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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for December 22, 2016.

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 14:36:38
ARB Newsclips for December 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

China smog triggers demand for masks, filters, but hobbles
deliveries. Near-record pollution levels in parts of China this
week proved a two-edged sword for the country's e-commerce
titans: orders poured in for anti-smog products, but transport
restrictions meant it was a challenge to get these delivered. Up
to 50 million orders in north China alone face delivery delays
due to grounded planes…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-pollution-logistics-idUSKBN14B1MW


Blue skies return to Beijing, but dangerous smog still blankets
northern China. Blue skies returned to Beijing on Thursday after
winds dispelled dangerously high levels of air pollution that had
blanketed the Chinese capital for five days prompting a pollution
red alert, but large parts of northern China remain under choking
smog.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-pollution-idUSKBN14B06G

Here's how Southern California's air was cleaner in 2016. State
data shows big reduction in deadly particle pollution in Southern
California. Southern Californians may be breathing a bit easier.
Particle pollution in the region’s ocean-to-mountains air basin
exceeded the federal health standard during just 16 days in 2016
– which is less than half the number of violations recorded in
each of the previous three years… 
http://www.pe.com/articles/air-821449-pollution-district.html

CLIMATE CHANGE

Shipping faces threat from EU of unilateral levy on carbon
emissions. The shipping industry faces the threat of paying a
levy to the European Union on its greenhouse gas emissions as
lawmakers from the bloc grow increasingly impatient with the slow
progress being made by the global effort to tackle the issue. The
industry, which accounts for around 90 percent of goods
transported globally…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-shipping-eu-idUSKBN14A15T


2016 - A year of transition from talk to action on climate
change. When it comes to climate change and the battle to keep it
in check, 2016 was a year of extremes. The euphoria of the
super-fast entry into force of the Paris Agreement to curb global
warming crashed days later with the election of Donald Trump as
U.S. president, fuelling fears he may pull the world's
second-largest emitting nation out of the pact.
http://in.reuters.com/article/global-climatechange-action-idINKBN14B00A


Activist investor ramps up pressure on Shell to act on climate
change. Oil major Royal Dutch Shell is facing rising pressure
from shareholders to shield its business from climate change
threats and to play a bigger role in lowering global carbon
emissions.
Activist shareholder group Follow this, representing some of
Shell's retail shareholders, will put forward a resolution at
next year's annual shareholder meeting requesting Shell to set
targets…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-shell-climatechange-idUSKBN14A2E4


China launches carbon-tracking satellite into space: Xinhua.
China launched a satellite to monitor its greenhouse gas
emissions early on Thursday, the latest step in efforts to cut
its carbon footprint, the official Xinhua news agency said. The
launch follows the United States joining China in formally
ratifying the Paris agreement to curb climate-warming emissions.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-summit-china-satellite-idUSKBN14B00U?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=54eb702ae0-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-54eb702ae0-327747457


Energy Dept. offers $2B loan to La. carbon-storage project. The
Energy Department said Wednesday it is offering a conditional, $2
billion loan guarantee to capture and store carbon dioxide at a
planned Louisiana methanol plant, the latest element of President
Obama’s strategy to slow global warming. The Lake Charles
Methanol plant will use petroleum coke, a byproduct of oil
refining, to make methanol…
https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/12/21/energy-dept-offers-loan-carbon-storage-project/lA9bRrTr7cEzZToxUKVHkL/story.html?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=54eb702ae0-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-54eb702ae0-327747457


Trump Transition Team Questions State Department on Climate
Change Costs. The president-elect has previously vowed to
eliminate “all wasteful climate change spending.” 
President-elect Donald Trump's transition team wants to know how
much money the State Department is giving to international
environmental organizations…
http://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2016-12-21/trump-transition-team-questions-state-department-on-climate-change-costs


Freakishly warm weather hits North Pole days before Christmas.
Santa's elves were likely a bit warm this week during final
Christmas preparations. Temperatures at the North Pole soared to
the melting point of 32 degrees Thursday, according to data from
a nearby weather buoy. That might not sound balmy, but it's some
40 to 50 degrees above average at what's typically an
unimaginably cold, pitch-black point in mid-winter.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2016/12/21/north-pole-record-warmth-arctic/95700876/


Australia's greenhouse gas emissions are rising and forecast to
miss 2030 target. Official data quietly released before Christmas
shows emissions rose 0.8% in the year to June and will miss 2030
goal based on current policies. Australia’s emissions are rising
and projected to keep doing so to 2030, meaning the country will
fail to meet its 2030 emissions targets, according to government
figures. The official quarterly figures, showing growth in
year-on-year emissions…
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/22/australias-greenhouse-gas-emissions-are-rising-official-figures-show


Freezing in record lows? You may doubt global warming. Local
weather may play an important role in Americans' belief in
climate change. If you're shivering from unusually teeth-rattling
cold this holiday season, global warming is probably the last
thing on your mind. "The local weather conditions people
experience likely play a role in what they think about the
broader climate…
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/12/161219151744.htm 

The new reindeer games: reducing climate change. Reindeer.
Reindeer won't just be trampling across the skies to pull Santa's
sleigh this week — they'll also be cutting down on climate
change. That's because reindeer grazing helps reflect solar
energy, and the warming it causes, back into space, new research
has found.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/12/22/stories/1060047580 

FUELS

Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Sees Oil Recovering on OPEC Cuts.
Oil prices are set to recover next year as OPEC fulfills its
agreement to cut output, halting the slump that battered the
global oil industry, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister said. The
kingdom sees no need for additional production cuts on top of the
curbs pledged in recent weeks by OPEC and 11 other oil-producing
countries…
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-22/saudi-arabia-s-energy-minister-sees-oil-recovering-on-opec-cuts


$8.5 billion natural gas project to create 250 jobs. Officials
say a liquefied natural gas project being planned for Plaquemines
Parish is expected to create 250 new jobs. Gov. John Bel Edwards
and executives from Venture Global LNG announced the project on
Wednesday. They said the company will invest $8.5 billion to
develop the natural gas liquefaction facility and LNG export
terminal.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article122378424.html#storylink=cpy


VEHICLES

China to tighten green car subsidy program following scandal.
China will raise technical requirements for green energy cars to
receive subsidies and make awards retroactive rather than at the
time of purchase, as it tries to rein in widespread cheating by
automakers uncovered earlier this year. China has spent heavily
on its green car subsidies, $4.5 billion last year alone, to
combat heavy pollution which…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-autos-subsidies-idUSKBN14A096

Volkswagen microbus-like MEB concept coming to the Detroit Auto
Show.  Volkswagen previews another microbus-inspired electric
car. At this year's Detroit Auto Show, Volkswagen will show off
its second concept vehicle based on the Modular Electric Drive
(MEB) platform, following up the I.D. concept shown at the 2016
Paris show. This one will be a more practical vehicle, something
VW calls a "multi-functional vehicle for a new era,"...
http://www.autoblog.com/2016/12/22/volkswagen-id-concept-microbus-meb-platform-568523698/


VW RECALL

Settlement billions to jolt EV industry. The billions Volkswagen
AG is required to provide to electrify transportation as part of
its emissions scandal settlement will boost, and in some cases
displace, a nascent industry. Volkswagen will invest $2 billion
over the next 10 years on zero-emissions vehicle charging
infrastructure, public education and ride-sharing to spur sales
of clean cars and counter the environmental harm caused by its
cheating of emission tests.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/12/22/stories/1060047573 

GREEN ENERGY

India Investing $1.8 Billion on Lines to Transmit Solar Power.
India will invest 127 billion rupees ($1.8 billion) on lines to
transmit power from solar parks to enable Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s goal of boosting clean-energy capacity. The dedicated
transmission lines, part of the so-called green corridor project,
will transmit 20 gigawatts of power capacity from 34 solar parks
across 21 Indian states…
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-21/india-investing-1-8-billion-on-lines-to-transmit-solar-power?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=1d60472c8b-Clean_Economy_Wire12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-1d60472c8b-327494049


Judge warns Volkswagen owners not to strip cars for parts before
buyback. A federal judge warned Volkswagen owners not to strip
parts out of their diesel vehicles before attempting to sell them
back to the automaker through the company's emissions settlement.
U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer's warning Thursday came
after reports on the automotive blog…
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2016/12/22/volkswagen-group-3-liter-diesel-scandal-settlement-substantial/95711452/


Green energy producers hopeful despite Trump's coal promise.
Swaths of virgin desert in the U.S. West in recent years have
transformed into solar farms, a trend green energy supporters
predict will persist even with the election of a president who is
making fossil fuel-friendly Cabinet appointments and promises to
bring back coal.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article122419764.html#storylink=cpy


Traverse City seeks to operate with renewable energy by 2020.
Traverse City's streetlights, water plants, government buildings
and more could be powered by green energy within the next five
years. The Traverse City Record-Eagle (http://bit.ly/2h6sQLF)
reports that city commissioners unanimously adopted a resolution
this week committing the city to source all of the energy for its
operations from wind, solar, geothermal and landfill gas by 2020.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Traverse-City-seeks-to-operate-with-renewable-10813834.php


World's first solar panel road opens in Normandy village. Route
in Tourouvre-au-Perche cost €5m to construct and will be used by
about 2,000 motorists a day during two-year test period. France
has opened what it claims to be the world’s first solar panel
road, in a Normandy village.  A 1km (0.6-mile) route in the small
village of Tourouvre-au-Perche covered with 2,800…
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/22/solar-panel-road-tourouvre-au-perche-normandy?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=1d60472c8b-Clean_Economy_Wire12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-1d60472c8b-327494049


Renewable Energy Sector Remains Optimistic Amid Trump Policy
Outlook. President-elect Donald Trump has appointed several
Cabinet members with strong ties to oil and gas. And he's been
clear about his support for coal. That could leave renewable
energy companies out in the cold. But the picture isn't as dire
for them as you might think. 
http://www.npr.org/2016/12/22/506531165/renewable-energy-sector-remains-optimistic-amid-trump-policy-outlook
.

OPINIONS

To Slow Global Warming, We Need Nuclear Power. If 20 fire
marshals came around and told us our houses were about to burn
down, we’d buy some fire insurance. So when the leading science
academies in 20 developed countries, along with several major
American corporations and the national security community, all
tell us that burning fossil fuels is causing dangerous changes to
the climate…
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/21/opinion/to-slow-global-warming-we-need-nuclear-power.html?_r=0


The Renewable Fuel Success.  It's just plain wrong to claim the
Renewable Fuel Standard is failed policy. The Renewable Fuel
Standard (RFS) – a federal program that requires refiners to
blend a growing percentage of biofuels into gasoline – has been
an unmitigated success by any measure and suggestions that it has
failed (Ryan Alexander, "Fix the Failed Biofuel Policy," Dec. 7)
are just plain wrong.
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/letters/articles/2016-12-22/the-renewable-fuel-standard-has-been-a-success




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

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