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California Air Resources Board News Clips for September 8, 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

Global Warming Bill A Lose-Lose Issue For GOP Candidates. Meg
Whitman and Carly Fiorina have wavered on Proposition 23, trying
to appease their conservative base without alienating independent
voters. Fiorina finally came out in favor of it last week. A
November ballot measure that would rescind California's landmark
global warming bill until unemployment drops significantly has
become an albatross for the Republican candidates for governor
and U.S. Senate. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0908-gop-global-20100908,0,7904633,print.story

Climate Law Defender Challenges Texas Oil Refiner To Debate Stand
On Referendum. The hedge fund manager in charge of a coalition
formed to defend California's climate change law from a ballot
measure that would suspend it challenged the CEO of Valero Energy
Corp. yesterday to a public debate on the merits of the
referendum. Tom Steyer, co-managing partner of Farallon Capital
Management, sent a letter to Valero CEO William Klesse demanding
a campaign-style face-off that would pit Steyer against the
executive "at a date and time of your choosing" before the
November election, wrote Steyer in the letter. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/09/08/2

CLIMATE CHANGE/GHG’s

Obama's Climate Image Blurs As He Nears Last Half Of Presidential
Term. Barack Obama was considered a climate change savior 20
months ago, rushing into the White House with promises to price
carbon, accelerate renewable energy technology and participate in
a worldwide effort against global warming. He was a champion to
environmentalists and sometimes described the atmospheric impacts
of unregulated emissions as a threat to his own family. Global
warming, he said in 2007, is not "a someday problem; it is now."
Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/09/08/1

Studies: Climate Change Threatens Bees, Flowers, Food. Climate
change could threaten how flowering plants are pollinated and
crops are irrigated, both of which could affect food security,
according to two studies released this week. New Canadian
research suggests climate change may be causing flowers to open
before bees wake up from hibernation, so that the bees don't get
early nectar and the flowers aren't pollinated. The findings
could apply to a wide range of flowering plants such as tomatoes
and strawberries. Posted.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/09/climate-change-threatens-bees-flowers-food/1

Carbon Permits in Northeast May Hit 'Floor' Price at Auction.
Carbon dioxide permits to be auctioned today in the U.S.
Northeast will probably sell at or near the minimum bid of $1.86
each amid weak demand for the pollution rights, an emissions
broker and an analyst said. Permits in the Regional Greenhouse
Gas Initiative, a cap- and-trade program for power plants, sold
at the last auction in June for $1.88 eachPosted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/09/08/bloomberg1376-L8E0AY0D9L3401-5C3L6RLQSBU8LET13GIBPPEDUR.DTL&type=printable

New Carbon Markets May Pose 'Serious Challenge' to UN Program --
The lack of progress on climate talks may prompt nations to
consider new programs posing a "serious challenge" to the world's
second-largest emissions market, a top envoy at the United
Nations said. Fragmentation of the UN-overseen Clean Development
Mechanism "is maybe unavoidable, but it's not a scenario to which
we look forward," chief climate negotiator Christiana Figueres
told a conference in New Delhi. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/09/08/bloomberg1376-L8F2D96S972B01-7G2FATQ2JMO5OR7KM27VKMVBQP.DTL&type=printable

VEHICLES

Green Grades For Cars Rankle Auto Industry. When federal agencies
proposed new ways of labeling fuel economy last week, they set
the stage for a debate: As Americans shop for cars, how will they
consider the climate change impact? U.S. EPA and the Department
of Transportation issued two new designs for the fuel-economy
stickers affixed to the windows of new cars. The designs aren't
final -- they won't appear until the auto class of 2012, and the
agencies have requested public input during the next two months.
Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/09/07/2

Editorial: Letter Grades For Cars Flunk. Given the difficulties
facing the auto industry, one would think the U.S. government
would ease off the accelerator on absurd new regulations until
cars started rolling more quickly off dealer lots. The government
itself still owns much of General Motors and Chrysler. Instead,
the federal Environmental Protection Agency and Department of
Transportation are considering new vehicle mileage ratings.
Posted.
http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/cars-265401-system-new.html?nstrack=sid:236427|met:102|cat:675991|order:3

PORTS

Long Beach Port Pushes Ahead with Hybrid Tugs. The Port of Long
Beach, CA is using a $1 million grant from the California Air
Resources Board to add a second hybrid tugboat that will operate
in Southern California’s San Pedro Bay. Foss Maritime Company,
one of the largest tug and barge operators on the West Coast,
built the first hybrid tugboat, the Carolyn Dorothy in 2008 and
launched it at Long Beach last year. Posted.
http://www.triplepundit.com/2010/09/long-beach-port-pushes-ahead-with-hybrid-tugs/

GREEN ENERGY/ENERGY

With Washington Pressing for Wind Energy, Companies Fight Over
Infrastructure Investments. Utilities Grapple With How to Pay
For, Install Lines to Move Wind Energy From West to East. By now,
the Obama administration has made clear it wants to ramp up the
use of renewable energy, calling it a key to the nation’s
leadership in the 21st century. And some in Congress are hoping
to pass a federal renewable energy standard, requiring the
production of more wind, solar, biomass and geothermal energy.
Posted.
http://washingtonindependent.com/96856/with-washington-pressing-for-wind-energy-companies-fight-over-infrastructure-investments#

MISCELLANEOUS

Utilities Will Cut SF6 Releases. The California Air Resources
Board (CARB) reports that it worked with representatives of
electrical utilities to develop a new measure to reduce emissions
of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) from high-voltage electrical
applications. SF6 is the most powerful GHG, with a global warming
potential (GWP) of 23,900 times the potency of CO2. Since SF6 is
highly unreactive, it is also highly persistent. Posted.
http://enviro.blr.com/environmental-news/air/CAA-air-regulations/Utilities-Will-Cut-SF6-Releases/

Head To Head: Would Obama's Proposed Bank, Stimulus Be Good For
California? THE ISSUE: President Barack Obama has proposed a $50
billion spending package for building roads, railways and
runways. He also proposed to establish a national infrastructure
bank to leverage local, state and private investment in
infrastructure with a capital base provided initially by the
federal government. Pia Lopez: Yes. We've got congested and
crumbling highways, leaky water pipes, fragile levees, aging
sewer systems. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/09/08/v-print/3011765/head-to-head-would-obamas-proposed.html

Canada Publishes Ethanol Regulations, Biodiesel Requirements
Pending. The Canadian government recently finalized regulations
that will require gasoline to contain 5 percent renewable fuel
content starting on Dec. 15. However, regulations relating to
renewable content in diesel and heating oil are still pending.
According to information released by the Environment Canada,
regulations requiring diesel heating oil to contain 2 percent
renewable content will be enacted once the technical feasibility
of the policy is demonstrated under a full range of Canadian
conditions. Posted.
http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/article.jsp?article_id=4378

Old Farmer's Almanac: Global Cooling To Continue. Dublin, N.H. -
Most of the country will see a colder-than-usual winter while
summer and spring will be relatively cool and dry, according to
the time-honored, complex calculations of the "Old Farmer's
Almanac." The 2011 issue of the almanac, which claims to be the
nation's oldest continuously published periodical, was released
Tuesday. It predicts that in the coming months, the Earth will
continue to see a "gradual cooling of the atmosphere ... offset
by any warming caused by increased greenhouse gases.” Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/09/08/national/a023101D91.DTL&type=printable

BLOGS

Does The RES Stand A Chance? As you may have heard, Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) dropped a hint last week that
he may still try to get a Renewable Electricity Standard (RES)
into the Senate energy bill. According to Reid, there are two
Republicans talking about supporting it, one of them likely Sam
Brownback (R-Kansas). The RES in question would presumably be the
one that passed the Energy Committee in June of last year, which
is extremely ... modest, to put it charitably. Posted.
http://www.grist.org/article/2010-09-07-does-the-res-stand-a-chance/