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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.