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newsclips -- Newsclips for August 4, 2009
Posted: 04 Aug 2009 10:46:24
California Air Resources Board News Clips for August 4, 2009. 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. Cost To Meet Emissions Goal Could Double. Without nuclear power and "clean coal," the cost of cutting greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity industry could almost double, according to a study released Monday by a Bay Area think tank. The study, by the Electric Power Research Institute, argues that the kind of deep cuts sought by federal legislation are achievable, for a reasonable price. But the price will soar without nuclear energy and clean-coal power plants, which trap their carbon dioxide emissions and store the gas underground. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/04/BULF193ADP.DTL&type=printable Calif. Becomes First To Release Adaptation Plan. California has become the first state to issue an agency-level plan for adapting to climate change, with the release yesterday of a draft report directing government to prepare for rising sea levels, increased wildfires and other expected changes. In addition to sea level rise, the report deals with increased wildfires, "increased average temperatures, more extreme hot days, fewer cold nights, a lengthening of the growing season, shifts in the water cycle with less winter precipitation falling as snow, and both snowmelt and rainwater running off sooner in the year." Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2009/08/04/2 Conference: Manufacturing Is Where To Cut Greenhouse Gases. The theme of the California Resource Recovery Association conference in Rancho Mirage may be making zero waste a reality, but the first thing the 450 recycling professionals heard on Monday is that even that is not enough to reduce greenhouse gases. The conference continues through Wednesday at the Rancho Las Palmas Resort and Spa. Keynote speakers and other experts hammered home the message that the recycling industry must re-invent itself as “material managers,” focusing on the lifetime carbon footprint of products. Posted. http://www.mydesert.com/article/20090804/NEWS07/908040331/Conference++Manufacturing+is+where+to+cut+greenhouse+gases State Prepares To Deal With Heat Waves, Flooding, Wildlife Die-Offs And Other Expected Results Of Climate Change. The first statewide plan in the country calls for adaptation and education. Public comment is sought. Along with California's efforts to crack down on its own greenhouse gas emissions, state officials have begun preparing for the worst: heat waves, a rising sea level, flooding, wildlife die-offs and other expected consequences from what scientists predict will be a dramatic temperature increase by the end of this century. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-climate4-2009aug04,0,1982358,print.story Odds Are Against Climate Watchdog. Scientific panel can't force action. Two years ago, an international scientific panel seized worldwide attention by reporting that human activity was warming the planet in ways that could greatly disrupt human affairs and nature. The work of the group, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former Vice President Al Gore. The panel's contributors have included about 20 scientists at the University of California San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla. Posted. http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/aug/04/1n4warn23277-odds-are-against-climate-watchdog/?uniontrib http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/science/earth/04clima.html?sq=carbon%20emissions&st=cse&scp=3&pagewanted=print Report Calls For Climate Action Now. State urges curtailing coastal development. Sacramento – Even if the world is successful in cutting carbon emissions in the future, California needs to start preparing for rising sea levels, hotter weather and other effects of climate change, a new state report recommends. It encourages local communities to rethink future development in low-lying coastal areas, reinforce levees that protect flood-prone areas and conserve already strapped water supplies. Posted. http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/aug/04/1n4climate232657-report-calls-climate-action-now/?uniontrib Global Warming Could Cause Evolution Explosion. Undoubtedly you've seen dire predictions about the number of plant and animal species which will be forced into extinction by global warming, their habitat changing faster than they can either adapt to it or move somewhere else. Well, a fascinating new article in Yale Environment 360 by Carl Zimmer offers a glimmer of hope -- it appears that at least some species may be able to rapidly evolve to a changing climate: Posted. http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/08/global-warming-could-cause-evolution-explosion.php?dcitc=th_rss South Korea Unveils CO2 Target Plan. SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea pledged for the first time on Tuesday to set a 2020 emissions reduction target, as the OECD's fastest-growing carbon polluter voluntarily joined richer nations in setting hard goals to roll back climate change. By committing itself to one of three options, all of which are relatively modest compared to the cut-backs pledged by developed economies, Seoul is establishing a precedent that might encourage much bigger emitters like China and India to agree to targets of their own, although their resistance is unlikely to bend soon. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-GreenBusiness/idUSTRE5734VW20090804 Broad Action On Climate Needed To Achieve Cuts. If global warming is to be addressed without breaking people's pocketbooks, no single answer will do the job, a research group tied to the electric utility industry says in a new study that concludes the problem must be attacked from many directions. Posted. http://www.modbee.com/2033/story/804114.html SAfrica: Rich Nations Must Pay For Climate Change. South Africa says it and other developing countries won't consider the next round of climate change talks successful unless rich nations pay up. South African officials meeting Tuesday to discuss strategy ahead of the December climate change talks in Copenhagen said at least 1 percent of global GDP should be set aside by rich nations. Posted. http://www.modbee.com/world/story/804970.html http://www.contracostatimes.com/nationandworld/ci_12988551 Salazar Again Urges Climate Action In Senate. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is talking climate change on a trip to a solar energy factory in his home state of Colorado. While health care dominates debate in Washington, President Barack Obama's top environmental and energy officials continue to urge the Senate to move on legislation to tackle global warming. Posted. http://www.modbee.com/2033/story/805127.html World Bank: A Carbon Bigfoot. Though climate policy is shifting from inertia to action, thanks in part to the commitment of a new U.S. administration, recent G-8 and U.S. domestic efforts are inadequate to address the threat of climate change. Any climate framework that ignores the role of publicly funded institutions, like the World Bank, will fall short. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/opinion/04iht-edlet.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=carbon%20emissions&st=cse A Lawn Mower Awaits Winner. Someone in the crowd will win a free electric lawn mower tonight as officials host a public meeting to talk about air quality. The event runs from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Arnold Rue Community Center, 5758 Lorraine Ave. Posted. http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090804/A_NEWS/908039978/-1/NEWSMAP Granite Not Out To Do Area Favors With Quarry. Granite Construction published a slick, supposedly truthful and informative 12-page advertisement in last Sunday's paper. When a company omits information, or glosses over the true facts, could that be considered "lying by omission"? Granite's ad says: "There will be reduced air pollution and traffic." http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2009/08/02/opinion/commentarycal/z5e3f9c751cdf1fed882576010082c1c0.txt Trees Can Lower Cooling, Heating Energy Bills. Can shade trees lower your energy bills? Yes, say the experts. A lot. Trees offer many benefits, from reducing pollution, to adding beauty and value to property, to creating wildlife habitat. Perhaps the most tangible benefit is reducing energy bills. We talked with two tree experts -- Dan Lambe, vice president of programs for the Arbor Day Foundation, and Scott Maco, a research urban forester with the Davey Tree Institute -- to learn more about this. Posted. http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20090801/LIFESTYLE/908011000 Chopping Williamson Act Will Hurt Environment. It may not be the unkindest cut and it may also not be the most inefficient or deadly one Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made when he used his veto pen to blue-pencil more than $500 million more from the state budget than legislators had already done. But cutting $27.8 million from the Williamson Act program that preserves agricultural lands and leaving it with a token $1,000 was surely the brownest cut of all. Posted. http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2009/aug/04/chopping-williamson-act-will-hurt-environment/ Viewpoint: State Water Board Puts Biofuel Movement In Reverse. IT WAS A fine June day in 2007 when a senator from Illinois, then a long-shot for the presidency, stood beside the pumps at Conserv Fuel in Los Angeles and congratulated the heroes of the biofuel revolution. Conserv Fuel was one of the first fueling stations in the country to offer biofuel at the pump, and Barack Obama was looking to establish himself as an alternative-fuel-friendly candidate. He railed against the Bush administration's oil-centric energy policy. Posted. http://www.insidebayarea.com/opinion/ci_12984788 `Clunkers' Drives Auto Sales. Detroit — Lured by the government's cash for clunkers campaign, car and truck buyers started returning to showrooms last month, as Ford Motor Co. reported its first U.S. sales increase in nearly two years and other major automakers said sales showed signs of stability. Posted. http://www.insidebayarea.com/business/ci_12984233 Researchers Set Sail For The Pacific Garbage Patch. Hoping to learn more about one of the most glaring examples of waste and environmental pollution on the planet, a group of scientists will set sail from San Francisco today to the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch," a massive vortex of floating plastic trash estimated by some scientists to be twice the size of Texas. Posted. http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_12986585 Salazar Again Urges Climate Action In Senate. Longmont, Colo.—Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is talking climate change on a trip to a solar energy factory in his home state of Colorado. While health care dominates debate in Washington, President Barack Obama's top environmental and energy officials continue to urge the Senate to move on legislation to tackle global warming. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/nationandworld/ci_12989160 Broad Action On Climate Needed To Achieve Cuts. Washington—If global warming is to be addressed without breaking people's pocketbooks, no single answer will do the job, a research group tied to the electric utility industry says in a new study that concludes the problem must be attacked from many directions. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_12983027 U.S. Climate Bill Seen Raising Household Energy Cost. Washington (Reuters) - Climate change legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives would increase the energy costs of the average family by $142 a year in 2020 and by $583 in 2030, according to the government's top energy forecasting agency. Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/04/AR2009080401350.html Letters: The Real Costs of Clean Energy. In their July 24 op-ed, "What Palin Got Wrong About Energy," Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) said that clean energy legislation "provides powerful incentives to pursue cutting-edge clean energy technologies," arguing that it "doesn't make energy scarcer or more expensive." Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/03/AR2009080302788.html For Senate, a Climate of Competing Interests. Environmentalists want a tighter cap on emissions. Electric utilities want a looser one. The nuclear industry wants loan guarantees for new reactors. The AARP wants low electric bills for seniors. Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/03/AR2009080302982.html California Bus Co. Completes Transition to CNG. Omnitrans, the public transit agency serving the San Bernardino Valley, California, is completing its transition to a 100% alternative-fuelled fleet. Delivery and commissioning of 27 new 40-foot low-floor CNG buses manufactured by New Flyer Inc. of Canada will end the transition phase that commenced in 1997. “Omnitrans embraced CNG bus engine technology early on as part of our commitment to being environmentally friendly,” said CEO/General Manager Durand L. Rall. Posted. http://www.ngvglobal.com/california-bus-co-completes-transition-to-cng-0804 Worlds First Drag Race Of Gasoline Vehicle With Zero Exhaust Emissions, CARB Approved Device Results In GREEN Racing Fun. Irwindale California - The Worlds first Drag Race featuring the HH2TM HYDROGEN WATER FUEL CELL CLEAN AIR COMBUSTION SYSTEM debuted in HH2’s “BIG DOG” a heavy 7100 pound GREEN smog emission free 2008 Toyota Sequoia burning 87 octane gasoline, NO Fossil Fuel toxic emissions , totally Legal world wide usage. Posted. http://www.1888pressrelease.com/worlds-first-drag-race-of-gasoline-vehicle-with-zero-exhaust-pr-138773.html Shrimp Cocktail Helps To Make Biodiesel. Editor's Note: This occasional series looks at powerful ideas - some existing, some futuristic - for fueling and electrifying modern life. Shrimp cocktails could help out fuel tanks, scientists now reveal. As concerns over global warming and dwindling fossil fuel reserves increase worldwide, more and more interest is growing in renewable fuels such as biodiesel to fill energy demands. However, biodiesel production techniques require catalysts to speed up the chemical reactions that convert soybean, canola, and other plant oils into diesel fuel, and so far catalysts both cannot be reused and must be neutralized with large amounts of water, leaving behind large amounts of polluted wastewater. Posted. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,536701,00.html BLOGS: Can California Adapt To Global Warming? In 2006, California adopted the nation's first comprehensive law to limit emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases that scientists have found to be heating the planet. Last year, state officials laid out a detailed plan of how they plan to slash the state's emissions to 1990 levels in the next 11 years. And they began to adopt regulations, such as the nation's first rule to mandate low-carbon fuel. Posted. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2009/08/climate-change-adaptation-california.html Can Climate Panel Have Climate Impact? I have an article in Tuesday’s Science Times assessing next steps for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The panel, which shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, was created in 1988 under the United Nations Environment Program and World Meteorological Organization to aid governments by periodically reviewing the accumulated research on the causes and consequences of climate change and possible responses. But it was proscribed from recommending particular courses of action. Posted. http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/03/can-climate-panel-have-climate-impact/ Refrigerator Recycling Programs Take Off. Programs that allow homeowners to trade in their old refrigerators and scoop up a rebate — a sort of “cash for clunkers” system for the fridge — are spreading quickly across the country. Posted. http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/refrigerator-recycling-programs-take-off/?scp=2&sq=carbon%20emissions&st=cse Study Finds Rich U.S. Energy-Efficiency Potential. The potential for energy-efficiency improvements throughout the U.S. economy is huge and entirely within reach if annual investments increase fivefold, according to a new McKinsey & Company report. The global consulting firm estimates that $520 billion in investments would reduce U.S. non-transportation energy usage by 9.1 quadrillion BTUs by 2020 - roughly 23 percent of projected demand. Posted. http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/010292.html