What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for May 6, 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

European carbon market in trouble.  As the centerpiece of
Europe’s pledge to lead the global battle against climate change,
the region’s market for carbon emissions effectively turned
pollution into a commodity that could be traded like gold or oil.
But the once-thriving pollution trade here has turned into a
carbon bust.  Under the system, 31 nations slapped emission
limits on more than 11,000 companies and issued carbon credits
that could be traded by firms to meet their new pollution caps. 
Posted. 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/european-carbon-markets-trouble-darkens-outlook-for-remedying-climate-change/2013/05/05/0178ccea-b30f-11e2-9fb1-62de9581c946_story.html
  

AIR POLLUTION

Beach bonfire spat gets hot in Southern California.  Anna
Abderhalden and her siblings woke before dawn to stake a claim to
a coveted beachfront spot where bonfires blaze each night as a
rite of summer in this surf-crazy Southern California city.  More
than 12 hours later, Abderhalden's toes were tucked in the sand
as an orange sun dipped below the horizon and flames warmed her
family.  "This is a unique place," she said as her sister-in-law
skewered a marshmallow. Posted. 
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_FIRE_PIT_FIGHT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

OTHER RELATED STORIES 
http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/05/04/3285894/beach-bonfire-spat-gets-hot-in.html
 
http://www.pressherald.com/news/nationworld/popular-seaside-fire-pits-touch-off-dispute-over-air-pollution_2013-05-05.html
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2013/may/04/beach-bonfire-spat-gets-hot-in-southern/#ixzz2SWv6JCye
 

EU Pollution Push in Disarray on Debt Crisis Distraction.
Europe’s program to halt climate change is in disarray with
lawmakers in the region expressing concern the drift is
undermining the planet’s most significant effort to combat global
warming. Representatives of political groups in the European
Parliament’s environment committee tomorrow are set to discuss
dates of new votes to revive a plan the full assembly rejected.
It would have boosted the cost of greenhouse-gas emissions.
Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-05/eu-pollution-push-in-disarray-as-crisis-focus-sharpens.html


Neighbors Resist a Plan to Clean a Toxic Canal. One neighborhood
fears that the sludge taken out from the canal would poison the
air over their ball fields, and others worry that the location of
a sewage-processing site needed for the cleanup would destroy a
beloved swimming pool. The disputes illustrate a predicament that
often crops up in environmental remediation: those affected see
the cure as worse than the disease. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/06/nyregion/epa-plan-to-clean-up-gowanus-canal-meets-local-resistance.html?ref=earth&_r=0


Air quality alert issued for SLO County as wildfires burn around
California.  Large wildfires burning north and south of San Luis
Obispo County have prompted county officials to issue an air
quality alert.  “Due to changing winds and weather conditions, it
is difficult to predict which areas of the county may be most
affected by smoke from the fire,” said Aeron Arlin-Genet,
spokeswoman for the San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control
District.  Posted. 
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2013/05/03/2495049/fire-air-quality-smoke-health.html
 

Disposal fee waived to reduce smoke. In an effort to curb an
increase in smoke pollution caused by yard waste burning in
Calaveras County, the county's Air Pollution Control District and
Public Works Department are offering residents a chance to
dispose of waste for free at county landfills Saturday and
Sunday. The fee waiver does not apply to businesses or
non-residential waste collection customers. Residents will be
able to dispose of up to four cubic yards of yard waste without a
fee. After that, they will pay the standard $4 per cubic yard.
Posted.
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130506/A_NEWS/130509919&cid=sitesearch
 

CLIMATE CHANGE

California, Arizona see spike in valley fever cases as worsening
drought kicks up dust.  California and federal public health
officials say valley fever, a potentially lethal but often
misdiagnosed disease infecting more and more people around the
nation, has been on the rise as warming climates and drought have
kicked up the dust that spreads it.  The fever has hit
California’s agricultural heartland particularly hard in recent
years, with incidence dramatically increasing in 2010 and 2011.
The disease — which is prevalent in arid regions of the United
States…Posted. 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/california-arizona-see-spike-in-valley-fever-cases-as-worsening-drought-kicks-up-dust/2013/05/06/1be9770e-b60d-11e2-b568-6917f6ac6d9d_story.html


Climate change may bring drought to temperate areas, study says.
'Wet areas will get wetter and dry areas will get drier,' says a
scientist, describing the findings of a NASA-led study on
rainfall trends. Drought-prone places include the Southwestern
United States. Climate change may increase the risk of extreme
rainfall in the tropics and drought in the world's temperate
zones, according to a new study led by NASA.

"These results in many ways are the worst of all possible
worlds," said Peter Gleick, a climatologist and water expert who
is president of the Pacific Institute, an Oakland research
organization. "Wet areas will get wetter and dry areas will get
drier." Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-nasa-climate-20130504,0,2772152.story


EPA to defend its greenhouse gas emission rules tomorrow. U.S.
EPA will return to court tomorrow to defend its regulations for
fighting climate change from multiple challenges by Texas and
industry groups. At issue before the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia Circuit are two cases that center on
EPA's implementation of greenhouse gas air emissions standards
under the Clean Air Act after the agency determined the emissions
endangered public health. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2013/05/06/4 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

FUELS

New technology propels 'old energy' boom. Technology created an
energy revolution over the past decade - just not the one we
expected. By now, cars were supposed to be running on fuel made
from plant waste or algae - or powered by hydrogen or cheap
batteries that burned nothing at all. Electricity would be
generated with solar panels and wind turbines. When the sun
didn't shine or the wind didn't blow, power would flow out of
batteries the size of tractor-trailers. Fossil fuels? They were
going to be expensive and scarce, relics of an earlier, dirtier
age. But in the race to conquer energy technology, Old Energy is
winning. Posted.
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2013/may/04/new-technology-propels-old-energy-boom/#ixzz2SWvrfnCG
 

Gloster signs lease for biofuels plant. The town of Gloster has
signed a lease with Drax Biomass International for its Amite
BioEnergy wood pellet plant. The Enterprise-Journal reports that
the 15-year lease calls for the company to pay the town $8,000
per year for the first 10 years and $9,000 for the next five.
There are options to continue the lease at $10,000 per year for
the next 10 years and $11,000 per year thereafter. The board of
aldermen this week issued a permit to Haskell Co. of
Jacksonville, Fla., to begin site work at the local industrial
park. Posted.
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2013/may/05/gloster-signs-lease-for-biofuels-plant/#ixzz2SWwSl8Pu

McCarthy says low-carbon fuel standard not in the cards. Gina
McCarthy, President Obama's pick to head U.S. EPA, said the
agency is not considering a national low-carbon fuel standard
that would promote diesel and biofuels with lower carbon
emissions in the transportation sector. Responding in writing to
questions from Senate Republicans ahead of her confirmation vote
in the Environment and Public Works Committee this week, McCarthy
said the agency is "not considering nor does it currently have
any plans to establish an LCFS under the Clean Air Act." Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2013/05/06/3 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

Obama says U.S. likely to be gas exporter by 2020. President
Obama indicated over the weekend that he's warming to the idea of
the United States exporting its new glut of natural gas and that
doing so would ensure the nation plays a larger role on the
global geopolitical stage. "Because of the extraordinary advances
in technology that we've made in the United States, we are likely
to be a net natural gas exporter as soon as 2020," Obama said
during a development forum Saturday in San Jose, Costa Rica. 
Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2013/05/06/5 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

VEHICLES

Tesla drives California environmental credits to the bank. Zero
Emission Vehicle credits could give the automaker as much as $250
million this year, highlighting the state's effort to promote the
electric car. When Tesla Motors reports its first-ever profit
Wednesday, much of the money will come courtesy of the state of
California. In its zeal to push electric cars into the market,
the state has created a system in which Tesla can make as much as
$35,000 extra on each sale of its luxury Model S electric sports
sedans. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-electric-cars-20130506,0,3647114.story
 

GREEN ENERGY

SOLAR POWER: Developers close to flipping the switch. Nearly four
years after the fanfare, the Obama administration’s vision of
tapping California desert sunshine to fight climate change is
getting close to becoming a reality. The developers of three
commercial-scale solar projects on public land in Riverside and
San Bernardino counties say they will start feeding the
electrical grid this fall, if not earlier: Genesis, about 25
miles west of Blythe, being built by NextEra Energy Resources
using thermal troughs to collect solar energy. Posted.
http://www.pe.com/local-news/topics/topics-environment-headlines/20130503-solar-power-developers-close-to-flipping-the-switch.ece
 

Sebastopol poised to add solar requirement to new construction.
Sebastopol, the small town of 7,400 tucked next to the green
hills of west Sonoma County, would seem to have little in common
with Lancaster, a high desert city of 146,000 located 400 miles
away in northeast Los Angeles County. Sebastopol Mayor Michael
Kyes is a Democrat, and the city is represented in Congress by
Rep. Jared Huffman, a Democrat who serves on the House Natural
Resources Committee. Lancaster Mayor Rex Parris is a Republican,
as is Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon, chairman of the House Armed
Services Committee. Posted.
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20130504/ARTICLES/130509768/0/SEARCH
 

Some in W. Pa. worry over proposed wind farm. Some western
Pennsylvania residents say a proposed wind energy farm might
involve too much noise and heavy equipment, but others support
the project. The Erie Times-News reports Monday that some
residents of North East Township are concerned about setbacks
between wind turbines and neighboring properties, turbine noise,
and heavy equipment during construction. The township is about 15
miles northeast of Erie. Texas-based Pioneer Green Energy began
leasing property for the wind farm near Interstate 90 two years
ago. Posted. 
http://www.sbsun.com/ci_23180763/some-w-pa-worry-over-proposed-wind-farm#ixzz2SX1onAnT


MISCELLANEOUS

GM recalls more than 38,000 Chevy, Buick hybrids due to fire
risk. General Motors announced Monday it’s recalling more than
38,000 Chevrolet and Buick eAssist light hybrid cars for a
potential fire issue. The automaker said circuit boards in the
trunk can potentially overheat, causing the cars’ 12-volt battery
to drain and one of several indicator lights to turn on. If
owners ignore the warning lights, the engine could stall and a
fire could occur in the trunk, GM said. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-autos-gm-recalls-eassist-20130506,0,9218.story


Bill would create 'Made in California' label. The legislation,
for manufactured products, would enhance the state's reputation
for making environmentally safe and energy efficient products, a
senator says. A "Made in USA" label has long been seen as an
advantage in marketing a product. Now there are in-state
manufacturers that want to see the adoption of an official label
that declares Made in California. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-capitol-business-beat-20130506,0,1869554.story


OPINIONS

Letters: Climate change is news we can use. Re "Atmospheric CO2
approaches a dire milestone," May 2 If astronomers had just
discovered that a meteor would strike Earth in a few years and
that its impact would make our world a radically different place
than the one we have known, the article about it would be above
the fold on the front page. But when scientists at UC San Diego
tell us we are pumping carbon dioxide into our atmosphere at a
rate that can, in a few decades, raise the Earth's average
temperature and ocean levels to heights not seen in millions of
years…Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/letters/la-le-0505-sunday-co2-climate-change-20130505,0,7929536,print.story


BLOGS

With Carbon Dioxide Approaching a New High, Scientists Sound the
Alarm. If uncertainty runs rampant in the global-warming debate,
it is in part because scientific data is often too complex to be
well understood by anyone but climate scientists. This month,
however, the world is likely to reach a scientific milestone that
appears impressively scary even to those with only a cursory
knowledge of climate science. For the first time in human
history, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels will surpass 400 parts
per million, according Scripps Institution of
Oceanography…Posted.
http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/06/with-carbon-dioxide-approaching-a-new-high-scientists-sound-the-alarm/


Tesla thrives, Fisker fades. Electric-car critics have been
having a field day with the implosion of Fisker Automotive. And
yet just 380 miles away from Fisker’s almost-empty headquarters
in Anaheim, another plug-in car company appears to be doing just
fine. Tesla Motors of Palo Alto is expected to report its first
quarterly profit on Wednesday, a month after Fisker fired most of
its employees. Tesla builds pure electric cars, while Fisker made
plug-in hybrids. But the two companies targeted the same
customers and used similar business strategies. Both received big
federal loans. Posted.
http://blog.sfgate.com/energy/2013/05/05/tesla-thrives-fisker-fades/