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California Air Resources Board News Clips for October 20, 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.

AIR POLLUTION

Air Pollution Exposure Increases Risk of Severe COPD. Newswise —
Long term exposure to low-level air pollution may increase the
risk of severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),
according to researcher s in Denmark. While acute exposure of
several days to high level air pollution was known to be a risk
factor for exacerbation in pre-existing COPD, until now there had
been no studies linking long-term air pollution exposure to the
development or progression of the disease. Posted.
http://www.newswise.com/articles/air-pollution-exposure-increases-risk-of-severe-copd

New Smog Checks Are Touted As Easier. Smog checks in California
will get cheaper and faster for some cars but tougher for others
under a new law celebrated this week by the California Air
Resources Board, the American Lung Association and the Bureau of
Automotive Repair. The law, signed last month, allows the smog
emitting levels of new cars to be measured using their on-board
diagnostic systems rather than through tailpipe emissions as is
currently the practice. Posted.
http://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/sanbernardinocounty/ci_16381948

Barstow Rock Company Wins Air Quality Award. After shutting down
its off site crushing facility and updating its equipment, a
local rock mining company has been recognized by the local air
quality district for curtailing its dust and diesel emissions.
Brubaker-Mann, which has mined and sold decorative rock in
Barstow for 60 years, has won the Mojave Desert Air Quality
Management District’s 2009-10 Exemplar Award. Posted.
http://www.desertdispatch.com/news/barstow-9490-company-quality.html

EPA Hears Airport Pollution Case in Santa Monica. Community
leaders met with the Environmental Protection Agency for the
first time in an effort to bolster support with the influential
federal department against airport pollution. Representatives
discussed three reports that point toward harmful effects on
public health for neighboring residents of Santa Monica Airport
(SMO). With the EPA as a possible ally, area legislatures and
activists may be able to put pressure on Federal Flight
Administration rules that allow large jets at the airport.
Posted. http://www.smmirror.com/?ajax#mode=single&view=31206
CLIMATE CHANGE

Study: Climate Change To Cause Extreme World Drought. The United
States and many other heavily populated countries could face
extreme drought in the next 30 years unless greenhouse gas
emissions are reduced, a new study finds. Warming temperatures
associated with climate change will likely create increasingly
dry conditions that have rarely, if ever, been observed in modern
times, according to the study by Aiguo Dai, a scientist at the
National Center for Atmospheric Research. Posted.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/10/us-climate-change-drought/1

Prop. 23 Backers Launch New TV Ad In L. A. The ad warns that
electricity costs will rise and jobs will be lost if the November
ballot measure, which would suspend the state's global warming
regulations, loses. Backers of Proposition 23, a November ballot
initiative to suspend California's global warming regulations,
launched a television campaign in Los Angeles on Tuesday with a
spot warning of higher electricity costs and job losses if the
measure doesn't pass. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-me-prop-23-20101020,0,5255489.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fnews%2Fscience%2Fenvironment+%28L.A.+Times+-+Environment%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

California's Landmark Climate Change Law Faces Voters.
California, long a trendsetter in environmental protection, will
decide in November whether to pull back from a landmark
anti-pollution law as its economy continues to struggle. A ballot
measure, advocated by the oil industry, would suspend a law to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions until the state's unemployment
rate falls below 5.5% for four consecutive quarters. Posted.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/10/california-climate-change-law-challenged/1

No On 23 Campaign Unveils Ad Blitz With 'Scream' Actor David
Arquette. With two weeks left before the elections, the battle
over the state's landmark climate change law has gone into high
gear. On Tuesday, opponents of Proposition 23, which attempts to
roll back the state's 4-year-old greenhouse gas reduction law,
unveiled a series of online political ads, including one starring
actor David Arquette that targets crucial independent voters.
Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/10/20/3117207/no-on-23-campaign-unveils-ad-blitz.html

California Ordered To Consider Protection For American Pika. A
judge's decision marks the third time the state has been told to
examine possibly declaring the tiny mountain-dwelling mammal an
endangered species. It is the first animal in the lower 48 states
to be considered for such listing solely because of climate
change. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-me-pika-20101020,0,6315781,print.story

Regs Will Cause 20% Of Plants To Close In 10 Years – Analysts. A
fifth of coal-fired power plants in the United States could close
within the next decade, mostly due to stricter environmental
regulations, analysts predict. Older plants would need costly
upgrades to cut pollution under U.S. EPA's new carbon dioxide
emissions standards set to go into effect in January and will
probably just close instead. Regulations on pollutants such as
nitrogen and sulfur oxides are also being tightened. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/10/20/8

Carbon Tax in U.K. Will Cost Tesco Plc, Cambridge University $5.5
Billion. Tesco Plc and Cambridge University will be among 5,000
U.K. organizations forced to pay 3.5 billion pounds ($5.5
billion) in fees for emitting carbon as part of plans to balance
the U.K. government budget. The Treasury said today the money,
generated from sales of Carbon Reduction Commitment permits sold
to organizations ranging from supermarkets to hospitals and
universities, will go to the government instead of being
redistributed back to the participants of the program. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2010-10-20/carbon-tax-in-u-k-will-cost-tesco-plc-cambridge-university-5-5-billion.html

Prop 26 Backers Deny Link To State's Climate Law. Advocates of a
California ballot measure that seeks to tighten how the state
constitution defines taxes and regulatory fees yesterday denied
any intentional connection between their campaign and the state's
climate change law. If it passes in November, the referendum in
question, Proposition 26, would require a two-thirds vote of the
state Legislature anytime a government agency tries to assess a
fee on a company that is not then used to regulate that entity.
Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/10/20/3

Enviro Groups Turn Attention To Second Ballot Assault On Climate
Law. Environmental groups in California have started paying close
attention to a second ballot referendum that could mean just as
much trouble for the state's climate change law as a more
prominent proposition that would suspend greenhouse gas
regulations outright. Most of the groups' focus this campaign
season has been on Proposition 23, which would suspend the
climate law, A.B. 32, until unemployment in the state dips to 5.5
percent for a full year. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/10/19/2

DIESEL EMISSIONS

EPA, Truck Makers Tout 'Clean Diesel' as Greenhouse Gas Standards
Loom. With the Obama administration preparing to propose new
greenhouse gas efficiency standards for heavy-duty trucks, the
success of U.S. EPA's initiative to reduce conventional diesel
pollution suggests that truck makers are up to the new challenge,
industry and agency officials said today. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/10/19/19greenwire-epa-truck-makers-tout-clean-diesel-as-greenhou-28763.html?pagewanted=print

CARB Verifies Cleaire LongMile® Diesel Particulate Filter. San
Leandro, CA. Cleaire Advanced Emission Controls announced today
that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has verified the
LongMile diesel particulate filter as Level 3+ for on-road
applications. The CARB Level 3+ designation means the LongMile
has successfully demonstrated diesel particulate matter (PM)
emission reductions of greater than 85% while meeting the NO2
emission standard. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/10/20/prwebprweb4672704.DTL

FUELS

In The Cattle Markets: EPA Raises The Ethanol Blend Limit – Sort
Of.  Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finally
rendered judgment on a request by Growth Energy for a partial
waiver of Clear Air Act regulations that would permit the sale of
conventional gasoline containing up to 15% ethanol. The current
blend limit – that is, the maximum allowable ethanol content of
gasoline sold as conventional gasoline – is 10%. Posted.
http://www.cattlenetwork.com/In-The-Cattle-Markets--EPA-Raises-The-Ethanol-Blend-Limit---Sort-Of/2010-10-20/Article.aspx?oid=1275060&fid=

GREEN ENERGY

Green Builders Boost Market For Clean-Power Certificates. New
York -- While renewable-energy generators and developers struggle
in the face of low natural gas and coal prices, sales are growing
nationwide for renewable energy certificates (RECs), trading
instruments that represent the environmental benefits of wind,
solar and other electricity not based on nuclear and fossil
fuels. The continuing march of green-construction projects is
getting credit for the REC lift. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/10/19/10

VEHICLES

The Green Side Of General Motors Commercial Cargo Vans. General
Motors has been making headlines with the all-new Chevrolet Volt,
but that is not the only vehicle in the GM lineup that is going
green.   Today, GM announced that their commercial cargo vans
will be available with a fully integrated alternative fuel
option, compressed natural gas (CNG).  Mary Beth Stanek, GM’s
director of federal environmental and energy regulatory affairs
says, “Natural gas is an abundant and clean alternative fuel.”
Posted.
http://www.examiner.com/gm-in-national/the-green-side-of-general-motors-commercial-cargo-vans

Ford Touts Amazing Fuel Mileage In Next Focus. Ford is touting
that the new engine in the next Ford Focus is something of an
automotive wonder. The 2-liter engine coming early next year in
the 2012 Focus will combine gasoline direct injection with twin
independent variable camshaft timing. It will also be capable of
handling E85 ethanol, unusual in a small engine. At 160
horsepower, it should have 20 more horsepower than the current
version with better fuel economy. How much better? Ford isn't
saying. Posted.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2010/10/ford-focus-mazda2-direct-injection-e85/1

China Pushes For The Pole Position In Electric Car Race. After
traveling to the new battery manufacturing facility in Livonia,
Mich., and an electric vehicles meeting in Paris, David Sandalow
made a trip to China. Sandalow, formerly of the Brookings
Institution, is the U.S. Energy Department's assistant secretary
for policy and international affairs. Electric vehicles, or EVs,
he said, are all over Paris, where he also attended the Paris
Auto Show. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/10/20/6

Charging Companies Prepare For Rush Of Electric Vehicles. As auto
companies prepare to roll out their first electric vehicles, the
companies providing the infrastructure behind the cars are
ramping up their own efforts. ECOtality Inc. and Coulomb
Technologies Inc., the two main companies producing vehicle
chargers, are laying the groundwork for a national charging
network, helped by federal contracts and private investors.
Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/10/20/11

OPINION

As We See It: Proposition 23 Should Be Defeated. Even if you
disagree with the preponderance of scientific opinion about
global warming, state Proposition 23 deserves to go down to
defeat Nov. 2.The measure would essentially render the state's
ground-breaking climate change legislation, Assembly Bill 32,
meaningless. But what voters may not realize is that the measure
is backed mostly by out-of-state oil companies. Posted.
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_16383243

Prop. 23 Offers Time. A Yes vote on Proposition 23 fixes
incorrect science. The proposition gives the citizens of
California the opportunity to delay (but not eliminate) AB32
until the state’s unemployment rate falls below 5.5 percent.
What’s more, we also get some time to look carefully at the
egregious errors in the report that AB32 is based on. The
California Air Resources Board (CARB) has finally admitted that
the key diesel pollution estimates in AB32 are off by 340
percent! Posted.
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/oct/20/prop-23-offers-time/?print=1

BLOGS

Cut the Deficit: Address Global Warming. The stiff-necked
philosophies of the environmental and energy lobbies have killed
most of the US's political solutions to global warming (i.e.,
Climate Change). Yet, there exists a less strident path for
resolving some global warming issues while meeting the public's
concern for reducing the deficit and solving our energy needs.
The solution is natural gas. Posted.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-liberson/cut-the-deficit-address-g_b_769577.html

A Liquefied Methane/Diesel Cocktail, Anyone?  “We’ve chosen a
route whereby we combine the diesel engine’s superior efficiency
rating with the benefits of liquefied methane gas, resulting in a
truck that is significantly more energy-efficient than
traditional [natural] gas trucks.” –Mats Franzén, manager of
engine strategy and planning, Volvo Trucks. For a while now,
Sweden’s Volvo Trucks has tinkered with highway tractors powered
by a blend of 75% liquefied methane gas and 25% diesel. Posted.
http://blog.fleetowner.com/trucks_at_work/2010/10/20/a-liquefied-methanediesel-cocktail-anyone/