What's New List Serve Post Display

What's New List Serve Post Display

Below is the List Serve Post you selected to display.
newsclips -- Newsclips for April 4, 2013

Posted: 04 Apr 2013 11:48:35
ARB Newsclips for April 4, 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

San Diego County Attains EPA Air Quality Standards.  County
Supervisor Ron Roberts today announced that San Diego County has
met the 1997 EPA air quality standard for ground-level ozone and
will now be designated as “in attainment” heading off possible
federal sanctions and withholding of transportation funds. 
Ground level ozone is created when harmful emissions, such as
engine exhaust, react with sunlight to form SMOG, a noxious air
pollutant that damages our lungs and irritates our eyes, noses,
and throats. It can be especially dangerous for those with
breathing difficulty as well as the young and elderly.  Posted. 
http://scoopsandiego.com/news/local/san-diego-county-attains-epa-air-quality-standards/article_6e8f9d2c-9c9e-11e2-a29e-0019bb30f31a.html


OFFICIALS LAUNCH AIR QUALITY APP.  Anti-pollution officials had
two reasons to celebrate Wednesday: They launched a real-time app
that lets San Diego County residents check their neighborhood air
quality, and they officially confirmed that the region’s level of
unhealthy ozone is the lowest on record.  The officials touted
the app, which downloads real-time air-quality readings on
smartphones or computer tablets, during a crisp morning outside
the County Administration Building.  Posted. 
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/apr/04/tp-officials-launch-air-quality-app/
 

CLIMATE CHANGE

At fundraisers Obama talks climate, regaining U.S. House. The
Obama administration is expected to decide later this year
whether to approve construction of the Keystone XL pipeline,
which would run from Canada's oil sands to Texas.
Environmentalists oppose the project, saying its carbon emissions
would contribute unnecessarily to global warming. Supporters say
the pipeline is necessary to increase U.S. energy independence.
Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/04/us-usa-campaign-obama-fundraising-idUSBRE93305920130404


Alberta mulls tougher carbon rules on oil –report. Alberta is
considering a major increase in the carbon levy it charges oil
producers as it seeks to show Washington it is serious about
meeting emission-reduction goals, while promoting the contentious
Keystone XL pipeline to Texas refineries. Alberta Environment
Minister Diana McQueen offered the proposal at a meeting in
Calgary last week with oil executives and federal Environment
Minister Peter Kent, the Globe and Mail newspaper said on
Thursday. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/04/canada-alberta-environment-idUSL2N0CR0SX20130404


FUELS

Politics, environmental worries threaten new coal ports in the
Northwest.  Growing environmental objections to exporting coal
from Washington state and Oregon have begun to endanger the coal
industry’s hope to restore its flagging fortunes by shipping much
more of the embattled fossil fuel to China and India. Port
officials this week dropped plans for a terminal in Coos Bay,
Ore., just days after the governors of Oregon and Washington
urged the White House to scrutinize the global impact of
greenhouse gas emissions in Asia before approving exports from
Northwest ports. Posted.
http://www.modbee.com/2013/04/03/2652371/politics-environmental-worries.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy


Running out of gas? Thailand struggles to avert energy crunch.
Government electricity-saving plans - including agreements with
factories such as a Thai unit of Toyota Motor Corp to stop
operations on April 5 - may prevent blackouts in the short term
but point to the potential long-term economic impact. The supply
crunch also highlights the difficulties in securing alternatives.
Liquefied natural gas is much more expensive, while cheaper coal
faces strong opposition after problems caused by pollution in the
early 1990s at a coal-fired power plant. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/03/thailand-energy-idUSL3N0CA0ZK20130403


VEHICLES

New Electric Car, Old Name. Electric cars are a tough sell to
most U.S. motorists, but that didn't stop a group of
Detroit-based entrepreneurs from launching a new entry to the
market Wednesday, this one with a venerable name. A group led by
a former executive of the U.K. sports car maker Lotus Cars is
resurrecting the "Detroit Electric" brand, one of the leading
names of the Motor City's brief, early 20th Century status as a
hub of battery-powered car innovation. Posted.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323646604578401162312804322.html?KEYWORDS=vehicles

Porsche refreshes Panamera lineup, adds plug-in hybrid.  It’s
nip-and-tuck time for Porsche’s Panamera sedan.  A midlife
refresh will give 2014 models an updated look, a long wheelbase
option and new engine choices, including a turbocharged V-6 and a
plug-in hybrid. All three variations will make their world debut
April 21 at the Shanghai Auto Show.  Posted. 
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-autos-porsche-panamera-update-hybrid-20130403,0,4020457.story


Fox News declares death of green cars, says gas guzzlers rule.
When news broke Tuesday that sales of full-sized truck were
surging, Fox News seized the moment to conclude that Americans
don't really care about fuel economy.  Stuart Varney of Fox
Business asked if it was "time for Uncle Sam, maybe, to slam the
brakes on those green car incentives." He said recent high gas
prices could push people "into fuel-efficient cars, but they're
not. They're going for gas guzzlers."  Posted. 
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-fox-business-gas-guzzlers-20130403,0,6024762.story


Monthly EV sales reach all-time high in the US.  “March of 2013
has set a new benchmark for sales of plug-in vehicles, as huge
monthly gains at some automakers (and steady results at others)
have pushed the overall number of plug-in sales to an all-time
high in the US for March.” reports InsideEVs.  Posted. 
http://cars21.com/news/view/5324 

HIGH-SPEED RAIL

Rail board to talk routes in Fresno.  Engineers' recommendations
for high-speed train routes around Chowchilla and Hanford will be
presented Thursday when the California High-Speed Rail
Authority's board meets in Fresno.  The authority will also
consider amending two major contracts with consultants for work
in the San Joaquin Valley, increasing its consulting budget by
more than $47 million.  Posted. 
http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/04/03/3242139/rail-board-visits-fresno-for-route.html


OPINION 

Hey Gov. Brown here is a legacy to try on for size.  It may be
impolite in civil society to say we told you so, but we did. 
Consider the all-too-predictable news that planning costs for the
state's ill-advised high-speed rail are already nearly $100
million more than anticipated, much of it going to consultants
and pay raises for employees. We have barely stuck its toe in the
water on Gov. Jerry Brown's monument to himself and costs are
already soaring. So we have decided to create the above monument
to the governor's legacy in the hope that maybe it will be enough
for him to just make this abomination go away.  Posted. 
http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_22943569/hey-gov-brown-here-is-legacy-try-size
  

BLOGS

Obama on climate change: ‘The politics of this are tough’. 
President Obama told Democratic donors late Wednesday that he
must sharpen his argument for action on climate change and green
energy at a time when many families are still struggling
financially.  He said, "The politics of this are tough."  “[T]he
thing that I’m going to have to try to work to persuade the
American people a little more convincingly on is this notion that
there’s a contradiction between our economy and our environment —
it's just a false choice,” Obama said at a San Francisco
fundraiser.  Posted. 
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/291787-obama-on-climate-change-the-politics-of-this-are-tough


Methane leaks are undermining the shale-gas boom. Here’s how to
fix that.  At first glance, the recent shale-gas boom in the
United States looks like excellent news for efforts to slow
climate change. Natural gas is nudging aside dirtier coal in the
electric-power sector, which is driving down U.S. carbon-dioxide
emissions.  But the one huge caveat in this story has always been
methane.  Posted. 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/04/04/methane-leaks-are-undermining-the-shale-gas-boom-heres-how-to-fix-it/


What Tesla Can Learn From the Solar Industry.  Tesla stock is
down 8% today, after the game-changing announcement its founder
Elon Musk had hyped for a week turned out to hinge on some
particularly funny maths. The announcement raised two interesting
points about the company: first, that it seems to be selling a
premium product with distinctly sub-prime marketing tactics, and
second, that it has plenty to learn from Mr Musk’s other clean
energy business, SolarCity.  Posted. 
http://blogs.wsj.com/corporate-intelligence/2013/04/03/what-tesla-can-learn-from-the-solar-industry/?KEYWORDS=tesla




ARB What's New

preload