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newsclips -- Newsclips for October 23, 2009.
Posted: 23 Oct 2009 11:05:32
California Air Resources Board News Clips for October 23, 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. California’s Push for Electric Cars May Raise Costs for Power. California’s push to lead U.S. sales of electric cars may result in higher power rates for consumers in the state, as a growing number of rechargeable vehicles forces utilities to pay for grid upgrades. The impact of the vehicles on electricity fees is being reviewed this month by California’s Public Utilities Commission as the most populous U.S. state will require Toyota Motor Motors Co., Honda Motor Co., Ford Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. to sell more vehicles that can be powered at electric outlets from late 2011. Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=avRy8RxhwZwg# Let's Give BMW's Electric Car A Free Plug. COURTESY OF an Upland reader, I got a ride in what may be the car of the future, a plug-in electric vehicle. The BMW Mini E is in the testing phase and isn't for sale. But Lois Sicking was driving one. She's an air pollution engineer for the California Air Resources Board and is on the panel writing regulations for all-electric vehicles. To see a plug-in electric vehicle, it helps to know someone with (ahem) connections. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_13617592 Denmark Urges Agreement On Climate Change Funds. New Delhi, India (AP) --Denmark urged the European Union, the United States and other rich countries to commit to financing for a new climate change deal, saying Friday that billions of dollars are needed. The appeal came days after the EU failed to agree on how much it should offer poor nations for their cooperation in trying to cut carbon emissions and how to spread the burden among the group's 27 member states. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/10/22/international/i015053D52.DTL&type=printable http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jTiP6DEuUe7oDmmFc1DQI2jyCUoAD9BGR7481 Poll: Americans' Belief In Global Warming Cools. Washington (AP) --The number of Americans who believe there is solid evidence the Earth is warming because of pollution is at its lowest point in three years, according to a survey released Thursday. The poll of 1,500 adults by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press found that only 57 percent believe there is strong scientific evidence the Earth has gotten hotter over the past few decades, and as a result, people are viewing the situation as less serious. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/10/22/national/w070205D46.DTL&type=printable http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j0Dfi1PwgKNZQDYaYPjMSBUepM7A http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/22/AR2009102201811.html To Cut Global Warming, Swedes Study Their Plates. Stockholm — Shopping for oatmeal, Helena Bergstrom, 37, admitted that she was flummoxed by the label on the blue box reading, “Climate declared: .87 kg CO2 per kg of product.” “Right now, I don’t know what this means,” said Ms. Bergstrom, a pharmaceutical company employee. But if a new experiment here succeeds, she and millions of other Swedes will soon find out. New labels listing the carbon dioxide emissions associated with the production of foods, from whole wheat pasta to fast food burgers, are appearing on some grocery items and restaurant menus around the country. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/world/europe/23degrees.html?_r=1&em=&pagewanted=print http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/23/MN931A9K35.DTL We Can Afford To Save The Planet. Here is the good news on the climate front: The Europeans have ratcheted down their emissions targets, the Chinese are getting serious about solar power and energy efficiency, and Washington is lumbering toward a carbon cap. These are steps toward the long-held goal: cutting global warming pollution 80 percent by 2050. Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/22/AR2009102204193_pf.html EPA Must Finalize Mercury Rule By Nov. 2011 – Settlement. U.S. EPA will issue a final rule requiring strict plant-specific controls for mercury and other hazardous air pollutants at power plants by November 2011, according to a consent agreement filed yesterday in a federal district court. The agency must issue a proposed rule by March 16, 2011, and a final rule no later than Nov. 16, 2011, under the settlement filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The consent decree comes after years of legal battles over whether EPA must require strict maximum achievable control technology (MACT) for toxic pollutants at coal- and oil-fired power plants. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2009/10/23/1 Obama Says 'Consensus Is Growing' On Comprehensive Bill. President Obama said today that a "consensus is growing" on Capitol Hill to pass comprehensive energy and global warming legislation, citing recent bipartisan Senate talks aimed at merging domestic oil and gas drilling with a long-sought effort to cap U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. "This should not be a partisan issue," Obama said during a 15-minute speech at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass. "Everyone in America should have a stake in legislation that can transform our energy system into one that's far more efficient, far cleaner and provides energy independence for America." Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2009/10/23/2 Opinion: Ruse Of Global Warming. Many of us feel man-made global warming is a ruse exploited by big government advocates as part of their social engineering ideology. After much arm twisting in the House of Representatives, the energy "cap and trade" bill narrowly passed this summer. Fortunately, due to a national public outcry, it has stalled in the Senate to date. Unfortunately, California Assembly Bill 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, was passed by our Democratic Legislature, despite warnings of significant increases in our utility bills. Posted. http://www.bakersfield.com/opinion/letters/x1260873783/Ruse-of-global-warming# Calculating Emissions Is Problematic. An accounting problem in the way some greenhouse gas emissions are calculated could critically hobble efforts to reduce them in coming years as nations move to combat global warming, scientists warn in a new report. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/science/earth/23biofuel.html?scp=1&sq=carbon%20emission&st=cse Carbon Advantage Of Biofuels May Be Overstated. The world's policymakers and scientists have made a critical error in how they count biofuels' contribution to human-generated greenhouse-gas emissions, according to a paper published Thursday in the journal Science. Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/22/AR2009102202889.html EPA Proposal To Cut Great Lakes Ship Emissions Stirs The Waters. A horn blasts, seagulls screech and tourists clap as the longest ship in the Great Lakes, the 308-meter Paul R. Tregurtha, glides through Duluth's canal and heads into Lake Superior, loaded down with coal bound for Midwestern power plants. Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/22/AR2009102204345_pf.html States Invest More in Energy Efficiency. States are backing big energy-efficiency programs, spurred by the belief that they could hold down heating and electricity bills, as well as cut greenhouse-gas emissions. The programs, usually funded by surcharges on utility bills, help customers weatherize their homes and install new lighting systems, among other things. Posted. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125616727379000149.html?mod=WSJ_hps_sections_news#printMode When It Comes To Climate Change, Rely On The Facts. Some people eagerly respond to impassioned statements about climate change, such as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's warning we cannot compromise with Earth. Others appreciate stunts, for example, a recent Maldive Islands cabinet meeting that convened under water to signal worries about climate change. To me, though, nothing resonates more than the evidence, the simple, straightforward facts. Posted. http://www.modbee.com/opinion/world/story/904681.html Update: Warming Continues To Affect Far North. Global warming is messing with the planet's thermostat. That warning came Thursday from Richard Spinrad, head of research at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in releasing the annual update of science's Arctic report card. Posted. http://www.modbee.com/2032/story/903601.html Mayor’s Environmental Record: Grand Plans and Small Steps Forward. He has dreamed of windmills atop skyscrapers, planted magnolia trees with Bette Midler and basked in the effusive praise of Al Gore. More than any mayor before him, Michael R. Bloomberg has made the environment a central theme in his vision of urban life — a surprising turn for a man who is a billionaire known mainly for his business savvy when he came into office. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/nyregion/23green.html?hp Goal Is More Environmental Friendliness. Homemakers dry clothes the old-fashioned way, with a line, a few clothes pins and a lot of fresh air. Schoolteachers encourage students to collect paper scraps from home to create classroom art projects. Those blessed with green thumbs teach impoverished communities how to grow cheaper, healthier foods in their own backyards. Posted. http://www.insidebayarea.com/green-living/ci_13609464 Freewheeling: U.S. Cities Challenge: Going Green -- Getting The Gray Out. Motor matters. In what could develop into a model program for other U.S. cities across the country, New York City goes green with electric vehicles. New York City is growing greener. And we're not talking about Central Park. Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently announced three new developments in the city's use of alternative fuel vehicles. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_13613280?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com When Growers Pollute. Now that winter is approaching, environmental agencies in the county will start to see pollution and environmental problems coming from indoor marijuana grows in Mendocino County. County Environmental Health and the Mendocino County Air Quality Management District staff often see diesel-soaked soil, a sheen on water or get reports of odors from marijuana plants. Wayne Briley is acting operations specialist with the county Environmental Health Division. Posted. http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_13624223# Leece To Protect Businesses. She Hopes To Use Position To Slow Down Enforcement Of Bills That Would Be Costly For Business Owners. ** Correction: Article misidentified state Sen. Tom Harman’s political party affiliation. He is a Republican. Costa Mesa Mayor Pro Tem Wendy Leece says she’ll use her new position with the League of California Cities to fight to protect businesses from environmental legislation that, in her opinion, is driving businesses out of the Golden State. Posted. http://www.dailypilot.com/articles/2009/10/23/politics/dpt-leece102209.prt Mike Holmes: Air Apparent — How Clean Is Yours? Would you believe the air inside your home is more polluted than the air outside - in some cases 100 times dirtier? And that new homes usually have poorer indoor air quality than older homes? Newer homes are designed and built tighter to increase energy efficiency and reduce air leakage. That's great in terms of saving money, but we also trap everything in the air, like the VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) that off-gas from furniture and building materials, mould, allergens, pet dander, dust mites and the residual odours from cooking and pets. Posted. http://www.nationalpost.com/homes/story.html?id=2133753 BLOGS Auto Dealers Challenge California’s Tailpipe Regulation. The National Automobile Dealers Association represents 17,000 car and truck dealers, whose interests have occasionally diverged from the carmakers (represented by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers). This is quite apparent in their approach to the federal combined fuel economy and greenhouse gas standards for vehicles announced by the Obama administration last May and set to go into effect in model year 2012. A public hearing on those standards will be held in New York on Friday. Posted. http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/auto-dealers-challenge-californias-tailpipe-climate-regulation/ Angling for Europe’s ‘Green Capital’ Award. The European Commission on Friday began soliciting applications for its 2012 and 2013 European Green Capital Award. With four out of five Europeans now living in urban areas, the title — established in 2006 — is aimed at recognizing the local environmental efforts of cities of 200,000 or more inhabitants. Roughly 35 applied for the 2010 and 2011 designations, which ultimately went Stockholm, Sweden and Hamburg, Germany, respectively. Posted. http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/angling-for-europes-green-capital-award/?pagemode=print Why the World Disagrees on Climate Change. Mike Hulme, a climate expert and the author of a new book, says we have “almost exactly orthogonal positions emerging about what the preferred strategies should be” to combat climate change. With a global summit on the topic, COP15, less than two months away — and the prospects for reaching an agreement there growing increasingly dim — it would seem ripe territory for analysis, and Mr. Hulme examines why different societies approach the topic from sharply different vantage points shaped by culture, spirituality, history and politics. Posted. http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/why-the-world-disagrees-on-climate-change/?pagemode=print Of Climate Change and Nuclear Power. “Emotion replaces thought and practicality” when it comes to opposition to nuclear power, argues Stewart Brand. Nuclear power should play an essential role in our efforts to mitigate climate change, argues Stewart Brand, the founder of the Whole Earth Catalog and longtime environmental activist. Mr. Brand, a professed “eco-pragmatist,” makes the case for nuclear power in his latest book, “The Whole Earth Discipline,” where he draws on the work of several scientists, including Saul Griffith, the MIT-trained material scientist and inventor. Posted. http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/of-climate-change-and-nuclear-power/?pagemode=print Poll Shows Public Cooling On Global Warming. What’s Your Opinion? With Sen. Barbara Boxer set to chair a series of hearings on her and Sen. John Kerry’s climate change bill, a new poll is out today that says there’s been a “sharp decline” in the percentage of Americans who see evidence of global warming. Posted. http://totalbuzz.freedomblogging.com/2009/10/22/poll-shows-public-cooling-on-global-warming-whats-your-opinion/23863/ California Dreaming: Is Energy Efficiency Really That Easy? So energy efficiency is again the talk of the town, with a number of states banking on the idea that using less electricity adds up to more power in the end. Rebecca Smith reports today in The Wall Street Journal on a spate of interest from states from California to Maine in starting or beefing up energy-efficiency programs. Posted. http://blogs.wsj.com/environmentalcapital/2009/10/22/california-dreaming-is-energy-efficiency-really-that-easy/tab/print/ The Power Of Markets And The Nature Of EDF. One of the great things about being a City Brights blogger on sfgate.com is hearing what people who read The Gate think about environmental issues, especially those facing California and the West. My view, as I've argued in my first two 'California Dream 2.0' posts, is that we don't have to choose between jobs or the environment, prosperity or the environment, people or the environment. The California-smart approach is jobs, prosperity and people because of the environment. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/dfesta/detail?entry_id=50158