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California Air Resources Board News Clips for November 2, 2009.

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.

Soot Causes Lung Problems, Period. Lois Henry's Oct. 21 column,
"State air board can't ignore credibility problems," is another
attempt to change the conversation about the reason the
California Air Resources Board is working to cut diesel
emissions: public health. Posted.
http://www.bakersfield.com/opinion/community/x1780569587/Soot-causes-lung-problems-period


Waste company fined $219,000 for skipping smoke tests. A waste
disposal company with offices in Buena Park was fined $219,500
for failing to perform yearly smoke tests on some of its diesel
trucks. EDCO Disposal Corporation paid the fine after being
accused by the state Air Resources Board of skipping the tests in
2005 and 2006 on some of the trucks at a variety of Southern
California locations, including Buena Park. The company is based
in Lemon Grove. Posted.
http://greenoc.freedomblogging.com/2009/10/30/waste-company-fined-219000-for-skipping-smoke-tests/14901/

Sacramento Air Quality District Revives Burn Rules. The effort
to keep Sacramento air clean by limiting fireplace smoke on
certain days is now in effect. The Sacramento Metropolitan Air
Quality Management District's "Check Before You Burn" program
began Sunday and continues through Feb. 28. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/latest/story/2299619.html 

Air Pollution Warning on Fires. Air pollution officials are once
more asking people to check before lighting up a fire as cooler
weather sets in. The annual Check Before You Burn program begins
Sunday. Residents are asked to call (800) 766-4463 (SMOG INFO) to
find out if conditions allow for burning. Posted.
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091031/A_NEWS/910319997/-1/NEWSMAP#STS=g1jgcfdi.8ba


Focus Turns To Pure Carbon Dioxide Emissions. As Congress
debates legislation to slow global warming by limiting emissions,
engineers are tinkering with ways to capture and store carbon
dioxide, the leading heat-trapping gas. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/11/01/MN6M1ADGH4.DTL#ixzz0ViyEayXf

A Bid to Cut Emissions Looks Away From Coal. As Congress debates
legislation to slow global warming by limiting emissions,
engineers are tinkering with ways to capture and store carbon
dioxide, the leading heat-trapping gas. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/01/science/earth/01carbon.html?scp=1&sq=carbon%20emission&st=cse


Emission mission. About four years ago, the U.S. Army began a
pilot project to figure out the greenhouse gas bootprint at its
base in Fort Carson, Colo. How much carbon does the Army generate
at the base, flying around in helicopters or driving vehicles?
How much greenhouse gas from the nearby power plant is
attributable to the electricity supplied to Fort Carson? Posted.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/nov/01/emission-mission/


Last Round Of Climate Talks Before Copenhagen. Negotiators from
nearly 180 countries hope to nail down the outline of a plan to
provide tens of billions of dollars a year to fight climate
change, in their final round of talks before a decisive
conference in Copenhagen next month. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/11/02/MNPN1ADMG7.DTL#ixzz0ViyZJERS

Climate delegates call on US for robust policy. The United
States came under increased pressure Monday to come up with a
plan for fighting climate change and to offer an internationally
acceptable policy for curbing pollution hastening global warming.
Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/nation-world/ci_13693479

EU Seeks Clear US Position on Climate Change. European Union
leaders want President Barack Obama to clarify the U.S. position
on climate change as they meet in Washington this week. Swedish
Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt says the EU is looking for "a
clear position" from Obama before the December U.N. climate
summit. Sweden holds the rotating EU presidency. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/nation-world/ci_13694026?nclick_check=1
http://www.modbee.com/world/story/917095.html#ixzz0Viock0Qv

EU can't agree on how much climate aid to give.
BRUSSELS—European Union leaders failed to agree Friday on how
much to give poorer nations to counter the effects of a warming
climate—squandering the last chance that global greenhouse gas
talks in December will produce real results. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_13675776

Boxer, Kerry Split Work on Climate-Change Bill. The fate of
President Obama's climate change plans may rest in the hands of
Sen. Barbara Boxer, but these days the California Democrat is
leaving most of the heavy lifting to a colleague. As head of the
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Boxer could have
been the main player on climate change legislation that would set
progressively tighter limits on the heat-trapping carbon dioxide
emissions blamed for global warming. Instead, she has ceded much
of the limelight to Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., her partner on the
mammoth bill. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/31/MND01AD31N.DTL#ixzz0ViyvMwPQ

Boxer Pushes Ahead With Climate Markup Tomorrow; GOP Still Plans
to Boycott. Full-blown partisan warfare is expected tomorrow when
Democrats try to begin a markup of global warming legislation in
the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee despite plans
by the panel's seven Republicans to skip the meeting altogether.
Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/11/02/02climatewire-boxer-pushes-ahead-with-climate-markup-tomor-33656.html?scp=4&sq=air%20pollution&st=cse


Climate Bill Faces Hurdles in Senate. The climate-change bill
that has been moving slowly through the Senate will face a stark
political reality when it emerges for committee debate on
Tuesday: With Democrats deeply divided on the issue, unless some
Republican lawmakers risk the backlash for signing on to the
legislation, there is almost no hope for passage. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/01/AR2009110102593.html


Republicans Move To Delay Climate Bill Progress. All seven
Republicans on the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works
Committee plan to boycott next week's work session on a
climate-change bill, an aide said on Saturday, in a move aimed at
thwarting Democratic efforts to advance the controversial
legislation quickly. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/31/AR2009103101048.html


Scientists Seek 'Plan B' for Fighting Climate Change. Some
geoengineering schemes to fight climate change would probably
succeed in cooling the planet, scientists said here Friday -- but
whether we should ever deploy them is still an open question.
Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/11/02/02climatewire-scientists-seek-plan-b-for-fighting-climate-16296.html?scp=3&sq=air%20pollution&st=cse


The Failure of the Climate Bills. Supporters of the climate bill
passed by the House and the similar bill under consideration in
the Senate — including President Obama — say that the
cap-and-trade approach would guarantee greenhouse-gas reductions.
But this claim ignores flaws in both bills that would undermine
even their weak emissions-reduction targets. Posted.
http://www.napavalleyregister.com/articles/2009/11/02/opinion/editorial/doc4aee5327f39ef997585537.txt


Relationships in Global Warming. It seems these days that
everyone has bought into the idea of global warming. Congress is
busy debating a cap and trade bill and the Kyoto Protocol has
become the international standard for dealing with greenhouse
gasses. Environmentalists are predicting the end of life on the
planet if we do not do anything about it. Posted.
http://www.ocbj.com/industry_article_pay.asp?aID=142068 

Higher Temperatures Will Harm Many Crops, Report Says. Global
warming would be bad news for all those amber waves of grain, and
for the corn and soybeans that are plentiful throughout the
Midwest. "The grain-filling period" - the time when the seed
grows and matures - "of wheat and other small grains shortens
dramatically with rising temperatures. Posted.
http://www.modbee.com/politics/story/916468.html#ixzz0VipEItPy

Kirkwood as Alternative Energy Lab: Ski Area Joins Fight Against
Global Warming. Few businesses feel as threatened by global
warming as the ski industry. And few resorts are poised to go to
the same lengths – and expense – to combat it as Kirkwood and the
hardy folks who make their homes in the snowy, windswept Kirkwood
Meadows. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/378/story/2297062.html 

The Carnivore’s Dilemma. IS eating a hamburger the global
warming equivalent of driving a Hummer? This week an article in
The Times of London carried a headline that blared: “Give Up Meat
to Save the Planet.” Former Vice President Al Gore, who has made
climate change his signature issue, has even been assailed for
omnivorous eating by animal rights activists. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/31/opinion/31niman.html 

Are Organic Dry Cleaners Really Better For The Environment? Q:
Every day my baby spits up all over my clothes, rendering them
unwearable until they make a trip to the dry cleaner. Lately,
I've been seeing organic dry cleaners pop up all over town, so
I'm thinking of trying that. Are these dry cleaners truly better
for me, for my baby and for the environment or is it all a hoax?
Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/702/story/2299092.html 

Low-Carbon Future Won't Come Cheap. Ready for your monthly power
bill to double?  If not, you might start counting kilowatts
today. While predictions are all over the map, that doubling is a
fair guess about what businesses and homeowners can expect over
the next decade or so as California gets serious about reducing
greenhouse gases and shifting our utilities over to renewable
power sources. Posted.
http://www.redding.com/news/2009/nov/01/low-carbon-future-wont-come-cheap/


Electric Vehicles How To Start Or Transition To An EV Career. In
many of the Green events, conferences and networking functions I
attend, people ask me how they can transition into the green
economy; how they can capitalize on their current skill-set,
experience and education to 'break' into the green industries.
Posted.
http://www.examiner.com/x-12791-Bay-Area-Green-Careers-Examiner~y2009m10d31-Electric-Vehicles--How-to-start-or-transition-to-an-EV-career


Green School Machines. The engine on the bus is green, green,
green. The Newport-Mesa Unified School District’s new Compressed
Natural Gas (CNG) Fueling Station opened this week. Posted.
http://www.dailypilot.com/articles/2009/10/30/education/dpt-greenbus103109.txt


Tanker spills oil into San Francisco Bay. A mechanical failure
during the fueling of a tanker caused an oil spill Friday
morning, leaving a two-mile slick south of the Bay Bridge and
evoking memories of a much larger spill two years ago. Posted.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_13677415

Sen. Udall Sees Nukes As Part Of Energy Solution. DENVER—U.S.
Sen. Mark Udall is sponsoring a bill that would authorize
research into modular, small-scale nuclear power plants to help
meet energy needs while cutting carbon emissions. The Colorado
Democrat said in a speech Thursday in the Senate that the threat
of climate change requires an "all-of-the-above solution."
Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/nation-world/ci_13677503

Wolverton: Tech group looking backward on efficiency rules. For
an organization that prides itself on representing one of
America's most forward-looking industries, the Consumer
Electronics Association has sounded more like the stodgy old
Chamber of Commerce lately. A case in point is the tech trade
group's response to California's proposal to make televisions
more energy-efficient, scheduled for final approval this week.
Posted. http://www.insidebayarea.com/business/ci_13670807

Blogs

Let's Talk Leaf Blowers. It's autumn and leaves do fall. Many
people turn to gas-powered leaf blowers. The machines create
noise and carbon emissions with the dubious trade-off of sparing
human elbow grease. But how bad are they really. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/green/detail?entry_id=50575#ixzz0ViwWzzQE