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newsclips -- Newsclips for February 17, 2011.

Posted: 17 Feb 2011 13:03:31
California Air Resources Board News Clips for February 17, 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

Grant Will Help Schools' Indoor Air Quality. An Inland
environmental group has won a $1 million grant that will be used
to improve indoor air quality at four schools and a community
center in neighborhoods polluted by rail yards and diesel truck
traffic. The Center for Community Action and Environmental
Justice will use the money to upgrade heating and air condition
systems with high-tech filters that keep cancer-causing diesel
soot and other air pollutants out of the school buildings.
Posted.
http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_News_Local_D_schoolfilters17.2750338.html

CLIMATE CHANGE

Special Report - The California Carbon Rush. San Francisco
(Reuters) - Under California's new carbon trading system, big
polluters will be paying through the nose for the privilege. And
so will everyone else in the state. The basic premise is "no
pain, no gain" -- when the price starts to pinch, that will spur
innovation and California will lead the world in green
technology. Or at least that's the plan. The Carbon Rush
officially gets underway next year. Power plants, factories and
other companies will have to obtain an "allowance" permit for
every ton of carbon dioxide they produce. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/17/us-california-carbon-idUSTRE71G3R220110217

Democrats Mount Rear-Guard Action Against Republican Assault on
EPA Climate Rules.  House Democrats ratcheted up their defense of
U.S. EPA's climate regulations yesterday as lawmakers debated a
GOP-crafted spending bill that would defund the agency's
regulations on greenhouse gases and chip away at funding for
other environment and climate initiatives.  Posted. 
http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2011/02/17/17climatewire-democrats-mount-rear-guard-action-against-re-29952.html?scp=8&sq=air%20pollution&st=cse

Heavy Rains Linked to Humans.  An increase in heavy precipitation
that has afflicted many countries is at least partly a
consequence of human influence on the atmosphere, climate
scientists reported in a new study.  In the first major paper of
its kind, the researchers used elaborate computer programs that
simulate the climate to analyze whether the rise in severe
rainstorms, heavy snowfalls and similar events could be explained
by natural variability in the atmosphere.  Posted. 
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/science/earth/17extreme.html?_r=1&scp=7&sq=climate%20change&st=cse

Scientists Connect Global Warming To Extreme Rain. Extreme
rainstorms and snowfalls have grown substantially stronger, two
studies suggest, with scientists for the first time finding the
telltale fingerprints of man-made global warming on downpours
that often cause deadly flooding. Two studies in Wednesday's
issue of the journal Nature link heavy rains to increases in
greenhouse gases more than ever before. One group of researchers
looked at the strongest rain and snow events of each year from
1951 to 1999 in the Northern Hemisphere and found that the more
recent storms were 7 percent wetter. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/02/16/national/a100211S31.DTL&type=printable
http://www.nctimes.com/news/science/article_a2626d9f-450f-5b00-8509-4be4e8920836.html

http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/02/16/2274926/scientists-connect-global-warming.html#storylink=misearch

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/16/AR2011021603393.html

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/feb/16/scientists-connect-global-warming-to-extreme-rain/

Munich Re Says Natural Disasters Tripled in Germany Since 1970. 
German insurers' losses from natural catastrophes are rising as
global climate change causes more inundations and storms, Munich
Re said. Weather-related events have more than tripled in the
country over the past 40 years, Peter Hoeppe, who heads the
Munich-based reinsurer's Geo Risks Research Department, told
journalists in Dusseldorf today. A rising trend is also
measurable worldwide, he said. Insurers' claims costs related to
natural disasters rose last year. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/02/16/bloomberg1376-LGR9ZW07SXKX01-282VCFK01POEPBN16I1MGCTKH3.DTL&type=printable

Greenhouse Gas Drop Tied To Technological Advances As Well As
Slumping Economy. The period between 2008 and 2009 saw the
largest decrease in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 20 years,
according to U.S. EPA's Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report. While
the 6 percent decrease correlates with the constriction of the
global economy that followed the financial crisis in 2008, it was
not the only reason for the drop, the report says. Advances in
technology, efficiency and reuse of scrap industrial material
also decreased energy use in key sectors. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/02/17/6

FUELS

Report: Calif. Should Wean Itself Off Foreign Oil. A group of
politicians, academics and business leaders are calling on
California to take bold steps to reduce its dependence on foreign
oil. Former Secretary of State George Shultz and other members of
The California Secure Transportation Energy Partnership cite
turmoil in the Middle East, threats to national security and
climate change as reasons why the state needs new energy sources.
They note that California has increased its oil imports by 10
times over the past decade. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/02/16/state/n135822S88.DTL&type=printable

Obama Effort To Cut U.S. Fossil Fuel Subsidies May Be An Empty
Pledge. With G-20 finance ministers meeting in Paris on Friday,
the Obama administration will aim to prove it is upholding the
United States' end of a global pledge to phase out subsidies for
fossil fuels. But the elimination of $3.6 billion worth of tax
breaks to the oil and gas industry Obama outlined in his proposed
budget this week -- all of which were shot down by Congress for
the past two years -- are again running up against a Republican
political blockade backed by industry. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/02/17/7

RFA Supports CARB Changes To Land Use Penalty, Urges More Study.
In comments submitted Wednesday to the California Air Resources
Board, the Renewable Fuels Association continued to raise
concerns regarding the indirect land use change (ILUC) analysis
used for the state’s Low Carbon Fuels Standard. The comments were
submitted in response to the release of final reports from the
LCFS Expert Workgroup that was assembled to assist CARB in
improving its ILUC analysis. “While we continue to have concerns
with the selective application of indirect greenhouse gas
emissions penalties only to crop-based biofuels… Posted.
http://www.ethanolproducer.com/articles/7521/rfa-supports-carb-changes-to-land-use-penalty-urges-more-study

GREEN ENERGY

Solarcity Expansion Continues On East Coast. SolarCity, a San
Mateo company that leases solar energy systems to homeowners,
will announce today that it is buying the East Coast's largest
residential solar installation business for an undisclosed
amount. The deal is SolarCity's second East Coast purchase in two
months and expands the company's business to 10 states. It also
represents continuing consolidation in the fast-changing solar
industry. SolarCity will buy the residential installation
business of groSolar, based in Vermont. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/02/17/BUNA1HO2NR.DTL&type=printable

UC Davis To Help Navy Reduce Its Energy Use.  The University of
California, Davis, said it will help develop a greener U.S. Navy.
 UC Davis officials and Jackalyne Pfannenstiel, the Navy's
assistant secretary for energy, installations and environment, on
Wednesday announced a new partnership to sharply reduce the
amount of energy that the Navy uses for lighting at its military
installations.  Posted. 
http://www.modbee.com/2011/02/17/1560732/uc-davis-to-help-navy-reduce-its.html

Improved Efficiency Can Be Double-Edged Sword – Study. Increasing
the efficiency of our power systems and gadgets will not
necessarily yield great reductions in energy use and could lead
to using even more juice, according to a study released today by
the liberal Breakthrough Institute. In a new review of energy
efficiency literature, researchers at the Oakland, Calif.-based
think tank found that a "rebound effect" means that implementing
low-cost efficiency improvements can increase overall energy
consumption and can even lead to a higher net energy use in what
they describe as a "backfire effect." Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2011/02/17/4

VEHICLES

California Hopes To Get High-Speed Rail Funds Florida Spurned.
Washington – Florida on Wednesday spurned $2.4 billion in federal
high-speed rail funds, giving California a chance to scoop up
more for itself. Citing project costs and inefficiencies, Florida
Gov. Rick Scott said he was turning down the federal dollars
designed to help build a rapid route connecting Tampa to Orlando.
The move means the Obama administration must now reallocate the
funds. "Thank you, Florida," said Rep. John Garamendi, D-Walnut
Grove. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/02/17/v-print/3409510/california-hopes-to-get-high-speed.html

Air Resources Board Offers $19 Million in Grants for Hybrid
Vehicle Technology.  The Air Resources Board (ARB) this week
announced its second year offering grants totaling $19 million
for hybrid vehicle technology that significantly reduces
smog-forming and greenhouse gas emissions. The Hybrid Truck and
Bus Voucher Incentive Program will provide vouchers on a
first-come, first-served basis to help California fleets purchase
fuel-efficient hybrid medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. At least
$2 million of these funds will be set aside for California public
fleets to increase the number of hybrid vehicles, ARB says.
Posted.
http://www.aftermarketnews.com/Item/84474/air_resources_board_offers_19_million_in_grants_for_hybrid_vehicle_technology.aspx
http://www.truckinginfo.com/clean-green/news-detail.asp?news_id=73016&news_category_id=63

MISCELLANEOUS

LCV Releases Environmental Scorecard. Even as environmental
groups face their toughest legislative challenges in years, the
League of Conservation Voters today released its latest
environmental scorecard, a look back on votes during the second
half of the 111th Congress that revealed a lackluster end to a
promising beginning. In a conference call with reporters to
announce the group's ratings, LCV's Senior Vice President of
Government Affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld said while the start of the
111th Congress began well, it was an "incredibly disappointing
second session." Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2011/02/17/7

OPINION

Securing California’s Energy Future. For the first time since
2008, the price of oil recently increased to more than $100 per
barrel amid concerns that protests in Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan
could lead to supply disruptions from the oil-rich Middle East.
The price has since dropped to about $84 a barrel, but it remains
clear that our heavy dependence on imported oil makes the
situation thousands of miles away in the Middle East today an
issue of great concern to all of us here in California. Posted.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/feb/17/securing-californias-energy-future/

Elias: Carbon-Trading Critics Are Wrong, State Is Far From Alone.
Because Republicans in Congress have steadfastly stymied attempts
to get the federal government to act against global warming and
climate change, critics of California's new carbon trading rules
usually get little contradiction when they insist those
regulations will see this state going it alone and putting itself
at an economic disadvantage. But they're wrong, at least in large
part. For California isn't going it alone at all. Posted.
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/feb/16/elias-carbon-trading-critics-are-wrong-state-is/?print=1

KIRK: Green Jobs And Hot Air.  President Obama's recent State of
the Union Address reprised the "green jobs" theme that he
constantly touted in his 2008 campaign as the key to America's
economic future. Those stump speeches were regularly punctuated
with references to the great job Spain was doing in this arena. 
At least candidate Obama's misguided economic assessment occurred
before the release of a 2009 study by a research team from
Madrid's King Juan Carlos University that concluded Spain's green
energy programs destroyed twice as many private sector jobs as
they created.  Posted. 
http://www.nctimes.com/news/opinion/columnists/kirk/article_4c428c5c-97c5-5f89-afe7-c652898db33c.html


BRYCE: ‘Absolute Madness’ Of Biofuels.  Last month, Peter
Brabeck, the chairman of the Swiss food giant Nestle, declared
that using food crops to make biofuels was “absolute madness.” 
The epicenter of that madness is the U.S. corn-ethanol sector.
This year, it will consume 40 percent of all U.S. corn - that’s
about 15 percent of global corn production or 5 percent of all
global grain - in order to produce a volume of motor fuel with
the energy equivalent of about 0.6 percent of global oil needs. 
Posted. 
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/feb/16/obamas-green-power-builds-chinas-red-power/?page=1

BLOGS

A Harder Rain’s Gonna Fall (and Already Is).  Bursts of extreme
precipitation have occurred through the ages. Just review  this
2002 study for clear evidence going back several millenniums in
the northeastern United States.  But for the first time, a
thorough analysis has concluded with nary a caveat that a rise in
heavy precipitation episodes — rain and snow — across most of
North America in the second half of the 20th century cannot be
explained without a significant push from the human-driven
buildup of greenhouse gases.  Posted. 
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/a-harder-rains-gonna-fall-and-already-is/?scp=10&sq=climate%20change&st=cse


Modifying California’s Petroleum Diet.  We suggest you take the
greenhouse-gas reduction framework enshrined in your landmark
2006 legislation and substitute the word “petroleum” wherever the
original text made reference to “greenhouse gases.” We believe
that policy will make the state stronger economically, improve
national security by making us less dependent on the oil
merchants of the increasingly unstable Middle East, create
fertile ground for clean-tech investments and coin the phrase
“patriot state” while making California the first to earn that
title.  Posted. 
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/modifying-californias-petroleum-diet/?scp=6&sq=Fuels&st=cse

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