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newsclips -- Newsclips for August 3, 2011.

Posted: 03 Aug 2011 14:17:52
California Air Resources Board News Clips for August 3, 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

NASA's Eyes In The Sky Study Pollution On Earth. NASA, the agency
best known for exploring space, is trying to answer some urgent
questions about air pollution right here on Earth. For much of
July, the agency flew research planes between Washington, D.C.
and Baltimore as part of a mission known as DISCOVER-AQ. The
planes, along with weather balloons and ground stations, were
gathering data on how pollutants such as ozone and particulates
behave in the atmosphere. Posted.
http://www.npr.org/2011/08/03/138890522/nasas-eyes-in-the-sky-study-pollution-on-earth

House Bill Seeks To Delay EPA Emissions Rules For Cement Makers.
The cement industry is pushing legislation to relax U.S. EPA
rules for controlling pollution from Portland cement plants. The
"Cement Sector Regulatory Relief Act" (H.R. 2681) was introduced
Thursday by Reps. John Sullivan (R-Okla.) and Mike Ross (D-Ark.),
calling for an extension to the implementation of the National
Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs).
Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/08/01/5 BY
PAID SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

CLIMATE CHANGE

Does A 'Cultural Divide' Between Science And Journalism Confuse
The Public About Climate Change? With public belief in climate
change declining, the issue of media communication has caused
enough concern for the scientific community to take action with a
new monthly column in Nature Geoscience aimed at bridging the
chasm between journalists and scientists. "A cultural divide
separates science from the media," wrote the editors of the
journal, citing it as the motivation for the column. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/08/01/2 Posted. 

Debt And (Carbon) Taxes: Obama’s Last Chance For Climate
Redemption.  One of the silliest headlines to come out of the
debt ceiling postmortems comes from ClimateWire (sub req): Debt
deal, promising energy budget cuts, appear to chill hopes for a
carbon tax.  How exactly do you chill something that has been
frozen near absolute zero?  In fact, in my reading, the debt deal
actually warmed up hopes for a carbon tax from those liquid
helium temperatures to at least liquid nitrogen temperatures --
you know, around -321 degrees F.  Posted. 
http://www.grist.org/energy-policy/2011-08-03-debt-and-carbon-taxes-obamas-last-chance-for-climate-redemption

Here’s How The Debt Deal Could Spell Doomsday For Climate And
Energy.  The debt deal Washington just passed is going to pit
defense spending against the budgets of the DOE, EPA and
incentives for clean energy production, GOP strategist Mike
McKenna tells Politico.  No one knows what will actually be cut
-- that's to be decided by a bipartisan committee -- but plenty
of programs to protect the environment and fund green energy
already have big fat targets on them.  Posted. 
http://www.grist.org/list/2011-08-02-heres-how-tdebt-deal-could-spell-doomsday-for-climate-and-energy

People Under 35 Have Never Seen Normal Global Temperatures.  “If
you’re younger than 26, you have never seen a month where the
global mean was as cold as the 161 year average,” observes Robert
Grumbine. In contrast, “there are no periods as long as even 20
years of continual below reference temperatures.”  Posted. 
http://thinkprogress.org/green/2011/08/02/285660/people-under-35-have-never-seen-normal-global-temperatures/

FUELS

One Tainted Water Well, and Concern There May Be More. For
decades, oil and gas industry executives as well as regulators
have maintained that a drilling technique known as hydraulic
fracturing, or fracking, that is used for most natural gas wells
has never contaminated underground drinking water. The claim is
based in part on a simple fact: fracking, in which water and
toxic chemicals are injected at high pressure into the ground to
break up rocks and release the gas trapped there, occurs
thousands of feet below drinking-water aquifers. Posted. 
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/us/04natgas.html?_r=1&hp

Gas Mileage Ratings Don't Add Up.  The government will require
new cars and trucks to meet a fleetwide average fuel economy
standard of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.  Fat chance.  Many
motorists know they can't expect to get the mileage they see on
the window sticker if they drive too fast or don't keep the car
in optimal condition. But what most of them don't know is even if
they do drive like highway saints, they still won't get the
Environmental Protection Agency-rated results.  Posted. 
http://www.modbee.com/2011/08/03/1800647/gas-mileage-ratings-dont-add-up.html

A 'Midterm Review' Helped Industry And Environmental Groups Sign
New Fuel Efficiency Standards. The White House's latest deal with
automakers would let U.S. EPA revisit fuel efficiency standards
by 2018 to see if they are too difficult to meet. Last week, the
auto industry and the administration agreed to raise average fuel
economy to 54.5 mpg by 2025. The White House said the standard
would cut a quantity of oil use equivalent to half of imports
from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries by 2025.
Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/08/01/3 BY
PAID SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

GREEN ENERGY

The Dark Side Of Solar And Wind Power Projects. Building and
maintaining solar and wind power projects can be hazardous, and
industry watchdogs worry that the push for more green energy
places more workers and bystanders in harm's way.They can look
benign from a distance — solar panels glistening in the sun or
turbines gently churning with the breeze to produce electricity
for hundreds of thousands of homes. But building and maintaining
them can be hazardous. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-fi-green-safety-20110803,0,6066233,print.story

Green-Focused Facility Breaks Ground In Dixon.  A firm that
produces a line of "green" utility vehicles broke ground last
week on a new Solano County facility in Dixon that will bring
dozens of jobs here, company officials announced.  "These will be
primarily manufacturing jobs -- good-paying ones," company
spokesman Mark Wegel said Monday. "There will be more than 50
needed at first."  More jobs eventually may be added if use of
Green Fleet equipment grows, company officials said.  Posted. 
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_18603163
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_18603163

Better Technology Drives Down Flat-Screen TV Energy Use By 60%.
Energy-guzzling flat-screen TVs have become much greener in
recent years, cutting their average electricity use by more than
one-half and consuming far less energy than the bulky cathode-ray
tube TVs they replaced, new energy research shows. Since 2006,
new TVs have reduced their electricity use by 60 percent. Today,
it costs only £14 ($22.80) a year to run a 42-inch LED TV,
whereas a plasma screen cost about £80 ($130) in 2006, at 2011
prices. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/08/01/8 BY PAID
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

VEHICLES

Despite Rising U.S. Sales, Automakers Are Struggling. Sales of
new vehicles in the United States rose in July but were still
hampered by economic concerns and low inventories of many
Japanese models. Honda and Toyota each reported large declines,
as they have each month since production was slowed by the
earthquake and tsunami in March. Toyota said it did not expect to
post a year-over-year increase until early 2012. Sales fell 28.4
percent at Honda and 22.7 percent at Toyota. Posted. 
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/03/business/car-sales-show-restrained-growth.html?scp=1&sq=vehicles&st=cse

14 Hybrid Pickups Added To SMUD Fleet. The Sacramento Municipal
Utility District has received 14 Dodge Ram 1500 plug-in hybrid
electric vehicles as part of a nationwide demonstration test of
alternative fuel vehicles. The pickup trucks will be part of
SMUD's regular commercial fleet for the next three years. Funded
in part by federal stimulus money, Chrysler Group LLC and the
U.S. Department of Energy plan to deploy 140 of the plug-in
hybrid trucks at 11 other sites to test customer usage, fuel
economy, emissions and air quality impact. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/08/03/v-print/3812862/14-hybrid-pickups-added-to-smud.html
http://www.modbee.com/2011/08/03/1800899/14-hybrid-pickups-added-to-smud.html

SF's City Workers To Test Plug-In Hybrid Pick Up Trucks. San
Francisco Mayor Ed Lee announced Tuesday a partnership that will
provide the city with a fleet of 14 plug-in hybrid pickup trucks
for the next three years. The partnership between the city, the
U.S. Department of Energy and Chrysler Group allows the Ram 1500
trucks to be tested by San Francisco city departments to evaluate
their charging performance and fuel economy. The trucks are part
of a national fleet of 140 vehicles that are being tested in a
dozen cities. Posted.
http://sfappeal.com/news/2011/08/sfs-city-workers-to-test-plug-in-hybrid-pick-up-trucks.php

GM Invests In Solar To Charge Electric Cars. Sunlogics, a solar
energy system provider, received a $7.5 million investment from
General Motors Co.'s venture capital arm. The solar company will
use the funds to establish its headquarters in Rochester Hills,
Mich., which will employ 200 people, and a factory in Ontario,
which will employ 110 people. According to CEO Michael
Matvieshen, Sunlogics will start production by the end of the
year and will employ tool designers as well as structural and
design engineers. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/08/01/10 BY PAID
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

New Electric Motor, Evs Powering The House And EV Car Sharing.  A
research team at the Tokyo University of Science has developed a
new switch-reluctant electric motor without rare earth materials.
Nissan has presented a new add-on system for the Leaf's battery
that allows the EV to power an average household for two days. 
Nobukazu Hoshi, associate professor at the Tokyo University of
Science, has together with his team developed an electric motor
without rare earth materials. Posted. 
http://www.cars21.com/content/articles/63220110803.php

OPINIONS

Airlines and Carbon. The world’s leaders should have reached a
deal long ago to limit greenhouse gas emissions. In the absence
of such a deal, the European Union’s plan to regulate the carbon
emissions of all airplanes that land or take off from European
airports is a reasonable attempt to address an urgent problem.
Aviation amounts to about 2 percent of global carbon dioxide
emissions, a share projected to rise quickly as air traffic
surges. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/03/opinion/airlines-and-greenhouse-gas-emissions.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print

BLOGS

California Air Resources Board Sees ‘Reasonable Compromise’ in
CAFE Standards. Proposed fuel economy standards for 2017-25
model-year vehicles, announced last week by President Obama,
should reduce greenhouse gas emissions at a pace consistent with
targets set by the California Air Resources Board, according to
agency representatives. The board plans to announce its clean-air
targets in September, said Tom Cackette, its chief deputy
executive officer, in a telephone interview. Posted. 
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/03/california-air-resources-board-sees-reasonable-compromise-in-cafe-standards/?scp=8&sq=vehicles&st=cse

Ahead of Frankfurt Auto Show, Mazda CX-5 Makes Web Debut. Nissan
Leafs and Chevrolet Volts aside, few new cars are burdened with
the weight of expectation like the Mazda CX-5 compact S.U.V.,
revealed online Tuesday ahead of its debut in September at the
Frankfurt auto show. Mazda, virtually alone among major
automakers, has foregone hybrid technology in favor of
high-compression internal combustion engines. Posted. 
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/02/ahead-of-frankfurt-auto-show-mazda-cx-5-makes-web-debut/?scp=1&sq=diesel%20emissions&st=cse

Congressman Issa, Please Step Away from the Car Deal. Last
Friday, President Obama announced another historic clean car
agreement, supported by car companies, the auto workers union,
environmental organizations, and states that by 2025 will double
new vehicles’ miles per gallon and cut their carbon pollution
nearly in half. 
Car owners will fill up half as often and save $3,000 over the
life of the car. Posted.
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/ddoniger/congressman_issa_please_step_a.html

NASA and Google Team Up for Zero-Emissions Flight Contest.
Google’s made all kinds of headlines with its investments in
clean energy recently: $280 million for a California residential
solar company, $55 million for a wind project in Kern County,
more than $10 million for geothermal R&D projects, and $168
million for a massive solar farm in the California desert, just
to name a few. A new move by the company seeks to address another
kind of energy challenge: airplane fuel. Posted.
http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/2011/08/03/nasa-and-google-team-up-for-zero-emissions-flight-contest/

How will Citizens Ever Afford 54.5 MPG? Remember the old days
when the auto manufacturers would line up in lockstep opposition
to any fuel economy (CAFE) standards? Even the unions would
oppose it, concerned about job losses. And lord knows…there was
probably a gushing river of oil industry money flowing through
the halls of congress to prevent America from moving in
sustainable direction. Posted. 
http://www.triplepundit.com/2011/08/545-mpg-gas-cafe/

BMW Teases Us With Two Electric Concepts.  BMW has provided a
glimpse of its electric future with the unveiling of two electric
concepts, the first to come from its e-mobility division. 
Although the cars are conceptual studies that probably won’t see
production, they provide the best view yet of the electric i3 and
plug-in hybrid i8 models the company promises to deliver within
three years. They also suggest the German automaker is serious
about launching “BMW i” electric vehicle brand.  Posted. 
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2011/08/bmw-i3-and-i8-concepts/#more-37559

Morning Greens: Foreign Auto Lobby Wants A Revision Of
California’s Zero-Emissions Standards. The foreign auto lobby
says California’s emission standards will hurt the auto industry
while state lawmakers consider the environmental “reform” on a
planned downtown stadium. Welcome to your Wednesday morning
greens. The foreign auto lobby claims California’s expansion of
zero-emission standards by 2018 will hurt the auto industry. Mike
Stanton is president and CEO of the Association of Global
Automakers. Posted.
http://www.scpr.org/blogs/environment/2011/08/03/morning-greens-foreign-auto-lobby-wants-revision-c/

University Of Michigan And Ford Researchers See Plentiful Lithium
Resources For Electric Vehicles.  Researchers from the University
of Michigan and Ford Motor Co. report in Journal of Industrial
Ecology that even with a rapid and widespread adoption of
electric vehicles powered by lithium-ion batteries, lithium
resources are sufficient to support demand until at least the end
of this century.  For their study, they assessed the global
availability of lithium and compared it to the potential demand
from large-scale global use of electric vehicles.  Posted. 
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2011/08/lithium-20110803.html

Auto Industry Survey Finds Need For Materials Innovation To Meet
2025 CAFE; Greatest Change Seen In Powertrain Systems.  The auto
industry’s current materials portfolio will need to be augmented
to meet new 2025 fuel economy standards, according to a WardsAuto
and DuPont Automotive survey conducted in late July.  Only 5% of
the vehicle design and engineers polled said they are “very
confident” that currently available materials will help them meet
proposed CAFE standards.  Posted. 
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2011/08/dupont-20110803.html

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