What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for August 10, 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

EPA rejects petitions for revising oil and gas standards. U.S.
EPA has rebuffed requests from industry and environmentalists to
reconsider 30 issues stemming from the 2012 regulations that set
New Source Performance Standards and air pollution limits for oil
and natural gas producers.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/08/10/stories/1060041421 

CLIMATE CHANGE

Catfish spawn climate solution for Kenya's dryland farmers.
Farmers in Kenya's eastern and northern drylands have found a way
to stay afloat as water becomes scarcer: cultivating catfish. 
“This is my new source of income,” said Sylvester Kinyori, 32,
who operates a kiosk in Isiolo town where he sells fish products
from local farmers who have turned to aquaculture.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-kenya-climatechange-water-agriculture-idUSKCN10K0Y0


U.N. chief urges large nations to ratify Paris climate accord.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Argentina and other
large nations to ratify the Paris climate accord at a Buenos
Aires conference on Monday, and Argentina's foreign minister said
she hoped the country would do so by the end of the year. In
December 2015, some 195 countries reached an agreement in Paris…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-argentina-bankimoon-un-idUSKCN10J2BH


Court backs Obama’s climate change accounting. A federal appeals
court is upholding the Obama administration’s accounting of the
costs of greenhouse gas emissions as applied to a Department of
Energy (DOE) regulation. In a unanimous decision late Monday, the
Chicago-based 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals rejected an
industry-backed request to overturn a 2014 rule that set energy
efficiency standards…
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/290859-court-backs-obamas-climate-change-accounting?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=7c2b40f7fb-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-7c2b40f7fb-327747457


This tiny town has found a new way to cut GHGs. This enclave in
north San Diego County is known for its small-town feel, the
summer concerts held on a bluff above crashing ocean waves and
the non-chain stores in its arts district. It's also seen as a
progressive stronghold. Incorporated 30 years ago after local
residents grew concerned about overdevelopment, Solana Beach
jumped ahead of others regionally on environmental causes.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/08/10/stories/1060041403 

FUELS

OPEC Says Weak Oil Demand Is Here to Stay. Weakness in global oil
markets, which has dragged prices to a three-month low, may
persist as demand slows seasonally and fuel inventories remain
abundant, OPEC predicted. There are “lingering concerns” that
U.S. and European refiners may reduce processing rates as profits
fade amid a continuing “overhang” of crude and refined fuels…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-10/opec-signals-oil-market-lull-may-persist-on-muted-fuel-demand?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=7c2b40f7fb-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-7c2b40f7fb-327747457


Global glut of oil products threatens crude recovery. Gasoline
and diesel stockpiles have swollen to record highs across the
globe, leaving refiners and traders few places to dump excess
supplies and threatening large-scale production cuts that could
derail an oil price recovery. Typically, U.S. and European
refiners deal with excess regional inventories by exporting extra
supplies to markets where margins for diesel, gasoline, or other
oil products remains strong.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-demand-oil-idUSKCN10L0FK


U.S. coal regulator to crack down on cleanup coverage. U.S.
states should force coal companies to set aside collateral to pay
for future mine cleanups and protect taxpayers as the industry
braces for further declines, a leading federal regulator said on
Tuesday. Three of the largest U.S. coal producers, Peabody Energy
Corp, Arch Coal Inc and Alpha Natural Resources, have filed for
bankruptcy in the past year in an industry shaken by cheap
natural
gas…http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-coal-cleanup-idUSKCN10K1WD?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=7c2b40f7fb-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-7c2b40f7fb-327747457


Argentina needs more soy to fill crusher capacity: industry.
Argentine soybean crushers are working at only about 80 percent
capacity, the head of the grains export chamber said, as farmers
have not yet increased production despite more farm-friendly
policies from the new government. President Mauricio Macri ended
years of tension between the farm sector and the state when he
took office in December.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-argentina-summit-soybeans-idUSKCN10L1UQ


Oil Prices Turn Lower After Inventory Data. Crude-oil inventories
unexpectedly rose in latest week. Oil prices fell Wednesday after
weekly U.S. inventory data showed that domestic inventories of
crude oil and petroleum products rose last week to a record high.
U.S. stockpiles of crude oil and refined products rose by 2.5
million barrels in the week ended Aug. 5 to 1.39 billion barrels…
http://www.wsj.com/articles/oil-prices-edge-lower-on-higher-u-s-stockpiles-output-forecasts-1470823674


China halts work on $15 billion nuclear waste project after
protests. A Chinese city has suspended preliminary work on a
proposed 100 billion yuan ($15 billion) nuclear waste processing
plant following protests by local residents concerned about
health risks. Reports that Lianyungang - a coastal city about 500
km (310 miles) north of Shanghai…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-nuclearpower-idUSKCN10L0CX


Hot summer fuels gas surge — EIA. Natural-gas-fired power demand
hit a record high last month as hot weather and low prices
collided, according to the latest federal energy data. Natural
gas provided just shy of 5,000 gigawatt-hours per day of power in
July, 9 percent higher than the previous record set in July of
last year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said
yesterday in its latest short-term energy outlook.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2016/08/10/stories/1060041405 

VEHICLES

China’s LeEco to Invest $1.8 Billion to Build Electric Car Plant.
The plant is expected to have an annual production capacity of
400,000 battery-powered vehicles. Chinese tech and entertainment
company LeEco plans to invest 12 billion yuan ($1.8 billion) to
build a plant in China to produce smart, internet-connected
electric cars. The plant, which will be based near the
picturesque Mogan Mountain in the eastern Zhejiang province…
http://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-leeco-to-invest-1-8-billion-to-build-electric-car-plant-1470834693

Karma owner plans $375M China electric car factory. The owner of
Karma Automotive is planning to produce electric cars in China,
becoming the latest company to flag ambitions to build new-energy
vehicles in the world’s largest auto market. Wanxiang Group,
founded by Chinese billionaire Lu Guanqiu, plans to build an
electric vehicle plant in Hangzhou, China…
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/2016/08/09/karma-china-electric-car-factory/88478482/


2016 Nissan Leaf group buy in Montreal signs up 2,800 for low
price on electric car. Group purchases of cars and other goods,
as a way of driving down the price, are common in other
countries—think China—but rare in North America. But over the
last two years, they've emerged as a way for electric-car
advocates to accomplish several goals at once.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1105474_2016-nissan-leaf-group-buy-in-montreal-signs-up-2800-for-low-price-on-electric-car


How Mazda 'zoom-zoom' turned fuel economy upside down. In 2007,
Mazda Motor Corp. made a striking promise. Though the company
planned to continue exclusively using petroleum engines, its
"Sustainable Zoom-Zoom Strategy" committed to providing "all
customers who purchase Mazda vehicles with driving pleasure as
well as outstanding environmental and safety performance."
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/08/10/stories/1060041439 

VW RECALL

Electric car charging station companies issue warning over VW
settlement. Electric vehicle charging companies are calling for
independent oversight of the $2 billion Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE)
is required to invest in clean car infrastructure, saying VW
should not have the power to shape the nascent electric car
charging space.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-settlement-idUSKCN10L038


GREEN ENERGY

SunPower ‘Guidance Bomb’ Leaves Crater Among Solar Companies.
SunPower Corp. dropped a “guidance bomb” that’s dragging down
shares of solar manufacturers. The second-largest U.S. panel
producer told analysts Tuesday night that it expects to lose as
much as $175 million this year, a shift from May when it expected
to earn as much as $50 million. The shares plunged the most in
more than seven years.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-10/sunpower-guidance-bomb-leaves-crater-among-solar-companies


Poland's PGE to spend up to $472 million on power station
upgrade. Poland's biggest power producer PGE estimates it will
have to spend up to 1.8 billion zlotys ($471.96 million) by 2020
to upgrade its power stations so that they meet European Union
emission reduction regulations, the company said on Wednesday.
Poland has to upgrade its power stations so that they meet the
reduction requirements…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-pge-polska-investment-idUSKCN10L12Q


EU regulators okay French aid for heat and power plants. EU state
aid regulators cleared on Tuesday a French scheme for combined
heat and power plants using natural gas designed to increase the
country's renewable energy output, saying the public support was
in line with the bloc's rules. Under the scheme, energy plants
will be granted either a…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-eu-energy-idUSKCN10K0X8


Elon Musk's next move? Solar roofing. Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk
wants control of your roof. On a conference call yesterday
announcing SolarCity Corp.'s second-quarter earnings, Musk
announced the company is planning a new solar roof product,
rather than just offering solar modules to place on roofs.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/08/10/stories/1060041437 

MISCELLANEOUS

Utility Giant PG&E Convicted of Violating Gas Pipeline Safety
Laws. A federal jury found Pacific Gas and Electric Company
guilty on five felony counts of failing to adequately inspect its
gas pipelines before the blast that incinerated a neighborhood in
San Bruno, Calif., in September 2010. The utility was also found
guilty of one count of misleading federal investigators about the
standard it used to identify high-risk pipelines.
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/08/09/489401025/utility-giant-pg-e-convicted-of-violating-gas-pipeline-safety-laws?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=7c2b40f7fb-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-7c2b40f7fb-327747457


OPINIONS

The Emerging-Market Debt Bomb Ticks For Oil. Oil doesn't just
float on water. It's pretty buoyant on debt, too. My colleague
Lisa Abramowicz wrote earlier this week about the flood of money
into emerging market debt this year. Just as investors are now
willing to take negative yields on trillions of dollars in
developed-economy sovereign debt, the premium they demand for
bonds from riskier parts of the globe has shrunk to almost
nothing.
https://www.bloomberg.com/gadfly/articles/2016-08-10/emerging-market-debt-bomb-ticks-for-oil-prices


COLUMN-Heatwaves and low prices tighten U.S. gas market: Kemp.
Unusually hot weather coupled with cheap fuel prices caused U.S.
power producers to burn a record volume of gas last month to meet
soaring demand for electricity for air conditioning. April and
May were cooler than normal across the continental United States,
depressing air conditioning demand…
http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-natgas-kemp-idUSL8N1AR4DN 

I Just Drove Eight Hours on Tesla Autopilot and Lived to Tell the
Tale. After 550 miles that included crossing the Sierra Nevada
mountains, the only real problem was the driver behind the wheel.
I knew Tesla had a problem when everyone started telling me to
“be safe.” I was getting ready to embark on a 550-mile road trip
in a $145,000 Tesla Model S.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-10/i-just-drove-8-hours-on-tesla-autopilot-and-lived-to-tell-the-tale


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…
http://www.fresnobee.com/news/politics-government/politics-columns-blogs/political-notebook/article94618592.html#storylink=cpy

 
BLOGS

Here’s One Reason for Optimism on Oil Prices. Inventories aren't
as high compared with their historical average in bearish
periods. Hedge funds are betting that swelling inventories will
help push the price of oil lower, but this glut still looks
milder than past bearish cycles in crude. The price of oil has
fallen roughly 14% since its most recent peak in June, as
investors worry that large stocks…
http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2016/08/10/heres-a-sign-of-optimism-for-oil-prices/


Legislative Update: GHG Targets, Cap&Trade, Transportation
Special Session. The California legislature returned from its
summer break last week and now has one month to finish all the
business it started in this session. If it can. Pending issues
include a bill that would extend current greenhouse gas emissions
goals past 2020, creating an expenditure plan for the Greenhouse
Gas Reduction Fund…
http://cal.streetsblog.org/2016/08/09/legislative-update-ghg-targets-captrade-transp-special-session/


Water District Adds More Solar To Cut Emissions, Save Money. With
the dual goals of cutting carbon emissions and reducing
operational costs, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern
California, a state-established cooperative of 26 cities and
water agencies serving nearly 19 million people in six counties,
has unveiled its latest investment in solar power. Specifically,
the district has completed a 3 MW solar project…
http://solarindustrymag.com/water-district-adds-more-solar-to-cut-emissions-save-money




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