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California Air Resources Board News Clips for January 12, 2011. 
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

Wilmington-Area Schools To Get Air Filters In Bid To Cut Asthma.
The effort aims to reduce the effects of pollution from the Port
of Los Angeles on children at more than 40 campuses. Air filters
will be installed in more than 40 Wilmington-area schools in an
effort to alleviate asthma linked to pollution from the Port of
Los Angeles, air quality officials announced Tuesday. The
$5.4-million contract is part of a landmark 2008 settlement
between environmental groups and the city of L.A., after
community opposition threatened to halt a $274-million terminal
expansion at the port. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pollution-schools-20110112,0,7004511,print.story

Vote To Determine Future Of LA Air Pollution Delayed. The
Southern California anti-smog agency delayed voting upon a bill
this past Friday that could potentially increase the air
pollution in Los Angeles and neighboring counties. The
controversial bill would allow companies that reduce their
pollution emissions to sell their emission credits to other
companies.  This issue has arisen three times since 1996, and
each outcome resulted in lawsuits filed by environmental groups.
Posted.
http://www.examiner.com/green-living-in-los-angeles/vote-to-determine-future-of-la-air-pollution-delayed

CLIMATE CHANGE

Scripps Takes Lead In $25 Million Climate Research Project. Money
from Earth Networks will fund research center, data collection.
Earth Networks will pump $25 million over five years into the
project, which Scripps scientists will guide toward new frontiers
of understanding climate-changing gases. The company also will
establish a research center for climate science at Scripps, which
is part of the University of California San Diego. “We’d like the
conversation about greenhouse gases to get back to the data
instead of strongly held political points of view,” said Tony
Haymet, director of Scripps. Posted.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/jan/11/company-pumps-25-million-scripps-climate-research/

New Global Network To Precisely Measure Emissions. A D.C. area
company and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography will announce
Wednesday that they are launching an ambitious project that aims
to precisely gauge how human activity is affecting the climate.
The $25 million, five-year commercial venture will include 50
sensors in the United States and another 50 around the world to
measure atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/11/AR2011011107140_pf.html

2010 Ties For Warmest Year On Record. The year 2010 tied with
2005 as the planet's warmest on record, and 2010 was also the
wettest year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration. Nine of the past 10 years also rank among the 10
warmest on record, reinforcing the idea that the planet is
heating up, the warming driven by emission of carbon dioxide and
other greenhouse gases. The warming was apparent in
surface-temperature data despite two unusually cold winters in a
row in the eastern United States, said David Easterling, chief of
the scientific services division at NOAA's National Climatic Data
Center. Posted.
http://www.ocregister.com/news/year-283785-record-warmest.html
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iP5ADEAhfNez-Nq6gy4GjEMAOUhw?docId=a1e02e8925ab4d4ea0848271d24e7884

California Air Resources Board Grants Forest Clearcutters a Free
CO2 Pass. Charged with implementing the provisions of A.B. 32,
the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, the California Air
Resource Board (ARB) last Dec.16 held a marathon day of public
testimony in Sacramento before adopting the cap-and-trade program
they declared would set “the gold standard” for such programs
nation-wide. Perhaps they meant fool’s gold, because in its rush
to establish the final forestry greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting
protocols for the program, the board tarnished the standard by
giving timber companies a free pass on clearcutting.   Posted.
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/site/?q=print/8565

Global Warming Portends New Threat To Life. As global climatic
conditions worsen and put the world in jeopardy, local
environmentalists have warned that global warming could be
heralding a new threat to life on earth. Mr Ebrima Jatta, an
environmentalist said that global warming has been a gradual
phenomenon as people’s attitude towards the environment begins to
impact negatively on the natural world and task environmentalists
with figuring out the panaceas. Posted.
http://today.gm/hi/news/2972.html?print

Measuring Greenhouse Gases, A New Business Venture. Weather data
is big business in the United States, with services like
AccuWeather, the Weather Channel and Weather Underground together
generating more than $1 billion in revenue each year. Now, one of
those companies -- the newly renamed Earth Networks, which owns
the popular WeatherBug website and desktop weather widget -- is
hoping to do the same for climate data. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/01/12/2

EPA Gives Biomass A 3-Year Reprieve From GHG Permits. The use of
biomass will be exempt from the Obama administration's new
greenhouse gas regulations for three years, U.S. EPA announced
today, giving the agency more time to address concerns that
permitting requirements could chill investment in an emerging
form of renewable energy. The decision responds to criticism from
the biomass industry, which has claimed that the energy source is
not contributing to climate change because it is part of a
natural, carbon-neutral cycle. When new plants are grown, the
argument goes, they absorb the same amount of carbon dioxide that
the other plants had released when they were burned. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2011/01/12/1

DIESEL EMISSIONS

Diesel Era Ends For MTA Buses. Metro will become the only major
transit agency in the U.S. with a fleet run entirely on
alternative fuels. Officials say the shift has sharply cut
emissions of cancer-causing pollution. After almost two decades
of effort to reduce vehicle emissions, the Los Angeles County
Metropolitan Transportation Authority will retire its last diesel
bus Wednesday and become the only major transit agency in the
nation with a fleet that is totally equipped with
alternative-fuel technologies. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-me-buses-20110112,0,1826018,print.story

CARB Approves Amendments To Regulations. The California Air
Resources Board (CARB) has approved amendments to the In-Use
On-Road Diesel Vehicle Regulation (Truck and Bus Rule) and the
Heavy-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Regulation
(California SmartWay mandate). The amendments are designed to
help fleet owners affected by the global recession, which has led
to lower than expected emissions levels. The Truck Renting and
Leasing Association (TRALA) is encouraged by an amendment to the
California SmartWay mandate that addresses concerns previously
raised by the group. Posted.
http://refrigeratedtrans.com/2010-emissions/carb-approves-regulations-0112/
http://bulktransporter.com/regulations/carb-approves-amendments-regulations-0112/

GREEN ENERGY

Recycling Garden Waste as Eco-Fuel. If this is the time of year
you start thinking about firing up the firepit or chiminea, or if
you've invested in a wood-burning stove for your home, you'll no
doubt be thinking about what sort of fuel you can burn. Choosing
the right supplier of eco-friendly fuel can be tricky, but if
you're a keen gardener (or even if you keep a small vegetable
plot), you might already know that there is a lot of free fuel
around. Burning wood and garden waste is effectively carbon
neutral, as the amount of carbon the plants absorbed while
growing is equivalent to the amount of carbon released when
burned, so as long as you're getting your fuel from a sustainable
source, then you won't be contributing to global warming. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS366540816320110111

California Economy Depends on Green Energy. A portrait of
California's economic future is emerging, and it's heavy on the
green. In 2010, the worldwide investment in green energy topped
$243 billion, up 30 percent from the previous year, according to
Grist. The US is at risk of being outpaced by countries like
China, which increased its green energy investment significantly
last year. European wind and solar companies also made great
strides. But the Bay Area is poised to capture at least some of
that market. Numerous automotive innovators are located near San
Francisco. Posted.
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local-beat/California-Economy-Depends-on-Green-Energy-113350174.html

Enviro Regulations Poised To Close 20% Of Coal Plants – Study. If
there were no prospects for a future price on carbon or climate
regulations, perhaps a small fraction of the coal plants slated
for retirement by 2020 would keep the lights on, suggests the
author of a new forecast on that form of energy. Short of that,
however, efforts to eliminate U.S. EPA's climate regulations will
make little difference for the fate of that industry, said Steve
Fine, a vice president with consulting group ICF International,
which presented some of its new projections for coal yesterday. 
Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/01/12/3

Energy Envoy Calls For Raising Electricity Prices In Developing
Countries. Raising the price of electricity is at the heart of
alleviating energy poverty, Special Envoy for International
Energy Affairs David Goldwyn said. Speaking at the Woodrow Wilson
International Center for Scholars yesterday, Goldwyn called
promoting energy access for the 1.6 billion people worldwide who
must use wood, coal or even dung to heat their homes and cook the
"most important development priority, political priority that we
can have." Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/01/12/5

Coal-Fired Power Remains Big For The Future. Although China's
future in renewable energy may turn out to be bright, the near
future looks to be heavy in coal. For the past 50 years, more
than 70 percent of China's energy has been supplied by coal.
Demand has increased about 10 percent a year since 2000. The U.S.
Energy Information Administration predicts China will have to add
736 gigawatts of coal-fired capacity by 2035. Each gigawatt of
coal-fired capacity requires about 2.9 million metric tons of
coal per year. This would mean a 60 percent increase in coal
usage between now and 2035. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/01/12/9

VEHICLES

Clean Cars Will Cut U.S. Emissions More Than Transit – Study. The
United States can cut most emissions from transportation by 2050,
but urban strategies like transit and dense development won't
play a large role, according to a report issued yesterday. The
Pew Center on Global Climate Change said transportation emissions
could drop 65 percent by midcentury, and improved auto
technologies like biofuels, fuel cells and electric cars will do
the bulk of the work (E&ENews PM, Jan. 11). Increasing transit,
by contrast, will only cut a few percentage points off of U.S.
greenhouse gas emissions, and only if development gets denser.
Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/01/12/4

MISCELLANEOUS

Silicon Valley Leadership Group Sends Governor Tech Plan. A
powerful Silicon Valley policy group representing more than 300
companies wants Gov. Jerry Brown to create a Cabinet-level post
to improve California's high-tech and manufacturing
competitiveness. The Silicon Valley Leadership Group forwarded
its proposal to key leaders of the Brown administration and
members of Silicon Valley's legislative delegation in Sacramento
Monday night. Carl Guardino, president and CEO of the Leadership
Group, said Tuesday that the Brown administration had asked for
the plan, which is similar to one drafted last year for Sen.
Dianne Feinstein. Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/california-budget/ci_17067141?source=rss

OPINION

Spare the Air Raises Quality Of Life For All. Thank you very much
for your editorial to encourage residents to refrain from burning
wood during the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s recent
Spare the Air alert (“Grapes and Raisins,” Jan. 6). The
regulation is critical to protect public health. Wood smoke
generates tiny particles that are associated with a range of
adverse respiratory health impacts, especially for children and
the elderly, and those with existing chronic disease. These
particles are so small, they can bypass the body’s airway
defenses and enter directly into the lungs and blood stream,
where they can contribute to breathing problems, heart attacks
and stroke.  Posted.
http://napavalleyregister.com/news/opinion/mailbag/article_0fe2871a-1e12-11e0-b3e4-001cc4c03286.html

District Agrees Air Fine Was Unfair. In the San Joaquin Valley,
our air-quality challenges are more difficult than those in any
other region in the nation. On one hand, we have been given
circumstances over which we have no control: the valley's
geography, topography and climate turn our region into a bowl
with a lid; pass-through highway traffic brings pollution without
any economic benefit; and emissions from the northwest add to our
own. Posted.
http://www.bakersfield.com/opinion/community/x1937969177/District-agrees-air-fine-was-unfair

NICHOLS: California Dreaming - Or Nightmare? Delaware mirrors the
Golden State with onerous new vehicle rules. Attention drivers.
Effective with model year 2014, all new vehicles sold in Delaware
must comply with draconian California emissions standards that
are more stringent than even federal regulations. Delaware won't
be the last state where this happens. The standards were imposed
by Delaware Secretary of Natural Resources and Environmental
Control Collin O'Mara, who unilaterally amended the state
administrative code. Posted.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jan/11/california-dreaming-or-nightmare/?page=2

BLOGS

Vote To Determine Future of LA Air Pollution Delayed. The
Southern California anti-smog agency delayed voting upon a bill
this past Friday that could potentially increase the air
pollution in Los Angeles and neighboring counties. The
controversial bill would allow companies that reduce their
pollution emissions to sell their emission credits to other
companies.  This issue has arisen three times since 1996, and
each outcome resulted in lawsuits filed by environmental groups.
Posted.
http://www.examiner.com/green-living-in-los-angeles/vote-to-determine-future-of-la-air-pollution-delayed