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newsclips -- Newsclips for November 24, 2010

Posted: 24 Nov 2010 11:38:32
California Air Resources Board News Clips for November 24, 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

California Dreaming? The Golden State Takes the Lead in U.S.
Efforts to Combat Climate Change. Only two weeks after California
voters turned back an effort to suspend the state's program to
combat climate change, a cap-and-trade market for greenhouse gas
emissions saw its first trade, a swap of a climate-change
pollution permit for 2012. "While our federal government is
sitting on its hands, California is moving full speed ahead to a
clean-energy future," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in his
weekly address on November 19. Posted.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=california-leads-us-efforts-to-combat-climate-change

Emissions Exchanges Gear Up For California 'Green Rush'.
California will become the next test site for emissions trading
in the U.S. as exchanges line up new climate-related markets in
the state, following the shelving of a national cap-and-trade
plan to cut greenhouse gases.  Three exchange groups are lining
up product launches for California after voters endorsed its 2006
climate law in a referendum earlier this month. Supporters
believe California will breath new life into a U.S.
carbon-trading market that has fallen dormant after a federal
scheme was shelved this summer and interest cooled in other
regional initiatives. Posted.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703730304575632961052313910.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

U.N. Seeks Climate Progress; Deal May Be Years Off. Most nations
have few hopes for the meeting of environment ministers from
November 29 to December 10 in the Caribbean resort of Cancun
after U.S. President Barack Obama and other world leaders failed
to agree a treaty at last year's U.N. Copenhagen summit. Sights
are lower for Cancun, which will test the ability of the United
Nations to reconcile the interests of China and the United
States, the top  greenhouse gas emitters, and those of 192 other
nations in a 21st century world order. All have a veto. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6AN3HP20101124

UCSD Students to Join Global Climate Talk. Four graduate students
from UCSD will join Scripps oceanography researchers next week at
a climate-change summit hosted by the United Nations. The purpose
of sending international-relations students -- a first for the
school -- is to enhance the dialogue about global warming and its
effects, said Erica Jue, one of the students attending the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the
Parties, in Cancun. Posted.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/nov/24/ucsd-students-join-scripps-scientists-global-clima/

Greenhouse Gases Increased to Record in Atmosphere Last Year, UN
Reports. Carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, the main
man-made greenhouse gases blamed for global warming, increased to
record post-industrial concentrations last year, the United
Nations said. Carbon dioxide, the most important heat-trapping
gas, last year rose to 386.8 parts per million molecules of air,
the UN’s World Meteorological Organization said today in an
e-mailed statement. That’s 1.6 ppm higher than in 2008. The
methane concentration increased by 6 parts per billion while
nitrous oxide rose by 0.7 parts per billion. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-24/greenhouse-gases-increased-to-record-in-atmosphere-last-year-un-reports.html

What's Next for Clean Energy and Climate Policies. There is no
doubt that we have our work cut out for us. The current Senate
has failed to act on comprehensive clean energy and climate
legislation and we now know that the 112th Congress will be a
very different landscape with an incoming class of members that
is among the most anti-science to date. Yet the outcome of the
elections does not change the facts: the U.S. is dangerously
dependent on oil, China and other countries are making huge gains
in clean energy technologies, and we continue to spew dangerous
carbon pollution into the atmosphere. Posted.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gene-karpinski/whats-next-for-clean-ener_b_786878.html

AIR POLLUTION

Socal Ports Officials Seek More Cuts in Pollution. Officials from
the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles have approved a new plan
that calls for aggressive cuts in pollution from ships and
trains. The plan approved Monday by the ports' harbor commissions
seeks to clean up the air around the nation's busiest port
complex. Posted.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9JLTUEG0.htm
http://www.progressiverailroading.com/news/article/LA-Long-Beach-ports-update-clean-air-action-plan--25125

Sacramento in Top 10 for Worst Air Quality. Welcome to
California, the coughing-tearing-wheezing state. The Golden State
boasts brilliant sandy beaches and breathtaking snow-capped
mountains — and seven cities among the top 10 with the worst air
quality in the nation, according to the American Lung
Association. Posted.
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2010/11/23/sacramento-in-top-10-for-worst-air.html

Chicoans Asked To Forgo Wood Stoves. A forecast of air quality
unhealthy for some people has prompted air quality officials to
ask Chicoans to refrain from lighting wood fires today and
tonight in open fireplaces and wood stoves. The "Check Before You
Light" program is voluntary, but people complying with it have
been credited as contributing to recent improvement of winter air
quality conditions in Chico. The advisory by the Butte County Air
Quality Management District only applies to the Chico urban area.
Posted. http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_16698122

FUELS
	
Can Easing California Regulations Boost Corn Ethanol? Considering
a proposal from the staff of the state Air Resources Board,
California regulators have announced that they could change their
view on the environmental impact of ethanol, a decision that
might keep the corn-based fuel competitive with other bio fuels.
The analysis calculates that the emissions of heat-trapping gases
linked to climate change from the production and use of ethanol
is required as part of regulations being put in place to meet a
state law requiring a cut in greenhouse-gas emissions to 1990
levels by 2020. Posted.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/238310-can-easing-california-regulations-boost-corn-ethanol

California Move Could Make Corn Ethanol an Emissions Boon. The
National Corn Growers Association welcomed a decision by
California regulators which will begin to reflect ethanol's
emissions profile compared to gasoline. However, NCGA remained
critical of the timing and the process which allowed immature
science to penalize this critically needed fuel. "There are
inherent risks in using a computer model to guide regulation or
establish policy and this dramatic revision makes that very
clear," said NCGA President Bart Schott, a corn grower from Kulm,
N.D. Ethanol's reputation has been harmed by the California Air
Resources Board's highly publicized effort to implement its low
carbon fuel standard, but this is a step in the right direction."
Posted.
http://www.wisconsinagconnection.com/story-national.php?Id=2357&yr=2010

GREEN ENERGY

SDG&E Proposes Piping Methane Gas From Waste. San Diego Gas &
Electric is proposing putting methane from landfill waste, sewage
plants or farms in its pipelines, a move that would take
greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere, trash out of landfills
and make money. The proposal comes after the company recently
approved a first-of-its kind move to use its pipelines to move
surplus methane produced at the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment
plant to the University of California San Diego and a sewage
pumping station in Otay Mesa. Posted.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/nov/23/sdge-proposes-using-landfill-sewer-gas/

ENERGY: Utilities Planning Biogas Projects. San Diego Gas &
Electric Co. and Southern California Gas Co. plan to purify waste
gas from garbage dumps, farm waste and sewage treatment and pump
it into utility-owned pipelines, executives from the utilities
said Tuesday. Bacteria that break down organic waste in
low-oxygen conditions produce methane, which is a key component
in natural gas, but also a producer of smog and a cause of global
warming. Posted.
http://www.nctimes.com/business/article_9bd3ebe9-3cf9-5aaf-ad91-ab7bb1fc3ded.html

UC Davis Begins Smart Lighting Initiative. The University of
California Davis aims to greatly reduce the amount of electricity
it uses for its buildings and grounds with a newly launched Smart
Lighting Initiative. UC Davis is the first large institution in
the state to commit to achieving a September state mandate to
reduce lighting energy use by 60 percent or more by 2020, and the
university intends to reach that goal by 2015. Posted.
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2010/11/24/uc-davis-begins-smart-lighting.html

Los Angeles County Rejects Defense Contractor's Objections to
Solar Plant. The battle pitted Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., a
giant defense contractor that operates a sensitive radar testing
center in the Mojave Desert north of Los Angeles, against a
proposed solar power plant project widely supported by local
residents and business groups. Solar won. Posted.
http://solarhbj.com/news/los-angeles-county-rejects-defense-contractors-objections-to-solar-pv-plant-01145

VEHICLES

Nissan Leaf: Electric Car Runs Equivalent of 99 Miles per Gallon.
The Nissan Leaf, an electric car aimed at attracting
environmentally conscious motorists, will get the equivalent of
99 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving, based
on government testing.  Nissan Motor said Monday that the
Environmental Protection Agency's fuel efficiency window sticker,
which provides information about the car's energy use, would
estimate the electric car will achieve the equivalent of 106 mpg
in city driving and 92 mpg on the highway. Posted. 
http://www.mercurynews.com/green-energy/ci_16682494 
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/11/epa-gives-nissan-leaf-a-rating-equivalent-to-99-mpg.html
 

OPINION

Saving at the Pump during that Thanksgiving Drive. The long drive
to grandma's house for Thanksgiving is invaluable for family
bonds but tough on the pocketbook in these recessionary times.
What if your car got 60 miles to the gallon instead of the
current 22.4 miles per gallon? The Obama administration is
developing new fuel efficiency standards for cars and light
trucks for the 2017-2025 model years with the goal of curbing
pollution and saving your pocketbook. California has been a
leader in energy efficiency. Since California passed its
California Clean Cars law in 2002, 14 other states have passed
stronger laws limiting tailpipe emissions. Posted. 
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/opinionshop/detail?entry_id=77597#ixzz16DkY48jC

Let's Really Clear the Air. Valley motorists will be hit with a
new $12 fee on each car they register. That's the result of a $29
million penalty imposed because the Valley air district, which
covers San Joaquin County south to Kern County, violated allowed
ozone levels in August. The violation came in the middle of a
heat wave and just as back-to-school traffic pushed ozone
pollution over the top. Posted.
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101124/A_OPINION01/11240306/-1/A_OPINION

BLOGS

World Faces A Greenhouse Gas Emissions Gap, U.N. Says. The
emissions reduction pledges made by countries around the world
fall well short of what is needed to keep global temperatures
from rising by 2 degrees Celsius or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit by
2100, according to a new United Nations report. The findings of
the U.N. Environment Programme's report, released Tuesday, show
nations could deliver almost 60 percent of the carbon cuts needed
over the next decade to meet the target climate negotiators
embraced in Copenhagen a year ago. Posted.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/post-carbon/2010/11/world_faces_a_greenhouse_gas_e.html

Climate: Be Afraid of Global Warming. But Not Too Afraid. Over on
the mainpage, I have a Going Green column on a forthcoming
psychology study that found that news articles and other messages
that emphasize the scariest, most catastrophic possible impacts
of global warming actually increase climate change skepticism,
not the other way around. You can read about it here, and for
more detail check out a post by Andrew Revkin on the same subject
at Dot Earth. here. Posted.
http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2010/11/22/climate-be-afraid-of-global-warming-but-not-too-afraid/#ixzz16E1rmtAB

Report: Cleaner Cars Could Put More Pumpkin Pies on Americans
Tables. Environment California has been leading the charge for a
cleaner automobile fleet for California and the rest of the
country for years.  Earlier today, they released a new report,
Gobbling Less Gas for Thanksgiving, promoting a “sixty miles per
gallon” fuel efficiency mandate for American cars to be in place
by 2025.  If that goal seems unrealistic considering that the
average miles per gallon for the American fleet is only 26.4
miles per gallon today, consider that recent studies show that
American cars are 99% cleaner today than they were fifty years
ago. Posted.
http://la.streetsblog.org/2010/11/23/report-cleaner-cars-could-put-more-pumpkin-pies-on-americans-tables/



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