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newsclips -- Newsclips for September 9, 2010.
Posted: 09 Sep 2010 12:43:28
California Air Resources Board News Clips for September 9, 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 Four States Prepare Legal Assault On California's Climate Law. The attorneys general of at least four states are preparing to sue California if the state’s landmark law limiting greenhouse gas emissions survives a challenge at the ballot box this November. The attorneys general of Alabama, Nebraska, Texas and North Dakota have been devising a legal strategy to challenge the California act, signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006, on the grounds that it interferes with the right to freely conduct interstate commerce, according to Wayne Stenehjem, the attorney general of North Dakota. Posted. http://californiawatch.org/watchblog/four-states-prepare-legal-assault-californias-climate-law-4564 Don't Make Mistakes With SB 375. California needs high quality jobs, new manufacturing facilities and small business growth. Rational state environmental policy, supported by economic impacts analysis, will help us achieve these goals. Unfortunately, the state is implementing another expensive environmental program that drags the economy farther down. SB 375, passed into law two years ago, seeks bold greenhouse gas emission reductions by controlling regional planning policies. Posted. http://foxandhoundsdaily.com/print/7777 Imperial County’s Regional Planning Group Against Greenhouse Gas Reduction Proposal. Greenhouse gas reductions standards are too strict, according to the Southern California Association of Governments. The group, which represents Imperial and five other Southern California counties, voted last week against a recently announced proposal for future greenhouse gas emissions. California Air Resources Board staff recommended an 8 percent reduction by 2020 for the 21 million people that live within SCAG’s sphere of influence. Posted. http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2010/09/09/local_news/news03.prt Dan Morain: Oil Moguls Spend Big To Gut Clean Air Law. David and Charles Koch, billionaire oil men from Kansas, can't stop dabbling in California politics. David lives in New York, where he donates to museums and opera. Charles lives in Wichita, and doles out millions to colleges. But the Kochs are not your run-of-the-mill billionaire philanthropists. They are heavily involved in an unusual brand of conservative, free-market, libertarian politics, which draws them to California. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2010/09/09/v-print/3014974/oil-moguls-spend-big-to-gut-clean.html http://washingtonindependent.com/97018/koch-brothers-spend-big-to-derail-greenhouse-gas-law-in-california Chevron Sits Out Big Oil's Prop. 23 Fight. Millions are spent by Texas oil companies and Koch brothers--but not a drop from CA's oil giant. In the battle over Proposition 23, the most interesting action is taking place on the sidelines. The proposition would suspend AB 32, California's landmark climate change law, until unemployment in the state is below 5.5 percent for a year. The campaign is being funded with millions from out-of-state oil companies Tesoro and Valero – and now the Tea Party-funding Koch brothers. Posted. http://www.baycitizen.org/elections-2010/story/chevron-sits-out-texas-oils-prop-23/print/ http://www.newswise.com/articles/prop-23-creates-legal-turmoil-reduces-state-revenue-cuts-jobs Environmental Law Being Tested. Frustrated by environmental reviews, businesses are employing a new tactic to speed development: asking legislators for exemptions from the rules. The latest example appears to be an expansion of Chevron's Richmond refinery. The refinery's fate is tied up in closed-door talks involving the oil company, environmentalists, local leaders and Sacramento legislators trying to resolve a yearslong quarrel over the project on San Francisco Bay. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/09/EDTE1FAH7M.DTL&type=printable Do Higher Electricity Prices Drive Away Manufacturing Jobs? California's "Global Warming Solutions Act," AB32, mandates reductions in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions. Will this cost jobs? Before I talk about California's AB32, permit me to advertise my "Wayne's World" style TV appearance in Seattle. Watch it here . Climatopolis is "officially" published tomorrow. I'm excited about that. Returning to California's unilateral effort to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, I'm quoted here saying that this legislation will cost California manufacturing jobs. Posted. http://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/print/content/view/print/324507 San Francisco Bay: $5m For Cleaner Air Will Have Little Impact. Residents in the San Francisco Bay Area are exposed to unhealthy levels of smog and particulate matter. Having allocated $5m to fund electric vehicle charging points in the area, a government agency is seeking to tap into electric vehicles as a cleaner alternative to traditional motors. However, $5m is too little funding to develop a suitable infrastructure. Residents in San Francisco enjoy a number of advantages when buying an electric car. Posted. http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/4484022# World Bank's Climate Change Envoy Steers Around Hot-Button Issues. Ask Andrew Steer, the World Bank's new climate change envoy, what he thinks of his institution's controversial recent decision to help build the world's fourth-dirtiest coal plant in South Africa, and he hedges. "My job is not to give a personal opinion on things," Steer finally says. His thoughts on a sensitive proposal to calculate the environmental and social costs of carbon emissions in all new project assessments? That's for World Bank shareholders to decide, Steer maintains. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/09/09/09climatewire-world-banks-climate-change-envoy-steers-arou-12297.html?pagewanted=print CAP AND TRADE Conservatives Wield Cap And Trade As Anti-Government Weapon. Riding a wave of anger at big government and perceived out-of-control spending, conservative Republicans are using cap and trade as the latest weapon in their campaigns against Democrats and even moderate Republicans. Candidates in Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky are all using cap and trade to boost their profiles. Republicans who voted for the House energy bill, which included cap-and-trade provisions, are being assailed by conservative opponents. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/09/09/8 AIR POLLUTION California Takes New Look At Diesel Rules. California’s air-quality enforcers dramatically overstated the impact of soot from diesel construction equipment, at least in part because the state’s abrupt economic decline idled thousands of vehicles. Controlling the emissions from off-road diesel equipment – including the vehicles used in heavy construction – has been the subject of debate for years at the Air Resources Board. Posted. http://www.capitolweekly.net/article.php?_c=z4aavnmdl2pgh4&xid=z49s2hbpp9llve&done=.z4aavnmdl3cgh4# http://inhabitat.com/2010/09/09/greener-tech-could-eliminate-9000-pollution-deaths-in-california/ http://green.autoblog.com/2010/09/08/carb-finds-fine-particle-pollution-leads-to-9-000-premature-deat/ Editorial: Will Paper Mill Foul Our Air? Not In 2010. Details are scarce as the city negotiates. Even so, the announcement that Southwest Paper USA, a somewhat mysterious start-up manufacturer of paper products, is considering investing in a major plant at Redding’s Stillwater Business Park is an extraordinary piece of good news. New “primary” jobs? Check. A payoff on the millions that the public has sunk into Stillwater? Check. Posted. http://www.redding.com/news/2010/sep/08/will-paper-mill-foul-our-air-not-in-2010/?print=1 GREEN ENERGY/ENERGY Rancho Cordova Energy Firm To Add 150 Jobs With $30 Million In Stimulus Funding. More than 150 new green jobs will be created in the Sacramento area thanks to $30 million in new federal stimulus funding. The U.S. Energy Department on Wednesday selected Clean Energy Systems Inc. of Rancho Cordova for the stimulus money for its work on zero-emission power plant technology. The award is the latest for the local clean tech sector, which has received more than $280 million in stimulus funds since 2009. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2010/09/09/v-print/3015216/rancho-cordova-energy-firm-to.html http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/4482680 Union Accuses China of Illegal Clean Energy Subsidies. Hong Kong — The United Steelworkers union filed a legal case with the Obama administration on Thursday morning, accusing China of violating World Trade Organization rules by subsidizing exports of clean energy equipment to the United States. The filing, more than 5,000 pages long and 18 inches thick, contends that the central government in Beijing and China’s provincial governments have used land grants, low-interest loans and dozens of other measures that violate W.T.O. rules. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/10/business/energy-environment/10steel.html?_r=1&src=me&pagewanted=print On Clean Energy, China Skirts Rules. Changsha, China — Until very recently, Hunan Province was known mainly for lip-searing spicy food, smoggy cities and destitute pig farmers. Mao was born in a village on the outskirts of Changsha, the provincial capital here in south-central China. Now, Changsha and two adjacent cities are emerging as a center of clean energy manufacturing. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/09/business/global/09trade.html?sq=energy&st=cse&scp=2&pagewanted=print Making Energy Awareness Month a Boon for Green Initiatives. Sustainability leaders should consider sponsoring employee activities in October for Energy Awareness Month. Energy Awareness Month, created in 1991 by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), promotes energy awareness and energy savings. Increasingly, corporations, institutions, and governmental agencies are participating by launching their own internal programs. An energy awareness program offers sustainability and energy teams a number of benefits. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS381139883820100909 VEHICLES Groups Launch Campaign For 60 Mpg Fuel Standard. A coalition of environmental and consumer groups is urging the Obama administration to raise automobile fuel-efficiency standards to at least 60 miles per gallon by 2025. Twenty groups -- including the Natural Resources Defense Council and Sierra Club -- said they will send a letter to President Obama encouraging him to raise the standard as part of a campaign being launched today. U.S. EPA and Department of Transportation are set to issue a proposal for fuel efficiency standards Sept. 30 that would apply to cars and light trucks sold between 2017 and 2025.The current standard, which runs out in 2016, is 34 mpg. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/09/09/7 Hyundai Unveils South Korea's First Electric Car. Hyundai Motor Co. today unveiled its new electric car, the BlueOn, which it bills as South Korea's first full-speed electric vehicle. Hyundai debuted the car at the office and residence of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who got to test-drive the car. The automaker plans to build 2,500 of the cars by the end of 2012 in an effort to match its Japanese rivals, and will send 30 of them on a test basis to government organizations by October. Company officials said it was "too early" to think about exporting the car abroad. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/09/09/11 TRANSPORTATION Put High-Speed Rail In San Joaquin Valley First. High-speed rail has been a fact in Japan since 1964 and throughout Europe (France first) since 1981. High-speed rail is a great way to travel and may become a fact in California. Before that happens, however, the planned system should be structured with the best operating and financial scenario possible in order to protect the taxpayer (you and me) and to attract the necessary outside investors. The total cost of the planned California system will exceed $40 billion. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/09/EDEI1FAHET.DTL&type=printable Forthcoming Study Finds Gap Between Expectations And Reality Of Electric Cars. As the roll-out of plug-in electric vehicles approaches, IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) is preparing a report that challenges hopes for a rapid deployment of the plug-in models. It argues that they will be held back, in part, by shortages of recharging stations for urban motorists. CERA Vice President Larry Makovich said the report, to be released in November, also takes issue with a scenario that foresees millions of plug-in electric vehicles being recharged at night by wind power. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/09/09/1 BLOGS First Take: The GOP's Global Warming Problem. State goes after PacifiCare. Arnold packs for Asia. Global warming may be a double-edged sword for Republican politicians in California this year. Steve Lopez offers some free political advice to Jerry Brown. Budget cuts have forced Los Angeles public schools to delay the start of the new school year. California regulators are seeking nearly $10 billion in damages from PacifiCare for nearly 1 million alleged violations of state law in a two-year period. Posted. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2010/09/first-take-the-gops-global-warming-problem-state-goes-after-pacificare-arnold-packs-for-asia.html Brown Rips Whitman's Jobs Plan, Defends Climate-Change Law And His Decision Not To Fight For Prop. 8. Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jerry Brown tore into Republican rival Meg Whitman on Thursday morning, accusing the billionaire of having a major conflict of interest concerning her proposal to eliminate state taxes on capital gains. “Her so-called jobs plan, which is as phony as a three-dollar bill, is to give tax breaks to herself in one of grossest conflicts of interest I’ve ever seen in a campaign,” Brown said during his weekly interview on KGO radio in San Francisco. Posted. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2010/09/brown-rips-whitmans-jobs-plan-defends-climate-change-law-and-his-decision-not-to-fight-for-prop-8.html ‘Windfall’ Documentary Explores Perils of Wind Power. “Windfall,” a new documentary that premieres Friday at the Toronto International Film Festival, could take the sails out of wind power. The film observes the deeply divided residents of Meredith, New York — an Upstate farm community in decline — as they debate the pros and cons of allowing wind turbines on their land. Posted. http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/09/09/windfall-documentary-explores-perils-of-wind-power/tab/print/ Irrigation May Reduce Climate Change. Not Good News. With all the evidence of human-induced global warming, you'd think it would be good news that some of our activities, like releasing aerosols for example, are also helping to cool the atmosphere. Unfortunately, often the opposite is true. This is starkly illustrated by a new study showing the regional cooling effects of mass irrigation. So why is this a bad thing? Posted. http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/09/irrigation-may-reduce-climate-change.php The Surprisingly Complex Truth About Planes And Climate Change. A new study suggests that planes cause more warming than cars, while ships are cooling enough to counteract them both. Air travel causes more warming than cars, while shipping counteracts them both. We hear much about the environmental costs of air travel. As our recent Q&A explained, the problem is not just that planes burn a lot of fuel and therefore kick out plenty of CO2 per passenger. Posted. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2010/sep/09/carbon-emissions-planes-shipping/print California Energy Commission approves Abengoa Mojave Solar Project. State regulators on Wednesday unanimously cleared the Abengoa Mojave Solar Project for construction, pushing California closer to approving 4,300 megawatts of solar power by the end of the year. The 250-megawatt Abengoa project is one of nine solar proposals angling for the go-ahead from the California Energy Commission by the end of 2010, when federal stimulus funds expire. Posted. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/09/california-energy-commission-approves-abengoa-mojave-solar-project.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheTechnologyBlog+%28Los+Angeles+Times+Technology+Blog%29