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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.