What's New List Serve Post Display

California Air Resources Board News Clips for December 16, 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

Calif. Opens Hearing On Major Greenhouse Gas Rules. Sacramento,
Calif. -- California air quality regulators have begun hearing
testimony on what would be the nation's most sweeping greenhouse
gas regulations. The Air Resources Board is expected to pass a
key piece of the California's 2006 climate law, called AB32, at
its meetings Thursday or Friday, with the hope that other states
and nations will follow the lead of the world's eighth largest
economy. California's rules would set up the largest U.S. carbon
trading market as the way to enforce the state's gradually
tightening cap on emissions. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/12/16/v-print/3261788/calif-set-to-adopt-cap-and-trade.html

California Air Board Set To Adopt Cap-And-Trade Program.
Officials hail the program as flexible and sensitive to economic
conditions. It would begin in 2012 by capping emissions from the
600 biggest industrial facilities. California regulators Thursday
are expected to adopt the nation's most comprehensive carbon
trading regime, creating a market-based way to lower greenhouse
gas emissions at a time when similar efforts have stalled in
Congress. The program is the centerpiece of the state's 2006
global warming law, which aims to slash carbon dioxide and other
planet-heating pollution to 1990 levels by 2020. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-climate-cap-trade-20101216,0,7325206,print.story

Calif. Set To Adopt Sweeping Cap-And-Trade Rules. Sacramento,
Calif. (AP) — California air quality regulators are poised to
adopt the nation's most sweeping regulations to give power
plants, refineries and other major polluters a financial
incentive to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The Air
Resources Board was expected to pass this key piece of the
California's 2006 climate law, called AB32, at its meetings
Thursday or Friday, with the hope that other states and nations
will follow the lead of the world's eighth largest economy.
Posted.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iEheH7i-aOISdEStgTBkAXkkQfyg?docId=4f2d21ae205b4cd2ac0e5dfcb3c4710c

In Depth: 'Cap And Trade' Taking Aim At Emissions.  State Air
Resources Board expected to approve initiative that could
increase energy costs but promises greater efficiency and
increased revenue. John Reed (left) and Peter Petersen of
American Repower Resources in Carlsbad display fuel control
valves the company uses to convert dirty diesel engines to run on
natural gas. Emissions timeline: (appears in article link). Cost
vs. benefit. Posted.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/dec/16/depth-taking-aim-emissions/

California To Adopt 'Cap And Trade' To Combat Climate Change.
Taking the lead where Washington has wavered, California today is
expected to adopt the nation's most ambitious plan yet to curb
global warming. The California Air Resources Board is all but
certain to vote to approve comprehensive "cap and trade"
regulations designed to cut greenhouse gases. The regulations
would impose limits, or "caps," on emissions from large
industrial polluters through permits, or allowances, that could
be traded on a market. Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_16868556?source=rss

New Air Rules May Be Boon For Timber. Companies could earn tens
of millions selling carbon credits if plan approved. California
timber firms, including a leading North Coast company, could
emerge as big winners in the state's fight against global
warming, earning tens of millions of dollars through the sale of
carbon credits if a new set of rules is approved today by the
state Air Resources Board. Related Links: California set to adopt
sweeping cap-and-trade rules . Posted.
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20101215/ARTICLES/101219664/1350?Title=New-air-rules-may-be-boon-for-timber

California Scheduled To Adopt Cap-And-Trade Rules. San Francisco
(Dow Jones)--California regulators are scheduled Thursday to
adopt the nation's first large-scale cap-and-trade program for
greenhouse-gas emissions as part of the state's four-year-old
climate law. Under the proposed rules, scheduled to start in
2012, the state Air Resources Board would place a limit, or cap,
on greenhouse-gas emissions for the state that would decline over
time. Power plants, refineries and other industrial facilities
that emit carbon dioxide and can't cut their emissions by the
required amount could obtain pollution allowances from the state
or buy them from other emitters with excess allowances. Posted.
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20101216-710970.html

Calif. Air Board Set To Vote On 2 Crucial Issues. Sacramento -
The California Air Resources Board is set to vote on two
controversial environmental issues at its meeting today and
Friday: adoption of the nation's first broad-based cap-and-trade
program and the easing of diesel pollution rules.  The
cap-and-trade program is the last major element of AB32, the
California Global Warming Solutions Act, which puts the state on
track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.
The act requires that rules to meet that goal be in place by the
end of this year. Postedl
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/16/MNDG1GQ3JR.DTL&type=printable

California Poised To Enter Carbon-Trading Market. Today could be
seen as the biggest day yet for California's climate change law,
assuming, as expected, the state Air Resources Board signs off on
the rules to implement it. It will also be a big day for Aaron
Singer, CEO of San Francisco startup Pacific Carbon Exchange,
which is engaging in an enterprise thought dead in the water not
so long ago: carbon trading. "It's the official starting gun for
California and for Western regional carbon markets," Singer said.
"It means we get to make this business a growing reality." 
Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/16/BUO21GQG0D.DTL&type=printable

Calif. Set To Adopt Cap-And-Trade For Polluters. Sacramento,
Calif. California air quality regulators are poised to adopt the
nation's most sweeping regulations to give power plants,
refineries and other major polluters a financial incentive to
reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The Air Resources Board
was expected to pass this key piece of the California's 2006
climate law, called AB32, at its meetings Thursday or Friday,
with the hope that other states and nations will follow the lead
of the world's eighth largest economy. Posted.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9K4TIPO0.htm

Calif. Set To Adopt Cap-And-Trade Regulations For State's Major
Greenhouse Gas Polluters. Sacramento, Calif. (AP) - California
air quality regulators are poised to adopt the nation's most
sweeping regulations to give power plants, refineries and other
major polluters a financial incentive to reduce their greenhouse
gas emissions. The Air Resources Board was expected to pass this
key piece of the California's 2006 climate law, called AB32, at
its meetings Thursday or Friday, with the hope that other states
and nations will follow the lead of the world's eighth largest
economy. Posted.
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/markets/market_news/article.jsp?content=D9K4TIPO0

Here Comes Cap-And-Trade – California Style. The California Air
Resources Board is set to vote tomorrow on whether to approve the
cap-and-trade provisions at the heart of the state’s Global
Warming Solutions Act (AB 32). The program is designed to reduce
greenhouse gasses in California to 1990 levels by 2020, by
setting caps on the amount of carbon pollution large facilities
can emit and requiring companies to buy permits to release those
gases. The hope is that companies can reduce carbon pollution by
using green technologies that emerge. Businesses could also buy
offsets, such as planting trees, to counteract the pollution they
create. Posted. 
http://www.scpr.org/programs/airtalk/2010/12/15/ca-cap-and-trade/

Top 10 Climate-Change Denier Arguments Debunked: Part 1.There’s
no doubt that historically, temperatures and greenhouse gas
fluctuations are nothing compared to the increases we’ve seen in
the past century. Snow in the South, ice gain in Antarctica and
scientists seemingly fudging climate data: is the global warming
debate over? Definitely. But skeptics aren’t on the winning side.
Global warming deniers have gleefully seized on recent scandals
and misinterpreted data to bolster their collection of arguments,
but there are these pesky things called facts that keep getting
in the way of their agenda. Posted.
http://www.alternet.org/environment/149101/top_10_climate-change_denier_arguments_debunked%3A_part_1/null

Thursday Must Read: State to Adopt Cap-and-Trade Today; High
Court Approves Open Primaries. Stories you shouldn’t miss: 1.
California regulators are poised to adopt landmark climate-change
rules today — a cap-and-trade system designed to significantly
reduce greenhouse gases and boost the state’s growing green-tech
industry, the Chron and Mercury News report. The California Air
Resources Board is set to approve a cap-and-trade system that is
similar to one that failed to pass the US Senate this year.
Posted.
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/gyrobase/blogs/Post?id=92510&year=2010&month=12&day=16&basename=thursday-must-read-state-to-adopt-cap-and-trade-today-high-court-approves-open-primaries&mode=print

Lonely Road For Cap And Trade. California is the lab rat in the
cap & trade maze. One day after the midterm congressional
elections, President Obama was already talking about cap & trade
in the past tense: "Cap & trade was just one way of skinning the
cat. It's not the only way," the President told reporters. "It
was a means, not an end. And I'm gonna be looking for other means
to address this problem. Senator Joe Lieberman put it more
bluntly. "Cap and trade is off the table," Lieberman said. "We
have to start on the presumption that the table is clean, that
nothing is on it." Posted.
http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2010/12/15/lonely-road-for-cap-and-trade/

DIESEL EMISSIONS

Air Board Weighs Delay In Trucking Rules. California air
pollution regulators, responding to the tough economy, are
expected Friday to roll back many smog-cutting mandates for
diesel trucks and off-road construction equipment. Under current
rules, the oldest and most polluting trucks in a few weeks will
have to be retrofitted with costly controls to reduce toxic
diesel soot pollution. Officials with the California Air
Resources Board say easing the rules is necessary to help the
ailing trucking and construction industries. In addition, diesel
pollution has abated significantly because of the near-collapse
of the homebuilding industry and a slowdown in goods movement.
Posted.
http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_News_Local_D_diesel16.3a4021f.html


Emissions Meeting Expected To Draw Protests. San Andreas - Dozens
of environmental groups, including several serving the central
Sierra Nevada, are lining up to oppose aspects of a carbon
emissions rule the California Air Resources Board will consider
today. Virtually all the groups support limits to carbon
emissions, but some environmental advocates say the forestry
protocols in the rule would allow loggers to clear-cut forests
and make extra money by receiving carbon emission credits for it.
Posted.
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101216/A_NEWS/12160321/-1/A_NEWS14

Uncertainty Over Air Rule Frustrates Some Truckers. A $5.5
billion rule requiring truck companies to clean up their rigs may
be delayed, but not all truckers are happy. Some companies have
already sunk big bucks into complying with the rule, passed by
the California Air Resources Board in 2008. "They keep changing
the rule, and nobody knows what it's going to be next," said Al
Nunes, owner of A.C. Trucking in Manteca, who has spent half a
million dollars to comply, although half of that was covered by
funds from an air quality and highway improvement bond approved
by voters in 2006. Posted.
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101216/A_NEWS/12160320/-1/A_NEWS14

OOIDA: Pending CARB Rules Create Disparity For Out-Of-State
Truckers. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has
asked the California Air Resources Board to change two major
diesel emissions rules slated for discussion this week. Both
California’s greenhouse gas emission rule and its in-use
heavy-duty diesel regulations create a disparity between in-state
and out-of-state motor carriers, and threaten the movement of
goods protected by the Interstate Commerce Clause, OOIDA has
stated in written comments from Association President Jim
Johnston. Posted.
http://www.landlinemag.com/todays_news/Daily/2010/Dec10/121310/121510-01.shtml

GREEN ENERGY

Arnold’s Green Legacy. Schwarzenegger has a decidedly mixed track
record on the environment. Last Thursday, December 9, Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger spent time doing one of the things he does
best—anchoring a media event focusing on one of his favorite
topics, green energy. In this case, the event—in which the GOP
governor tightened bolts with a gold wrench—was the
groundbreaking for San Diego Gas & Electric’s 117-mile Sunrise
Powerlink transmission line whose aim is to move electricity
created from renewable sources to urban areas. Posted.
http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/PrintFriendly?oid=1890583

Corn Ethanol Subsidy Gets A One-Year Extension From The Senate.
Corn ethanol advocates scored a win on Capitol Hill yesterday
when controversial subsidies were passed as part of a larger $858
billion tax package -- bringing the fuel a step closer to getting
a one-year reprieve from losing government backing. Though
incentives for the fuel source may now be poised for passage in
the House, there is no denying it has been a rocky year for the
ethanol industry. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2010/12/16/4

Obama Promises Clean-Power Opportunities For Tribes. The Obama
administration vowed today to topple barriers that have prevented
American Indian nations from developing vast renewable energy
resources and introduced the creation of a new tribal energy
office at the Department of Energy. DOE's new Office of Indian
Energy Policy and Programs -- announced at today's second annual
White House tribal nations conference -- is aimed at improving
the department's efforts to engage tribal governments in national
energy priorities and promote energy development on tribal lands.
Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/12/16/3

VEHICLES

Fisker To Sell Luxury Electric Cars In China. U.S. carmaker
Fisker Automotive Inc. will open sales of its luxury electric car
to China. The California-based electric car manufacturer will
team with China Grand Automotive Group to sell the Karma in the
group's top local outlets, which also carry luxury brands like
Mercedes-Benz, Lexus and Lamborghini. The Karma will make its
Chinese debut at the Shanghai Auto Show in April and will hit
markets in the fall. "With its vast network of experienced
retailers, CGA will give Fisker an instant and credible footprint
in the region," said CEO Henrik Fisker. He added that China's
goal of reducing harmful emissions and smog make the country a
natural fit for electric vehicles. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2010/12/16/16

BLOGS

Does Your Datacenter Pollute? A recent Associated Press article
tells us that Microsoft’s backup power plans at their Quincy, MA
datacenter are being challenged by a group concerned about diesel
emissions.  Microsoft is looking at adding 13 diesel generators
as standby power sources, and the group challenging the plan
wants the state Ecology department to require that the generators
have filters, presumably on their emissions. In the US the EPA
has implemented a series of standards for diesel engines that
directly address pollutants, with the most stringent standard
known as Tier 4i (interim) due to take effect on January 1, 2011.
Posted.
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/datacenter/does-your-datacenter-pollute/593

Cleaning Up Dirty Diesels Is a Good Investment in Our
Communities. Air districts representing the areas of California
with the worst air quality – the greater Los Angeles area and San
Joaquin Valley – expressed concern yesterday over the proposed
relaxations to the state diesel regulations.  Their letter
explains that it is impossible for these regions to meet federal
air standards without significant reductions in emissions from
diesel trucks and off-road equipment.  Posted.
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/dbailey/cleaning_up_dirty_diesels_is_a.html

Weakening of California Global Warming Law. It is great that
California voters overwhelmingly defeated Proposition 23, the
initiative that would not let AB32, the global warming law, go
into effect unless the state unemployment rate falls below 5.5
percent.  Californians sent a clear message that they support
legislation to take on climate change, even though the federal
government hasn't managed to pass a comprehensive climate and
energy package. Thus, it makes it even harder to understand why
the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the regulatory agency
responsible for establishing the rules for the cap and trade
program, has decided to weaken the rules. Posted.
http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/blog/payal-parekh/2010-12-16/weakening-california-global-warming-law