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AIR POLLUTION

Beijing's smog may be thick, but parents say the bureaucracy is
impenetrable.
 It was a one-two punch: first came the air pollution, then the
bureaucracy. Sara Zhang, like many Beijing residents, has taken
precautions at home to protect herself and two children from the
city’s notorious air pollution. Yet her 7-year-old son’s public
primary school, Yunhe Elementary, has not installed any air
purifiers — humming, boxy machines common in the city’s expensive
private schools — leaving its students no choice but to breathe
eye-watering toxic air.
http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-beijing-smog-bureaucracy-20151228-story.html


Study: Asthma rates down for U.S. children.
Asthma rates in U.S. children have quieted down after a
decades-long increase, a government study found, and researchers
are trying to pinpoint reasons that would explain the trend. A
possible plateau in childhood obesity rates and declines in air
pollution are among factors that may have helped lower cases in
kids, the 2001-13 study suggests. Overall, average asthma rates
among kids aged 17 and younger increased slightly, then leveled
off and declined by the study's end, when 8.3 percent of kids
were affected. Rates varied among some regions, races and ages.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_29316132/study-asthma-rates-down-u-s-children


Massive Porter Ranch gas leak may impact new development.
The two-month-old leak at Southern California Gas Co.’s storage
facility above Porter Ranch that ispumping massive amounts of
methane into the air may derail a big upscale housing development
planned for the community. Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael
Antonovich has asked the Local Agency Formation Commission to
block the annexation of county property in the community by the
City of Los Angeles. He made the request earlier this month in a
letter to Paul Novak, the commission’s executive director.
http://www.dailynews.com/environment-and-nature/20151227/massive-porter-ranch-gas-leak-may-impact-new-development


CLIMATE CHANGE

Paris Points the Way Forward on International Environmental
Policy.
Regardless of your views on climate change, it is unprecedented
that nearly 200 nations came together in early December for the
Conference of Parties and the 21st United Nations Framework
Conference on Climate Change (UNFCCC), known as “COP21.”  This
meeting also served as the conference of Parties to the Kyoto
Protocol.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/uhenergy/2015/12/28/paris-points-the-way-forward-on-international-environmental-policy/


Climate deal caps a long quest for UN chief.
When international negotiators reached a first-of-its kind
climate change agreement in Paris this month, the United Nations’
normally low-key leader, Ban Ki-moon, celebrated onstage, arms
raised in victory and more exuberant than many had ever seen him
before. Nearly nine years had passed since, in his first days as
secretary-general, Ban surprised world leaders by making global
warming a top item on his agenda.
http://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/world/article51673055.html


The 8 Biggest Climate Storylines of the Year.
We’re coming to the end of arguably the most influential year
ever when it comes to climate change. The agreements struck at
the Paris climate talks gave the world hope that nations could
finally get their acts together to cut carbon emissions and with
them, the risks climate change poses.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/climate-storylines-of-the-year-19842?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+climatecentral%2FdjOO+Climate+Central+-+Full+Feed


Great Basin rangeland facing challenges with climate change.
Fighting the effects of climate change in Great Basin rangeland
is drawing together federal, state and private interests to deal
with what scientists say is greater weather variability causing
big swings in forage available for cattle and wildlife. Biomass
can triple some years or see declines just as great, experts say,
and native vegetation in the region that has survived climate
variations for tens of thousands of years now faces challenges
from invasive species and wildfires.
http://www.modbee.com/news/state/article51770110.html 

FUELS

Study shows branched ketone biofuels derived from alcohols have
potential for use in aviation fuel blends.
Researchers at the University of Bath (UK) have demonstrated that
branched ketone biofuels produced from the alkylation of isoamyl
alcohol and isobutanol with acetone have the potential to be used
as blending agents with Jet A-1 fuel. A paper on their work is
published in the ACS journal Energy & Fuels. Although the
technology to produce cellulosic ethanol is becoming established,
ethanol’s low energy density and high affinity for water have led
to the development of higher energy density alochol alternatives
such as n-butanol, isoamyl alcohol, and isobutanol. 
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/12/20151225-bath.html 

VEHICLES

China Emission Standards: So Tough Honda Will Have All Hybrids By
2025.
China is the world's largest market for new cars, and it also has
some of the world's worst air pollution.  Cities have had to
limit new-car sales and restrict car use to combat rampant
pollution, while the government is aggressively promoting
electric cars as a solution to the problem.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1101597_china-emission-standards-so-tough-honda-will-have-all-hybrids-by-2025


OPEC Says Electric Cars Will Remain Irrelevant Through 2040.
Increased electric-car adoption could dramatically decrease
global demand for fossil fuels, but the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries--better known as OPEC--isn't too
worried about that. OPEC recently issued its annual World Oil
Outlook report and, not surprisingly, it's very optimistic about
the future use of fossil fuels in transportation. The
organization dismisses electric cars as irrelevant, and claims
they will remain so for decades.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1101592_opec-says-electric-cars-will-remain-irrelevant-through-2040


Fuel Economy Improvements: Too Slow In Developed Countries,
Minimal In Rest Of World.
Several countries have policies in place demanding greater fuel
economy or reduced carbon emissions from new cars, in the hopes
of combating climate change. While the average fuel economy of
new vehicles in developed countries like the U.S. has notably
improved over the past few years, but is it enough? A new report
released during the recent Paris COP21 climate-change summit says
no.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1101590_fuel-economy-improvements-too-slow-in-developed-countries-minimal-in-rest-of-world


2017 Chevrolet Volt Details Emerge: More Features, Same Price.
The redesigned 2016 Chevrolet Volt is now in showrooms, but only
in certain regions. Chevy is limiting second-generation Volt
sales to California and other states friendly to plug-in electric
cars for the time being, but will roll the car out nationwide
early next year. The 2016 Volt will have a shortened model year,
making way for the 2017 Volt's arrival this coming spring.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1101579_2017-chevrolet-volt-details-emerge-more-features-same-price


GREEN ENERGY

Europe's Energy and Electricity Policies are a Bad Model.
It’s quite telling that COP21 took place in Paris. Western
leaders, environmental groups, and international institutions are
convinced that Europe is the model for the rest of the world to
install more renewable energy and efficiency. Entered into force
in 2005, Europe has been a mainstay of the failed Kyoto Protocol,
the first agreement for country-by-country reductions in
greenhouse gas emissions. And the European Union Energy Roadmap
2050 wants the EU to cut its emissions 80% below 1990 levels by
2050, setting milestones for reductions of the order of 40% by
2030 and 60% by 2040.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/judeclemente/2015/12/27/europes-energy-and-electricity-policies-are-a-bad-model/


Cheap batteries will give utilities electric shock.
Power suppliers have long enjoyed a natural monopoly. But the
arrival of budget batteries coupled with cheaper solar power will
allow a growing number of consumers to pull the plug on 
old-fashioned electricity networks in 2016 and beyond. Solar
panel prices have already plummeted, and batteries look set to
follow in the near future as manufacturers hone new technologies
and ramp up production. 
http://blogs.reuters.com/breakingviews/2015/12/28/cheap-batteries-will-give-utilities-electric-shock/


MISCELLANEOUS

San Joaquin Valley air district considers pollution-reducing
technology for charbroiler barbecue restaurants.
Billowing smoke and the scent of sizzling meats might be familiar
to anyone who drives down East Shaw Avenue in Fresno past Dog
House Grill. Officials with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution
Control District notice it, too. They’re tasked with noticing all
kinds of smoke, even the emissions coming from barbecue
restaurants like Dog House Grill that are a small fraction of the
Valley’s total particle pollution, known as PM-2.5.
http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article50569040.html 
http://www.modbee.com/news/article51820785.html 

OPINION

To help stop global warming, curb  short-lived pollutants.
Among climate scientists, the consensus is that we must become
carbon-neutral by 2050 to avoid catastrophic environmental
disruptions. Negotiators at the recent summit in Paris
accordingly focused on curbing carbon dioxide emissions. There's
a major problem, however, with a CO2-centric strategy. Because
carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for a century or more,
and because we won't abandon fossil fuels overnight, neutrality
by 2050 simply isn't good enough to keep the Earth from warming 2
degrees Celsius — the generally agreed-upon limit — much less the
ambitious goal of 1.5 degrees C that many nations support.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-1225-ramanathan-press-slcps-climate-change-20151225-story.html


Fighting climate change requires more than soothing fantasies.
On climate change, curb your enthusiasm. It’s not that the recent
international conference in Paris didn’t take significant steps
to check global warming. It did. Nearly 200 countries
committed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The goal of
limiting warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit)
from preindustrial times was reaffirmed. The trouble is that
what’s being attempted is so fundamentally difficult that even
these measures may be wildly unequal to the task. 
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/fighting-climate-change-requires-more-than-soothing-fantasies/2015/12/27/9738fe82-ab2b-11e5-bff5-905b92f5f94b_story.html




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