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ARB Newsclips for April 15, 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

Japan's CO2 emissions fall to three-year low in 2014/15 fiscal
year. Japan's greenhouse gas emissions fell 3.1 percent to a
three-year low in the fiscal year ended March 2015, due to
reduced power demand and growing use of renewables, revised
government figures showed on Friday. Emissions fell for the first
time in five years to 1.364 billion metric tonnes of CO2
equivalent from 1.408 billion tonnes…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-carbon-idUSKCN0XC01S

EPA Defends Cost of 2015 Mercury Rules in Updated Analysis.
Supreme Court had ordered the agency to reconsider its rules last
June. The Environmental Protection Agency Friday issued an
updated cost analysis, defending its issuance of the first-ever
federal regulations requiring power plants to cut mercury
emissions and other toxic air pollutants.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/epa-defends-cost-of-2015-mercury-rules-in-updated-analysis-1460734705


Indian capital starts restricting cars to clear air. The New
Delhi government on Friday began a second round of two-week car
restrictions to reduce air pollution that has made the Indian
capital the world's most polluted city. The city's top elected
official Arvind Kejriwal said private cars will be allowed on the
streets on alternate days from Friday until April 30 based on
even or odd license plate numbers.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/article71989817.html#storylink=cpy


Administration tries to fix air pollution rule after Supreme
Court loss. The Obama administration moved Friday to repair the
problem with a major air pollution rule that the Supreme Court
said last year was illegal. The Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) issued a formal notice amending the 2012 limits on mercury
and other toxic air pollutants from power plants…
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/276455-obama-admin-tries-to-fix-air-pollution-rule-after-supreme-court

Talk of Clean Air Act reform clouds hearing on ozone reg delay.
At a House hearing yesterday on a bill to postpone implementation
of U.S. EPA's new ozone standard, it quickly became clear that
some participants saw a bigger issue in play: revisiting the
basic framework of the Clean Air Act.
http://www.eenews.net/eedaily/2016/04/15/stories/1060035677 

Enviros air frustration over Fla.'s legal challenge against EPA.
Environmental activists have asked Florida Attorney General Pam
Bondi (R) to drop the state's lawsuit against U.S. EPA's Clean
Power Plan because of the state's extreme vulnerability to
climate change. The rule, which targets greenhouse gases from
existing power plants, is tied up in courts…
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2016/04/15/stories/1060035654

CLIMATE CHANGE

To curb climate change, 'we need to move everything': investors. 
Meeting the goals of a new global agreement to tackle climate
change will require social change on an almost unprecedented
scale, sustainable investment experts said on Thursday. That
includes shifting trillions of dollars each year into renewable
energy – up from $345 billion last year – and making everything
from transport to agriculture …
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-fossilfuels-investment-idUSKCN0XB2C6


Investors aware of climate change risks but still slow to act.
Investors are still slow to act on climate change, despite being
more aware of risks to their portfolios, as they focus more on
the short term and are unclear about the costs, senior executives
told Reuters. At the end of last year, nations agreed a landmark
deal in Paris to cut rising greenhouse gas emissions blamed for
global warming which will come into force from 2020.
http://www.reuters.com/article/climatechange-investment-idUSL2N17H1IW


Heat kills: Global warming surge may rout Great Barrier Reef's
natural defenses. 
A heat surge from global warming would overwhelm the natural
ability of coral in Australia's Great Barrier Reef to survive
seasonal temperature changes, in much the way sun bathers would
burn if they did not build their tan slowly.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-reef-idUSKCN0XB2H4?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29


Pressure on Exxon Over Climate Change Intensifies With New
Documents. Pressure on Exxon Mobil and the energy industry
increased on Wednesday with the release of a new cache of
decades-old industry documents about climate change, even as
Exxon pushed back against efforts to investigate the company over
its climate claims through the years.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/14/science/pressure-on-exxon-over-climate-change-intensifies-with-new-documents.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0


Climate change far more than an environmental issue. Global
warming is already harming human health, the economy and national
security. Climate change isn't just an environmental issue. At
least not in the traditional sense. Global warming bears all the
hallmarks of environmental catastrophe: dwindling rivers, raging
wildfires, dying animals and more.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/environment/2016/04/13/climate-change-public-health-economy-national-security-environmental/81999216/


UN climate panel to explore 1.5-degree warming goal. The U.N.'s
scientific panel on climate change will write a special report on
how to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees
Fahrenheit) compared with pre-industrial times. The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change agreed Thursday to
explore the issue after a request by world governments in Paris
last December.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/UN-climate-panel-to-explore-1-5-degree-warming-7247786.php


Correction: Climate Change-US Navy story. In a story April 12
about a U.S. Navy environmental initiative, The Associated Press
reported erroneously that the Navy is requiring big vendors to
report their overall output of climate-changing greenhouse gases.
The Navy is requesting the reports from vendors, not requiring
them. A corrected version of the story is below:
http://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/article72023327.html#storylink=cpy


Climate change: website reveals which homes will be swamped by
rising sea levels. Coastal Risk Australia combines Google Maps
with detailed tide and elevation data, as well as future sea
level rise projections. For the first time, Australians can see
on a map how rising sea levels will affect their house just by
typing their address into a website.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/apr/15/climate-change-website-reveals-which-homes-will-be-swamped-by-rising-sea-levels


Global warming could wipe out one of the world's most famous
natural landmarks.  A heat surge from global warming would
overwhelm the natural ability of coral in Australia's Great
Barrier Reef to survive seasonal temperature changes, in much the
way sun bathers would burn if they did not build their tan
slowly. A study released on Thursday examined 27 years of
temperature data…
http://www.businessinsider.com/r-heat-kills-global-warming-surge-may-rout-great-barrier-reefs-natural-defenses-2016-4
 

As region thaws, leaders face changing mandate. The Arctic
Council is suffering growing pains as rising temperatures from
climate change create serious problems for the region's people
and ecosystems, while also opening lucrative business
opportunities in the Far North. The Arctic's shifting conditions
are attracting attention from a broad cross-section of
international interests… 
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/04/15/stories/1060035656 

DROUGHT

El Salvador declares drought emergency for first time ever. El
Salvador declared a water shortage emergency for the first time
in its history on Thursday, citing the effects of climate change
and the El Niño phenomenon, the country's president said. In the
last four years, rainfall has decreased considerably in the
Central American country, and river and water reserve levels…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-el-salvador-drought-idUSKCN0XB2YM


Malawi declares national disaster after drought as food shortage
looms. Malawi's President Peter Mutharika declared a national
disaster after a severe drought ravaged the southern African
nation and appealed for 1.2 million tonnes of maize to plug a
looming deficit of the staple. Mutharika said Malawi faces a
maize deficit of 1.072 million metric tonnes…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-africa-drought-malawi-idUSKCN0XB1H3


Venezuela to ration power at malls in latest anti-drought move.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Thursday power
rationing would be imposed on 15 shopping malls whose owners had
failed to install electricity generators despite a severe
drought. Many of the South American OPEC nation's 29 million
people are already suffering daily, unscheduled water and
electricity cuts as…
http://www.reuters.com/article/venezuela-energy-idUSL2N17H2EX  

On deck: The ‘diva of drought'  As if drought-stricken Southern
California's El Niño bust wasn't bad enough, now the experts say
we're headed for a bona fide period of bone-dry weather. La Niña
beckons. “La Niña is the diva of drought, which is not what we
want to see,” said Bill Patzert, climate scientist at NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/ni241o-373642-ocprint-minnich-ni241a.html


California drought: Odds of La Niña increase for next winter,
bringing concerns the drought may drag on. In what may be an
ominous sign for the end of the drought, the El Niño that brought
Northern California its wettest winter in five years is
continuing to weaken and appears to be giving way to its
atmospheric sibling -- La Niña.
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/california/ci_29766135/california-drought-odds-la-nina-increase-next-winter?source=rss
http://www.mercurynews.com/drought/ci_29766133/california-drought-odds-la-nina-increase-next-winter?source=rss


Senate spending panel weighs in on drought. The Senate
Appropriations Committee is paying close attention to
California's battle to balance endangered species protection with
drought-driven water restrictions. The report accompanying the
panel's spending bill for the Bureau of Reclamation includes
specific instructions for the agency to boost monitoring in the
Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta of the threatened delta smelt.
http://www.eenews.net/eedaily/2016/04/15/stories/1060035670

FUELS

Natural Gas Retreats on Glut. Prices fall to their lowest
intraday point in nearly three weeks. Natural gas prices fell to
their lowest intraday point in nearly three weeks Friday morning
with a record glut for end-of-winter stockpiles still weighing on
prices. Natural gas for May delivery recently fell 6.1 cents, or
3.2%, to $1.908 a million British thermal units on the New York
Mercantile Exchange.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/natural-gas-retreats-on-glut-1460730654


DOE to offer up to $4.5M for research on methane hydrates. The
Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Energy Technology
Laboratory (NETL) has issued a $4.5-million funding opportunity
announcement (DE-FOA-0001536) for projects that focus on
fundamental research on methane hydrates. This will include
assessing the scale, development, and nature of methane
hydrate-bearing geological systems…
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/04/20160415-hydrates.html 

VEHICLES

Which electric cars offer different battery options, ranges? It's
a fairly common practice for internal-combustion cars to be
offered with multiple engine and transmission options. But it is
far rarer for electric cars to be offered with different
battery-pack alternatives. Right now, in fact, only two
manufacturers offer multiple battery options on production
electric cars. Those two companies are Nissan and Tesla.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1103433_which-electric-cars-offer-different-battery-options-ranges


VW RECALL

ECB-fuelled market smoothes path for Volkswagen's return.
Volkswagen should find plenty of demand for its bond market
comeback, helped by an ECB-led corporate rally that has cut
funding costs and piqued interest for higher-risk credits. The
German carmaker is readying a multi-billion deal for as early as
May following the publication of its annual results, according to
several market sources.
http://www.reuters.com/article/volkswagen-debt-idUSL5N17G4PN 

Here's what Volkswagen did and how the emissions scandal has hurt
the company. It has been seven months since Volkswagen's
emissions testing scandal and the company is still suffering.
Cars with the VW brand saw sales slip by 0.5%  to 420,000 in the
first quarter this year, according to the latest European data,
the only car brand in the top 10 to experience a drop in sales.
http://www.businessinsider.com/what-volkswagen-did-and-how-they-got-caught-2016-4

VW Sales Still Tumbling on Emissions Scandal—Though Not as Fast.
March saw the 16th drop in the past 18 months. Volkswagen brand
sales kept falling in March as the carmaker struggles to overcome
its diesel emissions scandal, though the pace of the slowdown
eased compared with February. Global deliveries of Volkswagen’s
(VW) biggest autos division declined 2.7%...
http://fortune.com/2016/04/15/vw-sales-emissions-scandal/

GREEN ENERGY

MidAmerican Energy Makes Big Bet on Iowa Wind. The plan would
boost the share of electricity Iowa generates from wind to 40%
from 31%. Iowa, which already gets more of its power from wind
than any other U.S. state, will become more reliant on the
electricity source under a $3.6 billion plan announced Thursday
by a utility owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/midamerican-energy-makes-big-bet-on-iowa-wind-1460666840


Inside the Fall of SunEdison, Once a Darling of the Clean-Energy
World. Easy money from Wall Street fueled an ambitious expansion
into solar and wind power, but rising interest rates cast a
shadow. Last June, two dozen SunEdison Inc. senior managers
gathered at the Park Hyatt near Paris’s Place Vendôme to hear a
forecast from Chief Executive Ahmad Chatila.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/inside-the-fall-of-sunedison-once-a-darling-of-the-clean-energy-world-1460656000


Norway planning to end renewable subsidy scheme by 2021. Norway
is planning to end its green energy subsidy scheme by 2021 and
aims to increase competition in building power lines to other
countries, the government said on Friday. Norway launched a
common renewable energy support scheme with Sweden in 2012, so
called "el-certificates"…
http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL5N17I2XE 

Is There an Upside in Wind Energy Stocks? Wind energy can add
diversification to a renewable energy portfolio. Don Quixote
would be proud. Humans have been harvesting wind power for
centuries, but the growing desire for renewable energy means
we're building wind farms on an unprecedented scale, giving the
knight-errant more wind mills than he could ever tilt at. The
last decade has seen $128 billion in new wind project investment
in the U.S…
http://money.usnews.com/investing/articles/2016-04-15/is-there-an-upside-in-wind-energy-stocks


CEC approves $9 million in grants for electric vehicle chargers.
The California Energy Commission has approved nearly $9 million
in grants to four companies for the installation of fast chargers
for electric-powered vehicles between San Diego and the
California-Oregon border. Fast chargers can power a vehicle’s
battery from 80 percent to full capacity within 30 minutes.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article71851552.html#storylink=cpy


Why Energy Experts Are Still Shocked By The Rise Of Solar & The
Fall In Costs. The solar revolution is upon us, and yet many
still don’t get it. Yes, they say, solar will play an increasing
role in the world’s energy systems, but they still fail to
comprehend to what extent solar will become the dominant energy
provider in the decades to come.
http://cleantechnica.com/2016/04/15/why-energy-experts-are-still-shocked-by-the-rise-of-solar-the-fall-in-costs/


MISCELLANEOUS

California Assembly spends millions to clean up Exide plant.
Anger reigned the California Assembly on Thursday as legislators
authorized $176.6 million to clean up toxic contamination from a
shuttered Exide battery plant in Vernon. The plant had been
operating on an interim status, without a traditional permit, for
more than 30 years before the California Department of Toxic
Substances Control shut it down in 2014. 
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article71858527.html#storylink=cpy


OPINIONS

Research shows — yet again — that there’s no scientific debate
about climate change. It’s a well-known and widely cited
statistic: 97 percent of scientific experts agree that
human-caused climate change is real. The consensus has been
supported by numerous studies — and yet the idea that the
statistic is made up, or wrong…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/04/15/research-shows-yet-again-that-theres-no-scientific-debate-about-climate-change/
The Dirty Little Pollution Secret That's Choking Mexico City.
Millions of people in Mexico City are choking on the worst air
quality in 14 years, as cars and trucks add to the pollution with
their outdated emissions controls. And it’s not as though Mexico
lacks access to the best technology. The nation’s export-oriented
factories, the focus of a $20 billion investment boom, ship motor
vehicles to countries with strict pollution limits.
http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-O5MRZ16JTSET01-7SBFM9CJ42J5GREGNS1U93OLO0


California’s Water Injustice. Despite El Niño rains, the feds
keep favoring fish over farmers. El Niño has doused northern
California, but farmers in the state’s Central Valley won’t see
much benefit. The Obama Administration is again indulging its
progressive friends at the expense of low-income communities. The
Bureau of Reclamation recently announced that Central Valley
Project agricultural water contractors…
http://www.wsj.com/articles/californias-water-injustice-1460677297


Many Don’t Want More Water in California. More water in the dams
would “increase urban sprawl.” Yes, Allysia Finley has it right:
A plan to increase water storage to help ameliorate water
shortages is obstructed because of the concern that the extra
water would “increase urban sprawl” (“Trying to Get Water to
California but Torpedoed by Regulators,” Cross Country, April 9).
http://www.wsj.com/articles/many-dont-want-more-water-in-california-1460660657


Oil’s Rally Is Running on Fumes. A freeze in production, if
agreed, would have little real impact on the oil market this
year. Oil bulls, curb your enthusiasm. The sharp recovery in
benchmark oil prices from their lows earlier this year started
around the time that Saudi Arabia, Russia and others first mooted
the idea of a freeze to oil output.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/oils-rally-is-running-on-fumes-1460730253


Cap-and-trade alone not enough to fight climate change. Ontario's
climate strategy is a good start, but it will only work if
cap-and-trade revenues are used for new initiatives to reduce
carbon emissions. In the coming weeks, Ontario will finalize a
new law and a regulation that will guide the province’s approach
to climate action for decades to come. Carbon pricing through
cap-and-trade is just one part of that plan.
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2016/04/13/cap-and-trade-not-enough-to-fight-climate-change.html


Letters: We should thank fracking? No, thank you. Re: “U.S. have
carbon emissions dropped? Thank fracking” [Opinion, April 10]:
Stephen Moore’s take on fracking is as off base as his take on
climate change. Why would an avowed climate-change denier like
Moore now say he is “thanking” fracking for reducing emissions?
Why does he even care? Natural gas is replacing coal in the U.S.,
but fracking is not a wonder source of clean fuel.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/fracking-712110-tax-cents.html


BLOGS

How Carbon Markets Can Take The Sting Out Of Peabody Debacle.
Five months after it agreed to stop lying to investors about the
impact that “climate change and potential regulatory responses”
were having on its business - and four months after it was caught
funding climate-science denier William Happer - Peabody Energy
Corporation became the 50th coal company to declare bankruptcy…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-zwick/how-carbon-markets-can-ta_b_9700458.html


Carbon Pricing: An Inevitable Opportunity. Regarding climate
change, the global community has excelled in procrastination. But
time is running out. The scientific evidence is mounting, and the
impact of severe climate changes is more tangible than ever. It
is time for the global community to take responsibility and lead
the way forward to implement a price on carbon.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/feike-sijbesma/carbon-pricing-an-inevita_b_9687718.html




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