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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for July 7, 2016.
Posted: 07 Jul 2016 16:31:50
ARB Newsclips for July 7, 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 New gas leak above Porter Ranch quickly fixed amid calls to shut wells down. Another leak in the Southern California Gas Co. natural gas storage field above Porter Ranch was fixed shortly after it was discovered, officials said Wednesday. But it didn’t come without renewed demands to shut the facility down. The leak was in a pipeline near a well called SS 10. http://www.dailynews.com/environment-and-nature/20160706/new-gas-leak-above-porter-ranch-quickly-fixed-amid-calls-to-shut-wells-down EPA drafts guidance for states on haze rule. U.S. EPA, already well under way with proposed revisions to its regional haze rule, is now poised to formally release draft instructions to help states meet the program's goals during the second implementation phase, set to run until 2028. The draft guidance, spanning almost 250 pages and scheduled for publication in tomorrow's Federal Register… http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/07/07/stories/1060039919 CLIMATE CHANGE This could be a completely different strategy for tackling the world’s carbon emissions. Electricity generation is the single biggest source of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions in the world — which is why there’s such a global effort to cut down on power plant emissions and expand alternative energy sources. And when it comes to power plants… https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/07/07/this-could-be-a-completely-different-strategy-for-tackling-the-worlds-carbon-emissions/ Climate Change Claims a Lake, and a Way of Life. The water receded and the fish died. They surfaced by the tens of thousands, belly-up, and the stench drifted in the air for weeks. The birds that had fed on the fish had little choice but to abandon Lake Poopó, once Bolivia’s second-largest but now just a dry, salty expanse. Many of the Uru-Murato people, who had lived off its waters for generations… http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/07/07/world/americas/bolivia-climate-change-lake-poopo.html?_r=1&utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=b84873b270-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-b84873b270-327747457 As Global Warming Thaws Northwest Passage, a Cruise Sees Opportunity. Sue and Jay Pendleton were booked on an Antarctic trip when something more enticing came along: a luxury cruise through the once impassable Northwest Passage. They canceled their plans and paid $90,000 for the Crystal Serenity’s voyage above the North American continent. “This to us was kind of a bucket list thing,” Mrs. Pendleton said. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/10/travel/arctic-cruise-northwest-passage-greenpeace.html Californians are driving more, which is bad for climate change. Gas is cheap, and Californians are putting more miles on the road. That’s bad news for those hoping the state can make a difference in the world’s fight against climate change. Thanks partly to low oil prices, Californians’ gas use is creeping up this year, despite Gov. Jerry Brown’s vow last year to cut gasoline use in half by 2030. http://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Californians-are-driving-more-which-is-bad-for-8344382.php Virgin Islands and Exxon Agree to Uneasy Truce Over Climate Probe. Subpoena withdrawal opens debate over who won and who lost, but legal experts say the bigger battleground is in New York and Massachusetts. In the legal volleying between Exxon and the U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Claude Walker last week, both managed to claim victory. http://insideclimatenews.org/news/06072016/virgin-islands-exxon-agree-climate-probe-subpoena-claude-walker-schneiderman-healey DROUGHT Downtown L.A.'s five-year rain total is lowest ever recorded. Los Angeles has chalked up yet another dreary milestone in its growing almanac of drought. On Wednesday, experts at the National Weather Service confirmed that the last five years have been the driest ever documented in downtown L.A. since official record keeping began almost 140 years ago. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-la-dry-rain-season-future-20160706-snap-story.html Facing historically low levels, Lake Mead officials are fending off a water war. Here's how. This may be what the start of a water war looks like. Drought is draining the West’s largest reservoir, Lake Mead, to historic low levels. Forecasts say climate change will make things worse. Headlines warn of water shortages and cutbacks. Members of Congress are moving to protect their states’ supplies. http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-sej-colorado-river-20160703-snap-story.html Californians excel in final month of statewide water cuts. Californians beat a water-savings target in the final month of mandatory statewide water conservation, reducing their use by more than one-fourth. Californians in May cut their residential water use by 28 percent, compared to the same month in 2013, the state Water Resources Control Board said Wednesday. http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/article87985597.html#storylink=cpy The great tide: is Britain really equipped to cope with global warming? As the Earth’s temperature continues to rise at an alarming rate, the country faces the threat of catastrophic flooding. n the day that London drowned, 16-year-old Shirley Orchard was serving customers bars of chocolate and packets of cigarettes at her father’s shop on Canvey Island. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/07/great-tide-is-britain-equipped-cope-glbal-warming Scientists may have solved a mystery: Why is Antarctic sea ice growing? The small minority of climate change models accurately predicted the expansion of Antarctic sea ice, and now scientists think they know why. Scientists trying to solve the mystery of why Antarctic sea ice is growing amid rising global temperatures may have found a new lead. Even as sea ice was disappearing globally at an average rate of 13,500 square miles… http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2016/0706/Scientists-may-have-solved-a-mystery-Why-is-Antarctic-sea-ice-growing Ravaged woodlands. Stricken trees provide clues about how America will adapt to global warming—but little hope that it can be averted. IT WAS the dead animals his team found upsetting, says Steve Lydick, surveying, from a high ridge in the western Cascade range, the burnt, blackened valley below. Dotted with charred boles, like used matchsticks protruding from the cracked, depleted soil… http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21701751-stricken-trees-provide-clues-about-how-america-will-adapt-global-warmingbut-little-hope?zid=314&ah=607477d0cfcfc0adb6dd0ff57bb8e5c9 DIESEL ACTIVITIES VW Settlement Includes Funds for Truck Emissions Reduction. Part of Volkswagen AG’s recent settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over its emissions-cheating scandal will be used to fund diesel emissions-reduction efforts in the heavy-duty truck industry. Announced last week, Volkswagen has agreed to pay up to $15.3 billion in a settlement with regulators requiring the automaker to buy back vehicles and set aside funding for cleaner technologies. http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/story/2016/07/vw-settlement-includes-funds-for-truck-emissions-reduction.aspx FUELS Feeling duped, Ventura blasts company for restarting pipeline after oil spill. In a scathing letter, the city of Ventura has asked the company responsible for a nearly 30,000-gallon oil spill last month to shut down the pipeline involved in the leak and explain how it was reopened on Thursday with scant notice. The city also surprised Crimson Pipeline LLC on Friday with a legislative subpoena, which demands… http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-ventura-oil-spill-pipeline-criticism-20160705-snap-story.html?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=b84873b270-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-b84873b270-327747457 Automakers really want to change EPA emissions deadlines. In 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency unveiled bold, new fuel economy standards for the year 2025. With less than a decade to go before that deadline, automakers are now asking the EPA to lower the high bar it's set, but energy advocates and the general public have urged the agency to stay the course. http://www.businessinsider.com/automakers-epa-emissions-deadlines-2016-6 Propel Fuels Renewable Diesel to Power Carlsbad City Fleet. In partnership with California’s low-carbon fuel brand Propel Fuels, the City of Carlsbad, Calif., is now fueling its fleet with advanced renewable diesel – specifically, Propel Diesel High-Performance Renewable (HPR). According to the company, this move immediately improves local air quality and reduces the city’s fleet greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions… http://ngtnews.com/propel-fuels-renewable-diesel-to-power-city-of-carlsbads-fleet/ VEHICLES California Considers Change to Fuel Rules as Tesla Cries Foul. California’s effort to promote non-polluting automobiles is being thrown off kilter by a company that makes electric cars. The rapid growth of Tesla Motors Inc. and the increasing range of other electric vehicles have the state contemplating new requirements that anger both Tesla and competitors like Honda Motor Co. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-07/california-considers-change-to-fuel-rules-as-tesla-cries-foul Hanergy claims solar cars need 5 hours of sun for 50 miles of range. Chinese firm introduces four 'zero-charge' solar-powered concept cars. There's a new, fanciful series of concepts coming out of China that can allegedly run purely on solar power. Built by Hanergy, a solar panel manufacturer, the cars use thin-film solar modules to create so-called zero-charge cars. We'll believe it when we can drive 'em. http://www.autoblog.com/2016/07/07/hanergy-claims-solar-cars-need-5-hours-sun-50-mile-range/ VW RECALL VW fix for Audi Q5 does not cut emissions, EU consumer group says. Volkswagen's (VW) technical fix for one of the vehicles involved in its "Dieselgate" scandal did not reduce emissions in a test, a European consumer group said on Thursday. VW has argued the fix for vehicles affected by its emissions test cheating scandal would make them compliant with EU regulations, avoiding the need to compensate owners. http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL8N19T4EP Montana reaches settlement with Volkswagen over emissions claims. Montana Attorney General Tim Fox announced Wednesday a settlement requiring Volkswagen to pay more than $570 million for violating state laws prohibiting unfair or deceptive trade practices by marketing, selling, and leasing diesel vehicles equipped with illegal and undisclosed defeat device software. http://www.ktvq.com/story/32393384/montana-reaches-settlement-with-volkswagen-over-emissions-claims Volkswagen Won’t Get Fined for Emissions Cheating in Europe. Lack of compensation in Europe is causing public outrage to grow. Volkswagen may escape fines from Germany’s Transport Ministry for cheating on emissions even though public outrage in Europe continues to grow, according to a new report from Automotive News. http://www.automobilemag.com/news/volkswagen-wont-get-fined-emissions-cheating-europe/ GREEN ENERGY World's Largest Storage Battery Will Power Los Angeles. More than 18,000 lithium-ion battery packs would replace a gas-fired power plant used to meet peak demand. By 2021, electricity use in the west Los Angeles area may be in for a climate change-fighting evolution. For many years, the tradition has been that on midsummer afternoons, engineers will turn on what they call a “peaker,”… http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/world-s-largest-storage-battery-will-power-los-angeles/ How solar energy can be transformed into fuel. The sun is a clean and inexhaustible source of energy, with the potential to provide a sustainable answer to all future energy supply demands. There's just one outstanding problem: the sun doesn't always shine and its energy is hard to store. For the first time, researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI and the ETH Zurich have unveiled a chemical process that uses the sun's thermal energy to convert carbon dioxide… https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/07/160707101035.htm German H1 wind, solar output up 4% at 58 TWh on wind boom. German wind and solar power output in the first half of 2016 totaled 57.5 TWh, up just 4% from the first six months last year as strong gains for wind during the winter months were offset by lower solar and wind output during the second quarter… http://www.platts.com/latest-news/electric-power/london/german-h1-wind-solar-output-up-4-at-58-twh-on-26486930?hootpostid=973826dcb377a6454aa62f27d2d1596a Southern Co. scoops up another Calif. solar farm. Southern Co.'s wholesale power unit has bought a controlling interest in a utility-scale solar project in California. Southern Power has agreed to buy a significant portion of the 102-megawatt Henrietta Solar project in Kings County, which is in the San Joaquin Valley. Pacific Gas and Electric Co. will buy the electricity and renewable energy credits… http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2016/07/07/stories/1060039870 Utilities give a first peek at N.Y.'s distributed energy future. In 2014, Consolidated Edison Inc. asked an $800 million question. In parts of Brooklyn and Queens, power demand was growing. ConEd could meet that need with a $1 billion upgrade to the power grid -- paid for by ratepayers. Or it could put that off and try something else: an estimated $200 million worth of energy efficiency, distributed solar… http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2016/07/07/stories/1060039893 Will the world's largest storage battery be America's energy cure? By 2021, electricity use in the west Los Angeles area may be in for a climate change-fighting evolution. For many years, the tradition has been that on midsummer afternoons, engineers will turn on what they call a "peaker," a natural gas-burning power plant In Long Beach. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/07/07/stories/1060039876 MISCELLANEOUS Metro Set To Launch Downtown Los Angeles Bike Share Program. Metro and the city of Los Angeles are preparing for the July 7 launch of Metro’s bike sharing program in downtown Los Angeles — an idea at least four years in the making. The program will make as many as 1,000 bikes available at 65 locations around downtown Los Angeles, including Union Station, City Hall, Grand Park… http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2016/07/06/metro-set-to-launch-downtown-los-angeles-bike-share-program/ OPINIONS McRae: Cap and trade auction doesn't negate California's economic growth. California's economy has experienced transformative growth since AB 32, our signature climate change and clean energy law, passed in 2006. This growth is being overlooked amid news that the last cap and trade auction fell short of expected revenue. If you were to believe the hype, you would think the cap and trade program is in crisis. http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_30098742/mcrae-cap-and-trade-auction-doesnt-negate-californias While Wildfires Ravage the Forests, Our Lungs Are at Risk, Too. This year’s wildfire season is off to a dramatic and early start, and so is the worry about what that smoke is doing to our lungs. Big wildfires started burning in Southern California in early June, and since then, air-quality agencies have been warning residents that pollution from those Southern California fires… http://www.laweekly.com/news/while-wildfires-ravage-the-forests-our-lungs-are-at-risk-too-7094066 San Diego Water Authority Is Pretending the Drought Is Over; It’s Not. Without mandatory conservation, San Diego is positioning itself to fall back into the same short-sighted planning that built the state’s drought inadequacies in the first place. For decades, the San Diego region inched closer and closer to a drought crisis, pumping more water for more lawns from the ever-dwindling supplies in the… http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/topics/opinion/san-diego-water-authority-is-pretending-the-drought-is-over-its-not/ With cap and trade in doubt, key questions go unanswered. Assemblyman Brian Jones leaned in to the microphone with a tight smile. It was May, and legislators were debating whether to request an audit of the California Air Resources Board. Frustrated that the agency was not more forthcoming about aspects of the cap and trade program it runs…https://calmatters.org/articles/with-cap-and-trade-in-doubt-key-questions-go-unanswered/?utm_source=Sac+Aggregators&utm_campaign=601c9c4989-News_Analysis_Cap-and-trade_aggregators&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_000c574d3b-601c9c4989-123389401 Letter: Global warming, a top issue. Today the world is facing many different environmental threats, but to conquer these we must first focus on our own local environmental problems. I think the most pressing issues in our local area are that of global warming and pollution. The constant-burning paper mills release vast amounts of gases into the atmosphere and vehicle emissions do the same. http://www.pnj.com/story/opinion/2016/07/05/letter-global-warming-top-issue/86728652/ LETTER: Annual emissions testing is not needed. Automobile inspections. Having emission testing for all vehicles in certain counties seems unnecessary anymore. It should be limited to vehicles over 10-years-old and/or those with over 100,000 miles. Has anyone looked at the statistics of emission failure on vehicles less that 10-years-old? I’d say the failure rate is probably less than 5 percent. http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/MP/20160707/NEWS/160709818 BLOGS Environmental Injustices in the Air We Breathe. For years now, San Antonio residents have endured unhealthy levels of ozone in the air we breathe. Yet, the city of San Antonio has narrowly avoided violating the US Environmental Protection Agency’s national ozone standards, designed to protect human health. But San Antonio will soon have to make changes to its approach to air quality http://blogs.edf.org/texascleanairmatters/2016/07/06/environmental-injustices-in-the-air-we-breathe/ . California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.