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ARB Newsclips for May 14, 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

Court is asked to spur EPA on soot standard. Environmental and
public health groups asked a court Friday to force a significant
acceleration in U.S. EPA's schedule for curbing airborne soot
from motor vehicles, power plants and factories. The American
Lung Association and National Parks Conservation Association
argued that EPA should adopt a new and final national ambient air
quality standard for fine particles by Dec. 14, they said in a
brief filed to the U.S. District Court for the District of
Columbia as part of their ongoing litigation to force the agency
to act. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2012/05/14/14 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

CLIMATE CHANGE

UK wants EU focus on new CO2 cuts, not renewables. Europe should
focus on cutting carbon emissions, rather than just repeating an
existing range of EU green policy targets that expire at the end
of the decade, Britain's energy and climate chief said on Monday.
Business, which needs investment certainty, has been heaping
pressure on the European Commission to come up with policy to
replace goals that expire in 2020. "We should be moving towards
outcome targets," Edward Davey, Britain's secretary of state for
energy and climate change…Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/14/us-energy-summit-renewables-idUSBRE84D0NO20120514

Global warming threatens pine forests, forcing federal officials
to shift strategy.  A few modest features distinguish the trunk
of the limber pine standing among the trees near abandoned beaver
ponds: a white, plastic pouch attached by a removable staple, a
numerical metal tag secured with an aluminum nail and a printed
warning: “Pouches on trees to repel mountain pine beetles.
Pouches contain chemicals. Do Not Touch-Do Not Remove.”  The
conifer, with its accoutrements, represents a small salvo in the
battle against a beetle infestation, fueled partly by warmer
temperatures. Posted. 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/global-warming-threatens-pine-forests-forcing-federal-officials-to-shift-strategy/2012/05/13/gIQAEHVXNU_story.html

UN cap-and-trade system: Good for China and India, but who else?
The United Nations-administered cap and trade system to reduce
planetary greenhouse gases through investment in “green” projects
in developing countries has directed most of its billions of
dollars in investments to China and India, two of the world’s
most notorious polluters. Indeed, China and India together have
gotten more than 70 percent of the more than 4,100 projects so
far registered for the system, while most developing nations,
aside from a handful, have gotten hardly any at all, according to
the system’s own accounts. Posted.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/05/14/un-cap-and-trade-system-good-for-china-and-india-but-who-else/

New DOE carbon capture process could save $275M over advanced
coal plants' life span. The Department of Energy says it has
developed a new process for making carbon capture cheaper on
advanced coal plants. Last week, the department announced new
research that it said could generate more than $275 million in
cost savings over the 30-year life span of a type of coal plant
known as an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant.
Those savings could equal about 10 percent of the price tag for a
large IGCC power plant. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2012/05/14/7 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

FUELS 

Sacramento gas prices jump because of western refinery problems.
Lagging refinery production is being blamed for a 13-cent spike
in Sacramento-area gas prices over the past week. Following a
seven-week run of decreasing gas prices, area at-the-pump costs
rose for a second consecutive week, coming in at an average of
$4.24 a gallon, according to today's report by
SactoGasPrices.com, a GasBuddy.com website. Sacramento-area gas
prices are now 8.3 cents per gallon higher than they were one
year ago and 14.1 cents higher than last month. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/05/14/4488888/sacramento-gas-prices-jump-because.html

Total says gas leak stopped at Nigeria field. French oil company
Total SA said Sunday it stopped a natural gas leak at one of its
plants in Nigeria's crude-rich southern delta after 54 days, an
emergency that forced the firm to shut down the field and
evacuate the area. Total said it used heavy fluids and cement
plugs to stop the gas flow from its Obite natural gas field in
Rivers state, in the heart of the country's Niger Delta. Workers
will put a cement seal on the well to permanently staunch the
flow from the well, Total said in a statement. Posted. 
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/may/13/total-says-gas-leak-stopped-at-nigeria-field/#ixzz1urUJY7hg

VEHICLES

$100 Million for Electric Car Charging in California from NRG
Energy.  This is what the $100 million that NRG Energy is
obligated by a legal settlement to invest in battery electric
vehicle (BEV) charging infrastructure in California will buy for
plug-in car owners: A $50.5 million investment in 200 eVgo
Freedom Station sites installed at carefully chosen commercial
and retail locations, each with a level-three DC fast charger as
well as a level-two medium-speed charger; …Posted. 
http://cleantechnica.com/2012/05/14/100-million-for-electric-car-charging-in-california-from-nrg-energy/
http://www.hybridcars.com/news/california-approves-100-million-alternative-energy-investment-plan-2013-45865.html

HIGH-SPEED RAIL

High-speed spending: Bullet train may need $3.5 million a day.
California would have to pay $6 billion to complete a 130-mile
segment by September 2017, a plan that requires 120 permits and
buying 1,100 parcels of land. If California starts building a
130-mile segment of high-speed rail late this year as planned, it
will enter into a risky race against a deadline set up under
federal law. The bullet train track through the Central Valley
would cost $6 billion and have to be completed by September 2017,
or else potentially lose some of its federal funding. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bullet-risks-20120514,0,3139016,print.story

GREEN ENERGY

Mexican wind energy boom plays out on gusty shores. On an arid
plain where sudden gusts of wind can rip roofs off buildings and
knock over tractor trailers, Mexico is building a new engine for
its energy future. Surrounded by towering turbines in every
direction, the town of La Ventosa - which means "the windy place"
in Spanish - is at the heart of a wind power boom in the country.
Mexico, the world's 14th biggest economy, still punches well
below its weight in terms of wind energy, ranking 24th on the
planet in installed capacity last year, according to the Global
Wind Energy Council (GWEC). Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/14/us-mexico-wind-idUSBRE84D05P20120514
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/2012/05/14/19  BY SUBSCRIPTION
ONLY

Retired generators at California plant back online. Two retired
generators at a Southern California power plant are back online,
to help take up the slack from the shuttered San Onofre nuclear
plant this summer. The pair of natural-gas-powered units at the
AES Huntington Beach plant will provide about 440 megawatts to
the Los Angeles Basin, while giving voltage support to allow
power to be imported into the San Diego area, the Los Angeles
Times reported Sunday (http://lat.ms/KdSV7D). Posted.
http://hosted2.ap.org/CARIE/7f780b0f92634e54be4b48f9179deaa4/Article_2012-05-13-SoCal%20Power/id-f21e94f0235f433b994aea40ceaef4b1
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-adv-energy-plants-20120513,0,4281762.story
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/05/13/4486827/retired-generators-at-california.html
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_20615243/retired-generators-at-california-plant-back-online
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_20607371/retired-power-generators-put-back-into-service
http://www.mantecabulletin.com/section/140/article/42525/

RIVERSIDE: UCR team wins international environmental design
competition. A team of students from UC Riverside's Bourns
College of Engineering won the top prize at an international
environmental design competition this month for a reusable storm
drain oil filter they designed out of 100 percent recycled
materials. The team, which calls itself “Sustain-a-Drain,” won
the open task competition and the 2012 Intel Environmental
Innovation Award, the top award at the WERC: …Posted. 
http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/riverside/riverside-headlines-index/20120511-riverside-ucr-team-wins-international-environmental-design-competition.ece

Vt. utilities see growing 'smart meter' opposition. Worries about
health effects, privacy and cost are fueling growing opposition
to wireless, digital "smart meters" that utilities around the
country are installing at homes and businesses and touting as key
energy conservation and grid reliability tools. Vermont appears
poised to take an unusually aggressive stance. Posted. 
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/may/13/utilities-see-growing-smart-meter-opposition/#ixzz1urV1pDiT
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20120514/WIRE/120519777

Study says solar energy not oversubsidized. A study by the
University of Tennessee’s Baker Center for Public Policy says
that solar energy is subsidized at about the same rate as other
energy sources. The industry “is consistent with the
less-than-smooth paths that many American industries have
traveled as they entered the mainstream of commerce,” the study
said. It added that solar power was in a stage “where government
incentives can be most critical in helping new energy
technologies become significant sources of energy production.”
Posted. 
http://www.desertdispatch.com/news/study-12903-solar-tennessee.html

Wood energy struggles to gain traction in Ore. Oregon's Renewable
Energy Action Plan calls for more of the state's energy to come
from renewable sources, which include a biofuel that many people
don't typically consider: wood. Some people associate wood heat
with smoke, particulates, inefficient fireplaces and destructive
logging, said Marcus Kauffman, a biomass specialist with the
Oregon Department of Forestry. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2012/05/14/8 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

Calif. proposal may lower electric bills for more solar
customers. A new proposal to change California's "net metering"
system would allow more solar customers to receive discounts on
their electric bills. The president of the California Public
Utilities Commission, Michael Peevey, drafted the proposal, which
is scheduled for a vote May 24. Currently, solar customers can
receive credits for the renewable energy they generate and feed
back into the grid, enabling them to significantly lower their
electricity bills during sunny months.  Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2012/05/14/10  BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

In Calif., questions swirl around new voluntary renewable energy
program. Despite pitfalls and naysayers, California's largest and
most troubled power company is plugging its latest "green"
efforts. Northern California's Pacific Gas and Electric Co.
unveiled a new "green option" last month that would allow
customers to pay extra to have their electricity usage covered by
renewable energy certificates, or RECs, which represent the
environmental attributes of renewable energy, but not the energy
itself. They are intended to generate more revenue for clean
power production. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2012/05/14/16 BY
SUBSRIPTION ONLY

Obama admin to offer export help for environmental firms. The
Obama administration is preparing a new program to offer
environmentally minded companies access to information on foreign
laws and regulations, financing and market conditions in a push
to boost American exports and highlight a growing segment of an
otherwise sluggish U.S. economy. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson
and Commerce Secretary John Bryson announced plans for the online
service, which will be launched this fall, during a conference
this morning at American University in Washington, D.C. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2012/05/14/21 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

MISCELLANEOUS

City Unveils Locations of Bike-Share Stations. The bike-share
stations will be pliable, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has said —
their assembly so simple that, if problems arise, docks can be
removed without leaving a trace. And yet, with the program’s
first 420 proposed locations unveiled on Friday, proponents say
New York has taken a step toward a watershed moment in the
transportation history of the city: Posted. 
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/12/nyregion/city-unveils-locations-of-bike-share-stations.html?_r=1

Boulder Electric Vehicle to open Chatsworth assembly plant. A
Colorado electric vehicle manufacturer has leased an industrial
building in Chatsworth where it will assemble delivery trucks and
utility vehicles. Boulder Electric Vehicle will occupy a
27,714-square-foot manufacturing building at 9655 Irondale Ave.
in Chatsworth, real estate brokerage Jones Lang LaSalle said.
Boulder Electric’s new facility represents an expansion from its
manufacturing facility in Boulder, Colo., the company said.
Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-electric-vehicle-plant-20120513,0,362269.story?track=rss

City of Pleasanton in the Running to Become the “Coolest” City in
California.  The city of Pleasanton is in the Top Ten cities in
the CoolCalifornia Challenge, an innovative competition between
California cities to reduce their community-wide carbon
footprints and build more vibrant and sustainable communities. 
Hosted by the California Air Resources Board, the year-long
program began on April 1 and includes the cities of Chula Vista,
Citrus Heights, Davis, Gonzales, Pittsburg, Pleasanton,
Sacramento, San Jose, Santa Cruz, and Tracy.Posted. 
http://pleasanton.patch.com/articles/city-of-pleasanton-in-the-running-to-become-the-coolest-city-in-california

ROUSH CleanTech Drives Economic and Environmental Sustainability
in Southern California. ROUSH CleanTech vehicles fueled by clean,
affordable, domestically produced propane autogas on display at
2012 Alternative Clean Transportation Expo in Long Beach, Calif.
ROUSH CleanTech is speaking, exhibiting and sponsoring at the
2012 Alternative Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo to show how
domestically produced, clean and cost-efficient propane autogas
is a proven alternative fuel solution. Posted.
http://news.yahoo.com/roush-cleantech-drives-economic-environmental-sustainability-southern-california-130349406.html

OPINIONS

Summer break at the pump. That summer vacation may cost less than
you thought. The Energy Department this week said gasoline prices
should average $3.79 per gallon through September thanks to a
drop in crude oil prices. Oil has fallen every day since May 1.
The price of benchmark U.S. crude has dropped by 6.7 percent in
that time, while Brent crude has declined 5.4 percent. Posted. 
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120511/A_OPINION01/205110306&cid=sitesearch

LOIS HENRY: UC President's visit didn't exactly clear the air. I
feel snubbed. I know he said it was just bad timing. But I can't
help feeling it was me. Perhaps something I said? University of
California President Mark Yudof made a quick swing through the
valley and stopped at Bakersfield High School last Tuesday…All I
wanted to know was why Yudof keeps nominating the same guy --
John Froines -- to the Scientific Review Panel despite Froines'
28-year run on the panel. Not to mention that Froines and several
others were booted off the panel in 2010 after a lawsuit pointed
out they hadn't been properly reappointed in decades. Posted. 
http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/lifestyle/health-beat/x531643678/LOIS-HENRY-UC-Presidents-visit-didnt-exactly-clear-the-air

Eye on the Environment: Leave your car at home during Bike to
Work Week. Park your car and get pedaling during Bike to Work
Week. The Ventura County Transportation Commission and Ventura
County Air Pollution Control District are again sponsoring Bike
to Work Week, May 14-18, in conjunction with National Bike Month.
There are some good reasons for you to participate, including a
chance to win an iPad and bike gear. Posted. 
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/may/12/leave-your-car-at-home-during-bike-to-work-week/#ixzz1urTv8UvB
 
Go plant a garden. As this weekend’s 350 Home and Garden
Challenge nears, we encourage all Petalumans to consider planting
a garden.  Sponsored by igrowsonoma.org and Petaluma-based Daily
Acts, the third annual event encourages people to grow food,
conserve water and save energy. In the process, it’s hoped that
by becoming more food and energy independent, we will build a
stronger, healthier and more sustainable community. Posted. 
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20120514/COMMUNITY/120519891

Least Polluted Cities In The U.S. Ranked In State Of The Air
2012. Are you and your neighbors breathing healthy air? American
Lung Association has released their State Of The Air 2012 report,
detailing cities with the least and most air pollution in
America. Each city is ranked by ozone pollution, short-term
particle pollution, and year-long particle pollution. Below are
the report's "Top 25 Least Polluted Cities By Year-Round Particle
Pollution. Posted.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/13/state-of-the-air-2012_n_1475411.html

U.S. power companies could use 14 percent less coal this year. 
Here is a bit of energy-use news to feel good about: Americans
are using a lot less coal.  In the first quarter of this year,
the portion of the country’s electricity that came from coal was
almost 20 percent less than in the same period last year. And
overall, the Energy Information Administration predicts, coal
consumption in the electric sector will decrease by 14 percent
this year.  Of course, there’s a reason for this, as Stephen
Lacey explains at Climate Progress, and the reason is natural
gas. Natural gas is cheap, cheap, cheap, so now we’re burning
that instead of coal.  Posted. 
http://grist.org/list/u-s-power-companies-could-use-14-percent-less-coal-this-year/

BLOGS

Cracking the Smart Energy Market. American homes are getting
smarter, at least when it comes to using energy, a consumer
research firm reports. By 2020, some 60 percent of homes in the
United States will have some type of smart energy management
system, according to estimates from the firm, Parks Associates.
Still, adoption has been slower than some companies had hoped.
Smart energy management systems consist of products and services
that enable you to watch how you consume energy and help you use
less. Posted. 
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/11/cracking-the-smart-energy-market/

Willing to Pay (a Little) More for Clean Energy. The perception
that the American public is adamantly opposed to higher energy
costs is at the root of most political opposition to policies
favoring the adoption of renewable energy. But a new study of
public opinion finds that people are in fact willing to pay to
move to cleaner energy. That willingness is fairly modest, to be
sure. Posted. 
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/14/willing-to-pay-a-little-for-clean-energy/