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newsclips -- Newsclips for December 7, 2010.
Posted: 07 Dec 2010 12:38:15
California Air Resources Board News Clips for December 7, 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 Emissions Rules: Challenging for Local Interests. The Environmental Protection Agency's stringent new emission and performance standards are presenting a challenge to the nation's cement plants, including Lehigh Cement Co. in Tehachapi and CalPortland in Mojave. The EPA final rule, published Sept. 9, 2010 in the Federal Register, requires Portland cement facilities to meet lower emission standards for mercury, total hydrocarbons, hydrochloric acid and particulate matter. Posted. http://www.tehachapinews.com/content/emissions-rules-challenging-local-interests/32744 EPA Seeks To Delay Controversial Boiler Rules. In the face of heavy criticism from industry groups and members of Congress, U.S. EPA is asking to go back to the drawing board with a set of regulations that would limit toxic air pollution from industrial boilers. The final regulations are due next month, but EPA today asked a federal judge to push back the deadline by more than a year so the agency can issue a new proposal and take more comments. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/12/07/1 CLIMATE CHANGE China and U.S. Narrow Gap in Climate Talks. Cancûn, Mexico — The United States and China have significantly narrowed their differences on the verification of reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, officials say, providing hope that a United Nations conference here on climate change here can achieve some modest success. The verification issue, which cuts deeply on matters of national sovereignty and international trust, was a major factor in the torpedoing of last year’s climate negotiations in Copenhagen. But in the intervening year, China has significantly softened its position and the United States has moderated its insistence on the issue. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/08/science/earth/08climate.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=print http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20101206-716423.html Britain Aims for Radical Power Market Reform in Push for Low-Carbon Energy. London -- The U.K. power market is about to face the most radical reform in decades as it becomes increasingly clear that progress toward decarbonizing its energy system in the face of climate change is moving at a snail's pace when it really needs to move like the wind, experts say. While the Obama administration struggles in Washington to find a way to convince Congress to set targets for more low-carbon power, politicians in London are peering at the next question: Once you do that, how do you phase in the changes and keep the lights burning at the same time? Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/12/07/07climatewire-britain-aims-for-radical-power-market-reform-30071.html?pagewanted=print Supreme Court Set To Review CO2 Suits. Washington—The Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide whether eight states and other plaintiffs can proceed with lawsuits that seek to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions by utilities. The lawsuit is part of a push by some states for "greenhouse gas" regulations that go further than efforts by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The agency started to develop greenhouse-gas standards after the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in 2007 that the EPA has the authority to regulate greenhouse gases. Posted. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704156304576003323338816658.html http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/07/science/earth/07emissions.html?partner=rss&emc=rss Compromise Spirit at Climate Talks In Last Days. It may not last, but a spirit of compromise seems to have settled over the annual U.N. climate conference as negotiators enter its final days looking for agreements on secondary tools for coping with global warming. The open sniping between the U.S. and China that marked periodic talks earlier this year was not in evidence Monday as the second week of the two-week meeting got under way. Posted. http://www.modbee.com/2010/12/07/1460818/compromise-spirit-at-climate-talks.html#ixzz17Rhp0dgr DOE's Chu Eschews Talk of Emission Curbs, Focuses on Science During U.N. Climate Meeting. During a brief appearance at the U.N. climate discussions today, Energy Secretary Steven Chu sounded more like a visiting professor than a senior administration official from a world power. The Nobel physicist treated a packed conference room at the 16th Conference of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change to a lecture on why the ratios of two different kinds of atmospheric carbon dioxide indicate that human activities, not natural processes, are responsible for rising global temperatures. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/12/06/06greenwire-does-chu-eschews-talk-of-emission-curbs-focuse-30412.html Air Regulators Weigh Penalties For 'False Statements'. California air regulators are considering a rule that would seek to ban "false statements" or fake statistics during a regulatory proceeding, despite criticism from some in the state who view the idea as subjective and unenforceable. The California Air Resources Board floated the rule recently only to set it aside temporarily following a minor outcry and public confusion as to its intent. A spokesman yesterday said the agency plans to resume work on a draft next year with a public workshop. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/2010/12/07/27 Branson's Carbon War Room Puts New Focus On Shipping Emissions. Sir Richard Branson's Carbon War Room has opened a new front in the battle against carbon emissions. International shipping, which is not covered by the Kyoto Protocol, accounts for about 2.7 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. And, without new policies, emissions from the shipping industry will increase by 150 to 250 percent compared with 2007 figures, according to a study released last year by the U.N.'s International Maritime Organization (IMO). Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/12/07/6 Can RED Hot California Heat Up A Sedated Cancun? In his concession speech after the 2010 mid-term elections, President Obama said that prospects for meaningful US climate change legislation are doubtful for years. With the US and the international community unable to take even modest steps to combat global warming, the State of California has stepped up in a big, big way. Despite record unemployment rates, deficits and unemployment, California voters trounced a measure that would have suspended AB 32, California's landmark climate change law. Posted. http://news.mongabay.com/2010/1207-niles_california_forests_cop16.html California Awards to Recognize Small Businesses for 'Climate Leadership'. The California Air Resources Board is accepting nominations through Jan. 24 for its CoolCalifornia Small Business Awards, which will recognize small businesses from across the state that demonstrate climate leadership. The awards will honor California businesses with fewer than 100 employees that reduced their greenhouse gas emissions, promoted climate-friendly practices and integrated the use of information from the website CoolCalifornia.org into their business operations in 2010. Posted. http://solarhbj.com/news/california-awards-to-recognize-small-businesses-for-climate-leadership-01181 Facing Its Own Potential Losses From Climate Change, Mexico Pushes Emissions Targets. Cancun, Mexico -- Clumps of black, straw-like seaweed dot the beach at Boca Paila on the Yucatan Peninsula. Gnats swarm the deposits. Clumps of grass add to the difficulty of sunbathing in comfort. Marie Claire Paiz loves it. "At one point, Cancun was like this," Paiz, a Guatemalan biologist who directs the Nature Conservancy's Southern Mexico program said, her arms spread wide. Where tourists see nuisance, Paiz and local scientists see unspoiled nature doing its job. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/12/07/2 Environmental Groups Try To Sell Climate Action As A National Security Measure. United Nations -- Having failed to win over Republicans through a sense of urgency, groups say they will now try to convince lawmakers to pay for action against climate change by selling it as a national security imperative. In a report issued on the sides of ongoing climate negotiations in Cancun, Mexico, proponents are arguing that the United States can and should take a leadership role in global efforts, regardless of what large developing nations do. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/12/07/3 Supreme Court Will Hear Challenge To States' Power To Restrict Greenhouse Gases. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed yesterday to hear a high-stakes case examining if states can hold individual power plants accountable for their greenhouse gas emissions. The high court's decision will have no bearing on federal climate regulations set to go into effect next month. But the converse may not be true, some court watchers say. Plaintiffs in American Electric Power v. Connecticut seek to force individual utilities to cap and then rein in their greenhouse gas emissions under federal "public nuisance" common law. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/12/07/4 N.M. Passes Backstop Cap-And-Trade Plan. New Mexico environmental regulators cemented their commitment to curbing greenhouse gases yesterday with a plan to cap in-state emissions even if the rest of the Western region balks. The state Environmental Improvement Board voted 4-1 to approve a petition from the environmental group New Energy Economy (NEE) that would establish an in-state emissions cap starting in 2012. The board amended the plan to start in 2013, but kept the baseline emissions level at 2010. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/12/07/5 Investing in the Resilience of Poor People on the Frontlines of Climate Change. If we've learned anything from this summer's destructive floods in Pakistan, unrelenting drought in the African Sahel, or the killer heat wave in Russia, is that we better get ready. Because the "future" of climate change is already here. While scientists cannot conclude that any of this summer's dramatic whether events are definitively caused by climate change, they are consistent with scientific predictions of global warming and a sign of what's to come. We need to take action quickly to prevent the worst case scenarios, but we must also invest in the resiliency of those communities already affected by our changing climate. Posted. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-adams/investing-in-the-resilien_b_792426.html?view=print DIESEL EMISSIONS Truckers Say L.A.'S 'Green' Port Costs Them Money. The dispute over who should pay for leasing and maintaining 'clean' rigs could go to the Supreme Court. Alex Mejia said he often sleeps in his truck, grabbing some fitful rest before a new dawn breaks and he is once again hauling cargo at the Port of Los Angeles. The routine marks another working day that, he says, could last 18 hours, much of it spent waiting — for a job order, a load, an operational trailer chassis — before getting back on the road. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-port-truckers-20101207,0,2645612.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fnews%2Flocal+%28L.A.+Times+-+California+|+Local+News%29&utm_content=Google+Reader GREEN ENERGY Altamont Wind Energy Company To Pay $2.5 Million And Replace Turbines To Reduce Raptor Deaths. The largest wind energy producer in the Altamont Pass area of eastern Alameda and Contra Costa counties has agreed to replace 2,400 wind turbines within four years and pay $2.5 million in a legal settlement to reduce deaths of eagles, hawks and other raptors hacked by turbine blades. The settlement between NextEra Energy Resources, the state, and several environmental groups was announced Monday by the state Attorney General Jerry Brown. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_16790686?source=rss E-Waste Goes Overseas As Recyclers Comply With California Ban. Five years after California launched an ambitious effort to control pollution from electronic waste, much of the waste is flowing to developing nations, where it is picked apart by workers exposed to a high-tech cocktail of contamination. Reporting from Sacramento — In the soft morning light, the silver-gray mountain of electronic trash did not look especially hazardous. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ewaste-20101206,0,4526320.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fbusiness+%28L.A.+Times+-+Business%29&utm_content=Google+Reader Schwarzenegger Receives EPA Climate Change Champion Award. Recognizing his groundbreaking work in green energy and clean-technology, and his efforts to fight global climate change, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has honored Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger with EPA’s Climate Change Champion Award. “Because of Gov. Schwarzenegger’s leadership, the world looks to California as an example of climate change policies that make sense,” Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest, said in a news release. Posted. http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2010/12/06/schwarzenegger-wins-epa-climate-change.html Wood Waste Power Catches On In Tree-Covered East Texas. Wind may be more robust in West Texas, but energy companies in the eastern half of the state are banking on another plentiful source of renewable energy: trees. Planners are increasingly looking at biomass plants that run on pine tree waste as an option to meet the state's high power demands. Aspen Power will open the state's first wood waste plant, a $128 million venture in Lufkin, in the spring. Another biomass plant is being planned by Southern Co. just 45 miles away, and two more were approved for permits by state air pollution regulators. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/12/07/7 VEHICLES Toyota Adopts Tesla’s Laptop Battery Strategy for Electric Cars. Toyota Motor Corp., Daimler AG and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG are turning to laptops for a cheaper way to power their electric cars -- and their sales. Automakers are testing packs of lithium-ion batteries assembled by Silicon Valley startup Tesla Motors Inc. costing less than bigger, car-only batteries favored by General Motors Co., Nissan Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. A pack of 6,831 cylinder-shaped cells made by Panasonic Corp. powers Tesla’s $109,000 Roadster sports car for up to 245 miles per charge. Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2010-12-07/toyota-adopts-tesla-s-laptop-battery-strategy-for-electric-cars.html MISCELLANEOUS Bomb House Suspect Pleads Not Guilty In Federal Court. San Diego — The North County man accused of manufacturing explosives in his home near Escondido pleaded not guilty Monday during his first federal court appearance and was ordered held in custody without bail. George Djura Jakubec, 54, appeared alert as he answered basic questions from U.S. Magistrate Judge Ruben Brooks about his identity and whether he understood what was happening. Posted. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/dec/06/bomb-house-defendant-pleads-not-guilty/ High-Speed Rail Agency Urged To Rethink Planning. California's nascent high-speed rail program "needs a thorough reassessment" of how it is being planned and managed, a peer review group has concluded. The eight-person group, created after voters approved the $10 billion high-speed rail bond measure in 2008, includes experts in high-speed rail, transportation, finance and planning. It is headed by former Caltrans Director Will Kempton, now executive director of the Orange County Transportation Authority. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/06/BAJ61GMN0B.DTL#ixzz17RnMBAjo OPINION The Myth of the Jolly Green Giant Exposed. Political leaders, NGO representatives and the corporate media have incessantly greenwashed the deplorable environmental legacy of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in a series of photo opportunities, press releases, news conferences and awards ceremonies over the past several months. This disgusting campaign by the Governor and his collaborators to portray Schwarzenegger as the "Jolly Green Giant" is bound to get even worse as Schwarzenegger prepares to leave office. On December 2, Schwarzenegger accepted an award from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) Region 9 Administrator Jared Blumenfeld for his "environmental leadership." Posted. http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=8731 Congress Should Let the EPA Do Its Job. The following editorial appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Sunday, Dec. 5: Forty years ago last week, a Republican president created the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Today, buoyed by last month's electoral tidal wave, Republicans seem poised to undermine some of the most important initiatives that agency ever has undertaken. Posted. http://www.modbee.com/2010/12/07/1460960/congress-should-let-the-epa-do.html#ixzz17RgQAzVo BLOGS Ford Begins Shipping Electric Vans. Ford Motor Co. says it began shipping electric-powered versions of its Ford Transit Connect vans to certain customers in North America. The company is also delivering the vans to the United Kingdom for a demonstration project. The car maker earlier this year said it was working with partner Azure Dynamics to convert the vans, which are normally powered by gasoline or diesel engines, to electric power. Posted. http://blogs.wsj.com/drivers-seat/2010/12/07/ford-begins-shipping-electric-vans/ Santa Susana Nuclear Facility To Be Cleaned Up By 2017, Agencies Agree. State and federal agencies agreed Monday to clean up a former nuclear research facility in eastern Ventura County by 2017. For decades, community activists and the state Environmental Protection Agency have urged officials to clean up the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, a 2,850-acre facility once used to test and develop rocket engines and nuclear reactors. In 1959, a reactor at the facility suffered a partial nuclear meltdown, and some area residents have since complained of health problems. Posted. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/12/agencies-agree-to-clean-up-former-nuclear-research-facility.html Boxer Won't Pursue Comprehensive Climate Bill Without Votes. Sen. Barbara Boxer will not attempt passage of controversial legislation meant to curb global warming in the next Congress, unless the political landscape shifts in her favor, the California Democrat said Monday. "We do not have the votes for a comprehensive climate bill," said Boxer, who serves as chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. "We would bring it back on dime as soon as we see a change." The so-called "cap and trade" proposal involves new limits or caps on greenhouse gas emissions from energy-refiniries or power plants. Posted. http://blogs.pe.com/politics/2010/12/boxer-wont-pursue-comprehensiv.html California Auto Insurance Goes Green. California motorists who spend little time on the road could pay significantly lower insurance premiums with new "pay-as-you-drive" auto policies starting in February. To be offered first by California insurance giants State Farm Mutual and the Automobile Club of Southern California, the new policies are designed to reward drivers who drive less. Other insurers are expected to follow. Under current law, drivers are only required to provide insurers with estimates of their projected mileage. This creates an inaccurate system that may not reward those who are truly driving less. Posted. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/12/california-auto-insurance-low-mileage.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GreenspaceEnvironmentBlog+%28Greenspace%29 How The Gas Tax Is Under Threat From Green Vehicles. Can Governments Afford To Incentivise Electric Cars? Live in the right part of California and work for the right company and you might be able to buy the new Nissan Leaf for as little as $12,500, as Autoblog has reported, due to the raft of incentives that are available for buyers of the little battery car and other high-mileage, low-emission products. In recent years, lawmakers have been racing to come up with incentives designed to encourage motorists to migrate to clean, efficient vehicles. Posted. http://www.autoblog.com/2010/12/06/how-the-gas-tax-is-under-threat-from-green-vehicles/#continued