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California Air Resources Board News Clips for July 15, 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.


Money Gushes In Prop. 23 Fight. Supporters of California's
global warming law have raised more than $2 million so far to
defend the landmark legislation in what's shaping up as an
expensive November ballot battle. Filings with the California
secretary of state show that environmental groups and clean
energy advocates were big givers to the campaign against
Proposition 23, which would suspend AB 32 until the unemployment
rate drops to 5.5 percent. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/07/15/2891122/monies-mount-in-prop-23-fight.html

Calif. Sues Federal Government Over Green Retrofit Program.
California Attorney General Jerry Brown (D) sued the federal
government yesterday over interference by two publicly regulated
mortgage companies into a state program that allows homeowners to
pay for energy retrofits through property taxes. Last week, the
Federal Housing Finance Agency effectively ended the Property
Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program because the retrofit funds
are attached to properties as liens if they are not paid off,
which trump banks for the proceeds if a home is foreclosed.
Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/07/15/10

Shower Of Toxic Particles Threatens Valley Air. Microscopic
chemicals could corrode lungs. A mysterious shower of microscopic
chemicals near a Fresno shopping center could be the first
evidence of a broad, undetected assault on the lungs of San
Joaquin Valley residents. If confirmed in other Valley cities, it
means many thousands of people are daily breathing these
cocktails of chemicals -- known as ultra-fine particles -- that
corrode and damage lungs. Posted.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/07/14/v-print/2006814/toxic-shower-threatens-valley.html

A California Campaign with Global Consequences. Proposition 23
Puts Clean Energy in Danger. This November, California voters are
in danger of undoing one of the most progressive pieces of
environmental legislation ever passed. Texas oil companies have
taken advantage of California’s quirky initiative system to place
Proposition 23 on the ballot. Posted.
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/07/prop23.html/print.html

Britain, France, Germany urge EU emissions cuts. Berlin -
Britain, France and Germany are urging European Union nations to
agree to a 30 percent cut in carbon emissions by 2020 in an
effort to combat climate change. Britain's climate secretary,
along with the environment ministers of France and Germany wrote
in a joint letter published Thursday that the EU must target a 30
percent reduction in carbon emissions from 1990 levels to stop
the rise in global temperatures. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/science/ci_15522006?nclick_check=1
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100715-709411.html

Report: Illegal Logging Down Across The Globe. London -Tougher
enforcement and strict new rules have led to a dramatic drop in
illegal logging, a British think tank says, saving huge swaths of
green and cutting carbon dioxide emissions across the globe.
Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/nation-world/ci_15521931

OPINION: Logue Says Report Slams AB32. A report requested by
Assemblyman Dan Logue, R-Linda, makes the case for AB32 as a job
killer with little benefit for California, according to the
assemblyman. The report, drafted last month by the state
Legislative Analyst's Office, suggests the state Air Resources
Board, which will implement AB32, hasn't given enough
consideration to the economic impacts of doing so. Posted.
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/strong-97073-yuba-county.html

Study Suggests Rise In Heat Waves By 2039. While skeptics brush
off global warming as a distant catastrophe, a new Stanford study
suggests that heat waves and extremely high temperatures could
become commonplace in the United States by 2039. After nearly two
years of research analyzing computerized climate modeling, Noah
Diffenbaugh, a professor of environmental Earth system science
and a center fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment,
and former postdoctoral fellow Moetasim Ashfaq found that the
number of heat waves per decade within the United States could
rise within the next few decades. Posted.
http://www.stanforddaily.com/2010/07/15/study-suggests-rise-in-heat-waves-by-2039/

OPINION: Casting Stones At The Oilsands From California. Unlike
the naive zealots at San Francisco's Corporate Ethics
International, we will not ask Canadians to rethink their travel
plans to California, despite the annual slaughter of thousands of
birds at the state's Altamont Pass wind farm, an avian killing
ground far worse than Alberta's oil-sands. Nor will we urge
Canadians to boycott California despite its carbon-intensive
heavy oil extraction industry, which supplies the state with
nearly half of its oil needs. Posted.
http://www.calgaryherald.com/technology/Casting+stones+oilsands+from+California/3280089/story.html

CARBON EMISSIONS

Utilities, Signaling Support For Carbon Caps, Want 'Relief' On
Other Air Pollutants. Utilities are willing to accept Senate
plans to reduce carbon emissions from the nation's power plants,
but the industry needs concessions on other air pollutants to
avoid rate spikes, a chief negotiator with the industry's leading
trade group said yesterday. The assertion comes as the Edison
Electric Institute (EEI) is preparing to meet with Sen. John
Kerry (D-Mass.) today, its first high-level meeting in the Senate
since the chamber narrowed its climate aspirations to regulate
only the electricity sector. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/07/15/1

APT Selects FirstCarbon for GHG Reporting. Associated Packaging
Technologies (APT) announced it has selected FirstCarbon
Solutions to help it create an inventory of its carbon footprint
and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. According to the company,
FirstCarbon will help APT create an auditable GHG report, align
reporting to the standards of the Carbon Disclosure Project
(CDP), and help the manufacturer reduce emissions across its
supply chain. Posted.
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2010/07/15/apt-selects-firstcarbon-for-ghg-report/

VEHICLE(S)

Volt Battery To Get GM's Longest Warranty. General Motors Co.
will guarantee the battery for its Chevrolet Volt electric car
longer than for any other vehicle, the company announced
yesterday. The eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty is three years
longer than those given to conventional engine and powertrains.
The coverage is the longest for any electric vehicle, according
to GM officials. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2010/07/15/9
http://www.detnews.com/article/20100714/AUTO01/7140399/1148/Volt-battery-will-get-GM-s-longest-lasting-warranty#ixzz0tgl9IBH8
http://www.dailytech.com/GM+Brags+About+Volts+100000+Mile+8Year+Battery+Warranty/article19044.htm
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-07-14/gm-plans-to-offer-8-year-warranty-on-chevrolet-volt-s-battery.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/15/business/15auto.html?src=busln

Stimulus Funds Build U.S. Battery Industry. The White House
yesterday credited the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
with seeding a domestic electric-vehicle industry that could one
day build 40 percent of the world's automotive batteries.
Nevertheless, industry observers said, financial independence for
the fledgling sector remains years away. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/07/15/2

Manufacturers Must Help Recycle Used Batteries. More than 500
million batteries are sold each year in California. Those battery
sales mean big profits for battery manufacturers and big disposal
costs to taxpayers and consumers - in essence, we have privatized
the profit and socialized the costs. It is estimated that more
than 90 percent of alkaline batteries are illegally disposed of
in landfills - roughly 30 million pounds a year of batteries
containing zinc, steel and other nonrenewable metals. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/15/EDMJ1EDRR9.DTL&type=printable

ENERGY

Bay Area Cities Lead The State In New Solar Energy
Installations. Richmond ranks No. 1 among large Northern
California cities for installing the most watts per capita of new
solar energy in 2009, according to a new study. Residents and
businesses installed about 34.7 watts per capita last year. The
city was the only one in Contra Costa County to win first place
from the Northern California Solar Energy Association, which gave
out awards Wednesday. Richmond also placed second for the total
watts installed. Lafayette nabbed the No. 3 spot among small
cities for the total number of systems installed. Posted.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_15516770?source=rss

Solar Wells Displacing Windmills On Western Range. The pump
installer toppled the old windmill in about an hour, first
climbing up the wobbly 27-foot tower to stop the broken mill's
whirling blade and then pulling the underground pipe to make way
for a new solar-powered electric pump. Iconic mechanical
windmills of metal and wood have pumped life into American
ranches and farms for 150 years, their function withstanding
rural electrification in remote locations beyond the reach of
power lines. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/07/14/national/a002038D43.DTL&type=printable

Scaled-Back Energy Bill Takes On Power Plants. Washington -
President Obama and Senate Democrats have decided to press ahead
in the next two weeks with a scaled-back energy bill that limits
carbon pollution by power plants but not by other industries in
an effort to salvage the legislation before midterm elections.
Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/15/MNSP1EEJ2B.DTL&type=printable

Lawmakers Ask Salazar To Create New Office For Offshore Wind. A
bipartisan coalition of lawmakers called for the creation of a
new Interior Department office dedicated to reviewing offshore
renewable energy projects yesterday. As the Interior Department
works to overhaul the former Minerals Management Service, such
projects could face significant delays, four senators and five
members of Congress wrote in a letter to Interior Secretary Ken
Salazar. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/07/15/4

Senate Democrats to Pursue a Smaller Energy Bill. Washington -
President Obama and Senate Democrats have decided to press ahead
in the next two weeks with a scaled-back energy bill that limits
carbon pollution by power plants but not by other industries in
an effort to salvage the legislation before midterm elections.
After months of gridlock, the White House and Democratic leaders
have concluded that the sweeping measure they once envisioned
cannot pass, so they will try to get what they can rather than
pass nothing at all. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/15/us/politics/15energy.html?_r=2&ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=print

Alt-Power Projects Outpace New Fossil-Fuel Efforts – Report.
United Nations - For the second year in a row more alternative
energy power capacity was added to electricity grids in Europe
and the United States than power from coal, natural gas or
nuclear reactors, according to a report released today. That
trend will be seen worldwide by the end of this year or next,
with China leading the way in alternative energy projects, a U.N.
agency and a Paris-based public policy organization say. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/07/15/14

Hydrogen Startup Heads To Atlanta. Already the home of solar,
wind, nuclear and biomass companies, Atlanta has boosted its
growing profile as a renewable energy mecca yet again with the
addition of another clean energy -- hydrogen. HydroPhi Technology
Inc., a startup hydrogen energy company, announced that it will
establish its headquarters, research and development center and
factory in the city, eventually creating 300 jobs. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/07/15/12

AIR POLLUTION

Mixed Report on Local Air Quality. In eco-concerned California,
the Bay Area can claim at least one environmental bragging right:
better air quality. But locals may have their geography to thank
as much as fewer vehicle emissions. The Bay Area recently scored
better in air quality than Southern California and the Central
Valley by two measures—ozone and particle pollution—according to
the American Lung Association. Posted.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704075604575357613754478720.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_News_SanFranciscoBayArea68_4#printMode

MISCELLANEOUS

EPA Oks Kettleman Landfill, Targets 2nd Cleanup. Waste
Management can keep accepting hazardous wastes at its Kettleman
Hills landfill, now that an area where cancer-causing PCBs were
found has been cleaned up, the federal Environmental Protection
Agency has told the company. But Waste Management is not
completely off the hook yet. An EPA official, in a letter that
the company made public Wednesday, said the landfill must now
find the source of other PCBs that the company found and clean
them up. Posted.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/07/15/v-print/2006845/epa-oks-kettleman-landfill-orders.html

BLOGS

New York City Revs Up for Plug-Ins. New York City has just
unveiled the first of about 100 electric vehicle charging
stations to be installed under a national program that aims to
have nine metropolitan regions ready when automakers begin
rolling out some electric vehicles later this year. Jason Post A
new charger for plug-in cars. The public car-charging station, at
an Edison Properties parking facility on Ninth Avenue between
35th and 36th Streets in Manhattan, is part of ChargePoint
America, a federally sponsored program that promotes the quick
adoption of electric cars to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and
create jobs. Posted.
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/15/new-york-revs-up-for-plug-ins/?pagemode=print