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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for June 10, 2013.

Posted: 10 Jun 2013 12:50:23
ARB Newsclips for June 10, 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.

AIR RESOURCES BOARD

ARB fines Yamaha Motor Corporation for violating air regulations.
California's Air Resources Board (ARB) announced yesterday that
it has fined Yamaha Motor Corporation $44,625 to settle
violations of California air pollution regulations. The penalties
were imposed after Yamaha notified ARB about violations related
to portable generators and all-terrain vehicles. The subject
equipment may be familiar to Bakersfield residents and those who
enjoy off-roading and camping in Kern County's recreational
areas. Posted.
http://www.examiner.com/article/arb-fines-yamaha-motor-corporation-for-violating-air-regulations
 

Akrapovic America fined $88,000 for illegally modified motorcycle
exhausts. The California Air Resources Board (ARB) announced
yesterday that Akrapovic America LLC, was fined $88,000 for air
quality violations related to the sale of illegal aftermarket
motorcycle exhaust systems in California. Bakersfield and Kern
County racing enthusiasts may be familiar with the Akrapovic
brand and its history in motorcycle racing. ARB investigators
discovered that Akrapovic sold replacement motorcycle exhaust
systems that replaced critical components such as catalytic
converters. Posted.
http://www.examiner.com/article/akrapovic-america-fined-88-000-for-illegally-modified-motorcycle-exhausts
 

Motorcycle manufacturer fined $175,000 by Air Resources Board.
California's Air Resources Board announced yesterday that it had
fined Piaggio Group Americas, Inc. $175,000 for violating state
air pollution regulations. The violations were associated with
the company's Aprilia brand of motorcycles. Aprilia is one of the
world’s largest manufacturers of motorcycles and scooters.
According to a quick search of local dealers, however,
Bakersfield motorcycle enthusiasts may need to travel to Fresno
or Simi Valley to find the nearest Aprilia dealer. Posted.
http://www.examiner.com/article/motorcycle-manufacturer-fined-175-000-by-air-resources-board


AIR POLLUTION

UN Climate Goals Possible With Efficiency Measures, IEA Says.
Improving energy efficiency is among four policies that the
International Energy Agency said can help achieve emissions cuts
needed to keep global temperatures from rising more than 2
degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit). The measures would
reduce energy-industry emissions by about 3.1 billion metric tons
of carbon-dioxide equivalent compared with a business-as-usual
scenario, the Paris-based adviser to 28 developed nations said in
an e-mailed report. The reduction is about 80 percent of what’s
needed by the end of the decade to meet the United Nations goal
of keeping global temperatures within 2 degrees Celsius of
pre-industrial levels. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-10/un-2020-climate-goal-possible-with-efficiency-measures-iea-says.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-10/un-2020-climate-goal-possible-with-efficiency-measures-iea-says.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/10/iea-emissions-idUSL5N0EM1V320130610
 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/carbon-dioxide-emissions-rose-14-percent-in-2012-iea-report-says/2013/06/09/35d32bac-d123-11e2-8cbe-1bcbee06f8f8_story.html

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/06/10/report-global-carbon-emissions-hit-record-high

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jun/10/iea-energy-emissions-rose-to-record-high-in-2012/


L.A.-Long Beach Area Has Worst Ozone Pollution In U.S. Three
California cities - Long Beach, Los Angeles and Riverside - once
again have the highest level of ozone pollution of any
metropolitan area in the country. The Long Beach-L.A.-Riverside
metro was No. 1 on the list of Top 10 Most Ozone-Polluted Cities
in the American Lung Association's 2013 State of the Air
rankings. This metro area has topped the list for the worst ozone
pollution in the country for 13 of the 14 years the report has
been issued.
It came in fourth on the list of the Top 10 Cities Most Polluted
by Short-Term Particle Pollution (soot). Posted. 
http://www.sbsun.com/ci_23426074/l-long-beach-area-has-worst-ozone-pollution#ixzz2VpiL3trU


French Air Traffic Controllers Set to Strike. Air traffic
controllers in France have planned three days of strikes
beginning Tuesday, and their counterparts in several other
European countries were expected to take more limited labor
action this week, to protest a plan by the European Commission to
accelerate the integration of air traffic management systems
across the Continent. France’s civil aviation authority made
contingency plans over the weekend, asking airlines serving the
country’s airports in Paris, Lyon, Nice, Marseille…Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/11/business/global/french-air-traffic-controllers-set-to-strike.html?_r=0
 

PERRIS VALLEY LINE: Environmental group says it’s not trying to
kill project. A small Riverside environmental group that
persuaded a judge to halt a 24-mile commuter rail line maintains
it isn’t trying to kill the $232.7 million project, but make it
friendly to the environment and neighborhoods. Three members of
Friends of Riverside’s Hills said this week they are willing to
negotiate a compromise with the Riverside County Transportation
Commission, the regional agency planning the Perris Valley Line,
to pave the way for certifying a crucial environmental impact
report and launching construction. Posted.
http://www.pe.com/local-news/local-news-headlines/20130609-perris-valley-line-environmental-group-says-its-not-trying-to-kill-project.ece
  BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

California Achieves Cleaner Air Despite Having More Cars. Despite
a threefold increase in people and cars in the last 50 years,
California's strict vehicle emissions standards have managed to
significantly clear the state's air, according to new research.
The study also found that Southern California's air chemistry has
changed for the better. The amount of organic nitrates in the
atmosphere -- which cause smog's eye-stinging irritation -- has
drastically fallen off, according to federal researchers. Posted.
http://www.governing.com/news/state/mct-ca-achieves-cleaner-air-despite-more-cars.html#


CLIMATE CHANGE

California Summit Leaves Host of Unresolved U.S.-Sino Issues. Xi
also must guard against being seen as overly friendly with the
American president, Pei says. Zhu Rongji, who set China on its
path to become a global trading power, was often criticized by
rivals for being too popular in the West. As the summit ended, an
agreement was announced to work together on curbing greenhouse
gas emissions, which the White House called “an important new
step to confront global climate change.” Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-09/california-summit-leaves-host-of-unresolved-u-s-chinese-issues.html


UN Green Climate Fund Signs Agreement to Set Up HQ in S. Korea.
The United Nations Green Climate Fund signed an agreement with
South Korea to locate its headquarters in Incheon, west of Seoul.
The fund chose South Korea from six bidders last year, according
to a statement on the fund’s website. The agreement includes
privileges for the fund’s staff, Sung Moon Up, deputy director
general at South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said by
phone today, without giving details. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-10/un-green-climate-fund-signs-agreement-to-set-up-hq-in-s-korea.html


Sunnylands: Obama and Xi deepen ties, talk climate change.
Wide-ranging talks at an unusual two-day summit allowed President
Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping to sketch out plans
for a stronger relationship, air their differences and try to
prevent future conflicts between the world’s two biggest
economies. Both governments said the talks provided valuable face
time for the leaders, giving them an opportunity to discuss
various subjects, including cybersecurity, concerns about North
Korea’s nuclear program and efforts to boost economic
cooperation. Posted.
http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013306080030&nclick_check=1
 

President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping agree to wind
down production and use of hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs. The
agreement between President Obama and Chinese President Xi
Jinping on Saturday to wind down the production and consumption
of a class of chemicals commonly used in refrigerators and air
conditioners could mark a key step toward eliminating some of the
most potent greenhouse gases. The United States and roughly 100
other countries have already pledged to seek substitutes. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/president-obama-and-chinese-president-xi-jinping-agree-to-wind-down-production-and-use-of-hydrofluorocarbons-or-hfcs/2013/06/08/92e4d79e-d08f-11e2-8845-d970ccb04497_story.html

http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059982542/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

FUELS

Nuclear plant shutdown to increase California's reliance on
natural gas. California's growing reliance on natural gas to fuel
its power plants will increase and power prices will remain
elevated following Southern California Edison's decision to
retire a crippled nuclear power plant.  Both reactors at the
2,150-megawatt (MW) San Onofre plant will be permanently closed
due to uncertainty over the cost and timing of restarting one of
the units, said SCE, a unit of California energy company Edison
International, on Friday. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/09/us-utilities-sanonofre-natgas-analysis-idUSBRE95802620130609


UPDATE 2-Duke's Indiana Edwardsport coal power plant enters
service. Duke Energy Corp's 618-megawatt (MW) Edwardsport
coal-fired power plant in Indiana has entered service, the power
company said on Monday. Edwardsport cost about $3.5 billion,
including financing. Duke, the biggest U.S. power company, said
it will be able to recover about $2.6 billion of that cost from
its 790,000 Indiana ratepayers. The plant uses an advanced
integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technology to
gasify coal, strip out pollutants, and then burn the cleaner gas
to produce electricity. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/10/utilities-operations-duke-edwardsport-idUSL3N0EM2G720130610

Abandoned Oil Wells Raise Fears of Pollution. Amid the dry weeds
on a 470-acre ranch here, a rusted head of steel pokes up, a
vestige of an oil well abandoned decades ago. Across the field
stand two huge, old wooden oil tanks, one of them tilting like a
smokestack on the Titanic. “Basically I get 61 acres here I can’t
do anything with,” said Stuart Carter, the landowner, who is in a
legal dispute with the oil producer operating on part of his
ranch over who should clean up the site. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/09/us/abandoned-oil-wells-raise-fears-of-pollution.html?ref=earth


A long cooling-off period for San Onofre nuclear plant. Tearing
down San Onofre's two nuclear reactors will be a technically
complex job completed over decades. It's likely Southern
California Edison will first mothball the plant. Southern
California Edison built San Onofre's two nuclear reactors in
about nine years, but tearing them down will be a technically
complex, multibillion-dollar job completed over decades. It is
likely that Edison first will mothball the plant, which under
federal rules could keep its imposing imprint on the Orange-San
Diego County coastline for another half-century. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-san-onofre-nuclear-20130609,0,3498797.story

 
Turning cow dung into electricity. Dairy farmers have been burned
by systems that promise to turn manure into power, but a new
generation of digesters could revive this segment of the
renewable energy field. Dairy farmer Ron Koetsier's 1,200 cows
produce roughly 90 tons of manure daily, and for the last three
decades, he has tried unsuccessfully to turn the stinky dung into
energy to power his 450-acre farm in Visalia. Posted.
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jun/07/business/la-fi-dairy-digester-20130609


VEHICLES

Diesel cars and SUVs make a comeback in California. Once derided
as dirty and shunned by consumers, diesel cars have made a
comeback in California as green machines. While public attention
has focused on flashier technologies like all-electric, hydrogen
or hybrid vehicles, registrations for diesel cars and
sport-utility vehicles jumped 55 percent in California from 2010
to 2012, according to figures compiled by auto information
specialist R.L. Polk & Co. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/09/5480758/diesel-cars-and-suvs-make-a-comeback.html#storylink=cpy


GREEN ENERGY

Pentagon green energy award tops $19 billion in May contracts.
The Pentagon bucked the automatic budget-cutting trend last month
by going green. The U.S. Defense Department kicked off a
renewable energy program with a contract that may reach $7
billion as the Obama administration seeks to curb the military’s
fossil-fuel use. The agreement, with initial awards to
Munich-based Siemens, Chicago-based Exelon’s Constellation Energy
Group and three other companies, topped the more than 240
contracts announced by the military in May, according to federal
data. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/pentagon-green-energy-award-tops-19-billion-in-may-contracts/2013/06/08/2056810c-cf7f-11e2-8f6b-67f40e176f03_story.html


MISCELLANEOUS

Rail Project At Los Angeles Port Draws Environmentalists' Ire. In
California, a high-profile lawsuit is seeking to halt
construction of a new $500 million rail yard next to the Port of
Los Angeles. Activists, including a national environmental group
that's spearheading the opposition, say the massive project would
mean even more pollution for nearby neighborhoods that already
have some of the worst air in the country. The planned Southern
California International Gateway is part of a multibillion-dollar
effort that aims to ensure that L.A.'s sprawling port doesn't
lose business once the expansion of the Panama Canal is
completed. Posted.
http://www.npr.org/2013/06/10/189279823/rail-project-at-l-a-port-draws-environmental-group-ire?ft=1&f=1025


OPINIONS

End obstruction; support Metrolink extension to Perris. Be
careful what you wish for because you just might get it.” One
organization that needs to pay heed to the old adage is the
Friends of Riverside’s Hills. Taking NIMBYism to an extreme, this
“environmental” organization actually brought a lawsuit to stop a
transit project that has been in the works for more than 10
years. Metrolink, one of Southern California’s biggest success
stories, has changed lives by offering an environmentally
responsible option for long-term commuters, and a significant
number of its riders come from Riverside and San Bernardino
counties. Posted.
http://www.pe.com/opinion/local-views-headlines/20130609-opinion-end-obstruction-support-metrolink-extension-to-perris.ece


BLOGS

Air polluters like to send their emissions across state lines. If
you near a state line, you might be getting an unusually heavy
dose of pollution from your neighbors across the border. That’s
the conclusion of a working paper by political scientists James
Monogan, David Konisky and Neal Woods. They report that air
polluting facilities in the United States are disproportionately
likely to be located near downwind borders. When the breeze picks
up, noxious emissions are hustled out of state and become someone
else’s problem. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/06/09/air-polluters-like-to-send-their-emissions-across-state-lines/


With CO2 Cuts Tough, U.S. and China Pledge a Push on Another
Greenhouse Gas. As some environmental analysts had hoped,
President Obama and President Xi Jinping of China found room to
maneuver on global warming in their California desert retreat.
They sidestepped the super wicked issues impeding restrictions of
the greenhouse gas of greatest concern, carbon dioxide, and staff
released a joint statement on plans to cut releases of
hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, a potent group of heat-trapping
gases. Posted.
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/08/with-co2-cuts-tough-u-s-and-china-pledge-a-push-on-another-greenhouse-gas/?pagewanted=print


Energy Agency Makes Case for Climate-Wise Energy Steps. The
International Energy Agency today released a helpful report that
charts four climate-wise (if fairly familiar) actions countries
can pursue to make a difference in greenhouse-gas emissions by
2020. There’s a low bar to entry, the agency noted, saying these
steps “can deliver significant emissions reductions by 2020, rely
only on existing technologies and have already been adopted
successfully in several countries.” Here are the four core
points, followed by a slide show and related links. Posted.
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/10/energy-agency-makes-case-for-climate-wise-energy-steps/
 

Airlines Push for Global Measures to Control Carbon Emissions.
Despite the unpopularity of a European aviation carbon emission
tax, the world’s airlines are ready to discuss global measures.
Last week, airlines called on the aviation authorities to find a
way to curb emissions after 2020. The announcement, which calls
on the International Civil Aviation Organization, the civilian
sky’s U.N. regulating body, to adopt an across-the-board,
market-based mechanism to offset emissions…Posted.
http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/10/airlines-push-for-global-measures-to-control-carbon-emissions/
  

How fracking companies exploit Amish farmers. It’s no secret that
fracking companies engage in some shady behavior. But a report in
The New Republic reveals just how low they’ll sink in the rush to
exploit natural gas: Energy companies in eastern Ohio — home to
the world’s largest Amish population and billions of dollars
worth of oil and gas reserves — have been convincing Amish
farmers to sign away drilling rights to their land for far less
than they’re worth…Posted.
http://grist.org/news/how-fracking-companies-exploit-amish-farmers/
 

A drunk person, a child, and a blind man get into a car. Who’s
driving? Cars that drive themselves seemed like science fiction
just a few years ago, but recent demonstration projects have
shown that the technology is already here. Self-driving car
technology, pioneered by Google, has advanced so quickly that its
ubiquitous presence on city streets is now simply a matter of
time. Boosters say that mass-market autonomous cars are only
three to five years away; others estimate at least 10 years. No
one doubts they are coming. Posted.
http://grist.org/article/a-drunk-person-a-child-and-a-blind-man-get-into-a-car-whos-driving/

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