What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for April 27, 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

Factories In Two Of China’s Most Polluted Provinces Are Failing
At Limiting Their Emissions. China’s call for emissions controls
from factories are largely being ignored, according to a
Greenpeace report. The report, which looks at state-reported data
for Jiangsu and Hebei provinces, shows that heavy industry is not
complying with strict emissions standards China set for coal
plants in January 2012…
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/04/27/3651485/chinas-factories-keep-emissions-coming/


Science subpanel to consider rural impacts of controversial ozone
proposal. U.S. EPA's proposal to tighten the national ozone
standard will face scrutiny this week by a subpanel of the House
Science, Space and Technology Committee. The committee's
Environment subpanel, led by Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.), will
focus on the proposal's impacts to rural America in what will
likely be a contentious hearing Wednesday.
http://www.eenews.net/eedaily/stories/1060017447/feed 

State air chiefs, EPA leaders meet on emissions proposal. U.S.
EPA's Clean Power Plan will be front and center as state air
pollution agency chiefs gather in Providence, R.I., until
Wednesday for their spring meeting. EPA air chief Janet McCabe
and a contingency of deputies and regional administrators will be
on hand to discuss the nuts and bolts of potential compliance
strategies for cutting power plant carbon emissions 30…
http://www.eenews.net/eedaily/stories/1060017434/feed 

CLIMATE CHANGE

Study blames global warming for 75 percent of very hot days. If
you find yourself sweating out a day that is monstrously hot,
chances are you can blame humanity. A new report links three out
of four such days to man's effects on climate. And as climate
change worsens around mid-century, that percentage of extremely
hot days being caused by man-made greenhouse gases will push past
95 percent…
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SCI_EXTREME_WEATHER?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


OTHER RELATED STORIES
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/27/us-climatechange-temperature-idUSKBN0NI1NV20150427

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/28/science/new-study-links-weather-extremes-to-global-warming.html


Arctic nations to fight climate change despite Russia tensions.
The eight Arctic Council nations pledged on Friday to do more to
combat climate change that is shrinking the vast frigid region,
with countries trying to put aside disputes over issues like
Russia's intervention in Ukraine. Meeting in the Canadian town of
Iqaluit, 300 km (200 miles) south of the Arctic Circle, Canada,
Denmark, Finland, Iceland…
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/24/us-canada-usa-arctic-idUSKBN0NF2F920150424


Thawing permafrost: the Arctic's slow, giant carbon release.
Permafrost - a vast, frozen subsurface layer of soil - covers
nearly a quarter of the land in the Northern Hemisphere. It
contains centuries worth of carbon in the form of plants that
have died since the last ice age but remained frozen rather than
decomposing. Now scientists are learning that the "perma" part of
its name may no longer be accurate.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article19580646.html#storylink=cpy


Carbon Pricing Helping Farmers Ease Methane Pollution. Leo Van
Warmerdam pointed to a red shed housing a large generator on his
family’s dairy farm as he loped over two acres of manure. The
thick black plastic stretching across the manure ballooned as he
walked on it, inflated by methane building from beneath.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/farmers-reduce-methane-pollution-18926

Extreme Heat and Heavy Rain Events Expected to Double. Extreme
weather events such as droughts, heat waves and torrential
rainfalls are the most powerful and obvious reminders that the
climate is changing. These disasters were happening long before
humans started pumping heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the
atmosphere, but global warming has tipped the odds in their
favor.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/extreme-heat-heavy-rain-expected-to-double-18933


Blooming Algae Could Accelerate Arctic Warming. Blooms of algae
in the Arctic Ocean could add a previously unsuspected warming
feedback to the mix of factors driving temperatures in the north
polar regions up faster than any other place on the planet,
according to the authors of a new study in Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences. “By the end of the century, this
could lead to 20 percent more warming…
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/algae-accelerate-arctic-warming-18929


At $24 Trillion, Oceans are World’s 7th-Largest Economy. The
monetary value of the world’s oceans has been estimated at $24
trillion in a new report that warns that overfishing, pollution
and climate change are putting an unprecedented strain upon
marine ecosystems. The report, commissioned by WWF, states the
asset value of oceans is $24 trillion and values the annual
“goods and services” it provides, such as food, at $2.5 trillion.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/oceans-are-seventh-largest-economy-18931


With 'anger translator,' Obama jokes about climate change.
President Obama poked fun at Republicans for denying climate
change in his annual roast of the press and Washington, D.C.
Speaking at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner on
Saturday evening, the president used his high-profile speech
before celebrities and media bigwigs to prod for action on
climate change, albeit with humor.
http://www.eenews.net/eedaily/stories/1060017468/feed 

A 'believer' takes over conservative carbon tax effort. The first
time Catrina Rorke worked on a carbon tax, it got her boss fired.
Now, she has another shot. The millennial 30-year-old, with
bold-rimmed glasses and a composite political identity, is the
first director of energy policy for the R Street Institute…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/04/27/stories/1060017471 

DIESEL ACTIVITIES

Trucking Groups Lack Standing to Challenge EPA Heavy-Duty Truck
Standards, Court Says. A federal appeals court dismissed
challenges to the Environmental Protection Agency's greenhouse
gas emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks after finding the
petitioners lacked standing to bring their lawsuits. The U.S.
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit found in an
April 24 per curiam opinion that California trucking groups
opposed to the EPA's greenhouse gas emissions limits…
http://www.bna.com/trucking-groups-lack-n17179925814/ 

DROUGHT

Western drought steals clean energy along with fresh water at
power plants. The floor rumbled under Mark Cook. His legs
vibrated as he stood in a tunnel tucked into the thick base of
Hoover Dam, 430 feet below the tourists looking out over Lake
Mead. Beneath him, water roared through steel pipes 13 feet tall.
Nearby, heavy turbines hummed with mechanical intensity.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/at-hoover-dam-the-drought-is-stealing-clean-energy-along-with-fresh-water/2015/04/26/8ce2740a-e93d-11e4-9767-6276fc9b0ada_story.html
 

Drought Frames Economic Divide of Californians.  Alysia Thomas, a
stay-at-home mother in this working-class city, tells her
children to skip a bath on days when they do not play outside;
that holds down the water bill. Lillian Barrera, a housekeeper
who travels 25 miles to clean homes in Beverly Hills, serves
dinner to her family on paper plates for much the same reason.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/27/us/drought-widens-economic-divide-for-californians.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=1


California drought tests strength of Gold Rush-era water rights.
High above a landscape parched by unremitting drought, Meadow
Valley Creek courses through the northern Sierra Nevada and pools
in a stand of alders behind a tiny, concrete dam. Robert Forbes
draws water from the reservoir through an overturned smokestack
and into a ditch that has run west of Quincy for more than 100
years.
 
He adjusted a piece of plywood at its mouth to restrict the flow
one recent morning. In dry years, Forbes said, “I start rationing
people along the line.”
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article19560759.html#storylink=cpy


Drought doesn’t stop nation’s most ambitious salmon revival in
San Joaquin River. Young salmon glide through shallow riffles in
the San Joaquin River, not far from busy shopping centers, swift
Fresno traffic and a golf course. The southernmost salmon stream
in North America might seem like an afterthought in city life
here, but don’t let that fool you.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2015/04/25/4494375_drought-doesnt-stop-nations-most.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy


State drought tests water rights. High above a landscape parched
by unremitting drought, Meadow Valley Creek courses through the
northern Sierra Nevada and pools in a stand of alders behind a
tiny, concrete dam. Robert Forbes draws water from the reservoir
through an overturned smokestack and into a ditch that has run
west of Quincy for more than 100 years.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2015/04/25/4495597/state-drought-tests-water-rights.html#storylink=cpy


(THIS SHOULD MOVE UP TO SIMIILAR STORY)In California, drought
widens economic split. Alysia Thomas, a stay-at-home mother in
this working-class city, tells her children to skip a bath on
days when they do not play outside; that holds down the water
bill. Lillian Barrera, a housekeeper who travels 25 miles to
clean homes in Beverly Hills, serves dinner to her family on
paper plates for much the same reason. In the fourth year of a
severe drought…
http://www.fresnobee.com/2015/04/26/4496630/in-california-drought-widens.html#storylink=cpy


Drought restrictions may end era: Bye-bye front lawn. In 2011,
Jules and Alan Nolet bought a house on a flat, sunny lot of just
over an acre here. "It had a split-level house built in the '70s
with massive, overgrown lawns in the front and back," Jules
remembered. They knocked down the split-level and replaced it
with a 7,000-square-foot "Old World" house, co-designed by Jules,
who is half-French. They ripped out the swimming pool.
http://www.times-standard.com/general-news/20150424/drought-restrictions-may-end-era-bye-bye-front-lawn


Drought promotes renewed interest in water tech.  Jim Horan is a
numbers guy. He keeps track of everything from his blood sugar to
the number of miles he logs on his mountain bike.  Now, as
California's historic drought enters its fourth year, Horan is
also measuring his daily water use. But it's not easy. Each
morning when he goes out to get his newspaper, Horan brings a
screwdriver to remove the heavy concrete cover from his water
meter, clears away the dust and
spiders…http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_27993515/drought-promotes-renewed-interest-water-tech


FUELS

US gas prices jump 13 cents a gallon; could go slightly up. The
average national price of a regular gallon of gasoline has jumped
13 cents in the past two weeks to $2.58. Industry analyst Trilby
Lundberg said Sunday that higher crude oil prices caused the
run-up at the pump. However, the price is $1.11 below the mark a
year ago. Los Angeles has the highest-priced gas in the Lower 48
states at $3.30 a gallon.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GAS_PRICES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


OTHER RELATED STORIES
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/04/26/us/ap-us-gas-prices.html

http://www.fresnobee.com/2015/04/26/4496694/us-gas-prices-jump-13-cents-a.html#storylink=cpy
http://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2015/04/26/us-gas-prices-jump-13-cents-a-gallon-could-go-slightly-up
http://www.sfgate.com/business/energy/article/US-gas-prices-jump-13-cents-a-gallon-could-go-6225445.php

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2015/04/27/3606122_gas-jumps-another-8-cents-per.html?rh=1
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/general-news/20150425/refinery-issues-push-gasoline-prices-higher
  

Propel Fuels relocates headquarters to Sacramento. Propel Inc.,
which says it is California’s largest retailer of low-carbon
liquid fuels, is moving its headquarters from Redwood City to
Sacramento. “The low carbon economy is being defined in
Sacramento,” says Propel’s founder and CEO, Rob Elam, “There’s
nowhere we’d rather be.”
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=28225 

U. Mich, Ford team studies effect of ethanol in reducing PM from
DISI engines; insights into fueling strategies to reduce soot. A
team from the University of Michigan and Ford’s Research and
Advanced Engineering group in Dearborn has studied the effects of
ethanol on reducing particulate emissions from a direct injection
spark ignition (DISI) engine by comparing neat anhydrous ethanol
with a baseline fuel of reference grade gasoline (indolene).
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/04/20150426-etohdisi.html 

First integrated assessment of quality and yield of hydrocarbon
blendstocks via biomass fast pyrolysis and hydrotreating.
Researchers from three US national labs—Pacific Northwest
National Laboratory (PNNL), Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and
the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)—have performed
the first, fully integrated assessment of the quality and yield
of common feedstocks from the field to hydrocarbon blendstock
production using the fast pyrolysis-hydrotreating pathway.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/04/20150427-pnnl.html 

VEHICLES

New law aims to boost electric vehicle charging stations. A new
state law is designed to help increase the number of electric
vehicle charging stations in Maine. The bill was signed by
Republican Gov. Paul LePage last week. It will go into effect 90
days after the Legislature finishes its session. Senate Democrats
say there are only 30 electric vehicle charge stations across
Maine at places like Thomas College and Mt. Abram Ski Mountain.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2015/04/26/4495941/new-law-aims-to-boost-electric.html#storylink=cpy


Heliocentris launches HyDrive Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Trainer.
Germany-based Heliocentris has launched HyDrive – Fuel Cell
Electric Vehicle Trainer as part of its training systems product
family. HyDrive—targeted at academic programs—provides students
with a hands-on experiment set to examine the construction,
functionality and benefits of fuel cell hybrid electric vehicles.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/04/20150427-heliocentris.html


GREEN ENERGY

AES says power storage business expanding into Europe, new U.S.
markets. AES Corp unveiled plans on Monday to expand its energy
storage business into Europe and in new U.S. markets as the power
industry aims to boost the reliability of renewable energy.  In
total, AES has more than 1,000 MW of energy storage projects in
development, according to AES Energy Storage President John
Zahurancik.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/27/aes-storage-idUSL1N0XL2GH20150427

	
Look What’s Cooking in the World of Renewable Energy. Inside a
sprawling single-story office building in Bedford, Mass., in a
secret room known as the Growth Hall, the future of solar power
is cooking at more than 2,500 °F. Behind closed doors and
downturned blinds, custom-built ovens with ambitious names like
“Fearless” and “Intrepid” are helping to perfect a new technique
of making silicon wafers, the workhorse of today’s solar panels.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/the-world-of-renewable-energy-18919


Construction underway for America's first offshore wind farm.
Construction is officially underway for the first offshore wind
farm in U.S. waters. Offshore wind developer Deepwater Wind on
Friday announced that its CEO, Jeffrey Grybowski, is meeting with
Rhode Island leaders today in North Kingstown to celebrate early
building activities on the Block Island Wind Farm, a planned
30-megawatt…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/04/27/stories/1060017475 

Like shale gas, solar power shaking up global energy. One by one,
Japan is turning off the lights at the giant oil-fired power
plants that propelled it to the ranks of the world's top
industrialised nations. With nuclear power in the doldrums after
the Fukushima disaster, it's solar energy that is becoming the
alternative. Solar power is set to become profitable in Japan as
early as this quarter, according to the Japan Renewable Energy
Foundation (JREF), freeing it from the need for government
subsidies and making it the last of the G7 economies where the
technology has become economically viable.
http://www.dailysabah.com/energy/2015/04/26/like-shale-gas-solar-power-shaking-up-global-energy

MISCELLANEOUS

OPINIONS

Desalination plants aren't a good solution for California
drought. As surely as the hot, dry Santa Ana winds bring blue
skies to the coast and wildfires to the hills, severe California
droughts bring calls to build desalination plants up and down the
seashore.
All that ocean water, begging to be converted to fresh and pumped
into our pipelines, would solve our water supply problems
instantly and permanently, boosters say.
http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-83383753/ 

Water market offers better approach to conservation. Gov. Jerry
Brown’s April 1 order for a 25 percent reduction in urban water
use follows unprecedented restrictions from the State Water
Resources Control Board in March. Such top-down mandates would be
unnecessary if California followed more innovative approaches
already working in other places plagued by drought. The new rules
in California limit watering lawns, serving water in
restaurants...
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article19269969.html


Another View: Why knock almonds? Alfalfa consumes twice the
water. Ever since Gov. Jerry Brown’s executive order asking
Californians to cut their water use by 25 percent, restaurants
won’t serve glasses of water unless requested. However, they will
happily serve a hamburger, which is equivalent to 10,560 glasses
of water. Add a couple slices of cheese to that burger, and
that’s another 1,600 glasses.
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/california-forum/article19413399.html#storylink=cpy


Lift ban on crude oil exports. Here in Kern County, all of us
benefit from the success of the oil and gas industry. Tens of
thousands of direct and indirect jobs generate more than $4
billion in employee wages, strengthen our economy and boost
funding for our local schools and emergency services through
added tax revenue. That's why we need our leaders in Washington
to support our county's economic future and lift the ban on crude
oil exports.
http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/opinion/letters/x1710332843/Lift-ban-on-crude-oil-exports?utm_source=widget_254&utm_medium=synapse


Watering schedule does not fit everyone. The Bakersfield City
Council has again flagrantly exposed its need to control the
lives of the people of Bakersfield. Apparently, the council
believes that none of us "people" have any desire or knowledge
about water conservation. I'm referring to the
three-days-per-week landscape watering ordinance that the council
just passed.
http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/opinion/letters/x1635362408/Watering-schedule-does-not-fit-everyone


MATT DRISCOLL: Searching for some hope on Earth Day. Kids have a
way of putting my deep-rooted cynicism into the proper
perspective. Specifically, my kids. When I look at them it's hard
not to think about the future. Wednesday was Earth Day, as my
oldest…
http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/opinion/forum/x1920867889/Searching-for-some-hope-on-Earth-Day
 

Fill Tulare Lake instead. With California in a four-year drought,
instead of spending billions on raising dams, why not just use
one of the largest lakes in the West, the once great Tulare Lake?
Pay those farmers for the land and start filling it up.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2015/04/25/4492010/fill-tulare-lake-instead.html#storylink=cpy


It’s all ears when water commissioners speak.  “Let’s keep the
lid on and be respectful,” said state Sen. Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber,
to an audience of nearly 400 at the California Water Commission’s
public outreach meeting in Chico. Mr. Nielsen introduced the CWC
to elected officials, farmers, city dwellers, environmentalists,
and stakeholders who either sat or stood shoulder-to-shoulder.
When members of the powerful commission speak, they have an
audience.
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=28223 

Automakers rev up innovation in the Bay Area. In the future, your
car will anticipate your every need, from where you're heading to
what you'd like to listen to along the way -- and, of course,
drive itself. That's the vision automakers are test-driving in
Silicon Valley, which has emerged as ground zero in the race to
reimagine the automobile. Car companies ranging from General
Motors to Mercedes have set up shop in the nation's hotbed of
technology and innovation for a dose of inspiration…
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/general-news/20150425/automakers-rev-up-innovation-in-the-bay-area


BLOGS

California's Imported Oil Problem. California is the most
critical state in the country, with 38.2 million people and a GDP
of $2.3 trillion, equal to Texas and Pennsylvania output
combined. Depending on your perspective I guess, California has
become famous/infamous for its progressive energy policies.
California is our “clean energy” capital, with cap-and-trade, the
most alternative fuel vehicles…
http://www.forbes.com/sites/judeclemente/2015/04/26/californias-imported-oil-problem/


California Drought Impact More Complex: Ag Grains Nearing
Crossroads. The CA drought has become more complex as statistics
suggest placing blame on who uses water and how much is not cut
and dried.  The water used by agriculture has been shown to not
be as great as 70% but more like 40% when considering water that
passes through but not used.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jerrygulke/2015/04/27/ca-drought-impact-more-complex-ag-grains-nearing-crossroads/
 

As Coal Jobs Go Up In Flames, New Energy Positions Will Emerge
From Ashes. Coal-related jobs are going up in flames, but new
ones will emerge from the ashes. That’s the conclusion of a new
economic study that examines the Obama administration’s energy
policy and its potential impact on the broader economy.
Appalachia’s coal counties are smoldering for a multitude of
reasons…
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2015/04/26/as-coal-jobs-go-up-in-flames-new-energy-positions-will-emerge-from-ashes/
 

California’s drought isn’t doomsday, but yes, it will change the
state. As California parches, people in the state have begun to
ask tough questions. Will we be talking about rationing drinking
water at some point? Will technology rescue us? Will farmers
abandon the state’s great Central Valley? The simple answer to
all these questions is: no. As California’s climate shifts, the
impacts will be profound.
http://grist.org/food/californias-drought-isnt-doomsday-but-yes-it-will-change-the-state/


Everglades Under Attack. THE FLORIDA EVERGLADES is one of the
most unique natural resources in the world, with an abundance of
wildlife found nowhere else. It also soaks up carbon dioxide from
the air better than major rainforests around the world,
researchers say.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/27/everglades-under-attack_n_7151188.html?utm_hp_ref=world


Household Solar Is Becoming the New Normal - and That Makes Some
Utilities Uncomfortable.  A couple of weeks ago, my wife Sharon
and I were out for a long neighborhood walk. This is not unusual
for us, but on this particular day we took a route we hadn't
walked in quite some time. I was pleased to notice that one of
the traditional, colonial-style houses we encountered was
sporting solar panels on its roof.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/f-kaid-benfield/household-solar-is-becomi_b_7143872.html?utm_hp_ref=green&ir=Green?view=print&comm_ref=false





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