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newsclips -- Newsclips for October 17, 2011.
Posted: 17 Oct 2011 13:54:16
California Air Resources Board News Clips for October 17, 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. CLIMATE CHANGE Study blames global warming for shrinking species. From the mighty polar bear to the tiny house sparrow, many of Earth's species appear to be shrinking in size, a new study reports. And the authors think it's probably due to global warming, a little like wool sweaters that shrink when washed in hot water. But other experts say that conclusion goes too far, blaming global warming for what may be natural changes. Posted. http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/10/16/2578945/study-blames-global-warming-for.html#storylink=misearch http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/globalwarming/story/2011-10-17/global-warming-shrinking-species/50803996/1 VEHICLES When Electric Car Owners Talk, Nissan Listens. A GENERATION ago, teenagers in Silicon Valley were using their parents’ garages to start great American technology companies and boot up the computer revolution. Now those garages are places to plug in the electric cars that may radically change the direction of personal transportation. Like the computer clubs that helped to foster the enthusiasm of budding programmers, gatherings of electric car owners here are providing forums for the exchange of ideas. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/automobiles/nissan-is-listening-to-electric-car-owners-and-taking-notes.html?scp=2&sq=electric%20cars&st=cse Voith Turbo has Opened a New, State-of-the-Art Hybrid Power-Train Development Center for Transit Buses. Center, based north of San Diego, will specialize in developing new, environmentally-efficient hybrid drive systems. Voith Turbo announced that it has opened a hybrid power-train development center in Poway, California, just north of San Diego. The facility will further develop Voith Turbo's innovative hybrid diesel/electric power-train drive systems for transit buses. The office, warehouse and testing facilities cover more than 5,000 square feet. Posted. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Voith-Turbo-has-Opened-a-New-prnews-213221485.html?x=0 http://www.marketwatch.com/story/voith-turbo-has-opened-a-new-state-of-the-art-hybrid-power-train-development-center-for-transit-buses-2011-10-13 GREEN ENERGY California has 1 in 4 U.S. solar energy jobs, study says. The National Solar Jobs Census 2011 says job growth in the industry grew 6.8% in the one-year period ended in August, and a survey of solar employers suggests employment will rise by 24%, creating 24,000 jobs, during the next year. One in every four solar energy jobs in America is held by a Californian, and growth in the clean-tech industry is burgeoning nationwide, a new study said. In August, California had an estimated 25,575 solar-related jobs out of 100,237 for all 50 states, according to the National Solar Jobs Census 2011. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-solar-jobs-20111017,0,3230671.story Vinod Khosla invests more money in clean energy. Vinod Khosla, the billionaire venture capital investor, is raising his bet on clean technology. Khosla Ventures, the company he formed in 2004, created a $1.05 billion fund and will steer as much as 65 percent of that to back businesses developing renewable sources of power, energy-efficiency technology and LED lighting products, Khosla said Friday. In supporting early stage companies with unproven technology, Khosla expects some of them to fail. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/15/BU8D1LHUPC.DTL&type=printable Rick Perry reveals energy plan, says it adds jobs. West Mifflin, Pa. -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry sought to recharge his flagging presidential campaign Friday by introducing an energy plan that calls for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and expanding oil production in the Gulf of Mexico. Perry said his proposals would kick-start the sluggish economy and create 1.2 million new jobs through development and by rolling back clean air rules and other federal regulations. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/15/MN9O1LHPQ2.DTL&type=green Greening your house for a sale. Recent studies suggest that solar panels and other sustainability upgrades can help a home sell faster and fetch a higher price. Still, an experienced real estate agent said the true value really depends on smart investments and the right staging. The Earth Advantage Institute has determined that existing homes with third-party environmental certifications sell for 30 percent more than comparable homes without such ratings. Posted. http://www.modbee.com/2011/10/17/1907977/greening-your-house-for-a-sale.html As governor, Perry slashed environmental enforcement in Texas, repeatedly challenged EPA rules. Gov. Rick Perry likes to say the best way to promote economic growth is to reduce regulation. When it comes to the environment, Perry has made Texas one of the most industry-friendly states in the nation. Perry has cut funding for clean air programs and sued the Environmental Protection Agency to avoid enforcing laws to make the air cleaner. As part of his Republican presidential campaign, he routinely blasts the White House for tightening environmental standards. Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/as-governor-perry-slashed-environmental-enforcement-in-texas-repeatedly-challenged-epa-rules/2011/10/17/gIQAbk0hqL_story.html http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/10/17/2579679/perry-slashed-environmental-enforcement.html#storylink=misearch http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_19129526?nclick_check=1 UN chief urges global lawmakers to confront finances by building trust, green energy sources. Lawmakers in Europe and elsewhere must do more than put their debt-wracked houses in order — they must reassure citizens who fear diminished future prospects, and that means restoring people’s trust in government, the U.N. secretary-general said Sunday night. Ban Ki-moon’s comments came during the opening session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which features representatives of parliaments from 157 nations. The global financial crisis was a major theme. Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/un-chief-urges-global-lawmakers-to-confront-finances-by-building-trust-green-energy-sources/2011/10/16/gIQABPI0oL_story.html http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/10/16/2578968/un-chief-pushes-trust-green-themes.html#storylink=misearch The lesson from Solyndra: It’s time to deregulate the energy market. The bankruptcy of the solar energy company, Solyndra, not only cost taxpayers over half a billion, it also dealt a serious blow to the nation’s adoption of clean energy. The Obama administration’s attempt to jump-start the clean energy sector by picking favorites begs the question whether the federal government, instead of picking winners and losers in the battle to transform the nature of America’s energy use, should, instead, step back, enable adequate oversight and set the stage for the market to decide for itself. Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-innovations/the-lesson-from-solyndra-its-time-to-deregulate-the-energy-market/2011/09/14/gIQANaBFrL_story.html Pulling the plug on L.A. The city of Los Angeles announced a major new initiative this week to cut back on that giant sucking sound -- the sound of commercial buildings hoovering up electricity. Two years ago, the Clinton Climate Initiative helped orchestrate a major overhaul of the Empire State Building that cut the famous spire's energy consumption by nearly 40 percent, trimming more than $400,000 off the building's annual energy bills. Posted. http://www.grist.org/energy-efficiency/2011-10-14-pulling-the-plug-on-l.a OPINIONS Oil and Gas Had Help. Why Not Renewables? The bankruptcy of a single solar-panel company, Solyndra, has catapulted the question of federal energy policies into the news. It has also led many people to draw exactly the wrong conclusions about federal support for energy innovation and where the policies should be headed. Solyndra was clearly a bad bet for the government, which now stands to lose all or part of about $500 million in loan guarantees. But one case hardly discredits the whole idea of government support for energy innovation. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/opinion/sunday/oil-and-gas-had-help-why-not-renewables.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=fuels&st=cse Where Did Global Warming Go? IN 2008, both the Democratic and Republican candidates for president, Barack Obama and John McCain, warned about man-made global warming and supported legislation to curb emissions. After he was elected, President Obama promised “a new chapter in America’s leadership on climate change,” and arrived cavalry-like at the 2009 United Nations Climate Conference in Copenhagen to broker a global pact. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/sunday-review/whatever-happened-to-global-warming.html?scp=2&sq=emissions&st=cse BLOGS Climate Change Is Shrinking Species, Research Suggests. Climate change’s laundry list of impacts — melting glaciers and rising sea levels, shifts in timing for bird migration and flower budding, a poleward shift of species — just got a new addition: shrinking species. No, not population sizes, but a diminution in the size of the animals by comparison with the pre-global warming days. It’s not that scientists are expecting humans to shrink in size, or mini-pandas and mini-panthers to join the ranks of miniature poodles. Posted. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/climate-change-is-shrinking-species-research-suggests/ Machiavelli and Humanity’s Lukewarm Response to Warming. After I wrote on the hidden factor behind the lopsidedness of the climate-energy policy fight (the inertia in a society and economy deeply reliant on fossil fuels), Paul Birkeland of Seattle posted an apt quotation from Niccolo Machiavelli:It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things. Posted. http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/machiavelli-and-humanitys-lukewarm-response-to-warming/?scp=3&sq=fuels&st=cse Solar energy jobs growing in U.S. and California, study says. One in every four solar energy jobs in the United States is held by a Californian, and growth in the clean-tech industry is burgeoning nationwide, a new study said. In August, California had an estimated 25,575 of the 100,237 solar-related jobs nationwide, according to the National Solar Jobs Census 2011, scheduled for release Monday by the Solar Foundation, a research and education organization in Washington. The total for California was four times greater than the runner-up, Colorado, with 6,186 solar jobs as of last summer. Posted. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2011/10/solar-energy-jobs-us-california.html Virgin Atlantic’s New Waste Fuel Gas Program Will Save Billions of Gallons. As someone who travels a lot, I must admit that you can’t beat the convenience of air travel, which, despite the annoyances of unpredictable arrival times and security hassles, is still the only way to get from coast to coast in half a day. Unfortunately, as currently practiced, flying the friendly skies is deadly in terms of its greenhouse gas contribution. By some estimates, aviation industry emissions will reach 1.5 billion tons by 2025, an amount equal to half of what the entire European Union emits today. Posted. http://www.triplepundit.com/2011/10/virgin-atlantics-new-waste-fuel-gas-program-will-save-billions-gallons/ Biofuels market value to double to $185.3 billion in ten years. Will there be enough feedstock to support a massive biofuel boom? It sure seems possible, 'cause Pike Research predicts that the value of the biofuels industry could double in the next ten years, depending on the emergence of advanced feedstocks. Motivated, mainly, by concerns about energy independence and climate change, at least 38 national governments across the globe have enacted blending mandates to accelerate the production and consumption of biofuels. Posted. http://green.autoblog.com/2011/10/17/biofuels-market-value-to-double-to-185-3-billion-in-ten-years/ UC Riverside team receives $2M to evaluate emission reduction benefits of hybrid bulldozer and excavator. Scientists at the University of California, Riverside’s Center for Environmental Research and Technology have received a $2-million contract for a first-of-its-kind study of hybrid construction vehicles. The two-year project, which is being funded by the California Air Resources Board, will allow researchers to evaluate the emission reduction benefits of two commercially available hybrid construction vehicles: a Caterpillar bulldozer (earlier post) and a Komatsu hydraulic excavator (earlier post). Posted. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2011/10/ucr-20111017.html