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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.