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California Air Resources Board News Clips for February 2, 2011. 


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

House GOP Readies Bill To Restrict EPA's Regulation Of Carbon
Emissions. Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) is expected to unveil draft
legislation Wednesday that would prevent the Environmental
Protection Agency from regulating carbon emissions under the
Clean Air Act. Upton, the new chairman of the House Committee on
Energy and Commerce, aims to prevent the Obama administration
from using the Clean Air Act as "a regulatory vehicle to impose a
cap-and-trade energy tax," according to a committee aide. Sen.
James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Senate Committee
on Environment and Public Works, is expected to announce similar
draft legislation in the Senate. Posted. 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/02/AR2011020203720.html
http://www.modbee.com/2011/02/01/1538089/ap-sources-house-gop-readies-restrictions.html

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/feb/02/ap-sources-house-gop-readies-restrictions-on-epa/

http://www.nctimes.com/news/national/article_2458cd2d-ac5f-5098-8c3e-770fbe449fca.html
http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/02/01/2256092/ap-sources-house-gop-readies-restrictions.html#storylink=misearch
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/02/AR2011020200615.html

Long-Delayed Projects Get Exemption From New Air, Climate Rules.
The Obama administration will spare a stalled power plant project
in California from the newest federal limits on greenhouse gases
and conventional air pollution, U.S. EPA says in a new court
filing that marks a policy shift in the face of industry groups
and Republicans accusing the agency of holding up construction of
large industrial facilities. Posted. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2011/02/02/1

CLIMATE CHANGE

California Court Clouds Cap-And-Trade Outlook. * Alternatives to
cap-and-trade not well analyzed-court * Tentative ruling could
face objections, then appeals * California cap-and-trade plan due
to start in 2012. SAN FRANCISCO - A San Francisco judge has
tentatively ruled that California did not adequately consider
alternatives to creating a carbon market, a decision which clouds
the premier U.S. climate change program's outlook. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/02/environment-california-idINN0129249720110202

District Hailed For Adopting Environmental Curriculum. John Muir
Elementary - Students in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School
District could soon be getting an extra dose of environmental
awareness in their science, history and social studies courses,
thanks to a $50,000 grant from the Sempra Energy Foundation and a
new curriculum developed by the California Environmental
Protection Agency. Posted.
http://www.smdp.com/Articles-c-2011-02-01-71237.113116-District-hailed-for-adopting-environmental-curriculum.html

Obama Admin. Threatens Climate Veto. The Obama administration
Wednesday repeated its threat to veto legislation that would curb
its ability to regulate greenhouse gases. Environmental
Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson said that the White
House continues to oppose any efforts from Capitol Hill to
hamstring her agency on climate change. “What has been said from
the White House is that the president’s advisors would advise him
to veto any legislation that passed that would take away EPA’s
greenhouse gas authority,” Jackson told reporters on Capitol
Hill. Posted.
http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=7E7DACDF-F8BE-4694-AC71-84B1437627B7

Award-Winning Scientists Ask Congress To Take A 'Fresh Look' At
Climate Change. Scientists are urging Congress to take a "fresh
look" at climate change, asking lawmakers to trust mainstream
climate research and give lesser weight to the claims of
skeptics. "Some view climate change as a futuristic abstraction.
Others are unsure about the science, or uncertain about the
policy responses," reads a Jan. 28 letter from 18 prominent
researchers to members of the House and Senate. "We want to
assure you that the science is strong and that there is nothing
abstract about the risks facing our nation.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/02/02/3

Transparency International Plans Overview Of Carbon Trading
Abuses. New York -- The Berlin-based anti-corruption group
Transparency International is preparing a global assessment of
carbon trading and climate finance in an effort to point
regulators' attention to the high risk of abuse of the carbon
markets. But that initiative will not take a look at specific
cases of bribery, kickbacks or other schemes involving the Clean
Development Mechanism (CDM), officials clarified in response to a
recent E&E report. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/02/02/7

Report Offers 'Affordable Ways' To Reduce Beef Industry's GHGs.
Improving the diet of cattle and storing carbon in pasture soils
can reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the beef industry,
according to a report released today by the nonprofit Union of
Concerned Scientists. "There is a range of affordable ways beef
producers, especially those who raise beef on pasture, can
significantly reduce their impact by cutting emissions and
capturing more carbon in soil," said Doug Gurian-Sherman, the
group's senior scientist and the report's author. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2011/02/02/7

GREEN ENERGY

San Diego Links With Utility, University To Speed Smart Grid. San
Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders announced yesterday that he would
partner with General Electric Co., the University of California
and local utility San Diego Gas & Electric to create a "holistic"
electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. San Diego Gas &
Electric; GE; the University of California, San Diego; and the
nonprofit business group CleanTECH San Diego -- a consortium of
local government officials, lawyers, professors, bankers and
executives from energy companies -- …Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/02/02/6

Chamber, Renewable Groups Clash Over Ability To Meet Clean Energy
Goal. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce yesterday summarized how it
views President Obama's goal of doubling the country's clean
energy production in 25 years: "impossible." Hitting that target
would require a nearly eightfold increase in renewable power
generation, the business trade group said, a boom that can't
happen with the existing obstacles. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2011/02/02/4

VEHICLES

Growing An American Electric Car Industry, A Tale Of Two
Companies. The third of a four-part series. Click here for part
one and here for part two. Not long after the auto bailouts, the
financial crash and the election of President Obama, General
Motors Co. had a choice to make. It had designed an electric car,
the Chevrolet Volt, to prove it could build something besides gas
guzzlers. To make this car even close to affordable, it would
need a battery unlike any that had been made before. This battery
would have to overcome its own bulk to power the Volt for 40
miles. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/02/02/1

Consumer Qualms Could Hamper Obama's Electric Vehicle Goals.
President Obama's goal of having 1 million electric vehicles
deployed in the United States by 2015 may be too ambitious,
because manufacturers are hesitant to mass-produce the cars amid
uncertain consumer demand, a panel of auto industry executives
and analysts say in a new report. Although nearly every major car
company is planning to produce either a battery electric vehicle
or a plug-in hybrid, there may not be enough production volume to
meet the million-vehicle goal in four years, the experts warn.
Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2011/02/02/15

OPINION

Working Together, We Can Clean Our Air.  Can the San Joaquin
Valley Air Pollution Control District do more to get buy-in from
the people of Kern County and the Central Valley?  Does the
regional air-quality agency simply have an image problem? Or does
this come down to a public that's not willing to make the
necessary sacrifices to return the Central Valley's air to a
state of reasonable healthfulness?  Posted. 
http://www.bakersfield.com/opinion/editorials/x437101336/Working-together-we-can-clean-our-air


Air Index Questions.  In "Valley air gains worth touting?" the
graph shows the number of good and unhealthy days between 1999
and 2010. In the Jan. 29 article, Mark Grossi writes: "The index
includes air ratings -- healthy, moderate, unhealthy for people
with lung problems and unhealthy for everyone." While the numbers
seem encouraging, do these tell the whole story?  Posted. 
http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/02/02/2255981/air-index-questions.html#storylink=misearch


BLOGS

A Few Sighs of Relief Over Cuomo’s Budget.  Given the pressure
for deep cuts in hard economic times, New York environmental
groups seemed relieved that Governor Andrew Cuomo was more
surgeon than hatchet man in announcing his proposed budget on
Tuesday.  “Governor Cuomo has effectively targeted cuts to
inflict the least amount of pain while holding the line on vital
services like mass transit, the Environmental Protection Fund and
the Department of Environmental Conservation,” said Marcia
Bystryn, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters.
Posted. 
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/02/a-few-sighs-of-relief-over-cuomos-budget/?scp=2&sq=climate%20change&st=cse

Cooling Off The Heated Climate Change Rhetoric.  The scene: A
crowded room at the American Meteorological Society's 91st Annual
Meeting in Seattle last week, where the theme was "communicating
weather and climate." Climate scientists and weather experts from
the U.S. and around the world, along with a sizable contingent of
communications specialists from various media outlets, government
agencies and academic institutions, are listening to a
presentation by Kevin Trenberth, a climate researcher who heads
up the Climate Analysis Section at the National Center for
Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo.  Posted. 
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitalweathergang/2011/02/cooling_off_the_heated_climate.html


Survey Shows 58% Of Polled Companies Have No Emissions-Measuring
Plan. A recent survey of 143 energy and utility professionals
indicates 58% have no system to record carbon emissions. That's a
slight improvement from 61% who responded the same way during
2010, reports Enviance Inc., a software provider for management
of environmental, health, and safety compliance activities.
Posted.
http://www.ogj.com/index/blogs/health-safety-environment/blogs/OGJ/health-safety-environment-blog/post987_4014142441511916797.html