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California Air Resources Board News Clips for December 13, 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

Delays of EPA Rules Anger Environmentalists. Reporting from
Washington — A recent spate of decisions by the Obama
administration to delay crucial pollution regulations is helping
mend fences with an alienated business community but is angering
the president's allies in the environmental movement that helped
him to victory in 2008. Among the rules that the Environmental
Protection Agency has delayed implementing have been stronger
restrictions on air pollution and coal ash residue. Posted.
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/dec/11/business/la-fi-epa-20101211

Pollution Board Says Fee Working. Five years ago, air quality
cops began forcing San Joaquin Valley developers either to build
cleaner projects or to pay a fee to prevent pollution elsewhere.
It was an innovative and contentious rule, the subject of two
major lawsuits and more than 3,000 one-on-one meetings. And then
something happened: The construction industry collapsed. Building
plans were canceled. Some builders shifted their attention to
more pressing matters. Posted.
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101212/A_NEWS14/12120317

Court Upholds Valley Air District Rule. A federal appeals court
ruled this week that air quality regulators in the smog-laden San
Joaquin Valley have the right to charge home builders a fee to
control their pollution emissions. A three-judge panel of the
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld the
local air district's rule requiring developers to reduce
emissions from new housing projects by building features such as
bicycle lanes and energy-efficient cooling systems. If they don't
do enough to preserve air quality, they must pay fees that have
averaged about $500 per house. Posted.
http://www.modbee.com/2010/12/10/1467199/court-upholds-valley-air-district.html#ixzz180mHwv7m

China Delegation Visits County Air Pollution Control District.
Representatives from government agencies involved in
environmental protection in Hangzhou, China, located in
southeastern China, visited the Santa Barbara County Air
Pollution Control District December 9. The greater Hangzhou area
has a population of 8 million. The delegation is touring
California to learn about environmental programs, and visited the
District to hear about local air pollution control issues and
strategies. Posted.
http://www.independent.com/news/2010/dec/11/china-delegation-visits-county-air-pollution-contr/

CLIMATE CHANGE

Court Refuses to Delay EPA Restrictions on Emissions. A U.S.
appellate court has turned down a request from utilities, oil
refiners and the state of Texas to effectively delay the
regulation of greenhouse gas emissions by the Environmental
Protection Agency. As a result, EPA and state agencies can begin
to insist that companies use the "best available control
technologies" to restrict emissions of carbon dioxide to obtain
air permits. The companies and Texas had sought a court order
blocking the EPA from moving ahead until the resolution of a
lawsuit challenging the agency's finding that greenhouse gas
emissions from U.S. power plants and large industrial facilities
endanger the health of Americans. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/11/MN9O1GPFER.DTL#ixzz18192sYny

U.N. Climate Change Conference Adopts Broad Pact. The U.N.
climate change conference adopted a package of measures Saturday
focused on tempering the effects of a warming planet, breathing
new life into a process that many had declared moribund. Although
the steps taken here were fairly modest and do not mandate the
broad changes that scientists say are needed to prevent dangerous
climate change in coming decades, the result was a major step
forward for a process that has stumbled badly in recent years.
Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/11/MNAN1GPERO.DTL#ixzz1819mCwFT

A Near-Consensus Decision Keeps U.N. Climate Process Alive and
Moving Ahead. World leaders this weekend hailed an agreement on
climate change that commits all major economies to greenhouse gas
emission cuts and launches a fund to help vulnerable countries
while sidestepping political land mines like the future of the
Kyoto Protocol. The Cancun Agreements, as the two documents are
being dubbed, effectively put meat on the bones of the
12-paragraph Copenhagen Accord that world leaders crafted in
Denmark last year. The deal was finished by bleary-eyed diplomats
from 193 countries with the exception of Bolivia at 3:15 a.m.
Saturday amid a standing ovation. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/12/13/13climatewire-a-near-consensus-decision-keeps-un-climate-p-77618.html

Climate Deal Signals Forest Defense Investment Will `Pay Off,'
Lobby Says. The United Nations climate agreement may encourage
billions of dollars of private investment in protecting forests
by allowing for emissions savings to be more accurately measured,
according to the Tropical Forest Group lobby. A group of envoys
representing 193 nations agreed on a plan to protect forests,
known as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest
Degradation, or REDD. Rates of tree- felling, or deforestation,
will be measured and financing established for projects in
developing nations that use plants to soak up carbon dioxide, the
main greenhouse gas blamed for climate change. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-13/climate-deal-signals-forest-defense-will-pay-off-lobby-says.html

Analysis: Carbon Markets to Struggle after Cancun. Global carbon
markets will struggle after the deal reached at annual U.N.
climate talks did little to ensure mandatory emissions caps would
be extended next year. The modest deal forged after two weeks of
talks in Cancun commits rich countries, from 2020, to finance
$100 billion a year in climate aid for poor countries. It also
sets a target to limit the rise in average world temperatures to
less than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit). Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6BB15820101212

Analysis: Next Climate Test: How to Adapt. Climate negotiators
left this tourist city upbeat about a modest deal to control
global warming, but the world still faces daunting choices on how
to cope with rising seas, health woes and mass migration. Because
nations are unlikely to make deep cuts in greenhouse gas
emissions to prevent  climate change, world leaders must work out
how developing nations will adapt to more severe weather
predicted in coming years that will hit food and water supplies.
Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6BB1BQ20101212

EPA Wins Crucial Victory in Carbon Regulation Legal Fight. The US
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has secured a major victory
in the long-running legal battle challenging its right to
regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Late last week, the United
States Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
rejected a raft of cases brought by business groups arguing that
the EPA had overstepped its authority in introducing regulations
designed to curb carbon emissions. Critics of the rules, which
include utilities, oil refiners and the state of Texas, have
argued the regulations will damage the economy and maintain that
the EPA used flawed evidence to reach the landmark ruling that
allows it to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the existing
Clean Air Act. Posted.
http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/1932022/epa-wins-crucial-victory-carbon-regulation-legal-fight

VEHICLES

Electric Vehicles May Bring New Sticker Shock: Multiple Mileage
Ratings. According to the government, the car with the highest
mileage per gallon on the market doesn't use a single drop of
gasoline. The 2011 Nissan Leaf, which was scheduled to be
delivered to its first California customers this weekend, runs
entirely on battery. But the Environmental Protection Agency says
it can travel 99 miles on the equivalent of a single gallon of
fuel. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-ev-ratings-20101212,0,7410201.story

Clearing the Air on Electric Cars. Ever since electric cars began
commanding headlines a few years back, some have questioned
whether the vehicles are really better for the environment.
Typical arguments look more or less like this one posted by a
Facebook user in response to a CNNMoney.com story: "What is the
point of the plug-in when electricity has a carbon footprint
since it's generated mostly by coal?" Close to half of the
country's electricity does come from coal, so it's a reasonable
question. Posted.
http://money.cnn.com/2010/12/13/autos/electric_car_myths/ 

Olivier Chalouhi of Redwood City -- world's first buyer of
all-electric Nissan Leaf. Whooshing down Highway 101 toward his
home in Redwood City from San Francisco on Saturday afternoon,
Olivier Chalouhi was a happy man -- the world's first buyer of
the all-electric Nissan Leaf to take possession of his new car.
"It's great on the highway," said Chalouhi, the sound of wind,
but not the growl of a gasoline engine, audible in the background
as he spoke over the phone. "When you accelerate, it sounds like
you have a jet engine or a turbine under the hood," the excited
new owner said (using a hands-free device on the freeway, of
course). "You have to hear it -- it's very futuristic." Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_16837323

GREEN ENERGY

Renting a Really Green Christmas Tree. David Van Middlesworth no
longer has to worry about accidentally killing his Christmas
trees. The 56-year-old entrepreneur owns an electric car and
powers his Pacific Palisades home with solar panels. The idea of
cutting down a tree each year for Christmas and then discarding
it at the end of the season always grated on him. So one year, he
bought a tiny potted Monterey pine, hoping it would be his
family's holiday tree for years to come. But the little tree died
just a couple of months before the next Christmas. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-living-christmas-trees-20101211,0,1981112.story

Weighing Choices for Eco-Conscious Holidays. No one is suggesting
that we trade holiday joy for principled asceticism; even the
most committed environmentalist might fold at the smell of a
freshly cut Christmas tree. But when making holiday plans,
factoring in environment impacts along with budget, convenience
and personal preference may make your choices better informed, if
not always easier. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/10/HOV61GH775.DTL#ixzz181Ajpe5G

Mission Bay, Emeryville Projects Win $1.35M Grants. Two Bay Area
redevelopment projects have secured additional funding from the
state’s Catalyst Projects for California Sustainable Strategies
Pilot Program. The projects include TMG Partners' Emeryville
Marketplace, a redevelopment of an existing retail and office
complex in Emeryville, and San Francisco’s Mission Bay, a massive
redevelopment of 303 acres of industrial land into housing,
office and biotech space, that will each receive $1.35 million
for being designated gold level projects. Posted.
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2010/12/08/state-program-awards-grants-to-mission.html

Marin Energy to Allow Producers to Sell it Power. Marin Energy
Authority, the agency providing a renewable energy alternative to
PG&E’s current offerings through Marin Clean Energy, has created
a program that it hopes will help stimulate local renewable
energy assets. Starting Jan. 1, the Feed-In Tariff program will
allow local residents and property owners who have small-scale
renewable generation systems, like solar or wind, the opportunity
to sell the electrical output directly to Marin Clean Energy. It
will then sell it back to consumers. Posted.
http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/27838/marin-energy-to-allow-producers-to-sell-it-power/

Novato Landfill Plans Huge Energy Plant. The Redwood Landfill and
Recycling Center will build a power plant in 2011 designed to
generate seven megawatts of energy by recycling landfill gases
produced by waste decomposition into electricity. Groundbreaking
is anticipated by the end of the second quarter for the new
center to be located at 8950 Redwood Highway operated by Waste
Management Corp. Redwood Landfill’s management team is working
with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and the
California Air Resources Board to obtain the necessary air
quality permits for the facility, which could play an important
role in Marin’s future energy supply – and lead to less reliance
on foreign natural gas and fossil fuels. Posted.
http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/27830/novato-landfill-plans-huge-energy-plant/

City Adds 'Greener, More Efficient' Leaf-Sweeping Machines. The
city of Merced said it added the “Trackless Leaf Loader” to its
leaf-sweeping program this year. It is a greener, more efficient
machine that collects leaves, mulches them and shoots them into a
truck to get turned into compost. The new equipment does leave
behind more residue, but city streetsweepers follow behind to
clean up the remaining leaves, the city said in a news release.
The city had been using 21-year-old leaf sweepers that no longer
complied with air pollution control rules. 
Posted.http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2010/12/10/1688018/city-adds-greener-more-efficient.html#ixzz180rVhdlb

MISCELLANEOUS

Business Lobby Braces for New World under Gov. Jerry Brown. Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger's veto stamp killed the bill twice in the
last two years, and the business community cheered. But last
Monday it returned – a measure that would keep employers from
looking into consumer credit reports as part of their hiring
process. This time, much to the consternation of business
leaders, Assembly Bill 22 might become law.  "The general tenor
of this office is that this bill has a better shot with Jerry
Brown," said Haley Myers, legislative aide to the bill's author,
Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/12/12/3251489/business-lobby-braces-for-new.html

Silver Lining in Dark Economic Times: Recycling Rates Soar. For
the past three years, Mark Schwede has been coming to Ranch Town
Recycling in San Jose's Willow Glen neighborhood, dropping off
cans and bottles every couple of months to make a few extra
bucks. As the economy worsened, he began to notice a change.
"Before, it was mostly people with shopping carts," he said. "Now
you're seeing nicer cars here." The trend has taken off around
the state. As California's economy has worsened, the state's
recycling rates have soared, with more people than ever cashing
in beverage containers instead of throwing them in the trash or
leaving them at the curb. Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_16843798?nclick_check=1

OPINION

EDITORIAL: CARB Singing A New Diesel Emissions Tune. A leading
California policy-enforcement agency is backing away from strict
limits on diesel exhaust emissions, apparently in acknowledgment
of a prevailing argument that we can't have environmental
regulations and a functioning economy at the same time. The
California Air Resources Board, which holds that diesel exhaust
causes cancer, serious lung ailments and as many as 9,200 deaths
a year -- a disputed statistic -- has revealed a proposal to ease
restrictions on emissions from diesel-powered trucks, buses,
construction vehicles and other equipment. The goal, CARB says,
is to "extend relief to businesses, particularly the construction
industry, which is really suffering." Posted.
http://www.bakersfield.com/opinion/editorials/x259751605/EDITORIAL-CARB-singing-a-new-diesel-emissions-tune?utm_source=widget_21&utm_medium=latest_entries_widget&utm_campaign=synapse


Letter: OK, So 'Pollution' Was a Harsh Word. I have very much
appreciated the banter responding to my letter to the editor
about "air pollution from Sierra Nevada Brewery." I would like to
clarify a few points.  1) Apologies for the use of the word
"pollution." I looked the word up: "defile, taint, make impure."
In my mind's eyes/nose, the odor of the barley and hops is
impure.  However, I do concede there are worse odors. Posted.
http://www.chicoer.com/opinion/ci_16839135

BLOGS

California Voters’ Support for State Climate Change Law Rises.
Memo to Texas oil companies Tesoro and Valero: The return on your
investment in California environmental politics is falling faster
than the snow on the Sierra Nevada. The petroleum refiners
bankrolled Proposition 23, a measure on the November that would
have suspended AB 32, California’s landmark global warming law.
But they found themselves outspent and out-organized by a
coalition of venture capitalists, hedge fund managers, renewable
energy companies, environmental justice activists and some
high-profile Republicans like California Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger. Posted.
http://blogs.reuters.com/environment/2010/12/11/california-voters-support-for-state-climate-change-law-rises/

Fighting to Improve Mother's Air Quality. Tuesday I went to
Congress to meet with congressional staffers about protecting the
air we breathe. And I wasn't alone. A total of 284 national and
state medical society and public health groups and other clean
air advocates are calling on Congress to defend the Clean Air
Act. We want Congress to reject any measure that would block or
delay the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from doing
its job to protect all Americans from life-threatening air
pollution. Posted.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/heather-taylormiesle/fighting-to-improve-my-mo_b_795052.html

Tax Deal Kills 1603 Grants, Renewable Industry? Bernie Sanders
fans aren't the only people paying close attention to the tax
deal this week. Some renewable energy advocates say the deal
could wreak havoc on the industry - and one of the growing parts
of the state's economy. So what's their complaint? They're
worried about the future of the Treasury grant program known in
the industry as 1603 grants - cash money on the barrel for
projects, made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act. When the program began, the federal government offered only
a tax credit for energy projects. The grants came about because
few companies - in this economy, and at this point in the
evolution of energy interests - needed a credit. Posted.
http://www.scpr.org/blogs/environment/2010/12/13/1603-grants-tax-deal-so-whats-going-happen/