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newsclips -- Newsclips for April 10, 2015
Posted: 10 Apr 2015 14:46:18
ARB Newsclips for April 10, 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. AIR POLLUTION China risks social conflict if war on pollution lags - govt researchers. Any failure to tackle China's huge pollution problems in the coming years could stoke public discontent and create "social conflicts", government researchers warned, underlining political concerns driving Beijing's war on smog. With pollution identified as a major source of unrest, China's ruling Communist Party has promised to tackle a host of environmental problems brought about by more than three decades of breakneck economic growth, an environment ministry think tank said on Thursday. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/10/china-environment-idUSL4N0X733P20150410 Bad-air days decline in Southern California. Southern California’s decades-long war on air pollution is far from over, but a report released Thursday gives everyone a reason to take a deep breath and maybe even lace up some running shoes. Compared with about 12 years ago, those who breathe in Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties now get roughly triple the number of good-air days – times when the particle-pollution level is low enough for the air to be considered healthy. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/air-657447-pollution-quality.html CLIMATE CHANGE US carbon pollution set for 2015 drop as coal plants close. US efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions look set for a huge boost this year, with carbon pollution from the power sector set to fall to its lowest level since 1994. Record numbers of US coal-fired power plants are set to close this year, and analysts at Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) say this will likely see power sector emissions drop 15.4% below 2005 levels. http://www.rtcc.org/2015/04/10/us-carbon-pollution-set-for-2015-drop-as-coal-plants-close/ Climate change seen bringing more fires, less snow to Yellowstone. Predicted climate changes bringing warmer and drier conditions to Yellowstone National Park will likely fuel catastrophic wildfires, cause declines in mountain snows and threaten the survival of animals and plants, scientists said on Thursday. Warming that is expected in the American West over the next few decades would transform lands in and around Yellowstone from a wetter, mostly forested Rocky Mountain ecosystem to a more open landscape akin to the arid U.S. Southwest, the researchers said in a special issue of a park report. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/10/us-usa-yellowstone-climate-idUSKBN0N02H320150410 Move over sci-fi: 'Climate fiction' finds way into classrooms. Students at a Massachusetts college have just read "The Windup Girl", the tale of a dystopian future Bangkok where climate change has pushed up temperatures and sea levels, and viruses acquired from genetically modified food are killing people. The book, by debut novelist Paolo Bacigalupi, is the product of a new class at Holyoke Community College on "climate fiction" or "cli-fi", a relatively new variant of science fiction. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/10/us-climatechange-fiction-idUSKBN0N11T820150410 A few questions about Kevin de Léon’s big climate change measure. Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Léon cannot be faulted for aiming too low. With his friend and patron, billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer, sitting by his side, de Léon presented his signature climate change legislation, Senate Bill 350, earlier this week. http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/editorials/article17997944.html DIESEL ACTIVITIES California Energy Commission awards nearly $9M to 3 projects to support local manufacturing of heavy-duty electric vehicles, PHEVs. As part of its approval of more than $83.7 million in grants and loans for 46 projects covering transportation, energy storage, biogas and efficiency programs, the California Energy Commission awarded nearly $9 million to three companies to encourage the manufacturing of heavy-duty electric vehicles and components in California. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/04/20150409-cec.html DROUGHT California farmers mount PR campaign to counter backlash over water use. When Gov. Jerry Brown announced his unprecedented water use reduction order last week, California farmers were largely spared. They quickly developed another problem: Bad PR. At issue was the apparent disconnect between Brown’s focus on urban water use and the fact that agriculture – not cities or towns – accounts for roughly 80 percent of all water used by people in California. http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/article18013727.html California faces 'Dust Bowl'-like conditions amid drought, says climate tracker. With a slew of statistics projected on the slideshow behind him, California's state climatologist had a stark warning during a Thursday presentation on the severity of the drought. "You’re looking on numbers that are right on par with what was the Dust Bowl," said the climatologist, Michael Anderson. http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-pc-california-dust-bowl-drought-20150409-story.html #SaveTheDropLA: City offers rebates, freebies to encourage water savings. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Thursday rolled out a new public engagement campaign touting several incentives to help the city reduce its water use during the state's on-going drought. http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/04/09/50906/la-offering-rebates-freebies-to-encourage-water-sa/ VEHICLES UC Berkeley hybrid semiconductor nanowire-bacteria system for direct solar-powered production of chemicals from CO2 and water. Researchers at UC Berkeley have developed an artificial photosynthetic scheme for the direct solar-powered production of value-added chemicals from CO2 and water using a two-step process involving a biocompatible light-capturing nanowire array with a direct interface with microbial systems. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/04/20150410-liu.html GREEN ENERGY Obama touts clean energy in bid to restore U.S. leadership in Caribbean. President Barack Obama on Thursday unveiled a major clean energy partnership at a Caribbean summit where he sought to reassert U.S. leadership in the region at a time when the economic clout of oil-producing Venezuela appears to be receding. The White House used the occasion to announce an important step towards healing its five-decade-old rift with Cuba, saying the State Department has completed a review of whether to remove the communist-ruled island from a list of state sponsors of terrorism. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/09/us-usa-caribbean-idUSKBN0N021820150409 Vancouver commits to run on 100% renewable energy. Vancouver has become the latest city to commit to running on 100% renewable energy. The city of 600,000 on Canada’s west coast aims to use only green energy sources for electricity, and also for heating and cooling and transportation. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/apr/10/vancouver-commits-to-run-on-100-renewable-energy Desert Hot Springs families get free solar on homes. Nancy Villa and Carlos Paz were smiling as they sat in their living room Thursday, with Villa holding their three-week-old son, Iker, in a colorful blanket. Above their heads, a dozen volunteers — including several local high school students — installed solar panels on the roof of their Desert Hot Springs home. http://www.desertsun.com/story/tech/science/energy/2015/04/09/free-solar-low-income-desert-hot-springs-families/25550857/ OPINIONS Mayor Eric Garcetti must now put his plan into action. Mayor Eric Garcetti released a sweeping plan this week that outlines his environmental and economic priorities and sets measurable goals in a wide range of areas, from cutting smog and reducing the city's reliance on imported water to adding bike-share programs and urban farms. The 105-page report was billed as the mayor's 20-year strategy for fighting pollution and climate change while also addressing poverty and economic inequality. http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-sustainable-city-plan-20150410-story.html California is naturally brown and beautiful. Why are our yards green? A few years ago, my wife and I decided to replace the mangy bit of lawn in front of our house with drought-tolerant dymondia, which was supposed to spread into an interconnected ground cover. Less water, no mowing, I thought. Easy call. But the dymondia struggled, and seemed to ebb in the hot summer and flow in the cooler, wetter winter. So a few months ago we replaced the top six inches of dirt with a more desert-like sand mixture and installed a garden of large rocks and mixed succulents (and replaced the 1974 hand-cranked sprinkler system). http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-drought-water-suburbia-lawns-20150409-story.html California should stretch urban supplies before cutting water for farms. A 25 percent cutback in urban water use – as Gov. Jerry Brown imposed last week – is less a hardship on California residents than an adjustment to a new reality. Droughts like the one gripping California now are inevitable, though climate change makes their frequency and severity unpredictable. We need to change the way we use water, especially outdoors, to cope now and into the future. Simple steps, such as not overwatering lawns, will go a long way. Replacing lawns with drought-tolerant landscaping will go even further. http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article17892764.html BLOGS Fracking Endangers Our Water and Air. Hydraulic fracturing involves injecting millions of gallons of water with sand and chemicals under high pressure down and across as far as 10,000 feet below the surface. The mixture causes rock layers to crack and open and allow the oil to penetrate the sand particles so the natural gas from the fracture can flow up the well. http://blog.sfgate.com/mary-matzek/2015/04/10/fracking-endangers-our-water-and-air/ Tesla Trumps Toyota: The Seven Reasons Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars Are Stalled. For reasons that mostly defy logic, the otherwise shrewd car company, Toyota, is placing a large bet on hydrogen fuel cell cars, starting with the Mirai. At the same time, it has backed away from its partnership with Tesla to build an all-electric vehicle. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/04/08/3643876/tesla-toyota-hydrogen-fuel-cell-cars/ California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.