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California Air Resources Board News Clips for March 1, 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.

AIR QUALITY

Proposed Calif. Law Aims To Reduce Smog Test Fraud. A proposed
state law would make sure vehicle smog tests aren't just smoke
and mirrors. Legislation introduced this week by Assemblyman Mike
Eng, D-Monterey Park, would radically change the way the tests
are conducted and potentially affect some 23 million California
motorists. Posted.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9E3RTT80.htm
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/7_on_your_side&id=7298873
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local-beat/Random-Smog-Checks-Help-Clear-The-AIr-85424567.html
http://www.kpsplocal2.com/news/state/story/Proposed-law-aims-to-reduce-smog-test-fraud/Pmd3MYfWvUOGx-Xa5C-PHQ.cspx
http://www.inlandnewstoday.com/story.php?s=13104

Smog Test Changes Considered. A proposed state law may make smog
tests quicker and cheaper, and possibly even lessen fraudulent
results. But whether the bill will actually help the environment
remains to be seen. Assembly Bill 2289 -- co-sponsored by the
state Air Resources Board and the Bureau of Automotive Repair and
introduced by Assemblyman Mike Eng, D-Monterey Park -- is slated
to phase out tailpipe and treadmill inspections except for
vehicles built before 1996. Posted.
http://www.thereporter.com/news/ci_14475740

'Widespread Fraud' In California's Smog Test Program. Nearly a
third of older-model cars stopped for roadside smog tests in
Southern California failed them, despite having received a
passing grade at inspection stations within a year, a state audit
has found. Posted.
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/25/local/la-me-smogtest25-2010feb25

Woodland Smog Testers Skeptical Of New Rules. The managers of
several Woodland smog check facilities are skeptical about
potential changes to California emission regulations, as quicker
and cheaper testing methods are being considered under a proposal
unveiled by state regulators. Posted.
http://www.dailydemocrat.com/news/ci_14483357

OUR VIEW: Fighting Fraud At Smog Checks. In a state that has
done such a remarkable job in recent decades cleaning its air of
choking smog, it's not good news to find that up to a third of
older cars that have passed mandated pollution checks actually
fail them when re-tested at random on the streets. Posted.
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/ci_14488912

VEHICLES

California Changes Vehicle Emissions Standards To Match Federal
Rules. California has fulfilled its part in an agreement between
auto manufacturers and two federal agencies announced by
President Obama last May that will create the nation’s first
greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars. Posted.
http://sacramento.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2010/02/22/daily69.html
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2010/2010-02-25-091.html

CARB Fines For Emissions. North Bay – The California Air
Resources Board fined two North Bay companies last month for
failing to comply with emissions standards for diesel-powered
vehicles. Golden State Lumber in Petaluma was fined $20,000 after
investigators found the company did not conduct mandated
emissions tests between 2007 and 2008. Posted.
http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/18829/carb-fines-for-emissions/

CARB Underway With Training Seminars on New Vehicle Regs. The
California Air Resources Board is underway with its free training
seminars, which describe the requirements for the Truck and Bus
regulation and the Heavy Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas regulation.
The next seminar is scheduled for today, March 1, at Calaveras
County Library in San Andreas, Calif. Posted.
http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-detail.asp?news_id=69543

Which Comes First, Hydrogen Fuel, Or Cars That Need It? It's a
chicken-or-egg scenario when it comes to emerging fuel-cell
technology allowing automobiles to be powered by hydrogen and
emit little more than a trickle of water from the tailpipe.
Posted.
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100228/GJNEWS_01/702289861/-1/FOSNEWS

Biagi Bros. Fined For Emissions Violations. Napa-based trucking
firm Biagi Bros. was fined $14,400 this month by the California
Air Resources Board for emissions violations during 2008 and
2009. Posted.
http://www.sthelenastar.com/articles/2010/02/27/news/saturday_update/doc4b880e32963a0182042549.txt

On The Move: West Virginia Pursues ‘Anti-Idling’ Rules. A
proposed rule to reduce the frequency of unnecessary idling of
trucks continues to get attention in the West Virginia Senate.
Even though drivers idling their trucks while sleeping or resting
would be exempt from the rule, OOIDA says other concerns need to
be addressed. Posted.
http://www.landlinemag.com/todays_news/Daily/2010/Feb10/022210/022610-03.htm

CLIMATE CHANGE

We Can’t Wish Away Climate Change. It would be an enormous
relief if the recent attacks on the science of global warming
actually indicated that we do not face an unimaginable calamity
requiring large-scale, preventive measures to protect human
civilization as we know it. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/opinion/28gore.html

Mark Landsbaum: Arguing Global Warming With Arnold. We recently
offered tips on "What to say to a warmer" for when Al Gore or a
fellow global warming alarmist comes to dinner. This week, we
suggest: "What to say to a warmist named Schwarzenegger," in case
the Terminator drops by. California has the most destructive and
costly global warming law in the nation, if not the world. In a
perverse way, it's the governor's crowning achievement. Posted.
http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/-236562--.html

Bay Area Air District Moves Ahead With Faster Phase-Out.
Currently, cleaners in the Bay Area are under the statewide perc
phase-out date plan adopted by the California Air Resources Board
in 2007. The state mandate requires the removal of any perc
drycleaning unit that is 15 years old or older as of July 1 this
year. Each July 1 thereafter, any machine that became 15 years
old in the previous year must be removed. Under this scheme,
there will be no more perc drycleaning equipment in California by
2023. Posted. http://www.natclo.com/1003/west.htm

What Gore Missed When He Broke His Silence. Politicians, such as
former Vice President Al Gore, don't appreciate the role that
transparency plays in science. But scientists trust others'
results much more when they are actually able to examine the data
themselves. Posted.
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/03/01/john-lott-al-gore-climate-gate-op-ed-new-york-times/

ENERGY

Supervisors Eye Solar Array Atop Shade Structure For Parked
Cars. County leaders on Tuesday will decide whether to transfer
$1.45 million to pay for a solar project in Fairfield that is
estimated to bring in $500,000 in incentives and net the county
$1 million in the next 20 years. Posted.
http://www.timesheraldonline.com/ci_14487129

BLOGS

California “Cool Cars” Law Under Fire From Police. California’s
“Cool Cars” law has been controversial ever since its adoption by
the California Air Resources Board (CARB) last summer… but now
things have been kicked up a notch with CARB seemingly sticking
to their guns in a shoot out with the police… almost literally.
Posted.
http://gas2.org/2010/02/26/california-cool-cars-law-under-fire-from-police/

Air in California Can Be Deadly. It’s not a question of whether
people are dying from a type of air pollution known as fine
particulate exposure, but how many.  Those attacking the science
behind the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) epic
rulemakings on toxic diesels, however, won’t let the facts get in
the way of a good story. Posted.
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/dbailey/air_in_california_can_be_deadl.html

How Should New York City Deal With Rising Sea Levels? Five
Designers Duke It Out. How should a low-lying city like New York
deal with the rising sea levels associated with global warming?
Regardless of your political stance on global warming, we can all
agree that rising sea levels threaten the highly populated urban
areas that line our nations’ shores. Posted.
http://www.smartplanet.com/business/blog/smart-takes/how-should-new-york-city-deal-with-rising-sea-levels-five-designers-duke-it-out/4632/