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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for March 20, 2015.

Posted: 20 Mar 2015 14:55:27
ARB Newsclips for March 20, 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, Fence Line Monitor Concerns Stall Justice Council
Advice to EPA on Rules. The National Environmental Justice
Advisory Council couldn't agree March 19 on final advice to the
Environmental Protection Agency regarding the agency's refinery
and Clean Power Plan proposals. The council did approve during a
teleconference letters to be sent to EPA Administrator Gina
McCarthy on its stance regarding the farmworker protection
proposal and chemical safety issues.
http://www.bna.com/capandtrade-fence-line-n17179924212/ 

RGGI Auction Extends US Carbon Market Winning Streak. North
America’s longest-running carbon market just set a new mark for
carbon pricing across the Northeast US, passing a significant
revenue milestone years ahead of schedule, and continuing an
impressive winning streak for American and Canadian carbon
auctions.
http://cleantechnica.com/2015/03/20/rggi-auction-extends-us-carbon-market-winning-streak/


New Forests and Round Valley Indian Tribes register first forest
carbon offset project. The Round Valley Indian Tribes and New
Forests announced the regulatory approval of the first forest
carbon offset project developed on Native American trust land for
the California carbon market. The California Air Resources Board
(“ARB”) approved issuance of over 540,000 ARB offset credits to
the Round Valley Indian Tribes Improved Forest Management Project
in February 2015.
http://www.lesprom.com/en/news/New_Forests_and_Round_Valley_Indian_Tribes_register_first_forest_carbon_offset_project_66782/#sthash.2m5Uc81t.dpuf


AIR POLLUTION

Chinese capital shuts third coal-fired plant in war on smog. 
China's smog-hit capital Beijing has shut down the third of its
four coal-fired power plants as part of its campaign to cut
pollution, with the final one scheduled to close next year, the
official Xinhua news agency said on Friday. In 2013, the city
promised in its clean air action plan to bring annual coal
consumption down to less than 10 million tonnes by 2017…
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/20/us-china-pollution-beijing-idUSKBN0MG1D120150320
 

Singapore's air pollution rises to unhealthy level. Singapore's
air pollution hit levels classified "unhealthy" on Friday, the
government's National Environment Agency said on its website.
(www.haze.gov.sg) . The 3-hour Pollution Standards Index (PSI) in
the city-state rose to 102 at 4 p.m. local time (0800 GMT). A PSI
reading above 100 indicates air pollution has reached an
"unhealthy" level.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/20/us-singapore-pollution-idUSKBN0MG0QS20150320


EPA to require electronic reporting of emissions data. U.S. EPA
today said it plans to require industrial facilities to submit
certain air emissions data electronically, part of a larger
agency shift to bring environmental regulation into the 21st
century. According to the proposal, most facilities subject to
Clean Air Act new source performance standards would have to
electronically submit reports on excess emissions, performance
tests and other data requirements.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060015459/print 

CLIMATE CHANGE

US climate change envoy: China, US working closer on deal. A U.S.
envoy for climate change said Friday that China and the U.S. are
working more closely than ever ahead of a conference this year in
Paris that raises hopes for a global plan to cut greenhouse
emissions. Special Envoy Todd Stern told reporters in Beijing
that he still expects hard negotiations between many countries in
advance of the U.N. summit.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_CHINA_CLIMATE_CHANGE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


OTHER RELATED STORIES
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/20/china-usa-climatechange-idUSL3N0WM31X20150320
 

Prince Charles Presses Climate-Change Agenda With Obama. While
Prince Charles’s visit to the White House lacks the buzz created
when his son called on the U.S. president in December, President
Barack Obama still cares enough to time a climate-change
announcement to the British royal’s arrival.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-19/prince-charles-to-press-obama-on-sick-patient-climate-change


Scotland Starts 76 Million-Pound Low-Carbon Infrastructure Plan.
Scotland began a 76 million-pound ($112 million) program of
investment in low-carbon infrastructure such as heating for homes
and transportation improvements. The Low Carbon Infrastructure
Transition Programme is getting 33 million pounds from the
European Regional Development Fund and the rest from
match-funding partners…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-20/scotland-starts-76-million-pound-low-carbon-infrastructure-plan


U.S. Negotiator Sees Global Climate Change Deal Happening This
Year. Negotiators are looking to avoid stumbling blocks that
troubled 2009 Copenhagen talks. The top U.S. climate negotiator
expressed cautious optimism about sealing a new global climate
change pact by the end of the year, stressing growing cooperation
between the U.S. and China to limit carbon emissions.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-negotiator-sees-global-climate-change-deal-this-year-1426849480


McConnell Urges States to Help Thwart Obama’s ‘War on Coal’.
Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has begun an aggressive
campaign to block President Obama’s climate change agenda in
statehouses and courtrooms across the country, arenas far beyond
Mr. McConnell’s official reach and authority.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/20/us/politics/mitch-mcconnell-urges-states-to-help-thwart-obamas-war-on-coal.html?ref=politics&_r=0


Feds: Review of 4 decades of North Pacific seabird surveys
indicates 2 percent loss every year. The number of seabirds,
including gulls, puffins and auklets, has dropped significantly
in the Gulf of Alaska and northeast Bering Sea, a possible
consequence of warmer waters, according to a preliminary federal
analysis of nearly 40 years of surveys.
http://www.usnews.com/news/science/news/articles/2015/03/19/feds-document-seabird-loss-in-north-pacific-waters


Warm Spring Expected for West, Flooding Risk in East. Spring has
sprung, but for parts of the country the season will be a
hangover of winter’s extremes: The West looks to stay stuck in
hot, dry conditions, and eastern areas walloped by snowstorms
could see flooding if the snow on the ground melts too quickly.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released its
outlook for spring weather across the country on
Thursday…http://www.climatecentral.org/news/spring-outlook-warming-18797


Annual greenhouse gas emissions from forests drop by a quarter,
U.N. says. Yearly carbon emissions from the world's forests have
dropped by more than 25 percent in the last 15 years, a U.N.
agency said on Friday. The decrease in annual emissions, which
cause global warming, is largely due to slowing rates of global
deforestation, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
reported.
http://news.yahoo.com/annual-greenhouse-gas-emissions-forests-drop-quarter-u-170549225.html
http://www.stackyard.com/news/2015/03/fao/04_carbon.html  

DROUGHT

UN warns world could have 40 percent water shortfall by 2030. The
world could suffer a 40 percent shortfall in water in just 15
years unless countries dramatically change their use of the
resource, a U.N. report warned Friday. Many underground water
reserves are already running low, while rainfall patterns are
predicted to become more erratic with climate change.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WORLD_WATER_CRISIS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


California governor proposes $1 billion in drought spending. As
California copes with a fourth straight year of drought, Gov.
Jerry Brown and legislative leaders on Thursday proposed
legislation to accelerate more than $1 billion in water spending
and urged residents to do their part to conserve. Winter is
ending in California without enough snow and rain to replenish
reservoirs, offering little relief from the worst drought in a
generation.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CALIFORNIA_DROUGHT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

OTHER RELATED STORIES
http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-brown-emergency-drought-20150318-story.html


No, California won't run out of water in a year. Lawmakers are
proposing emergency legislation, state officials are clamping
down on watering lawns and, as California enters a fourth year of
drought, some are worried that the state could run out of water.
State water managers and other experts said Thursday that
California is in no danger of running out of water in the next
two years, even after an extremely dry January and paltry
snowpack.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-0320-drought-explainer-20150320-story.html


Drought relief package proposed. Spending could start soon for
$1.1 billion plan. With California trudging into its fourth dry
year, Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders on Thursday
announced $1.1 billion in emergency funding for flood protection
and drought relief.
http://www.modbee.com/news/article15432716.html#storylink=cpy 

Manteca Considers Selling Treated Wastewater For Farm Irrigation.
The drought is creating a new way for cities to make money,
including selling treated wastewater for farm irrigation. A
Manteca group called Neighbors United is urging the city council
to sell treated wastewater to local farmers as water sources dry
up in the drought.
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2015/03/19/manteca-considers-selling-treated-wastewater-for-farm-irrigation/


DIESEL ACTIVITIES

CARB offers webinars, other informational opportunities on diesel
regs.  The California Air Resources Board is offering multiple
classes for truck owners and drivers to learn more about the
state’s emissions regulations. In an effort to help educate the
trucking community about emissions rules compliance, CARB will
host on-site classes and a few webinars that truckers and others
can watch anywhere with an Internet connection.
http://www.landlinemag.com/Story.aspx?StoryID=28712#.VQxBahYpmdw


FUELS

Here's the Next Biggest Threat to Global Crude Oil Prices. The
next big threat to oil prices isn’t from OPEC or Bakken shale.
It’s Russian samovars, or teapots. Simple refineries that process
crude into fuel oil are scaling back, because when oil prices
slump, the government reduces the discount that these refiners --
known as teapots to those in the industry -- get for exporting
fuel.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-20/russian-teapots-pose-next-big-threat-to-global-crude-oil-prices


European Coal Falls to Lowest Since 2007 as Demand Outlook Dims.
European coal prices fell to the lowest in more than seven years
amid a worldwide glut of the fuel as governments from the U.S. to
China boost efforts to shift away from the most-polluting energy
source. Prices for delivery next year to northwest Europe slid as
much as 0.7 percent, according to broker data compiled by
Bloomberg.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-20/eu-next-year-coal-falls-to-record-low-close-as-glut-grows


Natural Gas Drops for Second Day on Forecasts for Mild Weather.
Natural gas futures slid for a second day in New York on
forecasts for mild weather in the central and western U.S. that
would limit demand for the heating fuel. Temperatures may be
mostly normal or higher than usual in the regions through April
3, according to Commodity Weather Group LLC in Bethesda,
Maryland. 
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-20/u-s-natgas-rises-third-time-in-four-days-after-supply-report-i7hamz1y


U.S. Sets First Fracking Standards in More Than 30 Years. The
Obama administration issued the first federal regulations for
fracking since the drilling technique fueled a domestic energy
boom, requiring extensive disclosures of the chemicals used on
public land. After years of debate and delay, the Bureau of Land
Management on Friday said drillers on federal lands must reveal
the chemicals they use…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-20/u-s-sets-first-fracking-rules-since-process-fueled-energy-boom


Debt Is Oil Patch's Four-Letter Word. The 60 percent plunge in
crude oil prices since mid-2014 isn't just about increased
production and slower global growth. Debt may be the four-letter
word when it comes to explaining the extent of the energy
sector's collapse, a paper in the Bank for International
Settlement's Quarterly Review shows. While production has
certainly increased and consumption cooled…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-19/debt-is-oil-patch-s-four-letter-word


EU Leaders Seek Tighter Oversight of Russian Gas Deals. European
Union leaders called for more transparency in natural gas
contracts with Russia and other external suppliers under the
proposed energy union plan. EU heads of government held their
first talks about developing closer energy ties among the bloc’s
28 nations on Thursday in a push to increase security of supply…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-19/eu-leaders-may-seek-more-oversight-of-russian-gas-deals


Japan court denies injunction against MOX nuclear fuel use. A
local district court in southwestern Japan on Friday denied
granting an injunction against Kyushu Electric Power Co's use of
mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel at its Genkai No.3 reactor, the nuclear
operator said. The Saga district court on the island of Kyushu
found that the No.3 reactor at the Genkai plant meets Japan's
nuclear regulator's stringent safety rules and that the
plaintiffs failed to prove that the fuel posed a specific danger.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/20/us-japan-nuclear-kyushu-elec-pwr-idUSKBN0MG11T20150320?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews


Interior unveils BLM frack rule -- FracFocus in, waste pits out.
The Obama administration released its final rule today for
drilling and hydraulic fracturing on federal land, its biggest
foray yet into the divisive issue many call "fracking." The rule,
announced by Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, offered something
for each side in the divisive debate.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060015477/print 

Producers tell judges that EPA rule is 'impossible' A coalition
of ethanol producers today sought to convince a federal appeals
court that U.S. EPA's rules for curbing sulfur in gasoline are
"logically impossible to satisfy." The Energy Future Coalition
and eight ethanol producers say the rules create a Catch-22: EPA
seeks higher blends of alternative fuels to be used in the
market… http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060015466/print


Oil industry groups sue EPA for failing to set biofuel goals. Oil
industry groups this week sued U.S. EPA for failing to establish
annual biofuel mandates under the renewable fuel standard
program. The complaint filed Wednesday with the U.S. District
Court for the District of Columbia accuses EPA of violating the
Clean Air Act by not setting the requirements for 2014 and 2015.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060015464/print  

VEHICLES

China boosts fleet of electric, hybrid vehicles. Chinese
authorities have announced plans to boost the number of electric,
hybrid and other alternative fuel-powered vehicles used for
public transportation, while sales of such cars for private use
have spiked in recent months. The Transport Ministry announced
Wednesday that officials aimed to add 200,000 buses and 100,000
taxis powered by alternative fuels by 2020.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_CHINA_ALTERNATIVE_FUEL_VEHICLES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Nissan Announces Leadership Changes in North America. Nissan
today announced leadership changes within its North American
operations coinciding with the upcoming start of the company’s
Fiscal Year 2015 on April 1. The changes announced today will
positively impact the company’s North American operations and
further accelerate progress towards the company’s global ‘Power
88’ mid-term business plan.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/20/tn-nissan-idUSnBw205405a+100+BSW20150320



Tesla unveils apps for 'range anxiety,' self-driving car. Tesla
Motors has unveiled new software updates that could relieve
"range anxiety" and give its electric vehicles the ability to
drive themselves. In an invitation-only telephone conference
Thursday, the company's chief executive, Elon Musk, said new
Tesla vehicles will soon be able to steer themselves, park
themselves and brake in an emergency.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hy-tesla-musk-range-anxiety-20150318-story.html


Researchers find 'hidden benefits' of electric vehicles -- they
can make cities cooler, healthier. The world's most compact and
industrial cities, with limited greenery, smothering blacktop and
hardened buildings, amplify climate change effects by trapping
and retaining heat. Scientists describe the phenomenon as the
"urban heat island effect," or UHIE. Public health officials
often link its presence to heat wave deaths, and grid operators
chart spikes in power surges and outages on cities' hottest days
worldwide.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060015437/print 

GREEN ENERGY

Solar Power Inc. Seeks to Develop Floating Projects in U.S. 
Solar Power Inc., a renewable-energy developer backed by China’s
LDK Solar Co., is joining with Aqua Clean Energy to develop
floating solar projects in the U.S. and Mexico. The joint venture
would put solar panels on platforms in reservoirs, quarry lakes,
irrigation canals and tailing ponds, Shanghai-based Solar Power
said in a statement Thursday.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-19/solar-power-inc-seeks-to-develop-floating-projects-in-u-s-
 

Carlyle Group Raises $2.5 Billion for International Energy Deals.
Carlyle Group LP has raised $2.5 billion for an international
energy fund as the private equity investor bolsters its oil and
gas firepower after the collapse in prices. Marcel van Poecke,
head of Carlyle International Energy Partners, said the
Washington-based firm closed the fund after commitments from 160
investors.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-19/carlyle-group-raises-2-5-billion-for-international-energy-deals


Look What Today's Eclipse Did to German Solar Power Output. This
chart shows what happens to solar when the moon blocks out the
sun. While sun watchers across Europe thrilled at the chance to
experience a rare solar eclipse on Friday, energy companies
suffered through some nervous moments. Solar power generators in
Germany were unsure about how the sudden disappearance and then
reappearance of the sun…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-20/look-what-today-s-eclipse-did-to-german-solar-power-output


Solar Age’s First Eclipse Passes With Brief Surge in Power Price.
Power prices in Germany fluttered as the first eclipse of the
emerging solar age passed and utility operators worked overtime
to keep the grid supplied. The moon blocked about 80 percent of
the sun’s light across Europe from about 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. London
time Friday.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-20/eclipse-tests-european-power-grid-flooded-by-solar-farms-i7hlfkm0
 

MISCELLANEOUS

Scientists explore 2,000 miles of the ocean floor -- and you can
too. Now you can explore the ocean floor without leaving your
desk. The U.S. Geological Survey this week posted thousands of
photos and videos of the U.S. coastline and adjacent seafloor,
allowing users to explore sections of the Pacific, Atlantic and
Gulf coasts in an interactive map. Most of the areas covered in
the new imagery have never been seen before.
http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-83101019/ 

The surprising psychology behind why some people become
environmentalists. The environment — and especially the subject
of climate change — is one of the most polarizing topics in
American politics. This fact is obvious and indisputable — but
what is the root reason behind it? Psychologists are beginning to
probe that question using the tools of their trade — surveys,
questionnaires and correlations.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/03/19/the-surprising-reason-why-some-people-become-environmentalists-and-others-dont/


Head of National Renewable Energy Lab to retire. The director of
the National Renewable Energy Laboratory announced yesterday he
will retire at the end of September. Over his 10-year tenure, Dan
Arvizu oversaw a doubling of NREL's research portfolio, adding
research in high-performance computing, electric grid
integration, and basic materials and biological science to its
primary work in renewable energy and energy efficiency, according
to NREL, which is based in Golden, Colo.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060015463/print 

OPINIONS

California’s response to drought has fallen woefully short. This
drought, this water emergency – the worst in our short recorded
history – is so serious that the State Water Resources Control
Board voted Tuesday to mandate that hotels give patrons the
option of declining fresh linens and require homeowners to limit
watering their lawns to just two days a week.
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/ben-boychuk/article15382553.html#storylink=cpy


Officials cobble $1 billion to fight drought. At legislators’
prodding, Gov. Jerry Brown began loosening his tight fist by
agreeing to spend $1.1 billion to combat the drought. The
question: What has taken so long? In his initial budget proposal,
Brown allocated a paltry $23 million from the $7.5 billion bond
approved by voters in November to deal with the drought.
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/editorials/article15406862.html#storylink=cpy


AM Alert: Does California’s water use drive climate change? A
press conference about responding to California’s crippling
drought may have seemed like an odd place for questions about
energy efficiency. But there Gov. Jerry Brown was yesterday,
talking about why he is proposing money for low-emission farming
equipment. What, a reporter asked; does that have to do with
water?
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article15411614.html#storylink=cpy


Water restrictions are just a taste of what's to come for
California. Action on Tuesday by the State Water Resources
Control Board to restrict lawn watering and home car-washing made
big news outside of California but barely raised eyebrows
in-state. That's because most urban agencies had already imposed
those kinds of limits more than a year ago. Californians
responded initially with big water savings but let the hoses and
sprinklers run again toward the end of last year…
http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-83102513/ 

Feds should take over protecting groundwater. California has lost
control of its quickly diminishing water. While state officials
lose no opportunity to tout California’s environmental leadership
to the world and to plead with residents to conserve water,
regulators have allowed oil companies to dump billions of gallons
of toxic wastewater each year into protected underground drinking
water. 
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article15381533.html#storylink=cpy


What’s the threat? Paraphrasing President Barack Obama from a few
weeks ago: Climate change is a greater threat than the Islamic
State. Paraphrasing his national security adviser about the same
time: The Islamic State is not an existential threat, like World
War II. Translating those confusing words makes climate change
more existential than IS terrorism, and possibly as existential
as World War II.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2015/03/20/3547031_whats-the-threat.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy


BLOGS

Costa Rica Powered By 100% Renewable Energy For First 75 Days Of
2015.  The Latin American country of Costa Rica has achieved the
milestone of generating 100 per cent of its energy from renewable
resources, with a combination of hydropower and geothermal for 75
days in a row, the state-owned Costa Rican Electricity Institute
(ICE) said. Boosted by good rains at four of he country’s main
hydroelectric plants…
http://cleantechnica.com/2015/03/20/costa-rica-powered-by-100-renewable-energy-for-first-75-days-of-2015/


Canada Could Go 100 Percent Renewable By 2035 If Its Government
Gets Serious About Climate Change. Canada can be a world leader
in emissions reductions and renewable energy use, but only if its
federal government decides to take climate change seriously,
according to a new report. The report, published Wednesday by 70
Canadian academics, looked at Canada’s potential to shift its
electricity production to renewable sources and cut its
emissions.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/03/20/3635370/canada-academics-report-on-emissions-renewable-energy/


The Biggest Source Of U.S. Carbon Emissions Is Coal Extracted
From Public Lands. Taxpayer-owned coal is the single biggest
source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States,
according to a new report from the Center for American Progress
and The Wilderness Society. The report, released Thursday, finds
that emissions from coal, oil and gas that is mined or drilled on
federal lands and waters could account for 24 percent of all
energy-related greenhouse gas emissions in 2012.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/03/20/3636600/coal-leasing-greenhouse-gas-emissions-report/

	
The Senate Had A Hearing On Oil Exports And Didn’t Mention The
Environment Once. On Thursday, the Senate Energy Committee
convened a hearing to discuss the U.S. ban on crude oil exports,
which has been in place since 1973. With the United States in the
midst of an oil boom — and with Americans using less gas than
ever
before…http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/03/20/3636291/oil-export-environmental-impacts/


51% of BMW Group’s electricity worldwide from renewable sources;
targeting 100%. At its Annual Account Press Conference 2015, the
BMW Group announced that, for the first time in the history of
the Group, 51% of its electricity worldwide is being supplied
from renewable sources. This is a significant milestone for the
company, its aim being to gradually increase the share of
renewable energy to 100% over the coming years.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/03/20150320-bmw.html 



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

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