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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for May 8, 2015.
Posted: 08 May 2015 13:17:55
ARB Newsclips for May 8, 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 Mexico and California: A Shared Border and Clean Energy Future. California is known for many things: its natural beauty, Hollywood, Route 66 and the most famous bridge in the world. It is also known for making history. When Jerry Brown was sworn in as governor last January, he made history. It was not only his fourth term, he made history by proposing three ambitious climate and clean energy goals to be accomplished by 2030: http://www.imperialvalleynews.com/index.php/news/latest-news/3198-mexico-and-california-a-shared-border-and-clean-energy-future.html AIR POLLUTION Perfect Nails, Poisoned Workers. Some ingredients used in nail products have been tied to cancer, miscarriages, lung diseases and other ailments. The industry has long fought regulations. Each time a customer pulled open the glass door at the nail shop in Ridgewood, Queens, where Nancy Otavalo worked… http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/11/nyregion/nail-salon-workers-in-nyc-face-hazardous-chemicals.html?_r=0 EPA issues NOV for oil terminal permits, blasting the SJVAPCD in the process. Anti-oil groups and environmental activists were overjoyed recently with the news that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Notice of Violation to the Bakersfield Crude Terminal and its owners/operators for violating the Clean Air Act. EPA said that the Taft, CA, facility, which was designed to receive crude oil by rail… http://www.examiner.com/article/epa-issues-nov-for-oil-terminal-permits-blasting-the-sjvapcd-the-process CLIMATE CHANGE Clean Power Plan Legally Solid But Imperfect as Tool to Cut Carbon Pollution, Schatz Says. Regulations to reduce carbon pollution from power plants are a legal but imperfect tool to address climate change, and setting a carbon fee would be a better option if the political climate would allow it, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) told a Bloomberg Government breakfast May 7. Carbon fee legislation “puts us in a better position to ameliorate the disruption that will occur as we make a transition… http://www.bna.com/clean-power-plan-n17179926247/ Australia PM's adviser says climate change a UN hoax. A top Australian government business adviser has said climate change is a hoax by the United Nations. Most climate models were wrong and there was little evidence of climate change, said Maurice Newman. He said the UN had used climate change as a "hook" to establish and control a new world order. Mr Newman's comments were rejected by climate scientists… http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-32639813 Weather Forecasters Used To Be Among The Country’s Staunchest Climate Deniers. Why That’s Changing Fast. Keah Schuenemann, a meteorology professor at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, has never met an atmospheric or climate scientist who doesn’t agree that most of the planet’s warming over the last century is a result of human activity. Weather forecasters though, whom she deals with regularly, are a different story. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/05/07/3653307/where-have-all-the-climate-denying-weather-forecasters-gone/ Climate Change Now Among Top US Strategic Priorities. Ask almost anyone about the main national priorities of the US, and you’ll probably hear “democracy” and “continuing economic growth.” You might also hear “security concerns,” especially since the rise of terrorism after 9/11. But from now on you’ll hear a lot more about a fourth target. “Climate change.” http://cleantechnica.com/2015/05/07/climate-change-now-among-top-us-strategic-priorities/ EPA sends carbon rule for new power plants to White House. U.S. EPA sent today its final rule limiting carbon dioxide emissions from new power plants to the White House for review. EPA is working toward finalizing the rule in midsummer, along with its Clean Power Plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants. EPA also plans to submit a federal proposal for meeting the Clean Power Plan at the same time. http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/05/08/stories/1060018253 DROUGHT Building boom and drought collide on Catalina Island. Signs of drought and anxiety are everywhere in this quaint harbor town. Hotels are shipping laundry to the mainland for washing, contractors are mixing cement with water they import by barge and residents are squaring off with developers over choices between rationing and curbing growth. http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-catalina-drought-20150508-story.html#page=1 Report: Food companies face growing water risks. Food companies should be taking stronger steps to use water more efficiently and adapt to growing water scarcity, a nonprofit advocacy group said in a report released Thursday. The organization Ceres ranked 37 major food companies on how effectively they are managing water-related risks that can affect profits as well as food production. http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/environment/2015/05/07/report-food-companies-face-growing-water-risks/70979884/ Political answers scarce as water in parched California. The drought is having real consequences for the policies and political fortunes of elected officials. For much of the century since William Mulholland, the visionary or villainous engineer who brought water from the Eastern Sierra to Los Angeles, opened the floodgates of his aqueduct and declared, “There it is. Take it!”… http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/california-drought-political-answers-water-117706.html#ixzz3ZZRfZBDq California Drought: Power Supply Will Meet Summer Demand. The California Independent System Operator (CAL-ISO) said that electricity supplies will be sufficient to meet the 2015 summer peak - even under the extreme scenario of hot temperatures "that happen only once every 10 years." CAL-ISO released its 2015 Summer Loads and Resources Assessment Thursday. http://www.capradio.org/articles/2015/05/07/california-drought-power-supply-will-meet-summer-demand/ How the California Drought Is Increasing the Potential for Devastating Wildfires. Forest Service anticipates spending more than $1 billion and mobilizing more than 10,000 fires to fight forest fires this season. California’s four-year drought has already cost the state billions of dollars and placed thousands of jobs at risk. Now scientists say it has the potential to strengthen wildfires that could destroy homes… http://time.com/3849320/california-drought-wildfires/ 'Across most of the West, snowpack isn't just low -- it's gone' Higher temperatures have already melted most of the mountain snowpack across the West, according to a sobering new report from the Department of Agriculture that warns this could lead to water supply shortfalls this summer. The latest monthly report released by USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service forecasts… http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/05/08/stories/1060018255 Top Calif. water guzzler mulls 50% reductions for some. Some residents of an irrigation district here that ranked as one of the state's biggest water guzzlers could soon learn they'll need to cut back consumption not just by the 36 percent ordered by the state, but in some cases as much as 50 percent. http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/05/08/stories/1060018252 LUMBER LIQUIDATORS Lumber Liquidators customers don't know what to believe. Lumber Liquidators says it will stop selling laminate flooring from China, but the company insists the material is not unsafe. Even still, customers are trying to figure out what to believe and how to know whether their homes are safe, CBS News' Anna Werner reports. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/lumber-liquidator-customers-still-testing-laminate-floors-formaldehyde/ FUELS US encourages Greece to stick to non-Russia pipeline project. The United States is encouraging Greece to move forward with a pipeline bringing natural gas from Azerbaijan to Europe via Greece, rather than setting its hopes on a different project that would pipe Russian gas through Turkey. The U.S. State Department's special envoy on energy affairs, Amos Hochstein, said Friday he had discussed energy issues… http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_GREECE_RUSSIA_ENERGY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Novozymes investors bet on biofuel and agricultural breakthroughs. Investors have high hopes for Novozymes and the enzymes it makes to improve chemical processes in a variety of industries, but analysts warn of pitfalls in a growth strategy reliant on a biofuel sector still in its infancy and unproven farming biotechnology. Having built on mother company Novo's work in the 1940s to produce biological catalysts by fermenting them in large tanks… http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/08/novozymes-outlook-idUSL5N0XV2I820150508 Even Keystone Foes Grow Weary of Obama’s Delay in Deciding. Keystone XL supporters often complain that President Barack Obama’s delay in deciding on whether to allow the oil pipeline to be built is costing jobs and keeping the U.S. tied to unstable energy partners. With the review now stretching beyond six years, some critics, increasingly confident that Obama will reject the Canada-to-U.S. pipeline… http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-07/even-keystone-xl-foes-growing-weary-of-obama-s-delay-in-deciding South Africa prepares to give shale gas go ahead. South Africa will gazette final regulations for shale gas exploration by June, two years after releasing draft rules and as companies reconsider investments due to volatile oil prices and delays in awarding licenses. In March, Royal Dutch Shell said it was pulling back from its shale projects in South Africa's semi-arid Karoo region… http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/07/safrica-shale-idUSL5N0XY3BX20150507 Tech Entrepreneurs Seek More Ethanol in Gasoline to Lower Prices. Do you want a return of $2-a-gallon gasoline? Before the recent jump in oil prices put low costs in the rear-view mirror, American drivers had a brief taste of the 1990s at the pump. Now technology multimillionaires Eyal Aronoff and Yossie Hollander and former Shell Oil Co. president John Hofmeister say the U.S. could make low prices permanent if more ethanol and methanol from cheap natural gas are added to the mix. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-07/tech-entrepreneurs-seek-more-ethanol-in-gasoline-to-lower-prices California Oil Waste Rules Attacked as Groundwater Threat. California’s rules allowing oil extraction waste to be injected into the ground were challenged by environmental groups saying the practice threatens protected sources of drinking water as the state suffers through a record drought. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-07/california-oil-waste-rules-challenged-as-groundwater-threat-i9eedu6d Phillips 66 and ConocoPhillips pay California $11.5 Million fine. Phillips 66 and ConocoPhillips are paying California $11.5 million to settle complaints that the companies violated state laws governing the proper operation and maintenance of underground storage tanks used to store gasoline for retail sale. The companies failed to comply with hazardous materials and hazardous waste laws at over 560 gasoline stations owned or operated by the companies in California… http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=28294 http://www.sfgate.com/news/texas/article/2-gasoline-companies-ordered-to-pay-11-5M-for-6250215.php http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_28074013/2-gasoline-companies-ordered-pay-11-5m-violations Groups sue to keep oil waste out of state’s aquifers. Two environmental groups sued California regulators Thursday to stop oil companies from injecting wastewater into potentially usable aquifers beneath the state’s drought-ravaged Central Valley. The suit, filed by the Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity, claims the California agency that oversees oil fields… http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Groups-sue-to-stop-oil-company-injections-into-6248941.php Oil Exports Could Become New Hurdle For Obama’s Trade Deal. Lisa Murkowski will debut a bill lifting the oil export ban next week. Get ready for the possibility of another controversial political ingredient entering the debate over trade legislation: the oil export ban. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Lisa Murkowski will introduce legislation to end the oil export ban next week… http://www.nationaljournal.com/energy/oil-exports-trade-deal-obama-murkowski-20150507 Oil And Gas Wells Are Leaking Huge Amounts Of Methane, And It’s Costing Taxpayers Millions. In March, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell cited a methane gas plume the size of Delaware hovering over the Four Corners area in Northwest New Mexico as evidence that the Interior Department needs to cut “wasted gas that results from venting and flaring during oil and gas operations.” This methane hot spot, which is located above an area that contains more than 40,000 wells… http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/05/08/3656343/fugitive-methane-on-the-loose-on-public-lands/ Report for the EC evaluates prospects for sugar-based platforms for biofuels and biochemical. A comprehensive review of 94 potential pathways to biofuels and biochemicals via the sugar platform, prepared for the European Commission (DG ENER) by a team from E4tech, RE-CORD and Wageningen UR, finds that the global market value of the sugar platform is today of the order of $65 billion, with bioethanol (from sugar and starch crops) by far the dominant product in the market. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/05/20150508-e4tech.html Natural gas, LNG trade groups to merge. The main trade association representing liquefied natural gas exporters will be folded into another group representing supply interests, under an agreement the groups announced yesterday. In a press release, the Natural Gas Supply Association said that it would be incorporating the Center for LNG in a reorganization that would "increase the effectiveness of both associations." http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2015/05/08/stories/1060018219 Democratic senators slam Obama admin over delayed RFS rules. A coalition of Democratic senators yesterday slammed the Obama administration over delays in setting annual targets for biofuels through the renewable fuel standard program. The group, led by Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), said that the delays in setting the targets were causing uncertainty that was particularly hurting the biodiesel industry. http://www.eenews.net/eedaily/stories/1060018221/feed VEHICLES Why More And More States Could Start Considering Fees On Electric Cars. Electric and hybrid car owners in Michigan can breathe a sigh of relief. On Tuesday, Michigan residents voted no to Proposal 1, a referendum that would have imposed a $75 annual registration fee on electric vehicles and a $25 fee for most hybrid vehicles. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/05/08/3655918/state-electric-vehicle-fees/ 2016 Chevy Volt To Get California Carpool Lane Access. Access to the carpool lane in California with only a single occupant has proven to be one of the more effective incentives to get the state's drivers to buy electric cars. The first year and a half of Chevy Volt range-extended electric cars didn't qualify, but Volt sales in California surged once buyers could add the crucial green sticker to their Volts. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1098191_2016-chevy-volt-to-get-california-carpool-lane-access Chevrolet Introduces Bi-Fuel-Powered Silverado Chassis Cab Truck. Chevrolet is introducing a dual-powered Silverado, run on either compressed natural gas or gasoline. The bi-fuel 2016 Silverado 3500HD Chassis Cab has a 24.5 gallon CNG tank behind the cab in addition to a 23.5-gallon gasoline tank. http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=38201 GREEN ENERGY Solar Power Inc. Agrees to Buy Controlling Stake in Convertergy. Solar Power Inc., a renewable-energy project developer backed by China’s LDK Solar Co., agreed to buy a 76.8 percent stake in Convertergy Energy Technology Co., a provider of energy-monitoring services. Solar Power is paying $13.8 million in stock and assuming a $1.5 million loan, the Shanghai-based company said in a statement Friday. The transaction is subject to closing conditions. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-08/solar-power-inc-agrees-to-buy-controlling-stake-in-convertergy California has enough power for summer air conditioning demand -grid operator. California will have enough power to meet air conditioning demand this summer despite continued low hydropower supplies due to an ongoing multi-year drought. The California Independent System Operator (ISO), the power grid operator for most of the state, said in a statement released late Thursday… http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/08/utilities-california-summer-idUSL1N0XZ1I320150508?feedType=RSS&feedName=rbssEnergyNews New Program Brings Solar Power To Low-Income Fresnans. A new statewide program using cap-and-trade money to fund solar panels for low-income residents launched today in Fresno. Salvador Mendoza and his family are one of the first 1,780 households in the state to receive rooftop solar panels through California’s Low-Income Weatherization Program. The Mendoza's home is the first home of 20 in Fresno to have solar panels installed through the program. http://kvpr.org/post/new-program-brings-solar-power-low-income-fresnans http://www.fresnobee.com/2015/05/06/4513005_fresno-residents-receive-solar.html?rh=1 http://www.csd.ca.gov/Newsroom/NewsReleases/May7,2015.aspx?utm_content=bufferbba8b&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffe r State wavers on proposed Carlsbad power plant. A proposal to build a new natural gas power plant at Carlsbad was put on hold Thursday by the California Public Utilities Commission. The commission is weighing whether the $2.6 billion project by New Jersey-based NRG Energy is a wise investment for customers of San Diego Gas & Electric as grid managers seek to replace power once provided by the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/may/07/waivering-carlsbad-power-plant/ Save onshore wind farms, renewables industry begs new Tory government. Renewables industry makes fresh plea for Conservatives to drop plans for a new onshore wind farm ban, as green business groups call for continued climate action. The UK's renewable energy sector has issued a desperate plea for the new Conservative government to show early support for the low carbon economy… http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/analysis/2407649/save-onshore-wind-farms-renewables-industry-begs-new-tory-government SolarCity To Offer Off-Grid Solar Energy/Battery System To Eligible Customers In Hawaii In 2016. Those living in Hawaii that are interested in going off-grid will soon have a new option for doing so available to them via SolarCity, based on a recent press release. According to that release, the company will begin offering off-grid solar energy + battery systems to eligible customers in the Hawaiian Islands starting in 2016. https://cleantechnica.com/2015/05/07/solarcity-offer-off-grid-solar-energybattery-system-eligible-customers-hawaii-2016/ MIT: ‘Massive’ Solar Expansion Critical for Climate. A “massive” global expansion of solar power — possibly enough to supply about a third or more of the world’s electricity — may be necessary by 2050 to reduce the impacts of fossil fuels on the climate, according to a report published by MIT this week. Solar’s efficiency and abundance make it the clean energy source best suited to cut greenhouse gas emissions. http://www.climatecentral.org/news/solar-expansion-critical-for-climate-mit-18973 MISCELLANEOUS California says it busted $14M can, bottle recycling scheme. Five people were part of a scheme that involved trucking more than 200 million cans and bottles from Arizona and illegally redeeming them at recycling centers in California for about $14 million in refunds, authorities said Thursday. A grand jury in Kern County indicted five Californians on charges including grand theft and recycling fraud. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_RECYCLING_FRAUD?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-05-07-20-53-35 OPINIONS COLUMN-Managing earthquake risks in oil and gas production: Kemp. Underground disposal of waste water produced from oil and natural gas wells has been blamed for triggering thousands of small earthquakes in Oklahoma and a number of other U.S. states since 2009. Heightened seismic activity corresponds closely with the timeframe and location of increased drilling and hydraulic fracturing across the southwest United States… http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/08/earthquake-shale-usa-kemp-idUSL5N0XZ2W420150508 Measure California’s Water. California’s water board voted Tuesday to impose new rules that would reduce the state’s urban water use by 25 percent, as mandated by Gov. Jerry Brown at the beginning of April. By requiring towns and cities to cut back, the state expects to save about 1.3 million acre-feet of water over the next nine months. Rationing in urban areas will be tiered. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/08/opinion/measure-californias-water.html Innovation or insanity? Californians' ideas for busting the drought. Last month, after Gov. Jerry Brown ordered Californians to cut back their water use, a retired engineering professor in Carmel revived a decades-old proposal for easing the drought: icebergs. He wrote to officials urging them to consider towing giant hunks of ice across the ocean to California, a fantastical concept that has never quite gained steam. http://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-pol-0508-drought-ideas-20150507-htmlstory.html Brown's plan waste money. Dear Editor: California is facing a protracted drought and an ever-increasing unpayable deficit of, nearly, $400 billion and growing. So what do Jerry Brown and the Democrat- controlled legislature propose to do about these impeding disasters? Of course, spend $740 million of taxpayers' money on health care for illegals! http://www.contracostatimes.com/brentwood/ci_28055687/east-contra-costa-letters-editor-voters-were-short Water conservation is not enough. Dear Editor: I raise my voice in chorus with others, to support ways of increasing supplies of potable water for California's insatiable thirst. Conservation may suffice for the short run, but is not enough to get us through a prolonged drought. The technology of desalination is proven and many commercial-sized facilities operate in the Middle East and the tropics. http://www.contracostatimes.com/brentwood/ci_28055687/east-contra-costa-letters-editor-voters-were-short Bob Dunning: Reasoning for unfair policies holds no water. NO TIME FOR FAIRNESS … representatives of a number of water districts in our beautiful state tried to convince members of the State Water Resources Control Board that comparing a Sacramento Valley town’s water use to that of a town on the cool and wet north coast of California is like comparing apples and oranges … in short, it’s not fair … Well… http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/dunning/reasoning-for-unfair-policies-holds-no-water/ BLOGS Wind Power Without The Mills. Vortex Bladeless is a radical company. It wants to completely change the way we get energy from the wind. Think wind stick instead of a massive tower with blades that capture blowing winds. Wind stick. Really. Lest you think I’m mad, I’ve included a picture of this bladeless generator that helps with the visualization and explains the company name. http://www.forbes.com/sites/billtucker/2015/05/07/wind-power-without-the-mills/ Energy Investors Should Follow Elon Musk (Almost) Anywhere. The world now knows. The future will be powered by batteries. The recent announcement by Elon Musk of his Tesla Motors’ Tesla Powerwall has begun to focus attention on the potential of this technology to combine with distributed solar power generation, among other renewable technologies, to allow a carbon-less, or at least a less-carbon energy future… http://www.forbes.com/sites/joelmoser/2015/05/08/energy-investors-should-follow-elon-musk-almost-anywhere/ Your Winter Vegetables: Brought to You by California's Very Last Drops of Water. California's drought-plagued Central Valley hogs the headlines, but two-thirds of your winter vegetables come from a different part of the state. Occupying a land mass a mere eighth the size of metro Los Angeles, the Imperial Valley churns out about two-thirds of the vegetables eaten by Americans during the winter. http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2015/05/your-winter-vegetables-are-grown-desert-watered-dwindling-river Cutting Carbon Pollution Won’t Make the Sky Fall. National experts and Southeastern utilities agree that it is practical to reduce carbon pollution from power plants, while maintaining reliability of the electric grid. In an April 2015 report by three national experts on electric reliability, the authors found that while there will be “significant changes to the overall mix of resources… http://blog.cleanenergy.org/2015/05/07/reliability-clean-power-plan/#sthash.NpgJMc6n.dpuf Why Climate Engineering Won't Work. From the California drought to the Vanuatu typhoon, weather extremes are increasingly hard to ignore, and global warming is going to worsen our situation. Hence, climate engineering is the big temptation of our times: If there's too much heat on the planet, let's block some sunlight and continue business as usual. There's just one problem: It won't work. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anders-levermann/why-climate-engineering-wont-work_b_7239816.html Are Industrial Farms Also to Blame for America's Drought? If there is a silver lining to be found in the devastating California drought, it's that many more Americans are finally thinking about where and how their food is grown. Historically low water levels have put a squeeze on the state's farmers who produce nearly all of the nation's broccoli, grapes… http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-hunt/are-industrial-farms-also-to-blame_b_7241582.html Solving the Climate Crisis Will Strengthen Our Economy. When I voted for the Clean Air Act as a Member of Congress in 1970, I received a stern warning from special interests: Environmental protection hurts economic growth. When I voted for the Clean Water Act in 1972, the Endangered Species Act in 1973, and the first federal fuel economy standards in 1975… http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-conyers/solving-the-climate-crisis-will-strengthen-our-economy_b_7243612.html Hawaii may eliminate ethanol blend in gas. Bill Passes State Legislature, Waits For Gov. Ige's Signature. The Hawaii legislature has passed a bill removing the state's ethanol mandate. Hawaii has required a 10 percent ethanol blend in its gas since 2006. The problem is that Hawaii imports most of its ethanol, rather than producing it in-state as originally intended. http://www.autoblog.com/2015/05/07/hawaii-enters-national-debate-over-future-of-ethanol-in-gas/ California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.