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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for August 22, 2016.
Posted: 22 Aug 2016 13:45:54
ARB Newsclips for August 22, 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 Iraqi children pay high health cost of war-induced air pollution, study finds. Researchers identify exposure to toxic materials from explosion of munitions and burning of military waste by US army as cause of birth defects and cancers. Air pollution caused by war may be a major factor in the numbers of birth defects and cancers being reported in Iraq and other war zones, a study has suggested. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/aug/22/iraq-children-health-cost-war-induced-air-pollution-study-toxic-waste-birth-defects Cruise ships start to come under scrutiny as massive pollution machines. Cruise ships regularly depart major ports with thousands of passengers onboard, and they are now being called out as major sources of pollution. While increased pressure on carmakers to improve emissions continues, regulators and environmental groups are also scrutinizing other forms of transportation-related emissions. http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/In-Gear/2016/0821/Cruise-ships-start-to-come-under-scrutiny-as-massive-pollution-machines CLIMATE CHANGE There’s at least one creature on Earth that’s loving global warming. About 23,600 square miles of Arctic sea ice melted every day in May, a record-high amount. That is good news for one group: bowhead whales, the Arctic’s largest marine mammal. Warming temperatures are leading to a massive sea-ice melt that’s troublesome for native people and polar bears. Both rely on the ice to launch hunts. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/theres-at-least-one-creature-on-earth-thats-loving-global-warming/2016/08/22/331cc880-43aa-11e6-8856-f26de2537a9d_story.html As Chimney Fire burns, climate change increases potential for more wildfires. Globally, NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the World Meteorological Organization all announced that 2015 was the hottest year on record, shattering the previous record set in 2014 by more than one-tenth of a degree Celsius. http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/weather/weather-watch/article96912947.html#storylink=cpy Climate change will mean the end of national parks as we know them. As the National Parks Service turns 100 this week, we look at how receding ice, extreme heat and acidifying oceans are transforming America’s landscapes, and guardians of national parks face the herculean task of stopping it. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/22/climate-change-national-parks-threat How the Park Service is planning for climate change. The agency is forging ahead despite meager help from Congress. Five years ago, just after archaeologist Marcy Rockman joined the National Park Service’s new climate change response program, the GOP-controlled Congress slashed its budget by 70 percent. Republicans were determined to squash President Barack Obama’s climate agenda… http://www.hcn.org/issues/48.14/how-the-park-service-is-planning-for-climate-change?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=faf25ca1f1-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-faf25ca1f1-327747457 Reports: Plans for IPCC's 1.5C special report start to take shape. Due in 2018, the report will set out the feasibility of limiting rise in temperatures to 1.5C as well as the enormous changes needed to achieve the target. The feasibility of limiting global temperatures to 1.5C will play a major role in the special report set to be prepared by the UN's climate science panel in the wake of the Paris Agreement. http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2468410/reports-plans-for-ipccs-15c-special-report-start-to-take-shape?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=faf25ca1f1-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-faf25ca1f1-327747457 California Climate Policies a $48 Billion Boon for State’s Economy, Analysis Finds. A new analysis by a non-partisan business group finds that California’s climate policies have been a boon for the state’s economy. Assembly Bill 32, also known as AB 32 or the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, requires California to reduce climate-cooking greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020… http://www.theenergycollective.com/desmog/2386353/california-climate-policies-a-48-billion-boon-for-states-economy-analysis-finds Study Measures Methane Release From Arctic Permafrost. A University of Alaska Fairbanks-led research project has provided the first modern evidence of a landscape-level permafrost carbon feedback, in which thawing permafrost releases ancient carbon as climate-warming greenhouse gases. http://www.eurasiareview.com/22082016-study-measures-methane-release-from-arctic-permafrost/ Report links climate change with income loss for millennials. NextGen Climate is focusing on voters' wallets in its ongoing bid to drive young people to the polls in November, releasing a report today that predicts members of the millennial generation could expect to lose $8.8 trillion in lifetime income unless the nation takes action to address climate change. http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/08/22/stories/1060041898 DROUGHT 'Blob' may help drought-stricken California. But this series of marine heat waves has been harming marine life from Australia to San Diego. As a series of marine heat waves linked to climate change has thrown ocean ecosystems out of whack from Australia to the coast of California, a cooling trend called La Niña has given scientists hope that water temperatures could come back into balance. http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/aug/20/blob-la-nina-el-nino-heat-waves/ DIESEL ACTIVITIES Near-Zero Emission NGV Buses Slated for Los Angeles Transit Fleet. Global bus manufacturer New Flyer Industries on Wednesday committed to have the first near-zero natural gas vehicle (NGV) transit bus on the market. The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority (LA Metro) is slated to receive the first two buses. Key to the near-zero emission (NZ) NGV technology is the 8.9-liter ISL G Cummins Westport engine (see Daily GPI, May 6). LA Metro described its two NZ buses as an Xcelsior model… http://www.naturalgasintel.com/articles/107484-near-zero-emission-ngv-buses-slated-for-los-angeles-transit-fleet FUELS Oil and gas fracking industry targets Millennials for support. The oil and gas industries certainly know how to tailor their messages to specific demographics. The process of hydraulic fracturing—commonly known as "fracking"—to release fossil-fuel reserves from the earth has led to a boom in U.S. production, but has also proven controversial because of environmental issues. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1105678_oil-and-gas-fracking-industry-targets-millennials-for-support VEHICLES California may beef up electric vehicle mandate. Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown issued an executive order in 2012 calling for 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2025; 192,000 have been sold since 2010, according to the air board. With the extension of California's landmark climate change law stalled, a legislative plan is emerging to significantly up the ante on… http://www.thetrucker.com/News/Stories/2016/8/22/Californiamaybeefupelectricvehiclemandate.aspx 1 in 6 cars sold in 2020 must be electric to meet fuel-economy rules: study. Several nations have enacted strict fuel economy standards but, for the most part, they have not required automakers to sell electric cars. In the U.S., only the state of California has a zero-emission vehicle mandate that puts such a requirement on carmakers. Yet even without mandates, automakers may soon be forced to sell large numbers of electric cars just to meet fuel-economy rules. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1105673_1-in-6-cars-sold-in-2020-must-be-electric-to-meet-fuel-economy-rules-study http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/In-Gear/2016/0822/Study-says-1-in-6-cars-sold-in-2020-must-be-electric-to-meet-fuel-economy-rules VW RECALL VW's Battle With Contractors Gets Unusually Messy. A revolt that is leading some plants idle. The decision of the world’s largest automaker to take on a feisty Bosnian entrepreneur who supplies it parts is backfiring spectacularly. Volkswagen AG VLKAY -0.26% said Monday it had stopped, or partially stopped, work at six of its biggest assembly plants… http://fortune.com/2016/08/22/vw-supplier-dispute-production/ GREEN ENERGY Obama Rule Could Take Wind Out of Renewable Power on Public Land. It was supposed to be the largest wind farm in North America, with 1,000 turbines spinning above 320,000 acres of southern Wyoming. But after investing more than $50 million and nearly a decade seeking approval to build a wind farm on public lands… http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-22/obama-rule-could-take-wind-out-of-renewable-power-on-public-land Wall St. flat as biotechs offset energy sector slump. U.S. stocks were little changed on Monday as a drop in oil prices that weighed on the energy sector was offset by strong gains among biotech stocks. Oil prices fell about 3 percent, after touching two-month highs last week, on worries about burgeoning Chinese fuel exports… http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks-idUSKCN10X19M?feedType=RSS&virtualBrandChannel=11563 America’s First Offshore Wind Farm May Power Up a New Industry. A just-completed project off the coast of Rhode Island, though relatively tiny, is at the forefront of a sea-based transition to renewable energy. The towering machines stand a few miles from shore, in a precise line across the seafloor, as rigid in the ocean breeze as sailors reporting for duty. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/23/science/americas-first-offshore-wind-farm-may-power-up-a-new-industry.html?_r=0 Offshore wind farm a green-energy milestone. The first offshore wind energy farm in the USA is up and nearly ready to go, marking a new chapter in the nation’s changing electricity grid. Thursday, workers finished installing the last of five turbines off Rhode Island’s coast, a little more than a year after the Providence-based developer Deepwater Wind first put steel in the water. http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/2016/08/21/offshore-wind-farm-green-energy-milestone/88621448/ Bad energy? Some locals upset over proposed renewable energy plant in Anaheim. Some residents within several miles of a proposed renewable energy plant that would convert food waste into clean electricity are questioning whether the idea smells. Carlsbad-based Anaergia proposes to build a facility where daily hundreds… http://www.ocregister.com/articles/plant-726560-waste-energy.html SDG&E Gets OK to Build Energy Storage Projects in Escondido and El Cajon. State regulators have signed off on San Diego Gas & Electric’s proposal to build lithium-ion battery projects in Escondido and El Cajon capable of storing a combined 37.5 megawatts of energy. The California Public Utilities Commission’s approval follows a request by the agency that electric… http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/SDGE-Gets-OK-to-Build-Energy-Storage-Projects-in-Escondido-and-El-Cajon-390912611.html#ixzz4I5f45kkY Wind turbines: The money and the myths. When Exelon approached Dean Kritzman about leasing his land for the energy company’s most recent wind turbine project, Kritzman didn’t hesitate to say yes. He saw it as a win-win-win situation: the turbine would produce renewable energy, Sanilac County would reap tax revenue benefits and he would get a personal lease payment each year. http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/08/20/michigan-wind-turbines-money-and-myths/89041958/ MISCELLANEOUS A new era in California gold prospecting could be coming with court ruling. California's Supreme Court could clear the way for a new era of gold prospectors 168 years after the start of the state's historic Gold Rush. The court is set to rule Monday on the legality of the state's ban on the use of suction dredges to extract gold from rivers. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-gold-prospecting-20160822-snap-story.html Butte farmers may qualify for cash to replace old tractors. Farmers in Butte County may be eligible for air quality funding this year that will help pay for new farm equipment like tractors and nut harvesting equipment. The funding, through the Natural Resources Conservation Service, has been around since 2009. However, priority is given to replace equipment that creates the most air pollution and in areas with the worst air quality. http://www.orovillemr.com/article/NB/20160821/NEWS/160829963 Torrance residents get to suggest how to spend millions on air quality improvements. Southern California’s regional air quality watchdog has scheduled a Wednesday meeting in Torrance to discuss how to spend $2.7 million in penalties imposed on the former ExxonMobil refinery for excess emissions. http://www.dailybreeze.com/environment-and-nature/20160820/torrance-residents-get-to-suggest-how-to-spend-millions-on-air-quality-improvements ENVIORNMENTAL JUSTICE CARB meeting in Brawley. (Air Resources Board wants to hear from the Public)…Mostly North County residents. The California Air Resources Board citizen input for the updated Supplemental Environmental Project. CARB will be holding a meeting Wednesday at the Comite Civico del Valley on Main Street in Brawley. http://kxoradio.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6316:carb-meeting-in-brawley&catid=8&Itemid=103 OPINIONS A New Strategy for Climate Change? Retreat. Years from now, as the rising tides and brutal storms wrought by climate change push the residents of coastal towns around the U.S. away from the water's edge, each of those towns will confront some version of the same question: What do you do about people like the Nelsons?… https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-08-22/nj-s-blue-acres-program-a-new-strategy-for-climate-change Good news for the energy industry. Coal bed methane offers a safe solution to energy problems. While the price of oil may be beginning to climb up a bit these days, we hope it has at least seen the bottom. The devastating effect of oil prices on cities, companies and workers cannot be overstated. The energy industry needs some good news. And they may found it. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/aug/21/coal-bed-methane-good-news-for-the-energy-industry/ A big question complicating the climate debate: Are current policies only benefiting the rich? In early 2015, Democratic members of the state Assembly huddled in a Cal State Sacramento conference room to hear Mary Nichols, chair of the powerful Air Resources Board, explain how her agency handles the billions of dollars collected from California’s marquee program to fight climate change. http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-climate-change-disadvantaged-communities-20160822-snap-story.html Climate change is real to farmers in California. Many farmers regard themselves as the original land stewards. For us, it is especially stressful to watch the planting and harvesting seasons change, for reasons out of our control. In 2015, drought and irregular weather brought my pistachio crop nearly to disaster. It’s clear that for us to remain resilient in the face of uncertain new weather patterns… http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/readers-opinion/article97168502.html#storylink=cpy Commentary: California must tackle super-pollutants in air (East Bay Times). It's not too long ago that smog days were a regular occurrence for schoolchildren in California, especially in communities hit hard by air pollution. A lot has changed since then. Through decades of emissions restrictions, California has made huge strides in cleaning our air and protecting public health from the worst effects of air pollution. http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_30269004/commentary-california-must-tackle-super-pollutants-air-east Let's pump the brakes on cap-and-trade. In 2006, elected officials gave the California Air Resources Board (CARB) virtually unchecked authority to implement AB 32, which aims to reduce carbon emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020. The legislation, including the controversial cap-and-trade program, expires in four years. Some lawmakers have already introduced legislation, such as SB 32, to extend CARB’s authority. http://www.vvdailypress.com/article/20160822/OPINION/160829963 Legislation targeting AQMD renews air quality concerns. A number of local elected officials from across the South Coast region signed an Aug. 17 Valley Voice which claims California Senate bill 1387 would take Air Quality Management District control out of local hands. They also claim in their column that the bill will "fix something that is not broken." http://www.desertsun.com/story/opinion/contributors/valley-voice/2016/08/19/valley-voice-terry-aqmd-legislation-support/88974852/ Who decides on greenhouse gases: Voters or lawmakers? The fundamental things apply … As time goes by.” That lyric from the classic film “Casablanca” could certainly apply today in the continuing, fundamental battle between environmentalists and a major part of California’s business community over legislation containing stricter measures to curb greenhouse gases. It’s a familiar fight in the Capitol: Oil companies and their allies say jobs… http://capitolweekly.net/greenhouse-gases-voters-lawmakers/ Passing Climate Bills Will Help Clear Up California’s Smog. If California lawmakers are looking for yet another reason to pass Senate Bill 32 (Pavley) and Assembly Bill 197 (E. Garcia), which would reduce climate-changing pollution to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and put new emphasis on measures that protect public health, they need only breathe in the dirty air plaguing the South Coast air basin. https://www.nrdc.org/experts/alex-jackson/passing-climate-bills-will-help-clear-californias-smog Editorial: Water agencies make mockery of conservation. It’s always been an open question about how we’d know when California’s drought is over. Apparently if it came to a vote of the state’s water agencies, we’re there now. Tuesday the State Water Resources Control Board released the conservation targets the water providers were setting for their customers. For 85 percent of them, the target was zero. http://www.chicoer.com/opinion/20160820/editorial-water-agencies-make-mockery-of-conservation California methane regulations are excessive, pointless. MANY have questioned whether State Question 777, the “Right to Farm” constitutional amendment, is truly needed in Oklahoma. While supporters argue constitutional protection is a must to prevent pointless and job-killing regulation of farms and ranches, opponents reasonably note that Oklahoma has never been hospitable to such movements. Now if we were talking about California … http://newsok.com/article/5514795 Letters: Dangers of natural-gas air pollution. The recent study linking excess air pollution in Philadelphia to 126 deaths and 284 hospitalizations should be a wake-up call to our policymakers about the human toll of failing to enact strong environmental protections ("Study: Phila.'s bad air tied to 126 early deaths," Aug. 11). As a physician, I'm not surprised. http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20160822_Letters__Dangers_of_natural-gas_air_pollution.html Can we afford the true cost of air pollution? Air pollution takes years off people’s lives. It causes substantial pain and suffering among adults and children alike. And it damages food production at a time when we need to feed more people than ever. This is not just an economic issue; it is a moral one. Air pollution can be produced both outdoors and indoors. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2016/08/20/commentary/world-commentary/can-afford-true-cost-air-pollution/#.V7s4U_nQhKU BLOGS Global Warming Has Now Made the Northwest Passage a Thing. More than a century ago, explorers dreamed of a Northwest Passage, a route from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic by plying the waterways north of Canada, threading through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, huge icy islands north of Canada. http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2016/08/22/global_warming_has_allowed_easier_access_to_the_northwest_passage.html Flooding, Extreme Weather, and Record Temperatures: How Global Warming Puts it All Together. Louisiana, August 2016: “I’m going home to see if I have a home”. Ellicot City, Maryland, July 2016: “Oh my god. There’s people in the water”. West Virginia, June 2016: “23 dead, thousands homeless after devastating flood”. What do these events (and 5 more since April 2015) have in common? http://blog.ucsusa.org/astrid-caldas/flooding-extreme-weather-and-record-temperatures-how-global-warming-puts-it-all-together Why Are Pennsylvania’s Oil & Gas Emissions Going Up? A new report reveals that harmful emissions from oil and gas development are increasing. This is bad news for Pennsylvania families who have been repeatedly told by industry trade groups that pollution is under control. According to the Department of Environmental Protection, in 2014 oil and gas companies emitted… http://blogs.edf.org/energyexchange/2016/08/22/why-are-pennsylvanias-oil-gas-emissions-going-up/ India Achieves Historical First-Ever Surplus of Power. While India makes strides in moving toward a power surplus, pollution is worsening and access to electricity remains a distant promise for millions. For the first time since India’s independence in 1947, the country now has a power surplus. This is a remarkable achievement as India was just a few years ago grappling with rampant power deficits and outages. http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/plugged-in/india-achieves-historical-first-ever-surplus-of-power/ California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.