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ARB Newsclips for October 30, 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

Benicia: Valero to pay $196,000 to settle air quality violation
notices. Valero Oil Co. will pay $196,000 for air quality
violations at its Benicia refinery, the Bay Area Air Quality
Management District announced Thursday. The settlement covers 23
violation notices issued by the air district for incidents that
occurred in 2012, the district said.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_29043764/benicia-valero-pay-196-000-settle-air-quality
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/10/29/valero-to-pay-nearly-200k-in-penalties-to-bay-area-air-district-over-benicia-refinery-violations/


‘Don’t Light Tonight’ season is in the air over Yolo County. The
Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District has announced that it
will launch its 2015-16 Don’t Light Tonight season on Sunday.
Smoke from the use of fireplaces and wood stoves is a major
source of local wintertime air pollution.
http://www.dailydemocrat.com/article/NI/20151029/NEWS/151029872

San Joaquin County Restricts Wood Burning. People in San Joaquin
County had 58 days and in Stanislaus 69 days last year in which
wood burning in fireplaces was banned. Burn restrictions run from
November through February and the air quality threshold has been
lowered in the Central Valley which means there will be more "no
burn" days.
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2015/10/30/san-joaquin-county-restricts-wood-burning/


Texas, California Lead Nation in Carbon Emissions. Everything is
bigger in Texas. Its honky tonks. Its highway system. Its wind
power industry. Its oil industry. And even, a new report says,
its carbon dioxide emissions. Texas emitted more carbon dioxide
from burning energy in 2013 than it did at any point since 2004.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/carbon-emissions-spike-in-some-states-19615?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%20climatecentral/djOO%20Climate%20Central%20-%20Full%20Feed


CLIMATE CHANGE

World Set to Exhaust 75% of ‘Carbon Budget’ by 2030, UN Says. The
world is set to use up three quarters of a theoretical carbon
budget that would limit global warming to safe levels within 15
years, the United Nations said. The world will pump out 748
gigatons (748 billion metric tons) of carbon dioxide from 2012
through 2030, the world body said Friday in an e-mailed report
that analyzed emissions pledges by 146 nations. 
http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-NWZT7H6K50Y901-1KMS7VA2E538UKSC0TUG5VKCN5


Worst Climate Threat You Never Heard of Is Stronger Than CO2.
Climate negotiators from across the globe will gather in the
Persian Gulf city to debate how to get rid of hydrofluorocarbons
-- a class of hundreds of artificial chemicals used in
refrigerators, air-conditioners, fire suppressants and other
widely used products.
http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-NWXV4G6KLVRC01-6SIJ0D5L67SV2N805VD8QSE17H

World’s Worst Greenhouse Gas Spurs Global Smuggling Rings. The
U.S. and Europe have taken measures to ban HFCs and are pushing
other countries to do the same, as well as offering financial aid
to help poorer countries switch to newer refrigerants.
Environmentalists say they fear another round of chemical bans
could invigorate the worldwide black market in restricted
coolants…
http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-NWZPVW6K50Y501-4SKHLO4EA63DSMJLKVAAKN3K8I


Climate curbs will slow temperature rise; more needed for 2C
goal-UN. Plans by about 150 countries to curb greenhouse gas
emissions will slow climate change this century and keep alive a
goal of limiting a rise in temperatures to two degrees Celsius
(3.6 Fahrenheit), the United Nations said on Friday.
http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL8N12T67B20151030

Nations’ climate pledges will still leave emissions rising for
years, U.N. says. In a key moment on the road to the much
anticipated Paris climate meeting this December — and one
underscoring just how difficult solving the climate problem will
be — the United Nations has released a “synthesis” report
assessing all of the emissions cutting pledges made by countries
in advance of the meeting.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/10/30/nations-climate-pledges-will-still-leave-emissions-rising-u-n-says/

Paris Agreement Could Put Leash Around Global Warming. World
governments are cooperating as they work to slip a leash around
the monstrous problem of global warming, but new analysis shows
that leash will need to be severely tightened in the coming years
if damage from future warming is to be meaningfully reduced.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/paris-agreement-global-warming-19624


Democrats question SEC's enforcement of climate risk disclosures.
Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Rep.
Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.), in a letter sent yesterday to the head
of the Securities and Exchange Commission, asked for an update
from the agency regarding its implementation of formal climate
change guidance.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/10/30/stories/1060027169 

Governor, Napolitano push for state's universities to be climate
'living laboratories'. Reducing the carbon footprint of the
10-campus University of California System is a moral imperative,
said University President Janet Napolitano. Speaking Tuesday at
the UC Carbon and Climate Neutrality Summit held at UC San Diego,
both Napolitano and California Gov. Jerry Brown (D)…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/10/30/stories/1060027188 

Collapse of Gulf of Maine cod linked to rapid warming -- study.
Overfishing has long been considered the primary reason why cod
populations have collapsed in the Gulf of Maine. Now, new
research in the journal Science finds that warming temperatures
need to be considered as a significant factor in why cod
populations have struggled.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/10/30/stories/1060027190 

DROUGHT

One-day-a-week watering begins Sunday in Sacramento. One-day-a
week watering of landscaping starts Sunday in Sacramento.
Residents within the city of Sacramento may only water once a
week, instead of twice as it was during the summer months. The
winter watering schedule is aimed at saving water during the
drought even in the rainy season. Sacramento city customers used
about nine billion gallons of water from June through August this
year…
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article41806137.html#storylink=cpy


State releasing latest water figures, discussing penalties. State
officials plan to tell Californians what penalties they are
taking against communities that fail to meet a mandated 25
percent reduction in water use when they announce usage figures
Friday, in the state's battle against a widespread drought.
http://www.modbee.com/news/nation-world/article41909358.html#storylink=cpy
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2015/10/30/state-releasing-latest-water-figures,-discussing-penalties/


Fresno’s Pumpkin King Struggles to Supply Region as Drought Takes
Toll. Wayne Martin stands tall among hundreds of fleshy orange
gourds that cover the ground of his pumpkin patch in Fresno. He
greets customers with an easy charm that comes from 31 years in
the business.
http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/10/30/fresnos-pumpkin-king-this-years-crop-a-mixed-bag


El Niño: Miracle or Mediocre? We in California have endured a
historic drought most of this decade. During the 18 years since
the big 1997-98 El Niño, six years have been wet, but 12 have
been very dry. Now comes the hope of another El Niño, but will
this one be a miracle.. or just mediocre? How did we get here?
Rainfall statistics tell the tale.
http://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/El-Nino-Miracle-or-Mediocre--338602432.html


FUELS

Low Oil Prices Take a Toll on Royal Dutch Shell. Lower petroleum
prices are shaking up the plans and bottom lines of the world’s
biggest oil companies, and Royal Dutch Shell is the latest to
show the effects. On Thursday, the company reported a loss of
$7.4 billion for the third quarter, in contrast to a profit of
$4.5 billion in the quarter a year earlier.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/30/business/energy-environment/royal-dutch-shell-oil-third-quarter-earnings.html?ref=energy-environment&_r=0


Caribbean countries get a plan to sharply cut reliance on fossil
fuels. Endowed with stunning natural beauty but also outsized
climate risk, Caribbean countries will need to cut greenhouse gas
emissions by as much as 46 percent over the next 12 years to
avoid the worst effects of climate change, according to findings
published this week by the Worldwatch Institute.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/10/30/stories/1060027173 

World's largest cellulosic ethanol plant opens in Iowa. DuPont
Industrial Biosciences opened the world's largest cellulosic
ethanol plant today in central Iowa. The facility is capable of
producing 30 million gallons of ethanol a year out of the
residues left on surrounding farm fields after the corn harvest.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/10/30/stories/1060027208 

VEHICLES

Toyota’s 2050 Emissions Target Seen as Wake-Up Call to Suppliers.
Toyota Motor Corp.’s second-biggest supplier said the carmaker’s
goal to almost eliminate conventional gasoline engines by 2050 is
a wake-up call for parts makers to transform their businesses.
http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-NX0ISX6KLVRK01-2MRMNDUFA6PCGSL7JELKL45KF7
 

Automakers struggle to bring affordable diesel cars to U.S.
market. In hindsight, it's clear how Volkswagen, in the 2009
model year, seemed to have nailed the elusive formula for
affordable, sporty diesel cars — when none of its competitors
could crack the code. At the time, U.S. regulators had been
tightening pollution controls on diesels and diesel fuel for
years…
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-future-of-diesel-20151031-story.html


Hyundai hits 10 million in U.S. sales. Hyundai Motor Co. sold its
10 millionth vehicle in the U.S., Wednesday, a milestone for the
automaker with North American headquarters in Fountain Valley.
Hyundai’s top-selling cars in the U.S. are the Sonata and the
Elantra, both with nearly 2.5 million units sold, representing
about 25 percent of overall sales.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/million-689718-sales-bonneville.html


EU Regulators Dilute New Emission Rules To Allow 2.1 Times The
Legal Limits Until 2020. The official press release from the
European Union sounds as though Wednesday's vote on new
emission-testing rules makes it tougher for automakers to cheat
as Volkswagen admitted doing with its 2.0-liter diesel engines.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1100703_eu-regulators-dilute-new-emission-rules-to-allow-2-1-times-the-legal-limits-until-2020


Honda's Electric Four-Motor CR-Z Prototype: We Drive It. The idea
of the four-motor electric car has been around since the start of
the 20th century. One of Ferdinand Porsche's first ideas, in
fact, was the Lohner-Porsche that debuted at the 1900 Paris World
Fair, with a hub motor in each front wheel. Toss four electric
motors in a car and you could have plenty of power…
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1100699_hondas-electric-four-motor-cr-z-prototype-we-drive-it

31% of Americans are open to an EV as their next car – poll.
About a third of Americans are open to purchasing or leasing an
electric vehicle as their next car, while about 60 percent aren't
open to that option and the remainder are unsure, according to a
survey the Consumer Federation of America released yesterday.
Though few Americans drive electric cars, 31 percent of
respondents said they would consider an EV…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/10/30/stories/1060027183 

VW RECALL

Volkswagen's Excess Emissions Will Kill 59 Americans: Study. An
MIT and Harvard study is the first peer-reviewed estimate of the
health impacts of Volkswagen's faulty software code. 
Volkswagen's emissions scandal now has an estimated death toll.
The excess emissions that the company concealed will be
responsible for about 59 early deaths in the U.S. alone,
according to a sweeping new study.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-30/volkswagen-s-excess-emissions-will-kill-59-americans-study


GREEN ENERGY

Germany Cuts Onshore Wind, Biomass Plant Subsidies From 2016.
Germany will cut subsidies for onshore wind farms and biomass
plants starting in January, the nation’s grid regulator said.
Above-target onshore-wind installations resulted in a 1.2 percent
subsidy cut, while below additions for biomass plants meant a
lower cut of 0.5 percent…
http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-NX122N6K50YC01-2APBPLEMSOTU7UFV26Q9GCH270

China considers price cuts for solar, wind generators –source.
China is considering cutting the electricity price paid by grid
firms to solar and wind power generators to reflect recent
declines in operating costs, a government source familiar with
the situation told Reuters on Friday. If approved, price cuts of
0.03-0.05 yuan per kilowatt-hour (kWh) would come into effect
next year…
http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL3N12U3K520151030


NextEra sees life after tax credits. NextEra Energy Inc. is "very
bullish" on renewables even if tax incentives are phased out this
decade, an executive said. John Ketchum, NextEra's senior vice
president for finance, said he expects another "step change" in
efficiency and cost for wind turbines, which are already getting
taller and using wider blades.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2015/10/30/stories/1060027180 

New batteries make rapid progress, but market expectations move
faster. Whether it's electric cars or smoothing over the
ever-shifting output from solar panels, saving and supplying
electricity on demand is an important part of the technical
solution to climate change. But as the technology inches forward,
smartphones still struggle to make it through a whole day without
charging up…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/10/30/stories/1060027182

OPINIONS

Time for a united front on climate change. Within hours of the
publication of President Barack Obama’s new climate-change
regulations last Friday, two dozen red states and assorted allies
rushed to block them from taking effect. Of all the ways in which
blind partisanship is damaging this country, the assault on Obama
over global warming has to be among the most destructive. Last
year was the hottest on record for the planet.
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/editorials/article41843748.html#storylink=cpy


BLOGS

Climate Change in the Eyes of El Nino? This year's El Niño can
already lay claim to spawning Mexico's record-breaking Hurricane
Patricia or contributing to one of the worst ever outbreaks of
peatland and forest fires in Indonesia, but it might only be just
getting started. After playing hide and seek with climate
scientists for a year, the current El Niño is shaping up as the
strongest since 1998…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aaron-grayblock/climate-change-in-the-eye_b_8429890.html


Paris and the Amazing Technicolor Charm-Quilt: Why This Year's
Climate Talks Really Are Different. The United Nations today
released an amazing document: namely, its tally of all the
climate action plans that almost 150 countries have submitted
this year. It shows that plans now in development will slash
global emissions by 4 gigatonnes per year by 2030, but that's not
what makes the document so amazing.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/forest-trends/paris-and-the-amazing-tec_b_8429882.html



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