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newsclips -- Newsclips for August 16, 2010.
Posted: 16 Aug 2010 12:40:40
California Air Resources Board News Clips for August 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. CLIMATE CHANGE/GHG’S Global Warming Measure Could Suspend Other Landmark Environmental Rules. A November ballot measure that would suspend California's landmark global-warming law could also end up rolling back some of the state's other sweeping environmental standards -- including rules that require utilities to generate a third of their electricity from renewable sources and programs requiring oil refineries to make cleaner-burning fuels. How broadly courts might interpret Proposition 23 is setting off alarm bells among Silicon Valley executives and environmental groups. Posted. http://www.mercurynews.com/politics-government/ci_15790337?source=rss&nclick_check=1 http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/15/1777426/california-landmark-global-warming.html http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_15790337 Global Warming Skeptic Leading Charge On Solar, Renewables From Silicon Valley. Even though he thinks man-made global warming is unproved, T.J. Rodgers is still pioneering renewable energy at his Silicon Valley companies Cypress Semiconductor Corp. and SunPower Corp. Cypress has saved $75,000 a year on energy bills by generating 75 percent of its energy from rooftop solar panels and gas-powered fuel cells. The company is working to completely disconnect from the energy grid by 2015. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/08/16/7 Feeling Abandoned By Congress, State Regulators Push For U.S. Carbon Cap. Congress has "left state regulators in the lurch" by failing to set new national climate policy that could guide regulators' decisions on the fate of coal-fired electric power generators in their states, the new chairman of a task force on climate policy says. Ron Binz, who heads the climate task force of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), said in an interview that U.S. EPA will provide some help for state officials next year to fill the vacuum created by Congress' inaction. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/08/16/1 Researchers Race To Catch Up With Melting, Shifting Polar Realities. When the Petermann Glacier calved an ice island four times the size of Manhattan earlier this month, GPS sensors embedded in the ice and time-lapse cameras sitting on nearby rock were watching. But scientists who put them there were caught off guard. Traveling to northwestern Greenland to retrieve the data that equipment recorded will cost them roughly $93,000, money they currently don't have. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/08/16/16climatewire-researchers-race-to-catch-up-with-melting-sh-44001.html?pagewanted=print http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/08/16/2 Official: Russian Disaster Sign Of Global Warming. Moscow — Russia's heat wave, drought and wildfires — which have killed dozens of people and destroyed millions of acres (hectares) of wheat — are another indication that global warming is causing more weather extremes around the world, a Russian official said Monday. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/nation-world/ci_15792718 http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iX-16FttPkCulMdckFjFJyOJCXlAD9HKJ1VO0 http://www.contracostatimes.com/nation-world/ci_15786060 Dan Walters: Schwarzenegger's Legacy Is On The Edge. It's fairly evident that Arnold Schwarzenegger is now in legacy mode, trying to close out his roller-coaster governorship on an upswing. It's equally evident that circumstances – especially a serious recession and an equally serious budget crisis – will make leaving a positive legacy difficult. One casualty is Schwarzenegger's hopes of winning voter approval in November of an $11.1 billion water bond issue. Fearing voter rejection, Schwarzenegger and the Legislature have delayed a vote for two years. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/16/v-print/2960884/dan-walters-schwarzeneggers-legacy.html PG&E Executive Takes a Cold Hard Look at Global Warming. Peter A. Darbee, a utility executive who is ultimately responsible for keeping the lights on for 15 million people, has a message some may not want to hear: "Climate change is real, it’s urgent, it's most likely a result of human interactions and what human beings have done in their emissions to the atmosphere, and the need for action is now." Posted. http://sunpluggers.com/news/pge-executive-takes-cold-hard-look-at-global-warming-0835 EMISSIONS California Regulators Release Draft Report on Sustainable Communities. The California Air Resources Board last week released a draft report marking the first major milestone in implementation of a law designed to improve how cities and counties plan for growth and development. The draft report proposes targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 and 2035 associated with passenger vehicle travel in the state's 18 Metropolitan Planning Organizations, including the four largest: Southern California, San Diego, the Bay Area, and the Sacramento region. Posted. http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.printerfriendly/id/20862 In This Case, Zero Is A Good Target For Gas Emissions. Shasta County is a tiny part of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions problem, transportation planners say. So the greater Redding area will play a minor role in the proposed solution to that problem — at least in the near future. The California Air Resources Board will ask Shasta County to hold the line on its car and small truck emissions per capita during the next decade while it requests substantial cuts for the major metropolitan areas. Posted. http://www.redding.com/news/2010/aug/14/in-this-case-zero-is-a-good-target/?print=1 Xcel Energy Unveils Plan To Cut Plant Emissions. Denver -- Xcel Energy is proposing to spend $1.3 billion to convert coal-fired power plants to natural gas and close a plant to comply with a new Colorado law aimed at cutting pollution from power plants. Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/13/AR2010081305835.html Teams Set Off On Global 'Zero Emissions' Race. Geneva—Two drivers, three wheels, $350 and zero carbon emissions. That's how Australian father-and-son team Nick and Jason Jones hope to circle the globe in their custom built electric vehicle. The duo joined teams from Germany and Switzerland on Monday for the start of a round-the-world race aimed at showcasing green technologies. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/nation-world/ci_15793492 ENERGY/GREEN ENERGY Calif. Leads In Clean Energy, But Challenges Loom. First of five stories on renewable energy in California. California has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to renewable power, and the state's clean energy business is flourishing. One of the first large-scale wind farms in the country was built just outside the Bay Area at the Altamont Pass, and this year, California regulators are reviewing twice as many renewable power contracts as last year. More of those projects are coming online, including a 16-acre solar farm outside of Sacramento a few weeks ago. Posted. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129128750 PG&E Demands Revisions To 33 Percent RPS. California's largest utility is pressing for changes to a 33 percent renewable portfolio standard that lawmakers in Sacramento had hoped to pass by the end of August, when the state's legislative session ends. With the clock ticking on the session and the pressure mounting, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. sent a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and Democratic leaders over the weekend that outlines several points of opposition to S.B. 722, which would enact a 33 percent RPS. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/08/16/20 Labor-Enviro Alliance Plans Cross-Country Push For Climate Action. Labor and environmental interests will launch a cross-country bus tour today pushing for Senate action on clean energy jobs. Saying they are unwilling to accept inaction on climate legislation, BlueGreen Alliance members will hold events in 30 cities starting with a rally today at a steelworkers union hall in Carson, Calif., a Los Angeles County suburb. "America has a clear unemployment crisis and 30 million people who need jobs," said David Foster, executive director of BlueGreen Alliance. "We have no national strategy on putting people back to work." Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/08/16/6 City Officials Think LA Might Fall Short Of Green Initiative Goals. The day he was sworn into office in 2005, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa proclaimed his desire to see Los Angeles become "the greenest big city in America." As mayor he committed to boosting the city's renewable energy portfolio, promised to make traffic flow faster to reduce emissions and launched the Million Trees L.A. initiative to literally make the city greener. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_15775393 VEHICLES Back-Seat Driver: Prius Will Lose California Diamond Lane Luster. Toyota Prius drivers, prepare to move over. Your days of riding solo in carpool lanes are numbered. The yellow stickers that gave high-mileage hybrid cars diamond lane access the past five years will no longer be valid next year. They will be replaced by stickers for a new, even more exclusive generation of eco-friendly cars. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/16/v-print/2960933/back-seat-driver-prius-will-lose.html Fix For Civic Hybrids' Dying Batteries May Hurt Gas Mileage, Acceleration. Honda says its software patch, which limits the role of the electric motor while boosting use of the gasoline engine, prolongs battery life but 'is not a financial decision. 'When Honda Motor Co. rolled out its latest-generation Civic hybrid, it was sold as the automaker's green car of the future. Posted. http://articles.latimes.com/print/2010/aug/14/business/la-fi-honda-20100815 http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/2010/08/16/10/ HIGH SPEED RAIL Who will pay for California's High-Speed Rail System? For the next minute, imagine yourself at a car dealership. You're strapped for cash but find a sleek new ride and ask the salesman for a deal. He quotes you a number that's four times what you have in the bank. And, he warns, even that price isn't fixed -- there's no guarantee you won't pay more in the end. Posted. http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_15746975 NOISE POLLUTION Trying to Dial Down the Volume of Noise Pollution. Hong Kong — Car exhaust: Pollution. Oil slicks: Pollution. Toxic fumes: Pollution. But noise? Yes, noise, too, is a form of pollution, often little recognized and regulated. Mostly man-made, it bears potential health and environmental hazards in much the same way that physical pollutants do. “Noise,” said Alex Jochelson, principal consultant for P.C.C.D., an acoustical and environmental engineering consulting firm based in Sydney, “is one of the most complex and least understood forms of pollution.” Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/16/business/energy-environment/16iht-green.html?_r=1&src=busln&pagewanted=print DIESELS Help For California Drayage Trucks Nears Passage. Certain small-business trucking operations in California could soon have another opportunity to qualify for grants to bring their trucks into compliance with new emissions regulations. The full Senate could soon vote on a bill that would make available $20 million for drayage trucks that have yet to comply with the California Air Resources Board’s drayage truck regulation. If approved by the Senate, the bill would advance to the Assembly. Posted. http://www.landlinemag.com/todays_news/Daily/2010/Aug10/080910/081310-05.htm EPA To Release Draft Emission Limits For Heavy Trucks. The Obama administration is preparing to issue new fuel economy standards and the first-ever greenhouse gas limits for large trucks and buses. U.S. EPA and the Transportation Department sent draft rules Friday to the White House regulatory review office that would limit heavy-duty vehicles' emissions under the Clean Air Act and boost fuel economy standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks, according to a federal website that tracks new rules. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/08/16/2 OPINION: Yuba County Supervisors Split On Whether To Support Dan Logue-Written Proposition 23, Which Would Suspend The AB32 Climate Bill: "Logue's bill is just as draconian as AB32. It set's a ridiculously high standard to actually implement AB32 (4 consecutive quarters of 5% unemployment or lower, which has only happened a couple times in the last 30 or so years) which means it could be a decade or more before it ever gets implemented. Based on that, I'll be voting against it. If Logue had simply written a more reasonable restriction, I might be in favor of it, but what he proposes is tantamount to not implementing it at all." Posted. http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/ab32-98113-gay-marriage.html BLOGS Report: Honda's Civic Hybrid Software Fix Hurting Real-World Mpg For Some. Late last week, we heard that Honda was updating the software in all 2006 through 2008 Civic Hybrids sold in the U.S. to prevent the batteries from wearing out sooner than expected. At the time, Honda spokeswoman Christine Ra told Bloomberg that the fix would not impact the car's fuel economy or performance. But is this the case? Posted. http://green.autoblog.com/2010/08/16/report-hondas-civic-hybrid-software-fix-hurting-real-world-mpg/ TWC's Stu Ostro Talks Weather-Climate Links. Extreme weather has dominated world headlines recently, with a record-smashing heat wave in Russia as well as deadly flooding in Pakistan that may rank as that country's worst natural disaster. Here at home, we've endured a sizzling summer, and NOAA announced last week that 2010 is still on track to be the warmest year on record (although La Nina may knock it back a rank or two). Posted. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitalweathergang/2010/08/one_meteorologists_view_of_ext.html