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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for May 20, 2013.
Posted: 20 May 2013 13:58:14
ARB Newsclips for May 20, 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 South Korea May Launch World’s Most Ambitious Cap And Trade Market. With roughly 18 months until launch, South Korea appears ready to create the world’s most ambitious cap and trade market, with the highest global price on carbon. These findings jump from a Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) white paper analyzing how potential market designs could affect the nation’s carbon price and market efficiency, and are a reminder that global cap and trade could still be integral to combating climate change. Posted. http://cleantechnica.com/2013/05/18/south-korea-may-launch-worlds-most-ambitious-cap-and-trade-system/ AIR POLLUTION In Southern California, a Burning Issue. As chairman of the governing board of the South Coast Air Quality Management District, William Burke perhaps never thought he would have to defend his position on the layering of fire-roasted marshmallows between chocolate and graham crackers. "It's not like I'm anti-s'mores," Mr. Burke explained to a passionate crowd who packed a recent board meeting of air regulators. "My job is just to clean the air." Posted. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323398204578491433233053980.html Wood fire pits could pose health problems for beach residents, AQMD study shows. The smoke from one beach fire pit generates the same pollution as a heavy-duty diesel truck traveling 564 miles, according to air quality experts who are considering banning the popular pits. A preliminary study by the Air Quality Management District this past week considers the health risks of smoke in support of a potential regional ban on wood for beach-ring fires. Posted. http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_23274978/wood-fire-pits-could-pose-health-problems-beach Not Your Grandpa's RV: This Roving Lab Tracks Air Pollution. If you're driving down the road someday and you come across a camper with a 50-foot periscope sticking up into the sky, you just might have crossed paths with Ira Leifer. His quirky vehicle is on a serious mission. It's sniffing the air for methane, a gas that contributes to global warming. Leifer is an atmospheric scientist at the University of California, Santa Barbara. But you'll more often find him off campus, in a garage, next to a string of auto body shops near the airport. Posted. http://www.npr.org/2013/05/18/184863769/not-your-grandpas-rv-this-roving-lab-tracks-air-pollution EPA -- at last -- is ready to publish Tier 3 rule. Nearly two months after proposing a rule to lower sulfur levels in gasoline, U.S. EPA is set to publish it in the Federal Register tomorrow. According to the 1,572-page pre-publication notice, the Tier 3 rule would "result in significant reductions in pollutants such as ozone, particulate matter and air toxics across the country and help state and local agencies in their efforts to attain and maintain health-based National Ambient Air Quality Standards." Posted. http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2013/05/20/stories/1059981479 BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY CLIMATE CHANGE U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear Alaska climate change case. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an Alaskan village's claim that it should be able to sue oil companies and utilities for damages attributed to climate change. Lawyers for the village of Kivalina wanted various named defendants responsible for greenhouse emissions, including Exxon Mobil Corp, Chevron Corp and Duke Energy Corp, to pay damages for greater flooding and erosion that they say have caused by a reduction in sea ice. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/20/usa-court-climate-idUSL2N0DW2B020130520 Extreme global warming seen further away than previously thought. Extreme global warming is less likely in coming decades after a slowdown in the pace of temperature rises so far this century, an international team of scientists said on Sunday. Warming is still on track, however, to breach a goal set by governments around the world of limiting the increase in temperatures to below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times, unless tough action is taken to limit rising greenhouse gas emissions. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/19/us-climate-temperatures-idUSBRE94I0DJ20130519 Analysis: Airline emissions deal may not come before EU deadline. Hope is fading for a global deal to regulate the airline industry's greenhouse gas emissions ahead of a fall deadline, even though failure could push the industry back to the brink of a trade war over the European Union's emissions trading system. Last November the EU suspended its controversial scheme to force all airlines to buy carbon credits for any flight arriving in or departing from European airspace. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/19/us-airlines-climate-icao-analysis-idUSBRE94I07E20130519 Indoor pot production leaves giant carbon footprint. Marijuana growing is not a green industry. Done mostly indoors in, pot production often uses hospital-intensity lamps, air conditioning, dehumidifiers, fans and carbon-dioxide generators to stimulate plants and boost their potency. The power-hungry crops rival data centers or server farms in intense use of electricity, according to a peer-reviewed study last year in the journal Energy Policy. One kilo, or 2.2 pounds, of pot grown indoors, the study says, leaves a carbon footprint equivalent to driving across the country…Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2013/05/20/5433393/indoor-pot-production-leaves-giant.html#storylink=cpy State struggles to adjust to problems posed by 'the new normal' As California continues its groundbreaking push to lower its greenhouse gas emissions, it wants to remind the public and other governments why it's taking action. State and federal projections of sea-level rise underscore the need for California to keep reducing its emissions, officials told state legislators at an oversight hearing in Sacramento yesterday. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059981360/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY DIESEL EMISSIONS CARB offers free classes on diesel truck rules. The California Air Resources Board is offering two classes to help diesel truck owners understand how to comply with the state’s multiple regulations on diesel emissions. Course 520 is “How to comply with CARB Diesel Regulations.” An email message from CARB to subscribers of agency updates says CARB will hold the class in various California cities this spring and early summer…Posted. http://www.landlinemag.com/Story.aspx?StoryID=25200 FUELS RPT COLUMN-Carbon capture faces scale dilemma: Gerard Wynn. European policymakers face a difficult decision on building carbon capture and storage (CCS) - saving money in the long run requires spending more upfront. CCS captures carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from a fossil fuel power plant and then pipes it to an underground storage site such as a depleted gas or oil reservoir. In theory, CCS would allow energy producers to continue to burn fossil fuels and still meet carbon emission targets. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/20/column-wynn-carbon-capture-idUSL6N0E10YS20130520 COLUMN-Koch's unsightly coke mountain: Kemp Petroleum coke piled up along the banks of the Detroit River has sparked a storm of protest from local residents and environmental campaigners, who claim they are just one more problem associated with the bituminous tar sands being mined in western Canada. "A black mound of Canadian oil waste is rising over Detroit," the New York Times scolded in an article published on Friday. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/20/column-kemp-koch-petroleum-coke-idUSL6N0E122N20130520 Tesoro is cleared to buy BP's Carson refinery, Arco stations. Tesoro won U.S. and state clearance to buy BP's Carson refinery, Arco stations and other assets for $2.4 billion. Consumer advocates object. Tesoro Corp. won federal and state clearance for its purchase of BP's Carson refinery, Arco stations and other assets for $2.4 billion, an acquisition that would further concentrate the state's fuel-making capacity into only two players — Tesoro and Chevron Corp. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-arco-tesoro-20130518,0,2353462.story California oil tax push would direct new funds to schools. Just months after California voters passed Proposition 30 to stave off education cuts, a push is under way to ensure that the next stream of higher education funding flows out of the ground. The idea of an oil severance tax has been bubbling for years, but proponents have been unable to surmount intense lobbying from the energy industry. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2013/05/20/5432778/california-oil-tax-push-would.html#storylink=cpy Calif.'s proposed moratoriums might not apply to other drilling in Monterey Shale – activists. A war of words is brewing over hydraulic fracturing and efforts to ban or limit it in California. Activists who believe they've created negative buzz around the oil and gas extraction process also called "fracking" have launched a new battle: persuading the state's Legislature to look at also restricting different drilling techniques. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/energywire/stories/1059981451/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY White House wraps up review of fuel technologies. The White House has completed a seven-month review of renewable fuel technologies and feedstocks. The review of a rule proposed by U.S. EPA that could allow certain new types of fuel to count under the federal biofuel standard wrapped up Friday, according to the White House Office of Management and Budget. EPA, which sent the rule to the office in October, has yet to release the language of the decisions or to indicate when and how it will take any final action on the fuels. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1059981480/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY VEHICLES Transmission engineers are shifting to higher gears. In the next few years, many new vehicles will have transmissions with up to 10 speeds. The change will help meet stricter fuel economy and pollution standards. Automakers are spending billions of dollars to squeeze efficiency from a car part most people never think twice about — the transmission. Over the next five years, many new vehicles will have transmissions with up to 10 speeds, replacing the mostly six-speed transmissions in cars now. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-autos-transmissions-20130517,0,7050486.story California ARB 2013 research project to characterize ZEV market; assessing future market potential. The California Air Resources Board (ARB) 2013 research plan includes a project that will comprehensively characterize the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) market, with the ultimate goal of increasing consumer purchases of ZEVs. The proposed project will investigate the factors that influence sales of ZEVs in California (e.g., price, vehicle range, infrastructure). Posted. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2013/05/zev-20130518.html Grant pays for hybrid SUVs. Menifee is projected to save $36,000 in general fund money with the purchase of four hybrid vehicles for its code enforcement staff. The city will be using grant money from the South Coast Air Quality Management District to pay for four Toyota Highlander hybrids. Before, the city was renting four vehicles for $750 each per month. That’s $36,000 annually for four vehicles from the general fund. Posted. http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/menifee/menifee-headlines/20130518-menifee-grant-pays-for-hybrid-suvs.ece You can't mandate human behavior. They are at it again in California. The mandates for zero-emission vehicles mean that to sell any volume there; you will need to have some sort of electric car for that market. Several other states likely will enforce the same ZEV requirements, making it even more challenging for manufacturers. Some car companies may decide to get out of the California market because it doesn't make sense. Posted. http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130520/OEM11/305209974/you-cant-mandate-human-behavior#axzz2TqUJKnGc GREEN ENERGY Insight: The road to a greener America is littered with road-kill. In October 2004, then California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger rolled up to a pioneering fueling station at Los Angeles International Airport in a hydrogen-powered metallic blue Hummer loaned to him by General Motors Corp. The "California Hydrogen Highway," Schwarzenegger's vision to ensure that every Californian would have access to a hydrogen fueling station by the end of 2010, called for the state to spend more than $50 million to help deploy up to 100 hydrogen fuel stations that would serve 2,000 fuel cell vehicles. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/20/us-usa-energy-green-insight-idUSBRE94J03D20130520 Consumer interest in clean energy topics drops – report. Public support for the nation's two largest renewable energy resources -- solar and wind -- eroded slightly in 2012, but they retained strong overall favorability ratings among consumers, at 69 and 66 percent respectively, according to findings released last week by Pike Research. But compared with 2009, the technologies have lost a larger share of public support; that year, both wind and solar had favorability ratings of around 80 percent, according to a white paper detailing the survey's findings. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1059981411/print BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY MISCELLANEOUS Letters show rift over San Onofre nuclear repairs. Letters show inability of Southern California Edison and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to agree on a long-range repair plan for the facility, off-line since January 2012. In a flurry of letters late last year, Southern California Edison and the manufacturer that designed the steam generators at the now-dark San Onofre nuclear power plant appeared to be at odds over a long-term plan to repair the troubled facility. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-san-onofre-20130520,0,2851283.story UCR: Students invent smog-cutting device for mowers. Rosalva Chavez wishes she and her team had finished their invention many years ago. Perhaps then, she said, her father might not have the coughing and asthma that plague him. Chavez, 22, an environmental engineering student at UC Riverside, is part of a five-person team that recently unveiled an emissions-reducing attachment for lawnmowers and other small-engine devices. Posted. http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/riverside/riverside-headlines-index/20130517-ucr-students-invent-smog-cutting-device-for-mowers.ece OPINIONS Climate change is an issue that needs to be discussed thoughtfully and objectively. Unfortunately, claims that distort the facts hinder the legitimate evaluation of policy options. The rhetoric has driven some policymakers toward costly regulations and policies that will harm hardworking American families and do little to decrease global carbon emissions. The Obama administration’s decision to delay, and possibly deny, the Keystone XL pipeline is a prime example. Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/lamar-smith-overheated-rhetoric-on-climate-change-hurts-the-economy/2013/05/19/32cb6d94-bda4-11e2-97d4-a479289a31f9_story.html Alter CEQA but don't weaken it. When it comes to the California Environmental Quality Act, modest changes are needed. Does California's signature environmental law protect the state's air, water and wilderness by acting as a check on runaway projects proposed by overzealous developers? Or does it encourage baseless lawsuits that unfairly delay and even derail worthwhile projects that could provide badly needed jobs and housing for Californians? Actually, it does both. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-ed-ceqa-reform-california-environmental-quality-20130520,0,3982517.story Viewpoints: Should California cap and trade use forestry offsets? No Plan won’t stop actual emissions. When Californians passed AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act, we committed to one of the most forward-thinking pieces of climate legislation in the country, with comprehensive strategies to reduce carbon emissions from nearly all sectors of the economy. Unfortunately, the California Air Resources Board is considering a move that will undermine the best intent of this law by linking it to a benign-sounding yet dubious and untried scheme to protect rain forests in Mexico and Brazil. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2013/05/19/v-print/5429868/viewpoints-should-california-cap.html Viewpoints: Should California cap and trade use forestry offsets? Yes State can help save other regions. We love our forests in California. After a century of rapidly losing them to farming and logging, we finally succeeded in virtually ending deforestation in California. We were driven by our interest in the natural beauty, the wildlife, the sustainable timber supplies and the water-purifying functions of old-growth redwoods along the coast, the blue oaks growing across the Central Valley and the mixed pine forests of the Sierra. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2013/05/19/5429866/viewpoints-should-california-cap.html#storylink=cpy BLOGS On climate change, Obama faces an attack from his left flank. If you want to get a sense of how impatient some of President Obama’s most loyal supporters are getting when it comes to climate change, consider this: They’re planning to conduct protests at meetings of the grassroots advocacy organization run by his former top campaign aides. Environmentalists have become increasingly frustrated that Organizing for Action…Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/05/20/on-climate-change-obama-faces-an-attack-from-his-left-flank/ Cap and trade spending plan angers enviros. Some environmental and other advocates in California have big problems with Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to use $500 million generated through the auction of pollution credits as part of the state’s cap and trade program as a loan to the general fund. Those advocates for years have worked alongside officials as the California Air Resources Board on the best way to spend the money to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and say putting off the spending shows a broader complacency about combatting climate change. Posted. http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2013/05/20/cap-and-trade-spending-plan-angers-enviros/ City purchases hybrids with air quality grant. The city is projected to save $36,000 in general fund money with the purchase of four hybrid vehicles for its code enforcement staff. The city will be using grant money from the South Coast Air Quality Management District to pay for four Toyota Highlander hybrids. Before, the city was renting four vehicles for $750 each per month. That’s $36,000 annually for four vehicles from the general fund. Posted. http://blog.pe.com/menifee/2013/05/17/menifee-city-purchases-hybrids-with-air-quality-grant-city-of-menifee-toyota-highlander-hybrid-hybrid-trucks-menifee-news/ Climate Change Study Shows Pace Is Slowing, But Extreme Action Still Vital. Extreme global warming is less likely in coming decades after a slowdown in the pace of temperature rises so far this century, an international team of scientists said on Sunday. Warming is still on track, however, to breach a goal set by governments around the world of limiting the increase in temperatures to below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times, unless tough action is taken to limit rising greenhouse gas emissions. Posted. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/19/global-warming-climate-change-study-2013_n_3303784.html?view=print&comm_ref=false