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ARB Newsclips for October 31, 2012. ARB Newsclips for October 31,
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

Wood-burning rules to aid air quality start Thursday in
Sacramento County. Rules that limit wood burning in Sacramento
County start Thursday to protect air quality. This is the sixth
year for the rules, which have helped the region meet federal
particulate standards. Imposed by the Sacramento Metropolitan Air
Quality Management District, the rules restrict heating with wood
in homes and businesses from Nov. 1 through Feb. 28, when fine
particulate pollution is high. The rules apply to fireplaces,
wood stoves, outdoor firepits and chimneys whether they burn
firewood, pellets, manufactured logs or any other solid fuel.
Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/31/v-print/4950301/wood-burning-rules-to-aid-air.html
 http://www.modbee.com/2012/10/31/2435914/wood-burning-rules-to-aid-air.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy


Earth Log: Lawsuit challenges Valley's dirty-air penalty.
Environmental watchdogs filed suit this month to stop that $12
dirty-air fee now attached to your vehicle registration. Keep
your eye on this one, folks. It's all about the $30 million ozone
fine that the San Joaquin Valley pays each year for missing a
cleanup deadline in 2010. You are paying most of that fine, and
the lawsuit says that's wrong. This is also about who pollutes
and who pays in the Valley -- where there have been more ozone
violations in the past 12 years than any other place in the
country. Posted.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/10/30/3049000/earth-log-lawsuit-challenges-valleys.html#storylink=cpy


Yuba-Sutter meets clean air standard. Much of Yuba-Sutter is in
compliance with federal standards for how much fine particulate
matter is in the air. In a notice published Tuesday in the
Federal Register, the Environmental Protection Agency said the
region had, on average from 2009-11, particulate matter at or
below the federal standard adopted in 2006. Dave Valler, air
pollution control officer for the Feather River Air Quality
Management District, said the finding means the district and its
residents won't be subject to more stringent requirements to
improve air quality. Posted.
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/articles/air-120661-attainment-quality.html#ixzz2Au9KG9Ka


L.A. utility feuds with local official over Owens Lake dust. The
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is suing the Great
Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District over what it
considers unreasonable and unlawful orders related to the
management of the dry bed of Owens Lake. Los Angeles drained the
lake in central California to meet the water needs of its
residents, and subsequently, its customers have had to pay $1.2
billion for vegetation, gravel and flooding at Owens Lake.
Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2012/10/31/28 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

CLIMATE CHANGE

EU Nations Said to Vote on Carbon Registry Rules in December.
European Union member states will vote in December on a draft
proposal to revise the bloc’s carbon registry rules, in which the
EU regulator seeks to include a provision to limit the use of
certain international credits. The agenda for the next meeting of
the EU Climate Change Committee on Nov. 15, composed of
representatives of national governments, includes a “state of
play” point on the registry regulation, without a vote on the
draft measure, according to a document obtained by Bloomberg
News. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-31/eu-nations-said-to-vote-on-carbon-registry-rules-in-december-1-.html


UN May Supply Record Number of Carbon Offsets in November. Supply
of United Nations carbon offsets, known as Certified Emission
Reductions or CERs, may jump 95 percent in November to the
highest total since the mechanism began, according to UN data
compiled by Bloomberg. The executive board of the UN’s Clean
Development Mechanism, the body responsible for regulating CERs,
is scheduled to deliver more than 52 million metric tons of
credits from Nov. 1 through Nov. 29, the UN data show. The
schedule for the month isn’t yet complete. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-31/un-may-supply-record-number-of-carbon-offsets-in-november-1-.html


Climate change, or crap shoot? Experts weigh Sandy's causes. A
huge storm barrels down on the United States, wreaking havoc with
punishing winds, record flooding, heavy snowfall and massive
blackouts. Is the main culprit climate change or a freak set of
coincidences? Sandy wiped out homes along the New Jersey shore,
submerged parts of New York City, and dumped snow as far south as
the Carolinas. At least 50 people were reported killed in the
United States, on top of 69 in the Caribbean, while millions of
people were left without power. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/31/storm-sandy-climate-idUSL1E8LUCF320121031


Scientists see extent of storm's damage linked to climate change.
For many, reports of Hurricane Sandy's massive reach and
destructive potential raised a simple question with a complex
answer: Is this climate change? The answer, experts say, is a
qualified "yes." Late-season hurricanes like Sandy aren't
unusual. That the hurricane melded with a blast of Arctic air as
it moved ashore, transforming into a powerful "post-tropical"
nor'easter, is rare but not unprecedented. And scientists are
quick to point out that they cannot yet definitively link an
individual storm, like Sandy, to climate change. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2012/10/31/2 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

DIESEL EMISSIONS

Tehama County Supes balk at tractor emissions. The Tehama County
Board of Supervisors continued its opposition Tuesday to a
proposed rule that targets agricultural equipment for emission
reductions across the state. The board authorized Chairman Bob
Williams to sign a letter crafted by Air Pollution Control
Officer Alan Abs that formally lists the concerns with the
proposed regulations. Although still in the concept stage, the
California Air Resources Board (CARB) has been preparing
regulations for off-road mobile agricultural equipment it hopes
to have in place by December 2013. Posted.
http://www.dailybreeze.com/california/ci_21895352/tehama-county-supes-balk-at-tractor-emissions


FUELS

RIVERSIDE: City’s fleet wins award.  Riverside’s fleet was named
best in North America at the fifth annual Government Green Fleet
Awards & Expo in Chicago.  The Government Green Fleet Awards is
sponsored by Government Green Fleet Magazine in partnership with
Tom Johnson, author of the 100 Best Fleets program.  Posted. 
http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/riverside/riverside-headlines-index/20121030-riverside-citys-fleet-wins-award.ece


Backers of 30-year gas-purchase deal to press on.  The Indiana
Finance Authority and Indiana Gasification LLC said Tuesday that
they plan to amend their 30-year contract in which the state
agency is buying the company's synthetic natural gas to satisfy
an appeals court ruling that reversed regulators' approval of the
deal.  Posted. 
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/oct/30/ind-appeals-court-throws-out-30-year-gas-buy/#ixzz2AtWZiyA8


Glut of natural gas buffers the blow from refinery closures. When
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita slammed into the Gulf of Mexico in
2005, the storms destroyed hundreds of oil and natural gas rigs
and pipelines along the Gulf Coast. It triggered the nation's
first major price shock in decades.  As it turns out, Hurricane
Sandy isn't Katrina, but there's also this: The vast U.S. energy
system is better equipped today to handle a natural disaster
stretching the length of a coastline. Oil, gasoline and natural
gas prices will see some effect...Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2012/10/31/6  BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

Enzyme maker says it can get more ethanol out of corn. Enzyme
maker Novozymes A/S yesterday said it has found a way to eke more
ethanol out of corn. The Denmark-based company unveiled its
Avantec enzyme, a molecule that it says can help produce ethanol
using 2.5 percent less corn and 2.5 percent less energy. The
enzyme could save the typical U.S. ethanol plant 22,500 tons of
corn a year, Novozymes said. Avantec is a "vitamin shot" for the
industry, said Peder Nielsen, Novozymes' executive vice
president. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2012/10/31/23  BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

First jet flies on 100% biofuel. The aviation biofuels industry
hit a major landmark Monday with the flight of the first civilian
plane powered completely by biofuels. The jet, a Falcon 20, was
developed by Canada's National Research Council and flew over
Ottawa on the fuel derived from oilseed crops. It was followed by
a second plane that collected emissions data that will later be
analyzed by the Canadian NRC. While there have been commercial
test flights on biofuel blends, including a United flight last
year that flew on an algae-derived fuel blend, this is the first
civilian flight to run 100 percent on plant oil, according to the
NRC. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2012/10/31/24
BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

GREEN ENERGY

REGION: Landfill offers tips for an eco-friendly Halloween.  This
Halloween, after all of the little ghosts and goblins have
tricked for their last treat, compost jack-o-lanterns instead of
throwing them out in the garbage.  Composting is just one of the
ways Waste Management El Sobrante Landfill wants to remind
customers to Think Green by adopting eco-friendly habits this
holiday season.  Posted. 
http://www.pe.com/local-news/local-news-headlines/20121030-region-landfill-offers-tips-for-an-eco-friendly-halloween.ece


Scientists Build the First All-Carbon Solar Cell. Stanford
University scientists have built the first solar cell made
entirely of carbon, a promising alternative to the expensive
materials used in photovoltaic devices today. The results are
published in the Oct. 31 online edition of the journal ACS Nano.
"Carbon has the potential to deliver high performance at a low
cost," said study senior author Zhenan Bao, a professor of
chemical engineering at Stanford. "To the best of our knowledge,
this is the first demonstration of a working solar cell that has
all of the components made of carbon. Posted.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121031125037.htm 

MISCELLANEOUS

Romney Seen Scuttling EPA Proposals, Letting Rules Stand. On the
campaign trail, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has
pledged to halt environmental regulations such as auto-mileage
standards, mercury pollution limits for power plants and mandated
cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions. But the reality is that
repealing a rule already in place would require help from
lawmakers or the courts, or years of bureaucratic effort, former
officials and lawyers say. Posted. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2012-10-31/romney-seen-scuttling-epa-proposals-letting-rules-stand.html


Utah high court turns back coal mine challenge.  The Utah Supreme
Court rejected arguments Tuesday that state regulators failed to
assess the full environmental impacts of a coal mine outside
Bruce Canyon National Park.  The high court turned back a
challenge brought by the Sierra Club and other environmental
groups that asserted the state ignored a host of drawbacks from a
strip mine operating a dozen miles from a corner of the national
park.  Posted.
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/oct/30/utah-high-court-turns-back-coal-mine-challenge/#ixzz2AtX2VUda


OPINIONS

Editorial: Sandy vs. climate change politics. Put the perfect
storm atop the nation's most populous region, and the result is
the human misery and havoc that Sandy wrought in the Northeast:
Nearly 40 people dead so far, and more than 7 million without
power. An estimated $20 billion in property damage. Record
flooding in New York City that shut down the stock exchange and
the subway. Devastation along the New Jersey coast. And, to boot,
a blizzard along the spine of the Appalachian mountains.
EDITORIAL: Superstorm forecasting feat, with a catch. Posted.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2012/10/30/sandy-climate-change-politics/1670073/


ROGER HEDGECOCK: THE BANANA MIND. I’m confused by today’s
environmental movement, although in the past it made some sense.
Popular appreciation for the need to conserve and protect the
natural environment became a mass movement and therefore a
popular political movement after Earth Day 1970. Led by
membership and volunteer groups like the Sierra Club, sensitivity
to the environmental effects of human activity was incorporated
into law at the local, state and federal level. Posted.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/oct/30/tp-roger-hedgecock-the-banana-mind/


BLOGS

Climate change predictions foresaw Hurricane Sandy scenario for
New York City. Hurricane Sandy’s stunning storm surge practically
marooned the Big Apple. But for years, forecasters saw this as a
possibility in both the present and more distant future. In my
somewhat whimsical post of February 9, 2011, I speculated about
what life would be like during the year 2076, our tercentennial,
both weatherwise and otherwise. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/climate-change-predictions-foresaw-hurricane-sandy-scenario-for-new-york-city/2012/10/31/b78de428-2374-11e2-ac85-e669876c6a24_blog.html


Sandy shows the U.S. is unprepared for climate disasters. There
are two main strategies involved in tackling climate change.
First, we could try to slow or stop the pace of global warming by
curbing our greenhouse-gas emissions. And second, there’s
adaptation — we can try to revamp our existing infrastructure to
protect ourselves against some of the effects of a warmer planet.
Many experts say we’ll need to do both. Even if the world could
zero out its emissions tomorrow, scientists have found…Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/10/31/why-the-united-states-is-so-unprepared-for-climate-disasters/?Post+generic=
 

Two Views of a Superstorm in Climate Context.  In the hours
before Hurricane Sandy thundered ashore, igniting power stations
and Queens neighborhoods and darkening urban and rural
communities alike, I filed two pieces for Dot Earth. The first,
“The #Frankenstorm in Climate Context,” was on the storm in the
context of climate history and the science pointing to
greenhouse-driven climate change. The second was on the impact of
our tribal nature on climate communication, including my own. 
Posted. 
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/30/two-views-of-a-superstorm-in-climate-context/

Sandy Dominates European Headlines.  Four thousand miles away —
and more — in Europe, the winds from Hurricane Sandy were strong
enough to blow most other news off front pages and news bulletins
on Tuesday.  Newspapers that closed their print runs before the
storm struck the eastern seaboard of the United States in the
early hours of the European day provided live updates on their
Web sites to bring news of casualties, flooding and blackouts. 
Posted. 
http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/30/sandy-dominates-european-headlines/?partner=rss&emc=rss


Climate Change And Natural Disasters Related, Most Americans Say:
Poll. Climate scientists have warned that more frequent
hurricanes may be related to climate change, and a new
HuffPost/YouGov poll finds that half of Americans think that
climate change is indeed related to more frequent and severe
natural disasters, although they are more divided on whether
Hurricane Sandy specifically was related to global warming.
According to the new survey, conducted Oct. 29-30, 51 percent of
Americans say climate change is related to more frequent and
severe natural disasters, while 23 percent say it is not. Posted.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/31/climate-change-natural-disasters-poll_n_2049236.html?utm_hp_ref=green


Fleets and consumers now see practical alternative-fuel vehicle
options.  Automakers and fans of alternative fuel vehicles have
been waiting for years for consumers to start rolling off dealer
lots driving green cars. It is slowly starting to happen, with
the number of vehicles that don't run exclusively on standard
gasoline nearly doubling from 534,000 on US roads in 2003 to
almost 940,000 in 2010, according to US Energy Information
Administration.  Posted. 
http://green.autoblog.com/2012/10/31/fleets-and-consumers-now-see-practical-alternative-fuel-vehicle/


Honda uses hydro power because "Every Drop Counts".  A little
water power can pull about seven gas-powered cars off the road. 
That's the gist of an effort by Honda to cut emissions by
equipping a plant with a little hydro-electric power plant. The
Japanese automaker outlined its recent efforts in a two-minute
video with the tagline "every drop counts." In the video, Honda
engineers talk about how capturing falling waste water using a
turbine-type device can produce electricity for the vehicle
factory.  Posted. 
http://green.autoblog.com/2012/10/31/honda-uses-hydro-power-because-every-drop-counts/


What changes might green car policies see under a Romney
presidency?  A downward-revised Corporate Average Fuel Economy
(CAFE) standard and a push away from electric-drive vehicles and
towards alt-fuel types such as natural gas may be some of the
transportation measures in store if Mitt Romney beats Barack
Obama in the US presidential election next month, Automotive News
reports. A removal of tax credits for electric-vehicle buyers
could also be on the table, says Hybrid Cars.  Posted. 
http://green.autoblog.com/2012/10/30/changes-green-car-policies-romney-presidency/