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ARB Newsclips for June 22, 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

Pope blasts California’s cap-and-trade system. In its brief
history, California’s cap-and-trade system to fight global
warming has faced many foes, including oil-company executives and
manufacturing magnates. On Thursday, it came under fire from a
new quarter: the Vatican. Pope Francis, in his highly anticipated
call to action against climate change, took an unexpected swipe
at the cap-and-trade systems used in both California and Europe
to control greenhouse gases.
http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Pope-blasts-California-s-cap-and-trade-system-6336494.php


AIR POLLUTION

Coal Train Dust Worries Richmond Residents. Trains heaped with
coal pass through Richmond every week on their way to the city’s
port. In Parchester Village, a largely black and Latino
neighborhood in northwestern Richmond, residents say coal dust
blows off the open mounds, covering the grass and coating their
screen doors.“
http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/06/22/coal-train-dust-worries-richmond-residents/


Air pollution may affect the way the brain ages and functions.
Investigating the impact of air pollution on the human brain is a
new area of environmental neurosciences, Keck School researcher
says. Exposure to air pollution has been known to affect
respiratory diseases, lung function and cardiac health…
http://news.usc.edu/83093/air-pollution-may-affect-the-way-the-brain-ages-and-functions/


Democratic governors back tighter ozone standard. Five Democratic
governors Friday called on U.S. EPA to follow the advice of its
scientific advisory panel and lower the limit for ground-level
ozone. In a letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, the
governors warned of potential adverse health effects linked to
ozone levels above the current limit of 75 parts per billion.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/06/22/stories/1060020648 

CLIMATE CHANGE

Polish Opt-Out From EU Climate Pact? Lets Talk, Says Naimski.
Poland’s leading opposition party is seeking to negotiate
exemptions from the European Union’s rules on reducing carbon
emissions because the nation’s energy security and economic
development depends on coal. Law & Justice, which opinion polls
show winning October’s general election, has vowed to toughen
Poland’s stance on climate issues to protect the $526 billion
economy…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-21/a-poland-opt-out-from-eu-s-climate-pact-lets-talk-says-naimski

Effects of Climate Change Could Cost Billions, E.P.A. Report
Says. In the absence of global action to curb greenhouse gas
emissions, the United States by the end of the century may face
up to $180 billion in economic losses because of drought and
water shortages, according to a report released Monday by the
White House and Environmental Protection Agency.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/23/us/politics/effects-of-climate-change-could-cost-billions-epa-report-says.html


Few Echo Pope’s Environment Plea in Sunday Sermons. On the first
Sunday after Pope Francis issued a landmark document on the
environment, Roman Catholics attending Mass in Kenya, France,
Mexico, Peru and the United States said they were thankful that
he was using his pulpit to address climate change, pollution and
global inequality.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/22/world/few-echo-popes-environment-plea-in-sunday-sermons.html?_r=0


How climate-change doubters lost a papal fight. Pope Francis was
about to take a major step backing the science behind
­human-driven global warming, and Philippe de Larminat was
determined to change his mind.  A French doubter who authored a
book arguing that solar activity — not greenhouse gases — was
driving global warming…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/how-climate-change-doubters-lost-a-papal-fight/2015/06/20/86af3182-15ce-11e5-8457-4b431bf7ed4c_story.html


White House: Action needed now to slow climate change. Failure to
act on climate change could cause an estimated 57,000 deaths in
the United States from poor air quality by 2100, the Obama
administration argued in a new report Monday that warns of dire
effects of global warming. The report underscores the costs of
inaction on climate change as well as the benefits from taking
action now.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/medical/article/White-House-Action-needed-now-to-slow-climate-6341799.php


Can Pope end bickering on climate change? Thrilled but not
surprised. Veerabhadran Ramanathan felt that way last week when
Pope Francis delivered a powerful encyclical pleading with the
world to deal with climate change. The UC San Diego climate
scientist helped shape the Pope's thinking as a member of the
Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/jun/21/pope-francis-climate/ 
 

On climate, Obama's legacy a work in progress. Seven years ago
this month, Barack Obama stood on a stage in St. Paul, Minnesota,
and claimed victory in the Democratic presidential primaries.
Hillary Clinton hadn't conceded, but the numbers told the story.
Obama had clinched the nomination. He made some bold predictions
that night.
http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/environment/2015/06/20/obamas-climate-legacy-work-progress/29004163/


Climate change turning sacred land against Navajo. A 19-year
drought in Navajo Nation is stretching an already struggling
people. But the climate change is also highlighting their
endurance and ingenuity. The land of the Navajo Nation is sacred
to its people, bordered by four mountains that are central to the
tribe’s identity and beliefs. But this land has been turning
increasingly hostile as the regional climate has changed.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2015/0619/Climate-change-turning-sacred-land-against-Navajo
 

Climate Aid Key to Paris Deal, Says Amber Rudd. Climate aid to
developing countries is likely to be the biggest sticking point
hindering a global deal at the U.N. climate talks in Paris later
this year, according to the U.K.’s energy and climate secretary.
Amber Rudd, who will lead the U.K.’s negotiating team, said that
creating a meaningful financial package for developing countries
is “absolutely essential” for brokering an agreement.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/climate-aid-key-to-paris-19140


U.S. Summers Bringing More and More Heat. It’s officially summer!
We have now passed the points that mark the traditional start to
summer (Memorial Day), the meteorological start (June 1), and now
the astronomical start, or summer solstice (June 21) — so break
out those flip-flops and beach towels! Though June, July, and
August usually bring the heat, for parts of the country spring
felt decidedly more like summer.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/summers-here-and-so-is-the-heat-19139


EPA: Limiting Climate Change Would Have Tremendous Benefits For
The U.S. Acting on climate change will have major economic,
environmental, and health benefits, according to a report
released Monday by the Environmental Protection Agency.  The
report analyzes two future climate change scenarios — one in
which “significant global action” on climate change has limited
warming to 2°C (3.6°F)…
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/06/22/3672455/epa-climate-change-benefits-report/


Global Warming Leads to Sea Level Rise in Northern Europe. Global
warming leads to the ice sheets on land melting and flowing into
the sea, which consequently rises. New calculations by
researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute show that the sea level
in Northern Europe may rise more than previously thought. There
is a significant risk that the seas around Scandinavia, England,
the Netherlands…
http://www.azocleantech.com/news.aspx?newsID=22064 

Obama admin report touts economic benefits of U.S. action. The
United States' future with global climate change action looks a
lot brighter than its future without it, U.S. EPA argues in a
peer-reviewed scientific report unveiled today at the White
House. The report examines two scenarios -- one that keeps
warming to 2 degrees Celsius compared with preindustrial levels
and another that doesn't…
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/06/22/stories/1060020657  

DROUGHT

As its water dwindled, Fresno cracked down hard.  Don Wells
spotted a trail of pooling water and slowed his van. Runoff from
a sprinkler gone rogue streamed down a long block of thirsty
brown lawns, watering the sidewalk. "There it is," he said,
pulling up to a house with grass too wet for this time of day. He
grabbed his city-issued clipboard and a small digital camera.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-fresno-water-penalties-20150622-story.html#page=1

Santa Barbara's cautious relationship with water offers a drought
lesson. First came the rain garden, where bees buzz around the
lavender and sage. Then came the back patio, where bananas,
guava, passion fruit, ginger and an herb garden are fed by water
diverted from the clothes washer. Later came the raised beds
thick with kale, chard, strawberries and several varieties of
squash.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-santa-barbara-conserve-20150621-story.html#page=1


Drought could increasingly lead wildlife into populated areas. At
camp, things can go bump in the night. We all know that. But at
your house, you don’t expect a bump in the day at your front
gate. But that’s what happened last week when a bear strolled
through yards and along streets in Monterey, Pacific Grove and
Carmel Valley.
http://www.sfgate.com/outdoors/article/Drought-could-increasingly-lead-wildlife-into-6339782.php


California: Many farmers miss deadline to report water cuts. A
majority of farmers and others holding some of California's
strongest claims to water have missed a deadline to confirm they
stopped pumping from rivers and streams, state officials said
Monday. Data show less than a third of those affected by
California's broadest cut on…
http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/California-Many-farmers-miss-deadline-to-report-6342095.php


Sacramento region a leader in snitching on water wasters.  As the
drought deepens, Sacramento-area residents haven’t exactly been
shy about turning in their water-profligate neighbors. Area water
agencies took more than 4,000 complaints related to suspected
water waste from their customers in April, according to the
latest figures from the State Water Resources Control Board and
interviews with city officials.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article25122205.html


California Legislature passes drought bill imposing fines, water
system consolidation. A California budget bill that would allow
the state to force consolidation of water systems, exempt certain
water projects from environmental review and make other
far-reaching changes in response to the drought cleared the
Legislature on Friday over the angry objections of Republicans.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article24999385.html#storylink=cpy


Drought a boom for Valley businesses offering water savings.
California’s historic drought has triggered a flood of business
for Valley companies and entrepreneurs specializing in
water-saving equipment, tools and technology. As the state
endures its fourth dry year, California residents are being
encouraged by Gov. Jerry Brown to slash their water usage by 25%.
http://www.fresnobee.com/news/business/article24942298.html#storylink=cpy


California drought: Big difference in water use between wealthy
communities and everyone else. Both communities receive their
water from the same source -- the East Bay Municipal Utility
District -- and both are bound by the same conservation rules and
rates. But the residents of San Lorenzo, a working-class Alameda
County suburb along Interstate 880, use a mere 51 gallons of
water per person a day.
http://www.mercurynews.com/drought/ci_28351946/california-drought-big-difference-water-use-between-wealthy


Is end of small water districts coming? Pressure for savings,
efficiency may spur more mergers. A potential merger of two North
County water districts has revived the long-standing debate about
whether ratepayers are best served by small water districts or
bigger agencies that potentially can save money through economy
of scale.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/jun/21/the-end-of-small-water-districts/?st


Five drought-busting resources. Water-saving classes, apps and
loads of mulch.  
Ditch your lawn. Fix your toilet. Don’t even think about letting
your kids run through the sprinklers. If the deluge of
drought-related demands has you melting like the Wicked Witch of
the West, time to reach for a water-wise lifeline. And in San
Diego County, we’re swimming in them.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/jun/19/water-saving-tips-resources-san-diego/


Drought heightens awareness for water reuse and recycling. Sounds
of chhh!…chhh!…chhh! cut the predawn air as sprinklers drop
showers of artificial rain on golf course fairways and freeway
embankments in western Los Angeles County. Lush green turf
thrives on rolling courses in Calabasas, Agoura Hills, and
Westlake Village, and well-watered ivy hugs Ventura Freeway
medians -- all sustained by unique water supplies.
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=28545 

How California's drought could spur an ecological rebirth. As
water-hungry turf turns brown in the state’s fourth year of
severe drought, many homeowners find the time ripe to revegetate
with native plants such as cacti, buckwheat and sage scrub: ‘It’s
helping sustain biodiversity’. Jennifer and Lawrence Kesteloot
like to begin the day with breakfast in their San Francisco
backyard garden.
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/21/california-drought-landscaping-succulents-wildflowers

As California’s drought continues, spotlight turns to water czar.
Felicia Marcus peered over her desk the other day as the State
Water Resources Control Board came to order in a state office
hearing room, bracing for another day of bad drought news. There
would be warnings about die-offs of birds and fish. An anguished
farmer describing how he is being forced to fallow fields of
crops.
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/insight/2015/06/21/1-the-water-czar.html


Israeli Water Experts Advise Drought-stricken California. A noted
Israeli hydrologist is helping drought-stricken California cope
with its water crisis. Eilon Adar, director of the Zuckerberg
Institute for Water Research at Ben-Gurion University in the
Negev desert, came to Sacramento, California, recently for a
conference on how Israel, no stranger to drought…
http://www.voanews.com/content/israeli-water-experts-share-knowledge-with-drought-stricken-california/2832658.html


Calif. agencies allege farmers are illegally diverting water in
stressed delta. As the California drought rages on, a group of 27
public water agencies is lodging a complaint with the State Water
Resources Control Board (SWRCB) asking for an immediate order to
block farmers in the southern part of the Sacramento-San Joaquin
River Delta from diverting water for crop irrigation.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060020622/search?keyword=california


DIESEL ACTIVITIES

Proposed Rule for Big Trucks Aims at Cutting Fuel Emissions. The
Obama administration on Friday introduced a major climate change
regulation intended to reduce planet-warming carbon pollution
from heavy-duty trucks. The rule, issued by the Environmental
Protection Agency and the Transportation Department, is the
latest in a march of pollution constraints…
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/20/business/energy-environment/epa-rules-carbon-pollution-heavy-trucks.html
http://www.sfgate.com/business/energy/article/EPA-proposes-tougher-mileage-standards-for-trucks-6337487.php

http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/245526-obama-seeks-24-percent-cut-in-trucks-fuel-use

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/white-house-proposes-greater-fuel-efficiency-for-trucks-to-cut-emissions/2015/06/19/1009901a-1621-11e5-89f3-61410da94eb1_story.html?hpid=z4


Volvo Trucks approves 100% renewable diesel for all Euro 5
engines, prepping certification for Euro 6. After extensive field
testing of renewable diesel HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oils),
Volvo Trucks has approved the fuel for all Euro 5 engines and is
preparing certifications for Euro 6 engines. HVO (such as Neste’s
NEXBTL) is produced from renewable raw materials such as
vegetable and animal fats and acts as regular diesel.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/06/20150622-volvo.html 

SANTA BARBARA OIL SPILL

Workers clean up oil spill on Santa Barbara beaches by hand. 
Along a stretch of beach heavily marred by a crude oil spill,
workers in hard hats and white protective suits use wire brushes
and putty knives to scrape the black liquid off cobblestones and
cliff faces. The painstaking task at Refugio State Beach marks a
new front in the cleanup after an underground pipeline leaked
last month and released up to 101,000 gallons of oil…
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/oil-667749-spill-beaches.html


VEHICLES

Will new incentives spark interest in electric cars? Paul Gipe’s
plug-in electric vehicle gets about 84 miles on a full charge, so
getting around town is never a problem. It’s when the Bakersfield
resident and his wife wanted to visit a niece in Ridgecrest
earlier this month that things got tricky. Faced with a lack of
“fast charge” stations along…
http://www.bakersfield.com/news/2015/06/17/electric-car-owners-may-soon-get-more-public-charging-stations-but-how-much-will-it-help.html


Toyota Fuel-Cell 'Megafactory' Matches Tesla Gigafactory In
Impact. As shown by its roughly half-million references in
Google, Tesla’s lithium-ion cell and battery Gigafactory is a big
deal. Producing the same volume of lithium-ion cells in one
building in 2020 as were produced by the whole industry during
2013 should allow substantial economies of scale for those
cells--and the cars that use them.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1098818_toyota-fuel-cell-megafactory-matches-tesla-gigafactory-in-impact


GREEN ENERGY

House panel to review BLM's 'chronic mismanagement' of
reclamation bonds 
A House Natural Resources panel Wednesday will review a new
report by the Government Accountability Office that committee
Republicans say documents the Bureau of Land Management's
"chronic mismanagement" of wind and solar reclamation bonds.
http://www.eenews.net/eedaily/stories/1060020602/feed 

MISCELLANEOUS

American recycling is stalling, and the big blue bin is one
reason why. Tucked in the woods 30 miles north of Washington is a
plant packed with energy-guzzling machines that can make even an
environmentalist’s heart sing — giant conveyor belts, sorters and
crushers saving a thousand tons of paper, plastic and other
recyclables from reaching landfills each day.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/american-recycling-is-stalling-and-the-big-blue-bin-is-one-reason-why/2015/06/20/914735e4-1610-11e5-9ddc-e3353542100c_story.html


OPINIONS

Pope Francis’ Call to Action Goes Beyond the Environment. IN Pope
Francis’ sprawling new encyclical, “Laudato Si’,” there are many
mansions: A meditation on biblical ecology, a discussion of
environmental policy, a critique of consumerism, even a
reflection on the perils of social media.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/21/opinion/sunday/ross-douthat-pope-francis-call-to-action-goes-beyond-the-environment.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0


California helps lead a U.N. mission. Pope Francis’ clarion call
on climate change has been duly hailed as a potential game
changer in the long-elusive effort to gain a global commitment
for action. His 184-page encyclical, released last week, framed
the issue in stark moral terms. The former chemist warned of the
planet devolving into “an immense pile of filth” from its
wealthier economies’ overreliance on fossil fuels. 
http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODE/SanFranciscoChronicle/LandingPage/LandingPage.aspx?href=SFNGQy8yMDE1LzA2LzIx&pageno=NTk.&entity=QXIwNTkwMA..&view=ZW50aXR5


Mercury News editorial: Fracking laws need to be stronger. When
the need for fossil fuels conflicts with the need to protect the
environment -- particularly our water supply -- we've got to come
down on the side of safe water. So the Legislature needs to pass
a bill by Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Calabasas, to update the state's
policies of monitoring oil extraction operations.
http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_28334029/mercury-news-editorial-fracking-laws-need-be-stronger


Berger: Adjusting wine expectations with climate change. A decade
ago, in an issue of my private wine newsletter, I wrote about an
interview I’d had with a Swedish winemaker. The gentleman
revealed to me that he was growing Cabernet Sauvignon just
outside Stockholm, that he hoped the resulting wine would display
all the characteristics that a great red wine should have…
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/lifestyle/4091828-181/berger-adjusting-wine-expectations-with


Harold Johnson: Celebrate the Magna Carta by cancelling cap and
trade tax. Cue the candles and cake: One of the great documents
of liberty hit the big 8-0-0 last week. Eight centuries ago, at
Runnymede on June 15, 1215, England’s barons forced a resentful
King John to sign the Magna Carta — the “Great Charter.” With its
historic restrictions on royal power, Magna Carta set precedents
that echo down to our day:
http://www.montereyherald.com/opinion/20150621/harold-johnson-celebrate-the-magna-carta-by-cancelling-cap-and-trade-tax


BLOGS

California's "Grand Experiment" in Climate Policy Is Working.
Sometimes we need to look back in order to see the road forward.
Whenever I reflect on the success of California's climate
policies, I like to hop in my time machine and dial it all the
way back to ancient history - circa 2010 - when I was a young
staffer in Washington D.C. fresh out of grad school with big
policy dreams and an even bigger student debt.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jorge-madrid/californias-grand-experim_b_7638394.html?utm_hp_ref=green&ir=Green?view=print&comm_ref=false


Methane: The Good And The Good. Methane is a very touchy subject
with the Environmental Protection Agency. If you don’t believe me
just open up a web search and type in “methane, epa”. I could
provide you with a bunch of examples but y’all are all
intelligent capable folks. Methane is touchy with many
environmentalists as well.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/billtucker/2015/06/22/methane-the-good-and-the-good/


California is figuring out the whole drought thing for the rest
of us. California drought,yadda yadda yadda. You’ve probably
heard it all by now — water rights debates, evil almonds, lawn
hate — but that overexposure could be a boon for the rest of the
world, where drought is forecast to be a serious and growing
problem as the climate warms.
http://grist.org/science/california-is-figuring-out-the-whole-drought-thing-for-the-rest-of-us/




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