What's New List Serve Post Display
Below is the List Serve Post you selected to display.
newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for July 11, 2016.
Posted: 11 Jul 2016 15:57:05
ARB Newsclips for July 11, 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 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 conducting a hearing were frustrated that the California Air Resources Board was not more forthcoming about aspects of the cap and trade program it runs for the state. http://www.recordnet.com/article/20160710/NEWS/160719986 . Under pressure, state to propose cap-and-trade changes. California regulators tomorrow will issue proposed revisions to the state's cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gases intended to extend the market through 2030 and resolve oversupply issues. The adjustments to the program are significant. They would set a new 2030 emissions target; set up new linkages to other markets… http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/07/11/stories/1060040045 Low carbon prices make for 'muddled' policies. The price of carbon in market systems designed to curb pollution has fallen so low, it may not be doing much. The credits auctioned in the U.S. Northeast as part of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, for example, sold for 40 percent less in June than in December. "Climate policy has been muddled and messy,"… http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/07/11/stories/1060039992 CLIMATE CHANGE Global Cloud Coverage Shifting in Ominous Sign of Climate Change. We didn’t know enough about clouds until now. What a new study reveals is bad news. When politicians talk of climate “uncertainty,” they're often casting doubt on things that are well understood: Warming is happening, and humans are responsible. When scientists talk about climate uncertainty, they're usually talking about the clouds. Clouds are tricky because they do two things at once. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-11/global-cloud-coverage-shifting-in-ominous-sign-of-climate-change https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/07/11/the-worlds-clouds-are-in-different-places-than-they-were-30-years-ago/ http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/07/11/485314321/climate-change-may-already-be-shifting-clouds-toward-the-poles https://insideclimatenews.org/news/09072016/clouds-patterns-could-contribute-global-warming-climate Food shortages and sea level rise US voters' top climate change concerns. Survey of Guardian readers appalled at lack of climate discussion in 2016 campaign finds food and water shortages viewed as most pressing consequence. Diminishing food and water security and ruinous sea level rise are the leading climate change concerns of a section of the American electorate that is aghast at the lack of discussion of global warming… https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/11/climate-change-voices-of-america-voters?CMP=twt_a-environment_b-gdneco&utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=524840a119-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-524840a119-327747457 Refiners back bill to stop social cost of carbon calculation. A refining trade group today put its weight behind legislation introduced last week that would block agencies from taking into account carbon dioxide emissions' long-term economic damage. In a letter today… http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/07/11/stories/1060040064 ALISO CANYON Latest Aliso Canyon gas leak highlights SoCalGas’ need for better communication. To borrow a line from the classic movie “Cool Hand Luke,” SoCalGas has logged another “failure to communicate” moment. The company has had another gas leak at its big Aliso Canyon storage field above Porter Ranch but did not think it was a big enough deal that community residents needed to be notified. http://www.dailynews.com/article/20160710/NEWS/160719981 DROUGHT Los Angeles Looks for Extra Water Down Its Alleys. Of the roughly 300,000 acres in the city of Los Angeles, more than 2,000 are alleyways that cut through city blocks. And because they’re mostly paved, they do little to capture one of the city’s most prized resources: water. Following the examples set by Chicago, Seattle and other cities, Los Angeles is working to transform these narrow spaces into networks of green alleys. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/12/science/climate-change-alley-ways-water.html?rref=collection/sectioncollection/earth&action=click&contentCollection=earth®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront&utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=524840a119-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-524840a119-327747457&_r=0 California water-bill fight is percolating again on Capitol Hill. California water will retake the Capitol Hill stage in coming days, with compromise nowhere in sight. Deep into a largely arid legislative season, lawmakers will again reflect on the state’s drought as early as Monday and wrangle over efforts to address it. http://www.fresnobee.com/news/politics-government/article88497212.html#storylink=cpy Authorities eye fire risk from trees weakened by drought, insects. As the California drought has taken hold over five years, broad swaths of a rusty red have grown in forests around the state – the pallor of millions of trees withering from thirst and succumbing to beetle infestations. Patches of the dead and dying pines have dotted parts of the rural Upvalley… http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/authorities-eye-fire-risk-from-trees-weakened-by-drought-insects/article_83d6943b-c752-5f68-b888-98353500b5b6.html California Drought Update: There’s Good News, And Bad. When it comes to California's ongoing drought, there's good news and bad news. While the level of statewide drought has been decreasing over the past year, La Niña predictions suggest California could be in for more dryness in the near future. The latest numbers from the U.S. Drought Monitor show less drought throughout… http://www.kpbs.org/news/2016/jul/04/california-drought-update-theres-good-news-and-bad/ Local crops doing well despite drought. Although four years of drought certainly affected water supply and agriculture acreage, most local crops have done well, according to counties' 2014 crop reports, as well as a report published by Eric Houk, a professor at the College of Agriculture at Chico State. Houk conducted research with a grant provided by California State University Agricultural Research Institute. http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/local-crops-doing-well-despite-drought/article_61acad5c-4722-11e6-bf9c-97c822982539.html More lawns becoming drought-tolerant. After multiple drought years, many Californians converted their lawns to more water-wise, native and low- maintenance landscaping — mostly with success, they report. Marysville and Yuba City both have landscaping following the trend, in collaboration with other agencies. "After a full year, we consider it a huge success,"… http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/more-lawns-becoming-drought-tolerant/article_380a584c-4721-11e6-ad1c-5f96a2a5ec2d.html CALIFORNIA DROUGHT, MARINE HEAT MORE LIKELY WITH WARMING. A persistent wash of warm waters off the West Coast, which caused wildlife die-offs and blocked drought-quenching storms from reaching California last year, was caused by the happenstance interplay of natural ocean cycles, research findings published Monday show. The findings also suggested that while the drought and the blob… http://www.bonnercountydailybee.com/article/20160711/AP/307119972 DROUGHT: Experts: Why California should be stingy with water. Sure, Northern California rains replenished many reservoirs, but the drought’s not over yet. Water suppliers are loosening water-use restrictions and reporting they’ll have enough water to meet demand for the next three years. But is that a good idea in the midst of ongoing drought? http://www.pe.com/articles/water-807802-conservation-state.html Amazon's driest wet season ever signals high wildfire risk. The Amazon forests of South America are facing a potentially fierce fire season due to extreme drought conditions courtesy of the 2015-16 El Niño, according to scientists. The El Niño climate pattern -- the impacts of which contributed to Indonesia's devastating fire season last fall and brought some much-needed rain to drought-stricken California… http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/07/11/stories/1060040040 Most states, utilities see carbon regulation as inevitable. Electric utilities have not stopped working through scenarios for complying with U.S. EPA's Clean Power Plan should it survive legal challenges, in the view of Michael Tubman, director of outreach at the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. "They want to make sure that whatever their plans are make sense over the long term," he said. Each Monday, Power Plays previews upcoming moves on the way to Clean Power Plan compliance and recaps the… http://www.eenews.net/interactive/clean_power_plan/column_posts/1060040032 VW RECALL Volkswagen repays European loans early amid diesel fallout. Volkswagen says it has decided to repay early a pair of loans from the European Investment Bank totaling 975 million euros (nearly $1.1 billion) as the company grapples with fallout from its diesel-emissions scandal. Volkswagen said Monday that the loans were approved at the end of 2014. In an emailed response to a query about the repayment… http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_GERMANY_VOLKSWAGEN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT German Government Not Fining VW Group AT ALL For Diesel Emissions Cheating Scandal… As the ongoing Volkswagen diesel emissions cheating scandal has continued playing itself out, many observers have commented that, when one takes into account the wide-scale nature of corruption in the German auto industry, it doesn’t seem likely that the company will face any real repercussions within Germany itself. https://cleantechnica.com/2016/07/11/german-government-not-fining-vw-group-diesel-emissions-cheating-scandal/ GREEN ENERGY The best way to teach adults to save energy might be through their children. It’s hard to get people to change their habits, even when doing so could have lasting benefits for the environment. But a team of scientists may have just found a way to hack it when it comes to helping families develop better energy-saving practices at home. The trick, according to them, is to have children help deliver the message. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/07/11/the-best-way-to-teach-adults-to-save-energy-might-be-through-their-children/ Hawaii nonprofits want input on offshore wind farm proposals. Hawaii nonprofit organizations are calling on federal officials to include members of the public in plans to build floating wind turbines off Hawaii’s shores before they move forward with the projects. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jul/11/hawaii-nonprofits-want-input-on-offshore-wind-farm/ OPINIONS The Exxon shakedown. The goal is to silence opposition to the climate change industrial complex. Liberal attorneys general from 17 states have put a big red bullseye on the chest of big oil. Their bizarre claim is that for years energy companies fraudulently covered up their knowledge that greenhouse gases from fossil fuels cause catastrophic climate change. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jul/10/the-exxon-shakedown-over-climate-change/ Another Inconvenient Truth: It’s Hard to Agree How to Fight Climate Change. By just about any measure, the movement to battle climate change has grown so large that the truths of Al Gore’s decade-old movie now seem more mainstream than inconvenient. In Paris in December, 195 nations agreed to reduce greenhouse gases. In the United States, 70 percent of Americans say that climate change is real. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/12/science/climate-change-alley-ways-water.html?rref=collection/sectioncollection/earth&action=click&contentCollection=earth®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront&utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=524840a119-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-524840a119-327747457&_r=0 Oakland rejects coal terminal, sets example on climate change. Two weeks ago, the Oakland City Council unanimously voted to ban the handling and storage of coal in the city, quashing a proposal to build what could have been the largest coal export facility in California. It was a remarkable display of leadership and foresight: Council members put the health and safety of their residents above the arguments of coal… http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article88835157.html#storylink=cpy Uncertainty undermines state’s cap-and-trade program. Gov. Jerry Brown, stymied in the Legislature, will attempt to extend the state’s crackdown on carbon emissions into the next decade by decree. Last week, Brown’s Air Resources Board dispatched a memo declaring that it would unveil a draft of new regulations next Tuesday, extending its troubled cap-and-trade program and other elements of the campaign beyond 2020. http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/jul/08/carbon-california-cap-trade/ Speculators would make cap-and-trade carbon plan volatile. In addition to leaving Gov. Jerry Brown’s high-speed rail project flat, AB 32’s underperforming cap-and-trade system is now being blamed for failing to fund his laudable 10-year goal of 1.5 million electric vehicles (Perspective, “Lofty clean-car goals face cloudy future,” June 27). The Achilles’ heel of cap-and-trade systems seems to be the presence… http://www.sanluisobispo.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article88741302.html#storylink=cpy 7 Factors Show Why Wind & Solar Are The 1st Choices. Discussions of electrical generation technologies frequently fall into the trap of considering a single factor. One way this occurs is with advocates of a specific legacy technology pointing out a single downside of wind or solar generation as if it’s a gotcha. This is equally true of wind and solar advocates who point at single-factor issues with nuclear or coal… https://cleantechnica.com/2016/07/11/7-factors-show-wind-solar-1st-choices/ There’s More to Drought-Proofing Than Water Mandates. Extreme mandates aren’t the only way to achieve water savings. The Water Authority has worked to increase water-use efficiency statewide and to ensure a diverse, drought-proof supply of water. As the regional water supplier, the San Diego County Water Authority is responsible for providing reliable, long-term water supplies to support the region’s 3.3 million people and its $222 billion economy, rain or shine. http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/topics/opinion/theres-drought-proofing-water-mandates/ Our View: Conservation should be a lifestyle. Californians seem to be adopting conservation as a lifestyle, and that's encouraging. It's also necessary. As the state, particularly the southern portion, didn't get the full benefit of El Nino this past winter and spring, drought conditions persist in much of California. If you've lived here for any length of time, you know that drought is a fairly regular occurrence in our state. http://www.desertdispatch.com/article/20160710/OPINION/160719994 BLOGS If China Is So Committed To Renewable Energy, Why Are So Many New Coal Plants Being Built? It seems like a contradiction: a country claiming that they are committed to improving its air quality, who has put up more windmills, solar panels, and hydropower dams than anywhere else in the world, as well as issuing piles of forward-thinking environmental policies, that is still building large amounts of brand new coal-fired power plants. http://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2016/07/08/if-china-is-so-committed-to-renewable-energy-why-are-so-many-new-coal-plants-being-built/#140513b865f7 Your Niche Kitchen Appliances Might Be Polluting Your Home. •Ozone is a main ingredient in smog, and can harm people with lung disease and asthma. •A California EPA report warns niche home appliances might emit unhealthy levels of ozone. •The appliances included face steamers, fruit and vegetable washers, and laundry water treatment systems. •Some air purifiers have been linked to unhealthy ozone levels in past investigations. https://www.buzzfeed.com/dinograndoni/niche-appliances-might-be-polluting?utm_term=.hmWpl1jbv#.sxOAv1jl9 California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.