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April 15, 2016 CapitalPress.com 9 California Almond growers, beekeepers urged to report hive damage Subscribe to our weekly California email newsletter at CapitalPress.com/newsletters Report: California carbon tax hikes gas prices 11 cents By JONATHAN J. COOPER Associated Press SACRAMENTO — The California Legislature’s non- partisan analyst estimates the state’s pollution tax has raised gasoline prices by 11 cents per gallon and diesel prices by 13 cents, according to a month- old letter released on April 7. The pollution tax costs drivers collectively about $2 billion a year, Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor said. His staff calculated the estimate in response to questions from Assemblyman Tom Lackey, R-Palmdale, who is pushing legislation that would require the state to report more de- tailed information about the costs to drivers. “These impartial estimates confirm that Californians are paying significantly high- er prices,” Lackey said in a statement. Consumers may Wk not 43, have 10/21 noticed much impact at the pump because the Wk pollution 47, 11/18 tax came at a time when gas prices were plummeting na- tionally. The U.S. average for a gallon of gasoline dropped from $3.26 per gallon at the beginning of 2014 to $2.14 a year later, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. California launched the pollution-restriction pro- gram in 2012 and began ap- plying it to gas and diesel last year. Known as “cap- and-trade,” the program is designed to control emis- sions of heat-trapping gases and to spur investment in clean technologies. It limits how much pollution busi- nesses can spew, making them buy permits. The program creates a marketplace for carbon emissions and incentives to reduce greenhouse gas- es. The marketplace puts a price on carbon emissions and caps how much indi- vidual polluters are allowed to release. Businesses are required to either cut emis- sions to the cap levels or buy allowances from other com- panies for each metric ton of carbon spewed over the cap each year. The carbon-reduction program generates billions of dollars a year for efforts to fight climate change. A large portion of the money is dedicated to California’s high-speed rail line and oth- er transportation projects. Stanley Young, a spokes- man for the Air Resources Board, which administers the program, said the esti- mate of a price spike of 11 to 13 cents is consistent with expectations. “These proceeds are pumped right back into Cali- fornia — including the most disadvantaged communities — as investments that help clean the air, support the cleanest vehicles for all Cal- ifornians, and promote safer and more livable neighbor- hoods,” Young said. The gas-price analysis by the Legislative Analyst’s Of- fice assumed that oil compa- nies passed the entire cost to consumers, but Young said there’s no requirement that fuel suppliers do so. The analysis was based on the $12.73-per-ton price for allowances in the most recent auction, held in Feb- ruary. It says some people paying the higher gas prices will ultimately benefit from the money it generates. Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, a vocal advocate for reducing carbon emis- sions, has proposed spend- ing $3.1 billion of money from the program on ini- tiatives that include incen- tives for electric vehicles, transit programs and biofu- el subsidies. By TIM HEARDEN Capital Press SACRAMENTO — The Almond Board of California is urging growers and bee- keepers to provide data about their hive deployments to help research aimed at pre- venting honeybee die-offs. The board wants bee pro- ducers to complete a survey sent out in recent weeks by the California State Beekeep- ers Association and other groups to assist a study pri- marily funded by the USDA. Further, if a grower ob- served what appeared to be pesticide-related impacts to hives during this year’s bloom, he or she should re- port the damage to county officials so a record could be kept of incidents, the board advises. It is especially important to gather information about pesticide application tim- ings and conditions, product names and active ingredients, the board said in a news re- lease. “Incidents affecting hon- eybee health have been in the news lately, and Almond Board is appealing to almond growers to report information to county agricultural com- Courtesy of Kathy Keatley Garvey/UC-Davis University of California-Davis Extension apiculturist Elina Nino, center, checks a bee observation hive with Solano County fairs president James Fuller during an Ag Day celebration in March. The Almond Board of California is asking growers to submit data as part of an ongoing honeybee research project. missioners ... as their part in an ongoing investigation into the cause,” board spokes- woman Linda Romander said in an email. The request for informa- tion follows a quick and vi- brant blossom in February and early March that industry insiders initially said was rel- atively trouble-free, although some reports have since sur- faced of beekeepers encoun- tering losses of immature bee broods at the close of this year’s bloom. While this year’s bloom-related losses weren’t nearly as severe as in 2014, when a mixture of fungicides used by almond growers and insecticides applied to field crops killed millions of bees, they came after a rough winter in which some beekeepers re- ported significant losses. In late 2014, the almond board and bee experts devel- oped a best-practices check- list for growers and bee- keepers during the harvest, including removing bees from orchards before petal fall to avoid having them wander off. While most hives had been removed near the end of this year’s bloom, a few hives were still in orchards as of the last week of March, according to the board. Bee activity during the blossom was monitored closely by researchers from the nationwide Bee Informed Partnership, whose aim is to help beekeepers improve the strength of their hives, the California Farm Bureau Fed- eration reported. The almond board is ac- tively working with beekeep- ers and government agencies to investigate affected hives. To facilitate their investiga- tion, growers and beekeepers can contact Bob Curtis, the al- mond board’s director of ag- ricultural affairs, at rcurtis@ almondboard.com or (209) 343-3216. 16-4/#4N