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ARB Newsclips for May 3, 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

Slovakia Leads European Increase in Emissions From Energy Use.
European Union emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide rose 0.7
percent last year, according to early estimates by the bloc’s
statistical office Eurostat. The biggest increase of greenhouse
gas discharges was in Slovakia, where emissions rose 9.5 percent
compared with 2014, Eurostat said on Tuesday.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-03/slovakia-leads-european-increase-in-emissions-from-energy-use


New Mexico City smog alert orders 40 pct. of cars off streets.
Mexico City authorities have declared a new pollution alert and
will require 40 percent of cars to keep off the streets Tuesday.
Under a rule in effect through June, one-fifth of the city’s cars
normally must stay at home on a weekday, with the day determined
by license plate numbers. But on Monday, smog rose above 1½ times
acceptable limits…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/mexico-city-gets-2nd-smog-alert/2016/05/02/e1d27d7c-10ae-11e6-a9b5-bf703a5a7191_story.html
 

Industry groups puzzled by EPA's new refrigerant deadline. The
air conditioning and heating industry is objecting to U.S. EPA
speeding up by a year the deadline in the latest efforts to
curtail hydrofluorocarbons that have a high global warming
potential.
The agency issued a proposal in late March that in part calls for
phasing out three types of HFC-containing refrigerants from use
in chillers.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/05/02/stories/1060036559

ALISO CANYON

Bill for moratorium at Aliso Canyon site sent to California
governor. California lawmakers are sending Gov. Jerry Brown
legislation to extend the closure of a gas storage facility after
it spewed massive amounts of natural gas for nearly four months.
The Senate approved the measure in a 36-0 vote on Monday. SB380
by Democratic Sen. Fran Pavley responds to the leak of
climate-changing methane at the Aliso Canyon facility near Los
Angeles.
http://www.dailynews.com/government-and-politics/20160502/bill-for-moratorium-at-aliso-canyon-site-sent-to-california-governor


CLIMATE CHANGE

More acidic seawater now dissolving bit of Florida Keys reef.
Seawater - increasingly acidic due to global warming - is eating
away a tiny part of the limestone framework for coral reef in the
upper Florida Keys, according to a new study. It's something that
scientists had expected, but not so soon. This is one of the
first times scientists have documented long-term effects of ocean
acidification on the foundation of the reefs…
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SCI_DISSOLVING_REEFS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Biggest Wealth Fund Pushes for Climate Disclosure at Exxon.
Norway’s $870 billion sovereign wealth fund will back proposals
to force Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., two of the biggest
oil companies, to assess how climate-change policies can affect
their business. The fund, the largest of its kind, will vote in
favor of shareholder proposals to introduce climate reporting…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-03/biggest-wealth-fund-backs-climate-disclosure-at-exxon-chevron


Resettling the First American ‘Climate Refugees’ Each morning at
3:30, when Joann Bourg leaves the mildewed and rusted house that
her parents built on her grandfather’s property, she worries that
the bridge connecting this spit of waterlogged land to
Louisiana’s terra firma will again be flooded and she will miss
another day’s work.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/03/us/resettling-the-first-american-climate-refugees.html?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=cb84495a9c-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-cb84495a9c-327747457&_r=0


Mexican ambassador selected as next UN climate chief. Patricia
Espinosa is to take over from Christiana Figueres as head of the
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in July. The UN has
selected Patricia Espinosa as the next head of its climate change
body.
http://www.climatechangenews.com/2016/05/03/mexican-ambassador-named-as-next-un-climate-chief/?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=cb84495a9c-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-cb84495a9c-327747457

http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060036624 

Fossil Fuels on Federal Lands: Phase-Out Needed for Climate
Goals, Study Says.
Ending federal leasing program could reduce global emissions of
carbon dioxide by 100 million tons, researchers find. Phasing out
fossil fuel leases on public lands would be one of the most
significant new policies the United States could adopt to help
meet international climate goals, according to a new report.
http://insideclimatenews.org/news/03052016/best-us-climate-policy-would-be-ending-fossil-fuel-leasing-public-lands-study-says


Variable Climate Patterns in Pacific Ocean Play Critical Role on
Impact of Sea-Ice Loss on Arctic Warming. The Arctic
amplification phenomenon refers to the faster rate of warming in
the Arctic compared to places farther south. Arctic amplification
has been linked to a spike in the number of persistent cold
spells experienced in recent years over Europe and North America.
http://www.azocleantech.com/news.aspx?newsID=23315 

Phasing out coal, oil and gas extraction in US would drastically
cut emissions. The reduction would slash greenhouse gas emissions
by 100m tonnes a year by 2030 and even more after that, comparing
well to other proposed measures. Phasing out coal, oil and gas
extraction on US federal land would cut greenhouse gas emissions
by 100m tonnes a year by 2030…
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/03/climate-change-greenhouse-gas-emissions-us-federal-land
 

California And Florida Governors Duel On Climate Denial. When it
comes to climate change — and climate-denying politicians —
California Gov. Jerry Brown doesn’t mince words. Brown sent a
letter to Florida Gov. Rick Scott Monday, in time for Scott’s
visit to California — a trip in which Scott aims to convince West
Coast businesses to consider moving to Florida.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/05/03/3774748/jerry-brown-hits-rick-scott-climate-change/


Global Warming Is Starving West Coast Waters of Oxygen. Just west
of Los Angeles, decimated populations of spiny rockfish rummage
for prey among bush-like corals. Cold currents from deep valleys
wash nutrients between the Channel Islands, fertilizing plants
that are eaten by fish.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/global-warming-starving-waters-of-oxygen-20303
 

U.S. cities' climate plans thin on details. Many U.S. cities are
actively thinking about climate change, but some are more
prepared than others, and implementation is a common weak spot, a
study published this week in Nature Climate Change found.
The study evaluated 44 local, stand-alone adaptation plans across
the United States, scoring them on more than 120 different areas
like hazard mitigation…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/05/03/stories/1060036620 

EPA rebuffs 5 challenges to climate rules. U.S. EPA has denied
five petitions asking the agency to reconsider its rules to clamp
down on greenhouse gas emissions from new, modified and
reconstructed power plants. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy
signed a notice Friday to accompany the agency's reasoning for
denying the five petitions.
http://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/2016/05/02/stories/1060036592 

DROUGHT

Drought-stricken California reveals water savings for March.
Californians will learn Tuesday how much water they saved by
taking shorter showers and turning off sprinklers in the
rain-soaked month of March, the first month under relaxed
conservation requirements. Residents are being asked to use at
least 20 percent less water than they did in 2013. That's down
from the 25 percent reduction they were required to make during
the nine-month period ending in February.
http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_29844004/drought-stricken-california-reveals-water-savings-march


Californians return to their water saving ways in March as
drought continues. Normally a tough month for water savings,
Californians saved 35 billion gallons of water in March as
compared to the same month in 2013 for a 24.3 percent water
saving, state water officials reported. Cooler temperatures and
March rains contributed to the water savings but the numbers were
impressive…
http://www.sgvtribune.com/environment-and-nature/20160503/californians-return-to-their-water-saving-ways-in-march-as-drought-continues


Nestle: Bottling water in drought-hit California. Nestle
extracted 36 million gallons of water from a national forest in
California last year to sell as bottled water, even as
Californians were ordered to cut their water use because of a
historic drought in the state. And the permit that Nestle uses to
operate its water pipeline in the San Bernardino national forest
costs just $524 (£357) a year.
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-36161580 

FUELS

Gasoline Consumption in U.S. Rises Most in Nearly Four Decades.
U.S. gasoline demand rose at the fastest annual rate in almost 40
years in February as stronger economic growth and cheap fuel
prices spur driving in the world’s biggest oil consumer.
The Energy Information Administration said late on Friday that
U.S. gasoline demand rose to 9.2 million barrels in February, up
556,000 barrels a day…
http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-O6K4W36KLVR701-4NJ290699SQJD1E1M2EBFTR5NB


How the government got BP to pay the biggest environmental
penalty in history. The first order of business when John Cruden
took over as the Justice Department's top environmental lawyer
was holding BP financially accountable for the 2010 Deepwater
Horizon spill that fouled the Gulf of Mexico with millions of
barrels of oil. The best way to do that, Cruden believed, was to
settle the costly…
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-bp-settlement-backstory-20160501-snap-story.html


Gas prices reach a six-month high just in time for summer. In its
latest weekly market report, motor club AAA said the national
average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $2.22, or
the highest levels in more than six months. This is based on the
price staying higher than $2 per gallon for 40 consecutive days,
AAA said in its report.
http://www.examiner.com/article/gas-prices-reach-a-six-month-high-just-time-for-summer


VEHICLES

Biohazard Defense Mode Delivers On Claims. Tesla is serious about
air quality and is aggressively pursuing tech on several fronts —
eliminating vehicle tailpipe emissions, and with the introduction
of Model X last year, an impressive new cabin air filtration
system. Prior to the announcement, you had probably never thought
of cabin air filtration as an important feature in a car…
http://cleantechnica.com/2016/05/03/biohazard-defense-mode-delivers-claims/

http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/05/03/stories/1060036630 

VW supports biofuels as an alternative, even as it introduces
more electric cars. Are there many different ways to reduce the
carbon associated with road vehicles? Or are electric vehicles
the best and only viable way to proceed? That's the debate at the
heart of two different reports on Volkswagen's recent actions in
Europe last week.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/In-Gear/2016/0502/VW-supports-biofuels-as-an-alternative-even-as-it-introduces-more-electric-cars


Plug-in electric car sales for April 2016: Volt romps, Leaf
stagnates. After the usual winter doldrums at the start of the
year, April proved to be a good month for plug-in electric car
sales in the U.S. March was a record-breaking month, and as April
results come in today and tomorrow, last month's pace seems to be
robust as well.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1103345_plug-in-electric-car-sales-for-april-2016-volt-romps-leaf-stagnates


VW RECALL

Suspended executive at VW's Porsche brand is replaced.
Volkswagen's Porsche division has replaced a top vehicle
development manager suspended since the start of the Volkswagen
group's scandal over diesel cars rigged to cheat on emissions
tests.
Porsche said in a news release that Wolfgang Hatz, 57, would be
replaced by Michael Steiner, 51.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_VOLKSWAGEN_EMISSIONS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


VW Engineer Hatz Leaves After Suspension in Emissions Scandal.
Volkswagen AG engineer Wolfgang Hatz, who was suspended in
September as part of an investigation into the roots of the
emissions-cheating scandal, has left the carmaker at his own
request. Hatz, who ran Volkswagen’s motor development from 2007
to 2011, was most recently head of development for the Porsche
brand.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-03/vw-engineer-hatz-leaves-after-suspension-in-emissions-scandal


Daimler looks into emissions after USA request. On Thursday, a
USA federal judge said Volkswagen had agreed with the government
to buy back as many as 482,000 diesel cars, as well as pay to
make up for the cars' pollution. Associate professor of
aeronautics and astronautics at MIT, and lead author of the
paper, Steven Barrett, says the data may help regulatory
officials better estimate…
http://nysepost.com/daimler-looks-into-emissions-after-usa-request-208124


GREEN ENERGY

Solar plane arrives in Arizona on latest leg of global trip. An
airplane powered only by sunlight has arrived in a Phoenix suburb
after completing the latest leg of its global trip. The
Swiss-made Solar Impulse 2 landed shortly before 9 p.m. PDT
Monday at Phoenix Goodyear Airport after a 16-hour flight from
Mountain View, California, south of San Francisco.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SOLAR_PLANE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


GE wants become big player in offshore wind, eyes Adwen takeover.
General Electric (GE.N) wants to become a major player in the
offshore wind industry and is interested in buying the
Areva-Gamesa (AREVA.PA) (GAM.MC) offshore joint venture Adwen,
GE's new head of renewables said on Tuesday. Following its
takeover of the energy assets of French Alstom (ALSO.PA), GE in
November 2015 created a global renewable energy business unit …
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ge-renewables-france-idUSKCN0XU112


Canadian Solar Events Support A Clean Energy Economy.  Canada’s
solar industry has a unique opportunity to position itself to
play a leading role as governments across Canada design and
implement policies to address climate concerns and accelerate the
transition to a clean energy economy. “With so much going on in
the energy sector right now, it’s more important than ever to
stay connected…
http://cleantechnica.com/2016/05/03/canadian-solar-events-support-clean-energy-economy/


MISCELLANEOUS

OPINIONS

Why we’re still so incredibly confused about methane’s role in
global warming It’s perhaps the most contentious issue in U.S.
climate change policy right now: How can we deal with emissions
of methane, a powerful if short-lived greenhouse gas, which has
many sources but appears to be leaking into the air in
considerable volumes from U.S. oil and gas operations?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/05/02/why-were-still-so-incredibly-confused-about-methanes-role-in-global-warming/


The return of pseudo-science. The global warming industry lashes
out in defense of its funding. his past month, I received an
email from a European friend (who has a doctorate in chemistry)
saying: “Dear Richard: Now you are a member of this illustrious
club! I am beginning to be afraid! What is going on?” It seems my
name had been put on a “Global Warming Disinformation Database.”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/may/2/richard-rahn-global-warming-and-the-return-of-pseu/


To Increase Use of Renewables, Owners Need to Understand Energy
Use in Their Buildings. Renewable energy is undoubtedly our
future, but getting there isn’t as easy as flicking a light
switch. One big impediment is that building owners often don’t
know just how much energy and water is consumed in their
buildings, how much should be consumed, and how much is wasted.
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/05/03/whats-holding-back-renewable-energy/to-increase-use-of-renewables-owners-need-to-understand-energy-use-in-their-buildings


Solar Energy Will Thrive. David Sandalow, the inaugural fellow at
Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy, is a former
undersecretary of energy and assistant secretary for policy and
international affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy. Solar
power is booming. Globally and in the United States,
installations grew at least 28 percent last year.
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/05/03/whats-holding-back-renewable-energy/solar-energy-will-thrive

Subsidies in the Wrong Places Skew Renewable Energy’s Power.
Renewable power has experienced tremendous growth: Wind and
solar’s share of total U.S. power generation increased to 5
percent in 2015 from less than 0.5 percent in 2005. This growth
reflects both innovation driving down costs and an array of
subsidies, including tax credits and grants (about 30 percent of
investment costs)…
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/05/03/whats-holding-back-renewable-energy/subsidies-in-the-wrong-places-skew-reneweable-energys-power


Des Orsinelli: If representatives won’t vote for carbon fee, vote
them out. Paul Krugman, a Nobel laureate in economics, said
“We’re not going to solve this (climate change) problem unless we
get global political action. We’re not going to get global
political action unless the U.S. Congress passes strong
environmental legislation. That’s the starting point for
everything.” 
http://www.modbee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article75186387.html#storylink=cpy


Karen Cuaresma: It’s not a shortage of water, but a glut of
people. Re “City could ease watering rule, raise sewer rates”
(Page 1A, April 26): The article, states, “California is in its
fifth year of drought.” However, according to Modesto Irrigation
District, in 2015 the average rainfall was 12.10 inches, and so
far this year the rainfall is 17.05 inches. 
http://www.modbee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article75199152.html#storylink=cpy


Could the ouster of California environmental agency leaders
imperil clean air and beach access?  High-profile turnover at
state agencies reflect a culture split between grassroots demands
and developer interests. For 62 years, Teresa Flores lived in a
small house across from a railyard in San Bernardino, California.
The smell of diesel fuel permeated the neighborhood, and dust
coated cars and driveways.
http://www.hcn.org/issues/48.7/could-the-ouster-of-california-environmental-agency-leaders-imperil-clean-air-and-beach-access


No excuses for failing air quality grades; let’s move forward.
Nobody likes to come home with a disappointing report card, but
recently that’s what we got when the American Lung Association
gave the Central Valley a failing grade for its air quality. Five
of the cities with the worst ozone levels and year-round fine
particle pollution were in the Central Valley…
https://medium.com/@deanflorez/no-excuses-for-failing-air-quality-grades-lets-move-forward-347b467ac9#.albmit16n


What The World Needs Now: Sustainability Accounting Standards.
“The new SASB standards allow us—for the first time—to identify
and measure exposure to climate risk across companies and
industries. Climate change affects all markets and presents risks
that investors can no longer ignore. The standards help them
understand their exposure while also directing capital to the
strongest performing companies.”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/bobeccles/2016/05/03/what-the-world-needs-now-sustainability-accounting-standards/#6b32f24a66dc

Earth is getting greener. Here’s why that’s a problem. A new
study just published in the journal Nature Climate Change reached
an interesting, if not totally surprising, conclusion: The Earth
has become significantly greener over the past 33 years. The main
reason? All the extra carbon dioxide we humans dump into the air.
http://grist.org/climate-energy/earth-is-getting-greener-heres-why-thats-a-problem/


BLOGS

Climate Change Poses A Big Risk To Your Retirement Savings. “It
simply isn’t professional for the funds to do nothing.” Many of
the largest U.S. investment funds, including pensions, are doing
nothing to protect their investors’ savings from the financial
risks posed by climate change, according to an analysis by the
Asset Owners Disclosure Project, a nonprofit.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/climate-change-risk-retirement-savings_us_5727a22fe4b01a5ebde644cb


It’s Time to Rev Up EVs. We’re in the midst of a transportation
revolution. Have you - or your friends and family - been thinking
of switching to a plug-in electric car? Sierra Club has launched
the “Rev Up EVs Campaign,” which gives people the opportunity to
both check out EVs near you and help us understand what is
working well and what could be better to serve consumers in the
EV marketplace.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gina-coplonnewfield/its-time-to-rev-up-evs_b_9824238.html




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