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newsclips -- Newsclips for December 16, 2011.
Posted: 16 Dec 2011 12:11:38
California Air Resources Board Newsclips for December 16, 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 Delhi's air as dirty as ever despite some reforms. A decade ago, plans for a metro and clean-fuel buses were hailed as New Delhi's answer to pollution. But air in the Indian capital is as dirty as ever—partly because breakneck development has brought skyrocketing use of cars. Citywide pollution sensors routinely register levels of small airborne particles at two or sometimes three times its own sanctioned level for residential areas, putting New Delhi up with Beijing, Cairo and Mexico City at the top of indexes listing the world's most-polluted capitals. Posted. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_INDIA_BROWN_AIR?SITE=MAFAL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT AP Newsbreak: http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/16/delhis-air-as-dirty-as-ever-despite-some-reforms/?scp=6&sq=fuels&st=cse http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/12/16/2651314/delhis-air-as-dirty-as-ever-despite.html#storylink=misearch http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_19561078?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_19561078?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/dec/16/delhis-air-as-dirty-as-ever-despite-some-reforms/#ixzz1giq7n700 http://www.modbee.com/2011/12/16/1989650/delhis-air-as-dirty-as-ever-despite.html Death-by-Air in Beijing Shows China’s Heart Risk From Worsening Pollution. As smog grounded hundreds of flights from Beijing last week, emergency doctors at Peking University People’s Hospital faced a rush of patients. Lungs weren’t the problem, says Ding Rongjing, the hospital’s deputy head of cardiology. Five people were admitted for heart attacks from Dec. 4 to 6, compared with one or two a week typically. One 60-year-old male patient died. The illnesses are an unwanted consequence of the economic growth that helped spur a 32 percent jump in China’s car sales last year. Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-15/death-by-air-in-beijing-shows-china-s-heart-risk-from-worsening-pollution.html Cement plant near Mojave to pay EPA fine. The CalPortland facility will pay a $1.4 million fine and $1.3 million on equipment needed to reduce emissions of pollutants. The penalties were part of a settlement of an EPA and Department of Justice probe. A CalPortland cement plant near the high desert community of Mojave has agreed to pay a fine of $1.4 million and spend $1.3 million on equipment needed to reduce emissions of pollutants that cause asthma and generate smog, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-cement-fine-20111216,0,335637.story http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/dec/15/cement-producer-pays-142-million-in-fines/#ixzz1giqdjDjK U.S. to impose sharp limits on mercury emissions. Washington -- The Environmental Protection Agency is expected Friday to approve a tough new rule to limit emissions of mercury, arsenic and other toxins from the country's power plants, according to people with knowledge of the new standard. Though mercury is a known neurotoxin profoundly harmful to children and pregnant women, the air-toxins rule has been more than 20 years in the making, repeatedly stymied because of objections from coal-burning utilities about the cost of installing pollution-control equipment. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/15/4126242/us-to-impose-sharp-limits-on-mercury.html Kettleman City residents protest to air board. A dozen Kettleman City residents protested at the Valley air board meeting Thursday, saying officials didn't give the town a real chance to talk about a permit renewal for the largest toxic-waste landfill west of the Mississippi. The farmworker town of 1,500 has been battling for years against the nearby Waste Management landfill, which residents suspect is connected to birth defects, illnesses and deaths in their community. Posted. http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/12/15/2651222/kettleman-residents-protest-to.html Air pollution control projects get funding. A dozen projects aimed at finding high tech ways to reduce air pollution will share in $2,947,694 from the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. The Valley Air District’s Governing Board also authorized an additional $3 million for an additional round of funding to bring more technology-advancement entrepreneurs in the Valley. The projects range from an all-electric agricultural sprayer to a natural gas conversion kit for locomotive engines, an emission-reducing raisin tray burning system to a cleaner composting system. Posted. http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=20001 Valley Air District grants $3M to 11 projects to improve air quality. The Valley Air District’s Governing Board granted $2,947,694 to 11 projects targeted at reducing the Valley’s air quality emissions through new technology. The board also authorized an additional $3 million for an additional round of funding to bring more technology-advancement entrepreneurs in the Valley. The latest competitive request for proposals to the Technology Advancement Program resulted in submissions ranging from an all-electric agricultural sprayer to a natural gas conversion kit for locomotive engines, an emission-reducing raisin tray burning system to a cleaner composting system. Posted. http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2011/12/15/2158422/valley-air-district-grants-3m.html Where There's Smoke, There's Sickness: Wood Smoke now a major Northwest air polluter. The warning label on the wrapping of neatly split firewood is one we're more accustomed to seeing on cigarettes or heavy-duty chemicals: "known... to cause cancer, birth defects or reproductive harm." But in fact, heart attacks, strokes, high blood pressure, asthma attacks and premature death – in addition to cancer – all are linked to wood smoke pollution. It's a finding that poses a vexing dilemma for poor and rural communities around the Northwest where wood is a cheap or even free source of heat. Posted. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=143842355 Finally: New air toxics rules for power plants. Cross-posted from the World Resources Institute. The post was written by Nicholas Bianco, senior associate for WRI's climate and energy program. As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prepares to release new mercury and air toxics standards, some people may be wondering about the history and timeline for these standards. One senator recently claimed that EPA is "charging ahead" with them. Posted. http://www.grist.org/clean-air/2011-12-15-finally-new-air-toxics-rules-for-power-plants CLIMATE CHANGE Gov. vows to prepare Calif. for climate change. The United Nations' top climate official joined California Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday to call for renewed efforts in the state to more quickly adapt to the risks that extreme weather and a rising sea pose to agriculture and the coastline. Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, joined Brown, scientists, former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and billionaire Sir Richard Branson at a conference at the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. Posted. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jJnqbOh1OjxgzD-zThlWL7UCQOSg?docId=d0f54bdcb59c4da5ad8ea8c1cf172831 AP Newsbreak: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/environment/calif-governor-joined-by-international-climate-change-officials-for-global-warming-conference/2011/12/15/gIQArhANwO_story.html Jery Brown, Arnold Schwarzenegger urge green energy policies. San Francisco – Gov. Jerry Brown railed Thursday against politicians who doubt climate change, calling them "political lemmings" and the chief obstacle in the fight against global warming. "The main thing we have to deal with in climate change is the skepticism, the denial and the cult-like behavior of the political lemmings that would take us over the cliff," the Democratic governor said at a high-profile conference on climate change at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/16/4126458/jery-brown-arnold-schwarzenegger.html Quebec to start cap-trade climate plan with California. Montreal — With global climate-change talks in limbo, Quebec is the first province to push ahead with its own cap-and-trade program. The province says it's emulating California as it becomes the first Canadian province to start enforcing cap-and-trade regulations for carbon emissions. Starting on Jan. 1, there will be a one-year transition period to help large emitters adjust to the new system, which will officially kick in at the start of 2013. Posted. http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Politics/20111215/quebec-starts-cap-and-trade-with-california-111215/ Quebec cap-and-trade follows Kyoto reversal. With announcement, Arcand slams Tories' 'regrettable' move. Environment Minister Pierre Arcand announced the official adoption of Quebec's cap-and-trade system to fight climate change Thursday - three days after what Arcand called the federal government's "utterly regrettable" announcement that Canada will withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol. Posted. http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/Quebec+trade+follows+Kyoto+reversal/5869801/story.html Carbon trading coming to Quebec. Montreal — Quebec's most energy-intensive companies will soon be forced to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through a cap-and-trade system. Environment Minister Pierre Arcand announced that 75 companies which annually produce more than 25,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases will have the new regime imposed on them as of Jan. 1, 2013. "We just want to reduce greenhouse gases in the most flexible and efficient way," said Arcand. Posted. http://montreal.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20111215/mtl_greenhouse_111215/20111215/?hub=MontrealHome Calif budget to include CO2 auction revenue-Point Carbon. California Governor Jerry Brown said on Thursday his 2012-2013 state budget will assume $300 million to $600 million in revenue from the sale of CO2 permits. Speaking on the sidelines of a conference in San Francisco on the risks of climate change, Brown told Point Carbon that the state spending plan he will unveil next month will for the first time include the new revenue stream for California's cash-strapped government. Posted. http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/calif-budget-to-include-co2-auction-revenue-point-carbon Climate Change May Modify Half Earth's Plants. Pasadena - By 2100, global climate change will modify plant communities covering almost half of Earth's land surface. "For more than 25 years, scientists have warned of the dangers of human-induced climate change," said Jon Bergengren, a scientist who led the study while a postdoctoral scholar at the California Institute of Technology in the U.S. http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/16-6 CARB OKs modified Cleaire DPF three months after fire. A major fire displaced hundreds of people south central Washington in September, eventually prompting the California Air Resources Board to prohibit the sale of LongMile and Allmetal diesel particulate filters. The DPFs manufactured by Cleaire have been modified and are now back on the market. In an executive order posted last week, CARB said the agency had verified design modifications to the Cleaire’s company’s LongMile DPF system and has lifted the suspension on sales of LongMile filters for on-road truck use. Posted. http://www.landlinemag.com/todays_news/Daily/2011/Dec11/121211/121511-06.shtml CARB OKs Rypos TRU DPF. The California Air Resources Board (ARB) has verified the Rypos DPF/ULETRU CARB Level 3+ Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) for use on Carrier and ThermoKing transportation refrigeration units (TRU) using 2003 and newer model year engines. TRUs are refrigeration systems powered by diesel internal combustion engines designed to control the environment of temperature-sensitive products that are transported in trucks, trailers, shipping containers, andrailcars. Posted. http://www.dieselprogress.com/emissionstechnologyforum/index_news_detail.asp?pick=461&fm=N FUELS California clean fuel standard needs flexibility. When the California Air Resources Board considers regulatory amendments to the state's new Low Carbon Fuel Standard today, it must take into account new information that paints a very troubling picture of this complex climate-change policy. A new analysis commissioned by the Western States Petroleum Association indicates the rosy projections upon which the standard was built are neither realistic nor accurate. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/12/16/EDB21MCMUD.DTL Support for locally produced biofuels crucial. In Northern California, local, sustainably sourced food has progressed from the purview of a few entrepreneurial chefs to the dinner table. In a state where innovation is a way of life, it's easy to imagine locally sourced products expanding to another basic necessity: our fuel supply. The technology to substitute sustainable biofuels for petroleum is already being developed and commercialized by California companies like Amyris, Solazyme, and Fulcrum Bioenergy. But new industries require long-term support to develop technology and build low-cost production capacity. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/12/16/EDB21MCNHM.DTL California corrects Canadian lobbying. The battle over how to classify oil extracted from tar sands and oil shale under the EU's fuel quality directive has taken an interesting turn, with California's Air Resources Board writing to the EU climate commissioner telling her not to believe some of the lobbying undertaken by Canada and the oil industry. With member states having to decide whether to support the Commission's proposal to set higher emissions values for oil extracted from tar sands and oil shale …Posted. http://www.transportenvironment.org/News/2011/12/California-corrects-Canadian-lobbying/ VEHICLES DuPont, Honeywell Said to Face EU Car-Refrigerant Probe. DuPont Co., the largest U.S. chemicals company by market value, and Honeywell International Inc. face a European Union antitrust probe over a refrigerant for car air-conditioning systems, according to four people familiar with the plan. The European Commission will soon open a formal investigation to examine whether DuPont and Honeywell may have concealed their ownership of patents for the refrigerant before the car industry agreed to use the technology as a standard, said the people who couldn’t be identified because the issue isn’t yet public. Posted. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-12-16/dupont-honeywell-said-to-face-eu-car-refrigerant-probe.html U.S. stands by California bullet train project despite critics. 'We are not going to flinch' on support, an official says at a House committee meeting. The opposition alleges political corruption in the granting of federal funds for the Central Valley segment. The Obama administration vowed Thursday at a House committee meeting in Washington that it would not back down from its support of California's bullet train project despite attacks from critics who alleged it is tainted by political corruption. "We are not going to flinch on that support," said Joseph Szabo, chief of the Federal Railroad Administration. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bullet-hearing-20111216,0,2765172.story Energy Roadmap 2050 fails to determine 2030 milestones. Electric vehicles will play an important role in the decarbonisation of road transport in the EU, says the Energy Roadmap 2050 presented by the European Commission on 15 December 2011. However, it fails to set any concrete recommendations, policy actions or intermediate targets. The Energy Roadmap 2050 identifies several decarbonisation scenarios to achieve the long-term objective of 80-95% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050…Posted. http://www.cars21.com/content/articles/71820111216.php GREEN ENERGY Schwarzenegger: Debate over bankrupt solar maker Solyndra loan ‘narrow minded’ San Francisco — In a rare public appearance since leaving office, former Republican California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called the debate over bankrupt solar panel maker Solyndra narrow-minded in a world moving ever-faster toward renewable energy. Schwarzenegger said Thursday he took time out from a movie shoot to address Gov. Jerry Brown’s climate conference at the California Academy of Sciences. Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/environment/schwarzenegger-debate-over-bankrupt-solar-maker-solyndra-loan-narrow-minded/2011/12/15/gIQAJlGrwO_story.html http://www.modbee.com/2011/12/15/1989099/schwarzenegger-solyndra-debate.html MISCELLANEOUS The Race to Greener Bottles Could Be Long. Over their decades of competition, the battle between Coca-Cola and PepsiCo has taken on many colors — brown (cola), orange (juice), blue (sport drinks) and clear (water). Now, they are fighting over green: The beverage rivals are racing to become the first to produce a plastic soda bottle made entirely from plants. But despite dueling announcements claiming technological breakthroughs, consumers should not expect to see many all-plant bottles on store shelves any time soon. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/16/business/energy-environment/coca-cola-and-pepsico-race-for-greener-bottles.html OPINIONS A Call for Climate Solutions. To the Editor: In his Dec. 4 column, “The Decadent Left,” Ross Douthat paints the Keystone XL pipeline protests as furthering the agendas of narrow interests. In fact, they are the opposite. They are about protecting resources Americans hold in common and value deeply: our air, water and climate. Climate change is not an elite concern; it is a force upending American lives with crippling drought, increased urban air pollution and devastating floods. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/16/opinion/a-call-for-climate-solutions.html?_r=1&ref=opinion State’s clean fuel leadership helps national security. My family has a long history of service to this country. My father served in the Army nearly 20 years, many of which were spent in hostile areas including Iraq during the first Gulf War. Following in my father’s footsteps and in his honor, I too chose to enlist. For more than eight years, I served in the United States Navy. As an aviation logistics specialist, I deployed multiple times, providing combat support for the U.S. and NATO forces on land and sea in the Mediterranean and Middle East. Posted. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/dec/16/states-clean-fuel-leadership-helps-national/ Charles Feder and Hank Ryan: Carbon fuel rule helps jump-start oil alternatives. For small businesses navigating difficult economic times, keeping costs manageable is key. But that's hard to do when your company's expenses are bound to a volatile commodity whose price you can't control. That's why gas prices matter so much to small business owners. And that's why so many of us are cheering on the California Air Resource Board's efforts to update our state's groundbreaking Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Posted. http://www.presstelegram.com/opinions/ci_19557027 Why Small Delays in Dealing With Climate Change Can be Very Cheap. Ezra Klein tells us why small delays in climate change can be very expensive. His point and it’s not an obviously bad one, is that the longer we delay dealing with emissions then the more quickly we will have to deal with them when we do. And dealing with reducing emissions quickly is likely to be more expensive than dealing with them slowly. Well, yes, that’s one side of it, that’s true. Posted. http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2011/12/16/why-small-delays-in-dealing-with-climate-change-can-be-very-cheap/ Durban: An Important Step Forward in Combating Global Climate Change. The 17th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change concluded in the early morning hours of Sunday December 11, after more than two weeks of intense negotiations in Durban, South Africa. I've returned to Washington and I can report that we made some very significant progress. Though I'm steeped in the climate negotiations, I know how hard it can be to make sense of the various accords and agreements and how they can help us meet the climate challenge. Posted. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/todd-d-stern/durban-climate-talks_b_1153721.html?ref=green America Must Not Back Down on Sustainable Energy. If you read just the headlines these days, you might think renewable energy in America is going the way of Solyndra. Don't take our word for it: a recent headline from Fox News declared "ENTIRE Solar Industry on Brink of Collapse." We cannot allow long-time opponents of renewable energy to focus the discussion only on Solyndra (whose higher priced panels could not compete as solar costs came down) when we should be thinking about competing with China to win the next energy revolution. Posted. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-bernie-sanders/america-must-not-back-dow_b_1153827.html BLOGS Jerry Brown criticizes 'political lemmings' of climate change. San Francisco - Gov. Jerry Brown railed this morning against politicians who doubt climate change, calling "political lemmings" the chief obstacle in combating global warming."The main thing we have to deal with in climate change is the skepticism, the denial and the cult-like behavior of the political lemmings that would take us over the cliff," Brown said at a high-profile conference on climate change at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. Posted. http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/12/jerry-brown-criticizes-political-lemmings-of-climate-change-california-san-francisco.html#MTRecentEntries Arnold Schwarzenegger 'proud' of Jerry Brown on environment. San Francisco -- Hours after Gov. Jerry Brown issued a spirited attack on politicians who doubt the significance of climate change, Brown's predecessor -- former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger -- praised Brown but urged a spirit of inclusiveness. "To me, it made no difference if a Democrat had a great idea or a Republican had a great idea, or if someone from the outside had a great idea,…Posted. http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/12/arnold-schwarzenegger-proud-of-jerry-brown-on-environment.html#MTRecentEntries AM Alert: Jerry Brown talks solar power in San Diego. Fresh off his conference in San Francisco on climate change, Gov. Jerry Brown heads to Southern California to talk clean power and jobs. Brown, who referred to global warming naysayers Thursday as "political lemmings," will have a few words to say this morning at the dedication of a new solar manufacturing plant in San Diego. Posted. http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/12/am-alert-jerry-brown-talks-solar-power-in-san-diego-california.html Online shopping: Better for the environment? With just nine days to go before Christmas, we've all got our lists. We've been checking them twice. And now comes the naughty or nice part, at least environmentally: Deciding whether to buy that Nerf gun in person or online. More shoppers are doing the latter. About 4.2% of purchases are now done with a computer or hand-held device, compared with 3.3% in 2008, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Posted. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/home_blog/2011/12/online-shopping-vs-traditional-shopping.html BioBoost project targets conversion of biomass into intermediate energy carriers for subsequent conversion into fuels, chemicals, power and heat. Six research institutions and seven industrial partners from Europe will participate in the new BioBoost project, aimed at converting residual biomass into energy carriers for the production of high-quality and engine-compatible fuels and chemicals as well as for the generation of electricity and heat. The project, coordinated by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), will start in early 2012. Posted. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2011/12/bioboost-20111216.html GM’s eAssist seeks to provide a cost-effective solution for improving fuel efficiency and driving dynamics. General Motors is exploring the use of its light electrification system eAssist as a cost-effective means to improve both vehicle efficiency as well as driving dynamics. Initially introduced in the Buick line, eAssist has now made the jump to the Chevrolet line with its application in the new Malibu Eco (earlier post)—which will be the only version of the new Malibu initially available. Posted. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2011/12/eassist-20111215.html