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California Air Resources Board News Clips for August 1, 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

Coal, Power Plants Blamed For Almost Half Of Industrial Air
Pollution.  The most toxic air pollution from coal- and oil-fired
power plants can be found in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida,
according to a new study released by the nonprofit Natural
Resources Defense Council and Physicians for Social
Responsibility.  The study, "Toxic Power: How Power Plants
Contaminate Our Air and States," used public data from the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency's Toxics Release Inventory, a
national database of toxic emissions reported by industrial
sources.  Posted. 
http://www.contracostatimes.com/fdcp?unique=1312223211915

EPA Targets Air Pollution From Gas Drilling Boom.
Washington—Faced with a natural gas drilling boom that has
sullied the air in some parts of the country, the Environmental
Protection Agency on Thursday proposed for the first time to
control air pollution at oil and gas wells, particularly those
drilled using a method called hydraulic fracturing. Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_18568957

CLIMATE CHANGE

NJ Figures In Dispute Over Cap-And-Trade Success.  New Jersey's
expected pullout from a 10-state pact to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions is among the latest developments in a nationwide
dispute over whether cap-and-trade programs work and what
limitations states should place on energy producers to curb the
heat-trapping gases blamed for global warming.  Posted. 
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CAP_AND_TRADE?SITE=ILMOL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
 
AP Newsbreak:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal-government/nj-figures-in-dispute-nationwide-over-cap-and-trade-to-reduce-greenhouse-gas-emissions/2011/07/30/gIQAFhDWjI_story.html
http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/07/30/2483019/nj-figures-in-dispute-over-cap.html#storylink=misearch
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/jul/30/nj-figures-in-dispute-over-cap-and-trade-success/

How Business Thrives in a 'Carbon Nation' I met Peter Byck in
2008, when he was making his documentary “Carbon Nation,” which
focuses on climate-change solutions happening today from people
of all occupations and political stripes -- some of whom don't
even believe in climate change. (I have a cameo role in the
film.) It’s an upbeat, business-focused film that aims to be
non-preachy and non-partisan about how the U.S. can achieve
national and energy security while promoting health and a clean
environment. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/01/idUS36044842620110801

Obstacles to Capturing Carbon Gas.  Can the world use fossil
fuels and protect the climate too?  That is the goal of carbon
capture and sequestration, which is a process for trapping carbon
dioxide before it reaches the atmosphere and then pumping it
underground, or under the seabed.  The process is already used by
oil and natural gas companies like BP and Statoil at sites like
In Salah, Algeria.  Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/01/business/global/obstacles-to-capturing-carbon-gas.html?scp=6&sq=fuels&st=cse


Skeptic's Small Cloud Study Renews Climate Rancor. A study on how
much heat in Earth's atmosphere is caused by cloud cover has
heated up the climate change blogosphere even as it is dismissed
by many scientists. Several mainstream climate scientists call
the study's conclusions off-base and overstated. Climate change
skeptics, most of whom are not scientists, are touting the study,
saying it blasts gaping holes in global warming theory and shows
that future warming will be less than feared. Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_18577860

Climate Scientists Blow Gaping Hole In ‘NASA Data’ Paper.  The
climate denier blogosphere is going mad over a new paper that
supposedly "should dramatically alter the global warming debate"
by showing that "far less heat is being trapped than alarmist
computer models have predicted." Posted. 
http://www.grist.org/climate-skeptics/2011-07-29-climate-scientists-blow-gaping-hole-in-nasa-data-paper-by-ideolo

FUELS

New Mileage Standards Aim For Less Fuel, Pollution.  President
Barack Obama and automakers ushered in what could be the largest
cut in fuel consumption since the 1970s on Friday with a deal
that would save drivers money at the pump and dramatically cut
heat-trapping gases coming from tailpipes.  The agreement pledges
to double overall fuel economy to 54.5 mpg by 2025, bringing even
greater under-the-hood changes to the nation's autos starting in
model year 2017 and introduce more electric and hybrid technology
to pickup trucks.  Posted. 
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBAMA_FUEL_ECONOMY?SITE=VAWAY&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
 
AP Newsbreak:
http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/07/29/2482210/new-mileage-standards-aim-for.html#storylink=misearch
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/jul/29/president-to-announce-deal-to-boost-fuel-economy/
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110729/A_NEWS/110729870&cid=sitesearch

Obama Fuel-Use Goal Puts Automakers Ahead of Pace: Cars. When
President Barack Obama proposed new fuel-economy standards today,
he set a pace that's more aggressive than the industry has
managed in the past four years -- or for any sustained period in
the last 100. With the introduction of cars such Nissan Motor
Co.'s electric Leaf and the proliferation of Toyota Motor Corp.'s
hybrid Prius, fuel efficiency has gained almost 2 percent a year
on average since 2007, according to U.S. data. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/07/31/bloomberg1376-LP2KUQ0D9L3501-7O6NGEG4NO0E8255FRAH978O83.DTL&type=printable

Obama, Auto Industry Agree On Tough Mileage Improvement. Aligning
themselves with California in its fight against global warming,
the Obama administration and automakers on Friday announced an
agreement to dramatically increase mileage standards and cut
greenhouse gas emissions from new cars by about half in the next
15 years. The average new car in 2025 would get overall gas
mileage of 54.5 miles per gallon in 2025, compared with nearly 30
mpg today. Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_18578961

VEHICLES

Fuel Cells Not Practical Until 2020 Or Later -- GM CEO. General
Motors Co. Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson again pushed back his
company's timeline for bringing vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel
cells to the market yesterday. In an interview with CNN's Fareed
Zakaria, Akerson said GM is continuing to study the technology,
which it has been testing for more than a decade, but he does not
think it will become practical until 2020 at the earliest. "We're
looking at hydrogen fuel cells, which have no carbon emissions,
zero. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2011/08/01/9
BY PAID SUBSCRIPTION

GREEN ENERGY

Germany Sees Thousands of Miles of New Power Lines on Its Road to
Renewable Energy. A "no-nuclear" Germany would have to build more
than 2,800 miles of new high-voltage transmission lines to
achieve its new goal of doubling its current renewable power
capacity to reach 35 percent by 2020. And it would have to keep
building from there, according to analyses of its new national
energy plan adopted in July. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2011/08/01/01climatewire-germany-sees-thousands-of-miles-of-new-power-43095.html?pagewanted=print

Museum Shows History and Power of Wind Energy.  A century ago,
Texas was covered with windmills, which pumped water from
aquifers so cattle could drink and gardens could grow. Thousands
of these old-style models still exist in remote pastures, but in
recent years far taller and more powerful turbines have sprouted
atop western mesas, transforming this oil and gas state into the
national leader in wind-generated electrical power.  This
evolution is on display at the American Wind Power Center in
Lubbock, which bills itself as the world’s largest windmill
museum.  Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/31/us/31ttwindmill.html 

NASA Going Green With Solar-Powered Jupiter Probe. Cape
Canaveral, Fla. -- NASA's upcoming mission to Jupiter can't get
much greener than this: a solar-powered, windmill-shaped
spacecraft. The robotic explorer Juno is set to become the most
distant probe ever powered by the sun. Juno is equipped with
three tractor-trailer-size solar panels for its 2 billion-mile
journey into the outer solar system. Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_18594251

Coming Together To Pray, And Find Reduced-Rate Energy Deals. 
Like manna from heaven, thousands of dollars in new revenue is
raining on a group of congregations here from the unlikeliest of
sources: the utility bill.  The windfall arose after 11 churches
and a nonprofit youth group got together to solicit reduced-rate
bids for electricity -- most of it from renewable energy sources
-- from local suppliers. In the first year of its contract, which
ends in May, the group expects combined savings of nearly
$100,000.  Posted.  http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_18586933

California Still Green. The state that started it all --
California – is still at it. The Golden State, which started the
modern renewable energy era and now has the most aggressive
program in the country, is still at it. The state that started it
all -- California – is still at it. The Golden State, which
started the modern renewable energy era and now has the most
aggressive program in the country, is still at it. A new survey
by the Public Policy Institute of California [3] (PPIC) was just
released. Posted. http://www.renewablesbiz.com/print/230153

MISCELLANEOUS

Garden Project Sets New Green-Energy Standards.  Developers say
the Gardens by the Bay project in Singapore, estimated to cost 1
billion Singaporean dollars, or $810 million, will set new
standards for using sustainable energy in an integrated power
system.  A showpiece of Singapore's Garden by the Bay will be 18
manmade trees whose steel trunks will be vertical gardens planted
with indigenous ferns, orchids and other climbers.    Posted. 
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/29/business/global/garden-project-sets-new-green-energy-standards.html?scp=2&sq=green%20energy&st=cse


EPA To Consider New Tests On Bisphenol A. The Environmental
Protection Agency announced July 26 that it is seeking public
comment on possible toxicity testing and environmental sampling
for bisphenol A. Also called BPA, the chemical is used as a
plastics hardener. Many products that are clear and also plastic
often have BPA. They include eyeglasses, toys, cases and more.
The chemical is also used as a protective food can lining. It's
used in epoxy paints and coatings. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/08/01/v-print/3808257/epa-to-consider-new-tests-on-bisphenol.html

OPINIONS

Commentary: California's Fuel Economy Triumph Deserves Praise. In
a stunning turnaround, most of the American and foreign auto
industry has agreed to strict nationwide fuel standards that will
double gasoline mileage by 2025. On Friday, President Barack
Obama, the state of California and major automakers – with the
notable exceptions of Volkswagen and Daimler, which makes
Mercedes – announced the accord covering models starting in 2017
and extending through 2025. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/08/01/v-print/3808806/commentary-californias-fuel-economy.html
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/07/31/v-print/3804654/california-deserves-credit-for.html

Mercury News Editorial: Thank California For New U.S. Fuel
Standards. When President Barack Obama announced an agreement to
double fuel-economy requirements Friday, standing with him were
industry executives and environmental, public health and labor
leaders, all of whom, remarkably, had signed off on the deal. But
the real credit for this historic achievement, which is expected
to cut oil consumption by 1.5 million barrels per day and
eliminate half of all carbon pollution nationwide, doesn't go to
the White House. Instead, thank California. Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_18579788
http://www.contracostatimes.com/opinion/ci_18579507
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_18579505?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com

Mercury News Editorial: Delta Is Highly Vulnerable To Climate
Change. Palo Alto Sen. Joe Simitian calls the San
Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta "California's Katrina waiting to
happen." Climatologist Heidi Cullen, in a National Public Radio
interview last week, identified the Delta as one of the five
regions in the nation most vulnerable to climate change. She said
with conviction that "California's water supply is ... at
tremendous risk." Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/fdcp?unique=1312224577162

Small Country That Became A Big Leader. For the last 200 years,
the United States has been considered the engine of the world’s
progress. While traveling the world I’ve noticed that each
continent has its own character – Europe is history and culture,
Africa is nature and wildlife, and North America is technology
and progress. Posted.
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2011/08/01/small-country-that-became-a-big-leader/

Sizing Up Obama's Fuel Economy Standards. Do President Obama's
vehicle fuel-economy standards strike the right balance? Last
week, the White House announced a deal with the nation's
automakers to ramp up the standards 65 percent by 2025, from the
current 35.5 miles per gallon to 54.5 mpg. Posted.
http://energy.nationaljournal.com/2011/08/sizing-up-obamas-fuel-economy.php?rss=1

BLOGS

Jerry Brown Declares Detroit ‘Finally’ On Board On Air Standards.
Gov. Jerry Brown declared Friday that "the auto companies have
finally come on board" in support of tough air pollution
standards California has long pushed. Brown made his comments in
a conference call to reporters, where he praised the Obama
administration's announcement that auto makers had agreed to
double the fuel economy standards of vehicles sold in the United
States to a fleet-wide average of 54.5 miles per gallon by the
year 2025. Posted.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2011/07/jerry-brown-declares-detroit-has-finally-come-on-board.html

Gas Must Hit $4.50 To Make Electric Cars Cost-Effective.  Harvard
University’s Belfer Center has released a study arguing that
Americans will eventually buy electric cars, but for now the
green vehicles remain more expensive than conventional
gas-powered automobiles, even when gasoline is taken into
account.  Due to the high cost of electric car batteries, the
study authors, Henry Lee and Grant Lovellette, allowed that
electric vehicles currently cost between $4819-$5377 more than
conventional vehicles over the life of the car.  Posted. 
http://www.sfexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2011/07/gas-must-hit-450-make-electric-cars-cost-effective#ixzz1TlvPqt7I

California's Air Board Bows To The US Navy. California is
posturing over the use of low sulfur in main and auxiliary
engines. Industry technocrats say that the Air Resources Board
has bowed to pressure from the Navy to "get commercial ships the
heck out of the Point  Mugu missile range" and so has extended
the boundary of the enforced use of low sulfur to 24 nautical
miles BEYOND the Channel Islands (Santa Catalina and the rest of
the eight islands). The aim is to get ships back into the Santa
Barbara Channel. Posted.
http://www.maritimeprofessional.com/Blogs/Martin-Rushmere/July-2011/California-s-air-board-bows-to-the-US-Navy.aspx

President Obama Announces 54.5 Mpge, 163 Gco2/Mile Target For
MY2025 Light-Duty Vehicles; California On Board.  President
Barack Obama announced an agreement with 13 major automakers to
pursue the next phase in the Administration’s national vehicle
program (earlier post), increasing fuel economy to a fleetwide
average 54.5 mpge (miles per gallon equivalent) (4.32 L/100km) or
163 g/mile of CO2for cars and light-duty trucks by Model Year
2025.  Posted. 
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2011/07/obama-20110729.html