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California Air Resources Board News Clips for August 4, 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.

AB 32

Poll: Most Oppose Halting Calif. Emissions Law. Most readers in a
recent poll opposed a fall ballot question that would freeze
California's emissions rules until the unemployment rate dropped
to 5.5 percent. Prop. 23 was opposed by 50 percent of those who
responded to the Business Pulse survey and supported by 42
percent. The unscientific online survey was conducted by the
Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal between July 27 and Aug.
3. Posted.
http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2010/08/02/daily56.html

Editorial: Rebuke of Jerry Brown good news for Prop. 23. Attorney
General Jerry Brown used misleading and prejudicial language in
drafting the description of Proposition 23, the ballot measure to
temporarily suspend implementation of California's Global Warming
Solutions Act, a judge ruled Tuesday. This is good news for
several reasons, and bad news for at least one reason. Posted.
http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/brown-260575-news-law.html

Judge Rules Proposition 23 Ballot Language Must Be Reworded. A
state judge Tuesday ordered the ballot language of Proposition 23
-- a November measure that would suspend California's landmark
global warming law -- to be rewritten, handing a victory to
supporters of the measure who said Attorney General Jerry Brown
wrote misleading and biased wording. Sacramento County Superior
Court Judge Timothy Frawley ruled in favor of the Howard Jarvis
Taxpayers Association, which filed the lawsuit last week. Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/elections/ci_15670531
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/04/2934769/prop-23-ruling.html
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/03/1759588/judge-sides-with-supporters-of.html

Gov Candidate Whitman Claims Environmental Label. Republican
gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman labeled herself an
environmentalist during a visit to a green-tech firm Tuesday, but
said support for the environment needs to be tempered with a
reduction in regulations for California businesses. "I am an
environmentalist. Everyone probably in this room is an
environmentalist," she said to a crowd of about 40 people at
SynapSense, in the Sacramento suburb of Folsom. "But the truth is
we've got to bring back some balance between the environment and
the needs of jobs and people. So whether it is the farmers,
whether it is, you know, your business, the permitting, the
regulation is strangling businesses." Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_15669340?nclick_check=1

Minorities Drive California Environmental Movement. Ethnic
Californians are at the forefront of support for environmental
policies in the state, according to a new poll released last week
by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC). The poll,
which asks state residents their perspectives on a wide range of
environmental issues, found that ethnic Californians were more
likely than whites to perceive air pollution and climate change
as a serious threats, and favor a role for government in fixing
the problems. The survey was conducted in English, Spanish,
Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Vietnamese and Korean. Posted.
http://newamericamedia.org/2010/08/minorities-drive-california-environmental-movement.php

Carly Fiorina: A Global Warming Denier. On July 27, California
Watch reported that Senator Wannabe Carly Fiorina accepted
$25,000 in donations from Murray Energy Corporation of Cleveland,
a major coal producer, whose CEO Robert Murray called global
warming "hysterical global goofiness." Murray has an economic
interest in the global warming debate because global warming
legislation will probably restrict the burning of coal and thus,
effect his economic interests. Posted.
http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2010-08-03/article/35994?headline=Carly-Fiorina-A-Global-Warming-Denier

CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate Change: It's Time to Talk, and Act, Tough. Try to fit
these facts together: According to the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, the planet has just come through the
warmest decade, the warmest 12 months, the warmest six months and
the warmest April, May and June on record. A "staggering" new
study from Canadian researchers has shown that warmer seawater
has reduced phytoplankton, the base of the marine food chain, by
40% since 1950. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-mckibben-climate-20100804,0,251896,print.story

EPA Left to Pick Up Climate Change Where Congress Dropped The
Debate. The Obama administration told Congress to find a way to
regulate greenhouse gases -- or else. Last month, Congress
refused: Democratic leaders in the Senate declined to take up
climate legislation before their August break, which means it
looks effectively dead for this session. Now the White House is
stuck with "or else." The Environmental Protection Agency will
soon begin regulating greenhouse gases factory by factory, power
plant by power plant. That could be unwieldy, expensive and
unpopular -- even President Obama has said it's not his preferred
solution. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/03/AR2010080306366.html

Greens Turn To Small-Scale Issues. Climate change wasn’t the only
environmental issue on Congress’s agenda over the past three
years — it just seemed that way. With the cap-and-trade bill dead
in the Senate, lawmakers and environmental groups are looking to
shine the spotlight on a slew of problems that received almost no
attention in recent years, such as acid rain, overfishing,
polluted drinking water and toxic chemicals in consumer products.
Posted.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0810/40607.html#ixzz0vepxT1mv

Climate Bill Years Away After Senate Surrenders. No one expected
a bang, but the idea of a cap on America’s carbon emissions died
with barely the bathos of a whimper. Despite months of
legislative fiddle piled on procedural faddle, no one ever
drafted a bill with a carbon cap, and the sort of trading system
necessary for industry to meet its demands, that stood a chance
on the Senate floor. So the majority leader, Harry Reid, finally
decided the whole issue should be quietly flushed away. With the
midterm elections sure to swing heavily away from Reid’s
Democrats, there is now no possibility of comprehensive
climate-change legislation in America for years. Posted.
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20100804/OPINION/100809892/1042?Title=Climate-bill-years-away-after-Senate-surrenders

Breakaway Clean Energy Coalition Splits US Chamber of Commerce. A
new split over climate policy is brewing within the ranks of the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce as a breakaway group of local chambers
is getting ready to publicly split with the business lobby's
hardline stance against climate legislation. The new climate
coalition, known as the Chambers for Innovation and Clean Energy
(CICE), will press Congress to take stronger action on climate
and energy issues. It has already signed up about a dozen
chambers and will officially launch later this year. Posted.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/aug/04/clean-energy-coalition-chamber-commerce

GHG

Energy Reform Needs a Voice. The following editorial appeared in
the Detroit Free Press on Monday, August 2. It is tragic that
Congress has run out of gas, so to speak, on energy reform that
would include tackling the greenhouse gas emissions that warm the
planet. At best, that means the issue could make good fodder for
the campaign debates that will take place this fall. But
Americans live in an at-worst economy, and the environment will
surely take a back seat to concerns about jobs, taxes and other
aspects of everyone's financial security. Posted. 
http://www.modbee.com/2010/08/04/1279726/energy-reform-needs-a-voice.html
                                        
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/04/2935632/energy-reform-needs-a-voice.html

Nationwide Low-Carbon Fuel Standard Would Increase Global
Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Study Finds.  The implementation of a
nationwide low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) in the United States
would increase global greenhouse gas emissions by up to 19
million metric tons each year – contradicting the claim of LCFS
advocates that the standard would reduce such emissions –
according to a study issued today. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/03/2933669/nationwide-low-carbon-fuel-standard.html

Refiners Say Low-Carbon Laws Worse Than Cap-and-Trade. Plans to
reduce the carbon content of U.S. transportation fuels are likely
to boost oil imports from the Middle East and lead to more
pollution from diesel-fueled tankers, according to a report
commissioned by the National Petrochemical and Refiners
Association. A low-carbon standard is “even worse” than the
“terrible” cap-and-trade legislation for carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases that recently collapsed in the U.S. Senate, said
Charles Drevna, president of the refining industry group. The
association estimated that plan would have cost the industry more
than $20 billion a year. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/08/03/bloomberg1376-L6L0D30D9L3501-7KJHNKQHQUV1LV0VUG89V422KB.DTL
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-08-03/refiners-say-low-carbon-laws-worse-than-cap-and-trade.html

AIR POLLUTION

Deal To Reduce Pollution On Mesa OK’d. County supervisors on
Tuesday gave final approval to an agreement to reduce the amount
of dust blowing onto the Nipomo Mesa from Oceano Dunes State
Vehicular Recreation Area amid concerns that the deal lacks teeth
and meaningful deadlines. “This is an incomplete agreement, to
say the least,” Supervisor Bruce Gibson said. Posted.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2010/08/03/1238406/deal-to-reduce-pollution-on-mesa.html#ixzz0veViyQ00

San Diego Having Least Smoggy Year on Record. San Diego County is
having its cleanest year on record for ozone. Ozone, better known
as smog, is an air pollutant that stings the eyes and can damage
the lungs, and San Diego county has yet to record a day this year
in which its air quality has exceeded federal standards for
ozone. Posted.
http://www.kpbs.org/news/2010/aug/04/san-diego-having-least-smoggy-year-record/

EPA Undertakes Overdue Review On Oil, Gas Rules. The
Environmental Protection Agency is reviewing four air emission
rules for oil and natural gas operations, albeit many years later
than it should have done so. The EPA is supposed to review the
standards every eight years under the Clean Air Act, but some of
the regulations in question haven't been updated since 1985,
while others were last fully reviewed in 1999. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/03/2934533/epa-undertakes-overdue-review.html

VEHICLES

'Smogtruck' Charts Big Rig Fumes. UC Riverside researchers took
their science to the streets this week -- in the back of a
tractor-trailer rig equipped to test emissions from diesel trucks
under real-world conditions. The rolling laboratory zipped past
homes and businesses in Redlands and chugged up hills outside
Cherry Valley for two full days. Inside the 53-foot trailer,
computers and gauges analyzed microscopic particles spewed by the
trucks. Green spikes on a computer graph showed the increased
output of dangerous diesel soot and aerosols when the rig
accelerated uphill. Posted.
http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_News_Local_D_smogtruck04.326f784.html

On The Money: Drydock Boats. A State agency purchased more than
two dozen power boats that are now collecting dust on a
government auction lot in Davis. The California Air Resources
Board is now planning to sell the vehicles after using them for
only a year.  Following a tip from a CBS 13 viewer, On The Money
discovered eight of the vehicles hidden behind a government gate
in Davis. Posted.
http://cbs13.com/onthemoney/drydock.boats.money.2.1841269.html

Leaf Beats Volt in Race for State Rebate Cash. Buy Nissan's new
electric car, the Leaf, in California, and you may qualify for a
$5,000 rebate from the state. Buy the Leaf's closest competitor,
the Chevrolet Volt, and the state will give you nothing. The Leaf
and the Volt represent the next wave of plug-in cars, both of
them hitting the market in California later this year. Nissan and
General Motors are already taking reservations. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/03/BUG31EOCH9.DTL

ENERGY

BP Collecting Millions in Government Stimulus Funds for
California Power Plant. The federal government is giving a joint
venture involving oil giant BP millions of dollars in stimulus
money to build a power plant on farmland near the tiny Kern
County town of Tupman, even as the company faces heavy government
pressure and a criminal probe into the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
BP is benefiting from a $308 million federal grant over several
years for the cutting-edge power plant on cotton and alfalfa
fields seven miles from the western edge of Bakersfield. More
than half of the money, $175 million, is coming from stimulus
funds. The rest is coming from another federal program. Posted.
http://californiawatch.org/environment/325-bp-collecting-millions-9-government-stimulus-funds-california-power-plant
U.S. Needs Clean Tech Investment. Innovative technological ideas
that originate from small American manufacturing companies often
go unrewarded. Why? Because often those companies don't have the
ability to take their innovations to the world through an
aggressive exporting program. Although the United States is the
unequivocal leader in energy innovation, we lose out to countries
like China and Germany when it comes to manufacturing equipment
for solar energy, biofuels, fuel cells, water remediation and
renewable power generation. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/03/ED5Q1ELGDS.DTL#ixzz0veuhpRGM
BP Project Pockets Stimulus Funds. The federal government is
giving a joint venture involving oil giant BP millions of dollars
in stimulus money to build a power plant on farmland near the
tiny Kern County town of Tupman, even as the company faces heavy
government pressure and a criminal probe into the Gulf of Mexico
oil spill. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/04/2935019/bp-project-pockets-stimulus-funds.html

Senate Dems Delay Vote On Oil Spill, Energy Bill. WASHINGTON --
The worst oil spill in U.S. history and a year on track to be the
hottest on record were not enough to push an energy bill through
the Senate this summer. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/03/2933923/senate-dems-delay-vote-on-oil.html
BLOGS
Why 2 Million (Promised) Green Jobs Couldn't Sell a Climate Bill.
From the early days of the Obama administration,
environmentalists believed that they had found the message to
carry them to victory in what promised to be a grueling debate
over energy and climate policy. It was this: At a time of soaring
unemployment, a climate bill would create thousands or millions
of new “clean energy” jobs. Climate activists spent 18 months and
millions of dollars pushing that message, contending that
legislation to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions blamed for
climate change would spur investments and create jobs in solar,
wind and other alternatives to fossil fuels. Posted.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/08/why-2-million-promised-green-jobs-couldnt-secure-a-climate-bill.html

Global Warming: Judge Softens Proposition 23 Ballot Language. A
Sacramento judge Tuesday softened the ballot description of
Proposition 23, a November initiative to suspend the state’s
sweeping global warming law. Proponents of the initiative called
the ruling “a tremendous victory,” but initiative opponents
dismissed it as “cosmetic.” Language drafted by Atty. Gen. Jerry
Brown referred to “major polluters,” which the judge changed to
“sources of emissions.” The judge also narrowed the wording of
the title from “suspends air pollution control laws” to “suspends
implementation of air pollution control law (AB 32).” Posted.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/08/global-warming-prop-23-ab-23-california-climate-change.html

Pessimism Clouds Climate Meeting. This time last summer, there
was considerable optimism that the world’s nations just might be
able to approve a pact to limit a global increase in greenhouse
gases at a United Nations climate conference in Copenhagen last
December. That meeting, overseen by the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change, ended with a weak agreement known
as the Copenhagen Accord. Posted.
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/04/pessimism-reigns-at-climate-powwow/

The Broken Senate and the Energy and Climate Challenge. The riven
Senate, with  the decision today not to close out a modest
package of energy initiatives focused on oil drilling, is
basically saying the following: Don’t look for the vital
21st-century energy quest, let alone a reality-based approach to
global warming, to begin within the borders of the United States.
George Packer’s latest piece in The New Yorker can fill you in on
 the Senate’s broken machinery and norms. David Roberts at Grist
has been pointing to  the 60-vote impediment to sane energy
policy for a long time. Posted.
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/03/the-broken-senate-and-the-energy-and-climate-challenge/