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newsclips -- Newsclips for October 7, 2011.

Posted: 07 Oct 2011 12:14:33
California Air Resources Board News Clips for October 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

Ga. AG sues EPA over new air pollution rule.  Georgia joined a
growing number of states on Thursday seeking to block the
Environmental Protection Agency's new pollution restrictions. 
The complaint filed by Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens targets
the EPA's new cross-state pollution rules, which are designed to
decrease smokestack emissions in 27 states that contribute to
unhealthy air in other states.  Posted. 
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_19057262
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_19057262

Arvin air monitor move could jeopardize fine's removal. This
summer, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District
urged residents to do their part in keeping the air below the
one-hour ozone standard, violations of which have resulted in a
$29 million federal fee. But, even if the valley's air were to
reach those standards -- and it still hasn't -- the fine won't be
lifted until there's resolution of an ongoing controversy over
the relocation of a monitor in Arvin, according to an official
with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Posted.
http://www.bakersfield.com/news/local/x443091072/Arvin-air-monitor-move-could-jeopardize-fines-removal

Air Pollution Tied to Premature Births, Study Finds. (Los
Angeles) -- Pregnant women who live in areas with high levels of
air pollution caused by heavy traffic could be at increased risk
for premature births, according to a new study. Researchers led
by Michelle Wilhelm, an assistant professor in residence at the
UCLA School of Public Health, found that Southern California
women exposed to traffic-related air pollution had a 30 percent
higher risk of pre-term birth. Wilhelm and her colleagues looked
at 100,000 births that occurred in Los Angeles County within five
miles of stations used by the state to monitor air quality.
Posted.
http://www.kgoam810.com/rssItem.asp?feedid=116&itemid=29736231

CLIMATE CHANGE

Law fights regulation with regulation. Sacramento, Calif
(Reuters) - In an odd twist, California business groups applauded
Governor Jerry Brown for signing legislation on Thursday to
create a new layer of government regulation they say will lessen
the burdens imposed by future regulations. The measure orders the
Democratic governor's Department of Finance to establish a
uniform method of measuring the economic consequences of
regulations put forward by other state agencies. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/07/us-california-regulations-odd-idUSTRE79639420111007

Poll: European concern about climate change grows.  A new survey
shows that more than two-thirds of EU citizens see climate change
as a very serious problem, and a vast majority thinks fighting it
can create jobs and help the economy.  The poll says 68 percent
of the people in the EU consider climate change a serious threat,
up from 64 percent in 2009. And 78 percent said fighting climate
change could help jobs and the economy, up from 63 percent two
years ago.  Posted. 
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_EUROPE_CLIMATE_CHANGE?SITE=RIPRJ&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

AP Newsbreak:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/oct/7/poll-european-concern-about-climate-change-grows/
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/10/07/3967779/poll-european-concern-about-climate.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/10/07/international/i074025D84.DTL
http://www.modbee.com/2011/10/07/1894124/poll-european-concern-about-climate.html
http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/10/07/2568036/poll-european-concern-about-climate.html#storylink=misearch
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_19062884
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_19062884

Bay Area could become first region to plan for sea level rise in
long-term development. The Bay Area could become the first region
in California, and perhaps in the U.S., to recognize and plan for
sea level rise in its long-term development. At a public meeting
Thursday afternoon, the Bay Conservation and Development
Commission is expected to approve a major amendment to its
guiding Bay Plan document with new language on climate change in
the Bay Area. Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_19048354
http://www.baycitizen.org/development/story/bay-area-adopts-sea-level-rise-building/
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2011/10/bcdc-sea-level-plan-passes.html

FUELS

TransCanada CEO surprised at furor over pipeline. Washington --
Wearing a nose ring and a T-shirt that read "Food not bombs,"
environmental activist Spiro Voudouris came to the nation's
capital Friday to protest a Canadian company's plan to pipe oil
from tar sands in western Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast.
Unemployed pipe fitter Ira Orenstein came to the same event
because he wants a job. At a pro-pipeline rally sponsored by the
Laborers' International Union of North America, the bearded
Voudouris, 26, engaged the 63-year-old Orenstein in earnest
debate. Posted.
http://www.modbee.com/2011/10/07/1894095/transcanada-ceo-surprised-at-furor.html#ixzz1a7htwBbi
http://www.c-span.org/Live-Video/C-SPAN2/

VEHICLES

How to reduce EV production costs? EV Battery Tech USA.  Last
week was taking place the EV Battery Tech USA in Troy, Michigan.
One of the main topics this year was “Translating technical
solutions into commercial opportunities for reducing the cost of
Electric Vehicle”. Here is a summary and selection of the most
interesting ideas brought up by the speakers.  Batteries
represent about 54% of the production costs of an electric
vehicle, according to Albert Lam from Detroit Electric. 26% of
the costs can be attributed to the drive system and the remaining
20% are spent on the manufacturing of the body.  Posted. 
http://www.cars21.com/content/articles/67020111007.php

Nissan, GE Team Up on Battery Cars.  General Electric wants a
piece of the electric vehicle action and is teaming up with
Nissan to figure out how it can help expedite the adoption of
electric vehicles.  Signing a new partnership with the Japanese
maker, GE officials say they aren’t interested in putting their
badge on a battery car but see other huge opportunities.  With
corporate ventures in fields as far flung as battery
manufacturing, electric motors and even green energy generation
…Posted. 
http://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2011/10/nissan-ge-team-up-on-battery-cars/#more-43099

GREEN ENERGY

Appraisers get guidelines for setting the value of energy-saving
home improvements.  Here’s some good news for homeowners who have
gone green and installed energy-saving features but haven’t been
sure whether appraisers will credit them with higher valuations:
Thanks to a new industry-issued appraisal addendum, the odds have
improved that they’ll get the market value they’re due.  The
Appraisal Institute, the country’s largest and most influential
association in its field, published the long-awaited addendum
Sept. 29. Posted. 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/realestate/appraisers-get-guidelines-for-setting-the-value-of-energy-saving-home-improvements/2011/10/05/gIQAiZRkSL_story.html

Solyndra collapse blunts support for clean tech. For the past
three years, the clean-tech industry found receptive ears in
Washington. President Obama cast renewable power as a key to the
country's economic revival. Stimulus loans helped fund new wind
farms, solar factories and power plants. Tax incentives for big
alternative-energy projects gave an added boost. And while
Republicans and Democrats deadlocked on climate-change
legislation - dear to the industry's heart - clean tech counted
strong friends on both sides of the aisle. Now, Solyndra's
high-profile bankruptcy has strained that relationship. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/06/MN421LEEB1.DTL&feed=rss.pageone

Obama defends Solyndra loan, says solar viable. President Barack
Obama said Thursday the U.S. must not surrender development of
clean energy to China and other countries, despite the
spectacular failure of a solar-panel manufacturer that filed for
bankruptcy after taking a half-billion dollar government loan.
Obama said the government should continue to give loan guarantees
to help green energy companies compete with other countries that
spend billions to subsidize solar panels and other renewable
energy manufacturing. Posted. 
http://www.nctimes.com/news/national/article_cd588b06-07ac-5c28-b768-d3c6b6b5e75a.html

MISCELLANEOUS

Climate Generation: Second annual high school competition.
Sacramento, California - Today the Air Resources Board announced
the kick-off of California’s second annual Climate Generation
program, a high school competition challenging students to
connect environmental issues with their school work and daily
lives. The competition creates an opportunity for students to
gain real-world experience in leadership and project management
by working together to design and implement programs that promote
sustainability and reduce the carbon footprint of their school or
community. Posted.
http://imperialvalleynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11398&Itemid=2

OPINIONS

Solyndra is not a White House scandal: President is doing exactly
what he promised. The White House has recently come under fire
for quickly approving a loan guarantee of $535 million in
taxpayer money to now-bankrupt California solar energy company
Solyndra, despite getting multiple warnings about its financial
stability. As more and more emails are being released revealing
damning details about the Obama administration's decision to dole
out the dough and ignore red flags - even sending President Obama
to the company in 2010 to tout its green energy efforts - some
are calling Solyndra the latest scandal to plague the White
House. Posted.
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2011/10/06/2011-10-06_president_obamas_support_of_solyndra_betrays_hopeless_belief_in_a_green_economy_.html?print=1&page=all

BLOGS

An Escalator That Feeds the Grid. Regenerative braking, which
involves taking unwanted mechanical energy and turning it back
into electricity instead of letting it dissipate it as heat, is
well established in cars like the Toyota Prius and has lately
made inroads in railway locomotives. In both cases, an electric
motor, which converts current into mechanical energy, briefly
reverses its function to become a generator, converting
mechanical energy into current. One problem for cars is that the
flow of electricity is so large that batteries have trouble
absorbing it. Posted. 
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/07/an-escalator-that-feeds-the-grid/

Why plug-in vehicles with "small" battery packs should be
subsidized in a big way. Are plug-in vehicle incentives
distributed correctly? Apparently not. A study conducted by
Carnegie Mellon University (PDF) suggests that by subsidizing
vehicles with big battery packs (that is, bigger than 16 kWh),
the return on investment (in terms of reducing gas/diesel
consumption and lowering emissions) is less than if the $7,500
tax credit subsidized vehicles with meager battery packs (i.e.
the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid). Posted. 
http://green.autoblog.com/2011/10/06/why-hybrid-plug-in-vehicles-battery-packs-should-be-subsidized/

Researchers use ionic liquid electrolyte for a more efficient
electroreduction of CO2 to CO; potential for synthetic fuel
pathways.  The electroreduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) to CO—a
key component of artificial photosynthesis—has largely been
stymied by the impractically high overpotentials necessary to
drive the process. Now, University of Illinois chemical and
biomolecular engineering professor Paul Kenis and his research
group and researchers at startup Dioxide Materials report on the
development of an electrocatalytic system that reduces CO2 to
carbon monoxide at overpotentials below 0.2 V.  Posted. 
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2011/10/rosen-20111007.html


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