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California Air Resources Board News Clips for September 1, 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.

CLIMATE CHANGE/GHG’S

Global Warming Will Increase Migration, Report Says. A new report
says global warming will increase illegal migration across the
U.S.-Mexico border. Climate change in Latin America will
exacerbate the political instability, economic problems and
social tensions that already impel so many to make the dangerous
and illegal journey to the United States, according to the report
by the American Security Project, a bipartisan nonprofit research
group focused on national security issues. Posted.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/sep/1/global-warming-will-increase-migration-report-says/

OPINION: Global Warming. In his Aug. 16 letter, "Kill AB32," Ken
Hambrick gave his opinion why Proposition 23 should be supported.
His letter attacks Mark Altgelt, a person who has written a
number of letters about his concern about global warming.
Hambrick suggests two websites to visit that support his opinion.
Why two sites, when one can go to Google and do a search on
global warming? Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/opinion/ci_15952227

AB 32

L.A. Mayor, Latino Activists Take On Oil Companies Over
Proposition 23. They say the ballot initiative to suspend the
state's climate change law would hurt low-income communities
already suffering the most from pollution. Mayor Antonio
Villaraigosa on Tuesday rebuked Valero Energy Corp. and Tesoro
Corp., which operate refineries in Wilmington, for bankrolling a
measure that would effectively scuttle the state's efforts to
curb greenhouse gas emissions. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-climate-change-prop23-20100901,0,7306791,print.story

City Council Unanimously Opposes Prop. 23. The Sacramento City
Council has unanimously opposed a November ballot measure that
would short-circuit the state’s global warming law. Council
members decided Tuesday to formally oppose Proposition 23, which
would halt AB 32, a law that aims to scale back greenhouse gas
emissions in California. Prop. 23 is officially known as the
“California Jobs Initiative.” Its supporters argue that AB 32
rules harm businesses. Texas oil companies Valero and Tesoro have
contributed large sums to Prop. 23. Posted.
http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/35914/City_Council_unanimously_opposes_Prop_23

CAP AND TRADE

NMED Hears Opposition To Cap And Trade Petition. Carlsbad — Words
such as "utmost foolishness," "an abomination," "greed,"
"stupidity," "nonsense" and "grossly unfair," were fired at
representatives from the New Mexico Environment Department who
were in Carlsbad Tuesday to gather comments on the department's
cap and trade petition and cap-only petition. Posted.
http://www.currentargus.com/ci_15956681

ENERGY/GREEN ENERGY

Poultry Waste To Power California Egg Farm. Olivera Egg Ranch in
French Camp will construct an anaerobic manure digester that will
create methane gas, which will be used in a 1.4-megawatt fuel
cell to generate electricity. An egg farm just south of Stockton
is planning to use methane gas from more than 1 million pounds of
poultry waste a week to help power its operations, reducing both
its electricity bills and waste disposal costs. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-poultry-power-20100901,0,4972910,print.story

Pair of Upcoming Projects Will Test Energy Efficiency Using
Stockton Home. Energy wizards are coming to Stockton, where
they'll retrofit hundreds of homes and create working
laboratories to conduct experiments and unravel the mysteries of
efficiency. The California Energy Commission awarded $3 million
earlier this month to researchers pursuing two separate but
related projects. Posted.
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100830/A_NEWS/8300319/-1/a_news14

Report: High-Speed Train Good for Economy, Environment.
Scientists say a California high-speed rail system will not only
get you from San Francisco to Los Angeles in less than three
hours, but will create thousands of jobs and eliminate millions
of pounds of carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere. At
least that’s what they're saying in a new report released by the
Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Irvine. Posted.
http://californiawatch.org/watchblog/report-high-speed-train-good-for-economy-environment-4401

AIR POLLUTION

State: Fine Particles Kill 9,200 A Year. Fine particle pollution
causes 9,200 premature deaths every year in California, the state
Air Resources Board says -- a finding that the agency believes
bolsters its push to reduce diesel emissions. The agency's
report, released Tuesday and based on a recent assessment by the
EPA, found that premature deaths from fine particulate matter --
bits from diesel exhaust and other sources far smaller than the
width of a human hair -- could range as low as 7,300 a year to as
high as 11,000. Posted.
http://www.ocregister.com/news/air-264539-fine-diesel.html
http://www.inlandnewstoday.com/story.php?s=15811
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=16177

Clean Air Isn't Really Free. San Joaquin County may be the
northernmost county in the San Joaquin Valley and enjoy its best
air quality, but that doesn't mean county residents are going to
escape penalties for poor Valley air. Penalties of $29 million
will be levied by the San Joaquin Valley Pollution Control
District because air pollution spiked last week, the result of
blistering summer temperatures combined with tailpipe and
smokestack emissions. Posted.
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100901/A_OPINION01/9010317/-1/A_OPINION
           
http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/article/20100901/OPINION/9010311

Heat Waves Are Bad For (Even The Healthiest) Lungs. Listen to the
Story. It's been the hottest summer on record in many cities on
the East Coast. And with that blistering weather has come a lot
of days of unhealthy air. On Wednesday, at least 75 areas from
San Francisco to Portland, Maine, are warning their residents
about high air pollution. In the Washington, D.C., metropolitan
area, local officials sent out more air pollution warnings this
year than they had since 2002 — three Code Red, 26 Code Orange
and more predicted on the way. Posted.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128408621

Modesto Irrigation District Rejects Plant. Concerns about cost
persuaded the Modesto Irrigation District to reject a plan for an
$80 million plant that would turn orchard wood into electricity.
Only two of the five directors supported a proposed biomass plant
in the Beard Industrial District that mainly would burn wood
chips from nut and fruit trees. More than 50 people filled the
boardroom, many of them claiming that the plant would pollute the
air and the power would cost MID ratepayers too much. Posted.
http://www.modbee.com/2010/08/31/1318725/modesto-irrigation-district-rejects.html#ixzz0yIHfgtYI

Concerns Arise Over Sudden Changes to Calif. Chemical Review
Panel. Sacramento, Ca - Five of the nine members on a panel that
reviews chemicals and makes recommendations to the state have
been dismissed. Those that have been hoping to see turnover on
the panel, say it's a matter of putting in fresh eyes, while
others feel the sudden changes are a result of pressure from
industrial interests and will harm the panel's credibility and
effectiveness. Posted. http://www.greenbiz.com/print/38153

DIESEL EMISSIONS

ARB Concedes Error In Off-Road Truck Rule, Plans To Revise
Regulation. The California Air Resources Board acknowledged
something Tuesday that critics have been saying for months: the
state vastly over-estimated the amount of diesel pollution
emitted by big off-road construction vehicles. The error
contained in an ARB computer model and compounded by a recession
that idled far more trucks than expected, means…Posted.
http://www.healthycal.org/arb-concedes-error-in-off-road-truck-rule-plans-to-revise-regulation.html/print/

California Slump Results In Lower Construction Emissions.
California's sluggish economy has led to a sharp drop in
greenhouse gas emissions from the state's struggling building
industry, prompting regulators to consider a two-year delay in
implementing pollution control rules for heavy construction
equipment. Officials at the California Air Resources Board said
Tuesday that their own studies have found that the number of
bulldozers, front loaders and other heavy equipment has declined
by about 25 percent with the recent construction downturn.
Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/09/01/v-print/2996833/california-slump-results-in-lower.html

OPINION: Grading Cars' Fuel Economy Without A Curve. Is it just
me, or is there something irritatingly nanny-state-ish about the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's proposal to give letter
grades to vehicles based on their fuel efficiency? It's one of
two competing ideas for updating the window sticker that new cars
and trucks must display on sales lots, starting with the 2012
models that arrive next year. The other proposal is just a more
detailed version of the current edition.  Posted.
http://opinion.latimes.com/opinionla/2010/08/grading-cars-fuel-economy-without-a-curve.html

GAS NOZZLES

Gas Pump Nozzle Glitch Prompts Calfire Mandate. More than a dozen
complaints statewide of gas pump nozzles spraying gas
unexpectedly have prompted a mandate from CalFire to disable
automatic latches on a certain brand of nozzles. Browns Valley
Chevron on First Street in Napa is one gas station where a
customer complained of an incident, CalFire said. The agency has
ordered gas stations using the Vapor System Technologies brand
nozzle to remove the latches that hold the nozzles open by   
Oct. 15, officials said. Those who refuse risk being shut down.
Posted.
http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/article_38b14dde-b585-11df-b20f-001cc4c03286.html?print=1

CARBON 

Carbon Trading Lurches off Course. In July 2007, the Australian
Climate Exchange, known as the A.C.X., introduced the first
electronic trading system for greenhouse gas emissions in
Australia. Voluntary Emission Reductions, or VERs, generated by
abatement projects verified by the government-sponsored
Australian Greenhouse Office, had been introduced a few months
earlier and initial business on the exchange was brisk. It set up
a registry for Australian VER certificates and soon was also
trading similar instruments from overseas. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/02/business/energy-environment/02iht-rentrade.html?src=busln

VEHICLES

Bill to Increase State Payments to Californians Who Retire
High-Polluting Vehicles Sent To Governor. Legislation by
Assemblyman Jerry Hill to increase the amount of money low-income
Californians receive to retire smog-belching vehicles – from
$1,000 to $1,500 – was approved last week by the Assembly and
sent to the governor. Assembly Bill 787 would be paid for by
reducing the amount the state provides to Californians to fix
vehicles that fail a smog check. Posted.
http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/view/181263

New Research Center to Develop Energy Efficient Trucks Opens In
Pasadena. A state-funded research center that will work to
develop energy efficient trucks broke ground Tuesday in Pasadena,
with the goal of making vehicles 50 percent more efficient within
the next decade, officials said. With a $3 million grant from the
California Energy Commission, the new California Hybrid,
Efficient and Advanced Truck Research Center (CalHEAT) will
conduct research into new truck technologies that can reduce
carbon emissions and use less gasoline - and make such
technologies financially attractive to manufacturers. Posted.
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_15954719#ixzz0yIHypW2u

Autos: Fuel Economy Stickers Could Include Letter Grades on
Eco-Impact. Will your new car get an A in fuel efficiency? A
government proposal may add letter grades to showroom window
stickers on new cars and trucks to reflect a vehicle's overall
fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions.  The Transportation
Department and Environmental Protection Agency said Monday they
were considering two options to upgrade the energy and
environmental information that will adorn labels on new vehicles
in car dealership showrooms, beginning with the 2012 model year.
Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/editorials/ci_15942378?nclick_check=1 
                
http://www.modbee.com/2010/08/30/1315945/updated-car-stickers-to-include.html
                                                
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2010/09/01/dealers_worry_car_grades_could_drive_sales_down/

Cleaner Cars, A to D. The Obama administration has proposed new
stickers for cars and light trucks that will make it easier to
see whether you are buying a fuel-efficient one or a guzzler, and
how much it contributes to global warming. The stickers are a
symbol of how far this country has come in providing a wider
range of environmentally responsible choices to help ensure
cleaner air and a healthier planet. The present labels, created
three decades ago, display fuel economy estimates for city and
highway driving. The administration is offering two possible
variants, the winner to be chosen after a public comment period.
Both would include the traditional miles-per-gallon metric plus
an estimate of the vehicle’s greenhouse gas emissions, expressed
in terms of grams per mile, as well as an estimate of annual fuel
costs. One would assign a letter grade for fuel economy and
greenhouse gas emissions, ranging from A+ to D. The other would
not, but both systems would provide enough information for
consumers to make sound choices. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/01/opinion/01wed3.html?_r=3&ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=print

Commentary: Are You Smoke Testing Your Diesel Pickup? If you are
based in California, own two or more diesel vehicles that you
drive on the road that are the 2007 model year or older and are
6,001 pounds gross vehicle weight rating or greater, these
vehicles need an annual smoke emission inspection. While
long-haul truck operators have heard of the Periodic Smoke
Inspection Program that has been in place for the past 18 years,
it is news for most farmers and ranchers. Posted.
http://www.cfbf.com/agalert/AgAlertStory.cfm?ID=1600&ck=9E984C108157CEA74C894B5CF34EFC44

FUELS

Editorial: Ethanol Scheme Wrong On Many Levels. An ethanol
manufacturing company that filed bankruptcy last year is ready to
reopen two plants as soon as California's energy commission comes
across with millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies. This is
wrong in so many ways. Let's count a few: •The struggling
corn-ethanol business was founded by a political ally of – and
who also has been a large campaign contributor to – Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger. The governor denies special treatment, as did a
company spokesman, according to the Los Angeles Times, which
reported the story Monday. Posted.
http://www.ocregister.com/common/printer/view.php?db=ocregister&id=264537

LANDFILLS

Palo Alto And Los Altos Hills Find That Less Waste Leads To
Higher Rates. For many people today, recycling habits are
ingrained. An aluminum soda can, a plastic water bottle, a piece
of paper -- it feels wrong to throw them into a trash can. And
few would disagree those habits are good, that disposing less
waste and conserving more are laudable goals. But even recycling
efforts have a downside. Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_15958293?source=rss&nclick_check=1

MISCELLANEOUS

Scientist's Firing After 36 Years Fuels 'PC' Debate at UCLA. A
longtime professor at UCLA, told that he would not be rehired
because his "research is not aligned with the academic mission"
of his department, says he's being fired after 36 years at the
prestigious school because his scientific beliefs are
"politically incorrect." But UCLA says Dr. James Enstrom's
politics have nothing to do with its decision. Enstrom, an
epidemiologist at UCLA's School of Public Health, has a history
of running against the grain. Posted.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/08/31/pc-professors-firing-fueling-exhaustive-debate/
http://www.bakersfield.com/news/local/x49332727/LOIS-HENRY-UCLA-letting-researcher-stay-for-now

BLOGS

California Legislature Passes Energy Storage Bill. The California
Legislature has passed the nation’s first energy storage bill,
which could result in the state’s utilities being required to
bank a portion of the electricity they generate. Assembly Bill
2514 now heads to the desk of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has
made climate change and green technology his political legacy as
his final term winds down. Posted.
http://theenergycollective.com/toddwoody/42696/california-legislature-passes-energy-storage-bill

California Senate Tells Motorcyclists To Pipe Down. Motorcyclists
who swap their bikes' stock exhaust systems for so-called loud
pipes may be more likely to get a traffic ticket under a
California bill that passed the Senate on Monday. SB 435, also
known as the Motorcycle Anti-Tampering Act, gives law enforcement
officials the ability to cite noise pollution violations under
the California Vehicle Code, reinforcing a 27-year-old federal
regulation that is rarely enforced. Posted.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/08/motorcycle-noise.html

Fresh Air for Sale, in Hong Kong. Hong Kong — ‘‘Do your feeble
breathing skills let you down? Does standing up tire you out?’’
The answer: Buy a breath or two of ‘‘Fresh Air’’ — the
‘‘revolutionary new product’’ that lets you experience breathing
‘‘like the rest of the world does.’’ It comes in a baby-blue
canister complete with breathing mask, and in a variety of
‘‘flavors,’’ including vanilla and beach. And it can be yours for
only 2 Hong Kong dollars, or about 25 cents.
Posted.http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/fdcp/?1283365513234 

How Bad Are The Next Few Years Going To Suck? The hot question in
green circles these days is, "what next?" For the last decade,
strategy has been built around getting a federal climate bill
that would place a cap on carbon emissions. That attempt was
supposed to culminate in success this year, but it didn't, so ...
what next? There will be much to say along those lines in coming
months. I hope to share words of inspiration and uplift, to stir
minds with insight and hearts with passion. Posted.
http://www.grist.org/article/2010-09-01-how-bad-are-the-next-few-years-going-to-suck/PALL/print

California Fails To Pass 33 Percent Renewable Standard, But
Arnold May Intervene. At midnight, one of the most ambitious
plans for renewable energy turned into a pumpkin. Debate was
still going on when midnight rolled around. The California
Legislature last night failed to pass SB 722, a bill that would
have required California public utilities to obtain 33 percent of
their power from "new renewables," i.e., solar, wind, geothermal,
and biomass, but not large-scale hydroelectric dams. Posted.
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/print/california-fails-to-pass-33-percent-renewable-standard-but-arnold-may-inter/