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California Air Resources Board News Clips for August 17, 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

The Overspray from Prop 23. On Monday, US Energy Secretary Steven
Chu became the latest high-profile voice against California's
Proposition 23, the statewide initiative to suspend AB 32, the
state's four-year-old climate strategy. "AB 32 was a good bill
and continues to have California in a leadership role in
developing clean energy and the efficient use of energy," Chu
told reporters at a dedication in Menlo Park. Posted.
http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2010/08/16/the-overspray-from-prop-23/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kqed%2FClimateWatchBlog+%28KQED%27s+Climate+Watch+Blog%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Prop. 23 OK May Scuttle Air Rules. Just as Long Beach and
surrounding communities are making progress on cutting toxic
pollution from freight ships, trucks and trains, a November
ballot initiative threatens to overturn hard-won port emission
rules. Policy experts believe Proposition 23, which seeks to
suspend AB 32, California's landmark greenhouse gases law, could
have significant impacts on recent measures passed to curb port
emissions. Posted. http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_15800494

CLIMATE CHANGE/GHG’S

Obama Renews Call For Carbon Limits. President Obama yesterday
continued his push to set national limits on greenhouse gas
emissions even though it appears he won't be able to get a
climate bill through Congress this year. Speaking at a Los
Angeles fundraiser last night, Obama touted the need for carbon
limits to spur domestic job creation. "On energy, we're willing
to compromise on a whole host of different issues, but we've got
to have a strategy that starts reducing carbon," he said.
"Because we want those clean energy jobs built here in the United
States, not in China, not in Germany." Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/2010/08/17/9

DIESEL EMISSIONS

Dan Walters: Storm Blows Again Over Diesel-Soot Rule. Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger staged a set-piece media event in a Southern
California railyard Monday and, among other things, echoed the
assertions of his air quality regulator, Mary Nichols, that
diesel truck and locomotive soot is a major health hazard. But is
it? There's actually an intense argument in scientific and
regulatory circles about diesel "particulates" – so intense that
the leading academic critic of proposed diesel soot regulations
has been ousted from his professorship at UCLA for, he says, not
going with the academic and political flow. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/17/v-print/2963222/dan-walters-storm-blows-again.html
http://www.modbee.com/2010/08/17/1296935/dan-walters-storm-blows-again.html

Governors Schwarzenegger And Rendell Discuss Importance Of
Infrastructure Investment. Commerce, California - Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger today joined Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell at
the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway Mechanical Diesel
Facility in Commerce where they toured retrofitted locomotives as
part of the Building America's Future coalition (BAF). The
Governor discussed how California is investing in smart
infrastructure upgrades that will help improve air quality and
increase economic competitiveness. Posted.
http://imperialvalleynews.com/index2.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7830&pop=1&page=0&Itemid=2
http://thepinetree.net/index.php?module=announce&ANN_user_op=view&ANN_id=19095

ENERGY/GREEN ENERGY

Sacramento Mayor To Roll Out Green Carpet For S.F. Mayor Newsom.
It's a mayor-to-mayor meeting and the topic is green. San
Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom rolls into town today as the guest
of Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, who's hosting his monthly
"Greenwise" gathering. Johnson invited his Bay Area colleague,
who leads a city often touted as one of the greenest in the
nation, to outline San Francisco's green-tech initiatives.
Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/17/v-print/2963298/sacramento-mayor-to-roll-out-green.html

S.F. Shares City-Okd Green Products On Website. Consumers and
businesses wary of toxics and eco-unfriendly chemicals have new
places to research cleaning, cosmetics, automotive, food storage
and other products. San Francisco's Environment Department on
Monday powered up a website that offers guidelines on everything
from hand sanitizers and auto antifreeze to light bulbs and
garden hoses. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/17/BABG1EUS3P.DTL&type=printable

Calif. Mayors Go On Offensive For More Block Grants. San
Francisco -- Big-city mayors converged yesterday to make the case
for more federal funds for energy efficiency. Cities and counties
have spent only a fraction of the American Reinvestment and
Recovery Act's $2.8 billion for energy efficiency and
conservation block grants -- 8 percent, according to a recent
report from DOE's inspector general (Greenwire, Aug. 16). But
they are putting the pressure on Congress and DOE to continue
funding the grants, which fund local efficiency and
emissions-reduction projects. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/08/17/5

Coal Industry In Midst Of Expansion, Despite Push For Clean
Technologies. WYODAK, Wyo. Utilities across the country are
building dozens of old-style coal plants that will cement the
industry's standing as the largest industrial source of
climate-changing gases for years to come. An Associated Press
examination of U.S. Department of Energy records and information
provided by utilities and trade groups shows that more than 30
traditional coal plants have been built since 2008 or are under
construction. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-old-coal,0,7487745,print.story

AIR QUALITY

Experts: Russia Heat, Smog Trigger Health Problems. Moscow,
Russia - Russian health experts warned Tuesday that unprecedented
heat and suffocating smog from wildfires will lead to more
suicides, higher alcohol abuse and other problems, and they
accused the government of failing to address the long-term health
dangers. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/08/17/international/i060615D65.DTL&type=printable

BATTERIES

Are Batteries The Key To Electric Cars And A More Responsive
Grid? The Obama administration is betting that some of its
stimulus grants for batteries will have a double whammy --
helping electric cars as well as the electric grid. Yesterday,
the president gave remarks at ZBB Energy Corp., a company
northwest of Milwaukee. ZBB builds large batteries that can
cushion the grid when there's a power hiccup -- and, it is hoped,
that can eventually smooth out the electricity generated from the
fickle forces of wind and sun. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/08/17/2

OPINIONS

Prop. 23 Concern Voiced. 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.thereporter.com/wirenews/ci_15792579

Opinion: Temporary Fix Of Arctic Oil Not Worth Steep Price To
Polar Bears. Political habits die hard in the Alaska governor's
office, and Sean Parnell seems determined to carry on Sarah
Palin's war against the polar bear. Parnell's recent op-ed in the
Mercury News ("Habitat designation won't help polar bears but
will kill Alaska's jobs," Aug. 8) revealed the depths of his
willingness to let this iconic Arctic species -- the planet's
largest bear -- accelerate toward extinction in exchange for a
few months of fuel for our oil-addicted economy. Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_15797259

BLOGS

Weather Extremes and Climate Change. Getty Images A car sat in
floodwaters near the state Capitol in Nashville in May after
massive rainstorms. In an article on Sunday, I outlined the
relationship between climate change and a rise in extreme
weather. Scientists cite several statistical indicators that
suggest the number of extreme events like heat waves and floods
is rising. Posted.
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/17/weather-extremes-and-climate-change/?pagemode=print