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California Air Resources Board News Clips for March 7, 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

Airlines to Be Second-Biggest Sector in EU CO2-Trading System.
Airlines will be the second-largest sector in the European
Union’s emissions-trading system, after power generators, when
aviation joins next year with a carbon- dioxide limit of 213
million metric tons. The industry-wide cap on airlines aimed at
fighting global warming will fall to 208.5 million tons of CO2 a
year in 2013 under the decision today by the European Commission,
the EU’s regulatory arm in Brussels. The inclusion of aviation in
the cap-and-trade system may push up fares. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2011-03-07/airline-co2-cap-in-europe-to-start-at-213-million-tons-eu-says.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110307-703751.html

Blowouts Onshore: Fear, Pollution, Uncertainty.  Line Creek
Valley, Wyo. -- A gas well blowout in the shadow of Yellowstone
National Park spewed a cloud of explosive natural gas, forced
evacuations for miles around and polluted the drinking water -
and the people who live in Wyoming's Line Creek Valley still
wonder four years later if their lives will return to normal. 
Posted. 
http://www.modbee.com/2011/03/05/1585099/blowouts-onshore-fear-pollution.html

http://www.nctimes.com/news/national/article_036b87e9-0c38-55ea-b425-eb7bdfcae695.html

http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/03/05/2297470/blowouts-onshore-fear-pollution.html#storylink=misearch


More People Getting No-Burn Message.  Wood burning restrictions
ended this week. But in Stockton, at least, they barely started. 
Air quality officials outlawed residential fireplace burning in
San Joaquin County just seven days this winter, compared with 21
days last year and 24 days the year before that.  Posted. 
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110305/A_NEWS/103050330&cid=sitesearch


CLIMATE CHANGE

Democrats Provide a Counteroffer to GOP Cuts on Energy and
Climate.  Senate Democrats are seeking to protect energy and
climate programs targeted by the House's aggressive budget cuts,
a move that accelerates the chambers toward a clash over
President Obama's key priorities and a possible government
shutdown.  Posted. 
http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2011/03/07/07climatewire-democrats-provide-a-counteroffer-to-gop-cuts-23869.html?scp=6&sq=climate%20change&st=cse

House GOP Budget Bill Aims To Slash Environmental Regulation. The
plan to cut $60 billion from the federal budget targets
environmental programs so widely it appears to be as much an
ideological gambit as a budgetary one. 'The sheer scope of it is
overwhelming,' a UCLA environmental law expert says. The House
spending bill passed last month wouldn't just chop $60 billion
from the federal budget — it seeks to cut a broad swath through
environmental regulation. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-environment-cuts-20110307,0,1706429,print.story

Coastal Cities Prepare For Rising Sea Levels. Newport Beach and
other communities on California's coast are planning to build up
wetlands, construct levees and seawalls or move structures inland
as climate change raises sea levels. Cities along California's
coastline that for years have dismissed reports of climate change
or lagged in preparing for rising sea levels are now making plans
to fortify their beaches, harbors and waterfronts. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-newport-sea-levels-20110306,0,3772522,print.story

EU Won't Seek New CO2 Goal, Permit Set-Aside, Draft Shows. (Adds
carbon prices in fifth paragraph.) -- The European Union will
recommend that the bloc focus on achieving its existing
emission-reduction targets and won't propose setting aside any
carbon allowances in 2013, according to a draft document. The
European Commission, the EU regulator, will present a policy
paper tomorrow to map the bloc's goal for saving energy and
cutting greenhouse gases through 2050. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/03/07/bloomberg1376-LHOK5S0D9L3501-103PHUQLCQSLFD1U3U7ROPG3HP.DTL

REDLANDS: Council Adopts Green Practices Plan.  A plan that will
guide Redlands' decision-makers toward policies that will reduce
the community's contribution to climate change has been
unanimously adopted by the City Council.  The plan focuses on 10
sustainability themes, with goals and recommended actions to
achieve them, that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and
promote growth based on sustainable business practices and use of
energy-efficient and clean technologies and products.  Posted. 
http://www.pe.com/localnews/sbcounty/stories/PE_News_Local_D_nsustain06.27e2bc8.html


DIESEL EMISSIONS

CARB Reefer Grace Period Expires April 1. Reefer haulers going
into the Golden State with 2003 model year reefers must meet new
emissions standards by the end of this month. A 90-day grace
period for reefer owners is set to expire in California, the
state’s air quality agency announced this week. By March 31, all
model year 2003 reefer engines must meet new emission control
standards under the California Air Resources Board’s
Transportation Refrigeration Unit regulation. The grace period
was approved during CARB’s November 2010 board hearing after some
reefer owners asked for more time to bring 2003 reefers into
compliance. Posted.
http://www.landlinemag.com/todays_news/Daily/2011/Mar11/030411/030411-03.shtml

FUELS

Corn Stocks To Rise If Ethanol Tax Credit Cut: FAPRI. Stockpiles
of U.S. corn would begin to rebuild if Congress allows tax
credits for ethanol expire at the end of the year, a key group of
economists at the University of Missouri said on Monday. The
university's Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute, or
FAPRI, forecast corn stocks at the end of the 2011/12 marketing
year of 1.247 billion bushels, 44 percent above the 865 million
bushels forecast by the U.S. Agriculture Department, which
assumed the subsidy will continue. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/07/businesspro-us-crops-usa-fapri-idUSTRE7264JO20110307

Bill To Handcuff EPA Regs A Mixed Bag For Biofuels Industry. Rep.
Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) negotiated some concessions for his
home state's corn ethanol industry before he signed on to a bill
last week that would bar U.S. EPA from regulating greenhouse gas
emissions -- but not as many as he won two years ago before
agreeing to support a climate change bill. In 2009, the
then-chairman of the House Agriculture Committee was instrumental
in adding language to a greenhouse gas cap-and-trade bill that
would have allowed corn ethanol to qualify for a larger share of
the renewable fuel standard by tweaking the way the carbon
footprint of various fuels is calculated. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/EEDaily/print/2011/03/07/1

Industry Feels Squeeze As Congress Tightens Belt. It's been a
rough season for corn ethanol on Capitol Hill. A winter that
began with a tougher-than-expected battle to win congressional
approval for a one-year extension of the ethanol blenders' tax
credit is delivering more harsh doses of reality to an industry
that benefits from notable government support. With a House
Republican majority newly emboldened to trim ethanol mandates and
a bipartisan Senate majority eyeing subsidy reform, the political
obstacles facing conventional biofuels appear steeper than ever.
Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2011/03/07/1

U.C.L.A. Research Uses Proteins For Biofuel Production.
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles studied
the feasibility of using proteins for biofuel production,
creating a new alternative for biomass materials. The research
done by the university’s Henry Samueli School of Engineering and
Applied Science regarding proteins is the first to demonstrate
the feasibility of using protein as a carbon source for energy
production, explained Kwang Myung Cho, co-author of the study and
a U.C.L.A. engineering research scientist. Posted.
http://www.ecoseed.org/en/biomass/article/11-biomass/9210-u-c-l-a-research-uses-proteins-for-biofuel-production

GREEN ENERGY

Wind Project Creates Many Jobs.  A recent guest column from Mr.
Lou Desmond ("The green-energy jobs hoax," Feb. 24) that was
critical of renewable energy made statements about its ability to
create local jobs that was both misleading to your readers and
simply not accurate. The guest column stated as a fact that the
Hatchet Ridge wind project in Shasta County has created only two
permanent jobs and utilized a construction crew from out of
state.  Posted.  http://www.sbsun.com/pointofview/ci_17546249 

VEHICLES

Honda Recalling Civic Hybrids Over Engine Stalling. Washington --
Honda Motor is recalling more than 35,000 Civic hybrids in the
United States to fix a problem with the electrical system that
could cause the headlights to turn off or the engine to stall.
Honda says the recall covers 2006-2007 model year Civic hybrids.
The company says the voltage converter that relays power from the
motor assist system to the vehicle's electrical components could
fail. Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/cars/ci_17555759?nclick_check=1

AUTOS: Electric-Charging-Station Firms Plug Into Public Money. 
Chicago ---- When politicians tout the benefits of public
subsidies for electric vehicles, the argument inevitably comes
down to two words: Chicken. Egg.  It works like this: Consumers
won't buy electric vehicles without somewhere to charge them. But
no one will build charging stations without electric vehicles to
use them.  Posted. 
http://www.nctimes.com/business/article_5347919e-fb56-5029-9174-5a51b36000e1.html


Amid Budget Crisis, Brown Wants $63M For Cleaner Caltrans
Vehicles. Nestled within Gov. Jerry Brown's program-slashing
budget proposal lies a $63 million request to update and replace
the Caltrans car fleet with vehicles that comply with
California's clean air regulations, an expenditure [PDF] that the
nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office thinks is imprudent.
Brown has cut state employee car usage, taxpayer-funded cell
phones and official trinkets to address a $25 billion budget gap.
Posted.
http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/amid-budget-crisis-brown-wants-63m-cleaner-caltrans-vehicles-9049

MISCELLANEOUS

True Cost Of Clothing - On The Environment. Bay Area residents
pride themselves on eating organically grown food, driving hybrid
cars, choosing reusable bags over paper or plastic, and drying
their clothes on a line outside when the weather turns warm. But
many may not consider the clothes themselves, and the energy and
natural resources involved to make that shirt or favorite pair of
jeans. The new exhibition "Eco Chic: Towards Sustainable Swedish
Fashion" at the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art makes visitors ponder
those questions and more. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/03/06/LVL41HS7BU.DTL&type=printable

Hearing To Begin In Conocophillips Complaints. It was one of
Contra Costa's most notorious industrial chemical releases. In
August 1994, a refinery tower leak developed and for 16 days a
toxic mist sprayed over Crockett and Rodeo while managers kept
pushing to meet gasoline production goals. Up to 225 tons of a
sticky substance called Catacarb spewed out, settling on cars,
gardens and property in Rodeo and Crockett. Six thousand people
said they were sickened, and the company that owned the refinery
then, Unocal, eventually agreed to pay them $80 million. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/environment/ci_17547211?nclick_check=1

Alpha Buys Stake In 'Green' Cement Company.  Abingdon, Va. (AP) -
Mine operator Alpha Natural Resources says it's buying a stake in
a company that makes environmentally friendly cement from fly ash
left over from burning coal.  Posted. 
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/mar/07/alpha-buys-stake-in-green-cement-company/
 
Eye On The Environment: Termite Control Doesn't Have To Be Toxic.
 What can environmentalists do when their house is infested with
termites?  Some people refuse to be pestered by pests and choose
to live with the slow destruction of their home's wood until they
move. A typical dry-wood termite colony consumes one pound of
wood per year and often travels more than 12 inches a year, so
ignoring termites for too long is not really a green option. At
some point, the house must be saved, and a lot of demolition and
reconstruction will be required to make up for years of neglect. 
Posted. 
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/mar/05/termite-control-doesnt-have-to-be-toxic/


OPINION

Stopping Coal At The Coast. Plans to export more coal to China
will only hurt efforts to combat climate change. This year an
epic fight is brewing along the West Coast, one that may make as
much difference to the future of our climate as anything that
happens in Washington, D.C., and one that may also serve as a
decisive battle in defining the U.S. relationship with China.
Nature left a lot of coal in the Powder River Basin of southeast
Montana and northeast Wyoming. The region produces as much coal
as all of Appalachia; its Black Thunder Mine is the nation's
largest. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-mckibben-coal-20110305,0,5200441,print.story

Making Green Green. Green Collar Movers and Shakers Gather for
Conference on the South Coast. The Wall Street Journal last week
wrapped up its ECO:nomics conference which brought together
players in a burgeoning green collar sector at the swanky Bacara
Resort in Goleta. The title of the event plays on the shared
Greek etymology of “ecology” and “economy,” (which means
“dwelling” or “house”), and if there was one overarching threat
to our collective household that the event’s participants had in
mind, it was global warming. Posted.
http://www.independent.com/news/2011/mar/07/making-green-green/?print

BLOGS

For Electric Car Owners, a Way to Share Juice.  First there was
music sharing and then car sharing. Now get ready for plug
sharing.  Xatori, a Silicon Valley software start-up, aims to
create a network of electric car enthusiasts who make their
household power outlets and home chargers available for drivers
who need to top off their battery or who find themselves out of
range of the few public-charging stations currently available. 
Posted. 
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/07/for-electric-car-owners-a-way-to-share-juice/


Is Inhofe "Cool"?  Catching up on items that should not have gone
unnoticed.… On March 2, the Competitive Enterprise Institute and
Freedom Action honored Sen. James M. Inhofe, Oklahoma Republican,
with what they called the “Coolest Head Award,” for keeping his
wits and his cool amidst all the hot air coming from global
warming alarmists.  Posted. 
http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/watercooler/2011/mar/6/inhofe-cool/


Got An Outlet? An I-Phone App Connects Electric Car Owners With
Plugs. Electrical outlets are everywhere. Finding and accessing
them to recharge electric vehicles, however, is another issue.
While the U.S. government has invested $115 million to build
15,000 public chargers across the country, they are only starting
to be installed. Even then, there could be a shortage of
available public plugs for EV drivers, the ranks of whom are
expected to swell to 1 million by 2015. Posted.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2011/03/plugshare-electric-cars-outlets.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GreenspaceEnvironmentBlog+%28Greenspace%29

Last Coal Plant In Pacific Northwest To Shut Down Starting In
2020. The last coal-fired power plant in the Pacific Northwest
will shut down completely by 2025 under an agreement announced
Saturday by Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire. The first boiler of
TransAlta's 1,460-megawatt plant in Centralia, Wash., is set to
go offline in 2020 and the second in 2025. “This agreement is
sending a message that states are getting serious about combating
global-warming pollution and are taking steps to open up markets
for home-grown clean energy,” said Bruce Nilles … Posted.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2011/03/last-coal-plant-in-pacific-northwest-to-shut-beginning-2020.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GreenspaceEnvironmentBlog+%28Greenspace%29

State May Scale Back Climate Change Effort. The state Senate's
utilities committee plans to vote today on a bill that backpedals
on state legislation to fight global warming, but continues
allowing utilities to charge customers for federal climate change
rules. The legislation, SB 762, and its House version, HB 4117,
would repeal a part of state law requiring the state's Department
of Environmental Protection to create new "cap and trade" rules
to reduce air pollution. Posted.
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/business/realestate/housekeys/blog/2011/03/utility_customers_could_pay_to.html