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ARB Newsclips for June 8, 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.

CAP AND TRADE

GOP to rule out carbon tax. House Republicans this week will vote
to condemn taxes on carbon dioxide emissions, slamming the door
on an idea that some members of their party have flirted with in
the past. The nonbinding resolution, sponsored by Majority Whip
Steve Scalise (R-La.), lists numerous problems with a carbon tax…
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/282574-gop-to-rule-out-carbon-tax


Calif. just spent $622M cap-and-trade dollars. Here's where.
California is spending more of the money generated by its
cap-and-trade program for carbon emissions, handing out nearly
$622 million this year, with additional dollars on the way. The
money includes $457 million toward construction of a planned
high-speed rail line…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/06/08/stories/1060038469 

AIR POLLUTION

Atmospheric carbon dioxide just reached a huge record high. The
amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached a new record
in May. It also increased more in a single year than it has since
we began to monitor it in the late 1950s — something that we can
mostly attribute to the burning of fossil fuels, plus a little
nudge from El Niño. The average carbon dioxide concentration in
May was 407.7 parts per million…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2016/06/07/atmospheric-carbon-dioxide-just-reached-a-huge-record-high/


Salton Sea's 'rotten egg' stench is back. The stench is back. An
odor advisory has been issued for the Coachella Valley due to
elevated levels of hydrogen sulfide coming from the Salton Sea,
according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
It's in effect until midnight. It's a common occurrence in the
area and the smell is traditionally compared to rotten eggs.
http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/environment/2016/06/07/salton-sea-rotten-eggs/85554982/


Short-term pollution spurring nations to invest in clean tech.
Smog-choked cities in some of the world's fastest-growing
economies may provide the impetus for energy innovation, experts
say. Countries like India and China are suffering from dangerous
air pollution largely coming from combustion sources. Short-term
air pollution is a major health hazard…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/06/08/stories/1060038441 

CLIMATE CHANGE

Rise in global CO2 emissions from energy use slowed in 2015 –BP.
Carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption grew by 0.1
percent last year in their smallest advance since 2009 due to
lower coal use and sluggish growth, BP said on Wednesday in its
annual energy review. Last year's rise, which slowed from 0.5
percent in 2014, took global CO2 emissions from energy use…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-bp-review-emissions-idUSKCN0YU1NF


China says important glacier is melting due to climate change.  A
glacier that is one of the largest at the source of China's
Yangtze River is fast retreating because of climate change, state
media said. The Jianggudiru Glacier on Geladaindong Mountain in a
remote part of the western province of Qinghai has shrunk 34
meters (38 yards) over the past six years…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-environment-climatechange-idUSKCN0YU0B4


In boost to Paris climate pact, India says it aims to join this
year. India has agreed to work toward joining the Paris Agreement
on climate change this year, India and the United States said on
Tuesday, giving a jolt of momentum to the international fight to
curb global warming.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-usa-climate-idUSKCN0YT22U


Ontario to Offer E-Car Rebates in $6.5 Billion Carbon Plan.
Ontario will spend as much as C$8.3 billion ($6.5 billion)
through 2020 to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, betting big
on electric vehicles with rebates of as much as C$14,000 a car
and 500 charging stations to spur sales. The province’s
climate-change plan relies on revenue from a new cap-and-trade
system that will generate…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-08/ontario-to-offer-e-car-rebates-in-6-5-billion-carbon-plan
    

Obama pushes Indian prime minister on climate change. President
Obama and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took steps Tuesday
toward a tougher alliance against climate change, though at a
more tentative pace than White House aides might like as Obama
seeks to secure a key legacy item before he leaves office.
http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-obama-modi-20160607-snap-story.html


Ontario will spend up to $8.3B to fight climate change, offer
incentives. Climate change plan, to be announced Wednesday, would
add $5 a month to home heating bills. Ontario's action plan on
climate change will include financial incentives to get cleaner,
more efficient cars and trucks on the roads and to convince
homeowners and businesses to lower their carbon footprints…
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-will-spend-up-to-8-3b-to-fight-climate-change-offer-incentives-1.3620924?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=f01beeefac-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-f01beeefac-327747457
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/wynne-climate-change-1.3621658
 

Arctic Sea Ice Breaks May Record . . . By A Lot. Arctic sea ice
shrank to its lowest level in 38 years last month, setting a
record low for the month of May and setting up conditions for
what could become the smallest Arctic ice extent in history,
according to National Snow and Ice Data Center data released
Tuesday.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/arctic-sea-ice-breaks-may-record-20415?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=f01beeefac-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-f01beeefac-327747457


India agrees to help U.S. on super climate pollutants. India
joined the United States yesterday in calling for an amendment to
the Montreal Protocol to quickly phase down heat-trapping
refrigerants across the globe, showing what some observers say is
India's growing willingness to act on climate change.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/06/08/stories/1060038468 

DROUGHT

State water board drops record $1.5-million drought fine. State
water regulators Tuesday dismissed a record $1.5-million fine
against a Northern California irrigation district accused of
diverting water last year in violation of a drought order. The
action is the latest twist in the state’s attempts to assert
control over water diversions by agricultural districts that hold
some of the oldest water rights in California.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-20160607-drought-fine-snap-story.html
http://www.capradio.org/75321 
http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article82367627.html


Will green lawns return to Sacramento as water restrictions ease?
Last summer was a rough one for Don Engineer, the owner of
Prestige LawnCare, a landscape maintenance company that services
homes in the Sacramento region. “Last year was really bad because
of the restrictions and the fines,” Engineer said.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article82426057.html#storylink=cpy


El Niño rains fail to dampen drought-tolerant gardening trend in
Bay Area. While this year's El Niño rains have brightened the
outlook for Bay Area nursery and gardening businesses heading
into the summer, the new landscape ushered in by the state's
water crisis may be here to stay, even if the drought is not.
http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_29988431/el-nino-rains-fail-dampen-drought-tolerant-gardening


FUELS

World Starts to Turn From Coal as Cheap Oil Gains Market Share.
Global coal consumption dropped the most on record last year as
the U.S. and other major economies started turning away from the
most polluting fossil fuel, according to BP Plc’s annual review
of energy trends. As the world begins to tackle the goals of last
year’s Paris climate agreement, news of coal’s retreat…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-08/world-starts-to-turn-from-coal-as-cheap-oil-gains-market-share


Oil Prices Pare Gains as Production Rises. U.S. inventory data
shows growing gasoline and distillate stockpiles. Oil prices
pared gains after government data showed unexpected additions to
gasoline and other fuel stockpiles and the first increase in U.S.
crude production in 13 weeks. U.S. oil prices settled above $50 a
barrel Tuesday for the first time since July.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/oil-prices-rise-as-u-s-crude-stockpiles-fall-1465379654


Oil Gains Energy Market Share in Changing Landscape. Its rise
comes with the drop in prices and amid an evolving global
picture, BP says in annual review. Oil gained market share in the
world’s fuel mix last year for the first time since 1999, BP PLC
said Wednesday in its annual review of global energy statistics,
after a world-wide glut drove prices down more than 50% since
2014.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/oil-gains-energy-market-share-in-changing-landscape-1465398356


U.S. Gasoline Use Rising to Record This Summer on Low Prices.
U.S. gasoline consumption is set to climb to a record this summer
as the lowest pump prices in more than a decade encourage
Americans to take to the roads. Demand, which typically peaks
between the Memorial Day holiday in late May and Labor Day in
early September…
http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-O8EMQISYF01X01-7KR10AHB018126OCDBQED0RIUE


Key government reports were wrong about methane leaks' severity,
environmental group alleges. An environmental organization filed
a federal complaint Wednesday, alleging that key reports by a top
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency official wrongfully stated
the severity of methane leaks across the nation’s natural gas
industry.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-methane-leaks-20160607-snap-story.html


Texas oil regulator wants legal action against Obama rules. Texas
oil and gas regulators want the state attorney general to take
U.S. EPA to court over the Obama administration's limits on
methane emissions from oil and gas wells. The three elected
members of the Texas Railroad Commission voted unanimously
yesterday to ask Texas…
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2016/06/08/stories/1060038434 

Controversial methane drilling push may become law. As lawmakers
push to launch a conference committee on the first significant
energy reform bill in nearly a decade, a controversial provision
may end up becoming law. Within the Senate's 798-page S. 2012,
which members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources
Committee hailed as a bipartisan compromise, is a measure critics
see as particularly partisan.
http://www.eenews.net/eedaily/2016/06/08/stories/1060038454 

VEHICLES

Electric vehicles to power cobalt revival. Cobalt prices may be
on the threshold of a major revival due to flourishing demand for
the mineral, a key component of lithium-ion batteries used in
electric cars. Prices for cobalt metal COB-CATH-LON are expected
to rise 45 percent to above $16 a lb. by 2020 from $11 now as
stricter emissions controls boost demand for electric vehicles
and push the market into deficit from this year, analysts said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/metals-cobalt-demand-idUSL8N1902I9


New study throws doubt on China car emissions data. Carbon
emissions from cars in the Chinese city of Chengdu could be
underestimated by more than half under conventional testing
methods, according to the preliminary results of a study released
on Wednesday. The findings from the study in the central city
were supported by a research arm of China's top planning body
using data from Uber and taxi firms.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-carbon-idUSKCN0YU0BT 

Tesla Will Become a $700 Billion Gorilla, Top Investor Suggests.
Ron Baron holds 1 percent of the electric carmaker's shares. He
expects to reap a fortune. Billionaire investor Ron Baron
predicted that Tesla Motors Inc. will become one of the biggest
companies in the world over the next decade or two, growing
twentyfold to a market value of about $700 billion.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-07/tesla-will-become-a-700-billion-gorilla-top-investor-suggests


Poland Seeks to Take Tesla’s Revolution for a Bus Ride. Home to a
majority of the European Union’s most polluted cities, Poland is
looking to plug in to the nascent electric car and bus industry
to help it ditch the unpopular reputation as a country whose
economy is hooked on coal. The government wants to boost the
number of electric vehicles made in the country of 38 million
people to…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-07/poland-seeks-to-take-tesla-s-electric-revolution-for-a-bus-ride-ip6uiai3


Suzuki Motor CEO to Step Down Over Fuel-Economy Scandal. Osamu
Suzuki says he will remain as chairman to fulfill his
responsibility to prevent a recurrence. Suzuki Motor Corp. ’s
Osamu Suzuki, one of the auto industry’s longest-serving leaders,
said Wednesday he would give up his chief-executive title to
atone for fuel-economy mismeasurement.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/suzuki-motor-ceo-to-step-down-over-fuel-economy-scandal-1465376620


Elon Musk tweet ravages Samsung SDI shares. Tesla Motors CEO Elon
Musk dismissed rumors that the automaker is weighing a deal with
a Samsung SDI to help accelerate production of the coming Model 3
electric vehicle -- and his tweet sent shares of that battery
supplier plummeting.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2016/06/08/tesla-batteries-panasonic-samsung/85590834/


Germany’s KBA greenlights diesel emissions fix for 1.1M more VW
Group cars; 2.5M in total. Germany’s Federal Motor Transport
Authority (KBA) has given the go-ahead for the modification of
around 1.1 million more Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Volkswagen
Commercial Vehicles and Audi vehicles. The KBA has thus so far
approved more than 2.5 million Group vehicles…
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/06/20160608-kba.html 

Apple will build electric cars by 2020: Tesla's Elon Musk.
Despite no official confirmation of its existence, plenty of buzz
remains around the rumored Apple electric car. Interest in what
is known as "Project Titan" largely rests on Apple's reputation
for innovation, despite far too little information for analysts
to make…
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1104357_apple-will-build-electric-cars-by-2020-teslas-elon-musk


DOE issues Request for Information on hydrogen storage for
onboard vehicle applications. The US Department of Energy’s
(DOE’s) Fuel Cell Technologies Office (FCTO) has issued a request
for information (RFI) (DE-FOA-0001596) to obtain feedback and
input from stakeholders on strategies and potential pathways for
cost reduction and performance improvements of composite
overwrapped pressure vessel…
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/06/20160608-fcto.html  

GREEN ENERGY

9th Circuit upholds right-of-way for Southern California wind
energy project. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management did not
violate environmental policy or migratory bird protection laws
when it approved a right-of-way on public land for a Southern
California wind energy project, a federal appeals court ruled on
Tuesday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/energy-windfarm-idUSL1N1900D1 

German cabinet okays renewable energy reforms. The German cabinet
approved reforms to Germany's renewable energy law on Wednesday
aimed at slowing the growth and better controlling the cost of
green energy sources. Generous green subsidies have led to a boom
in renewable energy, such as wind and solar power. But the rapid
expansion has pushed up electricity costs…
http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL8N190188

Chile is giving away solar energy, for free, because it has so
much. Chile has a problem with its solar industry. It's not that
the industry can't meet electricity demand for the South American
country—quite the opposite, in fact. There is actually more
available solar energy than there is use for it.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1104358_chile-is-giving-away-solar-energy-for-free-because-it-has-so-much

Measures attacking Obama green agenda advancing to House floor.
The House Rules Committee took triple-barreled aim at the Obama
administration's environment and energy agenda last night,
clearing the way for floor votes this week on a bill to delay
U.S. EPA's new ground-level ozone standard, as well as two
resolutions offering symbolic opposition to potential climate
change policies.
http://www.eenews.net/eedaily/2016/06/08/stories/1060038453 

MISCELLANEOUS

The Bio-Plastics Revolution Is Coming, and It Won’t Be Cheap.
Watch as researchers work to make plastics that look like,
perform like, and cost the same as their petroleum-based
alternatives. Environmentally friendly plastics? Come on. 
Researchers at the Center for Sustainable Polymers at the
University of Minnesota have taken on the challenge. 
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-08/the-bio-plastics-revolution-is-coming-and-it-won-t-be-cheap


Senate Approves Update of Toxic-Chemical Regulations. The Senate
on Tuesday gave final approval to an overhaul of the nation’s
40-year-old law governing the use of toxic chemicals in homes and
businesses, sending the bill to President Obama for his expected
signature. The Senate passed the measure on a voice vote; the
House approved it last month, 403 to 12.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/08/us/politics/senate-approves-update-of-toxic-chemical-regulations.html?_r=1


Chemical safety reform passes after ‘perfect storm’ Republicans
in Congress took a break from bashing EPA and voted
overwhelmingly to give the agency sweeping new powers to regulate
tens of thousands of chemicals used to make everything from car
parts to cleaning products.
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/chemical-reform-took-advantage-of-perfect-storm-224031#ixzz4B0rBFE6z
 

OPINIONS

California’s Cap-and-Trade Law Is a Success. The purpose of
California’s cap-and-trade program is to reduce greenhouse-gas
emissions. By that crucial measure, California’s program is
working well. The purpose of California’s cap-and-trade program
is to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions (“California’s
Cap-and-Trade Bubble,” Review & Outlook, May 31). By that crucial
measure, California’s program is working well.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/californias-cap-and-trade-law-is-a-success-1465400258


The Not-So-Simple Life for Solar. On its latest earnings call,
SolarCity was dragged over the coals for being too complicated.
Simplicity won't be a cure-all in this business, though.
SolarCity's complexity partly reflects the fact that it and its
peers operate in an industry intimately tied to America's Rube
Goldberg machine of renewable energy incentives.
http://www.bloomberg.com/gadfly/articles/2016-06-08/solarcity-loan-program-no-simple-fix


Trump and global warming: Americans are failing risk management.
40% of Americans don’t understand the risks posed by climate
change or a President Donald Trump. Currently, about 40% of
Americans support Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election,
and about 40% of Americans are not worried about global warming.
While short of a majority, this is a substantial fraction of the
American public….
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2016/jun/08/trump-and-global-warming-americans-are-failing-risk-management
 

BLOGS

How 3-D Printing Could Decrease Carbon Emissions. Or Maybe
Increase Them. One of the most exciting areas of advanced
manufacturing is 3-D printing. While it has been around for many
years to produce crude prototypes, 3-D printing is now being used
to make everything from jet engines and complex machine parts to
bridges and buildings, artificial limbs and biomedical tissue.
http://blogs.wsj.com/experts/2016/06/08/how-3-d-printing-could-decrease-carbon-emissions-or-maybe-increase-them/


This Is How Many Years Air Pollution Will Cut From Your Life
Expectancy in India. Residents of India's capital New Delhi lose
6.3 years, the most of all states. Living in India’s capital city
New Delhi could shorten your life by six years because of the
intensity of the air pollution there, a new report says. Inhaling
tiny air pollutants reduces the life expectancy of Indians by an
average of 3.4 years…
http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2016/06/08/this-is-how-many-years-air-pollution-will-cut-from-your-life-expectancy-in-india/


Saving The World With Technology: The Role of Technology In
Global Sustainability Efforts. Large tech companies like Google
GOOGL +1.30% are making a push towards developing both
environmentally friendly practices and technology-driven
sustainability solutions. Increasingly, smaller businesses are
following suit. Looking forward, technology promises to play an
expanding, important role in the fight against climate change.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2016/06/08/saving-the-world-with-technology-the-role-of-technology-in-global-sustainability-efforts/#69645de92dd3


The Overwhelming Environmental Reasons for Staying in the EU. In
just over two weeks’ time, the UK public will vote in a
referendum deciding their membership of the European Union with
much at stake, not least around the area of climate change. While
polling confirms that the Remain campaign is just ahead, it is
going to be a tight race, where on the day, everything can
happen.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/anders-lorenzen/eu-referendum-environment_b_10344576.html


Do Sweden and Germany hold the key to unlocking climate action
worldwide? One of Europe’s energy giants is about to make a
decision that could set the world on course to rip coal out of
the global economy - or lock it into a fossil fuel trap for
decades. Sweden’s state-owned energy company Vattenfall is
pondering whether to offload its loss-making brown coal mines…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/johan-rockstrom/do-sweden-and-germany-hol_b_10351896.html




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