What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for February 21, 2014. 

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

California senate leader: Carbon tax would return revenue to
poor, transit.  A carbon tax proposal outlined on Thursday by
California Senate leader Darrell Steinberg would raise an
estimated $3.6 billion in its first year, revenue he said would
go into the pocketbooks of the state's poorest residents as well
as public transportation.  Posted. 
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/21/us-california-carbon-tax-idUSBREA1K06220140221


Steinberg: Replace Cap-and-Trade With Carbon Tax for Vehicle
Fuels.  California’s cap-and-trade system currently affects only
industrial plants – but next year, it’s set to expand to vehicle
fuels too.  Now, Senate Leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento)
says he wants to exempt those fuels from cap-and-trade – and
implement a carbon tax instead.  Posted. 
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2014/02/20/steinberg-replace-cap-and-trade-with-carbon-tax-for-vehicle-fuels/


State Senate leader proposes 'carbon tax' on motor vehicle fuels.
 Californians, who already pay some of the highest gasoline
prices in the nation, could soon be asked to pay more.  Pump
prices are likely to climb more than 12 cents per gallon starting
Jan. 1, both the oil industry and environmental experts agree. 
Posted. 
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-carbon-tax-proposal-20140221,0,4320889.story#axzz2tsgLa2sB


Steinberg proposes fuel tax that chips away at cap-and-trade. 
Senate leader Darrell Steinberg proposed a carbon tax on gasoline
and other fuel sources Thursday that would direct the proceeds to
tax credits for lower income Californians and the rest to transit
projects to get more cars off the road.  Posted. 
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2014/02/21/steinberg-proposes-fuel-tax-that-chips.html?ana=e_sac_rdup&s=newsletter&ed=2014-02-21


Capitol Alert: California chamber appeals ruling on cap-and-trade
fees.  The California Chamber of Commerce is appealing a local
judge's ruling that California's "cap-and-trade" fees on business
to curb greenhouse gas emissions are legal.  The business
organization maintains that when the Air Resources Board adopted
the fee program, which is expected to raise billions of dollars,
it violated a constitutional provision, passed in 1978 as part of
Proposition 13, that requires two-thirds legislative vote on new
taxes.  BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY.  Posted. 
http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/02/20/3781582/capitol-alert-california-chamber.html


AIR POLLUTION

Beijing issues rare air pollution alert.  When the air gets
really bad, Beijing says it has an emergency plan to yank half
the city’s cars off the road. The only problem is: It may be
difficult to ever set that plan in motion.  It wasn’t triggered
in January, when the city recorded extremely poisonous air
pollution. And not this week, when pollution was expected to
continue for several days at hazardous levels.  Posted. 
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_CHINA_AIR_POLLUTION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Other related articles:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/beijing-issues-rare-air-pollution-alert/2014/02/21/87e3a0f2-9ad1-11e3-9900-dd917233cf9c_story.html

http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_25197530/beijing-issues-rare-air-pollution-alert?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/feb/21/beijing-issues-rare-air-pollution-alert/


GREEN ENERGY

Opposition Mounts to Solar Project On Mojave Preserve Boundary. 
If discussion at a recent gathering of activists is any
indication, a nearly 4,200-acre solar project for a valley
adjoining National Park land in California's Mojave desert will
encounter near-unanimous opposition from green groups.  The Soda
Mountain Solar project, described earlier here at ReWire, would
place 358 megawatts' worth of solar panels on 2,557 acres on
either side of Interstate 15 between Baker and Barstow.  Posted. 
http://www.kcet.org/news/rewire/solar/photovoltaic-pv/opposition-mounts-to-solar-project-on-mojave-preserve-boundary.html
 

MISCELLANEOUS

Ohana Pet Hospital Receives CoolCalifornia Small Business Climate
Leader Award from the Air Resources Board.  On Wednesday,
February 12th at a ceremony in Sacramento, the California
Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Resources Board recognized
Ohana Pet Hospital as one of ten CoolCalifornia Small Business
Climate Leaders. Ohana staff was present to receive this
prestigious award.  Posted. 
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2014/feb/21/ohana-pet-hospital-receives-coolcalifornia-small-b/


OPINION

CalChamber Pursues Litigation of Illegal Cap and Trade Auction. 
California businesses and consumers are paying hundreds of
millions in illegal taxes levied by the Air Resources Board that
were never authorized by the Legislature.  That is the case being
made by the California Chamber of Commerce* in an appeal filed
yesterday in litigation to overturn the cap-and-trade
revenue-raising auction.  Posted. 
http://www.foxandhoundsdaily.com/2014/02/calchamber-pursues-litigation-illegal-cap-trade-auction/


BLOGS

A closer look at the safety of hydrogen in cars.  It's an old
question: how safe is hydrogen? With seemingly every singe fire
connected to an electric vehicle making national headlines, it's
no surprise that understanding the dangers of H2 in a
transportation environment is an area of interest. A new report
by ProPublica shows that there's more to hydrogen safety than one
might initially suspect. 37 more, in fact.  Posted. 
http://green.autoblog.com/2014/02/20/a-closer-look-at-the-safety-of-hydrogen-in-cars/


Doctors push for curbs on traffic pollution.  A group of doctors
is urging the Obama administration to push through rules that
would reduce traffic pollution in an effort to prevent lung
disease, asthma attacks and other cardiovascular problems.  In a
letter to the White House, the American Lung Association asked
the Obama administration to adopt the stronger gasoline and
vehicle emissions standards that the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has been considering for nearly a year.  Posted. 
http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/energy-environment/198837-doctors-push-for-curbs-on-traffic-pollution
 





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