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newsclips -- Newsclips for December 1, 2010.
Posted: 01 Dec 2010 12:30:15
California Air Resources Board News Clips for December 1, 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 Late Heat Spoils Banner Low-Smog Year. Bay Area residents were headed toward a banner year for clean air during a cool early summer, but heat waves late in the season cooked up enough smog to make 2010 a mediocre year for air quality. Ground-level smog concentrations violated federal health standards somewhere in the region on nine days this year, compared with eight days in 2009, and 12 days in 2008, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Only one excessively smoggy day was recorded in 2007, when a less stringent federal smog limit was in effect. Posted. http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_16746147 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fn%2Fa%2F2010%2F12%2F01%2Fstate%2Fn063809S75.DTL http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/incontracosta/detail?entry_id=78074 http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/east_bay&id=7818020 Backyard Burn Season Begins Today. Today marks the beginning of backyard burn season, which will run through April 30. But officials from the regional Air Pollution Control District are reminding residents that burning can be a significant health hazard both to themselves and to their neighbors. Residential burning will be allowed in San Benito, Santa Cruz, and Monterey counties with restrictions. Fires to dispose of dry vegetation cleared prior to a construction project are also permitted. The burning of garbage and treated wood is strictly prohibited at all times. Posted. http://www.thecalifornian.com/article/20101201/NEWS01/12010319/Backyard-burn-season-begins-today Kettleman City Landfill Fined $300,000. The Central Valley toxic landfill at the center of a birth defect controversy has been fined by the Environmental Protection Agency. The violation - improperly disposing of a cancer-causing chemical. The EPA fined Chemical Waste Management $302,000 stemming from an inspection they did at the facility in April of this year. They punished the facility, after finding a leak of PCB's - a toxic chemical known to cause cancer and birth defects. The EPA says this fine has nothing to do with the investigation into a cluster of birth defects in Kettleman City. Posted. http://www.kmph.com/Global/story.asp?S=13592997 Iran Shuts Offices Because Of Heavy Air Pollution. Tehran, Iran -- For the second time in a month, heavy air pollution in Iran's smog-filled capital has forced authorities to close government offices and schools and declare a two-day public holiday because of the health dangers of being outdoors. A government committee decided pollution levels in Tehran warranted the closure of all government offices, schools and industries on Wednesday and Thursday because of "polluted and unhealthy" conditions. Critics say each holiday incurs about $130 million in financial losses. Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/01/AR2010120101114_pf.html CLIMATE CHANGE Google Creates Climate Change Videos Amid Cancun Talks. Google has come up with its own weapon for fighting climate change as representatives of nearly 200 countries meet for a 12-day conference on the issue in Cancun, Mexico. On its Google Earth website, it offers a series of videos that act as tutorials and will be incorporated into workshops that it's offering at the United Nation's Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 16), which began Monday. Posted. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/12/google-fights-climate-change-cancun-talks/1 DIESEL EMISSIONS Fuel Economy, Emissions Proposal Ready for Comment. The docket is now open for comments on the federal proposal to establish national standards for fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions for medium and heavy trucks. On Tuesday the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration published their joint proposal, which will establish a new way to measure truck fuel efficiency and emissions and set industry performance standards. Comments on the proposal, which was published in the November 30 Federal Register, are due by January 31. Posted. http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-print.asp?news_id=72310 Diesel Emissions Reduction Act Nears Renewal. The Senate Environment and Public Works committee has reauthorized the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act first passed in 2005. Led by Chairwoman Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and ranking member Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., the move if passed will continue a loan program initially set up to reduce diesel emissions via upgrades and modernization of older diesel engines and equipment. Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, and Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., introduced initial legislation in 2005 and the program was approved by a vote of 92-1. The program is set to expire in the 2011 fiscal year. Posted. http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/article-print.jsp?article_id=4571 GREEN ENERGY Group Grades Tahoe Sierra Ski Areas on Green Scale. An environmental report card from conservationists says Sierra ski resorts are continuing a trend toward going green. The Reno Gazette-Journal reports that Squaw Valley USA placed first and Alpine Meadows ranked third in the Ski Area Citizens Coalition rating of 82 western ski resorts resorts. Sugar Bowl and Boreal also rated "A," while "B" grades went to Kirkwood Mountain, Homewood Mountain, Sierra-at-Tahoe and Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe. Posted. http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=109444&catid=2 VEHICLES GM To Add 1,000 Clean-Car Jobs In Mich. As Volt Rolls Out. General Motors Co. will add 1,000 engineering and research jobs in Michigan as the company expands its development of electric and hybrid vehicles. The announcement came as the company officially introduced the Chevrolet Volt, which runs on battery power and a gas-powered motor. GM CEO Daniel Akerson said the Volt was the start of a new commitment by GM to be a leader in clean-car technology after its $50 billion government bailout last year. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/12/01/20 MISCELLANEOUS Kettleman City Toxic Waste Facility Fined For Violations. EPA fines Chemical Waste Management $302,100 for failing to properly manage carcinogenic PCBs. The company — the only one in the state licensed to handle PCBs — says its cleanup exceeded EPA standards. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency levied a $302,100 fine Tuesday against the operator of a toxic waste dump near a Central California farming community beset by unexplained birth defects, saying the company failed to properly manage carcinogenic polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-me-kettleman-fine-20101201,0,5101568,print.story PG&E To Offset Emissions By Financing Destruction Of Refrigerants. California utility Pacific Gas & Electric Co. announced a deal yesterday to finance the destruction of ozone-depleting chemicals that contribute far more to global warming, by weight, than carbon dioxide. PG&E will purchase and retire 160,000 metric tons of offsets from Environmental Credit Corp. on behalf of utility customers enrolled in PG&E's ClimateSmart program, which funds emissions reductions to compensate for the CO2 associated with electricity generation. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/12/01/6 OPINION Free Speech Now Forbidden. Philosophers have pondered and debated the question of "what is true?" for eons. Now, thanks to the bureaucrats at the California Air Resources Board (CARB), we have our answer: The truth is whatever CARB says it is, and those who utter forbidden opinions to the contrary will be punished. Sounding like something from George Orwell, CARB is poised to adopt a regulation that literally "forbids" and "penalizes" opposing views. Posted. http://www.smdp.com/Articles-c-2010-11-30-70827.113116-Free-speech-now-forbidden-.html#print A Select Committee for Termination. Putting a global warming panel out of business. Massachusetts Democrat Edward Markey will hold one last media spectacle at his Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming today, allowing such oracles as green activist Robert Kennedy Jr. to preach about the imminent catastrophe of climate change. Let's hope Speaker-designate John Boehner makes it the committee's last hurrah. Current Speaker Nancy Pelosi created this outfit in 2007 as a way to outflank then Energy Committee Chairman John Dingell, for whom climate change is not a religion. Posted. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704679204575646763823952070.html?mod=googlenews_wsj Katie Couric's Notebook: Climate Change. The debate over global warming is once again heating up in Washington. Roughly half of the newly elected Republican congress members are climate change skeptics, according to one survey, and some want to roll back environmental regulations. Their position was bolstered by the Climategate scandal, in which a handful of scientists were accused of manipulating data to support climate change. Posted. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-500803_162-20024202-500803.html BLOGS What's the Punishment For Burning Wood on Spare the Air Day? You are so busted.Today, for those who care to know, is a Spare the Air Day. In communicating this news, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District used terms such as "illegal" when describing the burning of wood -- and noted that locals "must" not do so. As that vocabulary would imply, this isn't just a suggestion. Failure to adhere to the mandate to not set wood aflame can cost you $400. That's been the law of the land since 2008 -- and a full eight people have felt the burn after burning wood. Of course, that's not a lot of lawbreakers. Posted. http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2010/12/spaire_the_air_day_wood_fire.php?print=true http://www.baycitizen.org/blogs/pulse-of-the-bay/first-winter-spare-air-day/ In the Energy Race, Echoes of Sputnik. Associated Press Energy Secretary Steven Chu addressing the National Press Club on energy research on Monday. With some House Republicans gunning for the stimulus bill, especially the portion that went to the Energy Department, the energy secretary went on a pre-emptive offensive of sorts on Monday in advance of the Republican takeover over the chamber, telling an audience at the National Press Club that that money was merely a down payment. Posted. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/29/in-the-energy-race-echoes-of-sputnik/?pagemode=print U.S. Needs Critical Boost in Energy Research, Panel Tells Obama. American Energy Innovation Council. The United States needs to more than triple its spending on energy research, development and demonstration projects, from about $5 billion now to $16 billion, and should institute a strategic review of national energy policy every four years, an advisory group of scientists and engineers said in a report to President Obama this week. Posted. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/01/u-s-needs-critical-boost-in-energy-research-panel-tells-obama/?pagemode=print Survey Finds Rising Pollution Concerns. One in four Hong Kongers is considering leaving the city because of poor air quality, according to a survey released by local think tank Civic Exchange. That is an increase from one in five who considered moving in 2008, the last time the same survey was conducted. The potential exodus also risks sapping the city’s intellectual wealth, as 89% of those who said they would consider leaving Hong Kong possessed at least a college degree. http://blogs.wsj.com/hong-kong/2010/12/01/survey-finds-rising-pollution-concerns/ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-01/hong-kong-air-pollution-very-high-at-three-stations-update1-.html Obama, Arnold, Jerry, and the Big Green Dream. The latest UN global climate summit has just gotten underway in Cancun, Mexico with little progress in store, despite 2010 turning out to be perhaps the hottest year on record. That makes the moves underway in California even more significant. Especially since, to President Barack Obama's evident dismay, action in Congress was already dead even before Republicans took over the lower house of Congress. We'll see if there's any action in Cancun, following last year's debacle in Copenhagen, covered here on the Huffington Post. Posted. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-bradley/obama-arnold-jerry-and-th_b_790145.html 5 Reasons Why EPA Regulation of Greenhouse Gasses Is Good for Labor. With the collapse of climate protection legislation in Congress, the Environmental Protection Agency, acting under a mandate from the US Supreme Court, is stepping in to regulate the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change. At the end of 2009, it issued an "endangerment finding" that greenhouse gases in the atmosphere "threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations." New regulations are scheduled to go into effect early in 2011. Posted. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brendan-smith/5-reasons-why-epa-regulat_b_789737.html