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CAP AND TRADE

Farmers make bid for cap-and-trade cash, citing climate benefits.
A new report from a farm preservation group is making the case
that agricultural lands should be prized as storehouses for
greenhouse gas emissions. The report, by the nonprofit American
Farmland Trust, makes the point that converting farmland to urban
use increases its greenhouse gas footprint -- by a factor of more
than 50. The report finds that rice farming is the most
carbon-intensive crop, at about 5.5 metric tons of CO2 per acre
per year.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060013672/print

San Joaquin Valley growers help control greenhouse gases.  San
Joaquin Valley row-crop growers should be allowed the benefits of
so-called "cap-and-trade," according to new research from U.C.
Agricultural and Natural Resources. Long-term research by UCANR
has documented the capacity for farmland in the San Joaquin
Valley managed with certain conservation practices to sequester
carbon, results that could give farmers a seat at the carbon
trading table.
http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/story/news/local/2015/02/18/san-joaquin-valley-growers-help-control-greenhouse-gases/23654311/

AIR POLLUTION

US expands air quality monitoring to include some embassies. The
United States says it will expand air-quality monitoring at some
overseas diplomatic missions, following several years of
reporting pollution data in China. The goal is to increase
awareness of the health risks of outdoor air pollution, which
easily spreads across borders, Secretary of State John Kerry said
in announcing the program on Wednesday. The program is intended
to help United States citizens abroad reduce their exposure to
pollution and to help other countries develop their own
air-quality monitoring through training and exchanges with
American experts, he said.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_UNITED_STATES_EMBASSIES_AIR_POLLUTION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Related stories:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/20/world/asia/us-to-monitor-air-quality-in-india-and-other-countries.html
http://www.latimes.com/nation/sns-ap-us--united-states-embassies-air-pollution-20150218-story.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/02/19/u-s-embassies-are-measuring-other-countries-air-quality-surprise-they-dont-like-it-much/


Smartphones to monitor real-time air pollution 
Scientists have now turned smartphones into personal, real-time
air pollution monitors. Led by Mark J. Nieuwenhuijsen from the
Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL) in
Barcelona, Spain, the team has used smartphone and sensing
technology to better pinpoint where and when pollution is at its
worst.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/smartphones-to-monitor-real-time-air-pollution-115021900444_1.html


CLIMATE CHANGE

NYC panel warns of 6-foot sea rise, tripling of heat waves by
2100. Heat waves and floods caused by climate change could mean
disaster for the Big Apple's five boroughs by the end of the
century, with sea levels now predicted by a new report to climb
by as much as 6 feet by 2100. According to the New York City
Panel on Climate Change, an independent body composed of climate
scientists, New York could see a 6-foot increase under a
worst-case scenario that has been revised from previous estimates
that 2 to 4 feet would be the maximum rise.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060013656/print

The term that actually makes climate change less political.  As
we’ve told you in recent weeks, a growing body of psychological
research in political science is starting to show us why the
debate over climate change is so politically polarized. People’s
politics and worldviews seem to affect how they perceive climate
change’s existence and severity. This “cultural cognition” model
is giving us new insights into how we should talk about climate
change, vaccines and other hot-button issues where risk is
involved. The moral of the story: More information doesn’t always
help, and in some cases it can hurt by polarizing people
ideologically on these issues.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/02/18/the-term-that-actually-makes-climate-change-less-political/

DROUGHT

California Water Becomes Scarce and Energy Hungry. In
drought-stricken California, ensuring water flows from faucets is
nearly as much about energy as it is about the water’s source.
Water needs more than gravity to flow from its sources, often
hundreds of miles away. It is pumped through aqueducts and
pipelines from mountain sources, reservoirs and the Colorado
River, often far from Los Angeles, San Diego, the San Francisco
Bay Area and the Central Valley, where most of the water is
consumed.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/california-drought-water-scarce-increasing-energy-demands-18676?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%20climatecentral/djOO%20Climate%20Central%20-%20Full%20Feed
 
DIESEL ACTIVITIES

Arctic marine emissions to increase vastly over next decade:
report.  A U.S. study has found that emissions from ships that
cause both climate change and acid rain could increase in the
Western Arctic by almost 600 per cent over the next decade. "All
of those pollutants have climate and health implications," said
co-author Alyson Azzara. "The fact that it's growing that much,
that rapidly, is the focus."
http://www.guelphmercury.com/news-story/5345211-arctic-marine-emissions-to-increase-vastly-over-next-decade-report/

California Boosts Clean Fleet Rebates in Disadvantaged
Communities.  California is offering public agencies serving
disadvantaged communities newly increased rebates for purchasing
light-duty electric vehicles (EVs). The Center for Sustainable
Energy (CSE), which is administering the statewide initiative for
the California Air Resources Board, recently announced the $2.8
million Public Fleet Pilot Project. CSE says the pilot is a new
offering alongside its Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP).
http://www.ngtnews.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.10477#.VOYpWxamOa8


LOW CARBON FUEL STANDARD

State air regulators expected to advance 'low carbon fuel
standard,' cleaner-burning fuels.  California air regulators vote
Thursday on recommitting to the low carbon fuel standard, a key
part of the state’s greenhouse gas reduction plan that promotes
switching to cleaner-burning fuels. The vote satisfies a
procedural requirement stemming from a years-long legal battle
over the program. Midwestern ethanol interests claimed in federal
court that California lacked Constitutional authority to regulate
out-of-state fuel producers. California’s rule does a complete
“life cycle” analysis of a fuel’s carbon footprint, including not
only the greenhouse gas produced by its combustion, but also
emissions associated with fuels’ production and delivery to
market.
http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/02/18/49918/state-air-regulators-expected-to-advance-low-carbo/

Buffett Dumping Exxon Points Investors to Review Oil Bets. 
Warren Buffett’s decision to dump his stake in Exxon Mobil Corp.
after oil prices plunged is pointing investors toward smaller,
more nimble producers that will deliver higher returns during a
market recovery.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-18/buffett-dumping-exxon-stake-points-investors-to-rethink-oil-bets


Growth, Environmental Groups Comment on CARB.  Growth Energy and
environmental groups are adding their voices of comments to
California’s proposal to its clean air regulations. In a news
release, Growth says the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB)
proposed amendments to the state’s Low Carbon Fuels Standard
(LCFS) Regulation and the Proposed Regulation on the
Commercialization of Alternative Diesel Fuels are unnecessary
under the state’s environmental mandates. 
http://domesticfuel.com/2015/02/19/growth-environmental-groups-comment-on-carb/

Growth Energy comments on CARB’s LCFS re-adoption proposal. In
response to the proposed amendments by California’s Air Resources
Board to the California Low Carbon Fuels Standard regulation and
the proposed regulation on the commercialization of alternative
diesel fuels, Growth Energy filed extensive comments outlining
Growth Energy’s opposition.
http://ethanolproducer.com/articles/11936/growth-energy-comments-on-carbundefineds-lcfs-re-adoption-proposal

FUELS

Study backs EPA data, finds gas fields not leaking as much
methane as once thought. Scientists studying major gas fields in
the United States have found that operations leak less methane, a
potent greenhouse gas, than thought previously. The fields in
question occur in Louisiana and Texas (where the oil field is
named the Haynesville Shale), Pennsylvania (the Marcellus Shale)
and Arkansas (the Fayetteville Shale), and they leak about 1
percent of the natural gas the operators produce…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060013670/print

California gasoline differentials spike after refinery explosion
–traders.  A crippling explosion at Exxon Mobil Corp's Torrance,
California, refinery sent wholesale gasoline differentials in the
Los Angeles market to their highest level since September 2013,
according to Reuters data. The explosion prompted state
regulators to forbid Exxon Mobil from operating the refinery's
100,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) fluid catalytic cracker until an
investigation, which can take up to six months, is completed,
according to the California Department of Industrial Relations.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/18/refinery-blast-gasoline-idUSL1N0VS1VF20150218

http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=37430

UPDATE 1-U.S. EPA to propose biofuels standards this spring –
official. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to put
out a proposal that will address Renewable Fuels Standards for
2014, 2015, and 2016 this spring, an agency official at an
industry conference in Grapevine, Texas, said on Thursday. The
agency will address all three years at once and plans to look at
broader changes to address long-term issues of demand and the
"blend wall," …
http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL1N0VT1EZ20150219
 

VEHICLES

Will Bolt name stay on GM's new electric car? General Motors is
committed to an electric car that can go 200 miles on a single
charge — but whether it retains the Bolt name when it goes on
sale in two years is a different debate altogether. The Chevrolet
Bolt is the name of the concept GM showed at the North American
International Auto Show in Detroit in January.
http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/general-motors/2015/02/19/chevrolet-bolt-name/23627123/
 

This is the team reportedly developing Apple’s electric car.
9to5Mac dropped a new report Thursday outlining the team
primarily responsible for developing Apple’s electric vehicle.
The list of people was compiled by 9to5Mac's Jordan Kahn and Mark
Gurman, thanks to help from sources within the company. It shows
the most comprehensive list of people we’ve seen, thus far, that
have been assigned to work on Apple’s vehicle ambitions.
http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-electric-car-team-2015-2#ixzz3SD8OMxJP
 

Japan Now Home To More Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Than
Gas Stations. Japan is now home to more electric vehicle (EV)
charging points than gas stations — with there now being more
40,000 EV charging points as compared to 34,000 gas stations,
according to recent reports. That’s not even including normal
electrical sockets, where electric cars can also charge.
http://cleantechnica.com/2015/02/18/japan-now-home-electric-vehicle-charging-stations-gas-stations/

GREEN ENERGY

Looking for renewable supporters? Don't rule out GOP, panel says.
Tax credits for renewable energy projects haven't always been a
sharply partisan topic in Congress, said former Rep. Mary Bono
yesterday. "There is Republican support that exists for renewable
energy," the former Republican lawmaker said during a conference
call about renewable energy policies and the 114th Congress that
was organized by the American Council on Renewable Energy
(ACORE). "It thrives where the business is visible." 
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060013674/print

MISCELLANEOUS

Offer 'concrete ideas' for electric reliability safety valve --
EPA's McCabe. If states want U.S. EPA to build into its proposed
Clean Power Plan a mechanism to protect against power outages and
ensure reliable electricity service -- a so-called safety valve
-- then regulators and power industry officials need to draw that
out in detail, the agency's top air quality official said this
week. "Let's put some concrete ideas around that. How does time
help with the reliability issue?" said acting EPA air chief Janet
McCabe, speaking in Washington, D.C., at the National Association
of Regulatory Utility Commissioners' winter meetings."
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/stories/1060013663/print

OPINIONS

Canada, on the Pipeline. Re “Mr. Obama’s Easy Call on Keystone
Bill” (editorial, Feb. 13): The New York Times argued that “not
building a pipeline means that more oil — and more carbon dioxide
— will be left in the ground.” Since the Keystone XL pipeline was
delayed three years ago, oil sands production has increased,
United States imports of Canadian oil have increased, and
Canadian oil by rail to the United States has grown tenfold.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/19/opinion/canada-on-the-pipeline.html
 

Electric car success a bad sign for public transit. To the
editor: I am incredulous that the reporter got all the way
through his article about electric car maker Tesla without
stating what Tesla's success would mean. ("Tesla factory racing
to retool for new models," Feb. 15) If Tesla Motor Corp. or any
other auto manufacture is a raving success with electric
vehicles, it will mean that the nation completely failed the next
generation by not making much-needed investments in mass transit.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/readersreact/la-le-0219-thursday-electric-cars-20150219-story.html

Electric car benefits? Just myths. It is time to stop our green
worship of the electric car. It costs us a fortune, cuts little
CO2 and surprisingly kills almost twice the number of people
compared with regular gasoline cars. It is time to stop our green
worship of the electric car. It costs us a fortune, cuts little
CO2 and surprisingly kills almost twice the number of people
compared with regular gasoline cars.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/02/18/electric-car-benefits-air-myths-pollution-health-column/23641729/
 

BLOGS

A Look Behind the Headlines on China’s Coal Trends. Armond Cohen
at Clean Air Task Force has provided helpful context in the face
of recent headlines and a Greenpeace analysis focused on what
appears to be the first drop in Chinese coal use in a century.
Here’s the brunt of his post: In late 2014, China pledged to peak
its CO2 emissions by 2030, and achieve 20 percent of its primary
energy from non-fossil energy sources.
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/18/a-look-behind-the-headlines-on-chinas-coal-trends/
 

Regulation & Environment: California as a carbon testing ground. 
As California gets set to ratchet up the carbon-intensity
reduction targets in its first-in-the-nation Low Carbon Fuel
Standard, fellow West Coast states Washington and Oregon are sure
to be watching closely, as their governors have announced plans
to implement similar programs. The oil industry has sought —
unsuccessfully, so far — to overturn California’s LCFS, warning
of fuel shortages and skyrocketing prices at the pump.
http://blogs.platts.com/2015/02/17/california-carbon/  

I've Got You Under My Skin: Smog and Modern Memory. Wednesday,
February 11, 2015 was a good day. Santa Ana winds, blowing
moderately, had mixed stalled air over the central district of
Los Angeles. Levels of ozone and nitrogen oxide were below state
and federal maximums, as they had been all month. As it does most
days, the amount of "particulate matter" in the air climbed as
the traffic increased and industries began their day.
http://www.kcet.org/socal/departures/columns/where-we-are/ive-got-you-under-my-skin-smog-and-modern-memory.html
 

Keystone XL, energy policy and the job-creation shuffle.
Renewable energy proponents and advocates of the Keystone
pipeline finally agree on something: that the right way to count
“job creation” is to focus narrowly on the jobs in the industry
they want to boost and ignore the overall impact on employment. 
Unfortunately, researchers who actually study employment are not
on board. The “green jobs” movement is currently having a break
out moment in California…
http://blogs.berkeley.edu/2015/02/18/keystone-xl-energy-policy-and-the-job-creation-shuffle/
 

Some Electric-Car Public Charging Stations Get Used, Others
Don't: Why? Nearly five years ago, as a tidal wave of charging
stations were rapidly planned for some West Coast regions, in
support of a new wave of all-electric and plug-in vehicles, the
question may have become, 'Where can the stations be
installed?'—when it shouldn't have budged from, 'Where should
they be installed?'
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1096885_some-electric-car-public-charging-stations-get-used-others-dont-why
 

Arctic Shipping Emissions Could Jump 600 Per Cent In Next Decade,
Says Study. A U.S. study has found that emissions from ships that
cause both climate change and acid rain could increase in the
Western Arctic by almost 600 per cent over the next decade. "All
of those pollutants have climate and health implications," said
co-author Alyson Azzara. "The fact that it's growing that much,
that rapidly, is the focus."
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/02/18/arctic-marine-emissions-t_n_6707224.html
 

Electric Cars Aren't So Green After All. "It is time to stop our
green worship of the electric car." That's how climate specialist
Bjorn Lomborg begins his op-ed in USA Today. After that, he goes
on to explode various myths peddled by the electric car crowd,
noting that a plug-in "costs us a fortune, cuts little CO2 and
surprisingly kills almost twice the number of people compared
with regular gasoline car."
http://news.investors.com/blogs-capital-hill/021915-739949-electric-cars-high-costs-little-benefits.htm#ixzz3SD8yWVBU

State Department, EPA launch effort to monitor pollution
globally. The Obama administration announced on Wednesday the
expansion of pollution monitoring at diplomatic posts across the
world. The State Department and the Environmental Protection
Agency unveiled the joint endeavor on Wednesday in a signing
ceremony, which highlighted the administration's climate change
agenda. 
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/233125-state-department-epa-launch-effort-to-monitor-pollution-globally
 

Three Wrongs Don't Make the Right Right.  Anyone can be wrong
once. But it takes talent to be wrong twice. And genius to be
wrong thrice. Eight years ago, California passed AB 32, a
landmark law combating climate change. In an effort to lower
greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels, the law caps carbon
emissions and provides incentives for green technology.
Republicans and big oil lobbyists prophesied that AB 32 would
spell doom and devastation for the Golden State. 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/duncan-hosie/big-oil-wrong-then-wrong-_b_6694456.html





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