What's New List Serve Post Display

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. 
Schwarzenegger Hosts Climate Summit This Week. Schwarzenegger
Hosts Climate Summit This Week. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
declared in his second inaugural address that California was both
a “nation-state” and a “good and global commonwealth.” To that
effect, Schwarzenegger will host his second annual international
climate summit this week in Los Angeles, which organizers have
billed as a precursor to United Nations talks in December to
establish new worldwide emissions targets. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/politics/story/2216240.html?mi_rss=State%2520Politics

Tokyo Makes Environment A Priority In 2016 Bid. Copenhagen —
Tokyo has spent months telling how important the environment is
to its bid for the 2016 Games. Now it's showing it. Using a
large, interactive globe that shows, among other things, the
far-reaching spread of pollutants and possible effects of global
warming, Tokyo's organizers said Tuesday their plans for the 2016
Games could be a model not just for future Olympics, but for
cities worldwide. Posted.
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/sep/29/oly-tokyo-2016-092909/?sports&zIndex=173999
http://www.contracostatimes.com/sports/ci_13443520

Pacifica looks to cut emissions with Climate Action Plan.
PACIFICA — An inventory of greenhouse gas emissions has
challenged the city's reputation as a "green" entity, but leaders
are poised to reclaim the label by committing to actions that
will sharply reduce emissions of carbon dioxide. At its meeting
Monday night, the Pacifica City Council was expected to review a
greenhouse gas emissions inventory that reflects city operations
in 2005 and take the first steps in creating a Climate Action
Plan that will recommend how the city — and residents — can cut
back on harmful emissions. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/green-living/ci_13440820

Norfolk Southern unveils electric locomotive. ALTOONA, Pa.—Rail
hauler Norfolk Southern Corp. on Monday unveiled a
battery-powered prototype locomotive for use in its Pennsylvania
rail yard, and the company said it has its eye on hybrid
long-haul trains next. The 1,500 horsepower locomotive, dubbed NS
999, will be used to move cars around the rail yard, Norfolk
Southern said. It uses 1,080 rechargeable 12-volt lead acid
batteries to store power, and can run for about a day on a
charge. It also recharges using the energy from braking. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/business/ci_13439251

Senate climate bill tougher than House version. WASHINGTON --
Draft Senate climate change legislation would require a 20
percent cut in greenhouse gases by 2020, far deeper than the
reductions mandated in the House version. The draft obtained by
The Associated Press remains subject to change. But the overall
carbon reduction requirements are expected to stand. The
Democratic bill is to be released Wednesday by the Senate
Environmental Committee with a vote by the panel likely in late
October. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/29/AR2009092901612.html

Committee Bill Targets 20 Percent Reduction in Greenhouse Gas
Emissions. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will
unveil a bill Wednesday that aims for a 20 percent reduction in
U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels by the year 2020,
according to several sources and a close-to-final version of the
bill obtained by The Washington Post. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/29/AR2009092901608_pf.html

Senate to Unveil Climate-Bill Blueprint Wednesday. Washington --
Senate lawmakers Wednesday plan to unveil a blueprint for climate
legislation that will mirror the House-passed bill in structure,
but leave out many of the most important details. According to
industry and government officials close to the matter, the
legislation will outline a tougher near-term target for cutting
greenhouse-gas emissions but won't include how valuable pollution
credits will be distributed among affected industries. Posted.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125424031372849633.html#printMode

San Francisco Tilts Toward Wind Power. The two famous windmills
in Golden Gate Park could soon have a lot of company as a broad
array of city officials, business leaders and environmentalists
push for streamlined, modern versions to spring up at famous
spots all over the city. Wind turbines could soon be built at
Twin Peaks, Treasure Island, the Civic Center, Ocean Beach, the
San Francisco Zoo, city parks and the airport as demonstration
sites for how urban wind farms could help power San Francisco -
and to educate residents in the hopes they'll put them on their
rooftops. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/29/MNAO19U159.DTL&type=printable

California Furniture Industry Seeks Formaldehyde Rule Extension.
Says more time needed to clear non-compliant inventory. High
Point — Furniture industry officials in California are still
pushing for an extension of the deadline to sell products that
don't meet the state's strict new limits for formaldehyde
emissions. Furniture and other goods face a July 1 deadline.
California's law - which the U.S. Senate is considering as a
model for a possible national formaldehyde rule - is in the early
stages in enforcement. Posted.
http://www.furnituretoday.com/article/355704-California_furniture_industry_seeks_formaldehyde_rule_extension.php

China Leads Way For Solar Energy. Next month, Santa Clara's
Applied Materials Inc. is scheduled to open a giant solar energy
R&D center. The company is investing up to $300 million in the
facility. It will not be situated in California, nor in the
United States, but in Xian, China. Because China's where the
action is. "If the U.S. doesn't get serious, China's going to own
this industry," said Applied Materials spokesman David Miller.
Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/29/BU3019SV07.DTL&type=printable

Editorial: Hiding The Bad News. Governor Values Rep As Green
Giant More Than Californians' Jobs. In response to a 2006 request
from the Legislature, state officials hired two business
professors at California State University Sacramento to study
regulatory burdens facing small businesses. The report by Sanjay
B. Varshney and Dennis H. Tootelian, released last week,
concluded that the annual cost of regulation in 2007 was a
staggering $134,122 per small business. Posted.
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/sep/29/hiding-bad-news/?uniontrib

Frontier Project draws attention to going green and saving
resources, but at a cost. RANCHO CUCAMONGA - When it comes to
going green, the Cucamonga Valley Water District pulled out all
the stops. The district is near completion on a demonstration
building with a conservation message that goes beyond low-flush
toilets and drought-resistant plants. It might sound like an
oxymoron, but the water district wants to go beyond water.
Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_13442006

EPA seeks to limit plane deicing chemical runoff. DES MOINES,
Iowa—Every winter, airports across the country spray millions of
gallons of deicing chemicals onto airliners and allow the runoff
to trickle away. When the chemicals end up in nearby waterways,
the deicing fluid can turn streams bright orange and create dead
zones for aquatic life. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_13443465

EPA tells schools to test aging caulk for PCBs.
WASHINGTON—Hundreds of school buildings across the United States
have caulk around windows and doors containing potentially
cancer-causing PCBs, the Environmental Protection Agency says.
The danger to students is uncertain, and EPA does not know for
sure how many schools could be affected. But the agency is
telling schools that they should test old caulk and remove it if
PCBs turn up in significant amounts. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/nation-world/ci_13437907

Exelon Quits Chamber Over Climate Change. Power generator Exelon
became the latest utility to drop its membership in the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce because of the group's opposition to
legislation that would limit emissions of greenhouse gases.
"Inaction on climate is not an option," John Rowe, Exelon's
chairman and chief executive, said in a speech at an
energy-efficiency conference. "If Congress does not act, the EPA
will, and the result will be more arbitrary, more expensive and
more uncertain for investors and the industry than a reasonable,
market-based legislative solution." Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/28/AR2009092803762.html