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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for September 29, 2015

Posted: 29 Sep 2015 14:39:32
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

Smog Linked to Organ Rejection, Deaths in Lung Transplant
Patients.  Living near busy roads with high levels of air
pollution raises lung transplant patients' risk of organ
rejection and death, but some antibiotics lower that risk, a new
study shows. Researchers examined data gathered from more than
5,700 lung transplant patients in 10 European countries between
1987 and 2013.
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2015/09/29/smog-linked-to-organ-rejection-deaths-in-lung-transplant-patients


EPA: Current smog limit inadequate to protect public health.  The
current federal limit on smog-forming pollution linked to asthma
and respiratory illness "is not adequate to protect the public
health," a top environmental regulator said Tuesday. Janet
McCabe, acting assistant administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency, said a new, stricter standard is needed to cut
dangerous ozone pollution and prevent thousands of asthma
attacks, emergency room visits and even premature deaths.
http://www.fresnobee.com/news/article36900096.html 

CLIMATE CHANGE

Despite pledges, climate action seen falling short. The emissions
pledges that countries have made ahead of a landmark conference
in Paris have been a major boost to the slow-moving U.N. effort
to fight climate change. Less so for the climate itself. With
pledges to cut or curb greenhouse gas pollution on the table from
all major countries except India, researchers say the world is on
track for more than 2 degrees C (4 F) of warming this century.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CLIMATE_TARGETS_?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


New York City flood risk rising due to climate change. The risk
of major New York City flooding — such as what happened during
Superstorm Sandy in 2012 — is likely to occur once every 25
years, rather than every 500 years, as a result of human-caused
global warming, says a study released Monday.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2015/09/28/new-york-city-flooding-floods-flood-hurricane-sandy-climate-change/72987564/


Shark culling could indirectly accelerate climate change, study
warns. The findings come as shark experts meet at a summit at
Taronga Zoo in Sydney to discuss emerging technologies that can
deter the marine predators.  Shark experts will gather in Sydney
on Tuesday to discuss new safety measures, as new research warns
the culling of sharks could indirectly accelerate climate change.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/29/shark-culling-climate-change-research


State advances climate agenda.  The Legislature may have scuttled
the centerpiece of Gov. Jerry Brown's climate change plans, but
it still approved ambitious new environmental policies that will
impact the economy and lives of Californians. In coming years,
the new legislation means California's homes and buildings are
expected to use dramatically less electricity and the power grid
will increase its share of renewable energy.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/brown-341878-ocprint-percent-state.html


DIESEL ACTIVITIES

Norwegian/Finnish studies find Euro 6 cars exceeding NOx and CO2
type limits in real-world conditions; below on PM.  Emission
measurements conducted by Institute of Transport Economics in
Norway, in collaboration with VTT in Finland, show that new Euro
6 cars with diesel engines are struggling with NOx emissions well
in excess of regulatory type limits when in real traffic. 
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/09/20150929-toi.html 

FUELS

Shell move dims oil prospects, delights environmentalists. Royal
Dutch Shell has abandoned its long quest to become the first
company to produce oil in Alaska's Arctic waters, darkening the
nation's long-term oil prospects and delighting environmental
groups that tried to block the project. After years of effort,
Shell is leaving the region "for the foreseeable future" because
it failed to find enough oil to make further drilling worthwhile.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SHELL_ARCTIC_OFFSHORE_WELL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


VEHICLES

How much can electric cars impact climate change? New report says
a lot.  Just two months before international climate talks begin
in Paris, a new report from energy and environmental groups
predicts greenhouse gases can plunge 77 percent in 2050 by
electrifying more than half the nation’s cars, trucks and
forklifts. Through electrification of 53 percent of the vehicle
miles traveled primarily from passenger cars, small trucks, buses
and off-road equipment, along with more wind and solar power
plants, the nation would realize a reduction in greenhouse gases
of 550 metric tons per year in 35 years, equal to 100 million
gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles taken off the road,
according to the report.
http://www.dailynews.com/environment-and-nature/20150929/how-much-can-electric-cars-impact-climate-change-new-report-says-a-lot


Tesla Model X launches tonight at Fremont plant.
It's Christmas for Tesla lovers. Electric vehicle maker Tesla
Motors launches its Model X SUV tonight at a private event at its
Fremont factory. The first customers, buying the $132,000
Signature version, are expected to receive their cars. Chairman
and CEO Elon Musk unveiled the prototype in 2012. Production has
lagged 18 months behind the initial schedule, but the Palo
Alto-based automaker claims about 20,000 customers have placed a
deposit for the Model X.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_28894645/tesla-model-x-launches-tonight


VW RECALL

Volkswagen to refit cars affected by emissions scandal. 
Volkswagen announced plans on Tuesday to refit up to 11 million
vehicles and overhaul its namesake brand following the scandal
over its rigging of emissions tests. New Chief Executive Matthias
Mueller said the German carmaker would tell customers in the
coming days they would need to have diesel vehicles with illegal
software refitted, a move which some analysts have said could
cost more than $6.5 billion.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/29/us-volkswagen-emissions-plan-idUSKCN0RT0OL20150929?feedType=RSS&feedName=wtMostRead


Volkswagen Scandal Highlights European Stalling on New Emissions
Tests. European legislators got a jolt this month in their
long-running effort to update auto-emissions standards when a
German member of the European Parliament suddenly proposed
exempting a whole class of vehicles. “This was a huge loophole,
and everyone was asking: Where does this idea come from?”…
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/29/world/europe/volkswagen-scandal-highlights-european-stalling-on-new-emissions-tests.html?partner=rss&emc=rss


German investigators talking to EPA on VW - transport ministry. 
German investigators are talking with officials at the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as part of their probe into
manipulation of diesel emissions tests at Volkswagen, a spokesman
for the German transport ministry said. "I can confirm this," the
spokesman responded when asked about contact with U.S.
authorities. "An investigative commission was set up by the
ministry last week to clear up the issues surrounding
manipulation in Germany. The commission is also holding talks
with the U.S. environmental authority."
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/29/volkswagen-emissions-germany-usa-idUSB4N0ZH00820150929?feedType=RSS&feedName=bondsNews


VW Crisis Signals Shift for Diesel-Focused Europe Oil Market. 
Europe’s refineries have been shifting for decades toward greater
output of diesel to mirror alterations to the continent’s car
fleet. As they have done so, imports have also surged, causing an
ever-expanding glut to build up, while the fuel itself is under
growing scrutiny for risks it may pose to public health. “This
will only be bearish for diesel prices,” said Christopher Haines,
a London-based senior oil and gas analyst at BMI Research, which
is part of the Fitch Group. “Output levels are good and at the
same time stocks are high. If consumption dips, prices will
follow.”
http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-NV8DNK6JIJV801-2C9IAIUUV2EN2NP6U4CIDGEQ7R


The Latest: Dutch VW dealers halt sale of diesel cars. Dutch
Volkswagen dealers are halting the sale of diesel cars that may
be affected by the German automaker's emissions-rigging scandal.
Pon, the Dutch importer of Volkswagens, Audis, SEATs and Skodas,
says in a statement that the temporary sales halt applies to
4,100 cars that its dealers still have in stock.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article36801426.html#storylink=cpy


Volkswagen America CEO: EPA emissions findings 'do not reflect
our values'. Volkswagen Group of America President Michael Horn
is the latest executive to issue a public apology on behalf of
the German carmaker for secretly installing software in its
diesel-powered cars to circumvent emissions standards. Horn
delivers his apology in a straight-to-camera statement that has
been uploaded…
http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/news/volkswagen-ceo-apologizes-company-launches-support-site-article-1.2377235

VW’s stock to be removed from Dow Jones indexes.  Volkswagen AG’s
stock will be removed from the Dow Jones Sustainability indexes
after the automaker cheated on emissions tests. The carmaker’s
admission on Sept. 18 that it systematically manipulated U.S.
emissions tests prompted a review of its status, S&P Dow Jones
Indices LLC and RobecoSAM said in a statement Tuesday. The stock
will be pulled after the close of trading Oct. 5 from the DJSI
World, DJSI Europe and all other related indexes, according to
the statement.
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/foreign/2015/09/29/vw-sustainibility-indexes/73019318/


PAGE NOT FOUND Staff, supplier Bosch warned VW years ago that
diesel emissions software was illegal: reports. Volkswagen
ignored warnings from staff and a supplier years ago that the
emission test rigging software that sparked the company’s worst
ever scandal was illegal, German media reports said Sunday.
German authorities, meanwhile, heaped pressure on the embattled
corporate titan…
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/09/28/business/staff-supplier-bosch-warned-vw-years-ago-diesel-emissions-software-illegal-reports/#.VgnC1JOE7Sg


Price to pay in Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal: Billions of
dollars, loss of public trust.  German manufacturer Volkswagen,
which spent the past decade promoting its clean-diesel cars and
clawing its way to the worldwide auto sales mountaintop, is now
clamoring to preserve its assets and reputation amid disclosures
that its recent-model diesel vehicles included technology to
circumvent U.S. pollution limits.  Regaining the trust of angry
consumers might be the biggest struggle of all, based on random
interviews at Sacramento-area Volkswagen dealerships last week.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article36484947.html 

VW just the latest in long history of cheating car companies.  In
stock car racing, there's an old adage: If you ain't cheatin',
you ain't tryin'. You could say the same sometimes for auto
makers up against stricter environmental rules. Volkswagen is far
from the first company to stand accused of trying to game
required emissions tests. Almost since the passage of the Clean
Air Act in 1970, major manufacturers of cars, trucks and heavy
equipment have been busted for using what regulators call "defeat
devices" — typically programing a vehicle's on-board computer to
boost horsepower or fuel mileage by belching out dirtier exhaust
than allowed.
http://www.fresnobee.com/news/politics-government/article36925599.html


GREEN ENERGY

Big utilities enter market for small rooftop solar. Traditional
power companies are getting into small-scale solar energy and
competing for space on your rooftop. The emerging competition
comes as utilities and smaller solar installers fight over the
future of the U.S. energy system. While the market for
residential solar power remains a financial drop in the bucket
for a big utility, the installation of solar panels overall grew
by more than 50 percent in 2014 and is on track for another
record-breaking year at time when the traditional utility
business is pretty flat.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_28894650/big-utilities-enter-market-small-rooftop-solar


OPINIONS

A new low in science: Criminalizing climate change skeptics. 
Scientists have many important roles to play in preparations for
the upcoming UN Conference on Climate Change in Paris. Some are
working hard to clarify uncertainties in the science, others on
developing and evaluating alternative climate policies. One group
of climate scientists is trying a different approach.
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/09/28/new-low-in-science-criminalizing-climate-change-skeptics.html
 

Climate change. Climate change is affecting our economy and
national security. Within a few years, climate change, if
unaddressed, will produce a magnitude of refugees and resource
shortages like we have never seen. It will continue to create a
crisis that we cannot run away from. Countless businesses,
nonprofits and local governments are already working
independently to address and reverse the impacts of climate
change.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/letters/ct-climate-change-20150928-story.html
 

When VW cheated ON EMISSIONs, IT cheated ON health.  Already,
Volkswagen Group is on the hook for what the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency says could be more than $18 billion in civil
penalties for violating the U.S. Clean Air Act with its emissions
scam. Additionally, the German automaker will be forced to pay
for the repair of 482,000 affected diesel vehicles it sold in the
U.S. between 2009 and 2015. And the company will need to defend
itself in court from dozens of lawsuits related to the company's
use of so-called defeat device software that engages cars'
pollution controls only when they are emissions-tested.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/-341879-ocprint--.html 

BLOGS

Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Look to Consolidate VW Emissions Scandal
Lawsuits. The Volkswagen AG’s emissions-cheating scandal has
already spawned more than two dozen plaintiffs’ lawsuits across
the country. The lawyers suing the German auto maker want to
consolidate all the cases in one court, but they don’t agree on
where. It will be up to a federal judicial panel to decide
whether the VW litigation…
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2015/09/28/plaintiffs-lawyers-look-to-consolidate-vw-emissions-scandal-lawsuits/


The East and West Must Join Together to Fight Climate Change.
With the conclusion of the Millennium Development Goals in 2015,
the international community has now adopted an even more
expansive set of Sustainable Development Goals for the future.
The SDGs aim not only to end extreme poverty and reduce
inequality but to do so in a way that is environmentally
sustainable.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-rudd/east-west-climate-change_b_8204072.html


New York's Next Move Could Shake Up The Climate Change Fight. 
Mayor Bill de Blasio is ready to quit coal. On Tuesday, the de
Blasio administration urged New York City's five pension funds --
worth a collective $160 billion -- to sell their $33 million
exposure to coal. “New York City is a global leader when it comes
to taking on climate change and reducing our environmental
footprint," de Blasio said in a statement. "It’s time that our
investments catch up -- and divestment from coal is where we must
start."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/new-york-divest-coal_560a95cee4b0af3706ddd3f1


We May Have Just Bought Ourselves An Extra Decade To Avoid
Catastrophic Climate Change. The world appears to have bought
itself a little time in the fight to avoid climate catastrophe,
according to a new analysis. Virtually every major country has
made pledges to limit or reduce carbon pollution in advance of
the Paris climate talks this December.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/09/28/3706024/paris-co2-pledges/


The Time for Excuses on Climate Action is Over. As global leaders
have gathered at the United Nations over the last few days,
climate action has very much been at the forefront. Looking ahead
to the December international climate conference, countries are
continuing to put their contributions to reduce climate pollution
on the table. These climate action commitments continue to expose
the emptiness of Republican excuses to avoid climate action.
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/sclefkowitz/the_time_for_excuses_on_climat.html


EPA expects success from new methane rules.  A top environmental
regulator said Tuesday that he expects new federal standards for
methane emissions will succeed in cutting down on the potent
greenhouse gas. Joseph Goffman, the associate assistant
administrator at the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA)
Office of Air and Regulation, said Tuesday that the agency’s new
methane standards, combined with expanded voluntary programs,
will help the natural gas industry reduce its methane emissions.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/255273-epa-expects-success-from-new-methane-rules





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