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California Air Resources Board News Clips for April 27, 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.


Filters Proving Costly To Truckers. Edwin Siliezar did
everything right. He applied early when grant money was first
offered by the state of California to help pay for new diesel
particulate filters for trucks hauling at the Port of Oakland.
Posted.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_14963169

On The Waterfront: Clean Air Plan Is Up For Public Comment
Today. While the feds continue squabbling over a global warming
bill and state regulators backtrack on new diesel-emission rules,
local communities are moving ahead this week to attack the
cancerous soot hanging over harbor-area neighborhoods. Tonight,
the public can vent their enthusiasm - or lack thereof - of a
sweeping 4-year-old program adopted by the cities of Long Beach
and Los Angeles to slash port-generated pollution in half by
2012. Posted. http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_14965009 

Contractors Challenge CARB Data about Off-Road Diesel Emissions.
State air quality officials have vastly overestimated emissions
from the state’s off-road diesel fleet, according to a study
released last week. The study was commissioned by the Associated
General Contractors of America and conducted by Sierra Research
Inc. Posted.
http://sacramento.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2010/04/26/daily7.html


EPA Rules Bad for Minorities. The Environmental Protection
Agency wants to curtail greenhouse gases. Black Americans should
be afraid — very afraid. Five civil rights organizations recently
condemned EPA’s plans to regulate carbon dioxide and other
emissions as part of its war on so-called “global warming.” These
groups argue that the EPA’s Dec. 7 “Endangerment Finding” and
pending anti-CO2 regulations will slam Americans hard and blacks
and other minorities hardest. Posted.
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/apr/26/epa-rules-bad-for-minorities/

Australian Prime Minister Announces 2-Year Delay Of Carbon
Pollution Reduction Laws. Canberra, Australia — Prime Minister
Kevin Rudd announced Tuesday a two-year delay in government plans
to tax Australia's worst industrial polluters — a move that puts
legislative efforts to curb gases blamed for climate change on
hold until after national elections. The government had proposed
annual limits on the amount of carbon that major polluters can
emit and supported a system whereby companies could exceed their
limits if they agreed to buy carbon trading permits. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-climate-australia,0,7377357,print.story
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/04/27/2708156/australia-postpones-carbon-pollution.html
http://www.contracostatimes.com/nation-world/ci_14966038
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704471204575209353762420206.html?KEYWORDS=climate+change
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/28/world/asia/28australia.html
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/apr/27/australia-postpones-carbon-pollution-curbs/

Senate Climate Bill Trio Headed in Different Directions.
Prospects for the Senate climate bill grew even dimmer yesterday
after the trio working on a comprehensive measure emerged from a
closed-door meeting headed in separate directions -- both
literally and figuratively. Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Joe
Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) made no joint
statements following a 45-minute meeting in the Capitol, their
first chance to huddle in person since Graham threatened over the
weekend to abandon the talks because of the Democratic
leadership's decision to also tackle the hot-button issue of
immigration. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/04/27/27climatewire-senate-clilmate-bill-trio-headed-in-differen-16469.html?scp=8&sq=climate%20change&st=cse

EPA Signals Push for Efficiency to Control Greenhouse Gas
Emissions. U.S. EPA's air chief has requested input from agency
advisers about how the government can promote energy efficiency
and innovative technology as it defines the "best available
control technology" for curbing greenhouse gas emissions.
Assistant Administrator Gina McCarthy laid out her request in an
April 9 letter (pdf) to the agency's Clean Air Act Advisory
Committee's climate change work group. The work group is advising
EPA as the agency prepares to issue guidance about how it will
define BACT for greenhouse gases from stationary sources. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/04/26/26greenwire-epa-signals-push-for-efficiency-to-control-gre-63224.html

Editorial: Needless Climate Bill in the Cooler. Attempts to
limit greenhouse gas emissions, ostensibly to curb global
warming, at the least have stalled as the chief Republican
supporter, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, defected from
the tripartisan backing, raising doubts a bill will emerge from
Congress this year. Mr. Graham, Democratic Sen. John Kerry of
Massachusetts and independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut
were to unveil a compromise Monday expected to include provisions
for off-shore oil drilling, nuclear energy development and
restrictions or costs to be imposed on carbon emissions. Posted.
http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/bill-245961-carbon-sen.html

'Energy Only' Bill in Senate Would Be Tough Sell. If Sen.
Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) bolts the Senate climate coalition, it
must be time to turn to the "energy only" bill that centrist
Democrats have been promoting as a bipartisan alternative to a
climate bill, right? Not so fast. The "Bingaman bill" that passed
New Mexico Democrat Jeff Bingaman's Energy and Natural Resources
Committee last year does have bipartisan support. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/04/26/26greenwire-energy-only-bill-in-senate-would-be-tough-sell-22080.html?pagewanted=print

Editorial: Climate Change Bill Shouldn't Fall Victim To
Immigration Reform. IS THE Senate climate bill doomed? It
certainly took a hit Saturday, when Sen. Lindsey O. Graham
(R-S.C.), hitherto the bill's lone Republican backer, threatened
to abandon the effort. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/26/AR2010042603702.html

A Call To Arms. The Carbon War Room has come to Washington. The
Virgin Group's Richard Branson, who founded the nonprofit
advocacy organization last year along with six other
entrepreneurs, said in an interview that the cadre hopes to
identify opportunities for businesses to cut both costs and
carbon emissions. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/26/AR2010042603379.html

Challenges to California Climate Change Law. California’s
climate change law is the most aggressive in the United States
and it faces challenges this election year. Some of the same
forces that may stall federal climate legislation, including oil
companies and businesses concerned by higher energy prices, are
now taking aim at California’s landmark 2006 law. Posted.
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/Challenges+California+climate+change/2953493/story.html


DOWNEY: Global Warming Campaign Heats Up. The rhetoric is
heating up over a move to place a measure on the November ballot
that would suspend the state's landmark 2006 global warming law.
And you're being asked to boycott certain gas stations because of
it. By now you've heard of the effort. Groups of conservative
politicians and business promoters around the state are trying to
qualify an initiative that would suspend Assembly Bill 32, the
California Global Warming Solutions Act. Posted.
http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/columnists/downey/article_4cd4e725-b3ab-53d1-8eda-c71c468eadf3.html


Q&A: The Economics Of Climate Legislation. The man who runs
Exelon, the major Chicago-based electric utility, explains why
he’s an evangelist for measures to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
John Rowe's business is power plants, but lately he's been
talking a lot about train wrecks — specifically, the one he's
worried will devastate the utility industry if Congress fails to
pass a climate bill. Rowe runs Exelon, the Chicago-based utility
that serves more electricity customers than anyone else in the
United States. Posted. 
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-exelon-20100427,0,2478881,print.story

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Discusses Los Angeles’ Successes And
Challenges For Addressing Environmental Issues. Recently, as part
of the Energy Cost Adjustment Factor (ECAF) rate action
undertaken by the Board of Water and Power Commissioners this
week, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced a proposal
for a Carbon Reduction Surcharge. This surcharge will change the
way Los Angeles achieves its renewable energy goals while
spurring job creation in the city. This action is one of many
that the City of Los Angeles is taking to continue sustainability
efforts. PMC interviewed the mayor to find out what else the City
of Los Angeles, one of the most densely populated cities in the
country, is doing to effect change. Posted.
http://www.carbonconscious.us/newsletter/march10.html#mayor

Hydroelectric Power Seen As Source Of Clean Energy And Jobs.
Hydroelectric power, once thought to be peaked out in the United
States, is having a resurgence among energy experts. A Department
of Energy official said yesterday that it has a large potential
for additional power generation and job creation. At the same
time, a report by Navigant Consulting says hydro power, which
includes existing dams and the nascent marine power sector, could
generate between half a million and 1.5 million jobs. The lower
and upper ends are set by a weak (10 percent) versus a strong (25
percent) renewable energy standard from the Obama administration.
Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/04/27/2

Cow Power Helps Fill Your Gas Tank. Cows help you fill your
cereal bowl, bake your cake and adorn your pizza. Now right here
in Tulare County — cows will help you fill your gas tank. Calgren
Renewable Fuels, the Pixley-based ethanol plant, has been awarded
a $4.68 million matching grant from the California Energy
Commission (CEC) to utilize dairy cow gas to make ethanol.
Posted.
http://www.recorderonline.com/news/fill-45051-tank-help.html

The 40 Percent Solution. In a move that's certain to transform
the U.S. auto industry, the Department of Transportation and the
Environmental Protection agency instituted stricter fuel economy
regulations on April 1 that will make new cars and trucks 40
percent more fuel-efficient by 2016. Posted.
http://www.pe.com/cars/content/cars/stories/PE_cars_0423_40percent.27754aecc.html?fw=http://www.pe.com/cars/content/cars/stories/PE_cars_0423_40percent.27754aecc.html

Colo School Tests Fuel Made From Beetle-Kill Trees. Fort
Collins, Colo.—Colorado State University is getting ready to test
a California company's technology that converts trees killed by
bark beetles into fuel for cars. CSU's Engines and Energy
Conversion Lab will measure the power and pollution from the fuel
developed by Cobalt Technologies Inc. of Mountain View, Calif.
Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_14966909

Toxic Soil Lurks Beneath Carson Neighborhood. The discovery of
methane gas and benzene has transformed a 50-acre neighborhood
into an environmental case study — a reminder of Southern
California’s history as a center of the oil industry. When Ron
and Belinda Oglesby moved into Carson's Carousel neighborhood in
2003, they saw a solid, middle-class area where homeowners set
down roots and lived for decades, where Santa Claus paraded
through the streets on a firetruck and children returned to buy
their own homes. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-carousel-shell-20100427,0,7021769,print.story

ENVIRONMENT: Public to Become Pollution Detectors Under UCSD
Program. Instead of passively waiting for warnings about air
pollution, San Diego County residents may help monitor it under a
program under early development at UC San Diego. Called
"CitiSense," the program aims to deploy a vast network of
pollution-detecting sensors hooked up to cell phones. Eventually,
the network would be expanded to include standalone sensors.
Posted.
http://www.nctimes.com/news/science/article_5ed6cc20-f624-5ccd-b55a-e4581c8b6cf8.html


Outdoor Burning Rules in Butte County under Review. Public
comment will be taken for another couple of months on changes in
Butte County outdoor burning rules to make them comply with state
standards. Currently, an array of nine rules govern ag burning,
the burning of yard waste — such as prunings and fallen leaves
and pine needles — and burning to clear property for development.
Posted. http://www.chicoer.com/news/oroville/ci_14965388 

Deadline Kicks In For Burn Permits. Beginning Saturday, burn
permits are required in Tuolumne and Calaveras counties and
eastern Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties, according to the
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Burn
permits set to expire in April will have the expiration date
extended to June 1. Because of recent rain and more storms
predicted, Cal Fire will not begin to staff all its fire stations
until May 24. Posted.
http://www.modbee.com/2010/04/26/1143573/deadline-kicks-in-for-burn-permits.html#ixzz0mJXsfxuU

Supreme Court Questions Ban Of Biotech Alfalfa, Paving Way For
Biotech Giant To Sell The Crop. Washington - Supreme Court
justices on Tuesday sharply questioned a lower court's decision
that has prohibited biotech giant Monsanto Co. from selling
genetically engineered alfalfa seeds, possibly paving the way for
the company to distribute the seeds for the first time since
2007. The case has been closely watched by environmentalists and
agribusiness. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/business/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-us-supreme-court-biotech-crops,0,4016378,print.story

After Years Of Delays, Germany's First Offshore Wind Farm Fans
Hopes For More. Berlin - Germany is officially opening its first
offshore wind farm in the North Sea after years of delays and
technical problems. Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen said
Tuesday he expects the test field Alpha Ventus, consisting of 12
windmills, to "push wide open the gate to the age of renewable
energies." Posted. 
http://www.latimes.com/business/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-eu-germany-offshore-wind-farm,0,3682934,print.story
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/04/27/2708598/germany-opens-its-first-offshore.html

Sheraton Austin Hotel at the Capitol Selected as Contestant in
EPA National Building Competition. Will Compete to "Work Off the
Waste" with Help from ENERGY STAR Program. Austin, Texas --
Officials of the Sheraton Austin Hotel at the Capitol, today
announced that the hotel has been selected to participate in the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) first national
competition among commercial buildings to save energy and fight
climate change. In the spirit of popular weight-loss
competitions, the Sheraton Austin Hotel at the Capitol will
compete against 13 other buildings across the country to "work
off the waste" through improvements in energy efficiency with
help from EPA's ENERGY STAR program. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/04/27/v-print/2708666/sheraton-austin-hotel-at-the-capitol.html

Norway, Russia Agree To Carve Up Disputed Area Of Barents Sea,
Seek More Energy Cooperation. Oslo - In a surprise move, Norway
and Russia agreed Tuesday to evenly divide a long-disputed area
in the Barents Sea, a promising oil and gas region in the Arctic
made more accessible by global warming.  Posted. 
http://www.latimes.com/business/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-eu-norway-russia,0,2100086,print.story

BLOGS

Why The Senate Climate Bill Is On Life Support. Monday was to be
a launch party for supporters of a congressional push to limit
greenhouse gas emissions and boost domestic energy production.
Sens. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and
Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) were to roll out their long-negotiated
version of the climate bill the House passed last year, along
with endorsements from environmental groups, utility executives
and even oil companies. You know what they say about best-laid
plans. Posted.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/04/why-the-senate-climate-bill-is-on-life-support.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GreenspaceEnvironmentBlog+%28Greenspace%29

Green Chemistry Chugs Along. Change as fundamental as green
chemistry is bound to take awhile. Back in December 2008,
California launched its initiative aimed at shifting the chemical
industry away from substances that are suspected health hazards.
(That's a significant change from the chemical-by-chemical risk
analysis that has driven most regulation of chemicals.) Now, the
state's Department of Toxic Substances Control has come out with
its outline of a draft regulation that would prioritize chemicals
and products of concern, a first step in implementing the green
chemistry initiative. Posted.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/04/green-chemistry-chugs-along.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GreenspaceEnvironmentBlog+%28Greenspace%29

California Air Resource Board Fines Dealers For DMV Mistake.
Where the California Air Resources Board [1] (CARB) is concerned,
trying to do the right thing often just isn’t enough to keep a
company from paying tens of thousands of dollars in penalties.
Just ask the guys who work at GP Motorcycles [2] and Moto Forza
[3] in San Diego. Last August, CARB made each of those dealers
pay $90,000 for “illegally selling Husqvarna [4]off-road
motorcycles as on-road models” even though they were just doing
what the state Department of Motor Vehicles [5] (DMV) told them
to do.
Posted.
http://watchdog.org/3626/california-air-resource-board-fines-dealers-for-dmv-mistake/print/