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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for September 19, 2016.
Posted: 19 Sep 2016 15:49:47
ARB Newsclips for September 19, 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 Canada will impose nationwide carbon price: minister. Canada will impose a carbon price on provinces that do not adequately regulate emissions by themselves, Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said on Sunday without giving details on how the Liberal government will do so. Speaking on the CTV broadcaster's "Question Period," a national politics talk show, McKenna said the new emissions regime… http://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-climatechange-idUSKCN11O0Q3 Canada Adopts Carbon Pricing — Possible N. American Hat Trick? Canada’s federal environment minister Catherine McKenna made a huge announcement Sunday on Canadian television’s Question Period. The central government in Ottawa has come out for nationwide carbon pricing. It will soon levy a minimum national carbon price on any province that lacks adequate plans to reduce its own greenhouse gas emissions. http://cleantechnica.com/2016/09/19/canada-adopts-carbon-pricing-possible-n-american-hat-trick/ AIR POLLUTION Study estimates 100,000 premature deaths from Indonesia haze. Indonesian forest fires that choked a swath of Southeast Asia with a smoky haze for weeks last year may have caused more than 100,000 premature deaths, according to new research that will add to pressure on Indonesia's government to tackle the annual crisis. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_SOUTHEAST_ASIA_HAZE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Most states on track to meet emissions targets they call burden. The 27 states challenging Obama’s Clean Power Plan in court say the lower emissions levels it would impose are an undue burden. But most are likely to hit them anyway. Already, Arkansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma and South Dakota appear to be meeting the CPP's early targets. And changes in the power market, along with policies favoring clean generation … http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-climatechange-lawsuit-insight-idUSKCN11O0E1 Southeast Asia Blazes May Have Led to Deaths of Over 100,000, Study Says. The forest fire and haze disaster in Southeast Asia last year may have led to the deaths of more than 100,000 people, according to a study released Monday by researchers from two United States universities. The vast majority of the cases were in Indonesia, where fires were deliberately set to clear land for agriculture. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/20/world/asia/indonesia-haze-smog-health.html?_r=0 CLIMATE CHANGE California governor backs rules on cow, landfill emissions. Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation that regulates emissions from dairy cows and landfills for the first time as California broadens its efforts to fight climate change beyond carbon-based greenhouse gases. Brown's move Monday targets a category of gases known as short-lived climate pollutants, which have an outsize effect on global warming despite their… http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_XGR_CALIFORNIA_CLIMATE_CHANGE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT EU Lawmaker Gerbrandy to Oversee Emissions Effort-Sharing Law. Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, a Dutch member of the European Parliament, was chosen to steer through the assembly a draft law on emissions outside the carbon market. Gerbrandy, who belongs to the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, will be responsible for drafting a report on the proposed law…http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-19/eu-lawmaker-gerbrandy-to-oversee-emissions-effort-sharing-law DiCaprio's 'Before The Flood' a wake-up call on climate change: director. Turning a blind eye to climate change will come at a price the world can no longer afford to pay, the director of a documentary produced by Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio said on Monday. "We can no longer turn a blind eye to the issue of climate change. We are at a crucial moment where if we don't act now, we will forever pay the price," Fisher Stevens said in a statement. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-film-dicaprio-idUSKCN11P1I4 More are willing to pay to fight climate change, survey says. How much would you pay on your electric bill to combat climate change? Is $10 or $20 a month reasonable? $50 too much? Or, maybe you’re unwilling to shell out anything at all. A new survey offers some insight regarding the extent to which Americans consider climate change a legitimate threat and how much they’re willing to pay for government policies that would… http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/2016/09/18/more-willing-pay-fight-climate-change-survey-says/90507024/ Washington state implements rule to combat climate change. State Department of Ecology unveils initiative to cap and reduce the carbon pollution. Between record-setting temperatures, shrinking snowpack, rampant wildfires, and acidifying waters, the threats of carbon pollution have become increasingly conspicuous since 2008, when the Washington State Legislature set targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. https://www.hcn.org/articles/washington-climate-change-plan-rules http://www.utilitydive.com/news/washington-adopts-rule-to-cap-emissions-from-large-polluters/426524/ High-level climate talks begin in New York. Presidents and prime ministers, environmental advocates and entrepreneurs have descended on the Big Apple to help the landmark Paris climate deal take force and discuss new ways of reducing greenhouse gases. The annual event, known as Climate Week, is in its eighth year and coincides with the opening of the U.N. General Assembly. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/09/19/stories/1060043024 Soil holds lots of carbon, but can it reduce warming? As researchers scramble to develop new technologies to capture carbon emissions from the atmosphere, a possible solution is right under their feet. Long before scientists began testing artificial methods of carbon capture and storage, nature had developed its own type of carbon sink in soil. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/09/19/stories/1060043020 DROUGHT Think California’s current drought is bad? Past incarnations have lasted hundreds of years. California is now five years deep into one of its most severe droughts on record, and scientists are continually probing the different factors that affect the state’s climate, and how much those are related to the overall warming of the globe. Increasingly, this means looking back into the past for clues about how the region has changed over… https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/09/19/californias-current-drought-may-seem-bad-but-past-versions-have-lasted-hundreds-of-years/?utm_term=.dd4f3af9ef56 DIESEL ACTIVITIES California's Zero Emissions Vehicle Dreams. With the 2010 Environmental Protection Agency emissions regulations behind, and the trucking industry currently gearing up to integrate the first phase of new greenhouse gas emissions regulations going into effect in January, fleet managers may have thought they’d heard the last from the California Air Resources Board for a while. http://www.truckinginfo.com/channel/fuel-smarts/article/story/2016/09/california-s-zero-emissions-vehicle-dreams.aspx FUELS Swiss traders blame governments for dirty fuel in Africa. Swiss commodity traders accused of deliberately blending toxic fuel and dumping it in West Africa say African governments are to blame for low standards and failure to invest in refineries and newer vehicles to lower exhaust emissions that cause respiratory and other diseases. "What is very clear is that the role of improving fuel quality in Africa clearly rests… http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AF_WEST_AFRICA_DIRTY_DIESEL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT JetBlue Makes Biofuels Deal to Curtail Greenhouse Gases. JetBlue, seeking to get ahead of looming restrictions on airliners’ greenhouse gas pollution, has agreed to buy more than 330 million gallons of renewable fuel over 10 years, the company said on Monday. It is one of the largest such purchase agreements yet. Under the agreement with the bioenergy company SG Preston… http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/20/business/energy-environment/jetblue-makes-biofuels-deal-to-curtail-greenhouse-gases.html University of California team show new ways of boosting bioethanol production. A porous metal-organic framework sorbent could boost the efficiency of ethanol production from cellulosic biomass by trapping compounds that inhibit fermentation, according to a study from the University of California. Woody plants and grasses hold enormous supplies of cellulose… http://biofuels-news.com/display_news/11047/University_of_California_team_show_new_ways_of_boosting_bioethanol_production/ Why Africa gets filthiest diesel fuel: little regulation, global traders. All countries have to deal with emissions from diesel vehicles, but African nations have it worse than most. They often have few emissions regulations, something Swiss trading firms take advantage of by importing fuel that's too dirty for sale in other regions. These firms often serve as both producer and distributor for fuels in Africa… http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1106171_why-africa-gets-filthiest-diesel-fuel-little-regulation-global-traders Los Angeles on track to dump fossil fuels. Los Angeles will chart a path to get off fossil fuels and switch to 100 percent renewable energy, the City Council voted unanimously Friday. The council told the city's utility, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, to form a collaborative that will identify steps needed to generate all of LA's electricity from renewable resources. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/09/19/stories/1060043028 VEHICLES Many car brands emit more pollution than Volkswagen, report finds. Diesel cars by Fiat, Suzuki and Renault among makers emitting up to fifteen times European standard for nitrogen oxide. A year on from the “Dieselgate” scandal that engulfed Volkswagen, damning new research reveals that all major diesel car brands, including Fiat, Vauxhall and Suzuki… https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/sep/19/many-car-brands-emit-more-pollution-than-volkswagen-report-finds California removes limit on carpool access for plug-in hybrids. Of California's many incentives for green cars, one of the most popular is solo access to the state's carpool lanes for drivers of electric cars, plug-in hybrids, and certain other vehicles. But while California will distribute an unlimited number of "white stickers" for electric cars—as well as vehicles using hydrogen fuel cells and compressed natural gas (CNG)—the number of "green stickers" for plug-in hybrids is limited. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1106179_california-removes-limit-on-carpool-access-for-plug-in-hybrids Electric-Vehicle Mileage Record Set In California Thanks To The Convenience Of True Zero Hydrogen-Fuel Network. Yesterday the founders of True Zero completed a scenic drive throughout California in a fuel-cell-electric Toyota Mirai, covering 1,438 miles in a 24-hour period, thus breaking the official Guinness World Record for electric miles driven in 24 hours. The goal of the drive was to demonstrate how a zero-emission electric vehicle… http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/electric-vehicle-mileage-record-set-in-california-thanks-to-the-convenience-of-true-zero-hydrogen-fuel-network-300329336.html#continue-jump Technical brief: transportation overtaking electricity generation as the largest source of US CO2 emissions. A technical brief by Dr. John DeCicco at the University of Michigan Energy Institute shows that transportation is overtaking electricity generation as the largest source of US CO2. The average rate at which CO2 is emitted from vehicle tailpipes and other mobile sources has exceeded the rate of CO2 emissions from electric power plants over seven of the past eight months. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/09/20160919-decicco.html Kan. regulators slam the brakes on charging stations. Efforts to jump-start sales of electric vehicles and reduce driver anxiety about finding a place to fuel up by building charging stations have suffered a setback. Regulators in Kansas have refused to allow Kansas City Power and Light to pass on the costs of building the stations to ratepayers. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/09/19/stories/1060043025 VW RECALL VW has fixed less than 10 percent of rigged European diesel cars. Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) is making slow progress on fixing cars equipped with illicit engine software in Europe, having repaired less than 10 percent of the 8.5 million affected models, the company said on Monday. Germany's KBA motor vehicle authority has approved proposed fixes that would resolve the problem in about 5.1 million vehicles… http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-idUSKCN11P1FF http://www.autonews.com/article/20160919/COPY01/309199908/vw-has-fixed-less-than-10-of-rigged-diesel-cars-in-europe GREEN ENERGY First wave-produced electricity in US goes online in Hawaii. In the waters off the coast of Hawaii, a tall buoy bobs and sways in the water, using the rise and fall of the waves to generate electricity. The current travels through an undersea cable for a mile to a military base, where it is fed into Oahu's power grid - the first wave-produced electricity to go online in the U.S. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_WAVE_ENERGY_RACE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Tesla’s Merger With SolarCity May Be Delayed by Lawsuits. Two pension funds and two individuals had filed lawsuits earlier this month. nsion funds and two individuals had filed lawsuits earlier this month. Tesla Motors Inc. disclosed in a regulatory filing Monday that its proposed merger with SolarCity Corp. could be delayed by shareholder lawsuits, adding to the volatility for cash-strapped SolarCity… http://www.wsj.com/articles/teslas-merger-with-solarcity-may-be-delayed-by-lawsuits-1474301588 NextEra Sweetens Deal for Energy Future’s Oncor. Agrees to raise cash component of deal to $4.4 billion from $4.1 billion. NextEra Energy Inc. has boosted its offer for Energy Future Holdings Corp.’s Oncor electricity transmission business by $300 million, quieting creditor worries about the sale that will be the key to getting the Dallas company out of bankruptcy. http://www.wsj.com/articles/nextera-sweetens-deal-for-energy-futures-oncor-1474298602 Student Team Builds Solar-Powered Helicopter. This year we saw a solar-powered plane circumnavigate the globe and a solar-powered boat gear up to do the same. As of last week, we can add to that list of clean energy marvels the first-ever piloted flight of a solar-powered helicopter. A team of undergraduates at the University of Maryland has developed a four-rotor helicopter equipped with an array of solar panels. http://cleantechnica.com/2016/09/19/student-team-builds-solar-powered-helicopter/ Bringing Clean Energy to Multifamily Affordable Housing in California. How Low-Income Advocates and Housing Groups Came Together to Propose a $1 Billion Plan. Over the summer, a unique coalition came together in California to draft a plan to make the state’s clean energy economy more equitable for low-income renters. If state energy officials adopt the coalition’s proposed plan, it will put in place a groundbreaking strategy… http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2016/09/bringing-clean-energy-to-multifamily-affordable-housing-in-california.html Regulators bring back favorable rates for solar customers. More than 30,000 Nevada electric power customers who installed rooftop solar panels on their homes and businesses before this year will continue to receive retail-rate compensation under Nevada's net metering program, state regulators determined Friday. The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada unanimously approved a deal struck between NV Energy… http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/09/19/stories/1060043027 MISCELLANEOUS Senate's odd couple forge unlikely alliance on environment. The oddest of Senate odd couples - California Democrat Barbara Boxer and Oklahoma Republican Jim Inhofe - have accomplished something highly unusual in this bitter election year: significant, bipartisan legislation on the environment that has become law. Boxer, a staunch liberal, calls climate change the "greatest challenge to hit the planet,"… http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SENATE_ODD_COUPLE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Climate Week 2016: Businesses Lead Transition to a Low-Carbon. Climate Week 2016 kicks off today in New York City, with international business and government leaders meeting to discuss the transition to a low-carbon economy — what is means for countries and corporations, and how to achieve zero-emission value chains and communities. http://www.environmentalleader.com/2016/09/19/climate-week-2016-businesses-lead-the-transition-to-a-low-carbon-economy/#ixzz4Kidu1Qmz OPINIONS Deniers club: Meet the people clouding the climate change debate. They've stalled action with a campaign of deliberate misinformation. August tied July as the hottest month on record, according to NASA data released this past week. This year we’ve seen half a dozen thousand-year floods, along with epic droughts. Mother Nature is telling us there’s a problem. The long-term trend lines are clear. https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/09/16/deniers-club-meet-the-people-clouding-the-climate-change-debate/?utm_term=.1620d610b6b3 Are California’s hybrid and electric vehicle markets losing power? Are hybrid and electric vehicles losing their juice in California, far and away the nation’s leading market for those auto segments? On the surface, the answer is yes. Up the road, experts believe that electric vehicles in particular are due to take off. “Sales of alternative-powered vehicles have not kept pace with the rest… http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/transportation/article102087442.html#storylink=cpy The Observer view on global warming. The sea ice covering the most northerly part of our planet shrank last week to its second lowest level on record. Once stable at around 7.5m sq km in summer, the Arctic ice cap has been dwindling for several decades and dropped to an area of 4.1m sq. km a few days ago, a victim of the rising fossil-fuel emissions and increasing temperatures that now beset the Earth. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/17/arctic-sea-ice-climate-change-britain-must-commit-to-paris-agreement The RFS, the Rebound Effect, and an Additional 431 Million Tonnes of CO2. There’s a quirk of macroeconomics known as the rebound effect, and it can be a bit of a drag. When the price of a widely used commodity falls, consumers tend to use more of it. In most cases, that’s a good thing. But sometimes the price drop is the unintended consequence of policies or technologies that were actually designed to reduce the use of the commodity… http://www.theenergycollective.com/jonathan-lewis/2387935/the-rfs-the-rebound-effect-and-an-additional-431-million-tonnes-of-co2 Per Capita Davis: Blowing smoke. I don’t know who is worse, the truckers who “roll coal,” the legislators who say “aw, they’re just havin’ a little fun,” or the police and sheriffs who can’t figure out how to enforce the Clean Air Act requirement that tampering with emissions-control equipment on a car or truck is a crime, as is selling any device to accomplish that. You’re probably wondering what the heck I’m talking about. http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/news-columns/per-capita-davis-blowing-smoke/ BLOGS Three Things States Need to Do Now to Decarbonize Our Society. When the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the enforcement of the EPA’s Clean Power Plan in February of this year, President Obama’s flagship climate and energy proposal was relegated to legal limbo, most likely until 2018. For power producers this uncertainty is exacerbated by an international climate accord… http://blogs.wsj.com/experts/2016/09/18/three-things-states-need-to-do-now-to-decarbonize-our-society/ California CPP Compliance Plan Illustrates Potential of Cap and Trade, Expert says. California’s recently completed implementation plan for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan illustrates how easily a cap-and-trade system can be used to comply with the regulations, Dallas Burtraw, Darius Gaskins senior fellow at Resources for the Future, said during an RFF event Friday. http://www.exchangemonitor.com/publication/ghg-daily-monitor/california-cpp-compliance-plan-illustrates-potential-cap-trade-expert-says/ Climate Change Could Turn Up Heat on Koalas. Koalas just can’t catch a break. Throughout their native territories in eastern Australia, the famously tree-loving marsupials face ever-shrinking habitats. Human development has carved up their eucalyptus forest homes and as trees disappear, koalas have found themselves with dwindling food supplies, no protection from predators such as household dogs… http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/blog/climate-change/ Antarctic krill could take a big global warming hit. Changes in ocean temperatures and sea ice formation around Antarctica could imperil the region’s krill — tiny crustaceans that are at the base of the food chain. Scientists say they’ve already documented a big drop in krill populations since the 1970s. Losing more krill would reduce the amount of food available for whales, penguins, seals, squid, fish and other marine life. https://summitcountyvoice.com/2016/09/19/antarctic-krill-could-take-a-big-global-warming-hit/ Washington adopts rule to cap emissions from large polluters. Dive Brief: •The Washington Department of Ecology has adopted a new rule aimed at gradually reducing greenhouse gas emissions from large companies, calling it a "first-of-its-kind rule to combat climate change," the Seattle Times reports. •Businesses which emit 100,000 metric tons of carbon pollution annually will be required to cap… http://www.utilitydive.com/news/washington-adopts-rule-to-cap-emissions-from-large-polluters/426524/ Automakers Losing in Court of Public Opinion. Back in the 1970s, the automotive industry faced its first hardcore regulations on fuel economy, emissions and safety. It was the first time the government started dictating to corporations what kind of products they had to build, and they did not react well. Automakers practically declared war on legislators and regulators. At times the hyperbole bordered on the hysterical. http://wardsauto.com/ideaxchange/automakers-losing-court-public-opinion Emissions from ethanol production may be way worse than we thought. NOx levels, which were part of the VW scandal, may also be key in ethanol production pollution. Volkswagen may not be alone when it comes to underestimating or underreporting nitrogen-oxide (NOx) emissions levels. US ethanol producers are likely using outdated methods to measure NOx levels, according to trade publication Ethanol Producer. http://www.autoblog.com/2016/09/19/ethanol-factories-emissions-levels-may-be-underestimated/ California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.