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newsclips -- Newsclips for October 20, 2009.
Posted: 20 Oct 2009 11:18:14
California Air Resources Board News Clips for October 20, 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. Hopes Fade for Comprehensive Climate Treaty. Washington — With the clock running out and deep differences unresolved, it now appears there is little chance that the climate change negotiations in Copenhagen in December will produce a comprehensive and binding new treaty on global warming. The United States and a number of other major emitting countries have concluded that it is more useful to take incremental but important steps toward a global agreement rather than to try to jam through a treaty that is either too weak to address the problem or too onerous to be ratified and enforced. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/science/earth/21treaty.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=print Chu Backs Price Collar On Carbon Permits. Washington (Reuters) - U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu on Tuesday threw his support behind setting a price floor and ceiling on carbon dioxide pollution permits that are part of climate control legislation pending in Congress." I personally would support a price collar because it gives more stability, and it's a damper on some of the manipulative stuff" that some members of Congress fear could develop in the market, he told the Reuters Washington Summit. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/Washington09/idUSTRE59J3W120091020 Public Hearings Convene on First U.S. Greenhouse Gas Pollution Standards. Washington, Public hearings commence this week on the nation's first greenhouse gas pollution standards. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Transportation (DOT) officials will hear public testimony on proposed new historic fuel economy benchmarks and national greenhouse gas emissions limits for passenger vehicles: October 21st in Detroit, October 23rd in New York City, and October 27th in Los Angeles. For more information on the public hearings, see www.epa.gov/otaq/climate/regulations.htm. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS180818+20-Oct-2009+PRN20091020 On Road to 60 Votes for Climate Bill, Senate Swells With Fence Sitters. The fence is getting a bit more crowded. Despite two significant moves over the last month -- a bill introduction and the emergence of a possible bipartisan partnership -- the number of senators unwilling to commit to voting for comprehensive climate and energy legislation continues to grow. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/10/20/20climatewire-on-road-to-60-votes-for-climate-bill-senate-43836.html?scp=3&sq=carbon%20emission&st=cse Opinion: Time for Inaction on Global Warming. Congress should consider the costs before passing "cap and trade." "Global" and "warming" are perhaps the two most important words used to justify the approaching governmental control of our economy. In reality, global warming is barely occurring: In the 30 years starting in 1977, warming amounted to 0.32 degree Fahrenheit per decade, and in the next hundred years it is estimated to be about half a degree per decade. Posted. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704500604574482191245495128.html# Forest Study Sees Upside Of Climate Change. Warmer temperatures may spur tree growth in some regions of the Pacific Northwest, which could mean reduced carbon in the air, researchers say. While gradually warming global temperatures long have been seen as an environmental threat, a study released Monday suggested that the forests of the Pacific Northwest could see a substantial gain in productivity as the thermometer climbs. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-trees-warming20-2009oct20,0,172619,print.story A Balanced View of Global Warming. There's been a shift in Global Warming from denial being the mainstream view, to acceptance being mainstream, and denialists finding themselves suddenly as the minority gadflies looking in. Both extremes are probably wrong. Although they accept Global Warming, New Scientist magazine says we can expect 1-2 decades of cooling because of normal Oceanic current variations. Posted. http://www.opednews.com/articles/A-Balanced-View-of-Global-by-Scott-Baker-091019-344.html Enthusiasm for Natural Gas Cools. MADRID — Developing countries around the world are increasingly turning to natural gas as their alternative transportation fuel of choice. But early official embrace of the technology in industrialized nations has mostly cooled, because risks inherent in mass deployment outweigh the benefits, especially in regard to climate change. After a decade of double-digit annual growth, according to several estimates, more than 10 million vehicles worldwide are now powered by methane derived from natural gas or organic waste. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/business/global/21rencar.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print Potential Grows for Biomass Energy. San Francisco — Woody biomass provides just 0.94 percent of all U.S. energy now, supplying the equivalent of 3.5 million American homes. But Bob Cleaves, president of the Biomass Power Association, a group in Portland, Maine, that represents about 80 plant-burning incinerators in 16 states, says available raw material would allow the industry to double its output. New incinerators are already being planned in many states. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/business/global/21renforest.html?ref=global-business&pagewanted=print Stanford Moves Aggressively To Cut Energy Use, Reduce Carbon Impact. The long-range Energy and Climate Plan includes higher-than-required energy standards for new buildings, retrofitting of existing buildings, a transformation of the campus energy plant, and programs to teach students, faculty and staff how to cut energy use. In an effort to tackle the threat of global climate change head on, Stanford University has developed an ambitious, long-range, $250 million initiative to sharply reduce the university's energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Posted. http://news.stanford.edu/news/2009/october19/stanford-carbon-footprint-101909.html?view=print Fossil Fuels’ Hidden Cost Is in Billions, Study Says. Washington — Burning fossil fuels costs the United States about $120 billion a year in health costs, mostly because of thousands of premature deaths from air pollution, the National Academy of Sciences reported in a study issued Monday. The damages are caused almost equally by coal and oil, according to the study, which was ordered by Congress. The study set out to measure the costs not incorporated into the price of a kilowatt-hour or a gallon of gasoline or diesel fuel. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/science/earth/20fossil.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print ATA and Port of Long Beach Reach Settlement. Arlington, Va., - The American Trucking Associations (ATA) Executive Committee and the Port of Long Beach Harbor Commissioners have each approved a Settlement negotiated between Port officials and ATA and trucking industry representatives. The Settlement is based upon motor carrier registration process, referred to as a Registration and Agreement, which will replace the Port's Concession Agreement. The settlement is also expected to end litigation with the Port of Long Beach, however litigation with the Port of Los Angeles will continue. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS11619+20-Oct-2009+PRN20091020 Foreign Automakers Urge California To Drop 'Cool Cars' Plan. Washington -- The battle over California's "cool cars" standards isn't over. The largest foreign automakers asked California to drop its proposal to require cars sold in the Golden State, staring in the 2012 model year, to limit the amount of solar energy entering vehicles. Late Monday, the state said it had no plans to do so. The Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the trade association representing Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., Nissan Motor Corp., Hyundai Motor Corp. and other foreign automakers, said in a letter released today that it wanted the California Air Resources Board to reconsider its plans. Posted. http://detnews.com/article/20091019/AUTO01/910190389&template=printart Officials Hint at Progress Negotiating Climate Deal. A two-day meeting of officials from countries responsible for the bulk of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions ended Monday in London with hints that rich and developing nations might be able to bridge at least some of their differences on issues hobbling agreement on a new climate treaty. Posted. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704500604574482191245495128.html#printMode Report Looks At Hidden Health Costs Of Energy Production. Generating electricity by burning coal is responsible for about half of an estimated $120 billion in yearly costs from early deaths and health damages to thousands of Americans from the use of fossil fuels, a federal advisory group said Monday. Posted. http://www.modbee.com/politics/story/899491.html Haas School To Offer Green Tech Program. UC Berkeley has created an institute within its Haas School of Business to tap the growing student interest in green tech, bringing together research on clean-energy technology, policy and economics. The Energy Institute at Haas combines the efforts of several existing programs at the university, which has moved aggressively in recent years to expand its research and course offerings in alternative energy. The university announced the institute's creation Monday. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/20/BA3D1A7RM1.DTL&type=printable Michigan Limits Mercury From Coal-Fired Plants. Michigan's coal-fired power plants will be required to make drastic cuts in mercury emissions under regulations announced Monday. The rules developed by the Department of Environmental Quality are designed to implement a policy Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced three years ago to slash the generators' mercury output 90 percent by 2015. Coal-fired plants produce 60 percent of Michigan's electricity. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/business/ci_13595909# http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/19/AR2009101903038.html On the Waterfront: Trucking Re-Regulation Becoming A National Issue. What began a few years ago as an effort to rid Southern California's port communities of the soot-spewing container trucks poisoning local skies has morphed into a national battle to re-regulate sections of the trucking industry. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_13596505# 8 South Asian Nations Resist Binding Emission Cuts. New Delhi—Eight South Asian countries have agreed they can't be part of any climate change deal that sets legally binding limits on their emissions, an Indian official said Tuesday. India, Pakistan and six other nations will present a coordinated stance at a key global meeting in Copenhagen in December to stick with the Kyoto Protocol, agreed in 1997, Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said after a two-day meeting of regional environment ministers. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/nation-world/ci_13600140# http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/20/AR2009102000785.html Auto X Prize Cuts Green-Car Contest Pool In Half. New York—The organizer of a $10 million contest to develop next-generation green vehicles said Monday it narrowed down its list of competitors by half, with qualifying teams ranging from Indian car giant Tata Motors to a team of Cornell University engineering students. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/business/ci_13594463# http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/19/AR2009101901743.html Planet Panel. Excerpts from comments by The Post's panel of experts on climate change. Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/19/AR2009101902908.html Biden: Fix That Drafty Roof. Just in time for the first New England snow, Vice President Biden today announced a new federal initiative to encourage Americans to weatherize their homes, thereby reducing heating bills and carbon emissions and helping to produce jobs. Posted. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/10/19/biden_fix_that_drafty_roof.html?wprss=44 Biden To Model Solar Finance Plan On Berkeley's. The solar financing plan that originated in Berkeley in 2007 will become a national model, Vice President Joe Biden said Monday. Biden's program, known as Recovery Through Retrofit, creates a framework for cities, counties and states to set up tax districts that allow residential and business property owners to install solar panels and make other energy improvements, repaying the investment over a 20-year property tax assessment. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/20/BAKT1A7R72.DTL&type=printable BLOGS California's Over-Regulation of Auto Industry to Kill Jeep Wrangler? California's Air Resources Board (CARB) is setting difficult goals in it's Cool Cars regulations. Turns out it might just help Jeep sales. There was a rumor going around recently that CARB (the California Air Resources Board) would in essence ban "black" cars because of their natural tendency to trap heat inside and thus require more "energy" to cool the car. As one would expect, I didn't see any mention of how that would work in cold climates where heating would require less energy because of the black car's ability to keep heat in. Posted. http://4wheeldrive.about.com/b/2009/10/19/californias-over-regulation-of-auto-industry-to-kill-jeep-wrangler.htm Warming Climate Could Promote Forest Growth. A warming planet is expected to bring a host of ills, including rising seas, spreading deserts and disease infestations. Yet it's not all bad news, apparently. Researchers at Oregon State University looked at a variety of climate models and found that higher-elevation forests in the Pacific Northwest can be expected to vigorously expand their growth with warmer temperatures -- up to 500% a year, under some scenarios. Posted. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2009/10/warming-climate-could-promote-forest-growth.html Are Solar Panels Really Black? And What Does That Have to Do With the Climate Debate? Nathan Myhrvold is a polymath’s polymath, the former chief technology officer at Microsoft who, by the time he was 23, had earned, primarily at UCLA and Princeton, a bachelor’s degree (mathematics), two master’s degrees (geophysics/space physics and mathematical economics), and a Ph.D. (mathematical physics). He is co-founder of Intellectual Ventures, a firm comprising many other scientists, including climate scientists, whose counterintuitive views on global warming and its possible solutions are explored in the final chapter of SuperFreakonomics. Posted. http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/are-solar-panels-really-black-and-what-does-that-have-to-do-with-the-climate-debate/?pagemode=print On CO2, Small Steps for Big Emitters? John Broder has written an update on the climate-treaty talks and I have a story in The Times summarizing the sixth meeting of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, through which the Obama administration has sought to facilitate efforts to create a new global climate treaty by seeking common ground among a smaller set of countries with the biggest emissions. My article cites a morning speech delivered to the gathering by Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain in which he stressed that the atmosphere does not negotiate Posted. http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/19/on-co2-small-steps-for-big-emitters/?pagemode=print O.C. Passed Over In EPA Green-Building Contest. That’s right — no winners from O.C. are posted in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s green-building contest, which honors construction in three categories: student design, professional design and creation of green jobs. Posted. http://greenoc.freedomblogging.com/2009/10/19/oc-passed-over-in-epa-green-building-contest/14497/ Does Energy Star Label Have A Dark Side? Some manufacturers could be getting away with slapping an “Energy Star” label on appliances that don’t deserve it, a new Energy Department audit shows. According to a story Monday in the New York Times, an internal audit showed that the Energy Department does not adequately check out products that carry the label, which is supposed to signal a high degree of energy efficiency to consumers. Posted. http://greenoc.freedomblogging.com/2009/10/19/does-energy-star-label-have-a-dark-side/14509/