What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for December 28, 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.

CLIMATE CHANGE

FACTBOX-Five U.S. cities at the forefront of the fight against
climate change. From coast to coast, U.S. cities have multiplied
their efforts to emit fewer greenhouse gases and brace for
climate change-driven natural disasters, scientists and
environmentalists say. Amid uncertainty over whether Washington
will withdraw from a global accord to combat climate change…
http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-climate-cities-idINL1N1EG17M

How climate change transformed the Earth in 2016. 2016 was a
milestone year in the continued warming of the planet. From
unstable agriculture to the drought in California to melting ice
sheets to extreme weather events and heat waves, climate change
has disrupted virtually every corner of the world. It’s
impossible to exhaustively list all the ways in which climate
change was felt in 2016…
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/climate-change-global-warming-transformed-the-earth-in-2016/


2016: Exxon vs. Climate Change, a Battle With Many Fronts. As
investigations of potential climate fraud were launched by
several attorneys general, Exxon and its allies in Congress
fought back, with no end in sight. A report that was little more
than a forgotten footnote in ExxonMobil's corporate history—a
warning from a senior company scientist to top executives in 1977
about fossil fuels' possible catastrophic…
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/23122016/exxon-climate-change-investigation-attorneys-general


DROUGHT

California Drought: Sierra Nevada Snowpack Water Content Below
Average, But Officials Say It’s Still Early. The Sierra Nevada
snowpack — the source of roughly a third of California’s water
supply — remains nearly 30 percent below average for this time of
the year despite the state recently witnessing its heaviest
rainfall in decades.
http://www.ibtimes.com/california-drought-sierra-nevada-snowpack-water-content-below-average-officials-say-2466214


FUELS

Air quality grant covers third of fueling station. Nearly a third
of the cost of building a $6 million compressed biogas fueling
facility as part of Manteca’s bid to convert food waste into fuel
to power municipal garbage trucks won’t be paid by ratepayers. 
The City Council has inked a deal that will provide Manteca with
a $1.8 million San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District
grant to help offset part of the costs once the facility is up
and running.
http://www.mantecabulletin.com/section/1/article/140422/  

Lawsuit Challenges Fracking Off California Coastline.  Attorney
General Kamala D. Harris and the California Coastal Commission
have filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of the
Interior's final environmental assessment, which clears the way
for hydraulic fracturing (fracking), acidizing, and other
advanced well treatments on the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf
off the coast of California.
http://maritime-executive.com/article/lawsuit-challenges-fracking-off-california-coastline


Study finds frack drilling site noise can be hazardous. Forget
about breathing silica dust or drinking methane-infused water: A
new study suggests merely hearing the noise associated with
natural gas fracking operations can jeopardize human health.
Industry leaders, however, maintain their operations are safe,
while highlighting declines in carbon dioxide pollution due to
electricity producers switching their fuel sources from coal to
natural gas.
http://www.weirtondailytimes.com/news/local-news/2016/12/study-finds-frack-drilling-site-noise-can-be-hazardous/


VEHICLE

Electric Cars: Still Unpopular with Buyers and Unprofitable for
Sellers. Auto makers face hurdles to widespread adoption despite
rollout of midpriced vehicles. The car of the future will be
electric, connected and, eventually, self-driving. But where does
that leave the car industry of the future? In a series of
articles this month, Heard on the Street takes a look at how
investors should approach the biggest technological disruption
the car industry has faced in decades.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/electric-cars-still-unpopular-with-buyers-and-unprofitable-for-sellers-1482940661
 

Green-car buying, Faraday Future trouble, consumers fear plug-in
cars: Today's Car News. Today, see why this week is a good time
to buy a green car, get the latest update on electric-car startup
Faraday Future, and read one possible explanation for continued
low sales of hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and electric cars.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1108033_green-car-buying-faraday-future-trouble-consumers-fear-plug-in-cars-todays-car-news


PGE, Pacific Power EV plans: Electric buses and more charging.
Oregon’s two biggest utilities on Tuesday filed plans they say
will help grow the adoption of electric vehicles in the state, an
often-forgotten element of the historic energy legislation
adopted earlier this year. Portland General Electric’s plan
includes a partnership with TriMet to provide charging
infrastructure the transit agency can use to run five electric
buses…
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2016/12/28/pge-pacific-power-ev-plans-electric-buses-and.html


An electric car future. With the extension of California’s
landmark climate change law stalled, a legislative plan is
emerging to significantly up the ante on California’s commitment
to electric vehicles by requiring that 15 percent of all new
automobiles be emission-free within a decade.
http://www.agrinews-pubs.com/farm_equipment/an-electric-car-future/article_df673f49-2b13-5883-84a8-75548cd037fc.html

GREEN ENERGY

California agencies says expanded transmission key to meeting
renewable mandate. For California to meet its ambitious goals for
increasing renewable energy and cutting carbon dioxide emissions,
electric transmission infrastructure must be expanded, according
to a draft of a joint report by a number of state agencies. The
draft Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative (RETI) 2.0 report
issued Dec. 16 seeks…
http://www.elp.com/articles/2016/12/california-agencies-says-expanded-transmission-key-to-meeting-renewable-mandate.html


OPINIONS

Editorial: Climate showdown looms. California has half the
nation’s electric cars, cleaner burning fuels and a string of
emerging plans to cut emissions and save energy to fight climate
change. This state has done much to set standards that are
sinking into common acceptance. Millions of tailpipes produce
less smog and heat-trapping carbon dioxide. 
http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/Editorial-Climate-showdown-looms-10821505.php?cmpid=gsa-sfgate-result
 

The Type of Prosperity California Ought to Show the World. As
reported earlier this month in the Los Angeles Times, California
policymakers are expanding their war on “climate change” at the
same time as the rest of the nation appears poised to re-evaluate
these priorities. In particular, California’s Legislature has
reaffirmed the commitment originally set forth in the 2006
“Global Warming Solutions Act” (AB 32)…
http://www.capoliticalreview.com/top-stories/the-type-of-prosperity-california-ought-to-show-the-world/

 
BLOGS

China Gets New Weapon in War on Pollution. A recent choking bout
of smog that engulfed much of northern China, indicates just how
far the country still has to go in its war on pollution, but also
how much things are changing. In the past, local governments,
including officials in the capital of Beijing, would’ve been in a
state of denial.
http://www.voanews.com/a/china-war-on-pollution/3653801.html 

The end of federal environmental justice as we know it For an
idea of what President-elect Donald Trump thinks about
environmental justice — that is, when minorities and low-income
communities suffer disproportionately from environmental harms —
look to the Bronx. There, one of Trump’s companies is running a
golf course built over a landfill, right next to a public housing
development.
http://grist.org/article/the-end-of-federal-environmental-justice-as-we-know-it/





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