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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for January 19, 2016
Posted: 19 Jan 2016 14:01:22
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 Air pollution is now a global 'public health emergency', according to the World Health Organisation. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that air pollution is now a "public health emergency" across the globe, in a stark warning about the dangers of unclean air in our cities. The warning comes at a time when air pollution is high on the agenda - in December, Chinese authorities issued a pollution 'red alert' in Beijing, forcing schools and businesses to close down and urging people to stay indoors in order to protect them from the deadly smog. http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/air-pollution-public-health-emergency-who-world-health-organisation-a6821256.html CLIMATE CHANGE Study: Deep Ocean Waters Trapping Vast Store of Heat. A new generation of scientific instruments has begun scouring ocean depths for temperature data, and the evidence being pinged back via satellite warns that the consequences of fossil fuel burning and deforestation are accumulating far below the planet’s surface. More than 90 percent of the heat trapped by greenhouse gas pollution since the 1970s has wound up in the oceans, and research published Monday revealed that a little more than a third of that seafaring heat has worked its way down to depths greater than 2,300 feet (700 meters). http://www.climatecentral.org/news/ocean-depths-are-trapping-heat-19922?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%20climatecentral/djOO%20Climate%20Central%20-%20Full%20Feed Related articles: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/01/18/this-is-where-90-percent-of-global-warming-is-going/ Energy companies fight against kids' climate change suit. A judge will allow trade groups representing major energy companies to join the fight against a lawsuit filed by a group of youths seeking a court order to reduce emissions contributing to climate change. The Register-Guard in Eugene reported (http://is.gd/DY9dWu ) that a U.S. magistrate judge granted defendant status last week to the National Association of Manufacturers, the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers and the American Petroleum Institute, which represent oil, coal and natural gas companies. http://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/article55409435.html ALISO CANYON Erin Brockovich appeals to Porter Ranch residents as law firms push gas leak suits. Movie-famous activist Erin Brockovich stood in front of 400 Porter Ranch residents on a recent weeknight and told a disturbing personal story. "When I first came to Porter Ranch I couldn't believe it," she said of her visit to the community closest to Southern California Gas Co.'s leaking well. "I was in somebody's house and within 10 minutes, I started feeling kind of dizzy.” http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-porter-ranch-lawyers-20160119-story.html SoCal Gas abandons plans to capture and burn gas at Porter Ranch leak, citing safety concerns. Southern California Gas Co. said Monday that it has abandoned a plan to capture and burn the leaking natural gas that has forced thousands of Porter Ranch residents to relocate, citing safety concerns. The announcement came just two days after the South Coast Air Quality Management District announced that the company’s proposal to burn the gas would be placed on hold because of the risk of a catastrophic explosion. The AQMD said the burn plan needed approval from state and federal regulators, along with fire officials. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-porter-ranch-leak-stopped-late-february-20160118-story.html California’s Aliso Canyon methane leak: climate disaster or opportunity? This October, a large leak was discovered at the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility in northwest Los Angeles. The leak is a serious health risk to nearby residents, and because methane – the primary component of natural gas – is a potent greenhouse gas, some havecalled this leak a “disaster” for climate change. To be sure, this leak, which is projected to continue for several weeks, is very significant. But because natural gas leaks every day from thousands of locations across the United States, Aliso Canyon’s emissions are actually quite small when measured on a national scale – less than one percent of natural gas' contribution to national emissions. http://theconversation.com/californias-aliso-canyon-methane-leak-climate-disaster-or-opportunity-53198 Aliso Canyon gas leak may be stopped by late February, gas company says. Southern California Gas Co. says a relief well project to stop the Aliso Canyon natural gas leak is proceeding ahead of schedule and the company expects to stop the leak by late February, if not sooner. The relief well drilling began December 4, 2015, and is expected to reach the bottom of the well at a depth of about 8,500 feet below the surface next month, the company says. Once the well is sealed, it will be taken out of service permanently. http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=29809 Porter Ranch gas leak is affecting animals too, pet owners fear. As she visited her American quarter horse at stables just east of Porter Ranch, Debra Zavatto came across a frightening sight: blood coming out of the animal's nose. In the 13 years she's cared for Scarlett, Zavatto had never seen anything like that. "People were saying, 'Oh, this stuff is giving nosebleeds,'" she said of the natural gas leak that has sickened residents of Porter Ranch. "I thought, 'Oh my God, I wonder if my horse got a nosebleed from the gas.'" http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-0116-porter-ranch-pets-20160118-story.html FUELS Biofuels will power Navy’s next deployment. On Wednesday, there surely will be tears, hugs and excitement as sailors begin another deployment to the world’s hotspots. On the surface, it will be a replay of a common occurrence in any Navy town when sailors go to sea, but in the ships’ gas tanks will be fuel made from renewable resources that has officials back at the Pentagon exuberant. “Underway on beef-fat power” might not have the same ring as “Underway on nuclear power,” the historic message the Nautilus submarine beamed when it left the pier 61 years ago. Nonetheless, the Navy is trumpeting the use of renewable biofuels as a game-changer. http://www.readingeagle.com/ap/article/biofuels-will-power-navys-next-deployment VEHICLES California Public Utilities Commission authorizes So Cal Edison to develop pilot program for 1,500 EV charging stations. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) authorized Southern California Edison to develop a pilot program to incentivize the deployment of approximately 1,500 electric vehicle charging stations and conduct education and outreach in support of electric transportation. Edison is authorized to spend $22 million on implementation of Phase 1 of its Charge Ready and Market Education Programs under a settlement agreement among parties that was modified and approved by the CPUC. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/01/20160117-cpuc.html Could hitting the gas on driverless cars slow down emissions? The Obama administration's nearly $4 billion proposal to boost automated vehicles could help cut back overall fuel use, researchers cautiously predict. Cars that require little to no human input appear ever closer to reality as automakers like Audi AG, BMW AG, Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. continue developing their own versions of the technology and Google Inc. sends driverless cars around the streets of California. But whether that will lead to a less-congested transportation system -- saving fuel and cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions -- remains to be seen, according to be transportation experts. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/01/19/stories/1060030783 Mercedes To Boost Electric Range Of Plug-In Hybrids As It Adds Models. Last year and this year see a veritable onslaught of low-volume German plug-in hybrids, both sedans and SUVs. BMW and Mercedes-Benz have each said they'll offer plug-in hybrid versions of all their high-volume vehicles by 2020. Those include the Mercedes-Benz S-Class large sedan, GLE-Class SUV (nee ML-Class), and C-Class sedan; for BMW, the first is the X5 xDrive 40e SUV that competes directly against the GLE. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1101955_mercedes-to-boost-electric-range-of-plug-in-hybrids-as-it-adds-models Honda, GM to build factory for fuel-cell production by 2025. The cost of developing advanced zero-emission powertrains for future vehicles is substantial, even for the world's largest carmakers. Especially in hydrogen fuel-cell research, the biggest auto companies are doubling and tripling up to share the costs. Honda and GM said in July 2013 that they would share their fuel-cell development efforts, and now the two companies are taking a further step in their partnership. http://bakersfieldnow.com/news/auto-matters/honda-gm-to-build-factory-for-fuel-cell-production-by-2025 GREEN ENERGY EmPower program can help Ventura County residents make homes energy efficient. As winter brings cold winds and rain, Ventura County residents are cranking up their furnaces and flinching at high electric and gas bills. For many, the cost is much higher than it should be. About 140,000 homes in Ventura County were built more than 30 years ago before energy efficiency codes were established. Statewide, roughly 5.8 million homes need energy-efficient retrofits, according to the California Energy Commission. http://www.vcstar.com/news/local/empower-program-can-help-ventura-county-residents-make-homes-energy-efficient-280c7cb7-b3d4-4f86-e05-365697281.html DOE grants $18M to projects that connect to storage systems. The Department of Energy is funding for the first time a portfolio of projects aimed exclusively at connecting solar power to energy storage systems. The agency today announced $18 million for six projects led by or involving a utility. All the projects aim to set up a yearlong field demonstration of solar technologies. They all plan to use smart inverters, devices that convert solar energy into alternating currents for the grid, but also tend to have additional functions like data streaming capability. The goal is to move closer to integrating photovoltaic power plants into the grid at a cost of less than 14 cents per kilowatt-hour. http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/01/19/stories/1060030814 Orange County residents turn kitchen scraps to power source. Some Orange County residents are learning how citrus peels, lawn clippings -- even chicken bones -- have a second life as a clean energy source. Six months ago, the Costa Mesa Sanitary District started asking residents to separate kitchen scraps and yard waste so the materials could help make fuel. http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_29400869/orange-county-residents-turn-kitchen-scraps-power-source MISCELLANEOUS Farms Using Oilfield Wastewater Under Review for Food Safety. More farmers in drought-stricken California are using oilfield wastewater to irrigate, and a new panel on Tuesday began taking one of the state’s deepest looks yet at the safety of using the chemical-laced water on food crops. In the fourth year of California’s drought, at least five oilfields in the state are now passing along their leftover production fluid to water districts for irrigation, for recharging underground water supplies, and other uses, experts said. (KQED’s Lauren Sommer first reported on thisin 2014.) http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2016/01/13/farms-using-oilfield-wastewater-under-review-for-food-safety/ OPINIONS Why spending cap-and-trade funds at ports makes sense: Guest commentary. California is a global leader when it comes to addressing the dangerous effects of climate change, and our state is well on the way to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. One of the more effective methods employed to achieve this goal has been the reduction of emissions from our freight and maritime supply chain. The industry is in the process of investing an estimated $5 billion to improve the state’s air quality and their environmental clean-up efforts are already paying off. http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/opinion/20160119/why-spending-cap-and-trade-funds-at-ports-makes-sense-guest-commentary California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.