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California Air Resources Board News Clips for March 16, 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.


Give Clean-Air Measure A Fair Chance To Succeed. There is a
major battle brewing over whether to delay full implementation of
Assembly Bill 32. That's the 2006 measure that requires
California to limit its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels
by 2020, or about 30 percent below the level that would exist 10
years from now without AB 32. The California Air Resources Board,
which will implement the measure, developed a plan in December
2008 to achieve emissions reductions. It is scheduled to take
effect by 2012. Opponents of AB 32 argue that it would cause
severe economic damage to California and result in significant
job losses. Posted.
http://www.timesheraldonline.com/opinion/ci_14683699

Business Federation Backs Bill To Put Businessmen On State
Board. The state branch of a national business lobbying group has
thrown its support behind legislation to place two small business
owners on the 11-member California Air Resources Board. The
National Federation of Independent Business/California announced
it’s backing Assembly Bill 2328, authored by Assemblyman Roger
Niello, R-Fair Oaks. The legislation, introduced last month and
now in committee, would ensure that two spots now occupied by
members of the public are taken by business owners instead,
according to a NFIB/California news release. Posted.
http://www.vvdailypress.com/common/printer/view.php?db=vvdailypress&id=17984

GOP Hopefuls Spar Over Immigration, Climate Change. Costa Mesa –
In the first gubernatorial debate of the Republican primary,
underdog candidate Steve Poizner sought Monday to establish
himself as the true conservative of the race while rival Meg
Whitman offered more moderate proposals on core GOP issues such
as illegal immigration and the state's climate change law.
Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/03/16/2609676/gop-hopefuls-spar-over-immigration.html#mi_rss=Top%20Stories

Opponents Using Employment Argument to Delay Greenhouse Gases
Bill. How many jobs will be gained or lost by cutting
California's greenhouse gas emissions? The answer is an
unequivocal "unknown." And for many in San Joaquin County, where
unemployment reached a record 18.4 percent in January, an unknown
impact is unacceptable. Posted.
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100316/A_SPORTS/3160326


Battle Over Calif. Emissions Law Takes Shape As Warring Parties
Reveal Funding Sources. The campaign to put suspension of
California's climate change law before voters in November started
taking shape this week as warring parties revealed key sources of
funding and traded barbs over the nature of their financial
support. Opposing the climate law are a Texas-based refining
company that operates in California and the anti-tax Howard
Jarvis Taxpayers Association. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/03/16/1

U.S. Climate Bill to Set Utility Cap - Trade: Senator.
Compromise climate control legislation being developed in the
U.S. Senate will use a cap-and-trade approach to reduce carbon
emissions from utilities such as power plants, a key senator said
on Monday. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/03/15/us/politics/politics-us-climate-usa-congress.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/15/AR2010031502666.html

E.U. Eyes Higher Emissions Cuts. The European Union is set to
impose the world's tightest restrictions on greenhouse gas
emissions. The bloc will support a proposal for a tougher E.U.
target for cutting carbon dioxide, scrapping its original
condition that the world must agree to a legally binding treaty
on emissions before adopting a new target. The plan would raise
the target greenhouse gas emissions cuts to 30 percent of 1990
levels by 2020. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/03/16/8

Planet Panel. Adapted from The Post's online climate-change
discussion. With the recent discovery that methane is bubbling
out of the Arctic faster than expected, how worried should we be
about abrupt changes in climate such as this one? Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/15/AR2010031502099.html

Group Ponders Environmental Issues. About 300 environmental
professionals are in Palm Springs through Wednesday grappling
with how to translate California's aggressive goals for reducing
greenhouse gases and improving energy efficiency into policies
and projects that work for their communities. Posted.
http://www.mydesert.com/article/20100316/NEWS07/3160301/1006/news01/Group+ponders+environmental+issues

UN Climate Envoy Expects Dual-Track Negotiations.
Amsterdam—Talks on a new global climate change accord, bogged
down for years in contested negotiations among nearly 200
countries, will increasingly move outside the sluggish U.N.
framework and focus on a streamlined group of countries, special
U.N. envoy Gro Harlem Brundtland said Tuesday. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/nation-world/ci_14684075

White House Task Force Finds Gaps In Federal Global Warming
Strategy. Washington -- Climate change has already wrought
"pervasive, wide ranging" effects on the United States, and the
federal government has "significant gaps" in its strategy to cope
with those effects as they accelerate in the future, a White
House task force will warn in a report on Tuesday. Posted.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/03/15/1860241/white-house-task-force-finds-gaps.html

29 Governors Call For A Huge Surge In Wind Energy. A majority of
the nation's governors are calling on Congress and the Obama
administration to boost wind energy through a national renewable
standard and a revamp of the electrical grid. In its first ever
set of recommendations, which it is releasing today, the
Governors' Wind Energy Coalition calls for a new interstate
transmission system of electricity lines, an extension of
renewable tax credits for five years and $500 million in new
research dollars for offshore wind. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/03/16/2
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/15/AR2010031502120.html

Study: Corn Ethanol an 'Unattractive Compliance Option' for
Carbon Mandates. The use of corn ethanol in place of gasoline
causes enough carbon emissions from land-use changes to cancel
immediate tailpipe benefits, according to research published last
week that confirms a controversial earlier study. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/03/15/15greenwire-study-corn-ethanol-an-unattractive-compliance-19757.html


On the Waterfront: New York Is On Board With LA Truck Plan. New
York has formally joined Los Angeles in support of sweeping
changes to America's port trucking industry and the working
conditions of drivers. Chris Ward, executive director of the Port
Authority of New York-New Jersey, said Monday that Los Angeles's
clean-truck model is the most reasonable long-term approach to
tackle port pollution, safety and security risks. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_14681383

Transit Officials Buy Muir Woods Buses. Shuttle service to Muir
Woods got a boost this week as county transit officials bought
two 35-foot biodiesel buses to replace two of the leased vehicles
in the program's fleet. In addition, the Marin County Transit
District board agreed on Monday that Golden Gate Transit will
operate the service under a contract with the county district.
Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_14679987

Butler: Electric Car, Solar System Combination Pays Nicely. I
just sent in my modest, refundable deposit on a new four-door,
all-electric sedan to be built by Tesla, so I guess that puts me
firmly on the green bandwagon. Unfortunately, for those of you
who are curious to hear how it all turns out, the delivery date
for car "#1664" is the summer of 2012. Talk about delayed
gratification. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/business/ci_14680006

Port of West Sacramento Powered 100% by Solar Energy. A newly
installed 637-kilowatt solar power system will supply the Port of
West Sacramento with 100 percent of its electricity needs. It
will cut the port’s energy costs by more than $20,000 annually
and eliminate more than 34 million pounds of carbon-dioxide
emissions over 25 years. Posted.
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2010/03/15/port-of-west-sacramento-powered-100-by-solar-energy/

DWP Rates May Rise Between 8% And 28% To Pay For Mayor's Green
Initiatives. The hike would pay for more aggressive conservation
programs and a solar plan designed to create 16,000 jobs as well
as cover the fluctuating price of coal and natural gas.
Households that get their power from the Los Angeles Department
of Water and Power could see their electric bills go up between
8.8% and 28.4%, depending on where they live and how much energy
they use, under a plan unveiled Monday by Mayor Antonio
Villaraigosa. Posted.
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/15/local/la-me-dwp-rates16-2010mar16
http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_14681371

EDF Report Highlights Clean Freight Initiatives Congress Could
Fund. A new report by the Environmental Defense Fund highlights
several clean freight initiatives Congress could fund as part of
the upcoming transportation reauthorization bill. The report,
titled "The Good Haul," details 28 case studies, and calls for
Congress to direct freight improvement funding to encourage clean
freight solutions. Recently, Senate Environment and Public Works
Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) vowed to take up a
transportation reauthorization bill this year, and the EPW
Committee has initiated a series of hearings on issues to be
addressed in the bill. Posted.
http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-print.asp?news_id=69722