What's New List Serve Post Display
Below is the List Serve Post you selected to display.
newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for May 9, 2013.
Posted: 09 May 2013 11:46:50
ARB Newsclips for May 9, 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. CAP AND TRADE Carbon champions steadfast despite Kyoto’s dead end: UN. Informal group makes inroads, such as California allowing companies to trade pollution rights in Quebec. Carbon-market supporters from China to California will push for emissions trading even as they prepare for the end of the United Nations Kyoto Protocol in seven years, Europe’s top climate negotiator said. Nations including China and New Zealand and some U.S. states have formed an informal group, “kind of the champions of the carbon market,”…Posted. http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/Carbon+champions+steadfast+despite+Kyoto+dead/8360449/story.html#ixzz2SoaTxqWN CLIMATE CHANGE Agriculture, Livestock Remain Major GHG Sources. Global greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector totaled 4.69 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2010, the most recent year for which data are available — an increase of 13 percent over 1990 emissions, according to Worldwatch Institute says. By comparison, global CO2 emissions from transport totaled 6.76 billion tons in 2010, and emissions from electricity and heat production reached 12.48 billion tons, the Vital Signs report says. Posted. http://www.environmentalleader.com/2013/05/09/agriculture-livestock-remain-major-ghg-sources/ Tilting at Windmills: Arguments for and Against Climate Change. Whether they call it global warming, climate change or even global cooling, more and more Americans are taking a stand on one side or the other of this hotly debated issue. According to a survey published last year by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication, 66 percent of Americans believe that global warming is happening, with 42 percent concerned that it will harm people in the United States between now and the next 10 years. Posted. http://www.foxnews.com/weather/2013/05/09/tilting-at-windmills-arguments-for-and-against-climate-change/#ixzz2Soch0TyR FUELS A Fossil Fuel Saves Lives, Money and CO2 in Darfur. Fossil fuels typically don’t leap to mind as carbon-cutting alternative energy sources. Yet in Sudan's North Darfur region, liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG, is helping reduce carbon emissions, plus saving lives and money. A project started in 2007 by Practical Action, a British non-governmental group, and Carbon Clear, a company that sells emission offsets, aims to halve household emissions generated by wood- or charcoal-fired stoves. Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-09/a-fossil-fuel-saves-lives-money-and-co2-in-darfur.html Ethanol’s Discount to Gasoline Narrows on Low Seasonal Output. Ethanol’s discount to gasoline narrowed on concern that tight corn supplies before this year’s harvest will curtail production of the biofuel. The spread, or price difference, shrank by 2.89 cents to 24.19 cents a gallon at 11:55 a.m. New York time a day after the Energy Information Administration said ethanol output last week fell 1.6 percent to 843,000 barrels a day. Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2013-05-09/ethanol-s-discount-to-gasoline-narrows-on-low-seasonal-output.html Foes Suggest a Tradeoff if Pipeline Is Approved. President Obama’s first major environmental decision of his second term could be to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, profoundly disappointing environmental advocates who have made the project a symbolic test of the president’s seriousness on climate change. But could some kind of deal be in the offing — a major climate policy announcement on, for example, power plant regulation or renewable energy incentives — to ease the sting of the pipeline approval? Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/business/energy-environment/a-call-for-quid-pro-quo-on-keystone-pipeline-approval.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 Jackson’s Fracking Bill Clears Committee. A fracking regulation measure authored by State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson made it out of the Environmental Quality Committee this week with a 6-3 vote. The bill, SB 395, would give oversight authority to the Department of Toxic Substances Control, which would be able to regulate surface fluids left by the oil and gas extraction method known as fracking. Posted. http://www.independent.com/news/2013/may/09/jacksons-fracking-bill-clears-committee/ Automakers warn new ethanol mandate could damage vehicles. Detroit says it will ruin your engine. The EPA says it's safe. Farmers say it's better than foreign oil. Oil companies say it's more expensive than gasoline. But as Washington looks to compel refiners to blend more and more ethanol into gasoline, consumers are still left with the basic and critical question -- how much ethanol is safe to put in their cars? Automakers warn the government's ethanol mandate could damage vehicles if it continues to grow. Posted. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/05/07/auto-makers-warn-new-ethanol-mandate-could-damage-cars/#ixzz2SogsA9gE UC-Davis publishes Calif. low carbon fuel standard status update. The University of California-Davis Institute of Transportation Studies has published a new status review of the state’s low carbon fuel standard (LCFS). The review is the second in a series of periodic status reports. According to information published by the ITS, the status reports review data, analyze trends and identify potential challenges associated with the program. However, the status reports do not make predictions. Posted. http://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/9100/uc-davis-publishes-calif-low-carbon-fuel-standard-status-update REFINERY Richmond taking hard line on Chevron in aftermath of fire. City officials made it clear Tuesday night: While the investigation into last summer's fire at the Chevron refinery here is near an end, the legal and policy implications will reach far into the future. Though it postponed making a formal decision Tuesday, the City Council is poised to contract with a high-profile San Francisco law firm to secure damages from Chevron stemming from the massive Aug. 6 fire, which sent more than 15,000 residents to area hospitals. Posted. http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_23201474/richmond-taking-hard-line-chevron-aftermath-fire http://www.contracostatimes.com/contra-costa-times/ci_23194855/richmond-may-contract-firm-seek-damages-stemming-from http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/morning_call/2013/05/richmond-takes-tough-stance-on-chevron.html VEHICLES Tesla Model S gets Consumer Reports' top score. The Tesla Motors Inc. Model S electric car has tied an older Lexus for the highest score ever recorded in Consumer Reports magazine's automotive testing. The Model S, which starts at $62,400 after a federal tax credit, scored 99 points on a scale of 100 in the magazine's battery of tests. "It accelerates handles and brakes like a sports car. It has the ride and quietness of a luxury car and is far more energy-efficient than the best hybrid cars,"…Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2013/05/09/5407591/tesla-model-s-gets-consumer-reports.html#storylink=cpy http://www.mercurynews.com/cars/ci_23206009/consumer-reports-gives-near-perfect-score-tesla-model http://money.cnn.com/2013/05/09/autos/tesla-model-s-consumer-reports/index.html http://www.freep.com/article/20130509/BUSINESS0104/305090066/Consumer-Reports-Tesla-Model-S-best-car-it-has-tested-in-6-years http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/electric-car-stay-tesla-model-s-named-top-car-consumer-reports-article-1.1339228 Tesla Motors posts first quarterly profit in its 10-year history. For the first time in its 10 year history, electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc. turned a quarterly profit, beating analysts expectations for sales of its pricey luxury sedans. The Palo Alto automaker on Wednesday reported net income of $11.2 million, or 12 cents a share, in the three month period that ended March 31. That's up from a loss of $89.9 million, or 76 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts, on average, had predicted a profit of 4 cents a share. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-0509-tesla-earnings-20130509,0,3047976.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedly http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2013/05/08/tesla-stock-soars-on-q1-earnings.html?ana=RSS&s=article_search&utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bizj_sanjose+%28Silicon+Valley+%2F+San+Jose+Business+Journal%29 http://www.wired.com/autopia/2013/05/tesla-profit-q1-2013/?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Top+Stories%29 Best Used Diesel 2013: The Car Connection's Picks. Diesel vehicles have always had their fans; but in recent years, new-generation clean-diesel models have elevated the technology above that crowd. For the most part, the overbearing diesel clatter is gone; so is the exhaust soot and odor. And diesels simply make a good sense for Americans, who spend a lot of their drive time on the highway, or on long commutes, where the technology really shines--often returning better mileage in the real world than EPA ratings suggest. Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/cars/best-used-diesel-2013-the-car-connections-picks/2013/05/08/7147436c-b82d-11e2-b568-6917f6ac6d9d_story.html Industry subsidizing electric cars, adding 32 charging ports to Metrolink station. The four-county, clean-air plan whacks air emissions in hundreds of ways, from controls on factories and refineries, to newfangled formulas for paint to a greenhouse gas reduction scheme that involves cap-and-trade auctions. Some call for a more direct approach. What if cities and the South Coast Air Quality Management District simply gave away cash to people who buy electric cars? That's exactly what the city of Industry and the SCAQMD are doing. Posted. http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_23202775/industry-subsidizing-electric-cars-adding-32-charging-ports.html Automakers hawk electric 'compliance cars' to meet rules. Automakers are in the uncomfortable position of building mostly at a loss a class of small electric cars that garner a lot of attention but few sales just to satisfy rules imposed by one state, California. As a result, they've acquired the name "compliance cars." They include electric versions of such familiar models as the Chevrolet Spark, Honda Fit and Toyota RAV4. Posted. http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2013/05/09/electric-cars-compliance-cars/2144853/ New taxes make electric vehicle owners pay their share. Electric vehicles use the same roads, the same bridges and the same infrastructure as the rest of us. But because they don't burn gasoline, they're immune from paying taxes at the pump to fund that infrastructure. That's going to change. EV buyers have long received a federal tax credit of $7,500, but with the passage of Washington state's House Bill 2660 last year, what one hand giveth, the other taketh away. Eager to recoup some of the money lost to those opting for zero-emissions motoring…Posted. http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/09/tech/innovation/electric-vehicle-taxes/index.html GREEN ENERGY Patent filing claims solar energy ‘breakthrough’ In a U.S. patent application, a little-known Maryland inventor claims a stunning solar energy breakthrough that promises to end the planet’s reliance on fossil fuels at a fraction of the current cost – a transformation that also could blunt global warming. Inventor Ronald Ace said that his flat-panel “Solar Traps,” which can be mounted on rooftops or used in electric power plants, will shatter decades-old scientific and technological barriers that have stymied efforts to make solar energy a cheap, clean and reliable alternative. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2013/05/08/5404738/patent-filing-claims-solar-energy.html#storylink=cpy http://www.modbee.com/2013/05/08/2706167/patent-filing-claims-solar-energy.html#storylink=cpy BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY California's New Energy Plants To Be More Sunny, Less Gassy. Of new energy generating capacity slated to come online in the second half of 2013 in California, the overwhelming majority is solar. That's 1,581 megawatts -- or 97 percent -- of the 1,633 planned for the last two quarters of the year. (And these solar figures don't include "behind the meter" rooftop solar.) The remaining will made up by another renewable source: biomass. Posted. http://www.kcet.org/news/rewire/solar/almost-all-of-states-planned-new-energy-for-late-2013-is-solar.html?utm_source=feedly Research center to create custom forecasts to help utilities use renewable power. In the world of renewable power generation, weather forecasts are key. Xcel Energy Inc., the largest utility provider of wind energy in the country, knows this all too well. And as the utility anticipates an increase in solar power, primarily from distributed rooftop panels feeding back into the grid, accurate sunlight predictions will also become an important part of how it balances its energy demand. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2013/05/09/6 BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY MISCELLANEOUS Council OKs port rail yard but lawsuit is threatened. The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday approved a controversial rail yard near the Port of Los Angeles, setting the stage for possible court challenges, alleging violations of environmental and civil rights laws. The proposal to build a staging center for trains hauling freight from the largest harbor complex in the nation has raised questions about environmental justice, particularly for nearby minority and working-class neighborhoods of west Long Beach, which could be affected by the project. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-rail-yard-20130508,0,5078413.story OPINIONS Don't dilute CEQA, improve it. The Environmental Quality Act plays an important role in protecting Californians. I remember life before the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA. I grew up in Altadena and Pasadena during the late 1930s and '40s. All too often I awoke to thick smog and air quality warnings. I watched as segments of the San Gabriel Valley shifted from orange groves to miles upon miles of housing, and communities were cut in half by an ever-expanding network of freeways. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-vandekamp-ceqa-california-environment-20130509,0,4783663.story Another View: Oil tax would hurt state's economy. Dan Morain got it wrong on the oil severance tax ("Calculating the profits, pitfalls of an oil tax, May 1). Like other Capitol insiders, he is laboring under the notion that an oil severance tax is a free lunch. It's not. It's a huge tax increase on energy production and it will result in a decline in oil production here and an increase in the oil we import from foreign countries. It will result in the loss of thousands of California jobs and put upward pressure on the prices we pay for gasoline and diesel. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2013/05/09/5406186/oil-tax-would-hurt-states-economy.html#storylink=cpy It will cause air problems. There's no doubt. Fresno's new General Plan will be tough to implement, especially since it will reverse decades of poor planning. The proposed Granville Health Sciences project will serve as an anchor for a new town in the Sierra foothills. From a public health perspective, Central Fresno is the answer. Locating a new town in the foothills will only contribute to our air quality problems and increase air pollution-related diseases like asthma, heart disease, obesity, cancer, etc. Posted. http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/05/09/3291639/it-will-cause-air-problems.html#storylink=cpy Global Warming: Ah Baloney! You still see these folks spewing out the magic term global climate change every chance they get, but just like Obama's economy, no matter how you look at the numbers, there are more people without jobs each month then the previous month. View slideshow: Global Warming: Ah Baloney! This year has been the coldest 5 months on record. At least in my area it has been the coolest spring. The forsythias have kept their yellow blossoms longer than any time I can remember. Posted. http://www.examiner.com/article/global-warming-ah-baloney BLOGS Fresh Analysis of the Pace of Warming and Sea-Level Rise. Here are two useful articles assessing the latest thinking on the pace at which Greenland ice loss could raise sea levels and the implications of the recent plateau in global temperatures (one acknowledged by climate scientists including Susan Solomon and James Hansen): Michael Lemonick at Climate Central writes on new research finding it’s unlikely that the recent surge of ice flowing into the sea from Greenland’s glaciers is the new normal. Posted. http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/fresh-analysis-of-the-pace-of-warming-and-sea-level-rise/ CLIMATE CHANGE: Carbon-storing trees have economic benefits. This is the time of year to be thinking about trees, what with Arbor Day being the last Friday in April and Riverside Public Utilities offering free trees to residents through its Shade Tree Rebate Program that ends June 30. So it’s timely that the U.S. Forest Service recently released a study on the benefits of trees in storing carbon in their trunks. Trees capture carbon dioxide – the primary greenhouse gas emission contributing to climate change – release oxygen and store the carbon. Posted. http://blog.pe.com/environment/2013/05/09/3094/#more-3094 This scientist needs your help to study air pollution from coal trains “Do coal and diesel trains make for unhealthy air?” Dan Jaffe, an atmospheric sciences professor at the University of Washington-Bothell, thinks that’s a fair question to consider as Washington state grapples with whether to allow the construction of coal-export terminals that could triple the amount of daily coal-train traffic chugging through the state. But Jaffe, whose lab has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers on air pollution…Posted. http://grist.org/news/this-scientist-needs-your-help-to-study-air-pollution-from-coal-trains/