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California Air Resources Board News Clips for October 18, 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

San Diego Airport Authority to receive $2 million grant from FAA.
San Diego (CNS) - The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority
is scheduled to receive a $2 million grant from the Federal
Aviation Administration Tuesday to install aircraft power systems
at its 10 new gates at Lindbergh Field's Terminal 2, which is
being expanded. The low-emission power systems will allow parked
aircraft to shut down their auxiliary power unit -- called an APU
-- which is an additional, and much smaller, jet engine at the
rear of a plane that provides electricity for lights and avionics
while the main engines are off. Posted.
http://www.760kfmb.com/story/15721134/san-diego-airport-authority-to-receive-2-million-grant-from-faa

CLIMATE CHANGE

Warming Revives Dream of Sea Route in Russian Arctic.
Arkhangelsk, Russia — Rounding the northernmost tip of Russia in
his oceangoing tugboat this summer, Capt. Vladimir V. Bozanov saw
plenty of walruses, some pods of beluga whales and in the
distance a few icebergs. One thing Captain Bozanov did not
encounter while towing an industrial barge 2,300 miles across the
Arctic Ocean was solid ice blocking his path anywhere along the
route. Ten years ago, he said, an ice-free passage, even at the
peak of summer, was exceptionally rare. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/18/business/global/warming-revives-old-dream-of-sea-route-in-russian-arctic.html?_r=1&ref=science

Areas of Concern Remain for Regulated Industries with Regard to
Carb’s Cap-and-Trade Regulation. Members of the AB 32
Implementation Group continue to convey their concerns
surrounding the California Air Resources Board’s proposed
‘cap-and-trade’ regulation. Sacramento, CA Members of the AB 32
Implementation Group, a coalition of business and taxpayer groups
working for the effective implementation of AB 32, continue to
convey their concerns surrounding the California Air Resources
Board’s proposed ‘cap-and-trade’ regulation. Posted.
http://news.yahoo.com/areas-concern-remain-regulated-industries-regard-carb-cap-165209361.html

VEHICLES

Few Sparks: GM's underwhelming electric car program. For the
first time since the late, lamented EV1 faded into oblivion in
2003, General Motors is back in the battery electric business, as
it announces that it will roll out a plug-in version of the Spark
minicar (it's also sold as the Beat on some markets) in the U.S.
by 2013. Ho hum. It's very hard to get excited about this
announcement, because this is no make-or-break Volt program - GM
is, instead, doing the bare minimum to get California zero
emission credits, building an exceptionally cautious 2,000 cars
on an entry-level program. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/10/17/v-print/3985362/few-sparks-gms-underwhelming-electric.html

GREEN ENERGY

California's green tax breaks in question.  In just a year, a
little-noticed state panel created with bipartisan legislative
support worked briskly to authorize $104 million in tax breaks to
help "green" companies in California buy equipment and add jobs. 
But the program was halted last month after the bankruptcy of
Solyndra, the Fremont solar company that received $25 million in
state tax breaks and, more notoriously, a $528 million federal
loan guarantee despite its precarious financial state. The
Solyndra debacle is being investigated by Congress.  Posted. 
http://www.modbee.com/2011/10/17/1908486/ap-enterprise-calif-green-tax.html
http://www.nctimes.com/news/state-and-regional/article_6a23f5db-3513-5932-a1c9-1db4d75b42c5.html
http://www.insidebayarea.com/business/ci_19134411
http://www.contracostatimes.com/business/ci_19134411

MISCELLANEOUS

Attractions, other sites at Disneyland expose visitors to lead,
group says
Environmental group seeks an injunction requiring the park to
cover items or post warnings. Disney says it has complied with
state law. Dozens of leaded-glass windows and brass rail chains,
door knobs and drinking water fountains at some of Disneyland's
most popular attractions expose children to high levels of lead,
according to an environmental group seeking a court injunction
Tuesday to require the amusement park to cover the items or post
health warnings. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lead-disneyland-20111018,0,2052447,print.story

States and Local Governments Lead the Way on Product Content
Regulation. Increasingly in key areas of environmental and public
health protection, states are choosing to step forward to fill
what they may view as a void in needed regulation.  In many
instances, the state regulatory pioneer may be a single
legislator responding to a citizen letter of concern or may be a
state agency believing more restrictive standards are necessary
to protect human health and the environment. Posted.
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2011/10/18/states-and-local-governments-lead-the-way-on-product-content-regulation/

BLOGS

More On Climate and Energy Procrastination. Here are three
reactions to my post about Machiavelli’s view of the impediments
to making big changes in societies — as in the asymmetrical
nature of the battle to take the carbon out of energy systems in
the face of both societal inertia and intensive efforts by
entrenched interests to maintain the status quo. The first two
remarks came in a group e-mail exchange and so relate to each
other. Eugene Linden, a seasoned explorer of environmental change
and author, most recently, of “The Ragged Edge of the World”:
Posted.
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/18/more-on-climate-and-energy-procrastination/?pagemode=print

Australians Assess Their Greenhouse Plan.  In the wake of
Australia’s move to add a price to carbon dioxide emissions —
which is particularly notable considering the country is one of
the world’s big exporters of coal (and related CO2 emissions) — I
sent a query to some Australian analysts of climate and energy
policy to see if this holds lessons for the United States. 
Posted. 
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/17/australians-assess-thei-greenhouse-plan/

How to talk about uncertainty in a warming world.  You’ll often
hear climate skeptics say, “The science isn’t settled.” And, to
an extent, this is true — though not in the way the skeptics like
to imply. There are lots of things that climatologists know with
a very high degree of confidence: that the Earth is warming, that
human activity is a major culprit.  But, as scientists will be
the first to tell you, there are still plenty of aspects of the
climate system that are subject to fervent debate, particularly
the scale of the risks involved in heating the planet.  Posted. 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/how-to-talk-about-uncertainty-in-a-warming-world/2011/10/18/gIQAxsHTuL_blog.html

Four Scenarios Show One Optimistic Look at Sustainable
Consumption in 2020.  I’m sure many people and not just those
protesting in Zuccotti Park would agree with this quote. Will it
stay like that forever? It’s hard to tell, but according to a new
research on ‘consumer futures 2020’ one thing we can be sure
about is that the future is going to be radically different from
today.  Posted. 
http://www.triplepundit.com/2011/10/will-companies-adopt-consumer-futures-2020-optimistic-look-sustainble-consumption/

Curbing Cooking Smoke That Kills More People Than Malaria.
Environmental hazards sicken or kill millions of people — soot or
smog in the air, for example, or pollutants in drinking water.
But the most dangerous stuff happens where the food is made — in
peoples' kitchens. That's according to the World Health
Organization, which says that the smoke and gases from cooking
fires in the world's poorest countries contribute to nearly two
million deaths a year — that's more than malaria. Burning wood,
crop waste, charcoal or dung does the damage, filling homes with
smoke and blackening walls. Posted.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2011/10/18/141455850/curbing-cooking-smoke-that-kills-more-people-than-malaria