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California Air Resources Board News Clips for April 6, 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

Wood-Burning Power Plants -- Carbon-Neutral Or High Carbon
Emitters? Environmental groups yesterday pressed U.S. EPA to
backtrack on its plans to exempt biomass from climate regulations
for the next three years, arguing that such a step would prompt
more fuel switching to biomass and spark an uptick in unregulated
carbon emissions. The Natural Resources Defense Council and
Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) opposed a proposed rule
from EPA that would allow facilities burning woody waste,
landfills and ethanol facilities to be exempt from carbon
regulations for the next three years. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/04/06/5

CLIMATE CHANGE

U.N. Climate Talks Risk Backsliding On Cancun Outcome. Bangkok
(Reuters) - Arguments over the agenda that have stalled U.N.
climate talks in Bangkok this week show that some nations are
trying to row back from hard-won agreements reached last
December, Russia said on Wednesday. The December deal in Cancun
included a Green Climate Fund to manage $100 billion a year in
aid to poor nations by 2020 and to limit a rise in average world
temperatures to less than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) over
pre-industrial times. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/06/us-climate-talks-russia-idUSTRE7353JZ20110406

Lawsuit Must Not Derail Greenhouse Gas Regulations. California's
first-in-the-nation global warming law, AB32, is in jeopardy
following a San Francisco Superior Court ruling recently. The
setback can't be allowed to derail the legislation aimed at
cutting greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 and
making California more energy efficient. Judge Ernest Goldsmith
told the California Air Resources Board to more thoroughly
analyze alternatives to the cap-and-trade program it adopted last
year to reach the goals of AB32. Posted.
http://www.dailydemocrat.com/editorial/ci_17781999

Does Cap-And-Trade Work? Still A Work In Progress. In these days
of concern over global warming, a cement factory in southern
Belgium is abandoning coal and moving to more unorthodox fuels:
old tires, plastics, sewage sludge, city garbage, ground cattle
bones. The result is less carbon dioxide wafting from the
smokestack - and in Europe, less carbon is worth more cash under
a much vaunted EU scheme that allows industries to swap CO2
pollution rights just like any commodity. So, has cap-and-trade
actually dented Europe's greenhouse gas emissions? Views vary,
but an evaluation today shows that the system has so far
delivered more promise than results. But gradually, most analysts
say, it is changing the way Europeans manufacture goods, produce
energy and conduct business. Posted.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/04/06/v-print/2153064/does-cap-and-trade-work-still.html

DIESEL EMISSIONS

$106 Million Available To Owners Of Big Rigs. The Air Resources
Board in coordination with six local air districts is offering
$106 million in grant funding to help qualified diesel truck
owners upgrade or replace their vehicles, including $44.7 million
for the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.
Projects selected for funding include upgrades or replacements
that achieve the greatest emission reductions per state dollar
and also achieve early or extra emission reductions not required
by law or regulation. The program, supported by $1 billion in
voter-approved Proposition 1B bonds, has already awarded $230
million to clean up heavy-duty trucks over the past 2 years.
Posted.
http://www.recorderonline.com/news/air-48385-million-owners.html

FUELS

U.S. EIA Boosts Global Gas Resource Estimate By 40 Percent. The
U.S. government increased its estimate of the world's recoverable
natural gas resources by more than 40 percent yesterday after
making its initial assessments of 48 shale gas basins in 32
countries. New gas resources could be massive if the
unconventional basins are drilled, said the U.S. Energy
Information Administration (EIA) in a 300-page initial report on
energy prospects that have the potential to significantly change
the global energy picture. According to EIA, the estimates are
likely to change -- and get bigger. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/04/06/3

VEHICLES

A Program To Help Electric Cars Conserve Their Batteries. A
Department of Energy researcher has found a way to prolong the
life of a hybrid car's battery: It must be programmed to think
like a distance runner. The technology would get more life out of
a battery by mimicking a runner who paces himself, using exactly
the right amount of energy for his trip -- not sprinting at the
start and panting to the finish. A plug-in hybrid like the
Chevrolet Volt can run its first 40 miles on battery power alone,
but to go any farther, it needs gasoline. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/04/06/6

Toyota Sells 1M Priuses in U.S. Toyota announced today that it
has sold 1 million Prius hybrid vehicles in the United States.
The company said the gas- and electric-powered Prius has been the
top-selling hybrid since it hit the market 11 years ago. The car
gets up to 51 mpg in the city and 48 on the highway. Worldwide,
the company has sold more than 2 million Priuses. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2011/04/06/23

GREEN ENERGY

Solar Power Vendors Bullish About U.S.; Wind Power Companies Less
So. New York -- Alternative energy company executives predict
more sunny days ahead for the solar power industry, while wind
power project developers are less optimistic. But wind
manufacturers say that by and large, they are not too worried
about the downturn in their industry. They say the marketplace
has risen to a scale that offers enough future business
opportunities, even with a depressed market in the United States.
Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/04/06/4

OPINION

Climate Change Hoax. Re: Your April 5 Article, “Snowy Plover
Critical Habitat May Be Doubled”: The reason the global-climate
panic industry changed the name of the swindle from “global
warming” to “climate change” is that no statistically significant
abnormal global warming or sea level rise has ever been proved.
Independent researchers have demonstrated gross errors in data
collection, data analysis and calibration in the so-called
science of warming. Posted.
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/apr/06/climate-change-hoax/?print=1

BLOGS

Nuclear Plants, Blackouts And Carbon Capture At FORTUNE
Conference. The U.S. must shore up its backup power
infrastructure to avoid the electricity shortages that roiled
Japan following the devastating earthquake and tsunami, a key
federal energy official said Tuesday. “We take electricity for
granted in a lot of ways,” said Philip Moeller, commissioner of
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, at a conference in Dana
Point. “Right now, we’re vulnerable.” Posted.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2011/04/preparing-the-electricity-network-for-a-catastrophe-and-getting-off-coal-at-dana-point-conference.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GreenspaceEnvironmentBlog+%28Greenspace%29

Solar Panel Manufacturing And Disposal -- Is It Green And Safe?
Major solar companies aren’t just prioritizing market share and
installed megawatts these days, according to a study contending
that the environmental and health effects of photovoltaic panels
are also becoming a major consideration. In its most recent Solar
Scorecard, the nonprofit advocacy group Silicon Valley Toxics
Coalition ranked international solar manufacturers on factors
such as extraction of the raw materials, toxic chemical use in
production, worker safety issues, product disposal and recycling
and more. German company SolarWorld nabbed the top score of 91,
followed by Trina Solar in China. Posted.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2011/04/solar-panel-manufacturing-and-disposal-is-it-green-and-safe.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GreenspaceEnvironmentBlog+%28Greenspace%29