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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for August 4, 2016.
Posted: 04 Aug 2016 12:17:46
ARB Newsclips for August 4, 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 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… http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060041127?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=d2ba41ed30-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-d2ba41ed30-327747457 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… http://www.reuters.com/article/environment-epa-idUSL1N1AK0BE Australia orders climate change U-turn at peak science body. Australia's re-elected conservative government has announced a U-turn in its climate change policy, reinstating climate science as the bedrock of its peak science body just months after slashing its funding and axing hundreds of jobs. "It's a new government and we're laying out a direction that climate science matters,"… http://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-climatechange-idUSKCN10F04X Land and sea warmest in 2015: 'State of the Climate' report. Last year was the warmest year on record for land and sea, partly because seasonal El Nino climate patterns prevailed year-round, and melting ice pushed sea levels to the highest ever, a study based on the work of more than 450 scientists worldwide confirmed on Tuesday. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-report-idUSKCN10D2CR Barnyard Dust Offers a Clue to Stopping Asthma in Children. Scientists say they may have found a sort of magic ingredient to prevent asthma in children: microbes from farm animals, carried into the home in dust. The results of their research, published on Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine, were so convincing that they raised the possibility of developing a spray to do the same thing for children who do not have regular contact with cows and horses. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/04/health/dust-asthma-children.html?ribbon-ad-idx=17&rref=homepage&module=Ribbon&version=origin®ion=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Home%20Page&pgtype=article&_r=0 CLIMATE CHANGE Anthrax Outbreak In Russia Thought To Be Result Of Thawing Permafrost. Russia is fighting a mysterious anthrax outbreak in a remote corner of Siberia. Dozens of people have been hospitalized; one child has died. The government airlifted some families out because more than 2,000 reindeer have been infected. Officials don't know exactly how the outbreak started, but the current hypothesis is almost unbelievable… http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/08/03/488400947/anthrax-outbreak-in-russia-thought-to-be-result-of-thawing-permafrost DROUGHT See which Sacramento communities are greatly increasing water use. With mandatory water use restrictions mostly lifted across the region, Sacramento-area residents are using a lot more water this summer, even as the drought continues, according to a Bee review of state data. Customers in the four-county region’s 23 largest water districts increased water use by 22 percent… http://www.sacbee.com/site-services/databases/article93589432.html#storylink=cpy City of Bakersfield customers saving more water than expected. It's been a month since water agencies submitted their new water conservation targets to the State Water Resources Control Board. After seeing some replenishment in the water sources across the state, the board decided to let each water district decide what they want their conservation target to be. http://bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/city-of-bakersfield-customers-saving-more-than-expected DIESEL ACTIVITIES Seoul to limit old diesel vehicles to fight air pollution. South Korea's capital of Seoul will limit the number of old diesel vehicles on the roads starting next year, as the country tackles rising air pollution. Asia's fourth-biggest economy in June announced a string of measures to address growing concerns about air quality following fine dust particle warnings… http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-diesel-idUSKCN10E2SV A natural-gas powered truck that produces zero emissions? How? Nikola Motor Company, a mysterious startup that emerged a few months ago promising a 2000-hp turbine-powered hybrid semi is no stranger to making big claims. Just two months ago, it claimed 7000 deposits of $1500 each for its semi, despite the fact that it exists only in digital renderings. http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/car-technology/news/a30224/nikola-motors-big-rig-zero-emissions/ Santa Monica Considers “New Generation” of Bus Engines. Santa Monica City buses, already fueled by renewable natural gas, are likely to start running soon with many engines that produce near-zero Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions, City officials said. A $7 million five-year proposed contract headed to the City Council on Tuesday would install ISL G Near-Zero 0.02 NOx emission engines on 60 buses… http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2016/August-2016/08_04_2016_Santa_Monica_Considers_New_Generation_of_Bus_Engines.html FUELS U.S. ethanol industry finds sweet deals in Brazil as sugar prices soar. U.S. ethanol plants and traders are rushing to sell biofuel to Brazil as tightening supplies and logistics in the South American market give the world's top producer a rare opportunity to ship south during the peak sugar cane harvest, sources said. U.S. ethanol plants are pumping out a record 1 million barrels per day taking advantage of cheap… http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-ethanol-brazil-idUSKCN10F1WY 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. http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-election-clinton-ethanol-idUSL8N1AJ55M Industry Will Struggle to Meet Tougher Fuel Economy Standards. With cheap oil, consumers are again buying gas-guzzling SUVs and pickups, dragging down auto-company fleet averages. Most auto industry employees expect the Obama administration will make fuel economy rules more strict following an ongoing review, according to a new survey. Fifty-two percent of the engineers, managers… http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/industry-will-struggle-to-meet-tougher-fuel-economy-standards/ VEHICLES Germany says French emissions report shows abnormalities at Renault, others. German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Wednesday he had received a French report on emissions levels of Renault and other carmakers, and that it showed abnormalities similar to those in German investigations. Carmakers have come under scrutiny by experts as part of a widening clampdown on health-threatening nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution levels… http://www.reuters.com/article/autos-emissions-germany-france-idUSKCN10E172 Volkswagen to equip petrol engined cars with particulate filters. Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) will roll out particulate filters in its petrol engined cars between 2017 and 2022, a step which reduces the pollution from particulate matter by up to 90 percent. The first vehicle to be sold with the technology will be the VW Tiguan equipped with the 1.4 liter TSI engine, and the Audi A5 with the 2 liter TFSI engine, VW said on Wednesday. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-gasoline-idUSKCN10E1NY Tesla’s Big Loss Reflects Its Costly Ambitions. Tesla Motors said on Wednesday that its losses deepened in the second quarter, but the electric-car maker pledged to expand production and improve the profitability of its vehicles. The company said it lost $293.2 million in the quarter, on revenue of $1.27 billion. The loss was only slightly more than in the first quarter, but it greatly exceeded analyst forecasts… http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/04/business/teslas-big-loss-reflects-its-costly-ambitions.html?_r=1 Automakers 'not even trying' to sell electric cars, Tesla says. When it comes to regulatory measures, it's customary for automakers to present a united front to government agencies setting new rules and policies. But as it has in so many other areas, electric-car maker Tesla Motors is bucking tradition. While the federal government and California Air Resources Board (CARB)… http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1105366_automakers-not-even-trying-to-sell-electric-cars-tesla-says How to make a clean car even cleaner. Solar panels tower over an all-electric Nissan Leaf plugged into a charging station on the campus of the Argonne National Laboratory. Yards away, in an old shipping container repurposed as an office, Jason Harper, an electrical engineer, touches a big screen and turns on the juice." You can see when the Leaf is starting to charge, and you can see when the solar panels… http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/08/04/stories/1060041166 VW RECALL Further German states consider suing VW over emissions scandal. The German states of Hesse and Baden Wuerttemberg are considering joining Bavaria in suing Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) for damages caused by its emissions-test cheating scandal. Shares in VW, Europe's largest automaker, plunged in the wake of the revelation of the cheating by U.S. regulators last September, hitting the state coffers and pension funds of German states. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-litigation-idUSKCN10E18U GREEN ENERGY Apple Can Now Sell Power as Tech Giants Boost Energy Investments. Apple Inc., which spent $850 million last year on a 130-megawatt solar farm near San Francisco, can begin selling power into wholesale markets, joining Google parent Alphabet Inc. in the energy-trading business. Apple’s subsidiary Apple Energy LLC may sell energy, capacity and other services needed to maintain reliable power… http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-04/apple-can-now-sell-power-as-tech-giants-boost-energy-investments Mali's banks woo clients with hire-purchase solar power kits. Residents of Mali's capital, Bamako, and surrounding areas will find it easier to switch on power in their homes thanks to local banks that have begun offering credit to buy solar energy equipment. The government's Agency of Renewable Energies (Agence des énergies renouvelables - AER)… http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mali-climatechange-energy-solar-idUSKCN10F1AS Big investors pare energy junk bond holdings after big rally. Investors in junk-rated energy bonds, who have made a mint this year betting on this battered sector, are paring their holdings as oil flirts with sub-$40-a-barrel levels on concerns about a persistent overhang in supply and choppy demand. Thanks to the two-year slump in the price of oil, energy debt securities yielded a whopping 21 percent… http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-energy-debt-idUSKCN10E0FP Africa battles to get big solar projects on grid. In an expanse of sand 60 miles (100 km) north of Senegal's capital, two men set to work digging up tree stumps to clear space for what could soon be the biggest solar plant in West Africa. In less than a year, says developer Senergy PV SA, this shrubby lot will be covered with 96,000 gleaming solar panels from China, injecting up to 30 megawatts into the grid. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-africa-solar-idUSKCN10F18I Under Tesla's wing, SolarCity's future remains uncertain. After four rocky years as a publicly traded company in the volatile renewable energy sector, SolarCity Corp (SCTY.O) may now be wading into an equally uncertain future. With a tentative agreement to be purchased by its sister company, Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA.O), SolarCity is going all in on a strategy that some analysts say is ahead of its time: pairing solar systems with the automaker's energy-storage batteries. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-solarcity-m-a-strategy-idUSKCN10E17A UPDATE 2-DONG Energy disappoints with first results since IPO. Danish group DONG Energy's maiden results as a listed company failed to live up to market expectations due to low wind levels and weak oil and power prices, sending its shares down by as much as 4.2 percent. The leading European offshore wind farm developer, power utility and oil and gas producer reported a 19 percent rise in first-half earnings before interest, tax… http://www.reuters.com/article/dong-energy-results-idUSL8N1AL18X PAWS harnesses the sun to feed, water, care for its exotic animals. The exotic animals of the sprawling ARK sanctuary, operated by the nonprofit Performing Animal Welfare Society in the rolling hills of Calaveras County, enjoy long days of sunlight, rarely blocked by fog or dense clouds even during the winter months. It is the perfect environment for harnessing solar energy, said PAWS founder Ed Stewart. http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article93599007.html#storylink=cpy OPINIONS Cap-and-trade gets good marks. To the editor: Michael Hiltzik clearly outlines the mechanisms of California’s cap-and-trade program, and rightly concludes it works because it helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (“Will state’s carbon pricing fail?” column, July 31) The fact that permit sales this year were lower than expected and thus impacted the state’s budget is problematic, but not indicative of failure. http://www.latimes.com/opinion/readersreact/la-ol-le-carbon-20160804-snap-story.html Climate Retreat? Legislature May Ditch Plan to Radically Reduce Emissions. Gov. Jerry Brown has taken the national stage to tout California’s fight against global warming, telling cheering throngs at the Democratic National Convention that the state has “the toughest climate laws in the country.” Yet inside the state Capitol, the fate of the policy’s centerpiece — legislation to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions — is in peril. http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2016/08/04/climate-retreat-legislature-may-ditch-plan-to-radically-reduce-emissions/ BLOGS California leads the way in compliance. Call it an overachiever, but California is now the first state in the country to come out with strategy for complying with the EPA’s Clean Power Plan. The California Air Resources Board published its blueprint a full six weeks ahead of the original Sept. 6 deadline. (To be fair, California’s 2012 cap-and-trade program gave it a pretty substantial head start on other states.) http://about.bgov.com/blog/california-leads-way-compliance/ Elon Musk has harsh words for Air Resources Board. Elon Musk had harsh words for the California Air Resources Board during yesterday’s Q2 earnings call. “The California Air Resources Board is being incredibly weak in its application of ZEV credits. The standards are pathetically low. They need to be increased. There’s massive lobbying by the big car companies from increasing the ZEV credit mandate… http://beforeitsnews.com/motor-junkies/2016/08/elon-musk-has-harsh-words-for-air-resources-board-2532337.html http://ccaoe.com/blog/musk-criticizes-california-board-over-emission-credits-standards/ Big Oil Renewing Effort To Kill California's Landmark Climate Law. As California’s Global Warming Solutions Act, AB-32, approaches its 10th birthday, Big Oil is renewing efforts to roll it back and the governor and pro-environmental lawmakers in Sacramento are racing against the clock to counter the onslaught. AB-32 set a 2020 target to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 1990 levels. http://www.desmogblog.com/2016/08/04/big-oil-renewing-effort-kill-california-s-landmark-climate-law California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.