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California Air Resources Board News Clips for April 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.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Senate defeats GOP bid to strip EPA of ability to regulate
greenhouse gases.  WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration and its
Senate allies beat back a months-long effort by congressional
Republicans to strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its
ability to regulate greenhouse gases, the heat-trapping emissions
most scientists believe is the main contributor to global climate
change.  Posted. 
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/04/06/3533731/senate-defeats-gop-bid-to-strip.html


Senate votes down effort to weaken EPA authority.  WASHINGTON --
The Senate voted Wednesday against a measure that would have
blocked the Environmental Protection Agency from issuing new
regulations on greenhouse gasses - a move that further cripples
efforts by lawmakers to weaken the agency's regulatory authority.
 Posted. 
http://www.modbee.com/2011/04/06/1633210/senate-votes-down-effort-to-weaken.html

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-epa-20110407,0,3087158.story


Senate Dems reject attacks on EPA climate efforts.  WASHINGTON --
Senate Democrats on Wednesday defeated a Republican effort to ban
the Environmental Protection Agency from controlling the gases
blamed for global warming.  Republicans still planned to pass an
identical bill in the House on Thursday, even though it has
little chance of becoming law.  Posted. 
http://www.modbee.com/2011/04/06/1632958/senate-dems-reject-attacks-on.html
 
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_17787815 
http://www.dailynews.com/ci_17785673
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/senate-democrats-reject-attacks-on-epa-global-warming-regulations/2011/04/06/AFj6L3qC_story.html

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/04/06/national/w143710D85.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/04/07/MNUS1IRK06.DTL

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/apr/06/senate-dems-reject-attacks-on-epa-climate/

POLITICS: Senate blocks ban on EPA climate regulations.  Even as
Congress teetered on the brink of a government shutdown
yesterday, U.S. EPA climate regulations took center stage, with
battles raging in both chambers of Congress over the agency's
ability to regulate greenhouse gases.  Posted. 
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2011/04/07/archive/3?terms=air+pollution

GREEN ENERGY

Japan disaster complicates moves to clean energy. 
BANGKOK—Worldwide calls to curb nuclear power amid Japan's plant
crisis could be bad news for the fight against global
warming—unless nations finally go all-out to tap wind, solar and
other clean, renewable energy, climate change negotiators and
activists say.  Posted. 
http://www.modbee.com/2011/04/07/1633783/japan-disaster-complicates-moves.html

http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_17791706 
http://www.dailynews.com/ci_17791706 
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/04/07/international/i023857D35.DTL
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/apr/07/japan-disaster-complicates-moves-to-clean-energy/
 

Obama pushes energy policies at Pa. plant.  FAIRLESS HILLS,
Pa.—Three years after he campaigned at a wind turbine plant in
Fairless Hills, President Barack Obama returned Wednesday
pitching the promise of energy independence.  Obama met about 400
workers and guests in a warehouse at Gamesa Technology Corp., a
Spanish company that makes giant turbines that use wind to
generate electricity. He talked about moving the nation toward
cleaner sources of energy.  Posted. 
http://www.dailynews.com/ci_17785890

VEHICLES

EPA selects AVL to provide Integrated Battery Cycling System for
initiative on automotive electrification standards.  The
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has chosen AVL to provide a
battery test system that includes vehicle-simulation capabilities
that allow maneuver-based testing at the battery level as part of
an initiative related to fuel economy and establishing
electrification standards for hybrid and electric vehicles. 
Posted. 
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2011/04/avl-20110407.html#more 

MISCELLANEOUS

Unrecycled new light bulbs release mercury into the environment. 
Reporting from Walnut Creek, Calif. — The nation's accelerating
shift from incandescent lighting to a new generation of
energy-efficient bulbs is raising an environmental concern: the
release of tons of mercury every year.  Posted. 
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lightbulb-mercury-20110407,0,3406825.story


BLOGS

Clean Energy Is a Target of Ryan Budget Plan.  A long-term
Republican budget plan released this week by Representative Paul
Ryan of Wisconsin calls for drastic cuts in federal spending on
energy research and development and for the outright elimination
of subsidies and tax breaks for wind, solar power and other
alternative energy technologies.  Posted. 
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/06/clean-energy-is-a-target-of-ryan-budget-plan/?scp=2&sq=green%20energy&st=Search

New Test Appears to Back Range Claim for Battery.  Makers of
batteries for plug-in vehicles are in something of a tight spot.
They are under considerable pressure to improve their products so
that electric vehicles will be attractive to more drivers. But if
they actually manage to come up with a radically improved
battery, their breakthrough is likely to be met with skepticism —
perhaps dealing a permanent blow to their reputation.  Posted. 
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/07/new-test-appears-to-back-range-claim-for-battery/?scp=3&sq=vehicles&st=Search

Freeway air unkind to mouse brains.  This is why mice don’t drive
convertibles.  As for the rest of us who spend untold hours on
the freeways, there’s more evidence that the air around the roads
isn’t good for us, even if we’re comfortably ensconced inside our
vehicles.  Researchers at USC found that tiny particles generated
from the burning of fossil fuels caused damage to the brains of
mice, including areas responsible for memory and learning. 
Posted. 
http://healthyliving.ocregister.com/2011/04/07/freeway-airunkind-to-mouse-brains/31109/

Rescuing data…  One of the lesser-known branches of climatology
is historical climatology, the study of past climates from
historical records of instrumental observations and weather
descriptions, with “historical” often loosely taken to mean
“pre-government-organized-meteorological or weather service”
observations. In the last ten years or so, with the development
of digital imaging, increased storage and processing capabilities
of computers, it’s become possible to think about analyzing these
past records on a daily basis.  Posted. 
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2011/04/rescuing-data/


The Congressional Carbon Circus.  There's lots going on in the
center ring of the Congressional Carbon Circus today. Both the
House and Senate are expected to vote this afternoon on bills to
block the Environmental Protection Agency from doing its job
under the Clean Air Act to safeguard Americans from the dangerous
carbon pollution that drives global warming.  Posted. 
http://www.grist.org/politics/2011-04-06-congressional-carbon-circus


Report: Land Rover confirms first production hybrid coming in
2013.  Land Rover models are high-end luxury SUVs with an ardent
fan base. But while these pricey utes are popular, they're also
quite thirsty at the pump, and between rising gas prices and
increased legislative pressures regarding C02 emissions, the
British automaker has undertaken an alternative fuel strategy
that should begin paying off soon.  Posted. 
http://www.autoblog.com/2011/04/07/report-land-rover-confirms-first-production-hybrid-coming-in-20/