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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.