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California Air Resources Board News Clips for August 9, 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.

AB 32/ PROP 23

Laird, Blakeslee Disagree Over Prop. 23 In Debate In Arroyo
Grande. Arroyo GRANDE - The two leading candidates for state
Senate agreed during a Friday night debate in Arroyo Grande that
global warming is real, but disagreed on what to do about it.
Republican Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee and former Assemblyman John
Laird, a Democrat, disagreed on whether voters should repeal
Proposition 23 on the November ballot. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_15697535

Valero Adds $3M To Oppose Calif. Climate Law. Sacramento, Calif.
A Texas-based oil company has added another $3 million to the
ballot campaign seeking to suspend California's landmark global
warming law. Valero Services Inc. made the contribution Friday,
according to the secretary of state's campaign finance website.
Proposition 23 on the November ballot seeks to delay regulations
that are aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions until
California's unemployment rate, now at 12.3 percent, falls to 5.5
percent and stays there for a year. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_15699075
http://www.modbee.com/2010/08/06/1284017/valero-adds-3m-to-oppose-calif.html#ixzz0w7rybLIB
      
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/aug/06/valero-adds-3m-to-oppose-calif-climate-law/

CLIMATE CHANGE/GHG’S

Air Board To Release Proposed Greenhouse Gas Targets. Sacramento
- Communities in Inland Southern California would need to expand
public transit, curb sprawl and take other steps to meet
greenhouse gas reduction targets soon to emerge from state
air-quality regulators. The proposed targets, to be released as
early as Monday, will be a major step in the implementation of SB
375, a 2008 bill that aims to reduce emissions linked to global
warming by influencing local governments' land-use and
transportation policies. Posted.
http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_News_Local_D_landuse08.2d43e84.html

White House Still Hopes To Pass Bill This Year --The White House
is "deeply disappointed" that Congress hasn't passed climate
legislation but won't give up on getting it done this year,
President Obama's top climate and energy adviser said yesterday.
Carol Browner said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that the
administration is still holding out hope for a legislative
victory on climate and energy, despite the political challenges
of passing a controversial bill through the Senate after the
chamber returns from its August recess." Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/08/09/1

Editorial: More Evidence Of Global Warming. What's most
discouraging about the politicized debate over climate change is
seeing the distrust of science sharply rise. The climate change
denial caucus is so vocal that even as new evidence reinforces
the conclusion that human activity is warming the planet, people
refuse to see it. Scientists must keep reporting the data as it
is collected, though, so this month the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration released its State of the Climate
report. Posted.
http://www.enterprisenews.com/news/news_columnists/x1028351467/Editorial-More-evidence-of-global-warming

On Leadership: Carbon and climate change: Why are we behind? The
United States suffers from a severe case of what my Thunderbird
colleague Gregory Unruh termed years ago "carbon lock-in." Carbon
lock-in refers to the self-perpetuating inertia created by
interlocking institutional forces and cultural norms that inhibit
efforts to develop alternative energy systems. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/06/AR2010080606029.html

Dimmer view of Earth. When Stanford climate scientist Christopher
Field looks at visual feeds from a satellite monitoring
deforestation in the Amazon basin, he sees images streaked with
white lines devoid of data. The satellite, Landsat 7, is broken.
Posted.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_15689267

UN panel: New Taxes Needed For A Climate Fund. Bonn,
Germany—Carbon taxes, add-ons to international air fares and a
levy on cross-border money movements are among ways being
considered by a panel of the world's leading economists to raise
a staggering $100 billion a year to fight climate change. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/environment/ci_15683210

Climate Talks Appear To Slip Backward. Bonn, Germany—Global
climate talks appeared to have slipped backward after five days
of negotiations in Bonn, with rich and poor countries exchanging
charges of reneging on agreements they made last year to contain
greenhouse gases. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/environment/ci_15693765

Relentless Heat Wave Roasts Russia. While the mid-Atlantic has
suffered through a sultry summer so far, conditions have not been
nearly as extreme as in parts of Europe, particularly Russia. The
Russian heat wave of July and August, along with related drought
conditions and wildfires, have garnered international headlines
in recent weeks, and will surely be studied by climate scientists
and public health experts for years to come, both for its
intensity and duration. Posted.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitalweathergang/2010/08/relentless_heat_wave_roasts_ru.html
http://www.examiner.com/x-10722-Austin-Science-Policy-Examiner~y2010m8d9-Record-heat-waves-and-floods-could-become-the-norm

ENERGY/GREEN ENERGY

Jerry Brown Emphasizes Green Energy In Jobs Plan. The Democrat
says investment in renewable energy should create 500,000 new
jobs in the state in the next 10 years. He would consider tax
breaks to encourage creation of manufacturing jobs. Democratic
gubernatorial nominee Jerry Brown quietly unveiled a jobs plan
Sunday that calls for creating green-energy jobs, investing in
the state's infrastructure and education, increasing
manufacturing jobs and improving job-training programs. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-brown-jobs-20100809,0,3647153,print.story
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/09/2945626/brown-adds-details-to-clean-energy.html
http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/08/08/v-print/2034493/capitol-alert-brown-beefs-up-jobs.html

L.A. Tops in Calif. Clean-Tech Companies. Los Angeles County has
the most clean-tech companies in the state, with Orange, Santa
Clara, San Diego, Alameda and San Francisco counties following
it, according to a report released Thursday by the nonprofit
Environmental Defense Fund. According to the report, which
includes an online mapping tool, the green economy reaches every
major metropolitan area in the state. Posted.
http://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/stories/2010/08/02/daily29.html

Fairfax Enacts Ban On Smartmeter Installation. Fairfax -- The
Fairfax Town Council unanimously approved the first reading of an
ordinance banning the installation of remote-controlled utility
meters within the town's borders Wednesday, despite a last-minute
promise by PG&E that it would stop installing its trademarked
SmartMeters in Fairfax. Posted.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_15684293

AIR QUALITY

Obama Acts As Clean-Tech Venture Capitalist. Racks of lime-green
batteries awaited inspection on the factory floor when the
well-connected investor swept through Smith Electric Vehicles in
Kansas City, Mo., last month. A week later he broke ground on an
advanced vehicle battery plant in Holland, Mich., the ninth
battery facility his money has helped jump-start in the last
year. Meet the country's venture capitalist-in-chief, President
Obama. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/09/BUGN1EQ09H.DTL&type=printable

Clean-Air Grants Should Help Farmers Curb Burning. On July 28th
in Sacramento, State Senator Dean Florez (D-Shafter) convened a
hearing to review rulings by the governing board of the San
Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD) and the
California Air Resources Board to continue to allow the open
field burning of agricultural waste products in the San Joaquin
Valley. Posted.
http://www.thebusinessjournal.com/commentary/28-commentary/5844-clean-air-grants-should-help-farmers-curb-burning

Smog Over Moscow Worsens As Wildfires Rage. Moscow—A suffocating
smog from wildfires hung over the Russian capital Saturday,
raising the concentration of dangerous pollutants to a new high
as exasperated residents donned masks and dozens of flights were
delayed or diverted at the city's airports. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/nation-world/ci_15703526?nclick_check=1
http://www.contracostatimes.com/nation-world/ci_15716495

Fresno State Balloon Tracks Dairies' Acrid Gases. An orange
balloon floated 50 feet above California State University,
Fresno's small dairy herd last week, helping in the unsavory task
of gathering air samples from a plume of pungent gases. Posted.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/08/05/2031238/fresno-state-balloon-tracks-dairies.html
http://www.modbee.com/2010/08/06/1284375/fresno-state-studies-valley-dairy.html#ixzz0w7pWLz64

VEHICLES

Car Rental Companies To Offer Electric Nissan Leafs. Beginning as
early as January, electric cars will be available at the nation's
two largest auto rental companies. Enterprise Rent-A-Car, North
America's largest car rental firm, unveiled plans last week to
offer about 500 Nissan Leaf all-electric cars, initially at
dealerships in Los Angeles, San Diego, Portland and Seattle.
Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-travel-briefcase-20100809,0,698051,print.story

$5 Million to Go Towards Electric Car Charging Plan. Electronic
car owners in the Bay Area may soon have easier access to
charging stations as the Bay Area Air Quality Management District
approved $5 million in funding last week to go toward developing
a regional electric vehicle charging infrastructure program.
Posted.
http://sfappeal.com/alley/2010/08/5-million-to-go-towards-electric-car-charging-plan.php

It's Not Just The Weather That Attracts Start-Up Manufacturers Of
Alternative-Fuel Vehicles To California. The state's Zero
Emission Vehicle program has created a marketplace for credits
earned by selling electric and other low-emission vehicles. That
means a potential source of income for small electric-vehicle
makers that earn the credits but don't need them. Indeed, part of
the business plan of some small companies trying to break into
the electric-car business involves selling credits to larger
manufacturers. Posted.
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-20012374-48.html

BLOGS

Diesel vs. Gasoline Pollution- Diesel Making Improvements. Engine
technology has come a long way in just the past few decades.
Perceptions have changed- well some of them- as people begin to
branch out and try newer cars powered by new engines and the
technology in them. Posted.
http://blog.gasbuddy.com/posts/Diesel-vs-gasoline-pollution-diesel-making-improvements/1715-416825-364.aspx