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California Air Resources Board News Clips for March 8, 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 Resources Board Working Toward Cap And Trade Program. One of
the top priorities of the state Air Resources Board this year is
to design a cap and trade program to be implemented during 2011.
Under the cap-and-trade program, an overall limit on greenhouse
gas emissions emitted from certain facilities will be
established. Facilities subject to the cap will be able to trade
permits, allowances, to emit greenhouse gases, according to the
ARB Web site. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_14483544?nclick_check=1

Air Panel Proposes Tougher Regulations For Ports. Rules would
allow officials to enforce ports' voluntary pollution reductions
and impose fines for violations. Southern California air
regulators proposed tougher rules Friday to ensure that the ports
of Los Angeles and Long Beach reduce their share of deadly
emissions from ships, trains, big rigs and cargo-handling
equipment, prompting harsh objections from harbor officials.
Posted.
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/06/local/la-me-aqmd6-2010mar06

Environmental Rules, Regulations Enter Into 2010. Numerous
environmental rules and regulations have taken effect this year
in California and plenty more are on the way. State officials
have been working on measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
rules that may be pleasing environmental experts but upsetting to
many Californian businesses. The largest piece of legislation is
the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, or AB 32,
which created a multi-year program to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. Posted.
http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_14483541

California Moves Carbon Offset Goalposts. Related Documents.
Read the Resolution. Carbon investors over the past two years
have assumed the agency leading the development of California’s
cap-and-trade rules would recognize certain offsets generated
under the state’s voluntary scheme once reductions become
mandatory, and more than 200 projects have enrolled under those
protocols.  Now, however, the state says it approved them in
haste, and the status of all projects is up for review. 
Posted.
http://www.ecosystemmarketplace.com/pages/dynamic/article.page.php?page_id=7472§ion=news_articles&eod=1

Hydrogen Dilemma. 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 that allows automobiles to be powered by
hydrogen and emit little more than a trickle of water from the
tailpipe. Manufacturers need to commit funds to mass-producing
the vehicles, but hydrogen fueling stations to fill those
vehicles also are needed. A push to set up a hydrogen fueling
infrastructure has been in development in California for more
than four years as car manufacturers lease out test-model
vehicles. Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/weekend-drive/ci_14519592

Letter: No Room For Retreat On Clean Energy. Between 1995 and
2008, California's "green" businesses increased 45 percent in
number and 36 percent in employment, according to NextTen, a
nonpartisan think thank. California has more than 3,000
clean-tech businesses that account for 44,000 jobs. California's
emerging clean-energy economy has attracted nearly $6.5 billion
in capital investment in the last three years, says the National
Venture Capital AssociationPosted.
http://www.chicoer.com/opinion/ci_14632901

Steps to Stop Carbon Trading and Emissions Offset Fraud.
Recently, the cover of Harper’s Magazine featured a story on how
easy it is to perpetrate carbon trading and emissions offset
fraud. The article, by prominent investigative journalist Mark
Schapiro, takes a hard look at ongoing practices in carbon
markets and the rising tide of fraud that is tarnishing the
sector. The fraud is hardly a surprise. Any asset market
comprised of buying and selling non-physical, hard-to-measure
goods is a con man’s dream. Posted.
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2010/03/08/steps-to-stop-carbon-trading-and-emissions-offset-fraud/print/

Supreme Court Won't Review Decision That Closed EPA Emissions
'Loophole' The Supreme Court declined today to review a lower
court's ruling prohibiting U.S. EPA from suspending normal
emissions standards for major pollution sources during "startup,
shutdown and malfunction" (SSM) periods. Environmental groups
praised the court's decision not to grant review in American
Chemistry Council v. Sierra Club, saying the policy struck down
in 2008 had created a "loophole" for polluters. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/03/08/2

Murkowski Presses EPA For Details Of Emission Regs. Sen. Lisa
Murkowski is pressing U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to
offer more details about how and when the agency plans to
regulate greenhouse gas emissions from industrial sources. The
Alaska Republican, the ranking member of the Senate Energy and
Natural Resources Committee, sent the letter on Friday asking for
clarification about how EPA plans to interpret and implement the
Clean Air Act. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/03/08/5

China May Run First Citywide Cap-And-Trade System By June. China
may kick off its first citywide carbon cap-and-trade system by
June to help rein in its emissions, according to an adviser on
the program.  Tianjin, a northeastern port city, plans to impose
a mandatory limit on energy used to heat buildings in the first
half of this year, John Shi, CEO of the carbon credit trader
Arreon Carbon UK Ltd., said in an interview. Under the scheme,
property managers who use energy below the limit will earn
credits they can then sell, he said. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/03/08/7

Another Government Regulator on the Loose. It happens so often
it hardly raises a red flag anymore: Another government regulator
praising his agency's efforts when his draconian rules had
absolutely nothing to do with the results he presents. I am
speaking of the March 3 article, "District says no-burn days
yielding improved air quality." While reading, I succumbed to my
gag reflex. Posted.
http://www.bakersfield.com/opinion/letters/x1543187841/Another-government-regulator-on-the-loose


Pesticide Regulation in State Beneficial, Officials Report.
California pesticide regulators said initial steps to reduce air
pollution caused by fumigant pesticides have had a positive
impact. A draft report from the Department of Pesticide
Regulation shows a drop in smog-producing emissions from all
types of pesticides in 2008. That was the first year the agency
implemented new regulations on farm fumigant applications
intended to protect air quality in the state's smoggiest areas.
Posted.
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100308/A_BIZ/3080304


Organic Activists Protest San Francisco Compost. San Francisco —
San Francisco wears its environmental consciousness like a green
badge of honor. Residents separate and recycle their food scraps.
Streets close to cars so people can walk and bike them. A city
department even gives away "high-quality, nutrient-rich, organic
bio-solids compost" to all takers. But hold on there. Posted.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_14519943

Sen. Joe Simitian Reintroduces Legislation For Clean Power.
State Sen. Joe Simitian is hoping three times is a charm when it
comes to pushing power companies for more renewable juice. The
senator, who represents part of Santa Cruz County, reintroduced
legislation today that would require California energy providers
to get 33 percent of their power from clean sources by 2020.
Posted.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_14513647

Alcatraz Island To Get Solar Panels. San Francisco—Alcatraz
Island is going green. The National Park Service, which oversees
the island, said Friday it will fund a project to put more than
1,000 solar panels on the main prison and laundry building. The
panels are expected to provide 40 to 60 percent of the island's
electricity and reduce the need for two aging diesel generators.
Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_14525878

AQMD Cracks Down On Ports. Long Beach - Despite a landmark
clean-truck plan and strict anti-smog measures aimed at ships and
trains, air quality cops are considering "backstop" regulations
to ensure port pollution doesn't grow in coming years. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_14522399

Trucking Regulations To Hit In 2010. Manufacturers are not the
only California businesses facing new regulations this year. The
trucking industry is a prime focus in the California Global
Warming Solutions Act of 2006. The Drayage Truck Regulation
requires trucks servicing California's ports and intermodal rail
yards to reduce particulate matter emissions by at least 85
percent beginning this year. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_14483545

Methane Seen As Growing Climate Risk. Washington—Methane, a
potent global warming gas, is bubbling out of the frozen Arctic
faster than had been expected. Methane had become trapped in the
permafrost over time and a warming climate is now resulting in
its release, researchers report in Friday's edition of the
journal Science. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/science/ci_14512868

Study in West Marin Fights Global Warming. Removing carbon
dioxide from the air and burying it in soil could be a way to
stop the effects of global warming, a process under study in West
Marin. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_14517322

Curbing Fraudulent Smog Checks. In a state that has done such a
remarkable job in recent decades cleaning its air of choking
smog, it's disheartening to hear of widespread fraud in the smog
check process. A recent report on California's smog-test program
found that up to one-third of older cars that have passed
mandated pollution checks actually fail them when re-tested at
random on the streets. Posted.
http://www.presstelegram.com/opinions/ci_14630478

Democrats to Turn Spotlight on Energy Efficiency Programs This
Week. Democrats will turn the focus to energy efficiency
standards and incentive programs this week with hearings in the
Senate and House energy panels. Senate Energy and Natural
Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) is a champion for
energy efficiency and has pushed stakeholders and focused his
staff on improving standards across the board this session.
Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/03/08/08greenwire-democrats-to-turn-spotlight-on-energy-efficien-54735.html?scp=3&sq=air%20pollution&st=cse

ECO:nomics: Creating Environmental Capital. One thing is certain
in the race for a cleaner energy system: Nothing is going to be
certain for quite a long time. In Washington last week, the Obama
administration abandoned the long-running plan to bury nuclear
waste below Nevada's Yucca Mountain, another potential barrier to
new nuclear power plants in the U.S. Big questions loom about the
viability of electric cars and of futuristic power plants that
would shoot their greenhouse-gas emissions underground instead of
skyward. Posted. 
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703391004575105903884123106.html#mod=todays_us_the_journal_report

Fueling The Future: Fuel Cells Show Promise. Uses seen for more
efficient power generation; companies hope to work out bugs. Fuel
cells, which decades ago powered the moon mission, are quietly
making their way into businesses and homes, and some see them as
the future of power production. Instead of burning fuel to make
heat that then drives a turbine, fuel cells use an
electrochemical reaction similar to that inside a battery to make
electricity. Posted.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/mar/07/fueling-the-future/


Oil Companies Fund Stealth Attack on Clean Energy and Climate
Law. On Wednesday, the New York Times reported that two
Texas-based refinery giants have stepped forward to fund
signature gathering for a ballot initiative to suspend AB 32,
California's landmark clean energy and global warming law.
Posted. http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/site/?q=node/7526


Marin Clean Energy — Pro: Program Offers Key Green Benefits.
Marin Clean Energy is a Community Choice Aggregation program that
is designed to serve Marin’s priorities. It allows electric
consumers to choose non-polluting renewable energy, lower Marin’s
greenhouse gas emissions, reduce dependence on imported fossil
fuels, foster development of local green power generation and
clean technologies and protect Marin homes and businesses from
uncertain fuel prices. Posted.
http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/19050/marin-clean-energy-pro/