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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for May 21, 2015.

Posted: 21 May 2015 15:00:00
ARB Newsclips for May 21, 2015. 

This is a service of the California Air Resources Board’s Office
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individual websites to view some of the following news articles.

AIR POLLUTION

Rich world should help emerging countries cut pollution: Glencore
chairman. 
Rich countries should help developing countries like India limit
their carbon emissions by supporting the building of more
expensive but cleaner energy plants, Glencore chairman Tony
Hayward said on Thursday.  Hayward said that India, where
hundreds of millions of people have no access to electricity…
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/21/us-climatechange-business-carbon-idUSKBN0O615I20150521


Paris Hit by Air Pollution Spike, Halves Cars on Roads. Paris
will cut the number of cars on the road in half beginning Monday
and is making public transit free to combat a spike in pollution
that has obscured even the Eiffel Tower under a smoggy haze. The
mayor's office announced Saturday that only cars with
odd-numbered plates will be permitted to drive Monday, as well as
any electric or hybrid vehicles and any vehicles with more than
three people.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/03/21/world/europe/ap-eu-france-pollution.html


AK Steel to pay $1.35M for alleged violations at plant. An
Ohio-based steelmaker has agreed to pay $1.35 million to settle
environmental violations at a Dearborn plant alleged by the
federal government and state of Michigan. The agreement with AK
Steel was announced Wednesday by the U.S. Justice Department,
which says the violations of the Clean Air Act occurred under the
previous owner of the plant.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/AK-Steel-to-pay-1-35M-for-alleged-violations-at-6277571.php


Honolulu ordered to fund 3.1MW PV plant for air pollution
violations. Authorities in Hawaii’s capital, Honolulu, have been
ordered to finance a US$16 million solar system as a penalty for
failing to curb air pollution from a city landfill site. The US
Environmental Protection Agency said the City and County of
Honolulu had not installed the necessary measures to collect and
control methane and other air pollutants from its Kapaa landfill
site by a 2002 deadline.
http://www.pv-tech.org/news/honolulu_ordered_to_fund_3.1mw_pv_plant_for_air_pollution_violations

Air regulator group to release much-anticipated 'menu' of Clean
Power Plan options. The association of state air regulators who
are charged with writing carbon-reduction proposals under U.S.
EPA's Clean Power Plan today will release an extensive 465-page
encyclopedia of 25 core compliance options. The National
Association of Clean Air Agencies, which represents 41 states and
more than 100 local agencies…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/05/21/stories/1060018941 

CLIMATE CHANGE

UN climate fund passes financing threshold with Japan deal. The
U.N.'s fund for climate aid to developing countries says it now
has enough cash to kick off projects before a key climate summit
in Paris. Green Climate Fund officials said a Japanese commitment
Thursday of $1.5 billion pushed the fund's resources beyond the
threshold at which they can start financing projects in
developing countries.
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_UN_CLIMATE_FUND?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


OTHER RELATED STORIES
http://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/article21553035.html 

Oil Giants Band Together to Add Voice to Climate Debate. Europe’s
largest oil companies are banding together to forge a joint
strategy on climate-change policy, alarmed they’ll be ignored as
the world works toward a historic deal limiting greenhouse gases.
Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Total SA, BP Plc, Statoil ASA and Eni SpA
are among oil companies that plan to start a new industry body…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-20/oil-giants-band-together-to-add-their-voice-to-climate-debate

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/21/climatechange-business-paris-idUSL5N0YC3Q920150521


Agriculture and Cattle Ranching Threatening Global Rainforests.
The Brazilian city of Altamira used to be in the middle of Amazon
forest. Not anymore, not after decades of deforestation. Now it’s
a two-hour drive to the nearest native forest areas still
standing. The view along the way is mostly pastures, with a few
tall nut trees surrounded by cattle. Lots of cattle.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-21/agriculture-and-cattle-ranching-threatening-global-rainforests


Energy divestment campaigns a 'red herring', says Shell CEO.
Royal Dutch Shell Chief Executive Ben van Beurden on Thursday
slammed as a "red herring" calls for investors to divest from
energy companies as part of the fight against climate change. Van
Beurden singled out the "Keep it in the Ground" campaign led by
British newspaper The Guardian that aims at keeping charitable
funds from investing in fossil fuels.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/21/shell-climate-idUSL5N0YC3ZH20150521


'Top 10' new species includes cartwheeling spider, 'chicken from
hell'. Some 18,000 species, great and small, were discovered in
2014, adding to the 2 million already known, scientists said on
Thursday, as they released a "Top 10" list that highlights the
diversity of life. he 10 are "a reminder of the wonders awaiting
us," said Quentin Wheeler, president of the SUNY College of
Environmental Science and Forestry…
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/21/science-species-idUSKBN0O61AZ20150521


Scientists: This is what it would take to keep the world super
safe from global warming. The world is busy trying to achieve a
global warming goal that some think we’re not on course to
achieve, and that some scientists worry may not be enough to
prevent some troubling scenarios — like significant sea level
rise. That goal is limiting warming to 2 degrees Celsius above
pre-industrial levels.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/05/21/this-is-what-it-would-actually-take-to-keep-the-world-super-safe-from-global-warming/

 
The surprising links between faith and evolution and climate
denial — charted. For a long time, we’ve been having a pretty
confused discussion about the relationship between religious
beliefs and the rejection of science — and especially its two
most prominent U.S. incarnations, evolution denial and climate
change denial.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/05/20/this-chart-explains-why-faith-and-science-dont-have-to-be-in-conflict/


Ironically, air conditioning could be the thing fueling future
global warming. There's a memorable episode of Comedy Central's
Broad City in which our spunky (and in this instance, sweaty)
protagonists Abby and Ilana go to great lengths to track down an
air conditioning unit, traversing a sweltering New York City with
schemes including sneaking into a NYU dorm and seducing college
students to steal a window unit.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/05/20/air-conditioning-environment-statistics/27586469/


Cold weather is much deadlier than extreme heat, study says.
Extreme heat waves like the one that killed more than 70,000
Europeans in 2003 may be the most visible examples of deadly
weather, but cold days actually cause more deaths than hot ones,
a new study says. After examining more than 74 million deaths
that occurred in 13 countries from 1985 to 2012, researchers
calculated that 7.3% of them could be attributed to cold weather
and 0.4% to hot weather.
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-cold-hot-weather-deaths-20150520-story.html


1.5C climate goal still in reach, say scientists.  World must
embrace deeper emissions cuts, biofuels and carbon storage in
last stab at limiting long term costs for planet, study says.
Odds are long on the planet pinning down temperatures below a
1.5C rise on pre-industrial levels by the end of the century.
http://www.rtcc.org/2015/05/21/1-5c-climate-goal-still-in-reach-say-scientists/#sthash.8yzy00kQ.dpuf


IMF: Fossil Fuels Subsidies Are $5.3 Trillion A Year If Climate
Costs Included. Climate change doesn't just present an
environmental threat to human populations, it also has a tangible
economic impact. Governments must invest in measures to combat
climate change, and deal with its effects as well as the general
consequences of societies that depend on the combustion of fossil
fuels to run their economies.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1098408_imf-fossil-fuels-subsidies-are-5-3-trillion-a-year-if-climate-costs-included


Shell investors question company's record on climate change.
Royal Dutch Shell shareholders voted at the annual general
meeting to require the company to assess whether its activities
line up with international climate goals and efforts to limit
warming to 2 degrees Celsius. A resolution was passed by 150
investors to ban corporate bonuses given for activities that
cause environmental damage…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/05/21/stories/1060018916 

32 companies produce about a third of world's man-made greenhouse
gases – study. About one-third of annual global greenhouse gas
emissions comes from the operations of 32 energy companies and
the use of their products, according to a report released
yesterday. Published by Thomson Reuters, with data from the
Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and the Climate Accountability
Institute (CAI)…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/05/21/stories/1060018943 

DROUGHT

Feds providing $50M for Western water-saving projects. The U.S.
government will invest nearly $50 million in water conservation
and reuse projects in 12 drought-stricken Western states,
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced Wednesday. "It is
absolutely critical that states and the federal government
leverage our funding resources so that we can make each drop
count," Jewell said at a wastewater purification plant in Los
Angeles.
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_DROUGHT_WATER_PROJECTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Once-parched Texas city orders evacuation due to floods. A North
Texas city that a few months ago was in a drought so severe that
it had to recycle sewage water for drinking ordered residents on
Thursday to evacuate certain areas due to flooding. Wichita
Falls, about 125 miles northeast of Dallas, issued a mandatory
evacuation order for hundreds of residents in vulnerable
neighborhoods due to rising water levels on the Wichita River.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/21/us-usa-weather-texas-idUSKBN0O61VP20150521


Protesters want Sacramento Nestle plant to stop bottling water.
Concerned that precious California water is going out of state
during the state's ongoing drought, several dozen protesters were
at the Nestle bottling plant in south Sacramento Wednesday to
urge the company to cease bottling water. The demonstration was
peaceful.
http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/local/south-sacramento/2015/05/20/protesters-want-sacramento-nestle-bottling-plant-to-stop-bottllng-water/27658959/


DIESEL ACTIVITIES

11% of Boston Public Schools bus fleet to run on propane. Boston
Public Schools will operate 11% of its bus fleet with Blue Bird
propane autogas buses, starting with the 2015-2016 school year.
The school district is purchasing 86 Blue Bird Propane Vision
school buses, and hopes to convert more of their diesel fleet to
propane buses in the future. Like many urban cities, Boston has
implemented mandates for reducing tailpipe emissions.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/05/20150521-boston.html 

FUELS

Global Bioenergies and Cristal Union form JV to produce renewable
isobutene. Global Bioenergies, a developer of one-step
fermentation processes for the direct and cost-efficient
transformation of renewable resources into light olefins, and
Cristal Union, the 4th largest European beet producer, have
formed IBN-One, a joint venture to build and operate the first
plant in France converting renewable resources into isobutene.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/05/20150521-gbi.html 

SANTA BARBARA OIL SPILL

Oil sopped up from California coast rises to 7,700 gallons.
Officials say more than 7,700 gallons of oil has been raked,
skimmed and vacuumed from a spill that stretches across 9 miles
of California coast - just a fraction of the crude that escaped
from a broken pipeline. Coast Guard Lt. Jonathan McCormick says
additional crew members and boats will be added to the cleanup
effort Thursday along the Santa Barbara coast.
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CALIFORNIA_OIL_SPILL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Latest on California oil spill: Governor declares emergency. Gov.
Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency in Santa Barbara
County over the coastal oil spill. The move Wednesday night from
the governor frees up emergency state funding and resources to
help in the cleanup efforts.
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CALIFORNIA_OIL_SPILL_THE_LATEST?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Around-the-clock cleanup effort under way on oil-fouled
California beach. Cleanup teams labored on Thursday for a third
day to remove patches of crude petroleum that stained a
California beach and fouled offshore waters from a pipeline
rupture that may rank as the biggest oil spill to hit the Santa
Barbara coastline in more than four decades.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/21/us-usa-california-oilspill-idUSKBN0O52MY20150521


Extent of California Oil Spill Being Assessed. The oil spill in
Santa Barbara County could be as large as 105,000 gallons in
worst-case scenario. The oil spill in Santa Barbara County,
Calif., could be as large as 2,500 barrels, or 105,000 gallons,
in a worst-case scenario outlined Wednesday by the burst
pipeline’s operator, which estimated 500 barrels may have reached
the water.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/california-oil-cleanup-starts-as-brown-declares-emergency-1432214330


When it comes to wildlife, no way to warn them away from oily
waters.  Authorities can urge people to stay away from the oil
spill off the Santa Barbara County coast. But there is no way to
warn wildlife to stay away. Video and photos on social media show
dolphins swimming off the shoreline at Refugio State Beach with
an oil slick in the background, a sea lion resting exhausted
around blackened rocks and pelicans gliding gracefully above the
water’s surface.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-probe-california-coastal-oil-spill-pipe-excavation-20150521-story.html


Pipeline operator in Santa Barbara oil spill has a bad safety
record. Plains Pipeline, the large Texas-based company
responsible for the pipe that ruptured in Santa Barbara County,
has accumulated 175 safety and maintenance infractions since
2006, according to federal records. A Times analysis of data from
the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration shows
Plains' rate of incidents per mile of pipe is more than three
times the national average.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-oilspill-pipeline-20150521-story.html


LUMBER LIQUIDATORS

Lumber Liquidators CEO quits, catching company off guard. Lumber
Liquidators CEO Robert Lynch has abruptly quit the company that
is embroiled in an investigation over products imported from
China. Shares tumbled 15 percent in morning trading Thursday. The
company said Lynch resigned "unexpectedly" and declined to
provide more details on the resignation when asked by The
Associated Press.
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_LUMBER_LIQUIDATORS_CEO_RESIGNS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


VEHICLES

Obama Scales Back Overly Ambitious Goals for Electric Car Use.
President Barack Obama's long-standing goal to have a fully
fuel-efficient government fleet and 1 million plug-in vehicles on
the road will not be met. With little fanfare, the president in
March scaled back the ambitious goals laid out in his 2009
executive order that mandated the million units on the road by
2015 as it became clear that technology and consumer interest
were not keeping pace with his ideals.
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-05-21/obama-scales-back-overly-ambitious-goals-for-electric-car-use


Fiat Chrysler To Use Aluminum, Electric Motors To Boost Fuel
Economy. The company will have to shell out billions over the
next decade to develop fuel-efficient cars. How about a plug-in
Jeep Grand Cherokee?  Fiat Chrysler  Automobiles’ Chief Executive
 Sergio Marchionne is thinking about it. For years, the auto
maker has owned the market for large SUVs and trucks, but now it
is facing a quandary…
http://www.wsj.com/articles/fiat-chrysler-to-use-aluminum-electric-motors-to-boost-fuel-economy-1432127520?KEYWORDS=EMISSIONS


HIGH-SPEED RAIL

China may have edge in race to build California's bullet train.
Chinese state firms are poised to be strong contenders in the
race to make high-speed trains that will sprint between Los
Angeles and San Francisco, part of a $68 billion project to bring
the service to the United States for the first time. While
"bullet train" manufacturers from Germany, Japan, South Korea,
and France…
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/21/us-california-rail-china-idUSKBN0O60FT20150521


GREEN ENERGY

Saudi Oil Minister Says World Can’t Abandon Fossil Fuels. Ali
al-Naimi says it doesn’t make economic sense to switch to
investing in solar energy in the short term. Saudi Arabian Oil
Minister  Ali al-Naimi said on Thursday that he sees a great
future for solar power but that the world can’t abandon fossil
fuels in the short term. Mr. Naimi, speaking on a panel in Paris,
addressed questions about whether the world’s oil-and-gas
companies should move on to other forms of energy in the face of
climate change…
http://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi-oil-minister-says-world-cant-abandon-fossil-fuels-1432222315?KEYWORDS=CLIMATE+CHANGE


MISCELLANEOUS

What do you really get for a $7,000 Tesla home battery? Elon
Musk, the star CEO of the electric car company Tesla Motors and
the rocket company SpaceX, staged an elaborate event last month
to unveil a new product. Not a sleek new luxury car. Not a rocket
that can ferry people to Mars. A home appliance - a battery -
that can be mounted on a garage wall and ignored.
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ON_THE_MONEY_TESLA_BATTERY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


OPINIONS

Notable & Quotable: President Obama. ‘Around the world, climate
change increases the risk of instability and conflict.’ From
President  Obama’s commencement address Wednesday at the Coast
Guard Academy in New London, Conn.:  Around the world, climate
change increases the risk of instability and conflict. Rising
seas are already swallowing low-lying lands, from Bangladesh to
Pacific islands, forcing people from their homes.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/notable-quotable-president-obama-1432161506?KEYWORDS=CLIMATE+CHANGE


The High Cost of Dirty Fuels.  A new report from the
International Monetary Fund makes a compelling case for why
countries should end subsidies for fossil fuels: It would save
millions of lives. Governments subsidize energy in many ways.
Some countries sell gasoline and diesel at prices lower than the
cost of producing or importing those fuels.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/21/opinion/the-high-cost-of-dirty-fuels.html?_r=0


Riding Water Slides in a Drought.  At 11 A.M. on Saturday, May
9th, four days after California’s water board approved
restrictions designed to cut water use by twenty-five per cent in
urban areas, passed in response to the state’s severe drought,
Northern California’s biggest water park, Raging Waters, in San
Jose, opened its gates for the season.
http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/the-water-park-in-a-drought


BLOGS

Electric Vehicles to Get Free Rein on Beijing Roads. Buyers of
electric cars in China are getting yet another boost — freedom on
Beijing’s roads. In a fresh effort to promote battery-powered
electric cars, the city government of Beijing will exempt these
cars from a policy limiting the number of vehicles on roads
during rush hours.
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2015/05/21/electric-vehicles-to-get-free-rein-on-beijing-roads/?KEYWORDS=AIR+POLLUTION


How climate change makes the world more violent. Natural
scientists agree that the climate is changing and that humans
bear some of the blame. Social scientists are now attempting to
assess the economic and political price societies are likely to
pay for turning up our planet’s thermostat. The security policy
community is especially eager for an answer. In the academy, the
debate over climate change…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2015/05/21/the-threat-to-security-from-climate-change-may-be-even-more-prevalent-than-previously-thought/


Dear Renewable Critics: Hanergy's Collapse Has Little To Do With
Solar. The rapid rise and strange fall of Hanergy Thin Film has
investors scratching their heads for an explanation. The stock
surged in 2013 and 2014 on announcements that the company, which
started as a hydropower firm, planned on making solar cars and
opening  1,500 “experience” centers to teach Chinese consumers
the wonders of renewable energy.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelkanellos/2015/05/21/dear-renewable-critics-hanergys-collapse-has-little-to-do-with-solar/


We Need To Support All Types Of Solar: Utility-Scale, Rooftop,
Community, And More. Solar energy is booming – and you needn’t
look further for proof of its success than Brian H. Potts’ recent
op-ed in the Wall Street Journal. When a utility lawyer like
Potts is arguing for what type of solar energy our country should
be investing in –utility-owned, large-scale solar versus
customer-owned, rooftop – you know this renewable energy resource
has gone mainstream.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/edfenergyexchange/2015/05/21/we-need-to-support-all-types-of-solar-utility-scale-rooftop-community-and-more/?ss=energy


Can cities, businesses, and other new climate actors help bridge
the emissions gap? As the international community continues to
struggle to advance a global climate change agenda, new kinds of
climate actors are increasingly working to pick up the slack.
Hopes are high that cities, regional coalitions, and businesses —
or non-state and sub-national actors, in wonk-speak…
http://grist.org/science/can-cities-businesses-and-other-new-climate-actors-help-bridge-the-emissions-gap/


Energy Dept. announces new technology can unlock wind energy
development in all 50 states. Today, we heard a major
announcement from the nation's highest ranking energy official
who unveiled maps showing potential for wind energy development
in all 50 states. At the WINDPOWER 2015 Conference & Exhibition,
Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz revealed a new report showing that
technology improvements that allow wind turbines…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-kiernan/energy-dept-announces-new_b_7313992.html




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

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