What's New List Serve Post Display

Newsclips for January 18, 2011. Air Pollution

China sets air pollution reduction goal: China says it is
implementing new environmental standards to reduce vehicle and
industrial emissions into the atmosphere.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/01/14/China-sets-air-pollution-reduction-goal/UPI-53141295029075/
.

Fourth Winter Spare the Air alert issued for Monday: Bay Area air
quality officials have issued a Winter Spare the Air alert for
Monday, the fourth of the season.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_17113824?nclick_check=1



Climate Change

This isn't about climate change – but it may be the face of the
future: Since 1975, disasters of all kinds have claimed the lives
of more than 2.2 million people. Storms, floods, droughts and
other weather-related phenomena were responsible for two thirds
of these deaths, according to the UN's International Strategy for
Disaster Reduction, which has warned that climate change is
likely to increase the frequency and severity of these events. 
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/this-isnt-about-climate-change-ndash-but-it-may-be-the-face-of-the-future-2185153.html



Diesel Emissions

Exposure to Diesel Exhaust Linked to Lung Cancer:  Another
research that used 11 previous studies conducted in Europe and
Canada suggests that occupational workers who are exposed to
diesel fumes have a 31% increased risk of developing lung cancer
as compared to those workers who are not exposed at all.
http://seerpress.com/exposure-to-diesel-exhaust-linked-to-lung-cancer/22136/


Fuels

Roadshow: Why diesel prices are so high: What is up with the
price of diesel? In my long-term memory, diesel used to be
cheaper than regular gas or at least similar in price. But now
diesel is at least as much as premium and 25 to 40 cents a gallon
more than unleaded regular gas. Can you explain that?
http://www.mercurynews.com/mr-roadshow/ci_17121232 

Mercedes-Benz Calls for More Hydrogen Infrastructure: German auto
maker Mercedes-Benz says governments and utility companies need
to invest more in hydrogen infrastructure in order to help get
use of fuel cells in cars.
http://domesticfuel.com/2011/01/18/mercedes-benz-calls-for-more-hydrogen-infrastructure/


Green Energy
SMUD will build green facility that makes more energy than it
uses: 
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District's new $111 million,
ultra-green East Campus will create 300 construction jobs and set
in motion one of the larger redevelopment projects in Sacramento.
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/01/18/3330997/smud-will-build-green-facility.html



BP Hydrogen Power Venture With Abu Dhabi Delayed on Carbon Gas
Question: BP Plc said a proposed $2 billion hydrogen power plant
in Abu Dhabi is delayed at least three years to await the
sheikdom’s decision on whether to use carbon dioxide produced by
the plant to help boost oil output.  
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-18/bp-hydrogen-power-joint-venture-awaits-decision-by-abu-dhabi.html


Vehicles

Toyota Advances Hydrogen Fuel Cell Plans Amid Industry's
Battery-Car Push: Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest seller
of hybrid vehicles, said it’s on schedule to sell hydrogen cars
by 2015 or sooner in California, Japan and Germany as an
alternative to battery-powered models coming to market.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-13/toyota-advances-hydrogen-plans-amid-industry-s-battery-car-push.html


Norwegian EV Automaker Starts Production, in Indiana: It’s not
every day you get to see a factory being set up before your eyes,
but that was the scene in Elkhart, Indiana Wednesday as the
Norwegian electric automaker Think geared up its new U.S.
factory.
http://www.bnet.com/blog/electric-cars/norwegian-ev-automaker-starts-production-in-indiana/2979



Big three Japanese carmakers in ‘green’ push: Japan’s three
largest carmakers have joined forces to promote the adoption of
hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, with a plan to build 100 filling
stations in Japan for the next-generation “green” cars by 2015.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ac949ba6-1f44-11e0-8c1c-00144feab49a.html?ftcamp=rss#axzz1BPIrDQjF



Misc 
The Queen of the Road: Is it easier to fail smog check in
winter?: COMMUTER: Both my wife and I had to get smog checks for
our cars in the past couple of weeks. They both passed, but the
tech told us that our numbers were higher than average for the
low-speed emissions test that they do. My wife's car was
borderline for failing. They got to talking and the tech said
that cars that are smogged in the colder months are much more
likely to fail than those smogged in warmer months. Is this true?
http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_17121484 

Blame industry, not cars, for pollution: A new government study
has broken the popular belief that vehicles are the major source
of Particulate Matter (PM) air pollution. Instead, industrial
emissions and road dust are the prominent causes, says
environment ministry’s Source Appropriation Study in seven big
cities of  India. Particulate matter was the fastest growing
pollutant in most Indian cities but its sources were not known. 
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/651549.aspx 

Opinion

What is the Conservative Solution to Pollution?: When it comes to
health and environmental protections, House Republicans seem
content to remain the "Party of No." In just the first week of
the 112th Congress, they have rolled out bills and a resolution
to block or dismantle standards to reduce harmful air pollution.
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/jwalke/what_is_the_conservative_solut.html


Does climate change explain the Roman Empire's fall? A group of
scientists is adding another explanation for the most
over-determined event in history: climate change. Writing in the
journal Science, the experts claim that Rome's Third Century
Crisis -- a period of political and economic unrest that
inaugurated the empire's slow decline -- coincided with "distinct
drying" recorded in tree rings, which may have rendered European
agriculture less productive.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2011/01/does_climate_change_explain_th.html


Climate change debate may not be just about climate change : 
The debate about climate change isn't so much about whether or
not climate change is happening but what actions to take if it
is. Proponents say we need to quickly switch from oil-based
energy and transportation to renewable energy and electric /
hybrid vehicles, and to cut carbon emissions drastically.
http://caivn.org/article/2011/01/18/climate-change-debate-may-not-be-just-about-climate-change



Blogs

Will new California Governor approve plan for 1 million electric
vehicles? Motivated by Prop 23's defeat in November, Environment
California is working on getting Governor Jerry Brown on board
with a plan to reduce California's dependence on oil by getting
one million clean vehicles on the Golden State's roads by 2022. 
http://green.autoblog.com/2011/01/13/california-governor-approve-plan-1-million-electric-vehicles/