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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for July 1, 2015.

Posted: 01 Jul 2015 15:21:33
ARB Newsclips for July 1, 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

CalSTA backs $224 million in transit and intercity rail grants. 
The Sacramento California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA)
announced on June 30, 2015 this year’s recipients of $224 million
in competitive grants that support high-quality public
transportation and reduce greenhouse gas emissions causing
worldwide climate change. The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund is
providing funding for these climate investments, using proceeds
from the state’s cap-and-trade auctions.
http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/news/calsta-backs-dol224-million-in-transit-and-intercity-rail-grants.html


AIR POLLUTION

Environmentalists Want California to Stop Offshore Fracking.
Environmentalists Tuesday called on Gov. Jerry Brown to halt
plans for months of hydraulic fracturing in the waters off
Southern California, warning that it could lead to chemical
pollution or an oil spill. State regulators this month approved
nine permits for operator…
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OFFSHORE_FRACKING_CALIFORNIA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


CLIMATE CHANGE

China announces climate target for Paris deal. Top carbon
polluter China confirmed it will try to cap its rising emissions
before 2030 while the U.S. and Brazil pledged to boost renewable
energy sources in a series of announcements Tuesday in
anticipation of a global climate pact in Paris.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_CHINA_CLIMATE_TARGET?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
 

OTHER RELATED STORIES
http://time.com/3941783/china-brazil-usa-climate-change/   
http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-brazil-pledge-to-combat-climate-change-1435704333

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/china/China-vows-to-curb-carbon-emissions-by-2030/articleshow/47889087.cms


How Technology Can Help Combat Climate Change (VIDEO). 
Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), discusses the
UN's call for investment in clean energy with Bloomberg's Cory
Johnson on "Bloomberg West."
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2015-06-30/un-calls-for-investment-in-clean-energy


A College in Maine That Tackles Climate Change, One Class at a
Time. Like many residents of this picturesque island town on the
edge of Acadia National Park, Zach Soares had trouble keeping his
house warm, going through five cords of wood in the winter. So he
jumped at an offer last year for free energy improvements through
a class project at the College of the Atlantic, where he works.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/01/business/energy-environment/tackling-climate-change-one-class-at-a-time.html?_r=0
 

California greenhouse gas emissions fall — but not by much.
Despite California’s many efforts to fight global warming, the
state’s greenhouse gas emissions rose in 2012, as a nuclear power
plant shut down and the drought hit hydroelectric dams hard. But
the increase, it turns out, didn’t last. Data released by the
state on Tuesday show that California’s emissions of carbon
dioxide…
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/California-greenhouse-gas-emissions-fall-but-6359213.php
 

OSU researchers studying warm-water mass off West Coast. Oregon
State University scientists are looking for a link between the
California drought, climate change and a mass of warm water
lingering in the Pacific Ocean off the West Coast. The events may
be without connection — but the blob and the drought…
http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/OSU-researchers-studying-warm-water-mass-off-West-6360335.php


Scorched Earth Is Big Climate Concern in Alaska Wildfires. 
Alaska and its neighbor to the east, Canada, have kicked off
wildfire season in a major way. Blazes have raged across the
northern stretches of North America, sending smoke streaming down
into the Lower 48 and leaving the landscape charred.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/climate-change-alaska-wildfires-19181
 

Europe’s Emissions Trading System Turns 10 — A Success Worthy of
Reflection. The European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme
recently marked its 10th year in operation, an anniversary worthy
of reflection. When an emissions trading system is designed well
and implemented effectively, it does what it says on the tin – it
delivers substantial reductions in emissions, and in ways that
minimize the costs of doing so.
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2015/07/01/europes-emissions-trading-system-turns-10-a-success-worthy-of-reflection/#ixzz3efEylU2n
 

Should Gas & Oil Methane Emissions Be the Next Obama Climate
Policy Priority? Earlier this year the EPA announced plans to
reduce U.S. methane ‘greenhouse gas’ (GHG) emissions from Gas and
Oil production facilities’ operations by up to 45% by 2025.  Even
though the per ‘unit volume’ production emissions from Gas & Oil
production facilities have declined to historic lows…
http://www.theenergycollective.com/jemillerep/2245043/should-gas-oil-methane-emissions-be-next-obama-climate-policy-priority
  

Shrinking sea ice may slow key ocean circulation and change
Europe's weather. Retreating sea ice in the Iceland and Greenland
seas may be one force causing a major ocean circulation system to
slow, which could affect future weather across Western Europe,
according to a study published this week in the journal Nature
Climate Change.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/07/01/stories/1060021140 

Climate change a security risk second only to terrorism, says
defence report.
The Abbott government’s energy white paper made headlines for its
curiousreluctance to mention climate change – but the looming
defence white paper may prove to be a different story. A report
on community consultations associated with the defence white
paper flags the consequences of climate change…
http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/jul/01/climate-change-a-security-risk-second-only-to-terrorism-says-defence-report


Flood of emissions pledges boost hopes for global climate deal.
Pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions poured in yesterday from
across the globe as countries from Korea to Iceland vowed new
contributions toward what many hope will be the first truly
international climate change accord. China made the biggest
splash with a formal declaration to the United Nations of a
promise to stop its rise in annual carbon pollution by 2030.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060021139 

DROUGHT

Global Wheat Shipments Seen at Risk as Canada Drought Bites. The
drought parching fields across parts of Canada risks triggering a
shortfall in global wheat exports, according to Australia & New
Zealand Banking Group Ltd., which said the event was being
compared to dryness in 2002.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-01/global-wheat-exports-at-risk-as-canada-drought-bites-anz-warns
 

California’s burning again as drought’s vicious cycle takes its
toll. Everything in nature is connected, which is great when
nature is kind. But when it’s cruel, it brings us California,
circa 2015. The worst California drought in recorded history has
stressed out the trees. That makes them more vulnerable, for
example, to bark beetles, which suck out their sap and kill them
by the million.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/07/01/californias-burning-again-as-droughts-vicious-circle-takes-its-toll/


Sacramento water conservation hit 40 percent in May.
Sacramento-area residents reduced their water consumption in May
by 40 percent compared to two years ago, the Regional Water
Authority reported Wednesday. The figures suggest that area
residents are getting more serious about conservation as the
drought stretches into its fourth year.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article25965529.html#storylink=cpy


Perspectives, Rob Schroder -- The drought's real, so act
accordingly. We are facing a fourth consecutive dry year, and our
reservoirs are as low as they have been since the drought of
1986-1991.  In 2013 California received less precipitation than
any year since it became a state in 1850. All indications are
that it will take years to recover from this dry spell and refill
our storage systems.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/pleasant-hill/ci_28414656/perspectives-rob-schroder-droughts-real-so-act-accordingly
  

Parkway strip changes planned in Chico’s drought. Residents who
live next to a city-owned patch of grass called a parkway strip
will be able to convert it to drought-tolerant landscaping
without city permission under a measure nearing approval.
Responding to the urgency of the drought, the Bidwell Park and
Playground Commission Monday gave the stamp of approval to new
guidelines…
http://www.chicoer.com/general-news/20150630/parkway-strip-changes-planned-in-chicos-drought


The Drought's Scapegoat. Mainstream and conservative media and
politicians have wrongly blamed the tiny delta smelt for causing
water cutbacks for agriculture during the drought. Why? In April,
The Wall Street Journal published a news column that reduced the
complicated story of California water, drought, fish, and farmers
into a simplified stream of vitriol directed at a tiny fish: the
delta smelt.
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/the-droughts-scapegoat/Content?oid=4381466
 

Drought dries up revenue for water districts. With landscapes
drying up in California’s drought conditions, local water
districts are contending with something else drying up with
them—revenues. The districts generally rely heavily on revenue
from selling water supplies in order to balance budgets from year
to year. With the state requiring a 25 percent residential use
cutback…
http://www.sanbenitocountytoday.com/news/agriculture/drought-dries-up-revenue-for-water-districts/article_b78e42ba-1eb7-11e5-97c1-c3499f31ddbd.html
 

Swimming pool construction flows ahead despite drought. Much of
California has dried up over four years – but not, for the most
part, the business of building swimming pools. Builders locally
and elsewhere report business holding steady or even increasing,
as a recovering economy outweighs fears of tightened water use
curbs in the fourth year of a statewide drought.
http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/swimming-pool-construction-flows-ahead-despite-drought/article_95767a9e-7a07-576d-802d-e70d202c13b9.html
 

California drought: State's water restrictions face court tests
(+video). Four lawsuits over restrictions for 'senior' water
users in the Sacramento and San Joaquin River watersheds, as well
as a lawsuit by the city of Riverside, challenge state control
over local water rights amid the California drought.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2015/0630/California-drought-State-s-water-restrictions-face-court-tests-video


Calif. bill would clear path for taxing water guzzlers. With
mandatory water cutbacks in place for much of California, a state
senator is proposing a way to force the thirstiest consumers to
turn off the spigot: a tax on scofflaws. Sen. Bob Wieckowski's
S.B. 789 would let water agencies put a measure on the ballot
seeking to impose a tax on the biggest water users.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/07/01/stories/1060021162 

FUELS

Toyota, Nissan, Honda back hydrogen stations for fuel cells. 
Toyota, Nissan and Honda are working together to get more fuel
cell vehicles on roads in what they call Japan's big push toward
"a hydrogen society." Fuel cell vehicles emit no pollution. They
run on the power created when hydrogen stored as fuel combines
with oxygen in the air to make water.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_JAPAN_FUEL_CELLS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
 

OTHER RELATED STORIES
http://www.sfgate.com/business/energy/article/Toyota-Nissan-Honda-back-hydrogen-stations-for-6359837.php

Consumer group alleges gas price manipulation by California
refiners. Major oil refiners are artificially hiking gasoline
prices throughout California by charging branded gas stations an
average of 30 cents a gallon more than what independent stations
pay -- the biggest price gap in years, according to a consumer
advocacy group.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-california-gas-prices-20150630-story.html


VEHICLES

UPDATE: Plug-In Electric Car Sales In June: Leaf, Volt Wane After
May Surge. New cars and trucks are selling at a blistering pace
in the U.S. right now, adding to a seventh consecutive year of
volume growth for the industry. But with half the year gone,
sales of plug-in electric cars are in something of a holding
pattern despite a surge last month, pending the launch of two key
products.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1098948_plug-in-electric-car-sales-in-jun-leaf-volt-wane-after-may-surge
 

Smog-choked Paris moves to ban diesel vehicles to slash
emissions. On March 23 this year, a heavy haze hung over Paris,
and the Eiffel Tower was barely visible. That day, pollution
levels in the French capital were higher than levels in Shanghai,
according to global air quality data. In an urgent attempt to
bring down the smog, the government…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/07/01/stories/1060021135 

GREEN ENERGY

California scores nearly 2,000 clean energy jobs. California
created nearly 2,000 clean energy and clean transportation jobs
in the first quarter, to rank second in the nation behind
Georgia, according to a report made public Tuesday. Georgia
landed 2,870 clean tech jobs, compared to the Golden State's
1,885. Texas was close, in third place with 1,612 such jobs,
followed by New Mexico…
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2015/06/california-2-000-clean-energy-jobs-solar-city-scty.html

OPINIONS

Supreme Court Ruling, on Toxic Emissions From Coal Plants. Re
“Justices Block the Obama Administration’s Limits on Power Plant
Emissions” (news article, June 30): After two wonderful, historic
landmark decisions — upholding gay marriage and continuing
federal subsidies for the Affordable Care Act — the Supreme Court
has fallen back to its usual small-minded opinions.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/01/opinion/supreme-court-ruling-on-toxic-emissions-from-coal-plants.html
 

Letter: Continue debate on climate change. This is in response to
Lupe Williams's letter published on June 25, 2015. Ms. Williams
seems to be implying that 1) man is the cause of climate change,
2) some people actually deny the concept of climate change, 3)
there is a scientific consensus about man's contribution to
climate change, and 4) the debate is closed.
http://www.the-daily-record.com/opinion/2015/07/01/letter-continue-debate-on-climate-change
 

Valley in a drought, but not Tulare Education Office. Has anyone
else noticed that the newly built planetarium off Mooney
Boulevard looks beautiful. However, who allows them to waste
water on a daily basis to grow a new lawn? I pass this building
almost daily and have noticed that the sprinklers are on watering
the newly planted lawns after 8 a.m. and throughout the day.
http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/story/opinion/2015/07/01/valley-drought-tulare-education-office/29538353/


BLOGS

China’s new climate change plan — in four graphs.  On Tuesday,
China formally submitted its climate change action plan to the
United Nations. The document, which can be viewed here (in
Chinese first, and then in English), formalizes the commitment
made by President Xi Jinping alongside President Obama last
November – to reach a peak in emissions by 2030, and make “best
efforts to peak early.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/06/30/chinas-new-climate-change-plan-in-four-graphs/

What the debacle of climate change can teach us about the dangers
of artificial intelligence. Could artificial intelligence be the
new climate change? Is it a dangerous threat that human will
overlook until it is too late? Stuart Russell, a computer science
professor at the University of California at Berkeley, and
leading thinker on the perils of artificial intelligence, noted
the parallels Tuesday at an Information Technology and Innovation
Foundation event on whether superintelligent computers are a
threat to humanity.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/wp/2015/07/01/what-the-debacle-of-climate-change-can-teach-us-about-the-dangers-of-artificial-intelligence/


IEA: Reducing Oil & Gas Methane Key to Curbing Climate Change.
IEA_iLogoLast Friday, the incoming head of the International
Energy Agency (IEA), Faith Birol, provided a briefing to U.S.
stakeholders about IEA’s new special report on climate change,
which found that global emissions could peak by the end of this
decade without reducing economic growth.
http://blogs.edf.org/energyexchange/2015/07/01/iea-reducing-oil-gas-methane-key-to-curbing-climate-change/
 

Better Stoves Can Reduce Indoor Pollution.  Air quality has
improved dramatically in rich countries over the past century.
Around 1880, when the air was worst in London, it is estimated
that 9,000 people died each year from air pollution, about one of
every seven deaths. Today, London air is cleaner than it has been
since medieval times. Yet, air pollution is still a huge problem,
especially in the developing world.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bjorn-lomborg/better-stoves-can-reduce-_b_7705186.html
 

Saving California's Drought-Plagued Agriculture: More Crop For
The Drop With GMOs. Agriculture accounts for the consumption of
about 80 percent of California’s fresh water. Genetic engineering
to produce crop varieties that are drought-tolerant or that have
a smaller “water footprint” in other ways could help to
ameliorate the state’s historic drought. 
http://www.forbes.com/sites/henrymiller/2015/07/01/saving-californias-drought-plagued-agriculture-more-crop-for-the-drop-with-gmos/
  

TransCanada Argues That Recent Emissions Commitments Build The
Case For Keystone XL. TransCanada, the company seeking to build
the controversial pipeline that would carry oil from Alberta to
refineries in Texas, is leaning on Secretary of State John Kerry
to make a permitting decision.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/30/keystone-xl-climate_n_7699840.html


STUDY: How The Media Is Covering Presidential Candidates' Climate
Science Denial. Several months into the 2016 presidential
campaign, the media is frequently failing to fact-check
statements by presidential candidates denying the science of
climate change. Seven major newspapers and wire services surveyed
by Media Matters have thus far failed to indicate that
candidates' statements conflict with the scientific consensus in
approximately 43 percent of their coverage…
http://mediamatters.org/research/2015/07/01/study-how-the-media-is-covering-presidential-ca/204176


France prods world mayors, execs for global warming solutions.
Hundreds of mayors, CEOs and trade groups from around the world
are submitting their ideas for reducing global warming to the
French government as it prepares to host a major UN climate
conference later this year. French President Francois Hollande
will speak to the group in Lyon on Wednesday -- the hottest day
of the year so far in parts of France.
http://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/france-prods-world-mayors-execs-for-global-warming-solutions-1.2448830

 
EPA: Supreme Court ruling won’t stop climate rules.  The Supreme
Court’s decision against a key Obama administration air pollution
rule is not stopping regulators from moving forward on the
government’s most ambitious climate change rule. Janet McCabe,
head of the air pollution office at the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA),
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/246562-epa-supreme-court-ruling-wont-stop-climate-rules






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

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