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California Air Resources Board News Clips for March 2, 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.

Study Points To High Cost Of Polluted Air. Foul, filthy air is
wafting over California and making people sick to the tune of
almost $200 million a year in hospital expenses, according to a
Rand Corp. study released today. The pollution is jacking up
health care costs, insurance premiums and jeopardizing the health
of children, who suffer more from asthma attacks in smoggy areas,
said researchers with the Santa Monica nonprofit policy research
institute. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/02/BAR91C93N4.DTL&type=printable
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/03/02/v-print/2574938/rand-study-of-hospitals-puts-price.html
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/health/u-s-pays-a-price-for-dirty-air-309351.html
http://gantdaily.com/2010/03/02/pollution-costing-californians-millions-in-health-care-costs/
http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_14496253
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20100302/Health-Impact-Project-announces-24150000-grant-to-examine-health-impacts-of-cap-and-trade-regulation.aspx

Support For Solar: California Doubles Cap On Credits For Excess
Power. California's solar industry is celebrating a ray of good
news: the cap on so-called "net metering," which allows homes and
businesses to earn credit for any excess solar power they
generate, has been doubled. Currently, utilities give net metered
customers a credit on their monthly bill if they generate more
solar power than they use. The credit can be used to offset
higher energy consumption at other times of the year, like the
darker winter months. At the end of the year, any leftover
credits are zeroed out. Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_14492960?source=rss


Clear The Air: Smog Check Fraud Costs Everyone. IN a state that
has done such a remarkable job in recent decades cleaning its air
of choking smog, it's disheartening to hear of widespread fraud
in the smog check process. Last week, a report on California's
smog-test program found that up to a third of older cars that
have passed mandated pollution checks actually fail them when
re-tested at random on the streets. 
The air is bad enough in Los Angeles and the Valley that the
last thing it needs is a bunch of antiquated smoke-belchers
tooling up and down the streets. Posted.
http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_14494966

California to Examine Health Impacts of Landmark Cap-and-Trade
Program. Health Impact Project Awards Grant to Conduct First
Study of Its Kind on Climate Change Legislation. The Health
Impact Project today announced the award of a $150,000 grant to
the Oakland-based Public Health Institute to collaborate with the
California Department of Public Health on a health impact
assessment (HIA) of a proposed "cap-and-trade" regulation under
California's 2006 Global Warming Solutions Act. Posted.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/energy/california-examine-health-impacts-landmark-cap-trade-program/


Calif. May Ban Cos. From Using Ocean as Coolant. State water
board regulators are mulling a plan to stop power companies from
vacuuming the ocean for water to cool their machinery.
Environmentalists said the practice destroys too much sea life,
while utility advocates said the impact is minimal. Banning the
practice would cost too much, jeopardize the reliability of the
electricity grid and slow the state's transition to clean energy,
supporters of the practice said. Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14492167

Business-Backed Economist Backs Off His Anti-AB32 Study. In a
stunning reversal, the economist who cited massive cost increases
to consumers and small businesses in a study of California's
global warming law is retreating from his much-criticized
findings. The move comes in the wake of a new report by Stanford
University economists criticizing the business-funded study as
"very, very defective." Posted.
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/site/?q=node/7498

Obama To Outline Rebates For Energy Efficiency. Washington -
Consumers would collect on-the-spot rebates of $1,000 or more for
buying insulation, water heaters or other equipment to make their
homes burn energy more efficiently under a new rebate program to
be announced by President Barack Obama . Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_14497550

Opinion: The Earth Has Its Own Set Of Rules. Our view of nature
is based on our human desire for more, and that economic model is
broken. Early in our history it didn't make any difference how we
viewed our environment. We could change it, and if we didn't like
what we did to it, we could move and natural processes would soon
obliterate whatever we had done. Over the years, models of our
relationship to the environment have been based on religious
views, with the world provided for us to dominate and subdue as
described in Genesis, and philosophical views, seeing wisdom and
virtue in nature as described by Thoreau. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-mahall2-2010mar02,0,6899831.story

Wood Stove Swap-Out Vouchers Burned In One Hour. That didn't
last long. Vouchers to help local residents swap-out older
woodstoves for newer, cleaner-burning models were snapped up
Monday, most of them in the first hour the Butte County Air
Quality Management District office was open. Senior air quality
planner Gail Williams said in an e-mail that one woman spent the
night in her car parked at the district office. Posted.
http://www.chicoer.com/news/oroville/ci_14496664 

Sensing Devices Are Becoming More Adept At Detecting Toxins And
Pollutants. Local boozers were breathing a bit easier yesterday
following news reports that an audit by the Washington
Metropolitan Police Department found some 80 percent of its
"breathalyzer" alcohol monitors may have been giving faulty
readings. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/01/AR2010030102880.html

Other Voices: Over-Regulation Stymies Job Growth. Californians
are suffering. With thousands unemployed in a staggering economy,
this is a difficult time for families. The cost of living is
rising, and our state's unemployment rate has reached 12.4
percent, the third highest in the nation, with some areas as high
as 18 percent. California has seen a mass exodus of jobs in
recent years as businesses have fled the state's over-regulation,
high taxation, and overall hostile job climate. Posted. 
http://www.theunion.com/article/20100302/OPINION/100309986/1024

U.S. Auto Dealers Want EPA Carbon Authority Blocked (Update1).
(Bloomberg) -- Congress should stop the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency from enforcing carbon dioxide limits for new
cars and trucks, the National Automobile Dealers Association
said. The EPA’s proposed emission limits, which would be enforced
through higher fuel economy standards, are “duplicative and
wasteful,” the McLean, Virginia-based association said in a
letter yesterday to Senator Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican
who is trying to block the agency from regulating greenhouse
gases. Posted.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-02/u-s-auto-dealers-want-epa-carbon-dioxide-regulations-blocked.html

'Climategate' Scientist Admits 'Awful E-Mails,' but Peers Say
IPCC Conclusions Remain Sound. The head of a British climate
research unit under fire after thousands of stolen e-mails were
made public last year said yesterday that he had "obviously
written some very awful e-mails." But the scientist, Phil Jones,
defended his work and that of the University of East Anglia's
Climatic Research Unit, which he headed, in testimony yesterday
before a House of Commons panel. "You've only seen a tenth of 1
percent of my e-mails in this group," he told the Science and
Technology Committee. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/03/02/02climatewire-climategate-scientist-admits-awful-e-mails-b-66224.html?pagewanted=print

Letter to Editor: Ways to Respond to Climate Change. Re “We
Can’t Wish Away Climate Change” (Op-Ed, Feb. 28): Al Gore’s
thoughtful advocacy for meaningful action on climate change will
no doubt bring the climate change “skeptics” out of the woodwork
once again. Our inability to address the climate crisis is both
an intellectual and a moral failure. In the 1950s, Sputnik
threatened our national pride — and America responded with an
intensified focus on science education, building a space program
that accomplished wonders. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/02/opinion/l02climate.html?pagewanted=print

Al Gore Returns To The Spotlight; Says Climate Science Errors
Don't Matter. Former Vice President Al Gore had been
conspicuously absent from the public eye recently. Following on
the failure of the Copenhagen climate summit and new revelations
of errors in key climate science reports, the Nobel Laureate was
nowhere to be found. On Sunday he returned with an op-ed in the
New York Times discussing the ‘attacks’ on the manmade climate
change theory. Posted.
http://www.examiner.com/x-25061-Climate-Change-Examiner~y2010m3d2-Al-Gore-returns-to-the-spotlight-says-climate-science-errors-dont-matter

Correction: Climate Change May Extend Allergy Season: Study.
(Corrects study duration to 26 years from six years in paragraph
2). Washington (Reuters) - Sneezing, congestion, and runny noses
from hay fever may be lasting longer because climate change may
be extending pollen seasons, doctors in Italy said on Monday.
Pollen seasons as well as the amount of pollen in the air
progressively increased during a 26-year study in Italy, the
doctors told a meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma
& Immunology in New Orleans. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62137020100302

Senate Climate Bill May Drop Cap And Trade. A compromise climate
bill being developed in the Senate may drop controversial cap and
trade legislation passed by the House. The last best hope to get
a climate-energy bill through Congress this year may be to drop
long-held "cap-and-trade" plans for an economy-wide price on
carbon emissions and instead target just the utility,
transportation, and industry sectors of the economy. Posted.
http://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/print/content/view/print/284236

Arcelormittal Loses Court Challenge On Emissions. Brussels - The
world's largest steel maker ArcelorMittal SA on Tuesday lost a
legal challenge that sought to exempt it from the European
Union's greenhouse gas cap-and-trade system. The EU's general
court said the company could not annul the EU law that issues
pollution permits to major carbon dioxide emitters and loads them
with costs if they pollute more than allowed. Posted.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jCEOabJYJsQAYg73J484UgCf1S2AD9E6E6NG0

A Stink In Central California Over Converting Cow Manure To
Electricity. Air-quality rules in the region leave dairy farmers
facing costly changes to generators used to burn methane to
produce power. Some have put their renewable-energy plans on
hold. Reporting from Stanislaus County, Calif. — Central
California is home to nearly 1.6 million dairy cows and their
manure -- up to 192 million pounds per day. It's a mountain of
waste and a potential environmental hazard. But for dairyman John
Fiscalini, the dung on his farm is renewable gold: He's
converting it into electricity. Posted.
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/01/business/la-fi-cow-power1-2010mar01

Fire Up That, Um, Fireplace: Spare The Air Season Over. The Bay
Area Air Quality Management District has ended winter "Spare the
Air" alerts for the season. The district's ban on burning wood
during winter alert days was lifted Sunday. Air district
officials, however, cautioned Bay Area residents that some
burning restrictions still apply throughout the year, such as
burning garbage or causing excessive visible smoke. Such activity
could result in a fine. Posted.
http://sfappeal.com/alley/2010/03/fire-up-that-um-fireplace-spare-the-air-season-over.php
http://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=126041

Barnidge: Berkeley Carries A Torch For Global Warming. GLOBAL
WARMING theorists have received a chilly reception in recent
months, and it's not hard to understand why. Begin with a
wrenching economy that has consumed public attention. When you're
fretting over the next mortgage payment, a two-degree temperature
rise in the next 20 years probably is not your biggest worry.
Posted. http://www.insidebayarea.com/columns/ci_14492714

Complaints Surface Over Landfill Dumping. While recognizing it
is a public safety necessity, Granada Hills residents and City
Councilman Greig Smith questioned Monday whether there are health
risks from the dumping of catch basin runoff in Sunshine Canyon
Landfill. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_14494832?nclick_check=1

L.A. Mayor Wants Surcharge To Pay For Green Energy. Los Angeles
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is backing a plan to increase utility
fees to pay for renewable energy sources. A survey commissioned
by the mayor asked Department of Water and Power customers if
they'd support a monthly carbon surcharge of $2.50 to help move
the city off its dependence on coal power. Sixty-four percent of
those polled said they would. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_14491215

Richmond, Hayward are Green Cities. Richmond and Hayward are now
members of a coalition of high-performing green cities lauded for
taking steps to protect the environment. The two cities became
members of Green Cities California on Monday. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/environment/ci_14492660

Climate Scientists Quizzed By British Lawmakers.
London—Academics at a British climate research center at the
center of a controversy about the science of global warming
defended their work during cross-examination at Parliament on
Monday, rejecting allegations that they manipulated climate data.
Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/environment/ci_14492884

Blogs

The Chamber of Commerce vs. Climate Science. The business
lobby's challenge to carbon regulations probably won't convince a
court of law. The court of public opinion is another matter.
William Kovacs, the US Chamber of Commerce's vice president of
environment, technology and regulatory affairs, last year
famously called for a "Scopes monkey trial of the 21st century"
on climate change. Kovacs was referencing the lightning-rod 1925
court case that made it illegal to teach anything other than
divine creation in Tennessee public schools—and he wanted a
similar public hearing in which climate science would be put on
the stand. Posted. http://motherjones.com/print/47306

Oakland Sierra Club Hopes for 1,000 to Support Climate Action
Plan. On March 30, Oakland will present an ambitious Energy and
Climate Action Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 36
percent by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050. The Sierra Club is part
of the Oakland Climate Action Coalition. The club supports the
city's targets, and wants to see them achieved in ways that
"clean up air pollution, create local green-collar jobs, save
residents money and improve public health." Posted.
http://oaklandlocal.com/blogs/2010/01/oakland-sierra-club-hopes-1000-support-climate-action-plan
 
California Braces for a Cleaner and Greener Future. When it
comes to taking initiatives toward reducing the state’s carbon
footprints, the State of California has always played pioneering
role. The introduction of a new legislation keeps to this
tradition. With an aim to help California become a leader in the
green energy storage, Attorney General Jerry Brown and Assembly
member Nancy Skinner introduced AB 2514.  Posted.
http://smart-grid.tmcnet.com/topics/smart-grid/articles/77199-california-braces-a-cleaner-greener-future.htm
 

Turn Out the Lights. California has the seventh-highest energy
costs in the nation, according to a new study. Last year the
state was ranked 11th-highest. The study, prepared by the Small
Business & Entrepreneurship Council, an advocacy group, looks at
gasoline and electricity. Posted.
http://www.laobserved.com/biz/2010/03/turn_out_the_lights.php