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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for February 13, 2013
Posted: 13 Feb 2013 14:48:45
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 CLIMATE CHANGE Obama gives Congress a climate change ultimatum. U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday gave Congress an ultimatum on climate change: craft a plan to slash greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the dangers of a warming world, or the White House will go it alone. "If Congress won't act soon to protect future generations, I will," Obama said in his State of the Union address. "I will direct my Cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change, and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy." Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/13/us-obama-speech-climate-idUSBRE91C09T20130213?feedType=RSS http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/13/us-usa-climate-obama-idUSBRE91C11Q20130213 http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2013/02/13/state-of-the-union-climate-change/1916071/ http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/02/12/3171624/obama-to-congress-act-on-climate.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/02/12/promise-on-cap-and-trade-action/ http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/feb/12/obama-to-congress-act-on-climate-change-or-i-will/ http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2013/02/13/1 BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY EU Aviation Carbon Emissions to Decline in 2013, New Energy Says. Greenhouse-gas emissions from flights within Europe will probably fall this year as airlines renew fleets with fuel-efficient aircraft and pack planes more tightly, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Airlines’ carbon dioxide emissions within the European Union probably fell 2 million metric tons, or 3 percent, last year to 64 million tons, Itamar Orlandi, a New Energy analyst in London, said by e-mail. Emissions may decline another 1 million tons this year as high oil prices curb demand, he said. Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-13/eu-aviation-carbon-emissions-to-decline-in-2013-new-energy-says.html Learning to fight global warming, one crop at a time. Simple changes in the use of fertilizers and pest control can help European farms cut their energy use by 10 to 20 percent and reduce greenhouse emissions, a study showed. In September 2010, Fundación Global Nature -- a Spanish group promoting sustainable development -- launched the AgriClimateChange project. Funded by the European Commission, the project sought to determine energy usage and emission levels in more than 130 farms across…Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2013/02/13/9 BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY FUELS New York Governor Puts Off Decision on Drilling. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is becoming Hamlet on the Shale. On Tuesday, Mr. Cuomo’s administration again delayed making a decision on whether to allow hydraulic fracturing, a controversial drilling method used to extract natural gas from rock formations like the Marcellus Shale, which extends from the Appalachian Mountains to New York. Hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, has been under review by state regulators since before Mr. Cuomo took office in January 2011. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/13/nyregion/cuomo-delays-decision-on-gas-drilling-as-health-study-continues.html?ref=earth Town Sued After Barring Debate on Gas Extraction at Meetings. In upstate communities large and small, natural gas drilling has generated talk, heat, acrimony and controversy, from regular citizens to concerned celebrities like Yoko Ono and Mark Ruffalo. Now the town of Sanford, N.Y., by the Pennsylvania border, one of the rare places where officials have actively sought renewed gas drilling, including the process known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, finds itself in court because it decided that it had heard just too much. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/13/nyregion/sanford-ny-is-sued-for-muting-debate-on-hydraulic-fracturing.html?ref=earth&_r=0 Doubts voiced on fracking oversight at California hearing. Some lawmakers say proposed rules don't go far enough to require disclosure by oil companies using the extraction method. State lawmakers voiced doubts Tuesday that the Brown administration's proposal to regulate hydraulic fracturing is tough enough to protect public health and safety — and questioned whether the state's oil regulators could be trusted to enforce it. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0213-fracking-20130213,0,2014190.story?track=rss http://www.scpr.org/news/2013/02/12/35925/state-lawmakers-want-tougher-regulations-fracking/ US crude oil supplies rise by 600,000 barrels. The nation's crude oil supplies rose last week, the government said Wednesday. Crude supplies increased by 600,000 barrels, or 0.2 percent, to 696 million barrels, which is 9.8 percent above year-ago levels, the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report. Analysts expected an increase of 2.5 million barrels for the week ended Feb. 8, according to Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos. Posted. http://www.modbee.com/2013/02/13/2576394/us-crude-oil-supplies-rise-by.html#storylink=misearch BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY Sierra Club chief to risk arrest over oil pipeline. Prominent environmental leaders, including the head of the Sierra Club and the organizer of a public campaign to oppose the Keystone XL pipeline, are planning to risk arrest Wednesday at a protest outside the White House. Executive director Michael Brune would be the first Sierra Club leader to be arrested in an act of civil disobedience. Posted. http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/02/13/3172066/sierra-club-chief-to-risk-arrest.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy http://grist.org/news/courting-white-house-arrest-over-keystone-xl-rancher-financier-kennedy-sierra-club-head/ Some oil fields fail state's carbon standard. California's oil fields often generate more carbon emissions than Canada's oil sands, which environmentalists have dubbed the dirtiest fuel source on Earth. Older oil fields in the state sometimes require energy-intensive steam injections to keep yielding crude. Power plants must generate the steam, issuing more greenhouse gases in the process. It's enough to cause many oil fields to fail California's low carbon fuel standard…Posted. http://www.eenews.net/energywire/print/2013/02/13/8 BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY Sugar, soybeans strive for 816M gallons in renewable fuel standard. The makeup of advanced biofuels in 2013's federal renewable fuel standard (RFS) will be an interesting ride to follow, said an economist, as international policies, federal subsidies and crop conditions could tip a delicate balance. The RFS sets annual targets for the United States to make 36 billion gallons of biofuels by 2022. U.S. EPA announced late last month that oil refiners must blend 2.75 billion gallons of advanced biofuels – Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2013/02/13/8 BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY States can handle hydraulic fracturing oversight on their own – report. Regulation of hydraulic fracturing ought to remain at the state level, and any attempts at federal regulation would be politically motivated with no benefits to the environment, according to a new report released by the conservative think tank Hudson Institute. The report targets bills that have been introduced in Congress that give U.S. EPA greater control over hydraulic fracturing, a process in which oil and gas companies blast water, sand and chemicals at shale rock to release oil and gas. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/energywire/print/2013/02/13/6 BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY GREEN ENERGY Columbia students share solar panels with NY church. Green technology came up a few times in President Obama’s State of the Union speech Tuesday — particularly the use of solar and wind energy. But if the president was looking for a pithy example of how this kind of technology is being used, practically, he could have called up Garrett Fitzgerald and Rob van Haaren. Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/columbia-students-share-solar-panels-with-ny-church/2013/02/13/8d44085e-7488-11e2-aa12-e6cf1d31106b_story.html Greentech state of the union boost: Obama proposes using oil and gas money to fund green energy. President Barack Obama’s state of the union address focused on innovation, jobs, education, health-care … and green technology. “Tonight, I propose we use some of our oil and gas revenues to fund an Energy Security Trust that will drive new research and technology to shift our cars and trucks off oil for good,” the president said. Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/greentech-state-of-the-union-boost-obama-proposes-using-oil-and-gas-money-to-fund-green-energy/2013/02/13/e52902c6-7592-11e2-9889-60bfcbb02149_story.html http://grist.org/politics/from-obamas-speech-four-ambitious-climate-and-energy-proposals/ http://cars21.com/news/view/5226 For renewable energy entrepreneurs and would-be workers, a 'battery university' is on the way in Silicon Valley. As the demand for electric cars and other renewable technologies grows, California needs battery experts and entrepreneurs -- and it's looking to San Jose State University to produce them. A "battery university" will open this summer in the university's professional division, teaching the ins and outs of energy storage. The program will be practical and applied, covering everything from technical concepts to the financial and policy issues related to running a renewable energy business. Posted. http://www.mercurynews.com/education/ci_22576396/renewable-energy-entrepreneurs-and-would-be-workers-battery?source=rss USC Breakthrough May Mean Stronger, Faster Batteries. Fast-charging, high-capacity lithium ion batteries could be available in two or three years, if a breakthrough made by USC engineers’ turns out to be commercially viable. An engineering team at the Viterbi School of Engineering has successfully replaced the graphite terminals usually used in lithium batteries with porous silicon nanoparticles, offering the possibility of recharging appliances from smart phones to electric cars in as little as ten minutes. Posted. http://www.kcet.org/news/rewire/technology/usc-breakthrough-may-mean-stronger-cheaper-batteries.html MISCELLANEOUS NRC could alter rules for San Onofre restart. Federal regulators Tuesday disclosed they are considering changing requirements set last year to restart the San Onofre nuclear power plant in California, another potential hurdle for the company that wants to return the troubled plant to service. The twin reactors between Los Angeles and San Diego haven't produced electricity since January 2012, when a tiny radiation leak led to the discovery of damage to hundreds of tubes that carry radioactive water. Posted. http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_22577855/nrc-could-alter-rules-san-onofre-restart OPINIONS Yes, Obama Can Tackle Climate Change Alone. U.S. President Barack Obama told the nation that he’s prepared to “act before it’s too late” and combat climate change through the White House if Congress is unwilling to lead. Given that lawmakers couldn’t agree on a landmark cap-and- trade agreement even when Democrats controlled both the Senate and the House, congressional action this year is unlikely. The administration should move forward on its own. Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-13/yes-obama-can-tackle-climate-change-alone.html Dan Walters: California could see an oil boom. California had one of the globe's earliest oil industries and was once more than self-sufficient in gasoline and other petroleum products, but as demand grew and production waned, we became an importer, mostly from Alaska and Southeast Asia. New recovery techniques, such as steam injection and later hydraulic fracturing (fracking), kept older fields, particularly those in Kern County, in production, and California is still the nation's No. 3 petroleum producer. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2013/02/13/5186017/dan-walters-california-could-see.html#mi_rss=Dan%20Walters#storylink=cpy Peer-Reviewed Survey Finds Majority Of Scientists Skeptical Of Global Warming Crisis. It is becoming clear that not only do many scientists dispute the asserted global warming crisis, but these skeptical scientists may indeed form a scientific consensus. Don’t look now, but maybe a scientific consensus exists concerning global warming after all. Only 36 percent of geoscientists and engineers believe that humans are creating a global warming crisis, according to a survey reported in the peer-reviewed Organization Studies. Posted. http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamestaylor/2013/02/13/peer-reviewed-survey-finds-majority-of-scientists-skeptical-of-global-warming-crisis/ What You Can Do About Climate Change. For those watching and waiting for President Obama to take action on climate change, last night’s State of the Union address may have been an encouraging start. “If Congress won’t act soon to protect future generations, I will,” the president said. “I will direct my Cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change, and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy.” Posted. http://stateimpact.npr.org/texas/2013/02/13/what-you-can-do-about-climate-change/ BLOGS California issues prominent in Obama address. President Barack Obama may not have mentioned California by name in his State of the Union address Tuesday, but he did touch on several issues of importance to the state. Energy: In a nod to California's efforts to improve fuel economy and cut greenhouse gas emissions, Obama proposed using oil and gas revenues to fund efforts to find alternatives to fossil fuel-powered automobiles. Posted. http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2013/02/california-issues-prominent-in-obama-address.html#storylink=cpy Obama Climate Change Poll Finds Majority Supports 'Significant Steps' To Tackle Problem. A wide majority of Americans support President Barack Obama's call to take action on climate change, according to polling released by the League of Conservation Voters conducted before his State of The Union Address Tuesday. Sixty-five percent of Americans support "the President taking significant steps to address climate change now," including 89 percent of Democrats, 62 percent of independents and 38 percent of Republicans. Posted. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/13/obama-climate-change-poll_n_2677747.html .