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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for October 5, 2015.

Posted: 05 Oct 2015 16:09:17
ARB Newsclips for October 5, 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

Poland to sell sovereign carbon permits to Italy for $5.3 mln.
Poland will sell some its surplus government-held emission
permits to Italy for 20 million zlotys ($5.3 million), Poland's
environment minister Maciej Grabowski said on Monday. Nations
comfortably below their greenhouse gas targets in the first phase
of the Kyoto Protocol (2008-12) could sell excess emission
permits…
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/05/poland-italy-emissions-idUSL8N12521220151005?feedType=RSS&feedName=rbssEnergyNews


Calif. likely to rely on cap and trade to show compliance with
EPA rule, but interstate trading remains unclear. California is
facing a potential surplus of emissions reductions resulting from
U.S. EPA's Clean Power Plan, but officials are still unsure how
or whether to take advantage of them. California is an outlier
compared to the rest of the country in that it has been pursuing
economywide emissions reductions for the past decade.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/10/05/stories/1060025829 

AIR POLLUTION

Smog-shrouded Malaysia shuts schools for 2 days. Malaysia on
Monday shut most schools nationwide for two days to protect
children from a thick, noxious haze caused by smoke from burning
forests in neighboring Indonesia. The haze, which has shrouded
parts of Malaysia and Singapore for about a month, also spread to
Thailand on Monday, the first time it has reached hazardous
levels so far north.
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/environment/2015/10/05/asia-haze/73367038/


Researchers try freezing CO2 emissions to curb coal emissions. A
team at Brigham Young University has developed a cryogenic carbon
capture technology capable of eliminating the carbon dioxide
emissions from coal-fired power plants. The researchers said that
in tests, between 96 and 98 percent of the emissions was
captured.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/10/05/stories/1060025775 

CLIMATE CHANGE

Six experts vie for top U.N. climate science job. Six candidates
are vying to become head of the U.N.'s top authority on climate
change science this week, seeking to narrow down uncertainties
about future warming to guide a trillion-dollar shift to greener
energies.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/04/us-climatechange-science-idUSKCN0RY0CH20151004


Toughen climate action every five years, U.N. draft suggests. All
nations should agree to toughen curbs on greenhouse gas emissions
every five years under a U.N. accord to combat global warming due
in December, according to a first suggested text of a U.N.
agreement on Monday. The 20-page accord, slashing a previous text
of more than 80, is a step towards a deal due at a summit in
Paris from Nov. 30-Dec 11…
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/05/us-climatechange-summit-draft-idUSKCN0RZ1WT20151005


India's Global Climate Pledge Has Hefty Price Tag. The renewable
energy targets in India's pledge to fight climate change most
likely underestimate the drop in carbon intensity that could play
out in the country with the world's fourth-highest emissions of
greenhouse gases, analysts told Bloomberg BNA Oct. 2, a day after
the document was submitted to the United Nations.
http://www.bna.com/indias-global-climate-n57982059082/ 

EIB Links Green Bonds to Projects in Push for Climate.  “Ahead of
the Paris climate conference, the EIB is supporting EU’s
leadership in climate policy also through innovation in the green
bond market,” said Bertrand de Mazieres, director general of
finance at the EIB. “Green bond issuance has grown substantially,
and has the potential to contribute significantly to addressing
the 2 degree Celsius target.”
http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-NVQPK86K50XW01-4G98NPV4ECR4ABBQRJ4R98N61O


Alaska Seeks Federal Money to Move a Village Threatened by
Climate Change.  One of the most eroded Native Alaskan villages
on the state’s coast is being considered as a possible national
model for moving entire communities whose futures are threatened
by natural disasters escalated by climate change. The state is
hoping to kick-start an exodus from the village of Newtok, about
500 miles west of Anchorage…
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/04/us/alaska-seeks-federal-money-to-move-a-village-threatened-by-climate-change.html?ref=us&_r=0

UN releases a draft for potential agreement on climate. The
United Nations on Monday released a first draft of the
negotiating text for the major conference on climate taking place
in Paris in December. The document is a step forward for the
talks, slimming down the text from more than 90 pages earlier
this year to just 20.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/article37783959.html#storylink=cpy


Warming helps spur odd side effect in Northwest Passage: more
ice. A new study is serving as a reminder that despite dramatic
warming in the Arctic, the ice trend in the region is not
straight downward in all locations, and some areas are showing
surprising resiliency. Sea ice in the Northwest Passage -- a sea
route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans along the
Canadian archipelago…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/10/05/stories/1060025789 

When will rising seas and storm surges make an island
uninhabitable?  Many atoll islands may become uninhabitable in
just a few decades, due to the combination of rising sea levels
and flooding caused by storm waves, according to new research by
the U.S. Geological Survey. Both threats are growing due to
climate change.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/10/05/stories/1060025785 

DROUGHT

Will El Niño ‘solve’ drought? Not if the rain falls in Southern
California. In recent weeks, conditions have gelled for what
forecasters say could be one of the strongest El Niño weather
patterns in recorded history. Will it substantially ease
California’s historic drought? If the storms center on Southern
California, the answer is probably not. Experts stress that El
Niño is notoriously unpredictable…
http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article37743690.html#storylink=cpy


Dust and desperation: How the drought is hurting health. Four
years of drought in California is wearing on the bodies and minds
of the people who live in the San Joaquin Valley. State health
officials say they have not seen anything to link the drought to
changes in residents’ health. But local doctors and health
experts, and a drive south on Highway 99 from Sacramento to
Tulare County, tell a different story.
http://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/Dust-and-desperation-How-the-drought-is-hurting-6544787.php?t=6bed1c6c6d1210a92f&cmpid=fb-premium


California drought: San Jose's tough conservation rules have few
appeals so far. When San Jose Water Company, which provides water
to 1 million people in San Jose and nearby cities, held a public
meeting to announce its summer water conservation rules in May,
more than 350 people -- most of them angry -- turned out. At the
time, people complained that the company's rules were unfair…
http://www.mercurynews.com/drought/ci_28920105/california-drought-san-joses-tough-conservation-rules-have


 Salton Sea risks 'falling off a cliff' as drought diverts
attention, officials warn. The Salton Sea in Southern California
risks "falling off a cliff environmentally," with devastating
impacts on public health and the local economy, in a couple of
years, officials there warned. But getting attention and
resources has been made more difficult with the drought gripping
the state.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/10/05/stories/1060025776 

Panel to debate long-awaited drought measures.  After months of
quiet backroom discussions, efforts to pass Western drought
legislation are getting ready for prime time. Sen. Lisa
Murkowski's (R-Alaska) Energy and Natural Resources Committee
this week will hold a long-awaited legislative hearing on the two
lead California-specific relief measures, as well as several
other bills dealing with Western water issues.
http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060025813 

DIESEL ACTIVITIES

FUELS

Oil Patch Braces for Exploration Chill After Canada's Election.
As Canada’s oil patch grapples with a price shock, pipeline
delays and rising tax rates, the federal election could add
another barrier to recovery by reining in a key incentive for
development of new wells.  Two of the three major parties
jostling for power in the Oct. 19 vote are campaigning against
“fossil fuel subsidies” …
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-05/oil-patch-braces-for-exploration-chill-after-canada-s-election
 

Canada Can Halve Methane Emissions for $555 Million, Study Says.
Canada can almost halve emissions of methane from oil and natural
gas production for about C$726 million ($555 million) using
off-the-shelf technology, a study said. Methane pollution from
oil and gas production accounts for 6 percent of Canada’s total
greenhouse gas emissions, according to a study by the Pembina
Institute and the Environmental Defense Fund…
http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-NVM4KK6JTSE901-66740CB6UT6EPN4B9JQLLKFC35


Aemetis harvests demo crop of optimized biomass sorghum in
California for advanced biofuels; ~90 days from planting to
harvest.  Aemetis, Inc., an advanced renewable fuels and
biochemicals company, has harvested 12- to 15-foot tall biomass
sorghum grown in Central California that was produced using
proprietary seed genetics from Nexsteppe, a provider of optimized
sorghum feedstock solutions.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/10/20151005-aemetis.html

VEHICLES

Plug-In Electric Car Sales In Sep: Waiting On Better 2016 Models.
Sales of plug-in electric cars in the U.S. had a low-to-average
month in September, with the sole bright spot being the
astounding sales of the BMW i3 electric hatchback. Two new 2016
models, the entirely redesigned Chevy Volt and the longer-range
107-mile Nissan Leaf…
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1100333_plug-in-electric-car-sales-in-sep-waiting-on-better-2016-models


VW RECALL

AP analysis: Dozens of deaths likely from VW pollution dodge.
Volkswagen's pollution-control chicanery has not just been
victimless tinkering, killing between five and 20 people in the
United States annually in recent years, according to an
Associated Press statistical and computer analysis. The software
that the company admitted using to get around government
emissions limits allowed VWs to spew enough pollution…
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/a6925f0af82e44aaa1a1ed4b55d030f6/ap-analysis-dozens-deaths-likely-vw-pollution-dodge


Volkswagen admits rigging of 8 mln cars in EU.  Volkswagen has
admitted that 8 million vehicles were fitted with software
capable of cheating diesel emissions tests in the European Union,
a German newspaper said on Monday, citing a letter the carmaker
sent to members of parliament. The letter - dated Oct. 2 and
cosigned by the former government spokesman and current VW chief
lobbyist Thomas Steg…
http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL8N12548G20151005


Volkswagen Emissions Investigation Zeroes In on Two Engineers.
Company investigation focuses on two men elevated after
Winterkorn was made CEO. Two top  Volkswagen  engineers who found
they couldn’t deliver as promised a clean diesel engine for the
U.S. market are at the center of a company probe into the
installation of engine software designed to fool regulators…
http://www.wsj.com/articles/vw-emissions-probe-zeroes-in-on-two-engineers-1444011602?mod=trending_now_1


Race is on to file suits against VW.  Volkswagen's stunning
admission that it rigged its diesel cars to pass emissions tests
is setting up one of the largest, costliest legal cases in U.S.
history. And it could all be played out in a federal courtroom in
Los Angeles.  More than 230 federal class-action lawsuits have
been filed against the German automaker in courts across the
United States.
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-volkswagen-legal-20151003-story.html


From Italy to California, Volkswagen scandal was eight years in
the making.  Volkswagen’s diesel pollution scandal began
unfolding with a series of road tests in the hills of northern
Italy eight years ago. The automaker’s dirty secret was finally
exposed when a team of California scientists devised a way to
trick the company’s stealth software at a state-run laboratory
off the San Bernardino Freeway.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article37570722.html#storylink=cpy


Dirty secrets. Volkswagen’s falsification of pollution tests
opens the door to a very different car industry. EMMISSIONS of
nitrogen oxides (NOx) and other nasties from cars’ and lorries’
exhausts cause large numbers of early deaths—perhaps 58,000 a
year in America alone, one study suggests. So the scandal that
has engulfed Volkswagen (VW) this week is no minor misdemeanour
or victimless crime (see article).
http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21666226-volkswagens-falsification-pollution-tests-opens-door-very-different-car


VW exec to face grilling at emissions scandal hearing.  A top
Volkswagen executive could be pressed for a detailed accounting
of the automaker's emissions-cheating scheme at a House Energy
and Commerce subcommittee hearing Thursday. Michael Horn,
president and CEO of Volkswagen's American arm, will be a witness
at the hearing by the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee…
http://www.eenews.net/eedaily/2015/10/05/stories/1060025803  

GREEN ENERGY

Germany offers India $2.25 billion for solar, clean energy.
German will provide India more than 2 billion euros ($2.25
billion) for developing a clean energy corridor and solar
projects, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday
after talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel. Modi has made
ambitious renewable energy targets a key part of his development
agenda and climate change mitigation commitments ahead of a
landmark international summit in Paris at the end of this year.

"I admire German leadership in clean energy and commitment to
combating climate change," Modi told journalists after meeting
Merkel, who was on a three-day visit to 
India.

Austin backs 300-MW solar push while delaying review of bigger
expansion. The City Council in Austin, Texas, endorsed a major
expansion of renewable energy last week by authorizing the local
electric utility to enter into agreements for as much as 300
megawatts of solar power. But council members delayed a decision
on whether to boost solar exposure even further amid lingering
questions about costs and implications.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2015/10/05/stories/1060025810 

OPINIONS

COLUMN-U.S. motorists opt for larger vehicles, lower fuel
economy: Kemp.  U.S. motorists are opting for larger, more
powerful cars with worse fuel economy in response to the sharp
drop in gasoline prices. The average fuel economy for vehicles
sold in the United States in September was 25.2 miles per gallon,
down by 0.6 mpg since August 2014, according to the University of
Michigan Transportation Research Institute.
http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL8N12539Q20151005

  
Jeb Bush’s energy plan. JEB BUSH laid out an energy plan last
week that hardly addresses climate change. Given what passes for
climate debate in the Republican Party, maybe we should be
grateful that Mr. Bush didn’t use the rollout to indulge in
climate know-nothingism. By any reasonable measure, however, it’s
breathtakingly
irresponsible…https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/jeb-bushs-energy-plan/2015/10/04/77aef22e-66ed-11e5-9223-70cb36460919_story.html


Dan Walters: Electrical power tripping. When California’s
electric power system went into a virtual meltdown 15 years ago,
one might think it would have cured politicians’ urges to fiddle
with its operations. After all, it was caused by a know-it-all
overhaul of the system four years earlier by then-Gov. Pete
Wilson and the Legislature, and successor Gray Davis’ mishandling
of the crisis contributed…
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/dan-walters/article37438068.html#storylink=cpy


Collaborative approach needed after failure of fuel-reduction
mandate. Pundits proclaimed that the petroleum industry was the
big winner coming out of the most recent legislative session. But
the real winners were the millions of Californians who believe we
can protect the environment without sacrificing our economy and
middle class. The fuel-reduction mandate in Senate Bill 350 would
have restricted the use of gasoline…
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article37010571.html#storylink=cpy


Rep. Charles Rangel: Let's slow down the next superstorm. The
news last week that New York City faces Superstorm Sandy-level
flooding every 25 years, instead of every 500 years, is a wet
blanket after such a banner week bolstered by presidents, prime
ministers and the pope talking about sustainability and climate
change. What a serious wake-up call after all the positive pomp
and circumstance.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/10/05/joaquin-hurricane-noreaster-superstorm-sandy-flood-column/73161698/


BLOGS

Let’s Talk Health: EPA takes steps to improve air quality, but is
it enough? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has tightened
its restriction on ground-level ozone standards, and while that
may be good news for public health in the San Joaquin Valley and
elsewhere, the change met complaints from industry, which sees it
as burdensome and a threat to businesses and jobs.
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/article37419576.html#storylink=cpy


San Francisco's Innovative Step to Save Water. After four years
of drought, dwindling reservoirs and overdrafted aquifers,
California's water woes are prompting dire predictions and
desperate measures. In some places in the Central Valley, entire
communities are at risk of drying up. Many are pinning their
hopes to wet weather predictions from a coming El Niño. Others
communities…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tara-lohan/san-franciscos-innovative-step-to-save-water_b_8236072.html


Overcoming Fear: Women and Climate Change. Threatening hurricanes
like Joaquin churn up waves of speculation. When a doozy of a
storm is eminent -- dumping boatloads of rain and destruction --
I fearfully follow a steady stream of hurricane alerts on social
media. Normally, the wild weather choir would swallow me up…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ronnie-citronfink/overcoming-fear-women-and_b_8241472.html




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

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