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newsclips -- Newsclips for May 7-10, 2010.

Posted: 10 May 2010 11:44:40
California Air Resources Board News Clips for May 7-10, 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.


Editorial: Up In The Air. Ways to obtain more accurate data can
and should be put in place to police greenhouse-gas emissions. It
is hardly surprising that climate discussions tend to gloss over
uncertainties in data on greenhouse-gas emissions. Governments
are struggling towards an international agreement to reduce those
emissions, and their focus is necessarily on coming up with
specific, enforceable targets. But the fact is that scientists’
ability to measure emissions and verify that countries are
following through on their commitments is far from adequate.
Posted. http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100505/pdf/465018a.pdf 
			
On Climate: Congress Restarts, California Threatens. On climate
& energy policy this Spring, California and Washington, DC, are
both running hot. The last two weeks in Congress have seen
optimism, retreat, and now some limited movement forward as Sen.
John Kerry has said he will introduce his long-awaited climate
bill on May 12. Meanwhile, in California a threat by political
ideologues and oil companies to overturn the state's climate laws
has become real as a November 2010 statewide ballot proposition
will ask the state's voters to overturn AB32, the landmark 2006
emissions legislation. Posted.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/donnie-fowler/on-climate-congress-resta_b_569651.html?view=print

Energy Interests Spend Millions for Their Seat at the Climate
Table. Businesses with significant stakes in the outcome of
climate and energy legislation ramped up lobbying spending
earlier this year as they worked to shape the Senate bill
scheduled to be unveiled this week. Electric utilities and the
coal, chemical and natural gas industries in particular boosted
influence efforts and appear poised to receive key parts of what
they sought in new climate policies. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/05/10/10climatewire-energy-interests-spend-millions-for-their-se-61132.html


When Clean Energy Grants Run Out, Will A 'Green Bank' Take Over?
When energy consultant Matthew Rogers moved to the Energy
Department over a year ago, he had $36.7 billion in grants and
loan guarantee authority from the 2009 American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act to get out the door. Today, all but about $300
million has been committed to 5,000 winners in the awards
competition. "My popularity continues to decline," Rogers said
this week. After frustrating delays, the flow of the Recovery Act
energy dollars is finally entering the economy. Spending by grant
recipients reached $3.5 billion in April, double the total at the
end of 2009. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/05/10/1

Federal CSI Investigates Climate. Heavy snows, cold snaps and
heat waves may not exactly be crimes, but CSI is ready to track
down the culprits anyway. They're not on television ---- yet ----
but the government's Climate Scene Investigators are on the job.
Recall the blizzardy winter along the East Coast this year?
Inquiring minds wanted to know how that could happen in an era of
global warming. Posted.
http://www.nctimes.com/news/science/article_4d1eae0c-9ad8-5fd3-b61a-24dcc140ea5b.html

Business Leaders Split On Bid To Delay AB32. California's
business leaders are divided over a ballot initiative that would
delay implementation of AB32, the landmark legislation to combat
global warming, in part by raising the cost of carbon-based fuel.
One coalition, including California's manufacturing lobby,
supports an initiative bankrolled by Texas oil companies. If
certified for the November ballot, it would delay AB32's mandates
until California's jobless rate, now 12.6 percent, falls below
5.5 percent for four consecutive quarters - like the low levels
that prevailed when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the bill in
2006. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/10/BU751DAIGA.DTL&type=printable

Redlands Will Support Measure To Suspend State's Climate Bill.
The Redlands City Council voted to endorse a November ballot
initiative that would stall California's efforts to cut carbon
emissions until the economy recovers. The city will follow the
temporary lifting of requirements under the Global Warming
Solutions Act of 2006, also known as A.B. 32, should voters
approve the initiative in November. Mayor Pat Gilbreath said that
the current economic conditions made it more important to let
businesses recover and stay in California than to force them to
cut emissions. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/05/10/6

Vote Likely To Come On State Climate Law. More than 800,000
petition signatures have been submitted to qualify for the
November ballot a measure to freeze California's Draconian global
warming law. Almost twice the number required signatures were
collected, so it looks as if voters will have the opportunity to
at least postpone the economy-damaging effects of Assembly Bill
32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. Posted.
http://www.desertdispatch.com/opinion/state-8448-measure-draconian.html

Political Blotter: Lee Touts Green Jobs; Garamendi Gets A New
Seat. Rep. Barbara Lee and an Obama Administration official
praised an East Bay green-jobs training program this morning as a
hotbed of California's future economy. Posted.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_15043882

Luffing Climate Policy Jeopardizes U.S. Economic Position. If
the United States doesn't establish a clear climate policy soon,
and match it with powerful incentives for clean energy
technology, we may fall permanently behind China in one of the
most powerful sectors of the global economy.  That is the
conclusion of a recent study from the Pew Charitable Trusts. In
2009, China overtook the United States' investments in clean
energy, and it's poised to do the same for installed renewable
energy capacity this year. Posted. 
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/green/detail?&entry_id=62901#ixzz0nXk5GVPU

Oil Spill Spurs New Protections In Climate Bill. Sponsors of
Senate carbon legislation are trying to achieve a delicate
balance over the oil spill as it threatens to disrupt support of
key lawmakers days before the anticipated bill is released. Sens.
John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) are amending
offshore drilling provisions within the sprawling carbon pricing
measure to address concerns among senators alarmed at the growing
oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/05/10/3

Authors To Roll Out Climate Bill Amid Obstacles. Washington - 
Even without their top Republican partner - and with an oil
spill in the Gulf of Mexico darkening prospects for success - the
chief architects of a climate change and energy bill plan to
reveal their measure Wednesday. The bill, by Sens. John Kerry,
D-Mass., and Joe Lieberman, independent-Conn., intends to cut
greenhouse gas emissions nationwide 20 percent by the year 2020
and 83 percent by 2050, while spurring nuclear power and
investing in clean coal technology designed to trap carbon
dioxide spewed by power plants. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/08/MNT21DB6H4.DTL&type=printable

The Path Of The Planet's Climate. Talk of climate change
invariably evokes images of starving polar bears in Alaska,
melting glaciers in Greenland and collapsing ice sheets in
Antarctica, if not deadly dull yet contentious political debates
in cavernous halls in Copenhagen. At a unique event last week,
the talk centered on the Bay checkerspot butterfly and the yellow
warbler. Witnessing the effects of climate change didn't require
travel to a frozen-but-thawing place thousands of miles away.
Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/08/EDPR1DB4IT.DTL&type=printable

Readers' Forum: Climate Bill Could Ignite California's Economy.
I RECENTLY joined a number of economic experts to testify before
the California Air Resources Board (CARB) about the economic
impacts of the state's landmark global warming pollution bill (AB
32). The majority opinion is that California's economy will
continue to grow at a healthy rate, with relatively little impact
from the clean-energy policies in this bill, but I must differ
with this opinion. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/opinion/ci_15039686

Opinion: Valero Trying To Kill California's Green Bill. Valero
gas, a Texas-based energy company and one of the top polluters in
the country, is trying to mess with California's clean energy
jobs and air pollution law, AB 32. The law, California's Global
Warming Solutions Act, is a great tool for us to rebuild our
economy, cleanup dirty air and reduce greenhouse gases. Posted.
http://www.thecalifornian.com/article/20100510/OPINION03/5100308

Readers' Forum: Bay Area Air Quality And Health Closely Related.
WE ARE just finishing Air Quality Awareness Week, but many Bay
Area residents are focused on the pollen in the air rather than
pollutants. A wet winter and spring followed several historically
dry years to create the highest pollen counts in the Bay Area in
a decade. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/opinion/ci_15039751

EPA, Shanghai Launch Real-Time Air Quality Monitor. The United
States' Environmental Protection Agency has teamed up with a
Chinese environmental bureau to provide real-time air quality
monitoring from the site of the World Expo in Shanghai. EPA
officials said Monday the move will help the city as it works
with other areas in the region to clear its often thick blanket
of smog. The online system, dubbed AIRNow International, links
technology developed by the EPA with the existing air quality
monitoring network in Shanghai, a city of about 20 million.
Posted.
http://www.modbee.com/2010/05/10/1160644/epa-shanghai-launch-real-time.html
http://www.contracostatimes.com/science/ci_15053813

Air District Offers Rebates for Electric Ag Vehicles. Farmers
and other agricultural workers can now be compensated for
purchasing electric utility terrain vehicles through rebates
offered by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Nearly $1
million is being allotted by CARB as part of its Agricultural UTV
Rebate Project to encourage clean air through zero-emission ATVs
and UTVs, where up to $2,500, or 15 percent of the price per
vehicle, may be returned. Posted.
http://www.thebusinessjournal.com/agriculture/4763-air-district-offers-rebates-for-electric-ag-vehicles


Where Fuel Cells Stand. Despite the recent buzz, they still have
a couple of big obstacles. The recent media blitz around Silicon
Valley-based Bloom Energy Corp. has raised the buzz level about
fuel cells. But despite some encouraging signs, many observers
remain skeptical about any imminent breakthrough. Fuel
cells—battery-like devices that convert natural gas, hydrogen or
other gases into electricity—have long been seen as a promising
technology. But also a flawed one. They're expensive to make,
tend to degrade over time and lack the kind of infrastructure to
effectively replace gasoline in vehicles. Posted.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703876404575199790515340032.html?mod=WSJ_auto_IndustryCollection#printMode

Oil And Auto Industries Collide With Ethanol Producers Over 15%
Blend. Today's car owners could soon have more choice about how
to power their vehicles, both at and away from the corner gas
station. Advocates differ on whether that's a good thing. On
ever-controversial ethanol issues, U.S. EPA is facing growing
pressure over its intention to decide by late summer whether to
approve higher blends for sale at the pump. In a November letter
to Growth Energy, EPA indicated it could by then endorse a waiver
for E15 fuel, a 15-percent-ethanol and gasoline mix, for use in
cars made in 2001 or later. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/05/10/4

DOE Lab To Explore A Synthetic Enzyme For Use In Carbon Capture.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory announced Friday that it
is receiving $3.6 million in Energy Department funding to find a
cheaper, more effective way to capture and store carbon dioxide
from power plants. The researchers will try a process that
replicates what happens with human breathing. Its new cash is the
latest example of the department's attempt to spur technology
innovation using a year-old agency that aims to do for energy
what an arm of the Defense Department has done for advanced
weapons and communications systems for the military. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/05/10/5

Brazil and US Ethanol Spar Over California Standard. In a court
brief filed last week, the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry
Association (UNICA), Brazil’s ethanol trade association, defended
California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) against lawsuits
filed by the petroleum, trucking and ethanol industries of the
United States. “With about one in every ten U.S. cars driven in
California, the largest state in the country with one of the
highest carbon intensities in the world is seeking to do its
share to fight climate change,” said Joel Velasco, UNICA’s Chief
Representative in North America. Posted.
http://domesticfuel.com/2010/05/10/brazil-and-us-ethanol-spar-over-california-standard/

Sensible Solar. California will never reach its clean energy
goals if state regulators throw needless roadblocks in the path
of progress. Demanding that a proposed solar power plant replace
abandoned farmland sets bizarre policy. The California Energy
Commission needs to drop that senseless requirement. Abengoa
Solar Inc. wants to build a 250-megawatt solar power plant on
more than 1,700 acres in the San Bernardino County desert west of
Barstow. Posted.
http://www.pe.com/localnews/opinion/editorials/stories/PE_OpEd_Opinion_W_op_10_ed_solarland.38046dd.html

Tech Test Drive: Energy-Efficient Large Monitors. Low-power
consumption in a 19-inch computer monitor is one thing, but
achieving a low-carbon footprint at 23 inches — and a resolution
(another power factor) of 1920x1080 pixels — is another thing
entirely. Check out the top energy savers measuring 23 inches and
larger. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/business/ci_15024211

Blogs

Campbell, Devore And Fiorina: Out-Conservating Each Other On
Global Warming. On the issue of global warming, nearly uniform
opposition to government’s proposed “solutions.” Fiorina says
California’s AB32 and cap and trade will be “disastrous.” They
are job killers. Campbell “the evidence is not as conclusive” as
the UN claimed. Is there a change caused by humans that can be
corrected? Those facts, he says, are not yet known. He’s opposed
cap and trade and “intrusive” monitoring. Posted.
http://orangepunch.freedomblogging.com/2010/05/09/campbell-devore-and-fiorina-out-conservating-each-other-on-global-warming/25759/

Global warming: Why isn't 10% decline in US CO2 emissions bigger
news? Here in the US, CO2 has declined--7% last year and 3% the
year before. Only one third of the decline is due to the
recession--the rest is down to greater use of natural gas and
increased efficiencies--with a little thrown in on the top for
increased use of wind and solar. That's really a lot of CO2, and
I cannot imagine why it isn't making bigger headlines. Well,
okay--I can easily imagine why. Good news doesn't make anybody in
this fight happy. Posted.
http://www.examiner.com/x-9111-Environmental-Policy-Examiner~y2010m5d9-Global-warming-Why-isnt-10-decline-in-US-CO2-emissions-bigger-news

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