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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for January 30, 2013.
Posted: 30 Jan 2013 15:54:45
ARB Newsclips for January 30, 2013. 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 Ten years after toxic plume, Morgan Hill and surrounding communities work to find normalcy. Ten years ago this month, community leaders were shocked by the discovery that a company that manufactured road flares here had disposed of toxic chemicals improperly, creating a 10-mile-long underground plume of perchlorate, a chemical used in rocket fuel. The perchlorate tainted hundreds of drinking water wells in southern Santa Clara County. http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_22454526/ten-years-after-toxic-plume-morgan-hill-and Valley Residents, Health Advocates Call For Better Protection From Particle Pollution. The San Joaquin Valley’s polluted air is a daily concern for Mario Talavera. “When I go to the pharmacy, they ask why I need medicine," said Talavera, of Fresno. "For Mario, Angelica, Tomas, Jose. And for me too, Mario. I have asthma. The only person who doesn’t have asthma is my wife.” It’s a constant stress for Fresno resident Teresa Vidales, too. Her husband, a construction worker and the family breadwinner, has asthma. One of her four kids does, too. Posted. http://www.kvpr.org/post/valley-residents-health-advocates-call-better-protection-particle-pollution CLIMATE CHANGE Growing palm oil could speed up climate change, study says. Growing palm oil trees to make biofuels could be accelerating the effects of climate change, new research showed on Wednesday, adding further weight to claims the crop is not environmentally sustainable. In a paper published in the journal Nature, an international team of scientists examined how the deforestation of peat swamps in Malaysia to make way for palm oil trees is releasing carbon which has been locked away for thousands of years. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/30/palmoil-climate-idUSL5N0AYH1720130130 In Energy Taxes, Tools to Help Tackle Climate Change. To understand the complicated politics of climate change in the United States, you may want to talk to Pamela Johnson, president of the National Corn Growers Association’s Corn Board. She is concerned about the weather. The drought that parched the lower 48 states cut the harvest at her northern Iowa farm by about 40 bushels an acre. For the first time in memory, she says, she had to rely on the federally subsidized crop insurance program to stay afloat. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/30/business/energy-tax-is-underused-tool-in-climate-change-fight.html?_r=0 Sky-high bacteria could affect climate, scientists say. Scientists are surprised to discover bacteria and fungi floating 30,000 feet above Earth with the potential to affect weather. A team of storm-chasing scientists sampling rarefied air has found a world of bacteria and fungi floating about 30,000 feet above Earth. The findings, detailed Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest that microbes have the potential to affect the weather. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-bacteria-in-the-atmosphere-20130129,0,1961581.story Dry January shrinks snowpack. A dry January has shrunken the snowpack across the Sierra Nevada, a vital water resource for many California farms and cities. The state Department of Water Resources conducted field measurements of the snowpack at various locations on Tuesday and found it to be 93 percent of average for the date. This comes after heavy snows in December had the snowpack at above average conditions. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2013/01/29/5148611/second-snow-survey-of-the-season.html#mi_rss=Top%20Stories#storylink=cpy http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/January-3rd-driest-in-S-F-history-4234265.php#ixzz2JUa1hlP8 http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_22474639/sierra-nevada-snowpack-at-93-percent-normal DIESEL EMISSIONS CARB gives more time to Cleaire owners. An estimate thousands of trucks and off road vehicles in California have Cleaire diesel particulate filters, many of which are subject of a recall ordered by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) issued in September, 2012. So, when CARB learned that Cleaire Advanced Emission Controls ceased operations on Friday, January 18, 2013, the regulators went into damage control mode, releasing an announcement saying: Posted. http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=jc84hvcab&v=001rq5EDIUvnj479qNPZyU_OzGfXjT5yyRMxgCGcC8fzg-jWGt-a0PJCRfyfgP62ggQkngXLlYFtORGONHANTF1ybbBT6hj10cYHU7hKOuMC5Pr1W7VQmtqzhzUgXbbJyH1PX8928UjNwQdHVDDKDbH5w%3D%3D After two fires and multiple recalls, DPF maker Cleaire folds. A major manufacturer of diesel particulate filters has shut down after its filters were blamed for starting two brush fires – including a major forest fire. Cleaire Advanced Emission Controls, based in San Leandro, CA, closed up shop permanently Jan. 18. The manufacturer’s closing is expected to cause headaches for truck owners who have installed Cleaire filters in order to meet emissions mandates by the California Air Resources Board. CARB directed questions to an announcement on its website. Posted. http://www.landlinemag.com/Story.aspx?StoryID=24704 FUELS EU executive thwarts Canada lobby on tar sand oil. Canada's urgent hunt for buyers for its oil is being thwarted as the European Commission sticks to a plan to label fuel from tar sands deposits as highly polluting, deterring refiners bound by environmental rules. Intense pressure from Canada, seeking new markets to compensate for dwindling U.S. buying and discounted sales, has not convinced the EU executive to abandon its proposal to brand tar sands oil as more carbon-intensive than conventional crude. "The Commission stands by its proposal," said an EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/30/eu-canada-tarsands-idUSL5N0AYFFA20130130 Pipeline company Kinder Morgan Energy buying Copano Energy for about $3.2 billion. Kinder Morgan Energy Partners will acquire the natural gas company Copano Energy LLC for about $3.2 billion in stock, giving the energy transportation and storage company more access to oil and gas-rich territory in Texas, Wyoming and Oklahoma. Including the assumption of debt, the deal is valued at around $5 billion. Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/pipeline-company-kinder-morgan-energy-buying-copano-energy-for-about-372-billion/2013/01/30/cec95aec-6ad1-11e2-9a0b-db931670f35d_story.html Ionic liquids effective for pre-treating mixed blends of biofuel feedstocks. A collaborative study by researchers with the US Department of Energy (DOE)’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), a bioenergy research center led by Berkeley Lab, and the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has shown that an ionic liquid proven to be effective for pre-treating individual biofuel feedstocks is also effective at pre-treating multiple different feedstocks that have been mixed and densified into a blend. Posted. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2013/01/inoic-20130130.html CRC study finds that fuel systems in some modern vehicles fail with E15 use. A newly completed study (CRC Project No. AVFL-15a) by the Coordinating Research Council, a non-profit organization created and supported by the petroleum and auto industries, has found that some fuel systems in modern vehicles survive testing in mid-blend ethanol fuels, while others will experience complete failures that would prevent operation. Posted. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2013/01/crc-20130130.html VEHICLES Auto industry’s latest green technology making its way to Washington. A luxury sports car that runs on electricity, a sedan that monitors tire pressure, and a computer system that adjusts an engine’s air flow — all designed by different companies, but all designed with the same two goals in mind. Saving gas and helping the environment. Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/auto-industrys-latest-green-technology-making-its-way-to-washington/2013/01/25/ac40c9d8-666c-11e2-9e1b-07db1d2ccd5b_story.html EVs to represent 90% of total sales in Nordic region by 2050. The first regional technology study by the International Energy Agency, ‘Nordic Energy Technology Perspectives’, outlines the opportunities and challenges for the five Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden in reaching their ambitious goals towards decarbonising their energy systems by 2050. In order to become carbon-neutral by 2050, the Nordic region will have to go through big changes in the energy…Posted. http://cars21.com/news/view/5182 GREEN ENERGY Ohio regulator tied to group opposing renewables. A top state utility regulator who opposed plans for an Ohio solar farm and openly questioned global warming maintained ties with an influential conservative group that supports repealing states' renewable energy requirements. Todd Snitchler, chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, was a keynote speaker at the American Legislative Exchange Council's task force meeting in April 2011. Posted. http://www.vcstar.com/news/2013/jan/29/ohio-regulator-tied-to-group-opposing-renewables/#ixzz2JTo0fNqI Audit: Energy upgrades could save city $30K. National City could save up to $30,000 a year by replacing lights and other fixtures in many of its buildings and parks, according to a new report from SANDAG. The Energy Roadmap, a collaborative effort between SANDAG and San Diego Gas & Electric, states that pool covers at Camacho Pool would have the biggest payoff for the city, saving it $18,989 per year. It also estimates the city could save almost $1,900 annually by using alternative fuels, and between $1,000 and $1,400 annually by replacing fleet vehicles with hybrid cars. Posted. http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jan/29/energy-upgrades-national-city-environment/ OPINIONS Solar charger a must-have on the trail. It's inevitable: the battery on your electronic device will die at the most inopportune time. Whether you need your GPS to get back on the right trail or have to make a call in a pinch, expect to need a charge when you're miles from the nearest outlet. That's why a solar-powered charger such as the Solio Bolt is a must-have for any adventure or emergency kit. Posted. http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/01/30/3153239/solar-charger-a-must-have-on-the.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy LETTER: Protect Moreno Valley's air quality. I thank the South Coast Air Quality Management District for its ongoing effort on warehouse projects to protect the health of Moreno Valley residents as well as that of others in the region. I also thank your newspaper for the editorial on AQMD’s concerns (“Restrict air pollution from Moreno Valley warehouses,” Our Views, Jan. 6).Moreno Valley’s leadership only gives excuses for not implementing more of AQMD’s recommendations. Posted. http://www.pe.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor-headlines/20130129-letter-protect-moreno-valley-s-air-quality.ece