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ARB Newsclips for September 21, 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

REGION: Finding a cure for burger smog.  Sandwiched between
paved-road dust and diesel truck emissions is the second-biggest
producer of particle pollution in Southern California: the
char-broiled burger.  While it may be hard to imagine the
all-beef patty as an environmental menace, air quality regulators
have long known that the smoke from burgers cooked on grills can
spew 14 tons of microscopic, lung-damaging particles each day
into the region. That’s more than double the daily output from
big rigs.  Posted. 
http://www.pe.com/local-news/breaking-news-headlines/20120920-region-finding-a-cure-for-burger-smog.ece


Butte County's winter air meets federal standards ... for now.
Butte County might soon be off the hook for breaking federal
pollution rules, but that could be short-lived. Wintertime air
quality in the county has improved to the point that it no longer
violates the Clean Air Act, according to the Butte County Air
Quality Management District. But a good winter is needed this
year to stay under the standard, under the complicated math used
by the Environmental Protection Agency. Posted.
http://www.orovillemr.com/news/ci_21598100/butte-countys-winter-air-meets-federal-standards-now


SEPTEMBER 20, 2012, ARB BOARD MEETING

California regulator defends CO2 market design. California's top
air regulator offered a stern defense of the state's forthcoming
carbon cap-and-trade system, battling back against complaints
from industry that it will cost jobs and drive up consumer prices
at a hearing on Thursday. Industry and manufacturing groups that
have opposed the carbon market said at a meeting held by the
state's air regulator in Sacramento that the program was poorly
designed, and complained that their input has been ignored.
Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/21/us-california-carbon-idUSBRE88K0A820120921


Businesses plead for changes to California's new cap-and-trade
market. Heavyweight business groups are staging a last-ditch
protest against California's new cap-and-trade carbon market,
demanding changes to a program they've labeled a job killer.
Manufacturers, oil refiners and others are lining up to testify
today before the California Air Resources Board, which will run
the carbon market. Their goal: To get the Air Resources Board to
reduce the costs of participating in the market. The program is
set to begin Nov. 14, when the state agency will auction off
millions of carbon emission allowances. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/09/20/4836719/businesses-plead-for-changes-to.html
 

 Air pollution chief rejects calls to change California's new
greenhouse gas program.  California's top air pollution regulator
issued a spirited defense today of the state's new cap-and-trade
greenhouse gas market, rejecting pleas from businesses to make
significant changes to the program.  Mary Nichols, chair of the
California Air Resources Board, said the carbon market is
designed to minimize the impact on businesses.  Big business
groups, like the California Chamber of Commerce, were scheduled
to testify later today about their objections to the cap and
trade market, the centerpiece of the state's global warming law,
AB 32.  Posted. 
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/09/20/4839024/air-pollution-chief-rejects-calls.html
 

Business groups protest Calif. carbon market. A key component of
California's landmark greenhouse gas emissions law would impose
enormous costs on businesses at a time when the state's economy
is sputtering, oil refiners, manufacturers and others said
Thursday. Fees from the state's pending cap-and-trade program for
carbon emissions amount to a $1 billion-a-year tax increase on
about 500 businesses in the state, the California Air Resources
Board was told. Posted.
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/sep/20/business-groups-set-to-blast-calif-carbon-market/#ixzz278YJXwVR

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20120920/WIRE/120929939/-1/NEWS01?Title=Business-groups-protest-state-s-cap-and-trade-law
  

California Air Resources Board asked to ease cap-and trade
program. Dozens of people, some wearing red "Save Our Jobs"
T-shirts, packed a public meeting Thursday to testify that a key
component of California's landmark greenhouse gas emissions law
will impose enormous costs on them and consumers. Manufacturers,
oil refiners and others appeared before the California Air
Resources Board to protest the state's pending cap-and-trade
program for carbon emissions. The program's fees amount to a $1
billion-a-year tax increase on about 500 businesses in California
at a time when the state's economy is sputtering, they said.
Posted. http://www.mercurynews.com/rss/ci_21596947?source=rss  

Calif. air regulator scolds resisting businesses as cap-and-trade
program nears launch. California's Air Resources Board chief
yesterday defended the state's upcoming cap-and-trade program for
greenhouse gas emissions and chastised businesses still fighting
to change what will become the first economywide emissions
trading program in the United States. ARB Chairwoman Mary Nichols
said it is clear Californians want action on global warming, with
voters in 2010 rejecting a ballot measure that would have
suspended the climate law known as A.B. 32. That quashed
initiative, Proposition 23, was backed in part by oil companies.
Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2012/09/21/2   BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate change threatens nature from coffee to Arctic fox-forum.
Climate change is a threat to everything from coffee plantations
to Arctic foxes and even a moderate rise in world temperatures
will be damaging for plants and animals in some regions, experts
said on Wednesday. Habitats such as coral reefs or the Arctic
region were among the most vulnerable to global warming,
scientists said at a conference in Lillehammer, south Norway,
organized by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF).
Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/19/us-climate-species-idUSBRE88I0ZB20120919


Brazil, South Africa, India and China want stronger commitments
to reduce global warming. Brazil, South Africa, India and China
are urging developed countries to adopt more ambitious goals to
reduce global warming. The four countries form the bloc known as
BASIC and representatives on Friday ended a two-day meeting to
define a common position ahead of November’s United Nations’
climate change conference in Doha. BASIC acts jointly in
international climate change meetings. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/brazil-south-africa-india-and-china-want-stronger-commitments-to-reduce-global-warming/2012/09/21/8c9e07c4-0426-11e2-9132-f2750cd65f97_story.html


NOAA predicts warmer-than-usual fall with weaker El Niño system.
Much of the country will continue to experience
higher-than-normal temperatures this autumn, including the
drought-stricken central United States, federal forecasters said
yesterday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's
latest three-month climate outlook calls for a toasty fall from
the Southwest to the Northeast, with notable exceptions along the
West Coast, Gulf Coast and Southeast. Northern Alaska is also
expected to be warmer than normal -- and wetter than normal --
through the beginning of December, forecasters said. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2012/09/21/4 BY
SUBSCRIPTON ONLY

Report links health, economic benefits to carbon price. Reducing
greenhouse gas emissions from a power plant or refinery to slow
global climate change can have tremendous positive benefits for
surrounding communities, a fact that should be incorporated into
climate change mitigation strategies, according to a report
released yesterday. Carbon dioxide is rarely the only thing
coming out of smokestacks and exhaust pipes; pollution associated
with combustion, like particulates and nitrogen oxides, can have
immediate and profound effects on regional air quality and
health. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2012/09/21/8  BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

FUELS

Fuel efficiency increasing across the sector as need rises.
Aviation is reaching new heights in fuel efficiency at a time of
increasing need thanks to public and private efforts across the
globe to make air travel quieter, cleaner and more
environmentally friendly. 
Michael Huerta, acting administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration, announced yesterday that the United States is
rolling out a new phase of its Next Generation Air Transportation
System (NextGen) program intended to modernize national air
travel through 2025. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2012/09/21/6  BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

Will a new bill jump-start carbon capture? A bipartisan group of
coal-state senators introduced legislation yesterday that
supporters said could provide a breakthrough for the struggling
U.S. carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) industry. The measure
from Sens. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) and Jay
Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) aims to provide clarification to an
existing tax credit that many carbon capture developers say they
need for financing. Some developers say they cannot decipher the
requirements surrounding the Section 45Q tax credit and cannot
get a guarantee that money will be forthcoming. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2012/09/21/9  BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

VEHICLES

GM announces big recall of Chevrolet, Pontiac and Saturn sedans.
General Motors Co. announced on Friday a big recall of Chevrolet,
Pontiac and Saturn mid-size sedans to fix a transmission problem
that could cause the cars to roll away after the driver has left
the vehicle. The recall affects more than 426,000 model year
2007-2010 Saturn Aura and model year 2008-2010 Chevrolet Malibu
and Pontiac G6 vehicles, equipped with a 4-speed automatic
transmission and sold in the U.S. GM will be contacting the
owners to tell them how to get their cars fixed. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-auto-general-motors-recall-20120921,0,2536363.story


As automakers are pushed toward better fuel efficiency, they are
rolling the dice. Imagine stepping into a casino, but instead of
picking numbers on a roulette wheel or rolling a pair of dice,
you're an automaker putting down billions of dollars' worth of
chips on expensive vehicle technologies, some of them untried.
You don't have enough money to evenly spread your bets across the
table, so you have to take some big risks. You will face
competition from automotive manufacturers around the world and
then the unknowns of consumer acceptance, cost and government
policy changes. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2012/09/21/1  BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

GREEN ENERGY

Taxpayers, ratepayers will fund California solar plants.  A new
breed of prospectors -- banks, insurers, utility companies -- are
receiving billions in subsidies while taxpayer and ratepayers are
paying most of the costs. Critics say it's a rip-off. Driven by
the Obama administration's vision of clean power and energy
independence, the rush to build large-scale solar plants across
the Southwest has created an investors' dream in the desert.
Taxpayers have poured tens of billions of dollars into solar
projects — some of which will have all their construction and
development costs financed by the government by the time they
start producing power. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bigsolar-20120921,0,7995250.story


OPINIONS

Editorial: New laws could boost business climate in state. Who
says that the Capitol doesn't try to help business? The
Legislature passed and Gov. Jerry Brown this week signed two
significant bills that could improve California's business
climate. On Wednesday, he signed Senate Bill 1186, which is
supposed to prevent predatory claims against small-business
owners while encouraging compliance on disabled access.
California accounts for about 40 percent of all lawsuits under
the Americans with Disabilities Act, but has only 12 percent of
the country's disabled population. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/09/21/4840334/new-laws-could-boost-business.html#storylink=cpy


Democrats Derail Their Own AB 32. We all know about roads paved
with good intentions.  Here’s another old saying: power corrupts,
and absolute power corrupts absolutely.  These adages are taking
on brand new relevance these days thanks to our
Democrat-dominated state government, which is using its
single-party rule to undermine its own well-intentioned law. The
case at hand is the 2006 California Global Warming Solutions Act,
more commonly known as AB 32.  Posted.
http://www.foxandhoundsdaily.com/2012/09/democrats-derail-their-own-ab-32/


How to Solve the Climate Problem. Our friends over at Skeptical
Science typically just tackle the issue of climate science, and
spend their time tirelessly debunking global warming or climate
change denier myths. As I think you all know, there are a lot of
climate science myths out there. However, as clean energy grows
and threatens the existence of dirty energy industries (which is
where a lot of those climate science myths originate), more and
more of that negative spin is directed at clean energy sources
rather than just global warming and climate change. Posted.
http://cleantechnica.com/2012/09/21/how-to-solve-the-climate-problem/


BLOGS

‘Stop the War on Coal’ Act. Russell Train, a lifelong Republican
and one of the country’s foremost conservationists of the last
half-century, died this week at the age of 92. He served Richard
Nixon as the first chairman of the White House Council on
Environmental Quality, and later as administrator of the
fledgling Environmental Protection Agency – helping shape
landmark statutes like the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Air
Act and the Clean Water Act. Posted.
http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/20/stop-the-war-on-coal-act/


CARB Chair: cap-and-trade’s coming, like it or not.  You don’t
often hear a government regulator publicly berate the businesses
he or she regulates.  Which makes Thursday’s comments from Mary
Nichols, chairwoman of the powerful California Air Resources
Board, so notable.  CARB has spent years devising America’s first
full-fledged cap-and-trade plan for cutting the carbon dioxide
emissions behind global warming. The system finally goes live on
Nov. 14, when the state will conduct its first auction for carbon
“allowances” — basically, permits that allow businesses to spew a
ton of carbon into the air.  Posted. 
http://blog.sfgate.com/energy/2012/09/20/carb-chair-cap-and-trades-coming-like-it-or-not/


ARB Chair Mary Nichols to manufacturers: fight climate change,
not California's cap-and-trade plans. California Air Resources
Board chief Mary Nichols, whose agency oversees state climate
policy efforts under AB 32. I wrote earlier about how
manufacturers and refiners hate cap-and-trade. Well, based on the
just-released statement from California Air Resources Board chair
Mary Nichols, they're getting a little tired of hearing that over
at the agency that's been implementing AB 32 for the past six
years. Nichols zinged the businesses who came to today's CARB
hearing to protest the cap-and-trade market. Posted.
http://www.scpr.org/blogs/environment/2012/09/20/10084/arb-chair-mary-nichols-manufacturers-fight-climate/


Air pollution monitoring project for LA wins Knight News
Challenge grant. Wildwood School science teacher Ariel Levi
Simons will lead Safecast's work developing an air pollution
monitoring network. The idea's modeled on a global radiation
monitoring network Safecast built after the Fukushima Daiichi
meltdown. A group that organized a global sensor network for
radiation after last year’s 9.0 earthquake in Japan has gotten a
grant to develop a monitoring network for air pollution in L.A.
Safecast came together after the quake and tsunami that broke the
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor. Posted.
http://www.scpr.org/blogs/environment/2012/09/20/10085/air-pollution-monitoring-project-la-wins-knight-ne/