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newsclips -- Newsclips for December 9, 2011

Posted: 09 Dec 2011 11:44:00
California Air Resources Board News Clips for December 9, 2011. 
 
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.

AIR POLLUTION

2 residents appeal NW Pa. tires-to-energy plant.  Two people who
live near the site of a proposed tires-to-energy plant in
northwestern Pennsylvania have appealed the state's approval of
an air-quality plan.  Leah Humes, a teacher, and Robert Concilus,
a doctor, believe the Crawford Renewable Energy plant will
produce more air pollution than the company or the state
Department of Environmental Protection claim, the Erie Times-News
( http://bit.ly/vokGg3) reported Friday.  "Developers didn't show
where some of these numbers came from," Humes said.  Posted. 
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_19504878?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com

http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_19504878?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com


House blocks nonexistent rule on farm dust.  The House has passed
a bill to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from
cracking down on farm dust, even though the agency says it has no
plans to regulate that pollution.  The idea that farm dust could
be regulated has proved a popular topic on the campaign trail,
riding a wave of anti-regulation sentiment. Republicans and some
Democrats have told farm-state audiences that the EPA is
considering a crackdown on farms, even though the agency issued a
public statement in October calling that a "myth."  Posted. 
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/dec/08/house-votes-to-block-nonexistent-farm-dust-rule/

http://www.nctimes.com/news/national/house-blocks-nonexistent-rule-on-farm-dust/article_cf55f35a-1182-5b92-b11b-9c6378c5b033.html

http://www.modbee.com/2011/12/08/1979458/house-votes-to-block-nonexistent.html


Another spare-the-air alert called for Friday.  Friday will be
the third consecutive day this week to have a Winter Spare the
Air alert, and the pattern could continue to Saturday,
air-quality officials said.  Wednesday's was the first Winter
Spare the Air alert of the season. Crisp weather since midweek
has kept a cold air mass packed underneath a warmer air mass,
trapping pollution closer to the ground, said Bay Area Air
Quality Management District spokeswoman Kristine Roselius. 
Posted. 
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/12/09/BACC1MA6V2.DTL


On the right track.  Central California Traction Co. unveiled a
new, bright red locomotive Thursday in Stockton, saying it should
sharply reduce the short-line railroad's fuel bill and help ease
air pollution in the Central Valley.  During a recent five-week
test run, the new engine provided a 51 percent savings in fuel
consumption as well as a roughly 85 percent reduction in
emissions of nitrous oxides and a 90 percent reduction in
particulate matter compared to older locomotives, said Dave
Buccolo, CCT's general manger.  Posted. 
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111209/A_BIZ/112090312&cid=sitesearch


CLIMATE CHANGE

Talks on Climate-Change Fund Make Progress.  Climate negotiators
Thursday reported some progress to establish a fund to help
mitigate the impact of climate change, even as they contended
with the possibility that talks here could end Friday without a
global agreement to reduce emissions after 2020.  "We...are going
to be rapidly setting up the green fund," said Todd Stern, the
chief U.S. envoy here. "It has made a lot of progress; I think
it's an area that is among the most advanced," of those under
discussion in Durban, he said.  BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY.  Posted. 
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203501304577086502352895284.html?KEYWORDS=greKEYWORDS%3Dgreen+energy
    

UN climate talks on edge heading into final hours.  The United
States, China and India could scuttle attempts to save the only
treaty governing global warming, Europe's top negotiator said
Friday hours before a 194-nation U.N. climate conference was to
close.  After two weeks of negotiations, talks went through the
night Thursday with delegates struggling to keep Durban from
becoming the graveyard of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on global
warming.  Posted. 
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/12/08/international/i092603S09.DTL


California Becoming World's Second Largest Carbon Market.  While
world leaders jostle to make or hinder progress on international
climate policy in Durban, South Africa, California’s
cap-and-trade program — part of the state’s groundbreaking Global
Warming Solutions Act — won an important victory this week on the
path to implementation in 2013.  On Tuesday a San Francisco
superior court approved the state’s recently submitted
environmental impact analysis, confirming that California has
adequately studied alternatives for how to meet its climate
goals.  Posted. 
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericagies/2011/12/08/california-becoming-worlds-second-largest-carbon-market/


ICF International Announces California AB32 Cap-and-Trade
Outlook.  CF International /quotes/zigman/101084/quotes/nls/icfi
ICFI -0.39% , a leading provider of consulting services and
technology solutions to government and commercial clients, has
released its California Cap and Trade Market Outlook, a special
report of ICF's Integrated Energy Outlook series. The study
presents ICF's views on emission allowance prices and the
potential sources for emission reductions under California's
recently approved greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction program, as well
as highlighting the program's impacts on the California power
market.  Posted. 
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/icf-international-announces-california-ab32-cap-and-trade-outlook-2011-12-08


FUELS

CONGRESS: Issa expanding probe of fuel economy standards.  Inland
Rep. Darrell Issa is intensifying his probe into the California
Air Resources Board and the role it played in negotiations that
led to tough new federal fuel economy standards.  Dissatisfied
with information provided so far by the state agency, Issa,
chairman of the House Oversight Committee, is readying a second
round of questions for the board’s chairman, Mary Nichols. 
Posted. 
http://www.pe.com/local-news/politics/ben-goad-headlines/20111208-congress-issa-expanding-probe-of-fuel-economy-standards.ece


California Calling Oil Sands Dirty Fuel.  Canada has found a
predictable ally among oil industry executives in its battle to
defend oil (tar) sands from a draft EU law. But California,
“green” from tip to toe, is giving that defense short shrift via
a labeling scheme that allows consumers to buy their fuel based
on its lifetime, or “wells-to-wheels” carbon footprint.  Posted. 
http://www.energyboom.com/policy/california-calling-dirty-fuel-its-real-name-oil-sands
 

GREEN ENERGY

Solar zones would focus development west of Blythe.  The Obama
administration is winning support from some major environmental
groups to create solar energy zones on public land in the West,
with the goal of focusing the developments in areas deemed less
valuable to wildlife, views and other resources.  But several
desert residents told federal officials at a public meeting
Thursday night in Palm Desert that solar development in eastern
Riverside County would permanently damage vast and sacred
landscapes.  Posted. 
http://www.pe.com/local-news/topics/topics-environment-headlines/20111209-riverside-county-solar-zones-would-focus-development-west-of-blythe.ece


VEHICLES

EVs are the cheaper solution in the long run – EV Virtual Summit
2011.  On 8 December 2011, the EV Virtual Summit 2011 organised
by the Smart Grid Observer brought together 12 expert speakers
from the EV sector. Topics covered were i.a. the total cost of
ownership and safety standards for EVs and batteries.  Today,
there are around 20,000 electric vehicles on the U.S. market,
comprising both full electric vehicles (EV) like the Nissan Leaf
and plugin electric vehicles (PHEV) like the Chevy Volt. Judging
from investments and announcements by OEMs and battery
manufacturers, Arun Banskota, President of eVgo, estimates the
number of EVs on U.S. roads by 2020 at 1.6 million.  Posted. 
http://www.cars21.com/content/articles/71220111209.php 

California confirms plans to regulate cars emissions and boost
electric vehicles.  California’s air quality regulator, the Air
Resources Board (ARB), has confirmed its plans to introduce new
limits to greenhouse gas emissions from cars and put 1.4 million
electric, plug-in and hydrogen cars on the road.  The plans,
which were first unveiled in draft last month, will be considered
by ARB for adoption at a meeting on January 26.  Posted. 
http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/i/4712/ 

MISCELLANEOUS

Energy reduction contest will reward NYC schools.  A new contest
will award a total of $30,000 to New York City schools that
reduce their energy use the most.  The Wall Street Journal
(http://on.wsj.com/sXjb0x ) says it's part of a project called
the Green Design Lab.  It brings teachers from a nonprofit
environmental group called Solar One into the schools for up to
six months.  BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY.  Posted. 
http://online.wsj.com/article/AP060a1530aed6496ebc65ae54daa4cf61.html?KEYWORDS=greKEYWORDS%3Dgreen+energy
 

OPINION

Ignoring a global warning.  Nero probably didn't really fiddle
while Rome burned; for one thing, fiddles as we know them today
didn't exist yet, and for another, historians at the time
dismissed the story as a rumor. Moreover, it's hard to believe
that even a tyrant as petty and murderous as Nero would be
foolish enough to watch the burning of his city-state and do
nothing about it. But we Americans are.  Posted. 
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-climate-20111209,0,3826430.story


BLOGS

California working with global governors group to include REDD+
in trade scheme. California, which recently signed legislation to
allow its businesses to offset their emissions, is working with
the Governors Climate Task Force (GCF) to create the necessary
requirements and institutions to include REDD+ carbon credits in
the state’s compliance market.  Carbon credits in California’s
emission trading scheme – which will come into effect in 2013 –
will have to meet the requirements for being “additional,
enforceable, and verified,” said Mary Nichols, Chairman of the
California Air Resources Board, on the sidelines of the UN
climate talks in Durban this week.  Posted. 
http://blog.cifor.org/6224/california-working-with-global-governors-group-to-include-redd-in-trade-scheme/

California ARB releases three studies showing fine particle
pollution a threat to cardiovascular health.  Three new studies
released by the California Air Resources Board (ARB) show that
exposure to airborne fine-particulate matter significantly
elevates the risk for premature deaths from heart disease in
older adults and elevates incidence of strokes among
post-menopausal women. Heart disease is the number one killer in
California and is responsible for approximately 35% of annual
deaths.   Posted. 
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2011/12/pm-20111209.html  



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