What's New List Serve Post Display

California Air Resources Board News Clips for June 15, 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.

CLIMATE CHANGE/GHG

Utility Costs Under Senate Climate Bill Could Stir Support --
And Attacks. Idling Senate legislation on climate change enters
an important period this week that could nudge the carbon-focused
proposal forward, while also exposing it to new attacks on price
hikes. Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) are
poised to promote their bill today as having modest economic
impacts on electricity rates, following the completion of U.S.
EPA's modeling on the American Power Act. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/06/15/2

Modern Farming Helped Push Down Greenhouse Gas Emissions –
Study. San Francisco -- Modern high-yield farming lowered the
amount of greenhouse gases pumped into the Earth's atmosphere
toward the end of the 20th Century by a massive amount, according
to a surprising study from researchers at Stanford University.
Technological advances in agriculture helped reduce greenhouse
gas output by reducing the need to convert forests to farmland,
the study said. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/06/15/4

Much Food Goes To Waste, Which Squanders Resources And Adds To
Greenhouse Gases. I've heard that Americans waste 40 percent of
their food. Could that possibly be true? That's five eggs from
every dozen! Determining how much food we waste every day can be
tricky, but the calculation matters a great deal. Squandered
calories mean that the resources used in producing and shipping a
foodstuff -- resources such as fresh water and fossil fuels --
are wasted. In addition, edible matter that has been tossed and
left to rot in landfills tends to generate methane, a powerful
greenhouse gas. So we really ought to know what percentage of our
food output gets dumped into the trash. The problem is, there
just hasn't been much research into this question. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/14/AR2010061405170_pf.html

Better Planning Needed In Face Of Sea-Level Rise. Thousands of
new homes are proposed for construction along the San Francisco
Bay over the next two decades, but many developments lack plans
to protect the structures -- and their occupants -- from flooding
caused by a predicted 55-inch rise in sea level by 2100.
Cash-strapped cities in need of more housing for growing
populations are not required to draw up expensive plans to deal
with sea-level rise and cannot be required to do so by any other
agency. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/06/15/8

AIR QUALITY

On The Air: Calnex Study Tackles Pollutants, Emissions.
Researchers from across the country have gathered in Bakersfield
to conduct a comprehensive study of air quality, hoping that a
deeper understanding of the environment will lead to
cost-effective regulatory policy. Hosted by the University of
California Cooperative Extension and funded by the California Air
Resources Board, the CalNex study aims to provide scientific
background for legislation that would curb harmful emissions.
Posted.
http://www.bakersfield.com/news/local/x637735023/On-the-air-CalNex-study-tackles-pollutants-emissions

Ports Make Big Strides For Clean Air. Pollution from port
industry fell for a third year in a row in 2009, with levels of
toxic diesel soot and smog-forming exhaust declining as much as
50 percent. The drop in exhaust from California's largest fixed
source of pollution comes as the region struggles to meet federal
air quality standards by mid-decade under penalty of losing
highway and infrastructure dollars. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_15295793?nclick_check=1

Scientists Develop Tech To Track Carbon Dioxide. ALBUQUERQUE,
N.M.—Scientists have developed a method for detecting and
tracking carbon dioxide deep underground, giving the federal
government an important tool as people look for ways to keep
carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from crowding the
atmosphere. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/science/ci_15294576

ENERGY

Commentary: It's Time To Move Toward A Cleaner Energy Future. We
rarely see them coming, the moments that crystallize public
opinion on matters of enormous national importance. There was
Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech, Reagan at the
Berlin Wall, or tobacco executives testifying before Congress
that nicotine is not addictive. I believe we are now witnessing
another one, a gushing oil spill from a drilling rig in the Gulf
of Mexico. The spill threatens one of America's most productive
fisheries, as well as working men and women who depend on it.
Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/06/15/v-print/2823714/commentary-its-time-to-move-toward.html

Blue Oval on a Green Streak: Ford Details Progress on
Eco-Initiatives in Latest Sustainability Report. 11th annual Ford
Sustainability Report shows significant progress on improving
fuel economy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and operational
sustainability. Report details Ford's broad-based electrification
strategy and introduction of fuel-saving technologies across a
wide range of vehicles. Ford continues to cut its global water
use and improve its energy efficiency to decrease its
environmental footprint, while leveraging its organizational
resources around the globe to help bring vehicles that consumers
want to market faster.  Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/06/15/v-print/2823502/blue-oval-on-a-green-streak-ford.html

E.U. Wind Industry Forecast Looks Strong For 2010. Favorable
gusts will be backing the European wind industry this year,
according to a new forecast released yesterday by the European
Wind Energy Association. The industry group expects 10 gigawatts
of new wind power capacity to be installed in the European Union
this year, taking total wind power to 85 gigawatts from 75
gigawatts last year. EWEA predicts France and Italy will each
install around 1 gigawatt of wind power in 2010 and suggests
Germany will be the wind market leader this year. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/06/15/5

VEHICLES

The South's Rising in the Environmentally Friendly Auto World.
Necessary parts did not arrive on time and more than 80 student
volunteers -- who came and went as they pleased -- contributed to
the creative tension. But none of this disrupted the well-laid
plans of Mississippi State University's engineers to win the
Department of Energy's EcoCar competition. EcoCar is the latest
in a long line of student competitions put on by DOE that are
designed to push the limits of vehicle design by tapping into the
unconventional knowledge found on university campuses in the
United States and Canada. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/06/15/15climatewire-the-souths-rising-in-the-environmentally-fri-69083.html?pagewanted=print

Mayors Promote Natural Gas-Fueled Cars. The U.S. Conference of
Mayors gave a ringing endorsement yesterday to natural gas
vehicles. At the group's annual meeting in Oklahoma City, mayors
backed a resolution that presses Congress to pass two laws
promoting natural gas in the transportation sector and to
increase research and development programs on the issue. "Passage
of current federal natural gas vehicle legislation would
stimulate market expansion, economic growth, and support the
buying and using natural gas vehicles over a short time period so
that national economies of scale will develop," the resolution
states. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/06/15/6

Chinese Firm Hopes Taxis Will Lead To Larger Electric Market.
China's BYD, in a push to introduce electric cars to the general
marketplace, hopes to have 100 purely electric taxis on the road
in China by the end of the month. The company already released 30
of its e6 vehicles in the city of Shenzhen, and sources say the
company will have 560 operating as taxis by the end of the year.
The ultimate goal is to reach 1,500, or 10 percent of all the
city's cabs. The taxes are marked with the words "zero emission"
and have the slogan "This is not a conventional car, this is a
declaration of environmental protection" written across the back.
Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/06/15/7

OIL SPILL

Obama Sees Light Ahead For Oil-Damaged Gulf Coast. Theodore,
Ala. (AP) — In a newly optimistic tone, President Barack Obama
promised Monday that "things are going to return to normal" along
the stricken Gulf Coast and the region's fouled waters will be in
even better shape than before the catastrophic BP oil spill.
Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_15299382

BLOGS

On Our Radar: The White House and Climate Change. A look at
climate change policy battles at the White House. “Just a chronic
pattern of infighting,” one insider says. With hostile takeover
rumors swirling, BP hires Goldman Sachs as an adviser; the spill
could ultimately cost the company $37 billion. In 2008, BP
claimed prowess in sonar-based oil flow metering — a skill not
applied to its out-of-control well. Posted.
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/15/on-our-radar-the-white-house-and-climate-change/?pagemode=print