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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for June 27, 2012
Posted: 27 Jun 2012 12:28:26
ARB Newsclips for June 27, 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 ICAO Carbon-Cut Plan Will Mask Emissions Output: Engineer. A metric proposed as part of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s plan to curb greenhouse gases in the airline industry will mask the actual emissions of aircraft, according to an aeronautical engineer. The proposal uses a plane’s maximum take-off weight, a certification level known as MTOW, to help determine emissions and whether the aircraft is efficient enough to fly…Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-27/icao-carbon-cut-plan-will-mask-emissions-output-engineer.html Rio: pollution rife during UN enviro conference. Rio de Janeiro—The throngs streaming into Rio for a sustainable development conference may be dreaming of white-sand beaches and clear, blue waters, but what they are first likely to notice as they leave the airport is not the salty tang of ocean in the breeze, but the stench of raw sewage. That's because the airport sits by a bay that absorbs about 320 million gallons (1.2 billion liters) of raw waste water a day: 480 Olympic swimming pools worth of filth. Posted. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5imbLSiWprvGrn9C02RLDAC09_LmA?docId=eeb2b7d943d04252b8c35bace8a9822d Associated Press: http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_20949583/rio-pollution-rife-during-un-enviro-conference http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_20949583/rio-pollution-rife-during-un-enviro-conference?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_20949583/rio-pollution-rife-during-un-enviro-conference?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com Lodi bakery faces fine over air pollution accusation. A Lodi bakery has agreed to pay $1.3 million in fines and new equipment after an investigation discovered that the business was releasing harmful chemical vapors into the air. According to a press release from the Environmental Protection Agency, Ralcorp's Cottage Bakery, located on South Stockton Street, has been ordered to pay a penalty of $625,000 after a nearly three-year investigation revealed the business failed to apply for air pollution permits to install and operate the facility's ovens and other air pollution controls that minimize the release of volatile organic compounds, including ethanol. Posted. http://www.lodinews.com/news/article_d79aebf6-535b-564c-9924-fb61ad05058d.html?mode=print CLIMATE CHANGE Exxon's CEO: Climate, energy fears overblown. ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson says that fears about climate change, drilling, and energy dependence are overblown. In a speech Wednesday, Tillerson acknowledges that burning of fossil fuels is warming the planet, but says society will be able to adapt. The risks of oil and gas drilling are well understood and can be mitigated, he says. And he says dependence on other nations for oil is not a concern as long as access to supply is certain. Posted. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_EXXON_CLIMATE_CHANGE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-27/exxon-s-rex-tillerson-says-global-warming-manageable-.html http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Exxon-s-CEO-Climate-energy-fears-overblown-3667064.php Climate change would lead to increased fire activity, study shows. Climate change is likely to alter fire patterns around the world, including a potential increase in the number of fires for much of California in the next 30 years, according to a new study led by UC Berkeley researchers. The study, published in Ecosphere, modeled projected climate changes and how those changes would affect fire activity. The Northern Hemisphere would see the largest increases in the frequency of wildfires, with some parts of the globe potentially seeing decreases, said Max A. Moritz, the study's lead author. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2012/06/26/v-print/4592560/climate-change-would-lead-to-increased.html Legislators could delay state's emissions trading linkage with Quebec. A bill in the California Legislature set to be voted on today would prevent the state from linking greenhouse gas trading programs to other governments without the governor's approval, a hitch that would potentially delay the state's plan to link its market with Quebec's. As currently written, one of the bills accompanying the Legislature's version of the state budget would require the state Air Resources Board to notify the governor if it intends to link market-based programs with another state, province or country. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2012/06/27/7 BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY Few legal options for losers in EPA rule challenge. After a federal appeals court upheld Obama administration greenhouse gas regulations yesterday, attention turned to what remaining legal options are left available to the challengers. The choice is straightforward: Ask the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to rehear the case or immediately seek Supreme Court review. A three-judge panel of the appeals court yesterday denied or dismissed challenges to four rules that are key to the administration's effort to regulate greenhouse gas emissions (Greenwire, June 26). Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2012/06/27/1 BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY DIESEL EMISSIONS Rep. Issa Challenges EPA on Heavy Truck Fuel Economy Standard. The House Oversight Committee is claiming that the California Air Resources Board was too influential in the drafting of federal truck fuel efficiency standards. Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said in a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency that CARB appears to have been "heavily invested and highly involved" in development of the standards for heavy-duty trucks. "It is not clear to the committee, however, why CARB exercised such outsized influence in this process…Posted. http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-detail.asp?news_id=77343&news_category_id=3 Half of Inhaled Soot Particles from Diesel Exhaust, Fires Gets Stuck in the Lungs. The exhaust from diesel-fueled vehicles, wood fires and coal-driven power stations contains small particles of soot that flow out into the atmosphere. The soot is a scourge for the climate but also for human health. Now for the first time, researchers have studied in detail how diesel soot gets stuck in the lungs. The results show that more than half of all inhaled soot particles remain in the body. The figure is higher than for most other types of particles. Posted. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120627092016.htm FUELS COLUMN-Biofuels caught in price squeeze: Gerard Wynn. Rising crop costs are squeezing biofuel margins and may see production fall or stagnate in the United States for the first time since 1996, adding to challenges in Brazil and Europe. A long-run correlation between U.S. corn and crude oil broke down this month, stemming from new fears for the world economy coupled with harsh conditions in key corn growing areas. The changing dynamic illustrates challenges for the sector. U.S. corn ethanol production margins are driven by oil markets and costs driven by corn markets: Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/27/column-wynn-biofuel-costs-idUSL6E8HQ76S20120627 GREEN ENERGY Private equity wary of German green energy shift. Any German politicians hoping private equity investors will cough up some of the billions needed to finance the shift to green energy should probably think again, if comments at an industry conference on Wednesday are anything to go by. Speakers at the conference said renewable energy projects, vital if Germany is to achieve its goal of a sustainable shift away from nuclear power, were too bound by red tape to be an attractive destination for the huge sums which private equity firms allocate. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/27/germany-privateequity-green-idUSL6E8HRDR120120627 Rural farm funds announced. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack reports that USDA has selected 450 projects totalling $7.4 million in Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grant funding nationwide, including 13 projects in California, that are focused on helping agricultural producers and rural small businesses reduce energy consumption and costs and use renewable energy technologies in their operation. In California, projects total $260,000. Posted. http://www.thebusinessjournal.com/news/agriculture/2346-rural-farm-funds-announced MISCELLANEOUS Portland airport terminal gets green kudos. Maine's Portland International Jetport has become the nation's second commercial airport to receive LEED gold certification. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and its gold certification demonstrates that the airport was built to environmentally friendly, energy-efficient standards. Airport Director Paul Bradbury says the new terminal will save $150,000 a year in fuel costs thanks to installation of the state's largest geothermal system. The system features 120 wells, each 500 feet deep. Posted. http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/06/27/2889438/portland-airport-terminal-gets.html#storylink=misearch OPINIONS Natural-Gas Cars Can Drive Us Toward a Better Economy. Armenia is not generally known as a world leader, but it holds at least one record: Seventy-five percent of its cars and trucks run on natural gas. In the U.S., in contrast, the share is well under 0.1 percent -- even though natural-gas prices have plummeted here over the past few years. Given the problems associated with U.S. dependence on oil, more use of natural gas for transportation could carry big benefits. One of the most important of these would be macroeconomic. Switching to natural-gas vehicles would reduce our vulnerability to oil-price shocks…Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-26/natural-gas-cars-can-drive-us-toward-a-better-economy.html Dan Morain: Turn cap and trade rate bomb into AB 32 dividends. Mike Florio, a lifelong consumer advocate turned California Public Utilities commissioner, hasn't often found himself aligned with the California Chamber of Commerce, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and major power companies. But in a very public setting not long ago, he warned about the issue that has exercised business advocates: the bill that is coming due as the state goes about reducing greenhouse gases and combating climate change. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2012/06/27/v-print/4591278/turn-cap-and-trade-rate-bomb-into.html Joanne S. Marchetta: Tahoe needs to allow some development to make environmental gains. Lake Tahoe holds a different meaning for each of us. For many Bay Area residents, it was your childhood summer or kayaking trip, the lakeside wedding, the cabin tucked away in whispering pines. There is also a lot of commerce at Lake Tahoe -- not to mention about 40,000 private properties surrounding the lake. Lake Tahoe is also on the world stage for cutting-edge science, invasive species prevention and best practices for land-use planning. Posted. http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_20943006/joanne-s-marchetta-tahoe-needs-allow-some-development Latinos Nationwide Call for New Power Plant Rules to Curb Climate Change. This summer is already shaping up to be a scorcher. The northeast has gone from sweaters to sweltering in under a week, persistent droughts have brought record setting wildfires in New Mexico, and just weeks into hurricane season, we're already awaiting the fourth named storm in the Atlantic. For many Latinos in these seriously impacted parts of the country and for many who work outside in the heat or live in areas that don't meet clean air rules and are struggling under healthcare costs, the risks of climate change are real. Posted. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adrianna-quintero/record-number-of-latinos-_b_1621113.html?utm_hp_ref=green Aluminum Giant Alcoa Finds New Markets In Green Tech Economy. I just want to say one word to you. Aluminum. It may not be the plastics of the 21st century, but aluminum demand is growing along with the need for lighter, more fuel efficient cars, lightweight laptops and tablets like the iPad I’m writing this post on as well as futuristic products such as self-cleaning, smog-eating building panels. Posted. http://www.forbes.com/sites/toddwoody/2012/06/26/aluminum-giant-alcoa-finds-new-markets-in-green-tech-economy/ Appeals court to EPA: You just keep on regulating greenhouse gas. This morning, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., upheld the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) first-of-its-kind greenhouse gas regulations, dismissing out of hand a variety of challenges from industry and states. The findings uphold the agency’s rules defining limits to the emission of greenhouse gas pollution under the Clean Air Act. Specifically, the court ruled: Yes, the agency acted properly in determining that CO2 is a danger to public health; …Posted. http://grist.org/news/appeals-court-to-epa-you-just-keep-on-regulating-greenhouse-gas/ BLOGS Where Are Hybrids, Electric Cars Selling Fastest? Hawaii. Hawaii, the land of sun, sea, sand and surfing. Green transport, too, according to the latest sales figures emerging from the islands. In fact, hybrids and electric cars are selling so well in the state they almost matched 2011's figures in the first five months of this year. We've already speculated that islands could be the most likely homes for electric cars, with higher-than-average gas prices and smaller road networks. In the case of Hawaii, there's plenty of potential for green energy from solar, hydro or geothermal power too. Posted. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1077288_where-are-hybrids-electric-cars-selling-fastest-hawaii