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ARB Newsclips for April 17, 2013. 

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.

CAP AND TRADE

Second group sues to stop California's cap and trade carbon
auction. A second group filed suit today challenging California's
cap and trade carbon auction, calling it a giant tax that wasn't
properly approved by the Legislature. The lawsuit was filed by
the Pacific Legal Foundation, a conservative organization based
in Sacramento, on behalf of a group of businesses. An affiliate
of the California Chamber of Commerce filed a similar lawsuit
last fall, as the carbon program was getting underway. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/04/16/5346589/second-group-sues-to-stop-californias.html#mi_rss=Latest%20News?utm_source=feedly
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_23039019/conservative-group-sues-calif-over-cap-and-trade

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/apr/16/conservative-group-sues-calif-over-cap-and-trade/

http://www.modbee.com/2013/04/17/2673222/second-suit-targets-californias.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy
 BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2013/04/16/pacific-legal-foundation-suit-cap-trade.html

http://www.chicoer.com/ci_23042536/lawsuit-against-california-air-resources-board-challenges-cap
http://www.dailydemocrat.com/news/ci_23042519/woodland-business-challenges-cap-and-trade-auction-regulation

http://www.news10.net/news/california/article/241378/430/Cap-and-trade-system-leads-to-lawsuit

http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/story/2f051057c1864da4b56196561774fb3d/CA--California-Greenhouse-Gases-Lawsuit/

http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2013/04/17/9 BY SUBSCRIPTION
ONLY 

Harvard Don Tells EU Kill Grants to Save Carbon: Energy Markets.
Europe may have to change course to save the world’s biggest
carbon market after an unprecedented plunge in pollution-permit
prices, according to a pioneer of so- called cap-and-trade
systems designed to help the environment. The European Union
should consider moving away from costly subsidies for renewable
energy and carbon-efficient projects, which compete with the
market in meeting nations’ emission- reduction targets…Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-17/harvard-don-tells-eu-kill-grants-to-save-carbon-energy-markets.html

Europe Vote Sets Back Carbon Plan. Europe, which led the world in
creating a system of emission permits to combat greenhouse-gas
emissions, dealt a potential death blow to that system on
Tuesday. Focusing on immediate economic concerns over future
environmental ones, the European Parliament narrowly rejected a
proposal to cut the number of pollution permits. Fewer permits
would have raised companies’ costs to emit greenhouse gases,
which scientists have linked to global warming. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/17/business/global/europe-rejects-carbon-plan.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0


CLIMATE CHANGE

Energy as Dirty as 20 Years Ago on Slow Climate Effort, IEA Says.
The level of carbon emitted in global energy supplies has barely
changed in 20 years amid stalled efforts to curb pollution and
increased coal use, the International Energy Agency said. A boom
in renewable technologies such as wind and solar and the 1997
Kyoto Protocol accord aimed at limiting greenhouse-gas emissions
in industrial nations hasn’t halted the trend, the Paris-based
IEA said today in a report. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-17/energy-as-dirty-as-20-years-ago-on-slow-climate-effort-iea-says.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/17/us-carbon-energy-warming-idUSBRE93G05A20130417


Greenland Bets on Mining as Global Warming Hits Fishing Industry.
Greenland is betting that rising mineral production will help
cushion the impact of global warming on its fishing industry and
boost economic growth in the Arctic island-nation as its pursues
independence from Denmark. “In the past we’ve relied mainly on
fisheries which made the economy very fragile,” Prime Minister
Aleqa Hammond told reporters in Copenhagen today. “We need
another way to stabilize the economy, and that will be mining.
There’s really no alternative to that.” Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-17/greenland-bets-on-mining-as-global-warming-hits-fishing-industry.html


CALTRANS DETAILS MAJOR EFFORTS TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE (Press
Release) Caltrans today released a comprehensive report detailing
its efforts to fight climate change by curbing greenhouse gas
emissions and embracing new technology such as low-energy cement
and efficient LED lighting. The report also describes the
department’s efforts to adapt to the negative effects of climate
change, such as more frequent and intense flooding and heat
waves. Posted.
http://www.desertnews.com/article_0562d408-a785-11e2-8857-0019bb2963f4.html

http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/paffairs/news/pressrel/13pr030.htm 

In absence of action on climate, national ocean plan focuses on
adaptation. The Obama administration released its plan for
managing the nation's ocean resources yesterday, and in the
sections of the plan dealing with climate change, the focus is
mainly on adaptation. The purpose of the plan is to translate
President Obama's National Ocean Policy, created in 2010 by
executive order, into action. It assigns tasks and aims to
coordinate the efforts of various federal agencies that manage
coastal and ocean resources, including the Great Lakes, as part
of an effort to better manage ocean and coastal resources.
Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2013/04/17/8 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

Column- Cool roofs, New York summers and global warming: Kemp.
Converting the world's roofs from dark colours to reflective
white would cancel the warming effect of 1 billion tonnes of
carbon dioxide each year for the lifetime of the roof, according
to former California Energy Commissioner Arthur Rosenfeld. The
reduction in warming would be equivalent to taking half the
world's cars off the road for 20 years, Rosenfeld wrote in a
recent commentary for the International Energy Agency ("White
roofs cool the world efficiency" April 3). Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/17/column-kemp-cool-roofing-idUSL5N0D42XI20130417?feedType=RSS


DIESEL EMISSIONS

Supreme Court seems open to nixing L.A. 'clean truck' program.
Supreme Court justices today appeared receptive to the trucking
industry's call to strike down a Port of Los Angeles program
designed to clean up some of the country's most diesel-polluted
air. The port, the largest in the country, launched its Clean
Truck Program in 2008 and has cut diesel particulate emissions
from trucks by more than 50 percent. But trucking associations
argue that the port's program…Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2013/04/16/1 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

FUELS

Route Change Forces Keystone Foes to Shift Focus. Opponents of
the Keystone XL pipeline used to have a simple argument: the
project would endanger Nebraska’s delicate Sand Hills region, a
vast network of dunes and wetlands that have been designated a
National Natural Landmark. State leaders, including Republican
Governor David Heineman, opposed the project on those grounds.
Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-17/route-change-forces-keystone-foes-to-shift-aim-to-climate-change.html


DWP watchdog warns high cost comes with L.A.'s coal-free plan.
DWP's ratepayer advocate says eliminating coal from the utility's
power mix ahead of a state deadline is expected to cost more than
$600 million. Weeks after Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
celebrated his plan to move the city off of coal-fired energy, a
city watchdog has attached a giant price tag to the initiative.
Fred Pickel, the ratepayer advocate at the Department of Water
and Power, said Monday that eliminating coal from the utility's
power mix ahead of a state-mandated deadline is projected to cost
more than $600 million. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-no-coal-costs-20130417,0,4877221.story


Natural gas prices rise from historic lows. Wholesale natural gas
prices have doubled during the last year, and that's bringing
sighs of relief from an unusual variety of interests. Soaring
production and an unusually warm winter sent prices plunging to
under $2 per thousand cubic feet last spring, prompting some to
wonder whether the natural gas boom would kill demand for both
coal and new renewable energy. Posted. 
http://www.modbee.com/2013/04/17/2673746/natural-gas-prices-rise-from-historic.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy
BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

VEHICLES

California Regulator Scolds Carmakers on EV Petition. Automakers
are undermining the progress they’re making in expanding the
market for electric cars and other zero-emission vehicles by
petitioning against California’s mandates, a state regulator said
today. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the
Association of Global Automakers filed a petition with the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency last month to block California’s
requirement that 1.4 million electric, plug-in hybrid, and fuel
cell vehicles be sold by 2025. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2013-04-16/california-regulator-scolds-carmakers-on-ev-petition.html


California official to lobbyists: Drop zero-emissions fight. The
head of the California Air Resources Board on Tuesday called for
two automotive lobbying groups to rescind their petition asking
the Environmental Protection Agency to reassess California's
zero-emissions vehicle requirements. The Alliance of Automobile
Manufacturers and Association of Global Automakers last month
filed a petition in an effort to fight California's ZEV sales
requirements. Posted.
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130417/AUTO01/304170326#ixzz2QkGAVMaG
  
New Auto Technology On Display At Cobo. The world’s automotive
engineers are in Detroit this week for the largest auto
conference of the year, the SAE World Congress. The event, held
every year at Cobo Center, is three days of technical
presentations, along with an exhibit hall full of new
innovations. Some of those will be in the cars of the future,
some will never make it. “Our focus this year is on achieving
efficiency,” says Patty Kreh, who’s the business unit leader for
SAE conference.
Posted.http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/04/16/new-auto-technology-on-display-at-cobo/
  
California clean air chief to automakers: We can work together.
California doesn’t have to be the bogey man of the auto industry.
That was the gist of comments by Mary Nichols, chair of the
California Air Resources Board, to thousands of engineers
gathered at Cobo Center for the Society of Automotive Engineers
annual World Congress. California has long challenged the auto
industry with tougher air quality and fuel economy regulations
than the federal government. Posted.
http://www.freep.com/article/20130416/BUSINESS01/304160112/automakers-california-fisker-tesla-hybrids
http://www.mydesert.com/article/C4/20130416/BUSINESS01/304160112/automakers-california-fisker-tesla-hybrids
 

Efficiency top of mind at SAE conference in Detroit. Thousands of
engineers and technical experts descend on Detroit beginning
today for this year's Society of Automotive Engineers
International World Congress. Among the issues on the minds of
those behind the next generation of automobiles are autonomous
cars, fuel-efficiency gains and other "game changers" facing the
industry. The theme for this year's conference, which runs
through Thursday at Cobo Center, is "Achieving
Efficiency,"…Posted.
http://www.dailynews.com/auto/news/ci_23033662  
http://automotivedigest.com/2013/04/sae-world-congress-focuses-on-efficiency/

http://m.detnews.com/autos/article?a=2013304160322&f=1213 

Chinese firm to open bus factory in Lancaster. On the final day
of Gov. Brown's trade mission, he announces that the first
Chinese-owned vehicle plant in the U.S. will build plug-in
electric buses. Gov. Jerry Brown, visiting the headquarters of an
electric car and bus manufacturer here, announced Tuesday that
the company would open a factory in Lancaster, the first
Chinese-owned vehicle plant on American soil. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-brown-buses-20130417,0,640360.story


Prius drives Toyota past 5-million mark in global hybrid sales.
Since introducing the first Prius in Japan back in 1997, Toyota
Motor Corp. has sold 5 million hybrids worldwide, including 2
million in the U.S., the automaker said Wednesday. Toyota said
the owners of its hybrids have saved more than 3 billion gallons
of gasoline compared with vehicles powered by gasoline only.
According to Department of Energy estimates, the hybrid vehicles
on the road today save nearly 500 million gallons of petroleum
annually in the U.S. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-toyota-prius-hybrid-sales-20130417,0,5735004.story?track=rss
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2013/apr/16/toyotas-hybrid-vehicle-sales-pass-5-million/#ixzz2QjpZF8LN
 

Auto exec sees new efficiency in internal combustion engines.
Despite all the fanfare around electric cars, the internal
combustion engine is still going to power most vehicles in the
United States and around the world for decades. Even as
environmental policy discussions shifted away from nitrogen
oxides and smog toward carbon dioxide and climate change, pistons
are still the preferred way to turn wheels. Facing this reality,
automakers are redesigning cars and engines to hit new efficiency
targets and make the best use of new fuel varieties. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2013/04/17/4 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

HIGH SPEED RAIL

High-speed rail bidder fights back at critics. Los Angeles
construction magnate Ron Tutor, whose company wants to partner in
building the first segment of California’s high-speed rail
system, returned fire on Tuesday at critics who say he has a
history of cost overruns and expensive lawsuits. His joint
venture of Tutor Perini/Zachry/Parsons has submitted the “best
apparent value” bid of $985 million for the first segment of the
rail line, below the $1.09 billion proposal by the next-lowest
bidder. Rail officials had estimated the cost of the first
segment at $1.2 billion to $1.8 billion. Posted.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/apr/17/tp-high-speed-rail-bidder-fights-back-at-critics/


GREEN ENERGY

Who’s the world leader in clean energy? China. China overtook the
United States last year as the global leader in clean energy
investment while American spending on renewables dropped nearly
40 percent, according to a report to be released Wednesday by the
Pew Charitable Trusts. “The center of gravity in the clean energy
world has shifted from the United States and Europe to China,”
the report concluded. China’s leaders are intensely focused on
clean energy. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/04/16/5347006/whos-the-world-leader-in-clean.html


Europe Faces a Crisis in Energy Costs. The signs are everywhere.
Britain has been unable to reach a deal for its first new nuclear
power station since the 1990s. Spain, once a clean-energy
enthusiast, has slashed its backing for wind and solar power.
Even the European Union’s flagship environmental achievement of
recent years, its Emissions Trading System for carbon dioxide, is
beset by existential doubts. On Tuesday, the European Parliament
batted away an effort to bolster anemic carbon prices on the
E.T.S. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/18/business/energy-environment/18iht-green18.html
 

RENEWABLE ENERGY: Desert residents want say in planning. San
Bernardino County supervisors and their High Desert constituents
agreed that residents need to be much more involved in a
multi-agency effort to identify which parts of the desert should
be developed with renewable energy and which should be set aside
for wildlife and other natural resources. During a supervisors’
study session Tuesday, April 16, about 50 people in the audience
applauded when Supervisor Robert Lovingood said that…Posted.
http://www.pe.com/local-news/topics/topics-environment-headlines/20130416-renewable-energy-desert-residents-want-say-in-planning.ece


California utilities lead nation's growth in solar power.
California utilities led the nation in integration of solar
energy to their power portfolios in 2012, with Pacific Gas and
Electric Co. and Southern California Edison together accounting
for roughly 1,000 megawatts of new capacity, according to new
rankings issued yesterday by the Solar Electric Power
Association. But Eastern utilities are moving quickly to adopt
utility-scale solar power, the nonprofit group found. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2013/04/17/6 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

Fuel efficiency standards for cars create 'green' jobs, groups
assert. An alliance of labor and environmental groups drove home
the message yesterday that jobs are not at odds with the
environment or economic growth. "It's not good jobs or a clean
environment; it's not either-or," said Leo Gerrard, international
president of the United Steelworkers union, at the sixth annual
Good Jobs, Green Jobs summit yesterday in Washington, D.C. As the
country faces the looming threat of climate change…Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2013/04/17/3 BY
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MISCELLANEOUS

A Pulitzer Prize, but Without a Newsroom to Put It In. When three
reporters for InsideClimate News found out they won the Pulitzer
Prize for national reporting on Monday, none were in the same
city — Elizabeth McGowan was in Washington, Lisa Song was in
Boston and David Hasemyer was in New York. InsideClimate News may
be the leanest news start-up ever to be presented with a
Pulitzer, journalism’s highest honor, a prize that is typically
awarded to regional and national newspapers. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/17/business/media/insideclimate-news-hopes-to-build-on-pulitzer.html?partner=rss&emc=rss


Zombie EV batteries could see second life on grid. There may be
life after cars -- at least for electric vehicle batteries. Oak
Ridge National Laboratory researchers are planning to test
whether used electric car batteries could provide backup power
during a blackout, in a peak-demand period or to support
renewable energy. The lab yesterday said it had developed a
"first of its kind" test platform to connect five used Chevrolet
Volt batteries together to provide power for short periods of
time for a small commercial building or group of houses. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2013/04/16/4 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

BLOGS

New Lawsuit Opposes California's Cap-and-Trade Carbon Market.
California's quest to reduce global warming hit another obstacle
on Tuesday. A conservative legal group filed suit to block
California's new cap-and-trade carbon market. The Pacific Legal
Foundation alleged that the market's charge for carbon emissions
violates California law because it constitutes a tax, and taxes
in California require approval by a two-third majority in both
houses of the state Legislature. Posted.
http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/2013/04/16/new-lawsuit-opposes-californias-cap-and-trade-carbon-market/

CARB Chair Mary Nichols tweaks automakers for fighting ZEV
mandates. Mary Nichols, chairman of California Air Resources
Board, recently took a jab at automaker trade groups for urging
the US Environmental Protection Agency to block California's zero
emission vehicle (ZEV) mandates. They're undermining the progress
they've been making in creating the market for electric cars and
other ZEVs, she said. Posted.
http://green.autoblog.com/2013/04/17/carb-chair-mary-nichols-automakers-fighting-zev-mandates/


DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley Lab researchers developing new indoor air
pollution standards. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) researchers are
working on new building standards after discovering previously
unknown indoor air pollutants. The lab’s researchers discovered
that the aggregate health consequences of poor indoor air quality
are as significant as those from all traffic accidents or
infectious diseases in the United States. One major source of
indoor pollutants in the home is cooking. Posted.
http://www.bdcnetwork.com/doe%E2%80%99s-lawrence-berkeley-lab-researchers-developing-new-indoor-air-pollution-standards