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California Air Resources Board News Clips for October 21, 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

California Adopts Extensive 'Cap-and-Trade' Plan. "Small markets
mean fewer trading opportunities — and so potentially higher
costs," Mazurek said. To help companies prepare, 90 percent of
the allowances would be free in the first years, providing time
for equipment upgrades. A letter sent by the California Chamber
of Commerce and a host of other business groups called the 10
percent in allowances an "arbitrary 10 percent haircut." The
letter said that California can't fight global climate change on
its own. Posted. 
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/california-adopts-extensive-cap-trade-plan-14783500?page=2
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/21/us-carbon-california-idUSTRE79K00U20111021
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-cap-trade-20111021,0,1125437.story
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/10/21/3992504/california-board-approves-cap.html#ixzz1bQkUfahw
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/20/BA901LK83V.DTL#ixzz1bQkwlyJ6
http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_19157727?source=rss
BY SUBSCRIPTION
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/oct/20/state-creates-market-approach-to-curb-global/
http://www.modbee.com/2011/10/20/1912142/calif-poised-to-finalize-cap-and.html#ixzz1bQrO1FrX
http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/10/20/2584665/california-approves-carbon-trading.html
http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_19158019 BY
SUBSCRIPTION
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/21/business/energy-environment/california-adopts-cap-and-trade-system-to-limit-emissions.html?_r=2&scp=2&sq=cap%20and%20trade&st=csehttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204485304576643860519096694.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ann-carlson/california-climate-policy_b_1020250.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/calif-regulators-give-final-ok-to-nations-most-extensive-cap-and-trade-emissions-plan/2011/10/20/gIQAnG9e1L_story.html
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2011/10/20/california-air-resources-board-approves-cap-and-trade
http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2011/10/20/california-adopts-nations-most-sweeping-cap-trade-plan/
http://smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?type=wnews&title=California%20adopts%20cap-and-trade%20system&id=220858
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=19623
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2011/10/21/3  BY PAID
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

U.N. committee completes draft design of climate fund. London - A
U.N. committee has completed the draft design of a fund to help
developing countries tackle climate change, paving the way for
its launch in 2013, the U.N.'s climate chief said on Friday. Last
year, countries agreed to create the 'Green Climate Fund' to
channel up to $100 billion a year by 2020 to developing countries
to help fight climate change. An international committee in
charge of designing the fund met this week in South Africa, but
some organizations accused the United States and Saudi Arabia of
hampering the process. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/21/us-un-climate-fund-idUSTRE79K2FV20111021

Climate Skeptics Stay Unswayed. A new study designed to address
critiques of climate science by skeptics has confirmed that
“global warming is real” and that the world’s average land
temperature has risen by about 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit since the
mid-1950s. The findings, released on Thursday by a group of
scientists and statisticians at the University of California
known as the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature project, were
welcomed by climate scientists and advocates of climate policy
action, who had hoped that skeptics would finally have to cry
uncle. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/21/science/earth/21climate.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print
http://www.usnews.com/science/articles/2011/10/21/study-global-warming-is-real

California Climate Policy: Good for the Environment, Good for
Business. Every major meteorological organization in the world
agrees that 2010 was the hottest year on record, continuing a
dangerous trend. Texas is experiencing the worst drought in its
history. Lack of rain has created massive food shortages and
human catastrophe on the horn of Africa. Glacial melting is
causing a sea level rise that will threaten coastlines and
hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Yet the globe continues
to pour heat trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere in
record amounts and U.S. policy to reduce domestic emissions is
virtually dormant. But California is bucking the national trend.
Posted.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ann-carlson/california-climate-policy_b_1020250.html

Bring on the carbon fuel standards.  The European Union’s Fuel
Quality Directive that the federal government is furiously
lobbying to kill is the worst kind of regulatory trade barrier.
Under its current wording, it would ascribe all oil produced from
Canada’s oilsands a greenhouse gas rating of 107 grams of carbon
dioxide per megajoule and thus force its importers to pay for
carbon offsets. Conventional crude oil, emitting 87.5 grams (they
say), would be OK.  Posted. 
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/blog/business_briefings/52351--bring-on-the-carbon-fuel-standards

VEHICLES

Northeast states form electric vehicle network.  Ten states from
Massachusetts to Maryland are joining forces to promote electric
vehicles.  The Northeast Electric Vehicle Network announced
Wednesday it will work to help plan and install charging stations
throughout the region as well as attract private investment in
clean vehicle infrastructure.  Among the things network members
will work on: the location of charging stations.  Posted. 
http://online.wsj.com/article/APd8e72ba90ab5493fa4c6bcfd5f1319d1.html

Australia’s 1st Electric Supercar Makes Debut.  Varley Electric
Vehicles will unveil their EVR450 an electric super car that
showcases Australian electric car technology and posts some
impressive performance numbers as well.  0-100 km/hr in 3.8
seconds, with an electronically limited top speed of 200 km/h!
Range of the standard version is 150km, but an extended range
battery pack option will be available that can boost single
charge range to 300 km.  Posted. 
http://www.ev.com/knowledge-center/electric-vehicles-articles/australias-1st-electric-supercar-makes-debut.html

GREEN ENERGY

Report: Mass. tops in promoting energy efficiency. A national
nonprofit advocacy group has named Massachusetts tops in the
nation when it comes to promoting energy efficiency. The American
Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy placed Massachusetts
above California for the first time in rankings released
Thursday. The group pointed to Massachusetts programs designed to
save energy and create jobs including the Green Communities Act
of 2008, the Green Jobs Act and Global Warming Solutions Act.
Posted. 
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/oct/20/report-mass-tops-in-promoting-energy-efficiency/?print=1

BC Hydro plays NAFTA card in bid to win green energy status in
California. BC Hydro has accused California’s cap-and-trade
regulator of violating the North American Free Trade Agreement,
saying the regulator’s proposed rules on greenhouse gas emissions
favour American power supplier Bonneville Power Administration. 
In a Sept. 27 letter to the California Air Resources Board,
Hydro’s energy-trading arm Powerex lays out its complaint, urging
the board to change its regulations “to avoid running afoul of
NAFTA.” Posted. 
http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Hydro+plays+NAFTA+card+green+energy+status+California/5583854/story.html

OPINIONS

The Case Against Global-Warming Skepticism. There were good
reasons for doubt, until now. Are you a global warming skeptic?
There are plenty of good reasons why you might be. As many as 757
stations in the United States recorded net surface-temperature
cooling over the past century. Many are concentrated in the
southeast, where some people attribute tornadoes and hurricanes
to warming. The temperature-station quality is largely awful.
Posted.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204422404576594872796327348.html#articleTabs=article
 BY SUBSCRIPTION

Party of Pollution. Last month President Obama finally unveiled a
serious economic stimulus plan — far short of what I’d like to
see, but a step in the right direction. Republicans, predictably,
have blocked it. But the new plan, combined with the Occupy Wall
Street demonstrations, seems to have shifted the national
conversation. We are, suddenly, focused on what we should have
been talking about all along: jobs. So what is the G.O.P. jobs
plan? Posted. 
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/21/opinion/party-of-pollution.html?scp=3&sq=air%20pollution&st=cse

'Too dirty to fail'? House Republicans' assault on our
environmental laws must be stopped. Americans must once again
stand up for their right to clean air and clean water. Since the
beginning of this year, Republicans in the House have averaged
roughly a vote every day the chamber has been in session to
undermine the Environmental Protection Agency and our nation's
environmental laws. They have picked up the pace recently — just
last week they voted to stop the EPA's efforts to limit mercury
and other hazardous pollutants from cement plants, boilers and
incinerators — and it appears their campaign will continue for
the foreseeable future. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-jackson-train-act-20111021,0,4464566,print.story

A world without tailpipes. Last Sunday was witness to a unique
parade on Main Street that may wind up in the Guinness Book of
World Records. The event might have represented the largest
assemblage in world history of freeway capable electric cars
(188) on a public road at any one time. (Parade organizers have
filed with Guinness.) Because EVs are virtually noiseless, it was
also perhaps the quietest parade in world history. Or, as one
onlooker suggested, "It was so quiet it was like a funeral
procession for the oil industry!" (I only wish.) Posted.
http://www.smdp.com/Articles-c-2011-10-21-72788.113116-A-world-without-tailpipes.html

BLOGS

Climate Study Does Not Placate Skeptics. As we noted on the blog
on Thursday, a new study designed to address critiques of climate
science by skeptics has confirmed that “global warming is real”
and the world’s average land temperature has risen by about 1.8
degrees Fahrenheit since the mid-1950s.The findings, released by
a group of scientists and statisticians at the University of
California known as the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature
project, were welcomed by climate scientists and advocates of
climate policy action, who had been hoping that skeptics would
finally have to cry uncle. Posted.
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/21/climate-study-does-not-placate-skeptics/
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2011/10/climate-skeptic-woops-the-majority-is-right-on-global-warming.html

Beyond Green: A Net-Zero College Community. Designing buildings
that leave a lighter imprint on the environment has become the de
facto standard these days. The target for many is zero net energy
use, meaning that a building makes as much energy as it uses over
the course of a year. Noteworthy net-zero-energy homes,
commercial buildings and government structures are regularly
built. But none have matched the scale of West Village, a
net-zero community at the University of California, Davis, that
its developers describe as the largest project of its kind in the
country. Posted. 
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/21/beyond-green-a-net-zero-college-community/

Quote of the day. Even if California shut down every power plant
and took every car off of the road, global emissions are growing
so fast that they'll rapidly make up the difference. So says Sen.
Doug LaMalfa in response to the Air Resources Board's approval of
a statewide cap-and-trade system for carbon dioxide emissions.
The unfortunate part is that even supporters of action to stem
CO2-driven global warming would have to concede he's correct.
Posted.
http://blogs.redding.com/bross/archives/2011/10/quote-of-the-da-112.html

California's Cap-and-Trade Program Gets Green Light. California's
Air Resources Board has formally adopted the state's greenhouse
cap-and-trade program today, following a lawsuit that delayed
compliance with the controversial scheme by a year. The program,
which will begin in mid-2012 with auctions of the emissions
allowances, will be the nation's most stringent cap-and-trade
mandate but not the first. It follows in the footsteps of the
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a program that covers
utilities in Northeastern and mid-Atlantic states. Posted.
http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2011/10/20/californias-cap-trade-program-gets-green-light

Senate GOP Proposal Is a Program for More Pollution, Not a Jobs
Plan. Senate Republicans have opened a new front in the war
against public health and environmental safeguards.  They
released a so-called jobs plan that calls for removing standards
that protect Americans from smog, arsenic, lead, mercury, and
other hazardous pollutants. What the proposal shows is that
Republican leaders have no jobs plan—just a repackaging of
anti-government screeds. Posted.
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/fbeinecke/senate_gop_plan_offers_dirtier.html

Japan Can Replace Nuclear with Renewables –Schroeder. Former
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, a leading proponent of
Germany phasing out nuclear power, has said that in the wake of
Japan’s disastrous 11 March Fukushima nuclear accident that the
country can both phase out nuclear power and become a pioneer in
sources of alternative energy. In an interview with Mainichi
newspaper Schroeder said, "Japan is in a position where it is
technologically capable of forming different energy policies.
Japan could become a pioneer in energy other than nuclear power.
Posted. 
http://www.celsias.com/article/japan-can-replace-nuclear-renewables-schroeder/

Buyers trading in Toyota Prius for Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf.
Through the end of September, year-to-date U.S. sales of the
electric Nissan Leaf hit 7,199 units and sales of plug-in hybrid
Chevrolet Volt tallied 3,895 units. What vehicles were those
11,000-plus people driving before their new plug-ins? Recently,
Barbara Keys, a R.L. Polk & Co consultant, surveyed buyers of
both the Leaf and Volt and discovered that the vehicles are
conquest hits. Keys states that through the end of June, 78
percent of Volt buyers didn't own a Chevrolet at the time of
purchase. Posted. 
http://green.autoblog.com/2011/10/21/buyers-trading-in-toyota-prius-for-chevy-volt-nissan-leaf/

Report: higher smog risk for U.S. Latinos. U.S. Latinos suffer a
disproportionately higher health risk from air pollution
according to a new report from advocacy groups, who are urging
the Obama administration not to delay tougher regulations. Nearly
half of U.S. Latinos live in in the nation’s top 25 cities most
polluted by ground-level ozone, the report says. Half of
California Latinos live in counties that frequently violate
air-quality standards. Posted. 
http://sciencedude.ocregister.com/2011/09/20/report-higher-smog-risk-for-u-s-latinos/138376/