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California Air Resources Board News Clips for May 23, 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

Black Lung Disease Seen Rising In U.S. Miners. New York (Reuters)
- Black lung disease, long a killer of coal miners, is on the
rise again after retreating in the 30 years since Congress passed
tougher mine safety laws, health and safety experts said on
Friday. The renewed appearance of the disease emerged from an
investigation of the worst U.S. coal mining disaster in four
decades. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/20/us-black-lung-idUSTRE74J6DJ20110520

Stench From Waste Facility Overwhelms Calif. Town. Students at
Saul Martinez Elementary School had just piled in from recess
when the principal began to field alarming calls: a powerful,
propane-like stench had swept over the school grounds and was
bringing children and teachers alike to their knees. By the time
it was over, as many as 40 people had been treated by paramedics
for headaches, nausea, dizziness and asthma attacks. Posted.
http://www.pe.com/ap_news/California/US_Stinky_Town_574148C.shtml

CAP AND TRADE/CARBON MARKET

California Agency to Appeal Decision Halting Cap-And-Trade. The
California Air Resources Board will appeal a court ruling that
suspends work on a cap-and-trade program to cut greenhouse gases,
the agency said. The notice of appeal will be filed May 23,
Stanley Young, a spokesman for the agency, said in an e-mail
today. Superior Court Judge Ernest Goldsmith in San Francisco
today ordered the board to halt further rulemaking or
implementation of the program until alternatives are properly
reviewed. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2011-05-21/california-agency-to-appeal-decision-halting-cap-and-trade-1-.html
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-05-20/california-agency-to-appeal-decision-halting-cap-and-trade.html

CORRECTED-UPDATE 1-California Carbon Market On Ice-Point Carbon.
(Corrects last name of specialist to Costantino in 17th
paragraph). Washington - A California judge has suspended the
implementation of an emissions cap-and-trade scheme till air
regulators can examine alternatives, dealing another setback to
an ambitious program that could serve as a model for other
states. Posted.
http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFN2318104120110523
http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.com/Legal/News/2011/05_-_May/California_carbon_market_put_on_ice/

California Judge Puts Carbon Market On Hold. Los Angeles - A
California judge ruled on Friday that state air regulators must
halt the implementation of a cap-and-trade scheme until they
examine alternatives to emissions trading to meet the state's
aggressive greenhouse gas reduction targets. San Francisco
Superior Court Judge Ernest Goldsmith said in a decision that the
California Air Resources Board (ARB) should "take no action"
…Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/20/california-carbon-idUSN2028317420110520

California: Judge Blocks Cap-and-Trade Plan. A California judge
ruled on Friday that state air regulators must stop carrying out
a cap-and-trade plan until they examine alternatives to emissions
trading to meet the state’s aggressive greenhouse gas-reduction
targets. The judge, Ernest Goldsmith of the Superior Court of
California in San Francisco, said that the California Air
Resources Board should “take no action” to put its cap-and-trade
plans into effect until it completes the analysis of the
alternatives. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/21/us/21brfs-JUDGEBLOCKSC_BRF.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print

S.F. Judge Puts State's Cap And Trade Plan On Hold. California
must put an immediate halt to work on its cap and trade program
until it completes a review of alternative approaches to reducing
climate change, a state judge said Friday. San Francisco Superior
Court Judge Ernest Goldsmith ruled in March that the California
Air Resources Board failed to conduct such a review but left open
the question of whether the agency could conduct rule-making,
environmental studies or do any other work while the legal issues
were being resolved. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/05/21/v-print/3642941/sf-judge-puts-states-cap-and-trade.html

Most Of Calif.'S Carbon Law Unaffected By Court Ruling; Trading
Date Could Slip. California regulators still might be able to
start their greenhouse gas trading program in January 2012,
despite a court decision last week to stay the first trading
system in the United States for greenhouse gas emissions from
power plants, oil and gas refineries, transportation fuels and
other heavy industries. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/05/23/2

Court: Most of AB 32 May Go Forward. But the Cap & Trade Program
Remains on Hold. Friday provided another blip in a confusing
court fight over California's centerpiece climate law, known as
AB 32. A "final" ruling from a Superior Court judge in San
Francisco allows most implementation of the 2006 Global Warming
Solutions Act to go forward, except for the carbon trading plan
known widely as "cap & trade." Posted.
http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2011/05/21/court-most-of-ab-32-may-go-forward/

Judge Halts Cap-And-Trade Rules. So reports the Bee. The reason?
California must put an immediate halt to work on its cap and
trade program until it completes a review of alternative
approaches to reducing climate change, a state judge said Friday.
San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ernest Goldsmith ruled in
March that the California Air Resources Board failed to conduct
such a review but left open the question of whether the agency
could conduct rule-making, environmental studies or do any other
work while the legal issues were being resolved. Posted.
http://blogs.redding.com/bross/archives/2011/05/judge-halts-cap.html

Judge Halts California's Carbon Market Plan. California's plans
to establish one of the world's largest carbon markets have been
dealt a serious blow, after a judge ruled last week that state
regulators must put the plans on hold until they have formally
examined alternative means of cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
Posted.
http://www.businessgreen.com/print_article/bg/news/2072888/judge-halts-californias-carbon-market-plan

Court Halts California Cap-And-Trade Program Pending Revision.
San Francisco (Dow Jones)--A California judge on Friday ordered
the state's pollution regulators to suspend the state's
cap-and-trade program until they revise their environmental
review for the program. In a decision issued Friday, Superior
Court Judge Ernest Goldsmith told the state Air Resources Board
that it had to stop all activities associated with the
cap-and-trade program until the court determines that the agency
has complied with state environmental rules. Posted.
http://research.tdameritrade.com/public/markets/news/story.asp?docKey=1-BT20110520007416-0M1IV3SOI3LDRGDRJT3PGK95D9&clauses=

Cap-and-Trade Setback In California. California Superior Court
judge Ernest Goldsmith ruled on Friday that the state’s Air
Resources Board (ARB) must halt “any futher rulemaking and
implementation of cap-and-trade” until the agency examines
alternatives policies to meet the greenhouse gas-reduction
targets established by Assembly Bill 32, the Global Warming
Solutions Act. Posted.
http://www.globalwarming.org/2011/05/22/cap-and-trade-setback-in-california/

CLIMATE CHANGE

Carbon Traders Ask California Agency for Protection From Fake
Offsets. Companies that unknowingly buy fake carbon-offset
credits in California’s planned cap-and-trade program for
greenhouse gases shouldn’t be forced to replace them with real
ones, according to emissions traders. The proposed carbon market,
which is scheduled to start next year, “cannot work” if the state
doesn’t change the “buyer liability” rules for offset credits,
…Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2011-05-20/carbon-traders-ask-california-agency-for-protection-from-fake-offsets.html

U.K. Drops CO2 Offset Quality Program, Carbon Retirement Says.
The U.K. has canceled its program to assure the quality of
carbon-dioxide offsetting, according to Carbon Retirement, a
company that helps polluters cut emissions. The Department of
Energy and Climate Change said it was discontinuing the system on
May 20 in letters to companies accredited to the program,
including EON AG and British Airways Plc, London-based Carbon
Retirement said today in an e-mail. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-23/u-k-drops-co2-offset-quality-program-carbon-retirement-says.html

ADB Invests in Climate Funds That Seek to Raise $700 Million.
(Updates with fund-raising target in second paragraph.) The Asian
Development Bank is spending $60 million to help set up three
venture capital funds developing climate-change technology in
China and India, the Manila-based lender said in an e-mailed
statement today. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-23/adb-invests-in-climate-funds-that-seek-to-raise-700-million-1-.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/05/22/bloomberg1376-LLMRHQ6KLVR401-6N1DBDSTI3013KNKEHV67EKVQ8.DTL&type=printable

A City Prepares for a Warm Long-Term Forecast. Chicago — The
Windy City is preparing for a heat wave — a permanent one.
Climate scientists have told city planners that based on current
trends, Chicago will feel more like Baton Rouge than a Northern
metropolis before the end of this century. So, Chicago is getting
ready for a wetter, steamier future. Public alleyways are being
repaved with materials that are permeable to water. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/23/science/earth/23adaptation.html?_r=1&ref=general&src=me&pagewanted=print

In Australia, a Tempest With Echoes of a Tea Party. Sydney — A
plan by the Australian government to introduce the biggest
emissions trading scheme outside of the European Union has
unleashed a wave of partisan fighting that is threatening to sink
the agenda of a second consecutive Labor government. A call in
February by the opposition leader, Tony Abbott, for a “people’s
revolt” against the plan has incited one of the most raucous
protest movements the country has seen in decades. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/23/world/asia/23australia.html?sq=carbon&st=cse&scp=4&pagewanted=print

EPA And Others Announce New Climate Change Awards Program. U.S.
EPA last week announced a new national awards program aimed at
recognizing corporate and individual efforts in addressing
climate change. The awards program will be co-sponsored by the
Climate Registry, the Pew Center on Global Climate Change and the
Association of Climate Change Officers. It will offer awards in
four categories. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/05/23/6

Challengers Fire Opening Shots In 'Endangerment' Legal Battle.
States and industry groups challenging the Obama administration's
climate rules outlined their legal arguments in opening briefs
filed late Friday with a federal appeals court. First in three
related cases on the rules that are being considered by the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is the legal fight
over the "endangerment" finding, in which U.S. EPA concluded that
carbon emissions are harmful and therefore could be regulated.
Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2011/05/23/2

FUELS

Growing Biofuels, and Shrimp. A group of students at Texas A&M
University has hit upon a way to farm shrimp and grow a new
biofuel crop in a combined process. The project comes from the
AgriLife program, which draws from diverse parts of the school
including the Texas Forest Service and the Veterinary Medical
Diagnostic Laboratory as well as the College of Agriculture and
Life Sciences. It's a broad approach that mirrors our transition
to a more interconnected and sustainable way of harvesting
energy. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/23/idUS367255699620110523

VEHICLES

Hydrogen Fuel Cells Are Down, but Perhaps Not Out . With nearly
every major auto maker promising to launch a battery-powered
electric car of some kind in the next couple of years, it would
be easy to presume that hydrogen fuel cells are dead. All the
rage just a decade ago as the wave of the future,
hydrogen-powered cars have found their thunder—and much of their
funding—stolen by battery-powered vehicles. Posted.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703778104576286620950028178.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Toyota, Salesforce.com to Build Social Network for Customers.
Toyota Motor Corp. and Salesforce.com Inc. will build a private
social network for customers who will own electric cars and
plug-in hybrid vehicles being introduced by the Japanese carmaker
next year. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/05/23/bloomberg1376-LLMYZV0D9L3501-1BQM7CO0I6V5Q3N8QAU6M8PI1C.DTL&type=printable

Roadshow: A Prius Party! Q Maybe you should get together with
other Prius users and have a tailgate party to remove your
carpool stickers. Jerry L.A What a great idea. Carpool stickers
for hybrid owners will no longer be valid as of July 1, tossing
85,000 solo drivers out of the carpool lane. This will be a sad,
sad day for so many. So what shall we do? Jerry has the right
idea: Let's hold a party! A Prius party! Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mr-roadshow/ci_18105499?nclick_check=1

DOWNEY: Car-Pool Privilege Coming To An End. Ever pinch yourself
for not buying a gas-electric hybrid sooner ---- before the state
ran out of those yellow stickers that gave vehicle owners who
possessed them the green light to drive in car-pool lanes without
a partner? Well, it's not going to matter much longer. The
special commuting privilege afforded those drivers who snatched
up the limited number of stickers is about to come to an end.
Posted.
http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/columnists/downey/article_dc4b5f97-5aff-5093-8fbb-a30bf07da11e.html

GREEN ENERGY

Wave Power A Lost Cause For Now. Wave power always seems to be 10
years down the road. At least. Despite the best efforts of
engineers, the idea of generating electricity from ocean waves
has proven hard to execute. Companies here and abroad have tested
a variety of devices to do it, but the sea keeps chewing them up.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has been an enthusiastic wave-power
backer for years, studying several locations along the California
coast as possible sites for wave-power devices. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/20/BU5K1JIE1M.DTL&type=printable

Nature Bowl Puts Kids Through A Green Wringer In Sacramento. So
thick was the tension, so palpable the anticipation, that you
could cut it with a knife – but certainly not a disposable,
plastic knife that would clog landfills, never degrade and, thus,
threaten countless habitats. Yes, folks, This … is … Jeopardy!
Eco-Jeopardy, that is, at Saturday's 27th Nature Bowl, the annual
environmental science competition for 150 top elementary school
students throughout the region. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/05/22/v-print/3644603/nature-bowl.html

Md. Firm Proposes Solar Farm At State Prison.  Hagerstown, Md. --
A private firm announced a $70 million plan Friday to build
Maryland's largest solar energy project on the grounds of a state
prison near Hagerstown to generate electricity for the wholesale
market.  Maryland Solar LLC of Easton said it is seeking speedy
approval by state utility regulators and a long-term lease on 250
state-owned acres surrounding the medium-security Maryland
Correctional Institution. Posted. 
http://www.modbee.com/2011/05/20/1696866/md-firm-proposes-solar-farm-at.html
http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/05/20/2395675/md-firm-proposes-solar-farm-at.html#storylink=misearch

The Answer Is (Artificially) Blowing in the Wind.  Nathan Lewis,
left, and Daniel Nocera, right, have been developing artificial
leaves that make fuel from sunlight. A sample from work at
Caltech is at center.  ONLY God can make a tree, the poem says.
But scientists are working on making artificial leaves that can
produce fuels directly from sunlight, water and carbon dioxide,
just as real leaves do. One day, the new leaves could help people
heat their homes and drive their cars.  Posted. 
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/22/business/22novel.html?scp=2&sq=fuels&st=cse&gwh=772BF8E8D9E3318FB424B6A8F6FCEDE5

Wood Biomass Could Be Next World Commodity. Wood, one of the
world's oldest energy sources, could become a hot commodity
again. But wood fuel must first overcome supply limits and green
concerns as demand for renewable energy ramps up. Experts say
supply constraints are putting it into competition with the paper
industry. Burning wood and crop waste emits less carbon than
fossil fuels, in theory, because it returns carbon accumulated by
growing plants to the air. But that balance stops if stock is not
replanted or natural forests are logged. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/05/23/9

OPINION

Editorial: Pull Plug On High-Speed Rail? Why? News about
California's high-speed rail project has taken on a Dr.
Jekyll-and-Mr. Hyde quality. On one side, there's never been more
momentum. Headlines tout California's new billions in unexpected
federal funds, as other states have turned back high-speed rail
funds. The federal $3.9 billion is more than was ever anticipated
at this stage of the project. That follows voter approval in 2008
of a nearly $10 billion bond to help develop and construct
high-speed rail. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/05/22/v-print/3642782/pull-plug-on-high-speed-rail-why.html

Viewpoints: Don't Give Away Carpool Lane Access – Sell It. While
California struggles to close a $15.4 billion budget gap, there
is an easy $68 million that is being wasted. To encourage
purchases of next-generation hybrid vehicles, California plans to
practically give away up to 40,000 green Clean Air Access
stickers that will allow plug-in hybrid vehicles access to HOV
lanes even when the car contains only one person. Another program
provides similar white stickers to electric, natural gas and
hydrogen-powered vehicles. Giving away stickers is a mistake.
Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/05/22/v-print/3642785/dont-give-away-carpool-lane-access.html

EDITORIAL: Say Goodbye To Yellow Hybrid-Carpool Stickers.  Come
July 1, we bid a fond farewell to the yellow hybrid carpool-lane
stickers, even though some bothersome green ones are coming in
their wake.  Starting in 2005, California began handing out
85,000 yellow stickers to owners of hybrid cars, as an incentive
to boost purchases of fuel-efficient vehicles.  Posted. 
http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/05/20/2396048/editorial-say-goodbye-to-yellow.html#storylink=misearch

BLOGS

Cities Embrace the Adaptation Imperative.  Leslie Kaufman has
written an excellent story on how one great city, Chicago, has
vaulted past stale debates over the causes and consequences of
disastrous weather to begin boosting its resilience to conditions
that are most likely to dominate in coming decades.  In many
parts of the world, prospering cities are making
climate-resilient design a priority.  Posted. 
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/23/cities-embrace-the-adaptation-imperative/

Congressmen Seek To Block Pollution Controls On Navajo Coal
Plant. The massive coal-powered Navajo generating station in
Page, Ariz., spews tens of thousands of tons of nitrogen oxide a
year into Western skies, spreading haze across the Grand Canyon
and other national parks. By law, the 40-year-old plant is
supposed to install the "best available retrofit technology" to
scrub emissions from its smokestacks. Posted.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2011/05/coal-fired-power-plants-national-parks.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GreenspaceEnvironmentBlog+%28Greenspace%29

Decoding the Final Decision in the AB 32 Lawsuit. A Superior
Court in San Francisco issued a final judgment today in a lawsuit
filed in 2009 by environmental justice (EJ) groups concerning
California’s groundbreaking 2006 law, the Global Warming
Solutions Act (AB 32), which sets limits on global warming
pollution in the state. As expected, the ruling establishes a new
timeline and preconditions for continued implementation and final
approval of the AB 32 cap-and-trade regulation. Posted.
http://blogs.edf.org/californiadream/2011/05/20/decoding-the-final-decision-in-the-ab-32-lawsuit/