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newsclips -- Newsclips for February 18-22, 2010.
Posted: 22 Feb 2010 12:26:01
California Air Resources Board News Clips for February 18-22, 2010. 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. AB32 Crunch Time. Will California Continue To Lead The Fight Against Global Warming? California is not well. It’s not exactly a failed state, but it’s far from the optimistic Golden State that once was—one that did impressive things, like building highways and aqueducts and universities that were the envy of the world. Here in his last year in office, the state’s governor has lost a bit of his luster, too. Arnold Schwarzenegger is unlikely to be remembered as a political reformer or an adept fiscal manager. Posted. http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/PrintFriendly?oid=1372846 Calif. Fines For Emission Violations. The California Air Resources Board has penalized three state trucking companies a total of $43,000 for diesel truck violations. On Feb. 17, CARB announced it had fined Golden State Lumber $20,000 for failing to inspect trucks for compliance with state smoke emissions standards during 2007 and 2008. Posted. http://www.etrucker.com/apps/news/article.asp?id=84676 http://www.landlinemag.com/todays_news/Daily/2010/Feb10/021510/021810-05.htm California’s Carbon Killers. California’s global-warming law contains dozens of programs, but most of the hard work will be done by a handful of major carbon-killing programs. Remember, the magic number is 174 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent. That’s how much state regulators want to cut California’s greenhouse-gas emissions over the next 10 years. Posted. http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/PrintFriendly?oid=1372848 Obama Mounts A Last-Ditch Attempt To Pass A 'Hybrid' Climate And Energy Bill. The White House is mounting a last-ditch effort to piece together an energy and climate change bill that has enough incentives for nuclear power, natural gas and the coal industry to muster the votes needed to pass it this year. As Democrats enter a turbulent and high-stakes political season, President Obama is striving for consensus on a path forward that can deliver substantial greenhouse gas emissions reductions and satisfy concerns in the Senate about energy security. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/02/22/1 Reprieve On New Diesel Rules. But Contractors’ Group Says It Is Too Little For Recession-Hit Industry. California – The California Air Resources Board said it plans to tentatively delay enforcement of diesel emissions standards on large fleets of off-road construction equipment that were supposed to start curtailing emissions in March. Board Executive Officer James Goldstene on Feb. 11 said the board “will take no enforcement action regarding compliance” with the regulation’s emission standards or requirements before authorization to do so is granted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Posted. http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/18613/reprieve-on-new-diesel-rules/print/ Rockefeller And Coal-State Dems Challenge EPA Climate Move. A leading Senate Democrat wants to halt U.S. EPA's efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions until Congress acts independently on the issue. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) plans to introduce legislation suspending EPA's efforts to regulate greenhouse gases "to allow sufficient time for congressional consideration of the nation's larger energy policy and economic needs," according to a Friday release from his office. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/02/22/2 Schwarzenegger, Calderon propose relaxing environmental laws for development. Dozens of large developments across the state could be exempt from environmental regulations if a proposal intended to create jobs gets legislative approval during the upcoming budget debate. The initiative, backed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Assemblyman Charles Calderon, D-Industry, would exempt annually 25 projects from legal challenges under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Posted. http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_14439856?source=rss People's Faith In All Science Weakened By 'Climategate'. San Diego -- Recent controversies over e-mails stolen from a British climate research unit and mistakes by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have shaken the public's faith in all science, top researchers said this week. "There really is evidence that the corrosion that's taking place in public attitudes toward climate results has spread over to all science," said Ralph Cicerone, president of the National Academy of Sciences. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/02/22/3 Trucks To See First GHG Limits In June – EPA. Heavy-duty trucks and buses are next up on U.S. EPA's list of greenhouse gas emissions sources to control, according to the agency's new regulation tracking site. EPA intends to propose the first greenhouse gas emissions standards for trucks in June, several months after finalizing regulations for passenger vehicles and light-duty trucks in March, the site says. Truck manufacturers and environmental groups have been anticipating a proposal from EPA for the last several months. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/02/22/7 Creative Borrowing Spurs Commercial Retrofits. On the heels of San Francisco’s announcement last week that it plans to spend $150 million greening up homes, comes a new report that studies a slew of other innovative ways to finance energy efficiency improvements for all types of buildings. It’s no big surprise that the key to ramping up the energy efficiency industry and fostering technological advances is no-money-down financing so building owners can avoid the capital costs of retrofits. And that’s exactly what the California Clean Energy Fund (CalCEF) is working toward. Posted. http://www.grist.org/article/2010-02-19-creative-borrowing-spurs-commercial-retrofits/ Editorial: Climate Change. Yvo de Boer’s resignation on Thursday after nearly four tumultuous years as chief steward of the United Nations’ climate change negotiations has deepened a sense of pessimism about whether the world can ever get its act together on global warming. Mr. de Boer was plainly exhausted by endless bickering among nations and frustrated by the failure of December’s talks in Copenhagen to deliver the prize he had worked so hard for: a legally binding treaty committing nations to mandatory reductions in greenhouse gases. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/22/opinion/22mon1.html?ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=print Foundation For California Community Colleges Announces Program To Benefit Air Quality. The Foundation for California Community Colleges announced it has received up to $20 million in grant funding to launch a statewide program that will aim to improve California’s air quality. The program – called the Vehicle Repair, Retirement and Replacement for Motorists program or "VRRRM" – will bring clean air and fuel efficiency benefits to California consumers by repairing, retiring or replacing 17,000 polluting cars in California and removing more than 850 tons of pollutants from California’s airways over the next three years. Posted. http://lakeconews.com/content/view/12657/930/ Thomas Elias: Opposition to State Bill on Greenhouse Gas Misguided. Whether Congress approves the greenhouse-gas reduction agreements reached in Copenhagen last year, California will have a cap-and-trade system in place — unless voters put an initiative to the contrary on the November ballot and pass it. Sponsors of this proposition call it the "California Jobs Initiative," contending jobs will be lost in efforts to fight global warming by demanding lower industrial emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane. Posted. http://www.thecalifornian.com/article/20100222/OPINION02/2220302/1014/OPINION/Thomas+Elias++Opposition+to+state+bill+on+greenhouse+gas+misguided EPA Budget Hearings to Serve as Battleground for Climate Policies. U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson will defend the White House's request to increase funds for climate regulations when she testifies before House and Senate panels this week. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/02/22/22greenwire-epa-budget-hearings-to-serve-as-battleground-f-11853.html Whose Snow Job On Climate Change? In his Feb. 14 Outlook article on global warming, "Record snows on a warming planet," Bill McKibben suggested that the recent snow barrage in Washington could be related to global warming. This is plausible, as are most theories in climate science. But we should all be thankful that this statistically insignificant event has cooled the appetite for "legislative progress" on legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/20/AR2010022002941.html George Will: Global Warming Faithful Starting To Sweat. Washington Science, many scientists say, has been restored to her rightful throne because progressives have regained power. Progressives, say progressives, emulate the cool detachment of scientific discourse. So, hear now the calm, collected voice of a scientist lavishly honored by progressives, Rajendra Pachauri. He is chairman of the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shared the 2007 version of the increasingly weird Nobel Peace Prize. Posted. http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/warming-235317-global-climate.html S.F. Clean-Energy Plan Could Fuel Higher Rates. San Francisco voters have rejected a dozen public-power proposals over the years, but that isn't stopping city officials from jumping into the "clean energy" business. The question is, at what cost? Mayor Gavin Newsom and the Board of Supervisors are steaming ahead with a clean-power plan that, according to the city's own estimates, could drive up rates for residential customers as much as 24 percent. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/22/BA2R1C4EIO.DTL&type=printable New Energy Technologies Are Coming That Will Shrink Our Use Of Fossil Fuels And Cut Emissions Of Greenhouse Gases. Just don't expect them anytime soon. Why the delay? After all, the computer revolution has shown how rapidly new innovations can be imagined, developed, brought to market and have an impact. But new energy technologies don't work that way—they can take years to gain just a toehold in the market, and 20 to 30 years to push aside existing products or techniques. That's partly because of the sheer size of the energy market. Posted. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748703382904575059312029996750.html Biotech Firm Launches New Fuel Enzyme. A Danish biotechnology company on Tuesday launched a new enzyme which it said will make it possible to turn agricultural waste into biofuel at a competitive price. The breakthrough will allow the biofuel industry to produce cellulosic ethanol for less than two US dollars per gallon (around 37 euro cents per litre), Novozymes said in a statement. This cost would put the fuel on a par with petrol and conventional ethanol, the company said. Novozymes said the new enzyme, known as Cellic CTec2, breaks down cellulose in agricultural waste into sugars that can be fermented into ethanol, and could convert corn cobs and stalks, wheat straw and woodchips into fuel. Posted. http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/biotech-firm-launches-new-fuel-enzyme-1906087.html The Boom Box (Video): An Energy Plant Box To Power Your Home. Two of these blocks can power an American home, while one will suffice for a European home. A stack of 64 can power a small business. What is this magical box and where can you get one? It's the Bloom Box, essentially a power plant in a box, and it claims to be the latest breakthrough in clean energy technology. You can't get one yet, but K.R. Sridhar, founder of Bloom Energy, says there will be one in every American home in five to 10 years. Posted. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/22/the-bloom-box-video-a-pow_n_471349.html What A Green-Collar Economy Means To Workers. Ian Kim directs the Green Collar Jobs Campaign for the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in Oakland. It's a job title that didn't even exist a decade ago, but now the issue, long championed by the center, is front and center in the national economy - and Oakland, too. Last week, the city announced that it, the Ella Baker center and other cities and groups had won $40 million in federal stimulus grants for energy efficiency - and to help train under-skilled workers in that industry. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/21/BAK31C4DPK.DTL&type=printable Saving The Amazon May Be The Most Cost-Effective Way To Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions. If the U.S. adopts a cap-and-trade program, companies facing carbon controls could meet part of their obligations by preserving Earth's largest tropical forest. An hour outside Manaus, the Amazon's biggest city, the blackened remains of a virgin forest smolder. Chain saws whine. And Jonas Mendes tosses logs, one after another, into his kiln. "I know it's wrong to cut down the trees," said Mendes, 48, sweat streaming down his neck and torso. Posted. http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/21/business/la-fi-cover-amazon21-2010feb21 Clean Energy Is Mired In Politics. Uncertainty over proposals in Congress has firms holding off on investments. At a time when the U.S. economy is desperate for jobs and investment in future growth, a slew of clean-energy projects are on hold largely because of political stalemate in Washington. With President Obama's energy and climate proposals bottled up in Congress, business leaders say they cannot tell what direction government policy will take on a variety of issues, including new energy taxes, tougher emissions standards for factories and vehicles, and guaranteed markets for start-up wind and solar power plants. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-energy-invest22-2010feb22,0,1993754.story Former Calpers Officials Benefit From Fund's Clean-Tech Investments. When the former chief executive for CalPERS, Fred Buenrostro, moved the giant pension fund into the clean energy and technology sector three years ago, two of the businessmen who ultimately benefited were friends. Al Villalobos, a former CalPERS board member who was so close to Buenrostro that he hosted his wedding, will pocket $432,800 in sales commissions for helping Enlink Geoenergy secure investment money from one of a half-dozen smaller clean energy technology funds backed by CalPERS. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2010/02/22/v-print/2554369/former-calpers-officials-benefit.html California Science Panel Objects To Use Of Methyl Iodide. Fresno – A scientific panel has raised serious concerns about the use of methyl iodide on California farmland, saying the highly potent chemical poses significant health risks to workers and the general population. The report from the state-appointed group of experts comes as a blow to farmers and the makers of the fumigant – the Tokyo-based Arysta LifeScience Corp. – who have fought for more than a year to get the chemical approved in California. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2010/02/22/v-print/2554372/california-science-panel-objects.html BLOGS Urban Parks: A Global Warming Downer? Green is good — right? Not necessarily when it comes to lawns, according to a new study by University of California Irvine researchers. For the first time, scientists compared the amount of greenhouse gases absorbed by ornamental turfgrass to the amount emitted in the irrigation, fertilizing and mowing of the same plots. Posted. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/02/lawns-turfgrass-soil-carbon-storage.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GreenspaceEnvironmentBlog+%28Greenspace%29 States Bite Back Against Emissions Regulations, Even California. When automakers and the Obama White House announced agreement on a single national standard for emissions and fuel economy last May, the entire auto industry heaved a huge sigh of relief. The issue was settled, at least until 2016. Yesterday, however, the state of Texas filed suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals to suspend the EPA's 2012 tailpipe-emissions regulations, arguing that they threaten the Texas oil and gas industries and would "devastate our state's strong economy." Posted. http://www.greencarreports.com/blog/1042686_states-bite-back-against-emissions-regulations-even-california Venture Capitalists: Move to Repeal California Climate Law Endangers a Job Creator. Perceptions of whether California’s Global Warming Solutions Act, AB 32, is going to save or destroy the California economy depends on who’s doing the talking. Opponents, like Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, say the measure is too expensive and will destroy jobs in California. In fact, she has made suspending the greenhouse gas reduction law a cornerstone of her campaign. She also suggests that California’s Environmental Quality Act, a model for environmental protection laws in other states, needs drastic reform. Posted. http://solveclimate.com/blog/20100222/venture-capitalists-move-repeal-california-climate-law-endangers-job-creator