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ARB Newsclips for December 27, 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

Study: Some air pollution can seep indoors.  A Utah State
University research professor has measured how much air pollution
can seep into homes on days authorities are issuing warnings
about high soot levels outdoors.  The Herald Journal of Logan
reports (http://bit.ly/19kAIio) that environmental engineering
professor Randy Martin found levels of extremely fine soot to be
a quarter of the level outdoors.  That means some soot still
makes its way indoors. Martin says the best furnace filters can
help.  Posted. 
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Study-Some-air-pollution-can-seep-indoors-5095665.php

S.F. could fight pollution with more greening efforts, study
says.  The City's most happening hood is also its least healthy. 
And only one thing can save residents of the Mission district
from breathing San Francisco's dirtiest air: going green, and
going greener in 2014 than in the past year.  Nearly all San
Franciscans live within 1.5 miles of a major freeway, according
to a recently released study from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology. The resulting exposure to particulate matter makes
lung ailments like cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease (COPD) two of the most common health problems in The
City.  Posted. 
http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/sf-could-fight-pollution-with-more-greening-efforts-study-says/Content?oid=2659187


Valley's stagnant air not going anywhere.  Have you been feeling
an uncomfortable tightness in your chest? Are your reaching for
your asthma inhaler more often?  If so, the cause may be related
to the valley's terrible, awful no-good air.  In summer, the
valley's biggest air problem is ozone, an unhealthy component of
smog that forms under the hot, summer sun.  But this time of year
the valley's air pollution scourge is particulate matter, or PMs,
a mixture of tiny solid particles and liquid droplets in the air.
The size and composition of PM is directly linked to potential
health hazards.  Posted. 
http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/local/x429884910/Valleys-stagnant-air-not-going-anywhere

20th Spare-The-Air Alert Of Season Issued For Friday.  More air
will be spared on Friday, as a series of “Winter Spare the Air”
alerts issued by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District
continues.  District officials announced today that wood burning
will be banned in the Bay Area on Friday for the fifth day in a
row and the 20th day this season.  Jack Broadbent, executive
officer of the air district, thanked the public for observing the
restrictions and acknowledged that there have been a lot of
wood-burning bans lately.  Posted. 
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/12/26/20th-spare-the-air-alert-of-season-issued-for-friday/

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20131226/articles/131229695


DIESEL EMISSSIONS

"Some Flexibility" in Start of California Shore-Power Rules.  In
a Monday statement, California regulators officially confirmed
that vessels that have tried to comply with new shore power rules
will not be penalised if they are unable to do so because of
problems outside of their control.  "While the January 1, 2014
compliance date remains unchanged, ARB will recognize a fleet's
good faith efforts to comply with the requirements during a
transition period," the California Air Resources Board (CARB)
said in the statement.  Posted. 
http://shipandbunker.com/news/am/352694-some-flexibility-in-start-of-california-shore-power-rules


GREEN ENERGY

Can we turn unwanted carbon dioxide into electricity? 
Researchers are developing a new kind of geothermal power plant
that will lock away unwanted carbon dioxide (CO2) underground -
and use it as a tool to boost electric power generation by at
least 10 times compared to existing geothermal energy approaches.
 The technology to implement this design already exists in
different industries, so the researchers are optimistic that
their new approach could expand the use of geothermal energy in
the US far beyond the handful of states that can take advantage
of it now.  Posted. 
http://www.domain-b.com/technology/20131227_electricity.html 

MISCELLANEOUS

As city cycling grows, so does bike tax temptation.  Early blasts
of snow, ice and below-zero temperatures haven't stopped a
surprising number of Chicago cyclists from spinning through the
slush this winter, thanks in part to a city so serious about
accommodating them that it deploys mini-snow plows to clear bike
lanes.  The snow-clearing operation is just the latest attention
city leaders have lavished on cycling, from a growing web of bike
lanes to the nation's second largest shared network of
grab-and-go bicycles stationed all over town. But it also
spotlights questions that have been raised here, a city wrestling
with deep financial problems, and across the country.  Posted. 
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BICYCLE_TAX?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Other related articles:
http://www.contracostatimes.com/nation-world/ci_24801579/bicycle-tax-its-tempting-some-cities?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com

http://www.insidebayarea.com/nation-world/ci_24801579/bicycle-tax-its-tempting-some-cities?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com
 
http://www.modbee.com/2013/12/26/3106161/as-city-cycling-grows-so-does.html

http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_24799111/california-climate-policy-showing-way-world?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com


OPINION 

California climate policy: Showing the way for the world.  The
disappointing news from the November 2013 United Nations Climate
Change Conference in Warsaw has overshadowed California's recent
climate policy successes.  Since Jan. 1, 2013, the California Air
Resources Board (ARB) has been operating a market for greenhouse
gas emissions allowances. This market caps emissions by large
industrial firms and from electricity consumption and will expand
to include the consumption of transportation fuels and natural
gas in 2015.  Posted. 
http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_24799111/california-climate-policy-showing-way-world?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com


BLOGS

The climate champions of 2013.  In a year that saw carbon
pollution levels hit the milestone of 400 parts per million in
the atmosphere and brought record-breaking drought, fires,
typhoons, and air pollution, it can be easy to forget there are
climate champions out there, pushing back on those climate
grinches. Here are a few of the climate heroes that made
progress, inspired, or otherwise made an impact in 2013.  Posted.
 http://grist.org/climate-energy/the-climate-champions-of-2013/ 


Yes, it's totally possible to drive 100+ miles in a Nissan Leaf
in freezing cold.  Plug-in electric vehicle drivers can
potentially drive their EVs long distances under extreme weather
conditions. The catch is that they have to drastically change
their driver behavior.  Over the past year, FleetCarma has been
collecting data from 7,375 Nissan Leaf trips and 4,043 Chevrolet
Volt trips. The best that a Leaf driver was able to get was 106
miles from the lithium ion batteries in freezing conditions. A
Volt driver managed 38 miles on battery only when the temperature
was 32 degrees Fahrenheit outside.  Posted. 
http://green.autoblog.com/2013/12/26/drive-100-ev-miles-nissan-leaf-freezing/