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newsclips -- Newsclips for January 12, 2010.
Posted: 12 Jan 2010 11:47:19
California Air Resources Board News Clips for January 12, 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. California Ties Cash to Energy. California might start paying people to cut their energy use. On Monday, a state panel proposed that the lion's share of new fees California plans to impose on greenhouse-gas emissions should be returned to consumers in the form of tax cuts or annual dividend checks that eventually could exceed $1,000 for a family of four. The proposal is part of an effort to find the best uses for proceeds from a carbon allowance auction. The panel argues that higher prices will drive consumers to use less of the fossil fuels that produce greenhouse gases. Posted. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126325739326825569.html#mod=todays_us_page_one Calif. Will Consider Fund To Offset Future Tax Increases With Auction Revenues. California air regulators will consider putting the revenue from auction of greenhouse gas emissions credits into a general fund to offset future tax increases, in line with recommendations yesterday from a key economic committee. In Sacramento yesterday, the Economic and Allocation Advisory Committee voted to send its 13 recommendations on the allocation of carbon credits and the revenues from their sale to the state's Air Resources Board. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/01/12/2 US Grants $187m For Fuel Efficiency Research. Washington -- The Obama administration announced on Monday funding for nine projects designed to significantly increase fuel efficiency in heavy trucks and passenger vehicles, with more than half the money coming from the $787 billion stimulus package. Energy Secretary Steven Chu detailed the projects during a ceremony in Columbus, Ind., home of Cummins Inc., which is to receive nearly $40 million to develop a more efficient and cleaner diesel engine, a more aerodynamic long-haul truck cab and trailer, and a fuel cell that would deliver auxiliary power to reduce engine idling while the vehicle was not on the road. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/01/11/national/w030405S71.DTL&type=printable Committee Rejects Greenhouse Gas Bill Postponement. Sacramento - An attempt to delay California's mandate to reduce greenhouse gases was rejected Monday by an Assembly committee. Assembly Bill 118 - by Assemblyman Dan Logue, R-Marysville, and co-authored by several others, including Assemblyman Bill Berryhill, R-Ceres - would have suspended climate change law AB32 until the state's unemployment rate is 5.5 percent for a full year. AB32 requires reducing greenhouse gases to 1990 levels by 2020. Some in the business community fear it will cost the state dearly. Posted. http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100112/A_NEWS/1120316 The Climate is Changing. The rise of Tony Abbott is part of a worldwide reconsideration of the costs of cap-and-trade. When I say the climate is changing, I do not mean, as many people do, that man-made global warming is destroying Planet Earth. I mean that the politics of climate change is changing rapidly all over the globe. Al Gore's moment has come and gone. Posted. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703652104574651610217495546.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines As Senate Bill Languishes, Lobbyists Press EPA On Carbon Regs. Skeptical about the prospects of climate legislation in the Senate, energy companies and environmental groups have shifted their lobbying efforts toward U.S. EPA. Energy businesses want to stop EPA from proceeding with its plan to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, a move expected to come in March. If the agency does decide to impose restrictions, industry wants them delayed until 2012 or later. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/01/12/1 Energy-Only Option Tests Senate's Cap-And-Trade Backers. Advocates for Senate climate legislation are pushing back against calls to abandon a mandatory cap on U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in favor of a stand-alone energy bill that some say has a better chance of passing in an election year. For starters, President Obama's top energy adviser insisted yesterday that the administration's goal remains a "comprehensive bill" that touches on all corners of the energy and climate debate, including the controversial cap-and-trade program that most Republicans have labeled as an energy tax. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/01/12/2 Group Calls For Federal Agencies To Frame Rules For Carbon Offsets. Federal agencies need to put rules in place immediately on carbon offsets to ensure that any mandatory climate bill down the road operates smoothly from the start, according to new recommendations from a coalition of think tanks, environmental groups and businesses. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/01/12/4 Early Emission Cuts May Be Crucial To Long-Range Climate Change Abatement, Study Says. A new study aims to help scientists and policymakers understand how midterm emissions cuts will ultimately affect longer-term efforts to blunt the effects of climate change. "We basically wanted to look at what are the implications of meeting any particular midcentury emissions target for what you can actually achieve in the long term?" said lead author Brian O'Neill, a climate scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, whose work appears in this week's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/01/12/5 U.S. Chamber Urges Obama, Congress To Rethink Climate Push. U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue urged Washington lawmakers today to rethink proposed climate regulations and other policies that he charged would raise costs for businesses and slow recovery from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. "Congress, the administration and the states must recognize that our weak economy simply could not sustain all the new taxes, regulations and mandates now under consideration," Donohue said during his annual "State of American Business" speech at the chamber's Washington headquarters. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/01/12/4 Pope Denounces Failure To Forge New Climate Treaty. Vatican City -- Pope Benedict XVI denounced the failure of world leaders to agree to a new climate change treaty in Copenhagen last month, saying Monday that world peace depends on safeguarding God's creation. He issued the admonition in a speech to ambassadors accredited to the Vatican, an annual appointment during which the pontiff reflects on issues the Vatican wants to highlight to the diplomatic corps. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/01/11/international/i023818S59.DTL&type=printable Warming, Land Use Threaten Butterflies In Calif. – Study. California's butterflies are dying at an alarming rate, especially at sea level, due to the combined might of land development and climate change, according to research to be published this week by a scientist at the University of California, Davis. Art Shapiro, a veteran ecology professor who has been collecting butterfly data in California for 34 years, is set to release a study this week through the National Academy of Sciences that he says offers major new insight into how an indicator organism is reacting to climate change. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/01/12/7 Will the Senate Castrate the Clean Air Act Next Week? After the failure of the Copenhagen global warming talks, attention has returned to the Senate, where cap-and-trade legislation is languishing. For months, many proponents argued that we needed to pass legislation -- no matter how compromised -- to produce momentum for the Copenhagen talks. Posted. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-kieschnick/will-the-senate-castrate_b_419288.html?view=screen Stimulus Aids Firms With Blemished Pasts. Stimulus funds in California are flowing to firms that have previously been fined for environmental damage or accused of fraud. Though many companies in the country face lawsuits at one time or another, the government should do a better job of considering a firm's past when awarding the grants, reformers say. "It is very upsetting that the government doesn't do more due diligence before it hands money out," said Laura Chick, California's inspector general for stimulus funds. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/01/12/24 County To Grapple With Pluses, Drawbacks Of Solar Gold Rush. Kern County's reliable relationship with the sun has become an attractive lure for companies who want to convert sunlight to electricity here. This year county planners will be able to process 12 photovoltaic solar power plant projects that, together, would cover thousands of acres of Kern County land. Posted. http://www.bakersfield.com/news/local/x113239587/County-to-grapple-with-pluses-drawbacks-of-solar-gold-rush Ford Says It Will Sell An Electric Focus Next Year. The automaker also wins the North American Car of the Year and Truck of the Year awards for the Ford Fusion Hybrid and Ford Transit Connect, respectively, at the Detroit auto show. Ford Motor Co. unveiled what it boasted was a "world-beating" next-generation Ford Focus at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Monday and announced its intentions to sell an all-electric version of the vehicle starting next year. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ford-focus12-2010jan12,0,4624506,print.story Biggest Loser In Bay Area Transit Debacle May Be The Environment. In the war over the future of public transit in the eco-obsessed Bay Area, the biggest casualty could prove to be the environment. Without a doubt, air quality inventories show that the best way to cut greenhouse gases in the region is by removing cars from the road. Posted. http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_14166899 Valley Clean-Tech Gets $260M Jolt. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of new clean-tech jobs should be created in the Silicon Valley in the wake of the Obama administration's award of $2.3 billion in tax credits for manufacturing projects that both stimulate economic recovery and help curb greenhouse gas emissions. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_14170077?nclick_check=1 http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14170077 Editorial: More Money For Port Of Oakland 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. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/opinion/ci_14161527 Environment At Risk As Public Transit Falls Out Of Favor. In the war over the future of public transit in the eco-obsessed Bay Area, the biggest casualty could prove to be the environment. Without a doubt, air quality inventories show that the best way to cut greenhouse gases in the region is by removing cars from the road. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_14171005 Murkowski And Her Lobbyist Allies. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is likely to postpone offering an amendment (pdf) next week that would bar the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act, according to sources familiar with the matter. Posted. http://views.washingtonpost.com/climate-change/post-carbon/2010/01/murkowski_and_her_lobbyist_allies.html Can East Coast Rocks Save The Climate? Buried volcanic rocks along the coasts of New York, New Jersey and New England could help lock away the carbon dioxide emitted by coal-fired utilities and other sources, according to a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/11/AR2010011103368.html At Detroit Auto Show, The Hot Cars Use The Least Energy. The 2010 North American International Auto Show, which opened for previews Monday, is more subdued than in years past and reflects the diminished sales of the U.S. industry. But there were still cars that caught people's attention, mostly by catering to the new taste for fuel efficiency. Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/12/AR2010011201237_pf.html Study Predicts Big-City Dwellers Will Give Electric Cars An Early Push. Electric vehicles could become a larger presence in the streets of New York, Shanghai and Paris in the next five years than elsewhere. According to independent research conducted by McKinsey & Co., the cars could make up more than 15 percent of new vehicles sold by 2015 in some mega-cities. The early buyers of electric vehicles will be enthusiastic greens willing to undergo some inconvenience to help the environment, the study says. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/01/12/3 Toyota Introduces New Hybrid Concept Car. In a step toward expanding its alternative-fuel vehicle options, Toyota yesterday unveiled the FT-CH, a new hybrid compact car that is smaller, lighter and more fuel-efficient than the Prius. The concept car, which has no official date for sale to consumers, may be part of a family of hybrid cars marketed under the Prius name, the company confirmed. The car was unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/01/12/10 Little: Obama's Move to Reduce Carbon Emission Not Legal. It appears the President Obama has decided he alone can dictate emission standards for America's autos under "cap and trade." He reportedly supports proposals requiring limited carbon emissions without any involvement from Congress. Posted. http://www.paradisepost.com/opinion/ci_14167383 Blogs Energy Department Awards $187 Million for Development of Efficient Cars and Trucks. The United States secretary of Energy, Steven Chu, announced Monday that the government was giving $187 million to nine projects to improve fuel efficiency in heavy duty trucks and passenger vehicles. Mr. Chu made the announcement at the headquarters of Columbus, Ind.,-based Cummins, Inc., which is receiving $53 million for two projects: improving Class 8, or so-called “super trucks,” by developing a cleaner diesel engine; and developing new technology for powertrains for passenger vehicles. Posted. http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/energy-department-awards-187-million-for-development-of-efficient-cars-and-trucks/?scp=4&sq=climate%20change&st=cse Should a Climate Bill Even Try to Fight Sprawl? The potential for a cap-and-trade climate bill to set aside significant amounts of money for reforming local land use and transportation planning is often touted by Democrats, environmental groups, and this particular Streetsblogger. But what does Mary Nichols, chair of the California Air Resources Board and administrator of the state's landmark effort to cut emissions by changing development patterns, think of the idea of tackling sprawl via climate legislation? Posted. http://dc.streetsblog.org/2010/01/11/should-a-climate-bill-even-try/ California Cap-And-Trade: A Political Gamble? It may be no accident that an advisory committee to the California Air Resources Board today recommended that 75% of an expected $20 billion in annual revenue from the state's proposed global warming measures be kicked right back to state residents. "Household friendly" is the way the announcement put it. Posted. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/01/cap-and-trade-california.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GreenspaceEnvironmentBlog+%28Greenspace%29 Last-Minute About-Face on Green Building. California is poised to pass the first mandatory green building code in the nation today, and green building groups that have long supported such a move have come out against it. They object to the governor's rejection of a simple one-size-fits-all mandatory code in favor of a two-tier ranking system that green builders and other environmental groups say will create opportunities for developers to wrap themselves in the green flag without actually meeting industry standards. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/green/detail?entry_id=55068 Climate Question? A UCI Scientist Answers. We’ve been inviting readers to send us their questions about climate change, and seeking answers from climate scientists at UC Irvine. Michael Prather, who specializes in climate modeling and for years has been an author of reports from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, answers a question about greenhouse gases from Jim Craig (blog name Jack Kreg). Posted. http://greenoc.freedomblogging.com/2010/01/11/climate-question-a-uci-scientist-answers/18397/