What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for November 21, 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 POLLUTION

Beijing Looks to Markets to Fix Pollution. China's leaders are
taking aim at the cheap use of resources that has let its
industries boom but has choked its air and tainted its soil,
looking to markets to play a larger role in commodity prices as a
way to fix pollution. The strategy change, endorsed as part of a
wide-ranging policy blueprint at a Communist Party meeting that
concluded last week, promises to grant markets a "decisive role"
in allocating resources, while more harshly penalizing polluters.
Posted.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304607104579209672150391040#printMode


Pollution Suit Puts Chill on Popular Hot Sauce Sriracha. When
Minneapolis donut chef Teresa Fox heard that Huy Fong Foods Inc.,
maker of Sriracha Asian-style hot sauce, might be forced to shut
its factory near Los Angeles, she knew she needed to stock up.
The co-owner of Glam Doll Donuts, a hip bakery popular with a
late-night crowd, uses the sweet and spicy chili sauce in the
icing for her peanut butter and Sriracha-flavored "Chart Topper"
doughnut. Posted.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304607104579210192185591658#printMode


EPA proposes new deadline for air cleanup plans. The
Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a new deadline for
Alaska to develop a plan to clean up Fairbanks air that's been
deemed dangerous to breathe. The federal agency on Tuesday
proposed that the state formulate a plan by Dec. 31, 2014, to
address a chronic winter particulate problem in Fairbanks with,
which can cause health problems for the young, the elderly and
the weakened. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/EPA-proposes-new-deadline-for-air-cleanup-plans-4996104.php

http://www.modbee.com/2013/11/20/3043054/epa-proposes-new-deadline-for.html#storylink=cpy


Panel grants pollution waiver for Ill. coal plants. The Illinois
Pollution Control Board agreed Thursday to give a Texas company
extra time to install pollution controls at five Illinois
coal-fired power plants, saying it would be an economic hardship
for the company to do it sooner. The panel voted 3-1 to grant a
pollution-control waiver to Houston-based Dynegy Inc., which
still must acquire the plants from Ameren Corp., but said it
would be several hours before the opinion was available to the
public. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/texas/article/Panel-grants-pollution-waiver-for-Ill-coal-plants-4998426.php

New state website gives real-time air quality data. A website now
available for desktop computers and mobile devices allows people
in California to see real-time measurements of air quality. The
California Air Resources Board said Tuesday that the Breathe Well
site allows people to plan outdoor activities with the help of
"sophisticated and comprehensive air monitoring networks."  The
site can access hour-by-hour averages of data - ozone and fine
particle pollution - that is relayed from about 200 monitors
statewide. Posted.
http://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/health/New-state-website-gives-real-time-air-quality-data-232587771.html


Air pollution? Now there’s an app for that. If your lungs and
eyes won’t tell you, perhaps your smartphone can. The California
Air Resources Board says it has developed a mobile website for
smartphones and tablets that makes it possible to see real-time
levels of ozone and fine particle pollution in one’s immediate
area — or in towns and cities throughout California — on an
hour-by-hour basis. Posted.
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=24641 

CLIMATE CHANGE

Developing Nations Stage Protest at Climate Talks.  The United
Nations climate talks here are bogging down over the old divide
between rich and poor nations on the question of who should pay
when climate-related disaster strikes, with developing nations
staging a symbolic walkout early Wednesday in protest at what
they consider inadequate financial support from wealthy
countries. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/21/world/rich-and-poor-nations-spar-over-climate-damages.html?hpw&rref=science&_r=0
 

Activists walk out of UN climate talks. Activists walked out of
U.N. climate talks the day before they end, saying two weeks of
negotiations have brought no results. Wearing "polluters talk, we
walk" T-shirts, hundreds of activists walked out on Thursday from
Warsaw's National Stadium, the venue for the meeting. In a
statement, the protesters said the Warsaw talks of more than 190
nations were "on track to deliver virtually nothing" while the
"actions of many rich countries ...are directly undermining" the
U.N. climate efforts. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/11/21/5933670/activists-walk-out-of-un-climate.html#storylink=cpy
http://www.modbee.com/2013/11/21/3044579/activists-walk-out-of-un-climate.html#storylink=cpy
 

Is America no longer public enemy No. 1 on climate change? The
annual U.N. climate change negotiations often take on the flavor
of an environmental war crimes tribunal, with America as the top
offender. Not this year. For the first time in at least a decade,
activists have not awarded the United States a "fossil of the
day" designation, with which it brands environmental miscreants
and those seen as blocking progress in the talks. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059990838/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

World should act now on CO2 to prevent dangerous temperature rise
– scientists. The longer the world waits to reduce carbon dioxide
emissions, the harder it will be to keep warming under 3.6
degrees Fahrenheit. This may not sound surprising, but in a
recent perspective paper published by the journal Nature Climate
Change, two prominent climate scientists put some numbers on what
that wait time will mean for the Earth's temperature. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059990826/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

DIESEL EMISSIONS

EPA offers grants to replace older diesel engines. Owners of
construction vehicles with older diesel engines in six Nebraska
counties may apply for a federal rebate to help replace the
vehicles or retrofit older vehicles with new cleaner burning
engines. The Environmental Protection Agency is making $2 million
available for public and private owners of construction vehicles.
Those in Cass, Douglas, Lancaster, Sarpy, Saunders and Washington
counties may apply for the money. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/EPA-offers-grants-to-replace-older-diesel-engines-4998038.php
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2013/11/21/2m-funding-available-to-reduce-diesel-engine-pollution/


EPA Offers Support for Construction Diesel Retrofits.  The
Environmental Protection Agency has $2 million for rebates to
encourage emissions retrofitting on diesel construction engines. 
The rebates are being offered as part of an ongoing EPA program,
the Diesel Emission Reduction Act, that has awarded more than
$500 million in retrofit support over the past five years. 
Posted. 
http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/story/2013/11/epa-offers-support-for-construction-diesel-retrofits.aspx
 


Port of Long Beach Repeals Cargo Fee.  The Long Beach Board of
Harbor Commissioners this week unanimously repealed a cargo fee
that has been on the Southern California seaport’s books since
2008 but implementation was delayed repeatedly and the fee was
never collected.  The repealed fee would have been a charge on
each cargo container to help fund roadway and railway
improvements in and around the ports of Long Beach and Los
Angeles.  Posted. 
http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/story/2013/11/port-of-long-beach-repeals-cargo-fee.aspx


FUELS

House backs bill to speed natural gas pipelines. The House has
approved a bill to speed approval of natural gas pipelines, the
third bill passed this week to boost energy production in the
U.S. The pipeline bill would require the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission to approve or deny a pipeline application
within a year. The bill was approved 252-165. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/House-backs-bill-to-speed-natural-gas-pipelines-4998697.php


House passes bill to restrain federal fracking rules. The House
yesterday passed 235-187 a bill that would restrain federal rules
related to oil and natural gas hydraulic fracturing in states
that regulate the practice. Passage of H.R. 2728 closed another
chapter in the weeklong energy bill focus on the House floor.
Earlier yesterday, the House voted on a bill to speed Bureau of
Land Management leasing to energy companies…Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/eedaily/stories/1059990832/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

VEHICLES

Just 10 percent of Calif. car chargers delivered. A New Jersey
energy company required by an unusual legal settlement to build
an extensive network of electric car chargers throughout
California has delivered just 10 percent of what it promised in
the first year. By fortifying the state's still-spotty charging
infrastructure, the settlement between NRG Energy Inc. and
California energy regulators was sold as the key to jump-starting
enthusiasm for the non-polluting vehicles. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Just-10-percent-of-Calif-car-chargers-delivered-4997907.php
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/nov/20/just-10-percent-of-calif-car-chargers-delivered/
   

Lexus opts for China over LA, Tokyo auto shows for face-lifted CT
200h hybrid’s world premier. While a flurry of new car models are
being paraded this week at auto shows in Los Angeles and Tokyo,
Toyota’s luxury brand Lexus is using the week’s other big auto
show in China to unveil the latest version of its CT 200h. This
four door hatchback hybrid is positioned as a sporty luxury
compact. The 2014 model is the first major update since it was
launched in China in 2011. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/lexus-opts-for-china-over-la-tokyo-auto-shows-for-face-lifted-ct-200h-hybrids-world-premier/2013/11/21/b8f3dd7e-5288-11e3-9ee6-2580086d8254_story.html


3 automakers launch fuel-cell electric vehicles, say market
finally is ready. Honda and Hyundai unveiled fuel-cell electric
vehicles at the L.A. Auto Show here yesterday, pledging to
produce and sell a green car that has proved difficult to move
into the mainstream. The debuts came as Toyota showed a concept
fuel-cell electric vehicle (FCEV) at the Tokyo Auto Show. The
launch of the FCEV is a "pivotal moment," said John Krafcik,
president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America, "the moment when our
industry begins to roll out the next-generation electric
vehicle." Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059990837/print BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

LA AUTO SHOW

Toyota Shows Off Fuel-Cell Automobile. Hydrogen-powered cars are
finally being readied for their Prius moment — at least, that is
what promoters of the environmentally friendly technology hope.
Toyota, maker of the Prius, the first hybrid vehicle to achieve
mass-market acceptance, on Wednesday unveiled a concept version
of a hydrogen fuel-cell car that it plans to begin selling
“around 2015,” as the company put it. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/21/business/international/toyota-unveils-fuel-cell-concept-automobile.html?_r=0&pagewanted=print

L.A. Auto Show: Honda debuts fuel-cell concept car. Honda
unveiled a hydrogen fuel-cell concept car at the L.A. Auto Show
on Wednesday, a vehicle that has the same high-tech drive train
that will be in the version of the car that will go on sale in
the U.S. and Japan two years from now. But the sheet metal of the
sweeping, aerodynamic car is the whimsy of the automaker’s design
team, and won’t make it to dealer showrooms.
Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-auto-show-honda-fuel-cell-20131120,0,3472209.story#axzz2lJHDykNT
http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1088639_honda-fcev-fuel-cell-concept-debuts-at-l-a-auto-show
 
L.A. Auto Show: Hyundai debuts new Tucson. Hyundai unveiled its
new Tucson hydrogen fuel-cell crossover at the L.A. Auto Show on
Wednesday, a vehicle that will be the first mass-market
hydrogen-powered car to go on sale in the U.S. when it hits
showrooms in February. The South Korean automaker plans to offer
the car on a $499 a month, 36-month lease with a $2,999 down
payment. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-auto-show-hyundai-tucson-debut-20131120,0,4126357,print.story


Hyundai’s Coming Hydrogen Car, & Some Context On Hydrogen
Transportation. On Friday, Hyundai North America CEO John Krafcik
announced that the South Korean automaker has developed a
hydrogen car. The company, along with Toyota and Honda, will
unveil its prototype hydrogen-powered fuel-cell car at both the
Los Angeles and Tokyo Auto Shows this week. “These things are now
ready for prime time,” Krafcik told the Associated Press. Posted.
http://cleantechnica.com/2013/11/21/hyundais-coming-hydrogen-car-context-hydrogen-transportation/#Ui8BQFf4ADlrB4cb.99
 

GREEN ENERGY

Report: Pa. wind power saves water, protects air. Wind power in
Pennsylvania is saving water and avoiding pollution that
contributes to climate change and other problems, according to a
report issued Wednesday by a group lobbying for government
policies that promote the use of wind to produce electricity. The
Penn Environment report said the state's existing two dozen wind
farms, which are concentrated in southwest and northeast
Pennsylvania…Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Report-Pa-wind-power-saves-water-protects-air-4995797.php


Study: California Wind Power is the Worst For Wildlife.
California's newest wind turbines may be killing more than
100,000 birds a year, according to a peer-reviewed study to be
published in December. Those mortalities seem to climb the taller
wind turbines get. And California wind turbines kill more
wildlife per megawatt than identical turbines in other parts of
the country.  What's more, though some have pointed to
replacements of the old-style lattice structures holding up
turbines with monopoles as a way of making wind turbines safer
for birds…Posted.
http://www.kcet.org/news/rewire/wind/study-california-wind-turbines-deadliest-in-us.html


MISCELLANEOUS

A Smart Smoke Alarm That Keeps Its Cool.  The last apartment I
lived in was a certifiable fire hazard. It was mostly my fault —
I ripped out the smoke detector my landlord had installed because
it was so sensitive that even a steamy shower would set off its
earsplitting beeping. Smoke alarms are old-world tech in an era
when most of the devices that wind up in our pockets and homes
tend to be sleek, efficient and deliberately nonintrusive.
Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/21/technology/personaltech/review-nest-protect-smoke-and-carbon-monoxide-detector.html
 

OPINIONS

Hydrogen and electric cars are nothing to be afraid of: Steve
Scauzillo. When I last saw my brother-in-law in Kansas, he was
giving me a ride in his modified Mercedes. We had to make a stop
at a restaurant so he could fill up his tank. Yeah, that’s right,
he adapted both his old-model diesel Mercedes sedans to run on
used french fry oil. Tinkering in one’s garage is so American.
Posted.
http://www.sbsun.com/environment-and-nature/20131120/hydrogen-and-electric-cars-are-nothing-to-be-afraid-of-steve-scauzillo


BLOGS

Hydrogen Cars Showcased At Los Angeles Auto Show Could Be Future
Of Transportation. Cars that run on hydrogen and exhaust only
water vapor are emerging to challenge electric vehicles as the
world's transportation of the future. At auto shows on two
continents Wednesday, three automakers unveiled hydrogen fuel
cell vehicles to be delivered to the general public as early as
next spring. Hyundai Motor Co. will be the first to the mass
market in the U.S. It unveiled a hydrogen-powered Tucson small
SUV at the Los Angeles Auto Show that will be leased to
consumers. Posted.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/21/hydrogen-cars-la-auto-show_n_4317569.html


Are you cooking up a health hazard in the kitchen? Making dinner
could turn your kitchen into a health hazard. Numerous studies
are showing that cooking can cause air pollution in your kitchen,
some of the same stuff that is in smog.   One study even shows
that cooking can cause emission levels in your kitchen that would
exceed acceptable limits for air quality outside your house. You
would not necessarily be able to see it, because some of the
substances are colorless and odorless. Posted.
http://www.katu.com/news/local/Are-you-cooking-up-a-health-hazard-in-the-kitchen--232788761.html