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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for August 3, 2016

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 13:52:43
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

EPA able to adjust air pollution compliance deadline - D.C.
Circuit.
The Environmental Protection Agency acted within its authority
when it gave states extra time to comply with regulations
covering fine particulate air pollution, a federal appeals court
ruled on Friday, rejecting arguments from environmental groups.
The EPA adjusted the deadlines after the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the District of Columbia Circuit in 2013 ordered the agency
to follow one sub-section of the Clean Air Act rather than
another, resulting in more stringent regulation of fine
particulate matter. The Circuit Court on Friday upheld the EPA
adjustments and dismissed a petition from environmental groups.
http://www.reuters.com/article/environment-epa-idUSL1N1AK0BE 

Forecasters say wildfire threat growing for western states.
Forecasters say the threat of significant wildfires will
expandinto parts of Oregon, Montana and Wyoming this month, while
a broad swath of the South and the East Coast will see increased
danger later in the year. The National Interagency Fire Center's
monthly outlook , released Monday, says the the potential for big
fires will remain above normal during August in parts of
California, Idaho, Nevada and Utah because of dry grass and
bushes.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/forecasters-say-threat-of-significant-wildfires-to-expand-in-east-west/

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-california-fire-idUSKCN10E0YE 

Unhealthy air quality in Carmel Valley, Salinas Valley.
The 43,000-acre Soberanes wildfire burning north of Big Sur is
impacting air quality across the Central Coast. At 1 p.m.
Tuesday, air quality for Carmel Valley was designated as
"unhealthy" by the Monterey Bay Air Resources District. Monterey
was only slightly better, with a "unhealthy for sensitive groups"
designation. Monterey improved to "moderate" by 5 p.m. In the
Salinas Valley, Greenfield and Soledad's air quality was
"moderate" in the early afternoon, and degraded to "unhealthy for
sensitive groups" by the late afternoon because of onshore ocean
breezes.
http://www.ksbw.com/news/unhealthy-air-quality-in-monterey-carmel-valley/41019040


CLIMATE CHANGE

White House Council on Environmental Quality Releases Final
Guidance on Considering Climate Change in Environmental Reviews.
Building on President Obama’s unprecedented steps to address
climate change, the White House Council on Environmental Quality
(CEQ) is today releasing final guidance for Federal agencies on
how to consider the impacts of their actions on climate change in
their National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews. 
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/08/02/fact-sheet-white-house-council-environmental-quality-releases-final


Related Stories
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/08/02/from-now-on-every-government-agency-will-have-to-consider-climate-change/?utm_term=.1bcce51df802

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-climatechange-regulations-idUSKCN10D24T

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/white-house-tells-agencies-to-consider-climate-change-effects-of-projects/

http://www.bna.com/transportation-energy-projects-n73014445756/ 

Obama issues guidance making it tougher to build roads, bridges
in name of climate change.
Building that bridge or expanding that highway just became more
difficult under a rigorous standard issued Tuesday by the Obama
administration that will make it easier to block a wide range of
projects in the name of climate change. The final guidance
broadens the National Environmental Policy Act by requiring
agencies to quantify the impact of activities that require
federal permits not just on the environment but also on
“projected direct and indirect GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions.”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/aug/2/obama-make-it-tougher-build-roads-bridges-name-cli/


Calif. issues first-in-U.S. compliance plan.
California's landmark cap-and-trade program for carbon emissions
and proposed amendments to extend that system will be used to
comply with U.S. EPA's Clean Power Plan, the state said
yesterday. The Golden State is the first in the country to
publish a draft blueprint for fulfilling the federal agency's
mandate, aimed at cutting existing power plant emissions, said
Stanley Young, spokesman for the California Air Resources Board.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060041127/search?keyword=california


Climate change set to increase turbulence and make it difficult
for flights to take off, UN warns.
Climate change will have “severe consequences” for planes trying
to take off and increase the chance of in-flight turbulence,
icing up incidents and engine-threatening dust storms – but there
is no reason to “panic” just now, the United Nations’ air travel
agency has said. The International Civil Aviation Organisation
(ICAO) also warned that sea level rise could threaten low-lying
airports while a higher number of clouds could reduce visibility,
particularly in the Middle East and Latin America.
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change-global-warming-effects-air-travel-flights-planes-turbulence-a7169796.html


As U.S. Nuclear Plants Close, Carbon Emissions Could Go Up.
Carbon emissions will rise in parts of the country when natural
gas and coal plants replace electricity provided by nuclear
plants that are scheduled to close, analysts and climate change
experts predict.  “In the near term, emissions are going to
increase,” Doug Vine, a senior energy fellow at the Center for
Climate and Energy Solutions, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank
focused on climate change, told Bloomberg BNA. He said in the
past, combined cycle natural gas plants have replaced closed
nuclear plants in the U.S., and “we assume that'd continue at
least through the 2025 time frame.” 
http://www.bna.com/us-nuclear-plant-n73014445640/ 

Scientists' annual physical of planet: 'Earth's fever rises'.
Earth's fever got worse last year, breaking dozens of climate
records, scientists said in a massive report nicknamed the annual
physical for the planet. Soon after 2015 ended, it was proclaimed
the hottest on record . The new report shows the broad extent of
other records and near-records on the planet's climatic health.
Those include record heat energy absorbed by the oceans and
lowest groundwater storage levels globally, according to
Tuesday's report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SCI_EARTHS_RISING_FEVER?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Related stories:
http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2016/08/02/well-its-official-2015-set-multiple-climate-records/
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/02082016/latest-climate-report-heat-NOAA-global-warming-el-nino-temperatures?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=7b82510702-InsideClimate_News12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-7b82510702-327749509


Clinton, Trump show stark contrast on climate change.
Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are
offering Americans starkly different views on global warming:
Clinton sees it as an urgent concern while Trump dismisses it as
a minor problem at most. "There's never been a bigger contrast
between the two candidates and the two platforms," said Tiernan
Sittenfeld, senior vice president of the League of Conservation
Voters.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/2016/08/02/donald-trump-climate-change-hillary-clinton/87628818/


DIESEL ACTIVITIES

Port of L.A. and railroad appeal a court decision that blocked a
new freight yard in the harbor.
A railroad company and the Port of Los Angeles on Tuesday
appealed a court decision that has stalled a $500-million freight
yard they plan to build next to low-income, predominantly
minority communities in the harbor area. The Burlington Northern
Santa Fe Railway Co. and harbor officials are seeking to overturn
a decision in March by Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge
Barry P. Goode.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-ln-harbor-appeal-20160802-snap-story.html


DROUGHT

California water conservation dips as relaxed drought rules take
effect.
Water conservation in California dipped slightly during the first
month that the state’s mandatory water-savings rules were
significantly relaxed, regulators said Tuesday. The 21.5% cut in
water use in June compared with the same month in 2013 was less
impressive than some officials had hoped, but also came as a
relief because the numbers suggest that urban Californians will
continue to save water — even when they are not required to do
so.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-water-conservation-20160802-snap-story.html


FUELS

Clinton Campaign Studying Alternative to U.S. Ethanol Mandate.
Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign
has solicited advice from California regulators on how to revamp
a federal regulation requiring biofuels like corn-based ethanol
be blended into the nation's gasoline supply, according to
campaign and state officials. The move is the clearest sign yet
that, if elected, Clinton would seek to adjust the regulation,
called the Renewable Fuel Standard, possibly hurting her chances
in corn-growing states like Iowa where she faces a tough battle
against Republican rival Donald Trump in the Nov. 8 election.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2016/08/03/us/politics/03reuters-usa-election-clinton-ethanol.html


UPS to expand alternative fuel fleet with $750m investment.
UPS, a package delivery giant, has announced that it will invest
more than $750 million (€670m) for its alternative fuel and
advanced technology vehicles by the end of 2016. It also
announced that it has successfully completed one billion miles in
its ‘rolling laboratory' fleet of electric, hybrid, natural gas,
and biofuel-powered delivery vehicles.
http://biofuels-news.com/display_news/10848/ups_to_expand_alternative_fuel_fleet_with_750m_investment/

VEHICLES 

With Fuel Economy Rules In Play, Tesla Exec Says Automakers
Aren't Trying To Sell Electric Vehicles.
Tesla Motors TSLA -0.25% is accustomed to being at odds with the
rest of the U.S. auto industry. So it was again on Tuesday, at an
industry conference in bucolic northern Michigan, where a Tesla
executive took the industry to task for not trying hard enough to
sell electric vehicles. “The roadmap to sell EVs is apparent for
everybody to see,” said Diarmuid O’Connell, Tesla’s vice
president of business development, pointing to the 373,000 orders
Tesla has received for its $35,000 Model 3. “The industry is not
even trying,” he said.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/joannmuller/2016/08/02/with-fuel-economy-rules-in-play-tesla-exec-says-automakers-arent-trying-to-sell-electric-vehicles/#7c145630ac95


VW RECALL

Bavaria (German State) Suing Volkswagen Over Diesel Emissions
Cheating Scandal.
The German state of Bavaria is suing Volkswagen, seeking
restitution for state civil servant pension fund losses of around
€700,000 following the breaking of dieselgate last September and
the attendant stock price collapse. The Bavarian lawsuit is
intended to recoup some of these pension losses for those
affected. The lawsuit makes Bavaria the first German state to
file a lawsuit against the company in relation to the emissions
cheating scandal.
https://cleantechnica.com/2016/08/03/bavaria-german-state-suing-volkswagen-diesel-emissions-cheating-scandal/


GREEN ENERGY

Massachusetts' Ambitious Clean Energy Bill Jolts Offshore Wind
Prospects.
Doubling down on its commitment to renewable energy, the
Massachusetts Legislature overwhelmingly passed a new energy
measure that would create the nation's most ambitious offshore
wind energy target. The bill, approved in the final hours of the
legislative session Sunday night, would require local utilities
to get 1,600 megawatts of their combined electricity from wind
farms far offshore—roughly equivalent to three average-sized
coal-fired power plants. 
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/02082016/massachusetts-ambitious-clean-energy-bill-jolts-offshore-wind-prospects?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=7b82510702-InsideClimate_News12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-7b82510702-327749509


BLOGS

Can a flower help cities reduce air pollution?
Urban air pollution is a huge public health issue — it kills more
than 3 million people every year, according to the latest World
Health Organization estimates (more than AIDS and malaria
combined). And for the people breathing it every day, bad air can
cause chronic health issues such as asthma and emphysema. “The
cost for countries is enormous. Air pollution affects economies
and people’s quality of life. It leads to major chronic diseases
and to people ultimately dying,” Dr. Maria Neira, director of
public health at the World Health Organization in Geneva,told The
Guardian.
http://www.mnn.com/health/healthy-spaces/blogs/can-flower-help-cities-reduce-air-pollution




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

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