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ARB Newsclips for May 18, 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

Residents slam state's Mecca report. Despite soil OK, many
believe recycler poses a health threat. MECCA — Despite soil
samples the state took recently coming back as nonhazardous, some
Mecca residents remain deeply skeptical about a recycling plant
blamed for the noxious smells that permeated their community.
“We, the residents, the way we measure it, is with our health,”
Mecca resident Daniel Guerrero told about 50 people gathered for
a Department of Toxic Substances Control public meeting Thursday
about Western Environmental Inc. Posted.
http://www.mydesert.com/article/20120518/NEWS01/205180306/Residents-slam-state-s-Mecca-report?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFrontpage
http://www.kmir6.com/news/toprotator/151996715.html

EPA sends boiler rules to White House. U.S. EPA yesterday sent
reconsidered air standards for industrial boilers and commercial
incinerators to the White House for final review. The so-called
Boiler MACT rule was submitted to the Office of Management and
Budget, according to a federal website that tracks rulemaking.
The move signals that EPA intends to follow through on plans to
issue the final rule this spring or summer. OMB typically has 90
days to review proposals and can ask for a 30-day extension.
Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2012/05/18/3 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

CLIMATE CHANGE

Is New Green Law Creating More Green for Logging Companies? NBC
Bay Area Investigates California's new Cap and Trade Law.
California's new Cap and Trade program has been hailed as the
gold standard in environmental law for the entire world. Not only
are other states looking to the law but other countries, too, are
watching to judge its effects on the global economy and
environment. Now, NBC Bay Area's Investigative Unit has learned
of questions surrounding fundamental issues about how the new law
is applied and who benefits from it that could undermine the
entire program's credibility. Posted.
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/Legal-Critics-of-Californias-New-Cap-and-Trade--151916605.html

Saskatchewan uses emissions from ethanol plant to stimulate oil
production. A Canadian energy company announced yesterday it has
begun capturing carbon dioxide at an ethanol plant in
Saskatchewan. The captured greenhouse gas from the plant run by
Husky Energy will be piped to nearby oil fields for permanent
storage and use in enhanced oil recovery. The overall cost of the
project initially is estimated to be roughly $23 million, with
the Canadian government contributing $14.5 million. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2012/05/18/6 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

FUELS

US WCoast Products - Gasoline continues drop. Gasoline
differentials fell further on Thursday as BP Plc's
225,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Cherry Point, Washington, refinery
continued its return to production after being shut for three
months. May-delivery CARBOB gasoline slid 2 cents to a 23-cent
premium per gallon over June NYMEX RBOB gasoline in the Los
Angeles spot market. CARBOB gasoline in the San Francisco Bay
market sold at an 8-cent discount to L.A. on the return of Tesoro
Corp's 166,000 bpd Martinez, California, refinery to full
production following an overhaul. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/17/markets-products-westcoast-idUSL1E8GHK2P20120517
 
VEHICLES

Five Electric Cars That Will Stretch Your Mileage.  Cars With
Superior Gas Mileage.
Car technology has come a long way. In the fight to decrease
dependency on oil and avoid high gas prices, more
electric-powered cars are starting to make their way onto the
scene. It's now possible to get what's referred to as an mpg
equivalent of more than 100. That's mostly due to drastic
improvements in lithium-ion battery technology. Lithium-ion
batteries are able to produce more power in a smaller area than
their nickel-metal-hydride counterparts, which are used in some
hybrids such as the Prius. Posted. 
http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2012/05/17/five-electric-cars-that-will-stretch-your-mileage/

HIGH-SPEED RAIL

Ballot measure to derail bullet train advances. An initiative
aimed at derailing California's bullet train is clear to collect
signatures in a quest for November's ballot. The measure --
pushed by a state senator and a former U.S. House member -- would
halt the sale of bonds to finance construction of the train and
officially terminate the venture. It aims to thwart any restart
effort as well, prohibiting California from taking on any new
debt or spending any federal, state or local funds for the
high-speed rail project. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2012/05/18/9 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

GREEN ENERGY

China rejects US ruling in solar dumping case. China's government
on Friday rejected a U.S. antidumping ruling against its makers
of solar power equipment and Chinese manufacturers warned
possible higher tariffs might hurt efforts to promote clean
energy. The conflict has worsened U.S.-Chinese trade tensions.
The two governments have pledged to cooperate in developing
renewable energy but accuse each other of violating free-trade
pledges by subsidizing their own manufacturers. "The U.S. ruling
is unfair, and the Chinese side expresses its extreme
dissatisfaction," said a Commerce Ministry spokesman, Shen
Danyang, in a statement. Posted.
http://www.nctimes.com/business/china-rejects-us-ruling-in-solar-dumping-case/article_b7aa347d-62cd-5fcb-8f79-ca5bc45e0e53.html

Biotech industry scales up to meet demand for renewable products.
Technological advancements and growing market demand are allowing
biotechnology companies to scale up, said a panel of industry
experts at a clean technology workshop in Washington, D.C.,
yesterday. There's "a tremendous amount of interest in green
materials" by large consumer companies interested in reducing
their carbon footprints, said Tony Lent, senior managing director
for the investment firm Wolfensohn & Co. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2012/05/18/7  BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

Cities look to wind for streetlight power source. As municipal
budgets continue to be cut, some cities around the world are
looking to harness wind to power their streetlights. While other
cities have opted to use technologies such as light-emitting
diodes and smart lighting, wind power -- through distributed
energy -- has been an option that allows municipalities to cut
down on fossil fuel usage and get off the traditional grid. The
distributed renewable energy market was estimated to be about $70
billion globally last year and is expected to top $150 billion by
2015. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2012/05/18/21
BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

BLOGS

Swapping Out Charcoal With Ethanol. Africa used to boast nearly
three million square miles of forest, only about one-third of
which remain today. The principal culprit is charcoal production
for cookstove fuel, which emits soot that leads to endemic health
problems. The World Health Organization says the health
consequences of cooking with charcoal parallel the effects of
smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. Just imagine firing up a
charcoal barbecue indoors every time you cooked. Posted.
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/18/swapping-biofuels-for-charcoal/?ref=science

New Classroom Science Standards Up for Review. The first
substantial update to national science teaching standards in
roughly 15 years — and the first including the science of
human-driven climate change — is open for public comment through
this month. Here’s a short video description: Posted.
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/18/new-classroom-science-standards-up-for-review/