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ARB Newsclips for March 6, 2012. 

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

CARB fines bus, truck companies nearly $227,000 in air quality
violations. Sacramento, Calif. — The California Air Resources
Board announced today that during the fourth quarter of 2011 it
settled 33 cases of air quality violations by trucks and buses,
mostly for failure to properly conduct and pass self-inspections
aimed at measuring vehicle smoke emissions to ensure state
requirements are met. Posted.
http://www.thetrucker.com/News/Stories/2012/3/6/CARBfinesbustruckcompaniesnearly227000inairqualityviolations.aspx

Emissions from Asia put US cities over the ozone limit. Satellite
data could warn of incoming air pollution. As plumes of pollution
rise over the booming industrial towns of Asia, satellite data
could help to alert people in other regions to the approach of
drifting smog. A team of researchers from the United States has
conducted the first high-resolution analysis of ozone — the main
constituent of smog — travelling from Asia to the western United
States. Posted.
http://www.nature.com/news/emissions-from-asia-put-us-cities-over-the-ozone-limit-1.10161

FUELS

Cracks emerge in GOP over hydraulic fracturing. When it comes to
the controversial gas drilling technique known as hydraulic
fracturing, the Republican Party itself appears fractured —
especially in the critical swing state of Ohio. Super Tuesday
voters are choosing among a field of GOP contenders who all
support less regulation of the drilling technique. Yet some
Republicans in Ohio are calling for greater oversight and new
taxes on companies using it to harvest natural gas. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2012/03/05/national/a233651S17.DTL&type=printable

Gasoline Versus Diesel Oil for Organic Aerosols.The exhaust fumes
from gasoline vehicles contribute more to the production of a
specific type of air pollution-secondary organic aerosols
(SOA)-than those from diesel vehicles, according to a new study
by scientists from the Cooperative Institute for Research in
Environmental Sciences (CIRES). Secondary organic aerosols, tiny
"tar balls" resulting from combustion products of internal
combustion engines that can encapsulate gaseous pollutants, have
been identified as a danger to health. Posted.
http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/44082/print

LCFS in Limbo. California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard has been
brought to a halt, at least temporarily. How will it affect
ethanol producers? The battle over the legality of California’s
Low Carbon Fuel Standard has been ongoing for more than two years
and it probably won’t be fully resolved any time soon. In late
December, however, a California district judge handed down the
first ruling in the case, delivering a preliminary victory to the
plaintiffs…Posted.
http://www.ethanolproducer.com/articles/8618/lcfs-in-limbo

VEHICLES

Chrysler to sell natural gas-powered truck.  Chrysler aims to be
the first U.S. automaker to produce a factory-built pickup truck
that is powered mainly by natural gas.  The privately held
company said Tuesday that its new Ram 2500 Heavy Duty CNG truck
will be sold to commercial customers that operate truck fleets.
The company expects to deliver the first trucks in July.  The
truck will have natural gas tanks and an 8-gallon fuel tank for
gasoline. Chrysler said a small amount of gasoline is needed to
start the truck, but after ignition it runs entirely on natural
gas. If the natural gas tanks run out, the engine can switch to
gasoline.  Posted. 
http://www.nctimes.com/business/chrysler-to-sell-natural-gas-powered-truck/article_1b981cdd-f3b7-5f24-a724-11cf5c3930df.html
http://www.modbee.com/2012/03/06/2099928/chrysler-to-sell-natural-gas-powered.html
http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/NaturalGas/6019931
 
GREEN ENERGY

Concerns over cost of energy efficiency. Energy efficiency is
becoming the "way of the future" to reduce business operating
expenses, cut fuel import bills and boost jobs and household
incomes. While the state and local governments are encouraging
households and businesses to adopt this goal, real estate agents
want to make sure energy efficiency mandates are not adopted at
the expense of home buyers. In a continuing effort to reduce
consumer costs associated with purchasing a home, the California
Association of Realtors announced in February that it is
sponsoring Assembly Bill 1711…Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/saratoga/ci_20108693/concerns-over-cost-energy-efficiency
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_20108693/concerns-over-cost-energy-efficiency?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_20108693/concerns-over-cost-energy-efficiency?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com

MISCELLANEOUS

At HLS, head of California air pollution regulatory board
discusses states' climate change action (video). On climate
issues, look to states. Creative solutions to global warming are
rising from below. The head of California’s air pollution
regulatory board said Monday (Feb. 27) that with climate change
action stalled in Washington, D.C., the states are taking the
lead in creating ways to reduce carbon emissions. Mary Nichols,
chair of the California Air Resources Board, discussed that
state’s air pollution regulations, which include a cap-and-trade
policy adopted in 2006…Posted.
http://www.law.harvard.edu/news/2012/03/05_future-of-energy-talk-mary-nichols.html

OPINIONS

REGION: Daunting air cleanup may change residents' lifestyles.
Look for a lot more electric cars and hybrid gas-electric
vehicles to fill Southern California freeways, and for limits on
how and where developers build homes. And don't count on that
unpopular wintertime fireplace-burning restriction to go away
anytime soon. The chief executive for Southern California's air
pollution agency said Monday that it will take those measures,
and more, to deliver clean air to the nation's most polluted
region…Posted.
http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/swcounty/region-daunting-air-cleanup-may-change-residents-lifestyles/article_d3d995fb-c603-554c-99a1-7e18b6ace3e5.html

Editorial: Carbon-cutback debate heating up.  The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency is attempting to reshape
America's economy by mandating the energy industry reduce its
carbon emissions. Despite Congress' refusing to go along, the
agency is getting plenty of help from many statehouses.  The EPA
contends that rising greenhouse gas emissions threaten to
dangerously increase global temperatures, which the Obama
administration says justifies Draconian controls to drive
coal-fired energy plants out of business, and greatly reduce
operation of other fossil-fuel electricity generators. Posted. 
http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/epa-343221-states-mandates.html
 
Frozen out. Canada's government should free its scientists to
speak to the press, as its US counterpart has. Media interactions
with government scientists have undergone a reversal across North
America during the past six years. In the United States,
President Barack Obama's administration has directed federal
science agencies to develop integrity policies with clear
guidelines for scientists who are approached by journalists.
Posted.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v483/n7387/full/483006a.html

Five Reasons Gas Price Rise. As I write this, regular gasoline is
at 2008 levels, more than $4 a gallon, in California, Hawaii and
Alaska, and pretty darn close to that ($3.94) at stations down
the street from where I live in Connecticut. Gas prices have
risen 29 cents a gallon since December. Pain at the pumps is very
real, but can we attribute it to President Obama’s “radical
environmentalism,” to use Rick Santorum’s catchy phrase? Nah. As
the Washington Post put it, “Readers should immediately discount
anything politicians say about gas prices.” Posted.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/eco-nomics/2012/03/05/five-reasons-gas-prices-rise/

Time to Let the Sun Shine on Air Board’s Shady Accounting
Practices. There’s an old saying in politics:  “Sunshine is the
best disinfectant.”  Unfortunately, the California Air Resources
Board (CARB) has been operating under cover of dense fog for
several years now when it comes to accounting for millions of
dollars in “administrative fees” it spent on managing AB 32, the
state’s global warming law. To date, the Legislature has
appropriated nearly $100 million to CARB for this purpose,
“borrowed” from unrelated special funds (the Recycled Beverage
Container Fund and the Motor Vehicle Fund).  Posted.
http://www.foxandhoundsdaily.com/2012/03/time-to-let-the-sun-shine-on-air-boards-shady-accounting-practices/

BLOGS

Volkswagen Cross Coupe TDI Concept: VW Previews a Diesel-Hybrid
Crossover. Geneva — An updated Tiguan crossover is coming from
Volkswagen in 2014, and although the final details of the
production model are not available, the company continues to
tease auto show audiences with conceptual hints like the Cross
Coupe. The four-door concept, previewed on Monday night before
the first of two days of news conferences here, was said to be
propelled by a plug-in hybrid diesel-electric powertrain capable
of achieving average fuel economy of 1.8 liters per 100
kilometers…Posted.
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/06/volkswagen-cross-coupe-tdi-concept-vw-previews-a-diesel-hybrid-crossover/?src=twrhp

Global Warming Can't Be Addressed Without Addressing Carbon
Dioxide.  Soot from diesel exhausts and the burning of wood,
agricultural waste and dung for heating and cooking causes an
estimated two million premature deaths a year, particularly in
the poorest countries.  Scientists say that concerted action on
these substances can reduce global temperatures by 0.5 degrees
Celsius by 2050 and prevent millions of cases of lung and heart
disease by 2030. Posted. 
http://www.celsias.com/article/poor-nations-duped-global-warming-and-air-pollutio/

Deutsche Bank: Big Energy Efficiency Push Could Save Americans $1
Trillion, Cut CO2 10%, Create 3 Million Jobs. Scaling up energy
efficiency retrofits around the U.S. could save an estimated $1
trillion over the next 10 years while creating 3.3 million job
years for a wide range of skilled workers, according to study
released this week from Deutsche Bank and the Rockefeller
Foundation. The study, “United States Building Energy Efficiency
Retrofits,” calculates the massive economic impact a $279 billion
investment in energy efficiency would have. Posted.
http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2012/03/04/436737/deutsche-bank-big-energy-efficiency-push-could-save-americans-1-trillion-cut-co2-10-create-3-million-jobs/?mobile=nc