What's New List Serve Post Display

What's New List Serve Post Display

Below is the List Serve Post you selected to display.
newsclips -- Newsclips for November 17, 2010.

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 12:49:23
California Air Resources Board News Clips for November 17, 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.

AIR POLLUTION

Capitol Alert: Anti-Smog Campaign Has Paid Off, Report Says.
California's four-decade-long crackdown on smog-causing
automotive emissions has paid off in sharp reductions in air
pollution, a new report by the Environment California Research
and Policy Center concludes. Since 1980, the Los Angeles-based
center says, peak smog levels have dropped by 70 percent in the
Los Angeles area, 50 per cent in the San Diego area and in the
Sacramento Valley, 40 percent in the San Francisco Bay Area, and
33 percent in the San Joaquin Valley. Posted.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/11/16/2161906/capitol-alert-anti-smog-campaign.html#ixzz15YgGyeit

Report: Vehicle Air Pollution Down 85% Since 1975. Air pollution
from cars and trucks in Los Angeles and across California has
dropped more than 85 percent since 1975 due to clean-air
policies, according to a report issued today. "Clean Cars in
California: Four Decades of Progress in the Unfinished Battle to
Clean Up Our Air" by Environment California Research & Policy
Center documents how emissions policies have helped reduce smog
in Los Angeles, San Diego and elsewhere. Since 1980, peak smog
levels have dropped by 70 percent in the Los Angeles area and 50
percent in the San Diego area, according to the study. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_16629216

Alviso Receives Clean Bill Of Health From EPA. A quarter century
after declaring the entire community of Alviso a Superfund site
because of asbestos contamination, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency is finally giving the sleepy neighborhood on
San Jose's northern edges a clean bill of health. The conclusion,
which follows extensive air and soil testing by crews clad in
white safety suits, represents a key step in removing Alviso from
the list of America's most notorious toxic waste sites, erasing
what some residents see as an unfair blemish to its reputation.
"The word 'Superfund' is derogatory. Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/politics-government/ci_16630592?source=rss&nclick_check=1

Texas Coal-Plant Emissions Fouling Neighboring States -- Sierra
Club. Coal plants in Texas contribute to bad air quality in
neighboring states for dozens of days each year, according to a
report by the Sierra Club. The report says Texas is responsible
for 64 days with harmful levels of smog in Oklahoma, 20 days in
Arkansas, and 16 in Louisiana. There are 30 coal-fired power
plants either proposed or in operation in Texas. The Oklahoma
attorney general had expressed concern in May over air pollution
in his state from Texas plants in a letter to U.S. EPA. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/11/17/11

CLIMATE CHANGE

Clean-Tech Advocates Hail Schwarzenegger's Legacy. When Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the landmark Global Warming
Solutions Act of 2006, there were 30 clean-tech companies in the
Sacramento region. Today, there are more than 100 such companies
in the area employing thousands of workers. With weeks remaining
in Schwarzenegger's administration, the fledgling green economy
in Sacramento and the rest of California owes a debt to
Schwarzenegger's stewardship of the state's climate-change law
and his administration's policies, clean-tech advocates say.
Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/11/17/v-print/3191160/governor-leaves-legacy-of-energy.html

Report: India Faces Major Climate Changes By 2030. New Delhi -- A
new report says India could be 2 degrees Celsius (3.8 F) warmer
than 1970s levels within 20 years - a change that would disrupt
rain cycles and wreak havoc on the country's agriculture and
freshwater supplies, experts said Wednesday. More flooding, more
drought and a spreading of malaria would occur, as the disease
migrates northward into Kashmir and the Himalayas, according to
the report by 220 Indian scientists and 120 research
institutions. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/11/17/v-print/3191497/report-india-faces-major-climate.html
http://www.contracostatimes.com/environment/ci_16635169

Prominent Investors Call For Action On Warming. Washington -- A
group of international investors responsible for more than $15
trillion in assets called Tuesday for the world's nations,
particularly the United States, to move decisively to combat
climate change or face economic disruptions worse than the global
recession of the last two years. The statement, signed by 259
asset managers and asset owners whose holdings account for
one-quarter of global capitalization, was aimed at world leaders
who will meet in two weeks in Cancun, Mexico, for a United
Nations conference on climate change. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/11/16/v-print/3190753/prominent-investors-call-for-action.html

International Investors Issue Global Warming Warning. A group
responsible for more than $15 trillion in assets calls on nations
to combat climate change or face severe economic disruptions. A
group of international investors responsible for more than $15
trillion in assets called Tuesday for the world's nations,
particularly the United States, to move decisively to combat
climate change or face economic disruptions worse than the global
recession of the last two years. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-climate-financiers-20101117,0,569310,print.story

Schwarzenegger Helps Launch Climate Nonprofit. Davis, Calif. --
Nearly two dozen local government leaders from Africa, Asia,
Europe and the Americas have started their own coalition to
harness private investment in their fight against global warming.
The nonprofit organization, called R20, was launched Tuesday at
the conclusion of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's third and final
climate summit in California. Schwarzenegger says local
governments are taking action because "we can't afford to wait
for national and international movement." Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/11/16/v-print/3190789/schwarzenegger-helps-launch-climate.html
http://www.latimes.com/business/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-us-climate-summit-california,0,6037694,print.story

Schwarzenegger, Regional Leaders Unite to Fight Climate Change.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and about 100 regional
leaders from around the world formed an alliance aimed at
fighting climate change and shifting to a global green economy.
The group, called R20, includes Schwarzenegger, a Republican,
Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle, a Democrat, and local officials
from countries including Mexico, Canada, South Korea and Japan,
according to an e-mailed release from Schwarzenegger's office
yesterday. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/11/17/bloomberg1376-LC05MY1A74E901-6D5KEDVM9UFA05LD18UF8VJJF7.DTL&type=printable

Schwarzenegger Launches New Climate-Change Group. The
international organization of states and provinces intends to
move ahead on the issue despite the failure to achieve a global
climate pact in Copenhagen last year. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
on Tuesday launched an international organization to tackle
climate change with leaders from regional governments in Europe,
South America, Africa, Asia and the United States. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/la-me-climate-schwarzenegger-20101117,0,2352602,print.story

U.A.E., Australia, U.S. Are Worst CO2 Polluters, Maplecroft Says.
The United Arab Emirates, Australia and the U.S. are the worst
carbon polluters, where businesses are most in danger of facing
pressure to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the U.K. risk analysts
Maplecroft said. The U.A.E. dropped 15 places from the previous
year to take over from Australia as the worst-performing nation,
Bath, U.K.- based Maplecroft said today in an e-mailed statement.
Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/11/17/bloomberg1376-LBZGYM1A1I4G01-39F7BOHDC9COAUE9OM21BDG711.DTL&type=printable

EPA Tells States Coastal Waters Acidic From Carbon Dioxide Should
Be Listed As 'Impaired'. Seattle - States with coastal water that
is becoming more acidic because of carbon dioxide should list
them as impaired under the Clean Water Act, the U.S.
Environmental Agency said. The federal agency's memo Monday to
states recognizes carbon dioxide as not only an air pollutant but
a water pollutant, and notes the serious impacts that ocean
acidification can have on aquatic life. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-epa-acid-oceans,0,1593978,print.story

Governor Signs Climate Change Memorandum with Brazil, Mexico.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a Memorandum of
Understanding with Governor Arnobio Marques de Almeida, Jr. from
Brazil and Governor Juan Jose Sabines Guerrero from Mexico
Tuesday. The memorandum's intent was to combat climate change and
protect tropical forests. The memorandum is focused on reducing
greenhouse gas emission from deforestation and land degradation
(known as REDD) through improved forest management practices.
Posted.
http://www.news10.net/news/green/story.aspx?storyid=106478&catid=62

Barclays, NRG Energy Reach First Cap-and-Trade Deal Under
California Law. NRG Energy Inc., the largest U.S. independent
power producer, and Barclays Plc have completed the first deal
for carbon-dioxide permits under California’s planned
cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gases. Under terms of the
trade, to be announced today, permits or carbon allowances will
be delivered in December 2012, said Kedin Kilgore, head of U.S.
emissions trading for London-based Barclays. The state’s
cap-and-trade program begins in 2012 for utilities and
manufacturers and in 2015 for cars and trucks. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2010-11-17/nrg-energy-barclays-make-first-california-cap-and-trade-deal.html

UC Berkeley Study Finds Dire Warnings On Global Warming May. Dire
messages about global warming could backfire and actually
increase skepticism about climate change among the general
public, according to a new study by a University of California at
Berkeley social psychologist. The study, which will be published
in the January issue of the journal Psychological Science, says
warnings about the potentially devastating consequences of global
warming "threaten people's fundamental tendency to see the world
as safe, stable and fair." Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/environment/ci_16632504?nclick_check=1

Tahoe Will Lose Much Of Its Snow In Coming Decades, UC Davis
Study Says. Davis -- Children learning to ski at Lake Tahoe this
winter will find far less opportunity to enjoy their new sport at
middle age. In their 40s, they may also see a lake that has
switched from crystal blue to murky green. These are among the
findings in the most comprehensive study to date of climate
change effects at Lake Tahoe. It was released Monday by a group
of researchers from University of California-Davis and the U.S.
Geological Survey. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/environment/ci_16633893
http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/11/17/17climatewire-new-report-predicts-severe-climate-impacts-o-75307.html

Court Consolidates 2 Challenges To Emission Regulations. A
federal appeals court considering various challenges to U.S.
EPA's greenhouse gas regulations said yesterday it would
consolidate cases involving two of the four regulations under
attack. In doing so, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District
of Columbia acceded to a request from EPA that two of the four
regulations under scrutiny should be dealt with together. But the
court held off from deciding whether the same three-judge panel
would consider all the cases, which the industry groups
challenging the regulations would prefer. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/11/17/7

DIESEL EMISSIONS

Diesel, Cleaner, Is Set to Make a Comeback. WHEN Kenneth Ray
Earley, a sophomore at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, went
looking to replace the gas-guzzling, 1998 Chevy Silverado he’d
inherited from his family, fuel efficiency, he said, was top of
mind. He looked at Honda’s Civic and Fit models, as well as a
Chevy Cobalt and the Toyota Prius hybrid. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/17/business/energy-environment/17DIESEL.html?src=busln

GREEN ENERGY

U.K.'s 'Untouched' Market Relies Too Much on Gas, Huhne Says.
Britain's electricity market, "left untouched" by government
regulations, would rely too much on gas and neglect other fuels
needed to limit emissions and price volatility, the minister in
charge of energy said today. The U.K. government said it will set
out steps later this year, such as guaranteeing electricity
capacity, establishing a minimum cost of emitting carbon-dioxide
and obliging energy suppliers to source low-carbon power such as
wind and nuclear, to help attract investment. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/11/17/bloomberg1376-LC0XV90D9L3501-2G8C63SVQDLGB4LRE5R4LAUQT1.DTL&type=printable

18 Finalists Compete In The Cleantech Open Business Competition.
Since its founding five years ago, the Cleantech Open has become
cleantech's most influential business competition. EcoFactor, a
Redwood City startup that makes "smart" thermostats, won the
Grand Prize in 2009 and went on to raise $5.9 million in venture
capital. This year, 300 teams from five regions across the
country entered the competition with hopes of winning the
$250,000 Grand Prize. The field was narrowed to 81 semifinalists,
then 18 finalists, including six from California. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/environment/ci_16629233

Treasure Island Undergoes Major Clean-Up. Treasure Island in San
Francisco Bay was for years a military base, but city officials
hope to turn it into an emerging new neighborhood. Before that
happens, a major clean-up must take place. A gleaming, green
neighborhood with stunning views of the city and the bay -- that
is what city planners hope the future Treasure Island will look
like. The plan for the more than 400-acre island also includes
8,000 homes, a business district, farms and open space. Posted.
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/assignment_7&id=7792989

VEHICLES

Electric Cars Are Charging Into The Marketplace. With the
Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf available by year's end, shoppers
will for the first time be faced with choices that include
whether they want a gas-powered car. Stalled for nearly a
century, electric cars are about to move into the fast lane when
the first of a new generation of vehicles reaches dealer
showrooms next month. Every major automaker plans some sort of
electric or plug-in hybrid offering over the next several years,
a wave of competing technologies reminiscent of the beginning of
the automobile age. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-autos-electric-cars-20101117,0,7912784,print.story

Volt Enters Production, Earns 'Car Of The Year' Honors. The first
completed Chevrolet Volt was finished Nov. 9 at General Motors'
Detroit-Hamtramck plant. Teri Quigley, plant manager at
Detroit-Hamtramck, said GM started building the Volts earlier
this month, but declined to say how many were finished. Besides
the first, which went to a Chevrolet dealer outside of Los
Angeles, another for a dealer in Austin has been confirmed as
completed. The automaker has not shipped any cars from the plant,
but they are expected to reach customers in early December.
Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/11/17/14

Pacific Coast Leaders Ink Pacts On High-Speed Rail, Electric
Cars. Davis, Calif. -- Pacific Coast leaders on both sides of the
Canada-U.S. border signed agreements yesterday aimed at fostering
cooperation on transportation infrastructure. California Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D),
British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell and a representative of
Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire (D) agreed to work together on
developing a high-speed rail system and a charging network for
electric vehicles. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/11/17/25

MISCELLANEOUS

Brown Likely To Retain Most Of Schwarzenegger's Administration.
As the gov.-elect's transition effort got underway Tuesday, aides
said he isn't looking to restaff every department in the state.
Budget director and Air Resources Board chair are named as likely
carryovers. Throughout his campaign for governor, Jerry Brown
suggested that the administration of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
had fallen short, going so far as to ridicule Schwarzenegger in
campaign advertisements and repeatedly assert that the movie star
was in over his head in Sacramento. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-1117-brown-20101117,0,7060626,print.story

EPA to Caltrans: Clean Up Your Act! The federal environmental
regulator slapped the state transit agency over polluted runoff
into storm drains. Caltrans has to stop letting nasty chemicals
from local maintenance yards and construction sites leak into
rivers and streams, the federal Environmental Protection Agency
announced today. The order comes after the EPA snooped around
Caltrans facilities and road construction sites in Northern
California and found that the state agency in charge of roads,
bridges and the like isn’t following regulations on storm-water
runoff. Posted.
http://www.baycitizen.org/environment/story/epa-caltrans-clean-your-act/print/

OPINION

Dan Walters: California Bets Big On Green Future. When
California's economy plunged into recession a few years ago, most
economists believed it would be a relatively short-lived
downturn. That was then; this is now. The consensus now is that
while the state's economy may have hit bottom and begun to
rebound ever so slightly, it will be several years, at least,
before payrolls return to pre-recession levels. California lost a
mind-boggling 1.4 million jobs as recession bit, driving its
unemployment rate above 12 percent, one of the nation's highest.
Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/11/17/v-print/3190994/dan-walters-california-bets-big.html
http://www.modbee.com/2010/11/17/1432535/dan-walters-california-bets-big.html#ixzz15Yu8hJcO

How to Live With Climate Change. One of the scarier predictions
about global warming is the suggestion that melting glaciers and
ice caps could cause sea levels to rise as much as 15 to 20 feet
over the next century. Set aside the fact that the best research
we have - from the United Nations climate panel - says that
global sea levels are not likely to rise more than about 20
inches by 2100. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/16/AR2010111606123.html

Editorial: Arnold Still Hot For Global Warming. Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger, oblivious to the adverse effects of his efforts
to date, held another pep rally this week for the crusade against
the presumed threat of global warming. The "Governors' Global
Climate Summit 3" at UC Davis attracted 1,500 attendees from
about "80 states, provinces and countries" to pump life back into
an anti-global warming campaign that's steadily lost momentum
following a series of scientific, economic and political
setbacks. Posted.
http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/global-276254-warming-climate.html

BLOGS

Arnold's Climate Summit: A Final Hot-Air Fest? It was Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger's third and final "Climate Summit," but the annual
gabfest went out with more of a whimper than a bang. For three
years, the governor has used his star power to attract other
"sub-national" leaders of international provinces and states to
California, each time ending his conferences with a flurry of
"memorandums of agreement"  to cooperate to combat climate
change. Posted.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/11/schwarzenegger-climate-summit-r20.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GreenspaceEnvironmentBlog+%28Greenspace%29

California Cars 99% Cleaner Than In 1960s, But Smog Levels Still
High, Study Says. Automotive emissions standards in California
have resulted in cars that are 99% cleaner than they were 50
years ago, according to a new report. Vehicle-related air
pollution in the state is down 85% since 1975. Peak smog levels
are down. But the Golden State still houses the top 10 most
polluted counties in the country, Environment California Research
& Policy Center said Tuesday in a new study. State officials
should update emissions regulations, according to the report.
Posted.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/11/california-cars-99-cleaner-than-in-1960s-but-smog-levels-still-high-study-says.html

Exploring California's Proposed Climate Change Rules and the
Defeat of Prop 23. Today marks the final day of Gov.
Schwarzenegger's Global Climate Summit at UC Davis. (Watch it
live here.) Gretchen Weber reports on KQED's Climate Watch blog: 
...more than 80 regional and local governments have come together
for two days to try to figure out ways to reduce emissions and
put the brakes on climate change. The idea is that since last
year’s UN climate summit in Copenhagen failed to produce a
binding… Posted.
http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/2010/11/16/exploring-californias-proposed-climate-change-rules-and-the-defeat-of-prop-32/

Cap-and-Trade Exchange Calls It Quits. The only national carbon
cap-and-trade exchange in the United States is shutting down
because of Congressional inaction on limiting emissions, company
officials say. The Chicago Climate Exchange is a voluntary but
legally binding greenhouse gas emissions allowance trading system
modeled after a federal cap-and-trade program from the 1980s that
successfully curbed emissions tied to acid rain. Posted.
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/17/climate-futures-exchange-calls-it-quits/?partner=rss&emc=rss

ARB What's New

preload