What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for April 24, 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.

LOW CARBON FUEL STANDARDS

California Wins Temporary Reinstatement of Carbon Fuel Standard.
California won temporary reinstatement of its low-carbon fuel
standard, which was blocked last year by a federal judge. The
U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco yesterday granted a
request by California officials to put on hold the Dec. 29 ruling
that the standard is unconstitutional while the case is on
appeal. The rule was to have taken effect Jan. 1, 2012. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2012-04-24/california-s-carbon-fuel-standard-reinstated-during-appeal-1-.html
http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL2E8FNIF220120423
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/23/4436884/court-blocks-injunction-on-ca.html
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_20464826/court-blocks-injunction-ca-green-fuel-standard
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_20464826/court-blocks-injunction-ca-green-fuel-standard?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com
http://www.modbee.com/2012/04/23/2170793/court-blocks-injunction-on-ca.html
http://www.capitalpress.com/content/AP-CA-Low-carbon-fuel-042412
http://www.kmph.com/story/17665013/court-blocks-injunction-on-ca-green-fuel-standard

VEHICLES

GE CEO says electric car disappointment must fade. General
Electric Co Chief Executive Jeff Immelt said people "may be
disappointed in the adoption of the electric vehicle" but his
company will continue investing in battery technology in hopes of
an eventual uptick. Speaking during an automotive conference in
Detroit on Tuesday, Immelt -- whose company is a key supplier to
automakers producing electric cars -- said GE is "committed to
long term development" of alternative-fuel vehicles. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/24/ge-ev-idUSL2E8FO4F520120424

China's dream of electric car leadership elusive. Beijing —
China's leaders are finding it's a lot tougher to create a
world-beating electric car industry than they hoped. In 2009,
they announced bold plans to cash in on demand for clean vehicles
by making China a global power in electric car manufacturing.
They pledged billions of dollars for research and called for
annual sales of 500,000 cars by 2015. Today, Beijing is scaling
back its ambitions, chastened by technological hurdles and lack
of buyer interest. Posted. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47161602

GREEN ENERGY

Discovery of Indian artifacts complicates Genesis solar project.
After human remains were unearthed near the $1-billion Genesis
project 200 miles east of L.A., the Colorado River Indian Tribes
are demanding that the Obama administration slow down on solar
plants in the Mojave Desert. The Feb. 27 letter from the chairman
of the Colorado River Indian Tribes was pleading and tough. It
asked President Obama to slow the federal government's "frantic
pursuit" of massive solar energy projects in the Mojave Desert
because of possible damage to Native American cultural resources.
Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-solar-bones-20120424,0,1894725.story

San Onofre not expected to close for good, Edison says. The
nuclear power plant has been shuttered for nearly three months
due to unexpected wear in tubes that carry radioactive water. But
a Southern California Edison official says a return to service is
expected. The extended closure of the San Onofre nuclear plant
due to safety concerns has led some to speculate — or hope — that
the plant will be shuttered for good, but the chief nuclear
officer for plant operator Southern California Edison said he
doesn't believe the problems signal the plant's demise. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-san-onofre-20120424,0,2589141.story

Edison: San Onofre could restart in ‘next few months’ The
operators of the idled San Onofre nuclear plant could restart at
least one of its troubled reactor units “in the next few months,”
the plant’s chief nuclear officer said Monday. And while the
precise cause of premature wear seen in steam generator tubes in
both units is not yet known, it appears to be related to
vibrations induced by the heat exchange process inside the steam
generators, said Southern California Edison Chief Nuclear Officer
Pete Dietrich. Posted.
http://sciencedude.ocregister.com/2012/04/23/edison-san-onofre-could-restart-in-next-few-months/170761/

MISCELLANEOUS

Placer Co. air pollution district awards $931K in grants. The
Placer County Air Pollution Control District is awarding $931,000
in grants to 10 projects aimed at reducing air pollution in the
county, the district has announced. “It’s important that we
support proactive approaches to reduce harmful emissions in the
county,” said Placer County Air Pollution Control Officer Tom
Christofk. The projects are expected to collectively reduce
pollutant emissions by an estimated 30 tons over the next several
years. Posted.
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2012/04/24/placer-co-air-pollution-district-equipme.html

New group to study fumigant-free strawberry growing. Ways to
commercially grow strawberries in California without the use of
fumigants will be explored by a new group of scientists and
others form by the state Department of Pesticide Regulation. The
group is tasked with coming up with a five-year action plan to
accelerate the development of management tools and practices to
control soil-borne pests in strawberry fields without fumigants,
says DPR Director Brian Leahy. Posted.
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=20904

Old computers and cellphones piling up? Recycle your e-waste.
When technological devices' relatively short lives end, either
because New Version 7.02 beckons or replacement is cheaper than
repair, they become electronic waste, aka e-waste. Dumping
e-waste in landfills is illegal in California — offenders face up
to $25,000 in civil fines or criminal charges — so figuring out
what to do with digital detritus has become an environmental
mission for consumers, businesses and governments. Posted.
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/apr/23/old-computers-and-cellphones-piling-up-recycle-e/?print=1

OPINIONS

DOUG GREENER: Protect your family -- install carbon monoxide
monitoring devices.  Last year, several key pieces of fire
service related state legislation were passed as new laws and
codes designed to have a direct impact on the safety of the
residents of California and Bakersfield. As Bakersfield's fire
chief, I'm compelled to provide a gentle reminder of one of those
changes, which is the new requirement for the installation of
carbon monoxide monitoring devices in all residential structures.
 Posted. 
http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/local/x731249712/DOUG-GREENER-Protect-your-family-install-carbon-monoxide-monitoring-devices

Role of methane in new oil and gas air pollution rule questioned.
The new federal rules limiting air pollution from oil and gas
operations are aimed at smog precursors and air toxics — but it's
the role of methane in the rules that bothers industry and
environmentalists alike. And as the effective date for the rules
approaches, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency faces
possible challenge from both sides. The April 17 rules mandate
the use of "green completion" technology on fractured wells. The
technology controls releases of smog-forming volatile organic
compounds…Posted.
http://www.statejournal.com/story/17673584/role-of-methane-in-new-oil-and-gas-air-pollution-rules-questioned

There Is No Away. Feeling a little bullish and full of questions
about Earth Day. Do we still need Earth Day? I remember the first
Earth Day. We were told, "Make every day Earth Day." Did we? At
the time, our cars slurped leaded gas, power plants belched out
smoke and smog without recourse, and our rivers were on fire.
With even cleaner ways to power our vehicles, have we embraced
cleaner cars? With mercury pollution poisoning our children and
asthma on the rise, is our air clean enough? Posted.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ronnie-citronfink/there-is-no-away_b_1446526.html?ref=green

BLOGS

A Good Day for All Families: California's Low Carbon Fuel
Standard Moves Forward. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
blocked an injunction today against California's low carbon fuel
standard (LCFS). The original injunction was issued by the trial
court (U.S. District Court, Fresno) in late 2011. As David
Pettit, our senior attorney stated here: Rather than invest to
improve their products by providing cleaner transportation fuels
and better production practices, Big Oil and Big Ethanol went to
court...Today, the trial court's order was put on ice by the
appellate court while the appeal is going on. Posted.
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/smui/a_good_day_for_all_families_ca.html