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California Air Resources Board News Clips for March 2, 2011.  


This is a service of the California Air Resources Board’s Office
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individual websites to view some of the following news articles.

AIR POLLUTION

Study: Cleaner Air Could Add Years To Your Life. Reducing air
pollution in major European cities could add 22 months to local
life expectancy and save 31.5 billion euros ($43.4 billion) in
health costs and work absenteeism, concludes a European
Commission-funded study released Wednesday. The nearly three-year
study found such health and economic savings could result if fine
particulate pollution was reduced to the level recommended by the
World Health Organization, which is 10 micrograms per cubic
meter. Posted.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2011/03/air-pollution-life-expectancy/1

CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate Change To Drive Up Food Prices – Expert. Canberra -
Global food prices are likely to keep rising as production
struggles to match demand and extreme weather events become more
frequent, a climate-change advisor to the Australian government
said on Wednesday. Ross Garnaut told an agricultural outlook
conference that more severe weather events were inevitable; given
climate change was "already in the system". "There is going to be
a growing intensity of adverse weather events so there is a need
to respond to this," he said. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/sns-rt-farm-weatherl3e7e204v-20110302,0,3548180,print.story

Japan Wants New CO2 Offset Scheme To Complement U.N. * Japan
wants bilateral deals to offset emissions* Existing U.N. offset
scheme needs improvement -envoy* U.N. climate official wary of
bilateral schemes. Japan's idea for a new carbon offset scheme
would complement an existing U.N. mechanism and make it easier
for developing countries to access clean-energy technology from
Japan, a senior climate envoy said on Wednesday. Japan has
pressed ahead with plans for bilateral deals in which it invests
in clean energy projects in developing countries, in exchange for
credits to meet part of targets to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions at home. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/sns-rt-climatejapantoe72103t-20110302,0,4008105,print.story

Reuters Science News Summary. Following is a summary of current
science news briefs. Extreme winter weather linked to climate
change. Washington (Reuters) - This winter's heavy snowfalls and
other extreme storms could well be related to increased moisture
in the air due to global climate change, a panel of scientists
said on Tuesday. This extra moisture is likely to bring on
extraordinary flooding with the onset of spring in the Northern
Hemisphere, as deep snowpack melts and expected heavy rains add
to seasonal run-off, the scientists said in a telephone briefing.
Astronauts install last U.S. room on space station. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/sns-rt-sciencen02207054-20110302,0,7158176,print.story

INTERVIEW-CO2 Farming Could Help Australia Brake Emissions * Tree
planting, better farm practices key to climate fight * Carbon
offsets set to be new source of cash for farmers * Government
hopes to launch farm CO2 market in July. Australia's farms and
vast outback could help cut or offset up to a fifth of the
economy's greenhouse gas emissions, a senior scientist says, as
the government struggles to put a price on carbon pollution. The
country is a major coal exporter and consumer and is among the
highest per-capita producers of planet-warming carbon emissions
in the rich world. And those emissions are rising from an economy
fuelled by a resources boom and soaring wealth. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/sns-rt-australia-carbonlanl3e7e20ad-20110302,0,1134887,print.story

Survey: Pollution Down Because Of Cap And Trade. Amsterdam,
Netherlands. The European system for putting a price on carbon
emissions is gaining wider acceptance and is making a small dent
in the amount big energy companies are polluting, according to a
survey of more than 2,500 companies released Tuesday. But the
reductions were only marginal, and the cap and trade program
adopted six years ago will only begin to bite when it enters its
next period in 2013, analysts said. Under the cap-and-trade
system, about 12,000 companies are allocated permits that limit
how much greenhouse gases they can emit. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/03/01/international/i110345S16.DTL&type=printable

House Revisits Battle Over GHG Regulations. Rep. Ed Whitfield
(R-KY.) yesterday boiled down the highly polarized energy debate
to six words: "fossil fuels bad, clean energy good." In reality,
the landscape is more complex, he said. Coal will still be needed
in the future, even as green energy solutions, natural gas and
nuclear power become part of the mix. Despite the intricacies of
the debate before the House Energy and Commerce Committee
yesterday, Republicans and Democrats struck familiar notes.
Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/03/02/2

Understanding Future Climate -- Between A Rock And A Hot Place.
The keys to understanding future climate change may be locked in
rocks and sediments that act as records of conditions millions or
billions of years ago, the National Academy of Sciences said
yesterday. Without steep cuts to the world's greenhouse gas
output, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could soar
by the end of the century to a level not seen for 34 million
years. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/03/02/3
 
Carbon Traders See Europe's Emissions Trading System Making
Progress, Despite Thefts. Amsterdam -- A majority of carbon
market participants say the European Union's Emissions Trading
System (ETS) has already reduced carbon pollution. The perception
of the market's maturity and efficiency has improved since last
year, they say, despite well-publicized instances of thefts of
carbon permits, according to a yearly survey conducted by Thomson
Reuters Point Carbon. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/03/02/6

FUELS

Ethanol Law Reform Could Save $5.7 Billion Per Year: GAO.
Washington (Reuters) - Reform of U.S. ethanol incentives could
save up to $5.7 billion a year, a congressional watchdog said on
Tuesday as ethanol critics called on Congress to let the tax
breaks expire at the end of this year. In an examination of
federal spending, the Government Accountability Office said the
ethanol tax credit and a federal law requiring use of biofuels
"can be duplicative ... and can result in substantial loss of
revenue." Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/01/us-usa-ethanol-idUSTRE7207XV20110301

SOFTS-Sugar Jumps On Ethanol Outlook, Cocoa Consolidates. New
York/London. Sugar futures shot up Wednesday due to strong oil
prices which could prompt top producer Brazil to funnel more cane
into ethanol and further exacerbating already tight supplies in
the market. Brent crude edged closer to 2-1/2-year highs on as
Libyanleader Muammar Gaddafi vowed to resist to the end a
rebellion against his regime and his top oil official warned of
higher oil prices. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/sns-rt-markets-softs-updatlde7211dp-20110302,0,737078,print.story

Industry Foes Push To End Subsidies As Trade Group Decries EPA
Report. An odd-bedfellows coalition of ethanol opponents
yesterday called on lawmakers to drop the most expensive
subsidies for corn ethanol, by letting a multibillion-dollar tax
credit expire and turning away industry calls for new
infrastructure spending that would support expanded use of
existing biofuels. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2011/03/02/15

GREEN ENERGY

Terra Firma Capital May Invest Almost $700 Million in Clean
Energy in 2011. Guy Hands’s Terra Firma Capital Partners Ltd. may
invest as much as 500 million euros ($692 million) in clean
energy this year as low interest rates and rising oil prices make
the industry more attractive. The British private equity firm’s
founder said he earmarked 300 million euros to 500 million euros
for renewable energy in his TFCP III fund, which raised 5.4
billion euros in 2007. Hands, 51, is looking at onshore wind
projects and anaerobic digestion technology, which converts waste
to energy. “Clean energy was bubble-like in the U.S. about five
years ago,” Hands said in an interview in the Channel Islands.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2011-03-02/guy-hands-earmarks-692-million-for-clean-energy-investments-as-oil-jumps.html

VEHICLES

Coda Automative Reaffirms Goal of Selling Electric Cars From
Second Half. Coda Automotive Inc., the electric carmaker backed
by billionaire Philip Falcone, reaffirmed its on schedule to
starting sales of its electric car in the second half of this
year in California. The cars will be sold at an “unbelievable
value,” Chief Executive Officer Philip Murtaugh said at a
briefing in Beijing today. “We only have one car to worry about.
It will keep us completely focused on the electric-vehicle
business.” Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2011-03-02/coda-automative-reaffirms-goal-of-selling-electric-cars-from-second-half.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703559604576175862051307644.html
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hgHbM4L7NJcQg8Ufias8YEMCUpEQ?docId=6e946ae6149d453b9ec3802e3b9eaf15
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/03/02/business-as-china-us-electric-cars_8333719.html

California Firm To Sell China-Made Electric Cars. Beijing -- A
startup California developer of electric cars said Wednesday its
first model will be manufactured in China and go on sale in the
United States this year. CODA Automotive Inc.'s four-door sedan
will be produced by a Chinese partner based on one of its models
that has been adapted for electric drive and to meet U.S. safety
standards, said CODA's CEO, Philip F. Murtaugh. He said CODA will
produce batteries in China with another partner and supply
technology and engineering skills. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/03/02/v-print/3442510/california-firm-to-sell-china.html

Ford Recalls Vehicles Over Fuel Leaks. Washington -- Ford Motor
Co. on Wednesday recalled about 35,000 pickup trucks and
crossover vehicles in the U.S. and Canada because of possible
fuel leaks and electrical shorts that could lead to fires.
Ford said the recall includes about 25,000 2010 Ranger pickups
and involves fixing potential problems with the fuel line that
could lead to a fuel leak and a fire. Separately, Ford is
recalling more than 9,000 trucks and crossovers to fix a software
problem that could lead to an electrical short and overheating,
potentially causing a fire. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/03/02/v-print/3443075/ford-recalls-vehicles-over-fuel.html

Calif.’s Global Warming Targets May Cut Light Truck Sales.
Automakers may forego as much as $4 billion a year in light truck
sales to prevent states led by California from setting their own
mileage standards, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. The Environmental
Protection Agency is proposing that automakers boost the average
fuel economy of their fleets to 47 to 62 mpg by 2025. Last fall,
EPA announced the first-ever standards to improve fuel efficiency
of heavy-duty trucks and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which
are scheduled to take effect in the 2014 model year, with a
second round of targets in place in 2018. Posted.
http://www.ttnews.com/articles/printnews.aspx?storyid=26214

With Calif. Likely To Set U.S. Sales Pace, Questions Arise About
Grid Capacity. Californians are poised to buy more electric cars
over the next four years than the next three state markets
combined, according to a study from the Center for Automotive
Research. By 2015, California should be selling close to 35,000
pure electrics and plug-in electrics each year, with more than
110,000 such vehicles registered and on the road. That compares
to fewer than 26,000 total registrations by 2015 in Texas, New
York and Florida combined. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2011/03/02/2

MISCELLANEOUS

GAO Audit Hits Agencies for Uncoordinated, Inefficient Programs.
Despite U.S. EPA and six other federal agencies spending more
than $1.4 billion to provide clean drinking water in the
U.S.-Mexico border region, the effort remains ineffective. That
is just one finding in a new report today from the Government
Accountability Office, which released the first of what will be
an annual list of duplicative government programs. The report
(pdf), which GAO said is not meant to be a comprehensive list,
identifies 34 areas where federal agencies have overlapping
objectives or provide similar services to the same populations.
Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2011/03/01/01greenwire-gao-audit-hits-agencies-for-uncoordinated-ineff-2671.html?pagewanted=print

BLOGS

Cal. Climate Zombies On Mars. The media has largely lost interest
in the so-called "controversy" over climate science, probably
because there more stories about unusual weather, failed crops
and Pacific islanders decamping for terra firma. But denial
persists — particularly in the House of Representatives, where
"climate zombies" abound. California's own Dana Rohrabacher
(R-Riverside) decided yesterday to hash (tag) it out with the
Union of Concerned Scientists. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/green/detail?entry_id=84095