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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for February 18, 2016

Posted: 18 Feb 2016 12:19:30
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

More Air Pollution Means More Strokes.
New research suggests stroke risk may be associated with climate
change and air pollution, adding to the growing body of research
that shows cardiovascular health is partially determined by the
quality of air we breathe. The study—the largest to date on
pollution and climate change as a factor for stroke risk—is based
on data from the U.S. and China. The researchers selected these
two countries because they’re known to be the world’s largest
emitters of greenhouse gases; combined, they cause approximately
one-third of global warming, according to lead author Dr.
Longjian Liu, an associate professor of epidemiology and
biostatistics at Drexel University.
http://www.newsweek.com/more-air-pollution-means-more-strokes-427856?rx=us


ALISO CANYON
California declares massive gas leak sealed after 16 weeks
A blowout at a natural gas well that spewed massive amounts of
climate-changing methane for nearly four months and drove
thousands of Los Angeles families from their homes has been
permanently sealed, state officials declared Thursday.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CALIFORNIA_GAS_LEAK?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Related articles:
http://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2016-02-18/california-declares-massive-gas-leak-sealed-after-16-weeks

http://www.sfchronicle.com/business/energy/article/California-declares-massive-gas-leak-sealed-after-6839740.php

LA to hire oil and gas expert to help diffuse controversies.
The Los Angeles City Council voted on Wednesday to hire a
petrochemical expert to oversee the city's relationship with oil
and gas operations near residential neighborhoods. The person
hired will likely manage such issues as the fallout from the
Porter Ranch gas leak,  controversial oil drilling facilities in
South Los Angeles and growing criticism of major refineries in
Wilmington.
http://www.scpr.org/news/2016/02/17/57655/la-to-hire-oil-and-gas-expert-to-help-diffuse-cont/


CLIMATE CHANGE

U.S. Will Join Paris Climate Deal Despite Court Rule, Envoy
Says.
The U.S. will join the Paris deal on climate change this year and
stick to its carbon-cutting goals even though the U.S. Supreme
Court froze President Barack Obama’s program to cut pollution
from the power industry. “We anticipate that the Clean Power Plan
is going to be upheld,” Todd Stern, the administration’s chief
envoy on climate, told reporters in London on Thursday. “If for
whatever reason it’s not, we will have to use other means to get
to our target, but we’re not backing off our target.”
http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-O2QWE76S973E01-68P46JORBTE3F8BLSD33H4V5TM


NEW BOARD APPOINTMENTS

Former lawmaker Florez appointed to California Air Resources
Board.
Taking advantage of new authority to shape the California Air
Resources Board, the Senate Rules Committee on Wednesday named
lobbyist and former Democratic lawmaker Dean Florez to serve the
powerful regulator. The appointment grew out of a debate over the
limits of the ARB’s power and the Legislature’s oversight of the
climate enforcer. Last year, legislative leaders and Gov. Jerry
Brown abandoned a measure that would have halved California’s
petroleum use, with the ARB managing the reduction.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article60964747.html

http://www.bakersfield.com/news/2016/02/17/former-state-senator-appointed-to-state-air-board.html


DROUGHT

California’s drought led to less hydropower and more carbon
emissions.
Climate change intensified California’s current drought, and the
drought may be intensifying climate change. A new report by the
Pacific Institute finds that the state’s energy portfolio has
continued to shift away from hydropower and toward dirtier
sources of electricity (CityLab covered its 2015 report on the
same subject). That’s led to a 10 percent uptick in carbon
emissions from California’s power plants, and an extra $2 billion
for ratepayers.
http://grist.org/climate-energy/californias-drought-led-to-less-hydropower-and-more-carbon-emissions/


FUELS

DOE requesting information on critical energy materials,
including fuel cell platinum group metal catalysts. 
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has released a Request for
Information (RFI) on critical materials in the energy sector,
including fuel cell platinum group metal catalysts. The RFI is
soliciting feedback from industry, academia, research
laboratories, government agencies, and other stakeholders on
issues related to the demand, supply, opportunities for
developing substitutes, and potential for using materials more
efficiently in the energy sector. 
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/02/20160218-doe.html 

New solid hydrogen-on-demand fuel cell from HES Energy Systems
flies UAV for record 6 hours.
A consortium of Singaporean institutions and private sector
companies including HES Energy Systems, ST Aerospace, DSO
National Laboratories, and the Future Systems and Technology
Directorate of Singapore’s Ministry of Defense, have worked
jointly to achieve a record 6-hour endurance, 300km flight on the
Skyblade 360 UAV built in Singapore by ST Aerospace.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/02/20160218-hes.html 

MISCELLANEOUS

How California's Recycled Tires Turn Into Smog Over State.
California drivers generate 40 million used tires every year, and
everyone from sellers to policymakers has struggled to figure out
what to do with them. Old tires can be burned as fuel, or end up
in landfills. But California lawmakers want more tires to be
recycled--and created an elaborate infrastructure to see that
they were.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1102425_how-californias-recycled-tires-turn-into-smog-over-state


California bullet train headed first to San Jose -- a big Bay
Area win.
In a huge win for the Bay Area, the state will build the first
250 miles of bullet train track between San Jose and the
Bakersfield area and now aims to offer service on the line in
less than a decade, according to a report set to be released
Friday. The new plan represents a seismic shift from the
California High-Speed Rail Authority's 2012 decision to build the
first segment of the San Francisco-to-Los Angeles rail line
between Burbank and the Central Valley.
http://www.dailynews.com/general-news/20160217/california-bullet-train-headed-first-to-san-jose-a-big-bay-area-win/4


BLOGS

The Clean Power Plan, the Supreme Court's Stay, and Irreparable
Harm.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court controversially stayed
implementation of theClean Power Plan (CPP), the cornerstone of
the Obama administration's climate policy, while twenty-nine
states proceed with litigation against it. The CPP targets
greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, which account for
about a third of all U.S. carbon emissions. 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/erin-ryan/the-clean-power-plan-the-_b_9259858.html


EPA Releases List of Communities with Dangerous Air Pollution.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took an important,
long overdue step today to better protect some of our communities
from dangerous levels of sulfur dioxide air pollution, but
they've left others still holding their breath. Sulfur dioxide
pollution, which largely comes from coal plants, is a very
dangerous threat to the health of our families and communities.
It's so much of a danger that even short-term exposure for as
little as five minutes is associated with breathing problems like
asthma attacks, particularly among vulnerable populations like
the elderly and asthmatics.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mary-anne-hitt/epa-releases-list-of-comm_b_9256484.html




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

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