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California Air Resources Board News Clips for January 11, 2010. 

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.

Environmental Groups Try To Block Parts Of California's Green
Building Code. The Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense
Council are among six groups waging a last-minute campaign to
derail some of the rules, saying they aren't tough enough.
Environmental groups are mounting a last-ditch effort to derail
key elements of the state's first-in-the-nation green building
code -- a major initiative of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's
administration. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-green-building11-2010jan11,0,1841989.story

States Want Delay on Emission Rules. A growing number of state
regulators are urging the Obama administration to slow the
rollout of proposed federal rules curbing industrial
greenhouse-gas emissions, saying the administration's approach
could overwhelm them with paperwork, delay construction projects
and undercut their own efforts to fight climate change. Some
state regulators are calling on the EPA to go slowly with its new
emissions rules. Posted.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126317107565923971.html?mod=WSJ_hps_MIDDLEForthNews

Of Individual Liberty and Cap and Trade. SOME people oppose
measures to limit greenhouse gases because they believe that
global warming is a myth. These denialists may have a little
extra spring in their step during the current cold snap, but
their influence has been steadily waning. The biggest remaining
obstacle is disagreement over the legitimacy of proposed
solutions. At the heart of attempts to curb carbon dioxide
emissions are two related proposals: taxation of those emissions
and a system of tradable emission permits, also known as cap and
trade. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/business/economy/10view.html?scp=1&sq=Robert%20H%20Frank&st=Search

California Cap-and-Trade Revolt. A ballot measure would suspend
the law until joblessness falls. Could Californians finally be
serious about turning around their sputtering economy? One
hopeful sign is a ballot initiative that would repeal the Golden
State's version of a cap-and-trade carbon tax. This feel-good law
to reduce the state's carbon footprint was enacted with great
hoopla by the Democratic legislature and Republican Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006 when the state's economy was
growing and the jobless rate was 5%. Posted.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703580904574638153342723572.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_AboveLEFTTop

Job Creation Takes On New Importance in Climate-Change Fight. If
the public has to choose between creating jobs and spending
billions to scrub invisible heat-trapping gases from the sky,
jobs will win. That's why the campaign to combat climate change
is morphing, at least politically, into an economic-development
drive with an environmental twist. Many billions of dollars are
being spent on clean energy, even amid the recession. One key to
combating climate change will be increasing that investment so
the economy keeps growing but coughs out less carbon. Posted.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126316299869923853.html
 
Calif. Cap-And-Trade Proposal Calls For 100% Auction. A key set
of recommendations for California's greenhouse gas cap-and-trade
system is due to be adopted today. The Economic and Allocation
Advisory Committee meets today in Sacramento to vote on a set of
13 recommendations covering allowance allocation, how to spend
the revenues, and ways to ease the economic effect on low-income
households. The committee, appointed by the state EPA in May
2009, includes some of the country's best-respected economists
and environmental policy experts. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/01/11/3

Small Businesses See Devil In Details Of EPA Emissions Rule.
Advocates for small businesses are accusing U.S. EPA of failing
to properly assess the effects that its proposed "tailoring" rule
for greenhouse gases will have on smaller emission sources. EPA
is expected early this year to unveil the final tailoring rule,
part of a broader suite of greenhouse gas regulations. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/01/11/1

Opinion: Meg Whitman's Climate Change Strategy. In what may be a
risky political move, the GOP candidate for governor has come out
strongly against the state's law on regulating greenhouse gas
emissions. Although a 12.3% unemployment rate and $20-billion
budget deficit ensure the economy will dominate California's race
for governor, Republican front-runner Meg Whitman has guaranteed
that the environment will also be a high-profile issue in the
campaign. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-robertstrounstine11-2010jan11,0,434932,print.story

Valley Dairies Go Green, Harness Methane For Energy -- And Cash.
The battle against global warming may turn out to be a boon for a
California industry long targeted by environmentalists --
dairies. Some dairy farmers have been so successful in reducing
air pollution from animal waste that they are earning revenue
from other industries that need help meeting their own emission
goals. Those transactions are tied to a controversial idea called
"cap-and-trade," a system that lets companies meet air-pollution
requirements by getting credit for reductions that other
companies achieve.  Posted.
http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/1775722.html

Farm Bureau Fires Back Against Climate Bill's 'Power Grab'. The
largest U.S. farm group will "aggressively" fight back against
any attempts to change the landscape of American agriculture --
including the farm bill or animal rights campaigns, American Farm
Bureau Federation Bob Stallman said yesterday. In a fiery speech
that kicked off the powerful farm lobby's four-day convention in
Seattle, Stallman said farmers and ranchers must unite to respond
to "misguided, activist-driven regulation." Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/01/11/11climatewire-farm-bureau-fires-back-against-climate-bills-93758.html?pagewanted=print

Kyoto To Copenhagen: Why UN’s Glacial Global Warming Talks Need
Overhaul. Some specialists are calling for an overhaul of the UN
global warming process, which yielded only modest progress in
Copenhagen. Copenhagen, Denmark — Take 45,000 participants,
complex global-warming issues, and negotiators from more than 190
countries. Add a last-minute dash of presidents, premiers, and
prime ministers, and what do you get? Evidence at the recent
Copenhagen climate talks that the whole process is overdue for an
overhaul, according to several specialists. Posted.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/2010/0111/Kyoto-to-Copenhagen-Why-UN-s-glacial-global-warming-talks-need-overhaul

Letter: Get Rid Of Rogue State Agency. The worst people of 2009:
The California Air Resources Board/Butte County Air Resources
Board. This agency is unelected and earns each $100,000 a year,
with consent of the Legislature, has a history of polluting the
air, ground, water and burned cars. They did this with MTBE. They
mandated it be added to gasoline. They also ordered diesel trucks
to change their engines again to the tune of $30,000 a truck.
Posted. http://www.orovillemr.com/opinion/ci_14163450

Street Corners Vs. Cul De Sacs. REAL estate agents often chant
the mantra “location, location, location,” which essentially
means “find a home in a well-kept neighborhood with good schools
and a low crime rate.” Some may cite a fourth factor,
“walkability,” a concept supported by self-styled “new urbanists”
who advocate denser cities designed for the pedestrian and mass
transit as much as for the car. In their ideal neighborhood, you
could walk to a bookstore and then to an ice cream shop, and your
children could walk to school, probably unescorted. (It sounds
like so many movie depictions of America in the 1950s.)  Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/business/10every.html?scp=1&sq=street%20corners&st=cse

Governor's Agenda for 2010 Bad News for Environment. Governor
Schwarzenegger's latest budget proposal again uses the state's
fiscal crisis as an excuse to gut California's landmark
environmental and public health protections. Here are three of
his worst proposals: First, he calls for allowing agency
bureaucrats to revoke judicial oversight of the environmental
review process for various development and transportation
projects. That means these projects would essentially receive a
free pass to violate California's premier environmental law - the
California Environmental Quality Act - because there would be no
mechanism to ensure compliance. Posted.
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/site/?q=print/7318

How Green Is My Campus? Colleges woo students with environmental
initiatives. Seattle -- Need to get to Seattle University?
There's a green transit pass for that. Need to meet somebody when
you're there? Try the new eco-friendly gathering space. Eating in
the cafeteria? The disposable forks are biodegradable, made from
corn. Leftovers? There's composting, both off-site and on.
Trouble getting home? Try car-pooling, van-sharing or something
called maxi pool. Seattle U. is typical of many universities
across the country that are trying to win the hearts and minds -
and tuition checks - of students by becoming greener than their
peers. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/702/v-print/story/2452858.html

Corona Measuring Carbon Footprint. Corona joins a host of
California cities measuring their carbon footprints to comply
with a state law aimed at halting global warming. The city
recently set aside $250,000 to measure the amount of greenhouse
gas emissions it produces and to prepare a climate action
plan.The state Global Warming Law, signed by Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger in 2006, requires carbon emissions to be cut by
the year 2020 to match 1990 levels. Posted.
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_W_wemissions10.3f04c7d.html

Architects Plan 'Amphibious Landscape' For New York City. New
York -- What would New York's waterfront look like after a sea
level rise of 2 feet or more? Most officials paint a nightmare
scenario -- huge swaths of expensive real estate permanently
flooded, with frequent storms and the resultant storm surge
routinely forcing mass evacuations every few years. But several
architects are now painting a more positive picture, and their
visions for a post-climate-change new New York have city planners
interested. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/01/11/1

U.K. Expands Its Commitment To Massive Offshore Wind Power.
London -- The U.K. government has announced the winners of the
next major expansion round of offshore wind power as part of its
ambitious plans to more than quintuple the amount of wind-driven
electricity generation within a decade and help slash the
nation's carbon emissions. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/01/11/2

Energy Department to Offer Funding for Vehicle Fuel-Efficiency.
Washington -- The Obama administration on Monday will announce
more than $187 million in grants for nine projects to improve
fuel efficiency in heavy-duty trucks and passenger cars, the
latest in a series of efforts to create jobs through clean-energy
investments. U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu will use a Cummins
Inc. facility in Columbus, Indiana, as the backdrop to announce
the winning projects. Posted.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126322414525424725.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_news

EPA Anti-Smog Initiative Means More Regs For Truckers?
Washington -- While some truckers congratulate themselves for
being early adopters of new emission-busting diesel engines,
additional stringent air-quality rules could be around the bend
for many more U.S.-bound carriers. The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency recently proposed to tighten health standards
for smog, a move that could lead to more state and local
regulations of trucking. Under the EPA's new smog proposal, the
agency wants to set the "primary" standard for ozone, between
0.060 and 0.070 parts per million. Existing ozone standards are
set at 0.075 parts per million, mandated in March 2008. Posted.
http://www.todaystrucking.com/news.cfm?intDocID=23125

Editorial: More Money For Port Truckers But Still Far Too
Little. AS SOME had prayed he would, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums
has come to the aid of hundreds of truck drivers who stand to
lose their livelihoods because of strict new state air
regulations that took effect Jan. 1. Dellums has helped to secure
another $11 million to help truck drivers purchase filters that
are now required for any vehicles manufactured between 1994 and
2003 that deliver cargo to California ports. The mayor is to be
applauded for helping to bring about a more humane outcome to a
crisis that resulted as a result of the stricter air quality
standards. Posted.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/opinion/sanmateo/ci_14151333

Prius Hybrid Tops Japan's Car Sales In 2009. Toyota Motor
Corp.'s Prius was Japan's best-selling car last year, the first
time a hybrid has topped annual sales. The Japan Automobile
Dealers Association reported nearly 209,000 Prius cars sold in
2009, with buyers willing to wait up to six months for
deliveries. Hybrids make up about 10 percent of new vehicle sales
in Japan. The Prius' success indicates a shift toward a
widespread acceptance of green technology in Japan, boosted by
tax breaks and a government cash-for-clunkers program set to
continue through September 2010. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/01/11/7

Volkswagen Hybrid Coupe Tests U.S. Reaction To Styling,
Technology And Previews New Jetta At Detroit Auto Show.
Volkswagen introduced a gasoline-electric hybrid coupe in Detroit
Monday that it says is meant to gauge reaction to both the
styling and the idea of a premium-price VW gas-electric two-door
compact. The look -- you might have to stare long to see the
nuances the designers say are there -- is to be "the new face of
VW," multiple execs said. Translated: We hope you like it because
the hybrid telegraphs the appearance of the new Jetta coming this
summer and the mid-size Passat replacement due next year. Posted.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2010/01/vw-hybrid-coupe-tests-us-reaction-to-new-styling-technology-at-detroit-auto-show/1

You Can Thank Arthur Rosenfeld For Energy Savings. He has been a
driving force in making the state a global leader in efficiency.
This week, the 83-year-old nuclear physicist will leave his post
on the California Energy Commission. When octogenarian Arthur H.
Rosenfeld vacates his utilitarian office at the California Energy
Commission this week, one of his final tasks might seem of little
consequence: He'll turn off the lights. But that simple act --
some would say compulsion -- has transformed California into a
world leader in energy efficiency. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-rosenfeld11-2010jan11,0,4565872,print.story

BLOGS

Gas Pains: The Problems with a Gas-Fired Bridge to Clean Energy.
Natural gas is often seen as the “bridge fuel” to a clean-energy
future—it’s abundant, reliable, and has about half the emissions
of coal. Today, a couple of reminders of just how tricky it can
be to really make that gas-powered energy revolution a reality.
In California, state regulators are concerned that new emissions
rules from the Environmental Protection Agency could actually
“retard” the state’s efforts to clean up its energy mix, The Wall
Street Journal reports today.
http://blogs.wsj.com/environmentalcapital/2010/01/11/gas-pains-the-problems-with-a-gas-fired-bridge-to-clean-energy/tab/print/

“Green" Cement Captures CO2. Cement is a major component of
concrete, the world's most widely used man-made material, an
integral part of roads, bridges and buildings. But making cement
requires heating limestone and other materials to very high
temperatures, a process that releases into the atmosphere large
amount of carbon dioxide, or CO2, a leading cause of global
warming. Brent Constantz is working to fix that problem with an
environmentally-friendly cement that actually captures CO2 and
locks it away. Posted.
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/environment/Green-Cement-Captures-CO2-80919747.html