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California Air Resources Board News Clips for November 9, 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.

EDITORIAL: 'Cool Cars' Backfire. A state rule requiring tinted
windows is an example of regulatory overreaching. There's a law
of diminishing returns for environmental regulation: As more
specific rules are applied to ever-smaller details, the negative
consequences can outweigh the benefits. California air and energy
regulators, whose pioneering methods of reducing pollution and
greenhouse gases have made residents justifiably proud are
approaching that tipping point. Posted. 
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-coolcars8-2009nov08,0,7403489.story

EDITORIAL: Technology Gain While Mpg Drags. Here's a daunting
thought in this age of rapid technological advancement. Fuel
economy in the U.S. vehicle fleet has changed little since the
days of the Ford Model T. In a recent study, Michael Sivak and
Omer Tsimhoni at the University of Michigan Transportation
Research Institute calculated the distance driven and fuel
consumed for the U.S. fleet of vehicles – including cars, light
trucks, buses and heavy trucks – between 1923 and 2006. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/story/2314024.html

OPINION: Grass-Fed Beef Emissions. Nicolette Hahn Niman (“The
Carnivore’s Dilemma,” Op-Ed, Oct. 31) is simply wrong in
suggesting that grass-fed beef produces less methane than
feed-lot meat. It is the other way around, with grass-fed animals
producing up to three times more methane. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/09/opinion/lweb09meat.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=air%20pollution&st=cse

OPINION:Cargo Peril. Southern California should not have to
suffer unnecessary illnesses to serve the cause of international
trade. The cargo traffic that flows through the region creates
serious health hazards, and curbing that threat requires the
cooperation of state, local and federal officials. Posted.
http://www.pe.com/localnews/opinion/editorials/stories/PE_OpEd_Opinion_S_op_07_ed_trafficasthma1.4bfc706.html


EDITORIAL: Pay Less If You Drive Less. Persuading motorists to
voluntarily drive less and thereby reduce gasoline consumption,
air pollution, traffic congestion and motor vehicle accidents is
a concept that deserves public and private support. California
Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner agrees. To that end, he has
released regulations allowing mileage verification for
pay-as-you-drive green insurance policies. Posted.
http://www.timesheraldonline.com/editorial/ci_13746194 
http://www.contracostatimes.com/opinion/ci_13720723

Our View: Cool Car Proposal Nonsense. Sacramento can be a
caricature of bumbling, well-intentioned, paternalistic nonsense.
The problem is, when government agencies like the state Air
Resources Board stumble ahead with hare-brained schemes, it
creates real-life costs and harm. Posted.
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/articles/air-88391-car-board.html


Our View: Climate Bill May Become Cold Case. A global warming
bill to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions finally passed out
of a key Senate committee last week, but in a way that may spell
its demise — at least for this year. Posted.
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/articles/view-88482-become-bill.html

Editorial: Climate Change Bill Is In Trouble. Political tactics
tie up the Senate version, and efforts to salvage it may be too
little too late. If you think the partisan divide over healthcare
reform is ugly, take a look at the animus in the Senate as debate
continues on a key climate change bill. So wide is the gulf that
long-held Senate traditions on decorum are breaking down. And as
Washington fiddles, the Earth burns. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-climate8-2009nov08,0,2966561.story

Solarcity Aims To Make Solar Power More Affordable.  Foster
City, Calif. — Lyndon Rive, a former member of the U.S. National
Underwater Hockey team, didn't have a mother who doted on him.
She worked until 11 p.m. most nights and didn't go to his boyhood
sporting events. Corporate Pulse: Executive Suite front page.
Yet, Rive considers her the "best mother in the world" and not
because she retired at age 45 as a millionaire. "She always
supported me in whatever I wanted to do," Rive says. Posted.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/entre/2009-11-09-solarcity09_CV_N.htm

Obama Names San Francisco City Leader to Head EPA Regional
Office for California. President Obama on Thursday selected a
prominent San Francisco environmental leader to run the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency region that oversees California
and large sections of the West. Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_13724469 

Bee Exclusive: State's Recycled Paper Trail Not So Green For
Climate. Near Mark Oldfield's desk at the California Department
of Conservation sits a ream of copy paper that is more than a
routine office commodity. Made in part from recycled fiber, it is
a symbol of the state's green spirit, one ream among thousands
backing the department's claim that it is a champion of the
environment – and complies with state law requiring it to buy
recycled paper. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/v-print/story/2314229.html

Guest Contributor: $2.4 Million For Diesel Vehicles; Filters
Also Option. Healdsburg – State air-quality regulators and
factory representatives briefed local businesses on new
regulations and retrofit options as some older diesel-powered
vehicles must be retired in the next two years.  More than 100
Sonoma County businesses came to hear Brandon Rose, air pollution
specialist with the California Air Resources Board; Anthony
Fournier, supervising environmental planner with the Bay Area Air
Quality Management District; and Peter Tuckerman, president of
Sacramento-based equipment vendor and servicer Emissions Retrofit
Group. Posted.
http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/16581/guest-contributor-2-4-million-for-diesel-vehicles-filters-also-option/print/

Some Utilities Push Congress to Act on Carbon Emissions. Utility
executives are stepping up calls for legislation to cap
greenhouse-gas emissions, fearing that if Congress doesn't act,
the EPA will establish rules that would be costlier and less
effective. The executives' desire for prompt action is colliding
with Washington's focus on other issues and growing reluctance to
tamper with power-industry costs during a weak economy. Posted.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125773125612937565.html#

Bay Area Agency Says Check Before You Burn. The seasonal
gravitation toward wood stoves and roaring fires has the Bay Area
Air Quality Management District on the offensive to ensure people
understand and abide by a year-old ban on burning solid fuels
during the worst air days. Posted.
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20091108/ARTICLES/911089977/1349?Title=Burn-notices-go-high-tech


Tehama County Will Consider Pollution Fees. Tehama County will
consider Tuesday whether to impose fees on new construction to
reduce the effects of air pollution. The county Board of
Supervisors, sitting as directors of the Air Pollution Control
District, will review the proposal for the second time in two
weeks. Posted.
http://www.redding.com/news/2009/nov/08/tehama-county-will-consider-pollution-fees/
http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_13729294

EPA To Impose Standards on PVC Plant Emissions. The
Environmental Protection Agency will set new nationwide emission
standards for makers of polyvinyl chloride, commonly known as the
plastic PVC, under a settlement with environmental groups
announced Thursday. Posted.
http://www.modbee.com/business/story/922044.html#ixzz0WNh3GZYq
http://www.contracostatimes.com/business/ci_13722174?nclick_check=1

GOP's Graham Steps Out On A Limb On Climate Change. When it
comes to combating global warming, Sen. Lindsey Graham is right
where he loves to be - ahead of the curve, in the mix on a major
issue, at the table for high-level, bipartisan talks behind
closed doors. Posted.
http://www.modbee.com/politics/story/924661.html#ixzz0WNi37fNY

Senate Climate Battle Shifts Onto New Turf. The Senate climate
debate shifts into a higher gear this week as advocates look
beyond the partisan gridlock that engulfed the Environment and
Public Works Committee and onto the broader quest of finding 60
votes for floor passage. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/11/09/09climatewire-senate-climate-battle-shifts-onto-new-turf-83157.html


There's No Climate for A Change Treaty. Intelligent people agree
that, absent immediate radical action regarding global warming,
the human race is sunk. That is a tautology because those who do
not agree are, definitionally, unintelligent. Posted.
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2009/nov/08/theres-no-climate-for-a-change-treaty/


San Francisco's Top Tourist Attraction Is Nation's 'Greenest' —
And Perhaps Most Hip — Museum, Offering Worlds Of Information For
The Whole Family. In the year since the California Academy of
Sciences in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park reopened, it has
emerged as the city’s top cultural tourist attraction, drawing
more visitors than Alcatraz to the country’s “greenest” museum.
Posted. http://www.vcstar.com/news/2009/nov/08/cool-science/ 

Daly City Considering 'Green' Building Ordinance. Daly City —
The city could soon require new homes built here to feature
environmentally conscious elements. Under the proposed Green
Building Ordinance, developers of new residential structures
would need to show their project will have a certain level of
eco-friendly measures before being granted a building permit.
Posted.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_13739750?source=most_emailed

W.Va.'s Sen. Rockefeller Stands Behind Coal. Charleston,
W.Va.—U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller says current federal energy
legislation doesn't do enough to protect West Virginia's coal
industry. The Democrat wants to invest in new technologies,
protect coal from unfair overseas trade practices and block
environmental regulators from going beyond what's required by law
for coal plants. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/business/ci_13747015

World Leaders Needed At Talks To Cut Climate Deal. Barcelona,
Spain—After two years of tough U.N. climate talks often pitting
the world's rich against the poor, negotiators said Friday a new
global agreement now rides on industrial nations pledging
profound emissions cuts next month in Copenhagen. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/science/ci_13728019

Tim Hunt: When Government And Green Logic Don't Mix. GARBAGE OR,
more properly, trash sorting is the talk of the town in
Pleasanton. The City Council, in its mad rush to go green, forced
the local garbage company to change its previously "state of the
art" sorting system. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/columns/ci_13722369

Issues To Resolve For Copenhagen Climate Talks. A list of key
points negotiators hope to clarify before meeting for a decisive
U.N. climate conference next month in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/nation-world/ci_13728878

Tenn. Gov: Biofuels Project Criticism 'Outrageous'. Nashville,
Tenn.—Gov. Phil Bredesen says a legislative staff member who
attacked a state-backed initiative to turn switchgrass into
ethanol is playing politics and endangering chances to land a
large investment for East Tennessee. The report on the University
of Tennessee's Biofuels Initiative presented to the Fiscal Review
Committee on Wednesday was highly critical of changes in the
project since it was first announced. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/business/ci_13729373

Study asks: Will Warmer World Bring Harmful Smoke? Ann Arbor,
Mich.—As global warming makes wildfires more likely, scientists
are trying to learn how bad the smoke is for the health of people
who live downwind. Researchers at Michigan Technological
University's research center in Ann Arbor are heading the study.
A $452,000 federal stimulus grant from the National Institutes of
Health funds the first year. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_13727913

Green Product Options, Interest Gaining Ground. Green is no
longer simply the word of the moment. Instead, it is a trend with
staying power. At least, that’s what many kitchen and bath
dealers and designers are indicating through their increasing
interest in all things sustainable and environmentally sound.
Posted.
http://www.kitchenbathdesign.com/print/Kitchen-and-Bath-Design-News/Green-Product-Options--Interest-Gaining-Ground/2$5401

Blogs

No Clear Map for Democrats on Path to New Energy Plan. On health
care, President Obama and fellow Democrats face a straightforward
calculus: sign an overhaul bill into law or suffer grave
political damage. On energy, it is not so simple. Posted.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/09/no-clear-map-for-democrats-on-path-to-new-energy-plan/?scp=3&sq=global%20warming&st=cse


History of the Global Warming "Hoax". Whenever I hear someone
say that Global Warming or Climate Change is a hoax, I wonder if
they realize this "hoax" is nearly two centuries old. Two years
before Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died, Jean Baptiste Joseph
Fourier, a French mathematician and physicist discovered what we
now call "the greenhouse effect." Posted.
http://blogs.redding.com/dcraig/archives/2009/11/history-of-the.html


History of the "Hoax" (Part Two). In my last blog, I took us
through an ultra-brief history of 142 years of global warming
science from 1824 through 1956. Before I continue this historical
review of the "hoax," it might be educational to focus on one
interesting aspect of this phenomenon. Posted.
http://blogs.redding.com/dcraig/archives/2009/11/history-of-the-1.html