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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for September 9, 2015
Posted: 09 Sep 2015 14:17:01
ARB Newsclips for September 9, 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. AIR POLLUTION People living near 60 Freeway in Ontario breathe the worst air in the Southland. With its sprawl of tract homes, apartment complexes, shopping centers and warehouses, Ontario looks like many other communities in the Inland Empire and shares the same environmental woes, including heavy truck traffic and air pollution. But people in one neighborhood near the 60 Freeway have a dubious new distinction… http://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-freeway-soot-20150909-story.html 2nd Day of Heat Advisory, Spare the Air Alert, Early School Dismissal. Continuing hot weather has prompted the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to call another Spare the Air alert for Wednesday, and the early dismissal of at least one school district because of the expected soaring temperatures. http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/2nd-Day-of-Heat-Advisory-Spare-the-Air-Alert-Early-School-Dismissal-325915881.html CLIMATE CHANGE China must embrace global obligations on climate change: premier. China must embrace its global obligations when it comes to combating climate change, Premier Li Keqiang said on Wednesday, adding that the country was already under huge pressure to meet emission reduction goals. Complaints that China's slowing economy was dragging down global growth had to take into account the strenuous efforts it was making to clean up its environment… http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/09/us-china-economy-climatechange-idUSKCN0R915120150909?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews Governor, top lawmakers ready to modify climate change measure as negotiations continue. Facing resistance from even some fellow Democrats, Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders were scrambling Tuesday to find a compromise on a controversial bill that embodies some of the governor's most ambitious environmental goals. With the end of this year's legislative session set for Friday, Brown’s senior aides have been holding private meetings… http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-climate-change-amendments-california-20150908-story.html California's climate fight comes down to late negotiations. Gov. Jerry Brown has made climate change the centerpiece of his final tenure by laying out the most aggressive benchmark in North America, which would reduce California's carbon footprint and boost the state's renewable energy use to 50 percent in 15 years. Securing legislation requiring that standard in the world's eighth-largest economy… http://www.sfgate.com/business/energy/article/California-s-climate-fight-comes-down-to-late-6488045.php California Is About to Do Something Great That No State Has Ever Done Before. Back in January, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) made a promise. His state, he said, would pursue a new package of climate goals that are the most ambitious in the nation (and among the most ambitious in the world). California was already a leader in efforts to slash greenhouse gas emissions and promote clean energy. http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2015/09/california-about-do-something-no-state-has-done El Nino, global warming to cause more coastal nuisance flooding in coming months, feds predict. Federal scientists said Wednesday they expect nuisance flooding to increase in many places along the nation's coasts in coming months. A combination of sea level rise from human caused global warming and the giant El Nino will likely combine to increase the type of minor street… http://www.usnews.com/news/science/news/articles/2015/09/09/more-coastal-nuisance-flooding-forecast-for-coming-months Scientists tried to redo 38 climate change-denying studies — and it didn't go very wel. About 97% of scientists agree not only that climate change is real, but also that human activity, like driving a fossil fuel-burning car, is making it worse. That agreement stems from nearly 4,000 studies that suggest humans are culpable, compared to only about 80 that say we have nothing to do with the problem. http://www.techinsider.io/global-warming-denier-studies-not-replicable-2015-9#ixzz3lH07zQeU California Has Two Fire Seasons, and Climate Change Will Make Both Worse. A new study confirms what many Californians have suspected for some time: that climate change stands to make California wildfires more frequent and more destructive. The study, published Tuesday in the journal Environmental Research Letters, found that destructive fires in California have increased in both number and severity over the last decades… http://www.kcet.org/news/redefine/revisit/fire/california-has-two-fire-seasons-and-climate-change-will-make-both-worse.html DROUGHT California drought: CVWD OKs $1.5M for grass removal. The Coachella Valley Water District approved $1.5 million Tuesday to help homes and businesses tear out grass. But even with that money, it's anyone's guess whether the agency's customers will cut their water use 36 percent, as mandated by Gov. Jerry Brown in response to California's historic drought. Homes and businesses served by the Coachella Valley Water District… http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/environment/2015/09/09/cvwd-approves-million-grass-removal/71918330/ Can solar power make up for loss of hydroelectricity during drought. Snowmelt entering Big Creek’s hydroelectric powerhouses has slowed to a trickle in Southern California. Reservoirs such as those in Shasta and elsewhere sit at their lowest levels ever. The 102-year-old central-California complex owned and operated by Southern California Edison lost 80 percent of its hydroelectric power this year… http://www.dailydemocrat.com/environment-and-nature/20150908/can-solar-power-make-up-for-loss-of-hydroelectricity-during-drought DIESEL ACTIVITIES Inspeccionan camiones para cuidar el medio ambiente. Como chofer de camión, Élmer Martínez ha pasado por inspecciones de la Junta de Recursos del Aire (ARB) para determinar el buen funcionamiento de su vehículo y evitar la contaminación del medio ambiente. “Ya he pasado otras veces por eso. Siempre sale bien [el camión] en el chequeo. http://www.laopinion.com/2015/09/08/inspeccionan-camiones-para-cuidar-el-medio-ambiente/ DROUGHT Farmers get new drought tips for crops. As California endures a fourth year of drought and ever-tightening water supplies, water-management strategies have become even more critical to farmers. To help farmers make the best use of the water they have available, a series of new and updated drought tips fact sheets has been developed by University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources scientists. http://paloverdevalleytimes.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=747&ArticleID=21855 FUELS U.S. regulators' biofuels plan to cost at the pump: industry study. The U.S. government's proposal for biofuels use will hit consumers at the pump, according a study prepared for an oil group, just months after regulators refuted similar claims and as pressure mounts ahead of a deadline to finalize the plan. The targeted volumes of ethanol use for 2015 and 2016 are impossible… http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/09/us-usa-renewablefuels-idUSKCN0R91Q420150909 Why Russia keeps pumping crude even as oil prices plummet. Russia – despite serious economic headwinds, and Western energy sanctions – is scrambling make sure it retains its status as a global leader in oil and gas. As oil prices fall , the typical response from oil producing nations is to cut production in an effort to boost prices. But as prices tumbled – first last year, and now again this fall… http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Energy/2015/0908/Why-Russia-keeps-pumping-crude-even-as-oil-prices-plummet VEHICLES YES, that's really a Prius. Drivers of Toyota's Prius, one of the most popular vehicles in Orange County, will no longer have to wear their eco incentives on their sleeves. The 2016 model, unveiled in spectacular Las Vegas fashion Tuesday night, shows a vehicle that isn't instantly recognizable as a hybrid. Instead, it shares some styling features with Toyota's futuristic Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/prius-338248-ocprint-toyota-mpg.html Russia Decrees: Every Gas Station Must Have Electric-Car Charging Too. Thanks to a single, sweeping decree, Russia could soon become a much more hospitable place for electric cars. The country is currently home to just a small number of electric cars, and its charging infrastructure is relatively undeveloped. But the national government now requires that all gas stations in the country must be equipped for electric-car charging… http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1099934_russia-decrees-every-gas-station-must-have-electric-car-charging-too GREEN ENERGY India to Start Offering Offshore Wind Blocks for Development. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government adopted a policy for India’s offshore wind industry, paving the way for developments as much as 200 nautical miles into the surrounding seas. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and the National Institute of Wind Energy were authorized to… http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-NUENR56S972B01-4KVJD77ERL34FRAMIRMF4J1RPH SMUD approves solar power array on 62 acres of Rancho Seco site. The Sacramento Municipal Utility District board has approved construction of a solar power array on about 62 acres of its Rancho Seco property, where the utility once operated a nuclear power plant. The project includes a 20-year power purchase agreement for a 10.88-megawatt array. http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article34472742.html#storylink=cpy Solar power passes milestone. Solar power installations in the United States passed 20 gigawatts of capacity in the second quarter of this year, the industry said. The March-through-June period saw 1,393 megawatts of solar power capacity installed, dominated as usual by utility installations, pushing the total market above 20 gigawatts for the first time… http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/253038-solar-power-passes-milestone http://www.pv-tech.org/news/us_solar_installations_surpass_20gw_mark?utm_source=pvtech-http://fortune.com/2015/09/09/solar-panel-record-america/feeds&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=news-rss-feed Obama Has Done More for Clean Energy Than You Think. A blue-black field of 5.2 million solar panels tilted toward the Arizona sun might just be the Hoover Dam project of the Great Recession. The Agua Caliente Solar Power Project hosts nearly 300 megawatts of silicon photovoltaics (PV) that turn sunshine into electricity. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/obama-has-done-more-for-clean-energy-than-you-think/ B.C. First Nations alliance calls for scrutiny of energy projects. Ten First Nations leaders in northern British Columbia have formed a new alliance to draw attention to their environmental concerns that range from hydraulic fracturing to exporting liquefied natural gas. Pacific NorthWest LNG, led by Malaysia’s state-owned Petronas, wants to take natural gas from northeastern British Columbia… http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/bc-first-nations-alliance-calls-for-scrutiny-of-energy-projects/article26264419/?cmpid=rss1 MISCELLANEOUS California Welcomes Three Brazilian States to Growing Coalition to Limit Global Warming. Three Amazon basin states have become the latest to join a growing worldwide coalition of states and regions in signing a first-of-its-kind agreement to limit global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius. Leaders of the Brazilian states of Amazonas, Rondônia and Tocantins signed the “Under 2 MOU,” as the agreement is known, on Saturday at the Milan Expo 2015… http://www.calepa.ca.gov/PressRoom/Releases/2015/GlobalWarm.htm#sthash.vrkNlkMb.dpuf OPINIONS Low U.S. gasoline prices are supercharging fuel sales: Kemp. As the summer driving season ends, U.S. gasoline prices have fallen to the lowest level for the time of year since 2004, wiping out the effect of more than a decade of rising fuel bills. The average retail price of gasoline across the United States was just $2.53 per gallon on Monday, including federal, state and local taxes, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/09/us-usa-gasoline-kemp-idUSKCN0R929T20150909 Sacramento caused water crisis, not drought. I have read your Aug. 28 front page article dealing with the drought. It referenced a just released Fresno State study. There is no question that the drought has had a significant negative impact on Valley agriculture. There were three recommendations. They didn’t go far enough. Much has been made about the need to conserve. http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article34380756.html#storylink=cpy Marin IJ Editorial: Marin water-users meet state’s drought mandate. Marin residents and businesses have stepped up and reduced their water use beyond the mandated emergency drought levels handed down by Sacramento. By being smart and more frugal, residents and businesses have cut back on the water pouring out of their spigots, doing their part of save on water resources which are in short supply across most of California. http://www.marinij.com/opinion/20150909/marin-ij-editorial-marin-water-users-meet-states-drought-mandate BLOGS Public Utilities Scale Up Efficiency Savings, But More Effort Needed to Meet Governor's Goal. California's publicly owned utilities (POUs), which serve about one-fourth of the state's electricity demand, play a critical role in helping their customers save electricity and lower their energy bills. A new NRDC analysis shows California's POUs collectively saved enough energy last year to equal… http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/cheavey/public_utilities_scale_up_effi.html First carbon neutral challenge is getting consumers to care, says Neal’s Yard Remedies. As the United Nations Conference on Climate Change draws closer, beauty retailer Neal’s Yard Remedies believes all companies can go carbon neutral or at least start to work out how they can do it, but the first challenge is getting consumers to care about carbon. http://www.cosmeticsdesign-europe.com/Market-Trends/First-carbon-neutral-challenge-is-getting-consumers-to-care-says-Neal-s-Yard-Remedies The Energy Storage Market Is About To Boom. The signs point to the fact that the energy storage industry is poised for massive growth — not only are states across the country adopting policies to incorporate renewable energy, but utilities and consumers are investing in solar photovoltaic systems and the technology for cheaper, more efficient battery storage is finally coming to market. http://www.forbes.com/sites/lyndseygilpin/2015/09/09/the-energy-storage-market-is-about-to-boom/ Why CA Climate Change Legislation Will Lower Gasoline Prices. The fate of landmark climate legislation will be decided before the California statehouse closes for the year Friday. Its oil industry opponents are desperate to stop it, claiming the proposal will drive up prices at the pump. In fact, Senate Bill 350, currently written to cut California's gasoline use in half by 2030… http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jamie-court/why-ca-climate-change-leg_b_8111916.html This enormous air purifier sucks smog from the air, turns it into cubes. After visiting Beijing and experiencing the effects of smog first hand, the folks at Studio Roosegaarde were inspired to do something about this form of air pollution. For three years, the team worked on an indoor smog remover prototype, and now they are ready to take the project to next level. http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/smog-free-tower-diamonds/#ixzz3lGxzpTQL Cheap Pollution Monitor Aims to Help World’s Cities. A new, low-cost tool backed by the United Nations may help developing-world cities control pollution that kills millions each year. A toxic haze shrouds the Nairobi skyline. Buses spew out gray clouds of diesel exhaust at every stoplight. The city’s notorious traffic jams add dangerous gases and particles to the air. http://www.voanews.com/content/cheap-pollution-monitor-aims-to-help-world-cities/2953520.html California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.