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California Air Resources Board News Clips for August 30, 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

Governor Signs AB 1846 by Assemblyman Manuel Pérez. Sacramento,
California - A flurry of activity on the Friday before the end of
Legislative Session saw the approval of several more bills by
State Assemblyman V. Manuel Pérez, as well as the signing of AB
1846 by the Governor (Chapter 195, Statutes of 2010). “Today,
with the enactment of AB 1846, the state took another step toward
the successful and responsible implementation of the Global
Warming Solutions Act (AB 32),” said Pérez. Posted.
http://imperialvalleynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7866&Itemid=1

OPINION: Don Polson The Way I See It: Pay, Sacrifice Keep Oceans
From Rising? For your late-summer vacation reading my vacation,
your reading I've left a series on the issues surrounding
California's Global Warming Solutions Act, AB 32, and the repeal
effort The photo was meant to be a bit dramatic: Governor
Schwarzenegger in front of a large, detailed, computer-generated
Google-type map of San Francisco Bay and the Bay Bridge,
featuring a disappearing Treasure Island for the desired effect.
Posted. http://www.redbluffdailynews.com/opinion/ci_15939709

OPINION: The Urgent Islands. If a country sinks beneath the sea,
is it still a country? That is a question about which the
Republic of the Marshall Islands — a Micronesian nation of 29
low-lying coral atolls — is now seeking expert legal advice. It
is also a question the United States Senate might ask itself the
next time it refuses to deal with climate change.  According to
the world’s leading scientists, sea-level rise is one of the
greatest dangers of global warming … Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/30/opinion/30mon4.html?sq=global
warming&st=cse&scp=4&pagewanted=print

Prop. 23: Will It Save Or Eliminate State Jobs? Politicians,
voters at odds over environmental issue. Supporters and opponents
of Proposition 23 agree on one thing — it's all about jobs and
whether California's aggressive policies to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions will create or kill them. The November ballot
initiative would put a hold on Assembly Bill 32 — the law
requiring the state's greenhouse gas emissions to be cut to 1990
levels by 2020 — until unemployment in the state drops to 5.5
percent for a full year. Posted.
http://www.mydesert.com/article/20100829/BUSINESS02/8290316/Prop-23-Will-it-save-or-eliminate-state-jobs-

OPINION: AB 32: Dissembling And Gamesmanship Galore. In the
debate over AB 32, the state’s landmark 2006 anti-global warming
law, there’s been a remarkable amount of slippery talk,
dissembling and inconsistency from both its critics and its
admirers. The law forces California to shift to cleaner but much
costlier forms of energy that create fewer of the gases that
contribute to global warming. Some critics of the law – who
support Proposition 23, the Nov. 2 ballot measure targeting its
implementation – play a double game. Posted.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/aug/30/ab-32-dissembling-and-gamesmanship-galore/

OPINION: The Rest of the Story. In his Fox and Hounds opinion
piece [1] on August 27, Jeremy Leffler COO of BayBio, an industry
consortium, touts the growth in biotechnology and bemoans the
effects of Proposition 23 could have on that industry. He's got
many facts wrong and misses the bigger picture. Mr. Leffler
states that AB32 was adopted in "bi-partisan fashion."  In 2006,
on a party-line vote, legislative Democrats passed AB32 over the
objections of Republicans. Posted.
http://foxandhoundsdaily.com/print/7692

CLIMATE CHANGE/GHG’s

Flaws Found in U.N. Climate Structure. United Nations — The
scientists involved in producing the periodic United Nations
reports on climate change need to be more open to alternative
views and more transparent about their own possible conflicts of
interest, an independent review panel said Monday.  Those were
among numerous recommendations made by the panel appointed last
March to assess how a few glaring errors — including a prediction
that the Himalayan glaciers would disappear by 2035 — made it
into the last such United Nations report released in 2007. 
Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/31/world/31nations.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=print

Greenhouse-Gas Regulation Backed by a Majority in Defense
Council's Poll. A majority of U.S. voters say the government
should regulate greenhouse gases linked to global warming and
that the Environmental Protection Agency is up to the job, a poll
for the Natural Resources Defense Council found. Regulating
global-warming gases from power plants and refineries is
supported by 60 percent of likely voters and opposed by 34
percent, according to the survey commissioned by the
environmental group, which backs such curbs. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2010-08-30/greenhouse-gas-regulation-backed-by-majority-in-u-s-poll-by-group-nrdc.html

Environmental Groups Face Their Future In Climate-Change Debate.
On Thursday, some of the country's most respected environmental
groups - in the midst of their biggest political fight in two
decades - sent a group of activists to Milwaukee with a message.
We're losing. They put on what they called a "CarnivOil" - a fake
carnival with a stilt-wearing barker, free "tar balls" (chocolate
doughnuts), and a suit-wearing "oil executive" punching somebody
dressed like a crab. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/29/AR2010082903699_pf.html

ENERGY/GREEN ENERGY

TV Energy-Efficiency Push Faces 6-Month Delay. A portion of
California's bid to save energy and cut greenhouse gas emissions
by forcing tough efficiency standards onto flat-screen
televisions will be delayed until July 2011 if Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger (R) decides to sign legislation that landed on his
desk this week. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/08/27/5

Calif. High-Speed Rail Line Would Create Thousands Of 'Green'
Jobs – Report. A high-speed rail line in California would prevent
nearly half a billion pounds, or 220,000 metric tons, of carbon
dioxide emissions a year by 2035, while also creating thousands
of new jobs in the green sector, according to a new report from
the University of California, Irvine. "Thinking Ahead: High-Speed
Rail in Southern California," prepared by the school's Institute
of Transportation Studies, says a train network would have vast
economic and environmental benefits for the state. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/2010/08/27/12

Public Housing Could Save $1 Billion Annually On Energy Bills –
Report. A new report is urging the Department of Housing and
Urban Development to chop a fifth of its energy budget with
efficiency measures. The study released yesterday by Charlie
Harak of the National Consumer Law Center said HUD has been slow
to act on congressional mandates to reduce its energy use, and
that the delay is harming Americans in assisted housing who could
use the financial relief. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/08/27/6

State Awards Local Energy Firm $1 Million. The California Energy
Commission has awarded $1 million in funding to Sacramento-based
Propel Fuels Inc. for alternative fuel pumps. Propel will install
10 new dispensers for its ethanol-based fuel, which will annually
displace more than 3.2 million gallons of petroleum-based fuels
with a low-carbon alternative, the commission said. The
commission said Propel will provide nearly $3 million in
additional funds for the project. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/27/v-print/2987327/state-awards-local-energy-firm.html

VEHICLES

Ford's Road To An Electric-Vehicle Future Starts In The Pacific
Northwest. The city of Seattle and Ford Motor Co. inked a
partnership yesterday to prepare the region's consumers and
electric grid for a day when millions of automobiles charge up at
outlets and emit less greenhouse gas emissions. In the coming
months, the Detroit-based automaker will work with the municipal
utility Seattle City Light to educate consumers about everything
from how much it would cost to charge up an electric sedan to how
far it would go on nary a drop of fuel. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/08/27/11

EMISSIONS

Tighter Emission Standards For S.J. Valley Getting Closer. Valley
communities must reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars and
light trucks by 5 percent per capita over the next decade under a
draft proposal to be considered by state regulators next month.
The plan also calls for a 10 percent decline by 2035. But can it
be done? The San Joaquin Valley faces unique hurdles in designing
communities that encourage walking, biking or public
transportation. Posted.
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100830/A_NEWS/8300308/-1/NEWSMAP

DIESELS

State Grant Program Helps Farmers Get More Fuel-Efficient
Equipment. When the old tractor Ferndale dairyman Chris Cahill
uses to mix feed for his cows breaks down, he has to stop and do
the work by hand or borrow equipment from a neighbor -- making
the feed amount inconsistent or slowing down his day. This mostly
happens in the winter cold, he said, but like most other dairy
farmers, Cahill said he didn't have the money to replace aging
equipment on his farm. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_15938425?nclick_check=1

How to Stop Idling Trucks from Wasting 1.2 Billion Gallons of
Fuel Annually in the U.S. Idling costly for truckers, consumers
and the environment, but electric auxiliary power units (APUs)
could change that. If you've ever traveled on a U.S. Interstate
Highway at night, you've likely come across large numbers of
trucks idling at rest areas and truck stops. Long-haul truckers
are required by law to rest for 10 out of every 24 hour period.
Posted.
http://earthandindustry.com/2010/08/how-to-stop-idling-trucks-from-wasting-1-2-billion-gallons-of-fuel-annually-in-the-u-s/

Judge Upholds L.A. Port's Truck Emissions Rules. A federal judge
has given the nation's busiest port complex authority to require
shipping trucks to reduce air pollution. U.S. District Court
Judge Christina Snyder ruled yesterday that the Port of Los
Angeles' Clean Trucks Program can require trucks coming in and
out of the port to meet diesel emissions standards. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/08/27/13

Earthtalk: Newer Diesel Engines Kinder To The Environment. Dear
EarthTalk: I've been hearing about the great gas mileage for
Volkswagens that use diesel fuel. But is it better for the
environment to use diesel or unleaded gasoline? -- K. Cronk, Bay
City, Mich. In the past, diesel fuel was always considered
dirtier than gasoline. But newer standards regulating sulfur
content and improved technology in diesel engines have made
diesel somewhat kinder to the environment. Posted.
http://www.azdailysun.com/news/local/article_165e936f-0764-5304-bb12-179d72a3f5a5.html
BLOGS

New Labels Could Make Finding Efficient Cars Easier. Looking for
the most efficient vehicle that meets you daily needs? Look for
the car that gets an “A” for efficiency. Today, the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) proposed new fuel economy labels for cars
and light-trucks coming to showrooms. The new labels come on the
heels of recently improved standards for fuel economy and global
warming pollution finalized last April. Posted.
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/ltonachel/new_labels_could_make_finding.html

Cow Power Not Cutting It. Three years ago, KQED's QUEST visited a
Central Valley dairy that was taking an innovative approach to
its waste problem. Instead of collecting thousands of pounds of
cow manure in open holding ponds, Joseph Gallo Farms uses it in a
renewable energy technology known as a methane digester. Methane
gas is a natural byproduct of cow digestion. It's produced as
bacteria inside their stomaches break down food. That process
continues on the back end (so to speak) as cow manure decomposes.
Posted.
http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2010/08/29/cow-power-not-cutting-it/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kqed%2FClimateWatchBlog+%28KQED%27s+Climate+Watch+Blog%29&utm_content=Google+Reader