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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for June 29, 2012.
Posted: 29 Jun 2012 12:02:53
ARB Newsclips for June 29, 2012. ARB Newsclips for June 29, 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 EPA air chief defends carbon regs in court victory's wake. U.S. EPA air chief Gina McCarthy defended her agency's plans to address greenhouse gases this morning before a key House Energy and Commerce subpanel, fortified by a federal appeals court decision this week that affirmed EPA's proposal. She testified that EPA had taken a "deliberative and common-sense approach" to limiting carbon pollution that would not be a hit to the economy, as some lawmakers have said. "Over 40 years of Clean Air Act implementation, we've seen that clean air and a healthy economy go hand in hand," she told the Energy and Power Subcommittee. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2012/06/29/7 BY SUBCRIPTION ONLY CLIMATE CHANGE Calif. plans to go it alone on cap and trade, at least at first. Sacramento, Calif. -- California's foray into carbon emissions trading will begin as a solo venture, regulators announced yesterday at a hearing originally intended to secure the Canadian province of Quebec as the state's first trading partner.California air pollution officials said they still plan to include other jurisdictions in their economywide cap-and-trade program, but it won't happen in time for the inaugural auction this November of allowances to manufacturers, oil refineries and other industries, which must obtain them to cover their carbon dioxide emissions starting next year. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2012/06/29/4 BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY FUELS Brazil Said to Consider Increased Ethanol Mix in Fuel. Brazil is considering a request by Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4), the country’s state-owned oil company, to increase the amount of ethanol added to gasoline, said two government officials with knowledge of the discussions. Authorities are reviewing ethanol supplies in the South American country to determine if there is enough to proceed with the measure, which would help reduce imports and boost Petrobras’s earnings, said the officials, who asked not to be identified as the matter is not public. Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-29/brazil-said-to-consider-increased-ethanol-mix-in-fuel.html Western Colorado Struggles as Energy Jobs Fade. The news of a nationwide energy boom is almost too much for people in this town built atop a sea of oil shale and natural gas, where rusting tanks line the highways and ExxonMobil helped to finance the 4-H club’s new community center. Elsewhere — seemingly everywhere else but here, locals say — an oil and gas stampede is transforming towns from the green hills of western Pennsylvania to the plains of North Dakota and eastern Colorado, bringing a flood of money, jobs and attendant environmental concerns. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/29/us/energy-boom-turns-to-bust-in-colorado.html US, Canada cooperate on advanced biofuels, clean energy tech. The U.S. DOE and Environment Canada released the U.S.-Canada Clean Energy Dialogue Action Plan II on June 21. The plan outlines the next phase of activities the two countries plan to undertake to jointly advance clean energy technologies. According to the DOE, the new action plan renews the commitment between the U.S. and Canada to involves work in several areas, including biofuels, carbon capture and storage, smart grids and energy efficiency. Posted. http://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/8562/us-canada-cooperate-on-advanced-biofuels-clean-energy-tech Groups say CAFE standards could stymie biofuels industry. Proposed fuel economy standards could hamper the U.S. biofuels industry, a coalition of rural energy proponents and farm organizations said yesterday. In comments filed with U.S. EPA, the groups warned that the new corporate average fuel economy standards, commonly known as CAFE standards, eliminate incentives to use biofuels. In addition, the standards do not adequately value the reduced greenhouse gas emissions possible through the use of biofuels, they said. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2012/06/29/9 BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY VEHICLES ENERGY: Escondido firm installs 400th electric vehicle charger. Escondido firm Baker Electric Inc. has now installed 417 residential electric car chargers and 143 publicly available high-speed chargers in San Diego County, the company said Thursday. The county has been at the center of a national electric vehicle roll-out: Nissan launched its all-electric Leaf and Chevy launched its mostly electric Volt in 2010 in San Diego County. At the same time, the region has been one of five areas in which the Arizona firm Ecotality has been installing chargers paid for by the government. Posted. http://www.nctimes.com/business/energy-escondido-firm-installs-th-electric-vehicle-charger/article_79a121fe-83db-5e99-8498-8b683cb19451.html High-profile early adopters demo hydrogen car. Actress Diane Kruger is one of more than 35 environmental enthusiasts and "early adopters" in California who are among the first to drive Mercedes-Benz's emissions-free B-Class F-Cell vehicle. The hydrogen-fuel-cell electric vehicle generates electricity on board in a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. With a range of about 250 miles and short refueling times, the B-Class F-Cell combines emissions-free local mobility with suitability for long journeys and impressive performance, producing as its only by-product, pure water. Posted. http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_20918851/high-profile-early-adopters-demo-hydrogen-car?IADID=Search-www.dailybulletin.com-www.dailybulletin.com Shift points. Toyota says it will start selling a super-small electric vehicle in its Japanese home market for a super-small price: just US $12,600, reports electric-vehicle advocate Green Car Congress. The two-seater will be based on the COMS single-seat EV unveiled at last year's Tokyo Motor Show. Nissan expects to triple sales of its Leaf electric car in Europe this year, as new production facilities in England come on stream. Europe sales and marketing chief Paul Wilcox projects 9,000 unit sales this year compared to 3,000 last, reports industry journal Automotive News. Posted. http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_20918837/shift-points?IADID=Search-www.dailybulletin.com-www.dailybulletin.com GREEN ENERGY A 2nd U.S.-Supported Maker of Solar Panels Will Close. Abound Solar, a solar panel maker that received a $400 million loan guarantee from the federal government, announced on Thursday that it would file for bankruptcy amid plummeting prices and intense competition from Chinese manufacturers in the solar equipment market. The failure of Abound, which tapped about $68 million of the loan guarantee before the Energy Department cut off its credit last September, comes after the collapse last year of Solyndra, another high-tech solar panel maker that had received federal funds. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/29/business/energy-environment/abound-solar-says-it-will-file-for-bankruptcy.html http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/jun/28/solar-firm-that-got-doe-loan-to-declare/ http://www.modbee.com/2012/06/28/2261647/solar-firm-that-got-doe-loan-to.html#storylink=misearch http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/06/28/2891319/solar-firm-that-got-doe-loan-to.html#storylink=misearch Telecom pioneer Green now wired for solar. On a Santa Rosa hilltop, telecom entrepreneur Don Green opened his home Thursday to unveil a solar array that is one of the largest residential installations in the country. It takes a lot of energy to power his 14,000-square-foot home and guest house, and Green's 84.6-kilowatt system is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2,266 tons of carbon dioxide over the next 25 years, the equivalent of a small car driving about 7.7 million miles. Posted. http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20120629/BUSINESS/206291105 MISCELLANEOUS House Solyndra Probe Nears Completion. The Republican-led investigation into Solyndra LLC, the solar-panel maker that received a $535 million U.S. loan guarantee only to go bankrupt two years later, is drawing to an end. Representative Cliff Stearns, the chairman of the House Energy Committee’s oversight panel, told reporters yesterday that he was awaiting certification from the White House that it had turned over all requested documents relating to Solyndra. Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-28/house-s-stearns-says-investigation-into-solyndra-nearing-end.html Elk Grove to open hazardous waste collection center. Elk Grove residents currently have to travel about an hour round trip to get rid of an old TV set or paint can. But they soon will be able to drop off household hazardous waste for free in their own city. The city of Elk Grove started construction on a $4.6 million special waste collection center, scheduled to open in May. The center will be built on a vacant lot in an industrial area off Grant Line Road and Highway 99. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2012/06/29/4598190/elk-grove-to-open-hazardous-waste.html Critics say conference report deals major blow to alternative transport. As Congress drives to sign a national transportation bill into law just days before the current policy expires, environmental and transportation groups attacked the conference report released yesterday for stripping support for transportation options. The bill represents a major and somewhat unexpected legislative success following indications that Congress would instead opt for the 10th extension of existing law. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2012/06/29/6 BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY OPINIONS Spray-on solar windows use teeny tiny solar cells to capture energy. If the Internet has taught us anything, it is that everything is better when it is smaller. Kittens are better than cats. Cake pops are better than cakes. LEGO models of anything are pretty great, even if the full-sized version is pretty iffy (say, a meth lab). Thus: Solar panels? Good. Teeny tiny solar cells? BETTER. Solar cells so tiny they can be sprayed onto windows? SO COOL. Posted. http://grist.org/list/spray-on-solar-windows-use-teeny-tiny-solar-cells-to-capture-energy/ BLOGS Pondering a Link Between Forest Fires and Climate Change. This week, record temperatures and wildfires have scorched the western United States. The National Climate Data Center reports that 41 heat records (6,027 weather stations take measurements around the country) have been broken or tied since Sunday, mostly in Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska, which is quite unusual for this time of year. Since Saturday, a wildfire near Colorado Springs has burned over 18,000 acres, and 34 other large fires are still burning in the country. Posted. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/28/pondering-a-link-between-forest-fires-and-climate-change/ Car Rentals for the ‘Eco-Curious.’ Electric car sales have so far ranged from disappointing to dismal. But Lee Broughton, head of corporate sustainability for Enterprise Holdings, the parent of Enterprise, National and Alamo, has an idea about how they might be improved: by enlisting an American demographic he calls the “urban eco-curious.” In 2010 Enterprise invested in electric vehicles, buying 350 Nissan Leafs, but it found that its customers were not really interested. Consumers hesitate to rent them for the same reason that they hesitate to purchase: “range anxiety,” or worry about how far the car will go without a charge. Posted. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/28/car-rentals-for-the-eco-curious/ BMW and Toyota expanding cooperation: fuel cells, sports car, powertrain electrification and lightweight technologies. Expanding their existing cooperation agreement signed in December 2011 (earlier post), Toyota Motor Corporation and the BMW Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at long-term strategic collaboration in four fields: joint development of a fuel cell system; joint development of architecture and components for a future sports vehicle; collaboration on powertrain electrification; and joint research and development on lightweight technologies. (Earlier post.) Posted. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2012/06/bmwtmc-20120629.html