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California Air Resources Board News Clips for August 23, 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

Air board asks drivers to cut trips to avoid fine. San Joaquin
County officials are turning to local residents to try to save
the region from again being fined for ozone pollution. The San
Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District has asked drivers
to reduce trips and avoid idling engines, as weather patterns
create the possibility of another air violation this week. Last
year, the region became the nation's first air basin to be fined
for failing to meet the federal deadline for reducing ozone
pollution. Posted. 
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_18738596?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_18738596?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com
http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/08/23/2508488/air-board-asks-drivers-to-cut.html#storylink=misearch

S.J. Valley calls first ever Air Alert. San Joaquin Valley
air-quality cops have called their first Air Alert this week,
hoping to avoid spikes in ozone pollution and costly federal
penalties. The Air Alert begins today and ends Sunday. Motorists
are asked to not idle their cars and to carpool to work or
school, among other actions. Posted. 
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110823/A_NEWS/110829985&cid=sitesearch
http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/08/22/2507765/valley-faces-bad-air-alert-this.html#storylink=misearch
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2011/08/22/2013293/sjv-air-district-calls-air-alert.html

CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate-change researcher cleared of misconduct by National
Science Foundation. An investigation by the National Science
Foundation has found no evidence of wrongdoing or misconduct by
Penn State climate-change researcher Michael Mann. Mann, Penn
State professor of meteorology, was the target of accusations
from climate-change skeptics after thousands of e-mails exchanged
between climate-change researchers were hacked from the
University of East Anglia and made public. Posted. 
http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/08/23/2508662/climate-change-researcher-cleared.html#storylink=misearch

Ford, Toyota bank on hybrid alliance to boost pickup fuel
economy. Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., by partnering to
build a hybrid system for light trucks, hope to cross one of the
auto industry’s biggest hurdles – significantly boosting the fuel
economy of large pickups and SUVs. The two automakers plan to
jointly develop hybrid technology for light trucks as U.S.
regulators finalize plans to toughen fuel economy requirements
for pickups later this decade. Posted. 
http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110822/OEM05/110829992/1186

Analysts forecast lower prices for Calif. cap and trade.
California will see about 10 percent lower prices in its
first-in-the-nation economywide cap-and-trade system for
greenhouse gases due to the economic downturn and several
regulatory developments, market analysts said yesterday. Average
prices should be about $36 per ton for the entire lifetime of the
market, down from the $40 per ton predicted six months ago by
carbon market analysis firm Point Carbon. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/08/23/4 BY PAID
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

VEHICLES

Hydrogen cars fill up at sewage plant. Fountain Valley, Calif. --
A Southern California sewage treatment plant has been turned into
a filling station for hydrogen-powered cars, officials said. An
experimental fuel cell at the Orange County Sanitation District
facility in Fountain Valley produces both hydrogen and
electricity from waste gas, The Orange County Register reported
Monday. Jeffrey P. Brown, a senior engineer at the Sanitation
District, said the waste plants' fuel cell project was unique.
Posted.
http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2011/08/22/Hydrogen-cars-fill-up-at-sewage-plant/UPI-78291314059192/

GREEN ENERGY

LED lights outshine the economics of solar-powered bulbs –
report. Homeowners looking to save electricity costs should
replace all their incandescent light bulbs with LED-based lights
instead of installing a small solar photovoltaic system, a report
by J.P. Morgan shows. Light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, will become
mainstream over the next 12 months as improving technology and
performance and higher subsidies lead to a rapid drop in costs,
according to the report. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/08/23/3 BY PAID
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

MISCELLANEOUS

A way with worms. Two Antelope mothers deal with some slimy
characters – the kind that prefer staying underground, like to do
dirty work and can wriggle out of tight spots. 
But the two neighbors, entrepreneurs who launched a worm supply
business from their homes, praise these creatures for turning
waste into rich soil. Kate Waldo sums up the glamour and allure
of their worm-breeding operation: "It's becoming less weird."
Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/08/21/v-print/3849444/a-way-with-wormsthis-is-going.html

OPINIONS

Opinion: California can lead American to energy freedom. America
suffers from a substance abuse problem. Maintaining our national
industries and our jobs requires us to consume millions of tons
of fossil fuels each and every day. Unfortunately, our addiction
to fossil fuels comes with a high price, perhaps even higher than
what we pay at the pump or for our monthly utility bills.
Consuming these chemicals also comes with what economists call
externality costs -- invisible, indirect expenses widely shared
by human society. Posted. 
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_18735465?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com

Op-Ed: AES Aims for Greener Future. AES' new power plant will be
smaller and more efficient, Project Development Director Jennifer
Didlo says. AES Southland is excited about the prospect of
modernizing our power plants, including our Redondo Beach
facility, which will result in smaller, cleaner, more efficient
and more attractive facilities. We're also eager to answer
questions that have been asked about our plans. Posted.
http://redondobeach.patch.com/articles/op-ed-aes-aims-for-greener-future

Power export plan isn’t dead yet. Victoria – He would never quite
admit it, but former premier Gordon Campbell’s push for
self-sufficiency in clean electricity has always looked to me
like a long-term strategy to export hydroelectric power. It still
looks that way. B.C.’s spring and summer runoff match perfectly
with peak air-conditioner season in California. But the recent
review of BC Hydro operations discusses how the prospects for
exports have changed since Campbell’s 2007 energy plan. Posted.
http://www.bclocalnews.com/bc_thompson_nicola/clearwatertimes/opinion/128251613.html

BLOGS

Huntsman, Romney believe in global warming, but not action.
Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman has been in the
headlines lately for his outspoken belief in manmade global
warming. All of a sudden, for at least one candidate, vocal
environmentalism appears to be a strategic maneuver aimed at
distinguishing himself from his rival Republicans. Huntsman isn’t
alone among 2012 contenders or other prominent Republicans in
affirming man’s involvement in climate change. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/huntsman-romney-believe-in-climate-change-but-dont-act/2011/08/22/gIQAhdpuYJ_blog.html

Climate of suspicion. A thoughtful reader wrote in to say the
problem with the Climate Debate was the way it has become
polarized, and that the best way to persuade the unpersuaded is
to drop the confrontational tone and present it as a search for
common ground. So here goes: We all love the earth, so let’s be
careful with it, and not do anything that can’t be undone. The
science on warming may not be perfect, but it’s raised very very
serious warnings. Posted. 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/tom-toles/post/climate-of-suspicion/2011/08/23/gIQAB3o0YJ_blog.html

Ford-Toyota Partnership: Hybrid Market Leaders Double Up. Ford
and Toyota, companies that both have had success developing and
marketing vehicles with full hybrid powertrains, jointly
announced on Monday that they would work together to create new
hybrid systems for light trucks and sport utility vehicles. The
brands expect to have products in the marketplace before the end
of the decade, they said. In addition to hybrid technology, the
automakers plan to collaborate on the development of standards
for in-car telematics and Internet-based services. Posted. 
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/23/ford-toyota-partnership-hybrid-market-leaders-double-up/?scp=9&sq=vehicles&st=cse

One billion vehicles hit the road. Are we ready for two billion?
Last year, for the first time in history, a billion cars and
trucks hit the road. Sadly, we’ll never know who registered the
world’s one-billionth vehicle, but, according to the industry
trade journal Ward’s, which reported the numbers, it’s
increasingly likely that the lucky prize-winner could have hailed
from China, India, or Brazil: The market explosion in China
played a major role in overall vehicle population growth in 2010,
with registrations jumping 27.5%. Posted. 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/one-billion-vehicles-hit-the-road-are-we-ready-for-two-billion/2011/08/22/gIQA1am4WJ_blog.html

Analysts Cut Carbon Price Forecast for California. Carbon may
come cheaper than first predicted when California’s cap-and-trade
program finally gets rolling. Analysts at Thomson Reuters have
dropped their projections of what polluters would pay for
emissions permits from $40 to $36 per metric ton of
CO2-equivalent gases. Emilie Mazzacurati, who heads the firm’s
North America Carbon Team, says pushing back the compliance date
to 2013 and fears of a double-dip recession are behind the 10%
trimming from its prior forecast. Posted.
http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2011/08/22/analysts-cut-carbon-price-forecast-for-california/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kqed%2FClimateWatchBlog+%28KQED%27s+Climate+Watch+Blog%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Not Free to Choose: The Reality behind Clean Energy Standards.
The new stealth approach to energy policy being pushed under the
guise of a Clean Energy Standard is frankly dishonest. Climate
activists failed to achieve comprehensive greenhouse gas controls
in the United States in the form of a cap-and-trade program. And
while they pursue incremental greenhouse gas regulation at both
the federal and state level, they have not given up on their Holy
Grail of a comprehensive national regime to control greenhouse
gas emissions. Posted.
http://www.american.com/archive/2011/august/not-free-to-choose-the-reality-behind-clean-energy-standards

Study Warns of Boomerang Effects in Climate Change Campaigns.
Climate change campaigns in the United States that focus on the
risks to people in foreign countries or even other regions of the
U.S. are likely to inadvertently increase polarization among
Americans rather than build consensus and support for policy
action. In contrast, locally focused campaigns that highlight the
risks to fellow residents of a state or a city are less likely to
activate strong partisan differences. Those are the conclusions
of a forthcoming study published online this week at
Communication Research. Posted.  http://bigthink.com/ideas/39811