. For $104,000, Yu Hangmei
expected a car that could, at the very least, be driven. What Ms.
Yu said she got instead was a new electric Tesla Model S sedan
and a malfunctioning charging station. While driving through her
town in coastal Zhejiang Province recently, Ms. Yu, 45, realized
that even though she had plugged in the vehicle, the battery was
almost dead.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/11/business/international/tesla-seeks-a-stronger-foothold-in-china.html


PG&E aims to install 25,000 electric car charging station across
California. The state's biggest utility wants to install 25,000
electric car charging stations across Northern and Central
California and have customers foot the bill. More than 60,000
plug-in electric vehicles are currently registered in PG&E's
service area in Central and Northern California. But there are
only 1,991 charging stations statewide, according to the U.S.
Department of Energy.
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/home/3512779-181/pge-aims-to-install-25000


Automakers outline EV strategies as Democrats push new vehicle
incentives. A single comment yesterday afternoon exposed the
different approaches automakers have used to crack into the
electric vehicle market and the challenges the sector faces.
"They have really pushed the industry into places it doesn't make
sense,"…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060013252/print 

GREEN ENERGY

Solar farm capable of powering 160,000 homes opens in California.
One of the largest solar energy farms in the world has opened in
Southern California's desert, with 160,000 homes now able to
power lights and appliances through sunlight converted into
electricity, federal officials said on Tuesday. The Desert
Sunlight Solar Farm, located in Riverside County about 170 miles
(273 km) east of downtown Los Angeles, was operating at full
capacity and providing 550 megawatts of electricity…
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/10/us-usa-california-solar-idUSKBN0LE2UF20150210


White House Seeks $2B in Private Funds for Investment in Clean
Energy Projects. The Obama administration announced Feb. 10 a
goal of raising $2 billion from the private sector to fund clean
energy projects, saying more funding is needed to fight climate
change through “innovative technologies.”  The Clean Energy
Investment Initiative, to be run by the Energy Department…
http://www.bna.com/white-house-seeks-n17179922979/ 

Europe Wind Power Booms on German Demand as 2015 Set for Record.
Developers installed 11.8 gigawatts of wind turbines in Europe
last year, accounting for almost half the power-generation
capacity added, as the region continues to shift away from fossil
fuels, according to the European Wind Energy Association. Germany
was the top wind market with about 45 percent of the total, the
Brussels-based trade group said Tuesday in a statement.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-11/eu-shutters-most-coal-natural-gas-power-in-six-years


Apple plans $850M solar plant in Monterey County to power all
California operations. Apple has committed nearly $850 million to
help build a solar energy farm in Monterey County that will
generate power for its California facilities, Apple CEO Tim Cook
announced Tuesday. Speaking at a technology conference hosted by
Goldman Sachs, Cook revealed that Apple is partnering with First
Solar to construct the 1,300-acre plant…
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_27499134/apple-plans-850m-solar-plant-monterey-county-power


Is Germany the Bellwether for Renewable Power Usage Increases?
One aspect of modern Germany that the world can count on is that
their stated economic objectives have almost always been met.
This is true, even though observers and analysts tend to raise
their eyebrows at the extremity of some of these predictions.
http://www.desertsun.com/story/morrisbeschlosseconomics/2015/02/11/morris-beschloss-economics-germany-green-renewable-energy-power/23224461/
 

While expanding its coal use, China leads world in efforts to
make it cleaner -- study China is projected to add 170 gigawatts
of coal-fired electric power capacity over the next decade and by
2025 will solidify its standing as the world's largest coal
consumer, with more than 1,367 GW of installed coal-fired
electricity capacity. This will be a 62 percent increase over
current levels, according to new findings from the research and
consulting firm GlobalData.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060013236/print 

BLOGS

Climate Change Claims Are All Hot Air. Voters aren't concerned
about fighting climate change and definitely don't want to pay to
do so. "Changing Attitudes on a Changing Climate," [Feb. 2, 2015]
sheds more heat than light on the issue of the public's
understanding of and attitude towards climate change and what can
be done about it. After more than two decades of hearing nothing
but radical environmental activists hype…
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/letters-to-the-editor/2015/02/11/polls-show-voters-dont-want-to-pay-to-fight-climate-change


Branson's Carbon War Room Partners With Rocky Mountain Institute
To Build Low Carbon Future. Richard Branson’s Carbon War Room
recently partnered with Rocky Mountain Institute to accelerate a
global shift to a low carbon future. Jules Kortenhorst, CEO of
Rocky Mountain Institute noted, “The energy revolution is
accelerating; the implications for businesses around the world
are enormous.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/devinthorpe/2015/02/11/bransons-carbon-war-room-partners-with-rocky-mountain-institute-to-build-low-carbon-future/


EROI -- A Tool To Predict The Best Energy Mix. Modern society was
born a hundred and fifty years ago when coal began providing
sufficient energy to make lots and lots of steel and steam,
lifting ordinary citizens out of poverty and into the
newly-developing middle class. Soon after, we added oil. The
energy obtained from these sources was obvious and immediate. It
took little energy input to get a lot of energy out.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2015/02/11/eroi-a-tool-to-predict-the-best-energy-mix/


Tom Steyer Takes a Side in Environmentalists' Ethanol Fight.
Billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer is in an unfamiliar spot:
at odds with many environmentalists on a global-warming policy.
Steyer's NextGen Climate group is embracing the federal biofuels
mandate, called the renewable-fuel standard (RFS)…
http://www.nationaljournal.com/energy/tom-steyer-takes-a-side-in-environmentalists-ethanol-fight-20140819


Blocking Out The Sun Not The Best Way To Fight Climate Change
…Yet. Drastic measures like geoengineering are seen as a last
resort for heading off the impacts of climate change, but
scientists are beginning to look seriously at the possibility
that the time for such techniques will inevitably come. For a few
decades now, we’ve been hearing from scientists and others,
including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change…
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericmack/2015/02/11/hide-the-co2-not-the-sunshine-to-fight-climate-change-says-science/


Rebellion Photonics: Thriving On Fumes. By creating a better tool
for spotting gas leaks from oilfields and pipelines, tiny
Rebellion Photonics got the jump on a global market no one else
could see. You’d think she’d be happy. When the Environmental
Protection Agency announced in January its intention to clamp
down on emissions of
methane…http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2015/02/11/rebellion-photonics-thriving-on-fumes/?ss=reinventing-america%2f


GOP lawmaker denies global warming as Inslee climate bill
advances. Gov. Jay Inslee’s proposal to cap state carbon
emissions and impose $1 billion a year in new charges on oil
refineries, aluminum smelters and other top polluters passed its
first legislative hurdle Tuesday, clearing the state House
Environment Committee on a party-line vote. Much of the debate
centered on GOP amendments that sought to soften the costs on
industries of the cap-and-trade proposal…
http://blogs.seattletimes.com/politicsnorthwest/2015/02/11/gop-lawmaker-denies-global-warming-as-inslee-climate-bill-advances/


Vaccines Are One of Our Best Weapons Against Global Warming.
Climate change could make deadly diseases like rotavirus even
worse. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has suggested that vaccines cause
"profound mental disorders." Paul has also said he's "not sure
anybody exactly knows why" the climate changes. So the likely
presidential contender would probably find this fact pretty
confusing:…
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2015/02/vaccines-measles-rotavirus-climate-change


Laying Pipe in The Lower 48. No one was surprised when the U.S.
Senate recently passed a bill to approve the Keystone XL
pipeline, and though a new video featuring Julie Louis-Dreyfus
urges all to sign the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council)
petition advising Obama to veto the pipeline, which he will
likely do…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-slovick/laying-pipe-in-the-lower-48_b_6648164.html?ir=Los+Angeles&utm_hp_ref=los-angeles


Reaction: Geoengineering is no substitute for cutting carbon
emissions, conclude US researchers. On Tuesday, the US National
Research Council  published two new reports on 'climate
interventions', or what's more commonly known as
'geoengineering'. Geoengineering is the deliberate large-scale
intervention into the Earth's climate system to try and limit the
effects of human-caused global warming…
http://www.carbonbrief.org/blog/2015/02/reaction-geoengineering-is-no-substitute-for-cutting-carbon-emissions-conclude-us-researchers/

How To Test Hydrogen Vs Electric Cars: A Challenge To Automakers
(In Our Dreams). The amount of animus between some proponents of
plug-in electric cars and those who support hydrogen fuel-cell
vehicles is remarkable, and sometimes disturbing. Each side
marshals studies of everything from wells-to-wheels carbon
footprint (electric cars win) to "refueling time" to full range
(hydrogen vehicles win).
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1096735_how-to-test-hydrogen-vs-electric-cars-a-challenge-to-automakers-in-our-dreams

 
Engineered yeast produces ethanol from three important cellulosic
biomass components simultaneously; higher yields, lower cost. A
team led by researchers from the University of Illinois at
Urbana−Champaign has, for the first time, integrated the
fermentation pathways of both hexose and pentose sugars from
biomass as well as an acetic acid reduction pathway into one
strain of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae using synthetic
biology and metabolic engineering approaches.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/02/20150211-ej4.html 

Volkswagen Group acquires Ballard automotive fuel cell patent
portfolio, extends engineering services contract in US$80+
million deal. Ballard Power Systems has entered into a Technology
Solutions transaction with Volkswagen Group for an aggregate
amount of approximately US$80 million for the transfer of certain
automotive-related fuel cell intellectual property (IP)…
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/02/20150211-volkswagen.html


Audi Buys Patents For Fuel-Cell Technology From Ballard Systems.
Honda, Hyundai, and Toyota have made most of the headlines in
hydrogen fuel-cell development lately, but the Volkswagen Group
may soon increase its presence. Audi announced today that it will
acquire a package of patents from fuel-cell company Ballard Power
Systems, which it says will be applied across all VW Group
brands.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1096736_audi-buys-patents-for-fuel-cell-technology-from-ballard-systems




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

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