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newsclips -- Newsclips for April 5, 2012

Posted: 05 Apr 2012 14:24:33
ARB News Clips for April 5, 2012. 

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

Natural Disasters Tied to Unnatural Causes. Air pollution does
more than make the skies hazy, with a new study suggesting the
industrial ick is linked to drought, flooding and even
hurricanes. The research, detailed this week in the journal
Nature, suggests human activity can, and already has, driven
large-scale regional climate changes. The "dirty pollution," it
seems, can cause changes in the temperature of the Atlantic
Ocean, which in turn drives the stormy activity, say the
researchers from the Met Office, the U.K.'s National Weather
Service. Posted. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46966009

House plants help make the air cleaner. We hear a lot about air
pollution outdoors in Kern County. But, what about inside your
home? Dust and particles sitting on your floor and furniture can
affect your quality of life too. Some house plants can actually
help remove harmful dirt and chemicals from indoor air. Air
pollution in Kern County is something those who call this place
home, know all too well.  "Sometimes my allergies keep me inside
the house. Posted. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46959831

Pollution Playing A Major Role In Sea Temperatures. The Atlantic
Ocean, especially the North Atlantic, is peculiar: Every few
decades, the average temperature of surface water there changes
dramatically. Scientists want to know why that is, especially
because these temperature shifts affect the weather. New research
suggests that human activity is part of the cause. Scientists
originally thought that maybe some mysterious pattern in
deep-ocean currents, such as an invisible hand stirring a giant
bathtub, created this temperature see-saw. Posted.
http://www.npr.org/2012/04/04/150005074/pollution-playing-a-major-role-in-sea-temperatures

CLIMATE CHANGE

El Nino possible after summer, CPC says. The U.S. Climate
Prediction Center raised the prospect that El Nino conditions
could return after the Northern Hemisphere summer, causing
adverse weather that could potentially disrupt the harvest of
vital crops such as cotton, corn and soybeans. A return in the
fall of La Nina's more infamous counterpart could increase
rainfall, although farmers typically prefer it to the La Nina
phenomenon. La Nina has been blamed for a bad dry spell in South
America. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/05/us-weather-elnino-idUSBRE8340V920120405

VEHICLES

Payoff for Efficient Cars Takes Years.  Ed Moran’s new Toyota
Prius was programmed by the dealer to make him feel good about
his gas savings. A dashboard display compares the fuel
consumption of the Prius and his 2001 Ford pickup truck.  “Every
time I go to the store it will tell me how much money I saved,”
said Mr. Moran, a horticulturist in Ames, Iowa.  Like more and
more Americans, Mr. Moran is looking to a fuel-efficient car to
help soften the financial blow of ever higher gas prices. 
Posted.  
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/05/business/energy-environment/for-hybrid-and-electric-cars-to-pay-off-owners-must-wait.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=fuels&st=cse

GREEN ENERGY

Folsom solar firm's projects approved in Imperial County. The
Imperial County Board of Supervisors has approved a series of
large solar power projects being developed by Folsom-based
8minutenergy Renewables LLC. The solar generation plant in the
Imperial Valley will be built in three phases and eventually
generate up to 600 megawatts for more than 200,000 households.
The solar farm is being billed as the largest in the world. The
project received support from the Sierra Club, Audubon
California, Defenders of Wildlife and the Natural Resources
Defense Council. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/05/4393754/folsom-solar-firms-projects-approved.html

Watchdog finds Solyndra loan was 'rushed'.  Federal financial
experts weren't consulted on a $528 million federal loan to
Solyndra until the last minute, and only then had "about a day"
to complete their review, an internal watchdog concluded
Wednesday.  The report from the Treasury Department's inspector
general found that the department's review was "rushed" and began
only after the Energy Department was poised to sign off on the
terms of the loan to the Fremont solar company. Posted. 
http://www.contracostatimes.com/business/ci_20328947/watchdog-finds-solar-energy-loan-was-rushed
http://www.insidebayarea.com/business/ci_20328947/watchdog-finds-solar-energy-loan-was-rushed?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_20328947/watchdog-finds-solar-energy-loan-was-rushed
http://www.modbee.com/2012/04/04/2143813/watchdog-finds-solar-energy-loan.html

Utility uses waste to produce power.  A Northern California
utility is using a new turbine and truckloads of chicken blood,
food scraps and other waste to produce more electricity that it
uses.  The Contra Costa Times ( http://bit.ly/HnRgv6) says
Oakland's East Bay Municipal Utility District has been generating
electricity from sewage gas and other waste since the 1980s.  The
$32 million power plant expansion unveiled this week makes use of
aggressive waste collection.  Posted. 
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_20331698/utility-uses-waste-produce-power?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/apr/05/utility-uses-waste-to-produce-power/

OPINIONS

Cleaner Fuels, Cleaner Cars. In late December, the Environmental
Protection Agency drafted a set of rules that would force
petroleum refiners to reduce the amount of sulfur in gasoline by
two-thirds. That change would enhance the effectiveness of
catalytic converters in both old and new cars, resulting in
substantial cuts in soot and smog-forming pollutants from
automobile tailpipes. The proposal resembles a similar measure
adopted by California for cars sold inside that state. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/05/opinion/cleaner-fuels-cleaner-cars.html?_r=1

BLOGS

California Cap and Trade Fraud Concerns. California’s cap and
trade program allows permitted greenhouse gas emitters to receive
allowances from the Air Resources Board (ARB) through auction or
sale in an allowances marketplace for specific amounts of
emissions, and many critics argue the system is easily
susceptible to fraud. The problem is that although the ARB has
its own anti-fraud rule, legal oversight committees agree that
without direct action from Congress the ARB has no authority to
enforce penalties or even monitor secondary markets in carbon
trading, making both the marketplace and the anti-fraud rule
moot.  Posted.
http://www.nuwireinvestor.com/articles/california-cap-and-trade-fraud-concerns-59015.aspx

Chicago Leads the Way in Urban Sustainable Agriculture.  The City
of Chicago has been making some major leaps into sustainability.
They have worked on increasing their urban green areas as well as
re-purposing abandoned land into useful projects. The city also
boasts more than 300 miles of bikeways, 7 million square feet of
green roofs and currently has more green hotels than any city in
the U.S. It is also one of the most ‘climate ready’ cities of the
United States.  Posted. 
http://www.triplepundit.com/2012/04/chicago-leads-urban-sustainable-agriculture/




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