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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.

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