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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for April 12, 2016.
Posted: 12 Apr 2016 12:21:37
ARB Newsclips for April 12, 2016. 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 In the US, the cost of illnesses triggered by air pollution is falling. In the endless tug-of-war between industry and regulators over air pollution, industry issues repeated warnings about the economic costs of regulation, but rarely mentions costs of pollution to society. Yet, according to the World Health Organization, air pollution causes 3.3 million premature deaths worldwide. http://news.trust.org/item/20160412092050-47444?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=72b81f3b5f-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-72b81f3b5f-327747457 ALISO CANYON 'This is a threat. This is not a report.' Critics call blackout warnings a scare tactic to keep Aliso Canyon open. If energy agencies and utilities ever want to scare consumers, they need say little more than "blackouts." Those rolling power outages, well remembered from the state's energy crisis of 2000-01, sit at the heart of the case California energy officials are making to keep the troubled Aliso Canyon… http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-gas-field-20160412-story.html Porter Ranch: Residents say SoCal Gas is behind on relocation payments. Some residents who fled their homes in the wake of the four-month natural gas leak near Porter Ranch say Southern California Gas Company has delayed paying all reimbursements for food, mileage and housing the residents say they were promised. http://www.scpr.org/news/2016/04/11/59454/porter-ranch-residents-say-socal-gas-is-behind-on/ CLIMATE CHANGE Obama’s rapid move to join the Paris climate agreement could tie up the next president. In late March, when the United States and China jointly declared that they’d be moving to immediately sign and then join the Paris climate agreement “as early as possible this year,” it was seen as the latest show of joint leadership by the two largest emitters. But there’s another possible implication that went largely unnoticed. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/04/11/obamas-fast-move-to-join-the-paris-climate-agreement-could-tie-up-the-next-president/?postshare=2451460392873876&tid=ss_tw&utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=72b81f3b5f-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-72b81f3b5f-327747457 A California farmer who is preparing for climate change. Don Cameron expects farmers will see some of the biggest effects as the climate changes, and he says growers need to take proactive steps to prepare. For 35 years, he has been the vice president and general manager of Terranova Ranch near Fresno, and he has noticed rising temperatures… http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/environment/2016/04/11/california-farmer-who-preparing-climate-change/82905732/ Political storm clouds outlook for Brazil's climate change plan. As at least 130 countries prepare to sign the Paris climate agreement in New York later this month, environmental experts have warned that enthusiasm for climate change action may be waning in Brazil. The political and economic crises now rocking the Latin American heavyweight could undermine the key role played by Brazil in shaping the new international deal to curb global warming, they say. http://news.trust.org/item/20160412092050-47444?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=72b81f3b5f-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-72b81f3b5f-327747457 Those ambitious global warming goals? The world may not know how to reach them. In 11 days, on Earth Day, world leaders will assemble at the United Nations in New York to sign the Paris climate agreement. That document pledges to hold the planet’s warming to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and even to aspire to a 1.5 degree C temperature limit. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/04/11/those-ambitious-global-warming-goals-the-world-may-not-know-how-to-reach-them/ Climate Change and Copper-Contaminated Wetlands Could Lead to Amphibian. According to a team of researchers from the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, the disappearance of two amphibian species, which include the southern leopard frog and the southern toad, may be accelerated by the effects of copper-contaminated wetlands and climate change. http://www.azocleantech.com/news.aspx?newsID=23278 More rail, fewer roads could be cheaper and greener – study. Building a transportation infrastructure that will keep global warming to 2 degrees Celsius might be cheaper than continuing as normal, according to an analysis by the World Resources Institute. The 2-degree pathway requires more investment in rail, buses and vehicle technology, but less in road infrastructure and parking… http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/04/12/stories/1060035440 Paris climate goals don't include 'realities,' researcher says. The Paris climate accord forged last December leaves a yawning gap between the science and the politics of climate change, creating a murky path to meeting its objectives, according to one scientist. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/04/12/stories/1060035434 DROUGHT Sierra Nevada Snow Won’t End California’s Thirst. Thanks in part to El Niño, snowpack in the Sierra Nevada is greater than it has been in years. With the winter snowfall season winding down, California officials said that the pack peaked two weeks ago at 87 percent of the long-term average. That’s far better than last year, when it was just 5 percent of normal… http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/12/science/california-snow-drought-sierra-nevada-water.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=photo-spot-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0 FUELS Biodiesel in MN Has Big Effect on Lowering Emissions. According to a new analysis from the American Lung Association of Minnesota, using biodiesel has had a dramatic effect on lowering harmful tailpipe emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO2). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cites mobile transportation accounts for more than half of all air pollution in the U.S. http://energy.agwired.com/2016/04/12/biodiesel-in-mn-has-big-effect-on-lowering-emissions/ VEHICLES NREL releases study on public sentiments on PEVs. NREL has released a new report presenting the findings of a study on the public’s sentiments regarding plug-in vehicles (PEVs), with a focus on vehicle purchasing behaviors, awareness, and barriers to acceptance. Conducted in February 2015, the study—“Consumer Views on Plug-in Electric Vehicles-National Benchmark Report”… http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/04/20160412-nrel.html House Republicans hint at debate over car emissions. Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee pressed for details yesterday on an upcoming review of fuel economy standards. Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Reps. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) and Michael Burgess (R-Texas) sent a letter to the heads of U.S. EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety… http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/04/12/stories/1060035435 VW RECALL Volkswagen delays recall of 160,000 cars due to software glitch. Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) will slightly delay the recall of 160,000 Passat and Skoda cars in Europe after software updates aimed at fixing emission violations failed to work, it said on Monday. Checks by the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) showed that fuel consumption of some 2.0 liter diesel engines had increased following a software update to fix the problems, a spokesman for the company said. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emission-idUSKCN0X8272 Volkswagen's board to discuss giving up bonuses. Volkswagen AG's executive board is expected Tuesday to discuss voluntarily giving up a portion of management's bonuses for 2015 amid growing pressure from shareholders and labor leaders. The company's top executives are being urged to make a strong show of solidarity with workers… http://www.marketwatch.com/story/volkswagens-board-to-discuss-giving-up-bonuses-2016-04-12-74854119 GREEN ENERGY Argentina aims for $5 bln investment in renewable energy by 2018. Argentina aims to rake in $5 billion in investments in renewable energy by 2018 with the goal of reducing its energy deficit, a government official told Reuters, as hopes for near-term increased output from the Vaca Muerta shale field fade. http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL5N17B4HN MISCELLANEOUS Longtime SF environmental leader Blumenfeld leaving EPA. It can take a while to settle into a new job in a federal bureaucracy, but Jared Blumenfeld managed to get his feet wet within months of taking over as regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency. He’d barely taken the oath of office in 2010 before he was sloshing through acid water at a polluted mine in Northern California. http://www.sfchronicle.com/science/article/Longtime-SF-environment-leader-leaving-EPA-7241940.php?t=00157c94fc1210a92f&cmpid=twitter-premium OPINIONS Earth to Volkswagen: Get a Grip. There's something otherworldly about the problems engulfing Volkswagen, a carmaker nominally from Germany but increasingly divorced from reality. Take the row that's broken out about whether or not VW executives should get bonuses for last year. For any right-thinking resident of planet earth, the answer is quite straightforward: nein, not a nickel. http://www.bloomberg.com/gadfly/articles/2016-04-12/volkswagen-should-get-a-grip-on-bonuses Another View: Diablo Canyon isn’t part of clean energy future. The Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant is facing a clear operational conflict. While its licenses from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission are set to last until 2024 and 2025, its leases from the State Lands Commission expire in 2018 and 2019. Some are urging the commission to grant an interim lease through 2025… http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article71213282.html BLOGS Ignoring Climate Change Symptoms Will Lead to Terminal Diagnosis. As a nurse, I can tell you how hard it is to be present when someone is getting the news of a terminal diagnosis. Worse yet is when there were signs, many of them, that were ignored. Signs that, had they acted, would have likely resulted in a very different outcome. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ronda-seifert/take-climate-change-symptoms-seriously-terminal_b_9662164.html Climate Change May Be Causing Earth’s Poles To Shift. Scientists solve mystery of why the planet’s axis is tilting eastward. The position of Earth’s axis has dramatically shifted, likely because of melting ice sheets (fueled by climate change) and natural changes in water storage on land, according to a new study in the journal Science Advances. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/earth-poles-climate-change_us_5706c52ee4b0537661892db4 California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.