What's New List Serve Post Display
Below is the List Serve Post you selected to display.
newsclips -- Newsclips for September 18-21, 2009
Posted: 21 Sep 2009 12:35:30
California Air Resources Board News Clips for September 18-21, 2009. 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. State Forest Restoration Plan Fights Global Warming. Polluters could offset effects with plantings. Sacramento — From planting seedlings to acquiring entire groves, forest restoration projects in state parks and on federal lands could soon spring from California's aggressive initiatives to reduce emissions linked to global warming. http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/sep/21/state-forest-restoration-plan-fights-global-warmin/?metro Yes: The Transition Can Be Gradual—and Affordable. The world is facing a potential catastrophe from greenhouse-gas emissions. But nations don't have to wreck their economies to avert the crisis. Critics argue that the legislation passed earlier this year by the U.S. House of Representatives—to cut U.S. emissions 80% below 2005 levels by 2050—will mean big, disruptive changes to our infrastructure and untold economic damage. But they make a couple of basic errors. Posted. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204731804574386490490909498.html ARB Fines Sellers of Gasoline-Powered Blenders. The California Air Resources Board this month fined Orange County-based On the Edge Marketing and CSK Auto Inc. of Phoenix $240,000 for selling gasoline-powered blenders using illegal uncertified small off-road engines to California businesses and residents. Posted. http://www.thebusinessjournal.com/index.php/the-business-journal-state-news/38-state/2031-arb-fines-sellers-of-gasoline-powered-blenders.html http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/2009/09/18/20090918biz-csk0918.html http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2009/09/18/20090918biz-csk0918.html http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/uptospeed/2009/09/mojitos-of-shame-california-fines-marketers-of-gaspowered-party-blender-.html http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/21/in-california-the-party-is-over-for-gas-powered-blenders/?scp=2&sq=air%20pollution&st=cse California Plans To Levy Greenhouse Gas Fees. More than a year after Bay Area air pollution regulators became the first in the nation to charge businesses for pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the program has raked in close to $1.7 million. And as early as this week, the state may follow suit by imposing similar fees on large California polluters as part of an ongoing effort to cut greenhouse gases 20 percent by 2020. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/20/MNCK19O6HC.DTL&type=printable Obama To Shift Focus To Climate Change. The president faces serious challenges on global warming as the Copenhagen summit looms. He will speak to the United Nations and at a G-20 conference this week. After months of almost single-minded focus on healthcare, President Obama is about to shift the White House spotlight to global warming -- first with a speech to the United Nations in New York on Tuesday, then later in the week at the G-20 economic conference in Pittsburgh. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-climate21-2009sep21,0,3489766,print.story Europeans Say U.S. Lacks Will on Climate. Washington — As world leaders gather in New York for the highest-level conference yet on climate change, European leaders are expressing growing unease about the United States’ stance in international talks aimed at reaching a global agreement in Copenhagen in December. Officials of several European countries have cited what they see as a lack of political will on the part of the United States to adequately address climate change. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/21/world/europe/21climate.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper Climate-Talks Deadlock May Ease as Obama, Hu Offer Views at UN. China and the U.S., the biggest producers of greenhouse gases, may propose new steps to fight global warming this week as they remain at odds over who should pay for a low-carbon world. U.S. President Barack Obama and China’s President Hu Jintao plan to join more than 100 heads of state in New York tomorrow to discuss climate change initiatives at the United Nations. Hu will offer a new plan at the one-day summit, Xie Zhenhua, China’s senior negotiator, said last week, giving no specifics. Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aS6AUq8nyOcU UN Climate Strategy Puts Talk Ahead Of Deal-Making. United Nations—Gather a hundred heads of state in the same place, get them talking privately among themselves and hope a global climate pact starts to gel. That's the gamble the U.N. chief is taking, organizing an unusual high-level summit next week intended to build momentum for striking a deal this year on mandatory worldwide cuts in greenhouse gases. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/nation-world/ci_13358632 US Battles For Credibility On Climate Change. Washington—With Congress moving slowly on a measure to curb industrial greenhouse gas emissions, the United States may find itself with little sway at the coming international conference to construct a new pact aimed at easing global warming. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/politics/ci_13365313 Birth Control Could Help Combat Climate Change. London—Giving contraceptives to people in developing countries could help fight climate change by slowing population growth, experts said Friday. More than 200 million women worldwide want contraceptives, but don't have access to them, according to an editorial published in the British medical journal, Lancet. That results in 76 million unintended pregnancies every year. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/nation-world/ci_13366049 U.S. Reluctance on Climate Change Persists. Last Tuesday, Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat and majority leader of the U.S. Senate, was asked by a reporter to appraise the odds that Congress, in the throes of debating health care changes, would manage to pass climate legislation in 2009 — including provisions for an emissions cap-and-trade plan. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/21/business/global/21iht-green21.html Blair Touts 10 Million Jobs From Climate Action. United Nations—Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair says he hopes to break the "deadlock" in global climate talks with evidence that 10 million jobs could be created by 2020, if developing nations agree to big cuts in greenhouse gases. Blair, heading up a climate initiative, released a report that also shows a global climate agreement could increase the world's GDP by 0.8 percent by 2020, as compared with the projected gross domestic product with no climate action. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_13383898 UK's Brown Wants Summit For Climate Change Pact. London—Britain's Gordon Brown says world leaders must attend a summit in Copenhagen aimed at striking a global agreement on climate change. In an article for Newsweek published Monday, Brown said he will attend the talks on Dec. 7 to push for a deal on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/nation-world/ci_13386248 Report: Climate Bill Costs Could Be Modest. Washington—The long-term economic costs of a climate bill being considered in Congress would be "comparatively modest" in light of expected overall economic growth over the next 40 years, according to a congressional report released Friday. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/politics/ci_13368351 New Kiosks At SFO First To Sell Carbon Offsets. Travelers flying out of San Francisco International Airport can be the first in the nation to wipe away some of the damage their flights wreak on the planet by swiping their credit cards. On Thursday, the Bay Area's largest airport unveiled three Climate Passport kiosks with touch screens that determine how many pounds of carbon dioxide a trip will produce, calculate the sum an environmentally conscious traveler should contribute to projects in San Francisco and California that help reduce greenhouse gases, then allow fliers to purchase certified carbon offsets. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/17/MNO719OQN8.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea http://www.modbee.com/state/story/861726.html http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2009/sep/20/sfo-offers-carbon-offset-kiosks-for-green-flyers/ Renewable Power Decisions Create A Tangled Web. More big solar power plants in the Mojave Desert. Fewer solar panels on homes and businesses. More hydroelectric dams in British Columbia. The flurry of recent renewable power decisions in Sacramento could have far-reaching - even contradictory - results. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last week signed an executive order forcing California utilities to get 33 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/21/MN1S19PACH.DTL&type=printable Positively Clean Energy – Biomass. As California struggles to meet the renewable-energy goals set by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, we ought to embrace biomass. Biomass energy is positively carbon-neutral. Burning agricultural waste or forest residue to generate electricity releases no more carbon dioxide than if those materials simply decayed. In fact, biomass energy reduces greenhouse gas emissions, because burying those materials in landfills or burning them in the open would release tons of methane, a greenhouse gas about 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/21/EDH319P8M6.DTL&type=printable Solar Energy Firm Drops Plan For Project In Mojave Desert. BrightSource Energy's decision ends a battle with environmentalists over a 5,130-acre site in a proposed national monument. Ending a bitter feud in the rush to develop solar farms, BrightSource Energy Inc. on Thursday said it had scrapped a controversial plan to build a renewable energy facility in the eastern Mojave Desert wilderness that Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) wants to transform into a national monument. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-solar18-2009sep18,0,1844073.story?track=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/19/science/earth/19mojave.html?_r=1 Obama Retakes Global Stage, but With Diminished Momentum. Washington -- President Barack Obama will follow his springtime star turn in Europe by returning to the world stage next week, weakened by legislative stalemates on climate change and financial regulation, and facing leaders impatient for results on a range of issues. The president will fly Monday to New York to attend his first meeting of the United Nations General Assembly and then to a summit of the Group of 20 largest economic powers in Pittsburgh on Thursday and Friday. Posted. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125332211009624705.html?mod=googlenews_wsj Free PC Widgets Save Energy. shaved 0.86 pounds of emissions from my carbon footprint and saved 0.646 kilowatt hours yesterday, and if the little widget on my PC can be believed, more than 22,000 people in 128 countries did roughly the same. We're using a little software gadget developed by Hewlett-Packard as part of a campaign called Power to Change that the Palo Alto computer maker hopes will increase awareness of its environmental program. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_13360550 Warming To Solar Power. Falling prices, rising utility rates and new government incentives may finally be driving serious growth in the region's market for residential solar power. In August, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District received applications for 422 kilowatts of residential solar-panel systems — more than three times as much as in any previous month, according to data from the utility. Pacific Gas and Electric Co. also had a record month. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/realestatenews/ci_13359715?nclick_check=1 Berkeley Rebates To Jump-Start Energy Upgrades. Berkeley will give residents rebates to buy new refrigerators and make other energy upgrades, thanks to a $1 million federal stimulus grant. The rebates will be available to homeowners, renters and businesses beginning in July. The exact amount of the rebates has not been determined, but will probably be larger for moderate-income residents. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/18/BA5219OMF7.DTL&type=green California May Pull Plug On Big Tvs That Guzzle Energy. The state would be the first in the nation to adopt energy-efficiency standards, but some in the electronics industry say the rules would result in higher prices and job cuts. Reporting from Sacramento - Concerned that the growing popularity of big-screen televisions could make it harder for California to keep pace with electricity demand, state energy regulators are poised to crack down on energy-guzzling sets despite opposition from a powerful electronics trade group. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-bigtvs18-2009sep18,0,1102526.story State's Gubernatorial Hopefuls Support Nuclear Power. Santa Clara - Two of the three leading Republican candidates for California governor next year said Wednesday they support using nuclear power to help the state meet its energy demands. Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner said during a public policy forum at Santa Clara University that he would make the expansion of nuclear power a campaign theme. He said it would be an important tool to help California meet its future energy needs but said state regulations prohibit its expansion. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_13368504 CARB Requests Comments On ‘Smartway’ Proposal. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has issued revised language to its regulation for reducing greenhouse gases from heavy-duty vehicles. The proposal now says the rule applies to motor carriers that use—or cause to be used—53-foot box-type trailers and the tractors that pull them in long-haul operations within, into, and out of California. Comments on these proposed revisions are due October 2, 2009, with the final regulation expected in November. Posted. http://refrigeratedtrans.com/2010-emissions/carb_seeks_comments_on_proposed_smartway_rule_0921/ Beans Might Give You And Your Car Gas. A Lehigh Valley, Pa., environmentalist is pushing ahead with plans to power vehicles not with gasoline or diesel, but with the moldy bread, banana peels and rotten meats that would otherwise be dumped in area trash heaps. Microbiologist Rex D'Agostino wants to build a pilot plant that would transform food waste into natural gas to power specially suited vehicles. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/702/v-print/story/2197417.html European Carmakers Rev Up The Electro-Diesel Concept. Reporting from Frankfurt, Germany. If you think all hybrid cars are like the Toyota Prius -- mirthless, ugly hair shirts of green conscience -- BMW would like you to meet its Vision: a stealth submarine of a car, lower than a boxing foul, all folded geometry and LED tracer lights. The signature BMW grille glows blue like a reactor cooling pond. The transparent doors open like dragonfly wings. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-neil18-2009sep18,0,820738.column L.A. To Expand Zipcar Vehicle-Sharing Program Around UCLA, USC.The city plans to add 12 hybrids and SmartWay-rated vehicles to the existing fleet. For a fee, students and residents can use the cars to get around. Zipcar: the leaner, greener solution to the Los Angeles traffic tarantula? City officials seem to think so. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and City Council members have paired with the Massachusetts company to expand an existing car-sharing program around UCLA and USC. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-zipcar18-2009sep18,0,3868864.story New Reefer Cooling Units And CARB, Smartway Updates. There are self-contained refrigerated, freezer, cryogenic and combination refrigerator-freezer shipping and storage systems specifically designed to add another temperature section to an existing refrigerated vehicle, and to help make temperature sensitive less-than-truckload shipment available to any transport mode. Posted. http://www.fleetequipmentmag.com/default.aspx?type=art&id=92270 Well Drillers Warn Of Shutdowns. Water well drillers say they will have to idle some of their rigs if the state goes through with new limits on air emissions. They are seeking a delay in rules set to take effect Jan. 1 for some of the diesel engines that power the rigs. The drillers say buying new engines to comply with the rules would be expensive and the result could be fewer wells when California needs all the water it can get. Posted. http://www.modbee.com/local/story/862448.html Charbroiling Air Rule Takes Effect. Valley air cops last week approved a rawboned rule forcing some restaurants to reduce the pollution caused by charbroiling burgers, steaks or seafood. Posted. http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090920/A_NEWS/909200319/-1/NEWSMAP#STS=fzvdd364.1tgt EDITORIAL: Redact and Withhold. Hiding public information is a game every new administration tries. President Obama's Treasury Department is only the latest to join the fun, this time with a Freedom of Information Act request from the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Even after all the rule-bending, Treasury's sparse response is embarrassing to the administration and its environmental allies. Posted. http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/21/redact-and-withhold/ Blogs E.P.A. Report Suggests Waste Reduction and Recycling Reduces CO2 Emissions. A new report from the United States Environmental Protection Agency suggests that way Americans procure, produce, deliver and dispose of goods and services — what the agency refers to as “materials and land management” — accounts for 42 percent of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions. Posted. http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/21/epa-reports-suggests-waste-reduction-and-recycling-reduces-co2-emissions/?pagemode=print Green Groups Open ‘Climate War Room’. The cap-and-trade movement, spooked by the pounding health care reform took over the August break, is scrambling to persuade nervous Democrats they won’t suffer politically for taking another tough vote this year. “When you get your butt kicked, like we did [after the House energy vote], it focuses the mind,” said Steve Cochran, director of the Environmental Defense Fund’s National Climate Campaign. Posted. http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=D9B03ABB-18FE-70B2-A8D83B96DE1DD06E 'Clean Energy' Advocates Change Their Pitch. As the President Obama-backed energy and climate bill moved through the House this spring, lawmakers reshaped it to hand financial concessions for coal-fired power plants, farmers, Rust Belt factories and several other interests. Among the groups left to grumble -- when the bill passed the chamber on a narrow vote -- were advocates of massive new spending on “clean energy” research. Posted. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2009/09/clean-energy-advocates-change-their-pitch-.html Cookin’ The Global Warming Books. If global warming really were the threat it’s made out to be, would they need to rig the data? Meteorologist Joe D’Aleo, the first director of meteorology at The Weather Channel and formerly chairman of the American Meteorological Society’s Committee on Weather Analysis and Forecasting, says alarmists are cookin’ the books to inflate the temps. Posted. http://orangepunch.freedomblogging.com/2009/09/18/cookin-the-global-warming-books/12917/ Parking Spaces Become Tiny Parks — For A Day. On busy Forest Avenue in Laguna Beach, passers-by stared, eventually blurting out the question: What is this? A man with a giant golf club, putting oversized golf balls into foam holes, stopped to answer. “It’s free, help yourself,” said architect AJ Omar of his plot, complete with artificial turf, potted plants, a park bench and a putting green, plus a table with cookies and coffee — all contained within a single parking space, hastily constructed that morning and destined to be dismantled before the noon hour was over. http://greenoc.freedomblogging.com/2009/09/18/parking-spaces-become-tiny-parks-for-a-day/13091/