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California Air Resources Board News Clips for October 4, 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.

CARB

New Law Aims to Make CARB More Transparent. California Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger last week signed into law a measure to make
the California Air Resource Board's enforcement efforts more
transparent. With the exception of a formal penalty policy, which
CARB is required to publish by March 1, 2011, SB1402 takes effect
immediately. The new rules will require CARB to: * provide a
clear explanation of how penalties are assessed on a per-unit
basis... Posted.
http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-print.asp?news_id=71815

CLIMATE CHANGE/GHG’S

California Tea Party Activists Work To Pass Proposition 23. Tea
party activists across the state are rallying in support of
Proposition 23, a measure on the Nov. 2 ballot that would suspend
California's landmark global warming legislation, known as AB 32.
With energy and climate change legislation stalled in Congress,
the national fight over global warming and what to do about it is
centered on California, which is moving ahead with ambitious
plans to curb greenhouse gases, diversify the state's energy
supply and reduce its use of fossil fuels. Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_16221401?source=rss&nclick_check=1

Debating Calif.'S 2010 Green Ballot Measures: AB32 And Prop 23.
One of the most hotly contested issues this election season is
Proposition 23, aimed at delaying California’s landmark climate
change legislation until unemployment drops to 5.5 percent for
three consecutive quarters — something that has happened only
three times in the past 30 years. In Silicon Valley where
unemployment is hovering at about 11 percent the outcome of Prop.
23 could be a game changer for businesses that operate in the
cleantech sector. Posted.
http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2010/10/04/focus1.html?b=1286164800%5E4026741&t=printable

Proposition 23 Splits Business. No consensus on bid to delay
greenhouse law. A November ballot measure that would postpone the
state’s greenhouse gas reduction law has divided L.A. business
groups like few other measures in recent history. The differences
over Proposition 23 depend on what kind of companies fill the
rosters of the business groups. Those that include alternative
energy companies want the greenhouse gas-reduction law to go
forward. Those that include manufacturers favor the delay under
the proposition. Posted.
http://labusinessjournal.com/news/2010/oct/04/proposition-23-splits-business/?print

Delegates Told To ID Achievable Goals On Climate. Tianjin, China
— The U.N. climate chief urged countries Monday to search faster
for common ground on battling climate change so that a year-end
meeting in Mexico can produce results in that fight. Christiana
Figueres told 3,000 delegates in China — the last negotiations
before Cancun — that countries must identify achievable goals
ahead of December's conference so progress can be made toward a
global climate treaty. Posted.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gON3fOS44QCo6_Gopk2pBjtLd6nwD9IL02BO0?docId=D9IL02BO0
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-04/un-climate-talks-talks-open-in-china-to-tackle-threat-from-global-warming.html

Why Prop 26 is the Polluters Protection Act of 2010. One of the
least publicized measures appearing on the Nov. 2 ballot is one
of the most mind-numbing but nevertheless one of the most
important issues voters will decide. Proposition 26 makes two
major changes to the state’s constitution. First, it ¬redefines
some types of “fees” as “taxes,” thereby requiring two-thirds,
rather than a majority, vote of the Legislature to increase or
enact a fee at the state level. Posted.
http://www.calbuzz.com/2010/10/why-prop-26-is-the-polluters-protection-act-of-2010/

Developing Countries Could Sue For Climate Action – Study. A new
study out says vulnerable countries could sue the United States
and other industrialized nations for action on climate change.
The report published by the Foundation for International
Environmental Law and Development (FIELD) based in the United
Kingdom says small island nations and other threatened countries
have the right and likely the procedural means to pursue an
inter-state case before the United Nations' International Court
of Justice. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2010/10/04/2

Politics, Special Interests, White House Blundering Led To Death
Of Climate Bill. The comprehensive climate change bill that was
supposed to put a hard cap on U.S. emissions was undermined by
the White House, demands from special interests and the aim to
please as many Republicans as possible, according to those
involved in crafting the bill. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/10/04/6

Tea Party Gets Behind Prop. 23 Battle. Tea party activists are
backing Proposition 23, the ballot initiative to suspend
California's law to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. With little
interest in the governor's race and their preferred candidate for
U.S. Senate knocked out in the primary, some tea party
organizations are channeling their energy toward the proposition,
said Joe Wierzbicki, a coordinator for Tea Party Express, a
Sacramento-based organization. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/10/04/7

Threat Of Global Warming Sparks U.S. Interest In Geoengineering.
It's come to this: Climate-conscious policymakers are beginning
to contemplate the possibility of playing God with the weather in
the hope of slowing global warming. For years it was considered
downright wacky in official Washington to discuss geoengineering:
altering the climate by reflecting sunlight back into the sky,
sucking carbon dioxide from the air - or a host of other gee-whiz
schemes. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/03/AR2010100303458_pf.html

OPINION: An Easy Solution To Climate Change? Can we just engineer
our way out of climate change? Maybe artificially create more
clouds to reflect solar radiation away from the Earth's surface?
Or perhaps spray sulfur particles into the atmosphere to achieve
the same effect? Ideas such as these, collectively referred to as
geoengineering, are becoming more fashionable to debate in policy
circles, even though they suffer from association with skeptics
of mainstream climate science. Posted.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2010/10/an_easy_solution_to_climate_ch.html

TRANSPORTATION

Obama Looks Ahead to Higher 2017-2025 Fuel Standards. The Obama
Administration said Friday it will begin looking at tougher fuel
economy standards for vehicles produced in models years 2017 to
2025. The move follows the first phase of the national program
that will boost fuel efficiency to 35.5 miles per gallon by model
year 2016. Some have speculated the administration could require
automakers to increase fuel economy to 62 miles per gallon, but
the head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
recently balked at the suggestion until it conducts a full
review. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS279643456820101004

The Efficient Automaker's Choice -- More Batteries Or Smaller
Cars. Automakers face a weighty choice: They can devote their
energy to cars that use batteries, or they can make the gasoline
engine super-efficient. If they do the first, it will cost
consumers more in the early going. If they do the second, it will
cost less, but the car as we know it may have to radically
change. Those are the choices the Obama administration sees,
according to its most recent documents on fuel economy. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2010/10/04/3

Car Regulators Aim For Higher Fuel Economy. Goal is 3%-6%
reduction in autos' greenhouse gases. Washington - In a move that
bolsters states with aggressive timetables for reducing auto
emissions, the Environmental Protection Agency and the
Transportation Department have taken new steps toward creating
fuel standards that would require cars to get between 47 and 62
miles per gallon by the year 2025. Posted.
http://www.dnj.com/article/DN/20101004/BUSINESS01/10040337/1088/BUSINESS/Car+regulators+aim+for+higher+fuel+economy

Conventional Gas-Powered Engines Still Popular At Paris Show.
Automakers aren't just using the Paris Auto Show to flaunt their
hybrids or electric cars. Conventional gas-powered vehicles are
also getting plenty of play. Presenters brag that small size and
more efficient combustion technology mean the conventional cars
have carbon emissions not far off from hybrids. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/10/04/8

ENERGY

Obama Trying To Turn Election Tide With 'Clean Energy' Emphasis.
President Obama has turned recently to the benefits of clean
energy to address voters' clamor for jobs -- and to soothe upset
Democrats who don't believe he has done enough to promote their
priorities. Obama used his weekly radio address Saturday to tout
the benefits of clean energy projects for creating jobs and
ending U.S. dependence on foreign oil -- benefits that, he
warned, would be cut short if Republicans took over Congress.
Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/10/04/1

President Obama - Brightsource To Break Ground On Revolutionary
'Home-Grown' Solar Power In Mojave. President Obama announced
today that due to clean energy incentives launched by his
administration – Oakland based BrightSource plans to break ground
this month on a new, revolutionary type of solar power plant
known as solar thermal. Posted.
http://www.examiner.com/solar-energy-in-san-francisco/president-obama-brightsource-to-break-ground-on-revolutionary-home-grown-solar-power-mojave

Developers, Investors Mull Strategies For Retaining U.S.
Assistance. San Francisco -- Renewable-energy project developers
and financiers are studying the future of federal
renewable-energy incentives and their vital roles in getting
projects off the ground. At the Renewable Energy Finance
Forum-West here last week, Matt Rogers -- who recently stepped
down as the overseer of stimulus spending at the Energy
Department -- praised the state of the U.S. renewable-energy
industry. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/10/04/11

Viewpoints: ISO Proposals Threaten Local Clean Energy Projects.
While everyone wants more clean, renewable energy, few people
realize that where you install those solar panels or wind
turbines matters quite a bit. The placement of renewable energy
projects has a significant impact on electricity rates, green
jobs development and business investment. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/10/03/v-print/3073201/iso-proposals-threaten-local.html

BLOGS

Vote NO on Proposition 23. As I mentioned in my last blog, "If
you speak the truth about factual science and someone gets upset,
that is their problem. I did not create the facts. I just point
them out." We all have our own minds and can use them logically
or not. While the science is clear, money and politics can always
find a way to muddy the water. But meanwhile, there are moral
implications. Posted.
http://blogs.redding.com/dcraig/archives/2010/10/vote-no-on-prop.html

In California, a Grid Storage Mandate. It’s no news to most
people that renewable energy sources like wind and solar power
have their off-moments, or off-days. A potential remedy was just
signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California,
whose governorship has long had a greenish tinge. The state will
now require utilities (first, investor-owned utilities, and
later, publicly owned ones) to have storage capacity on hand that
can quickly be put into use when the wind dies down. Posted.
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/01/in-california-a-grid-storage-mandate/?pagemode=print

Polluted Air and Diabetes: A Link. A strong link exists between
adult diabetes and air pollution, according to a new
epidemiological study by researchers at Children’s Hospital
Boston. The long-term study builds on previous laboratory studies
that have tied air pollution to an increase in insulin
resistance, a precursor to diabetes. Erik S. Lesser for The New
York Times A nurse checks the extremities of a patient in the
diabetes clinic at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. Posted.
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/04/diabetes-linked-to-air-pollution/?pagemode=print

Car-Crazy CA No More: Air Resources Board Wants to Cut Miles
Traveled. Think California is the land of fast-flowing freeways
and drop-top driving under the endless sun? Think again. The
California Air Resources Board is now writing rules to implement
a law passed two years ago that will require regional reductions
in vehicle miles traveled. In other words, the state that
epitomized car culture and suburban sprawl in the 20th century is
working actively to discourage driving in the 21st century.
Posted.
http://www.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1050047_car-crazy-ca-no-more-air-resources-board-wants-to-cut-miles-traveled