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California Air Resources Board News Clips for December 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 discouraged in next few days. San Francisco -- It
may very well be a perfect night for a crackling fire, but the
Bay Area Air Quality Management District would like you to resist
the temptation. District officials are urging Bay Area residents
to refrain from burning wood in fireplaces or woodstoves through
Tuesday and possibly longer to prevent unhealthy conditions. Eric
Stevenson, the director of technical services for the air
district, said fire building is discouraged but not prohibited.
Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/12/06/BAKV1M8MPH.DTL&type=printable
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_19475922
http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_19475922?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com
http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_19475922?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/dec/05/bay-area-calls-on-residents-not-to-burn-wood/
http://www.modbee.com/2011/12/05/1975470/bay-area-calls-on-residents-not.html

S.J. loses voice on clean-air board.  San Joaquin County's pull
on a regional air-quality board will be cut in half come January,
as Stockton Mayor Ann Johnston leaves the dais at the end of her
three-year term on that board.  County Supervisor Leroy Ornellas
will be the only local representative left on the 15-member
board.  Posted. 
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111206/A_NEWS/112060319&cid=sitesearch

EPA slams Pa.'s new Marcellus air pollution rules.  The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency is criticizing new rules the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is using to
determine how to regulate air pollution from Marcellus shale gas
wells and development sites near one another.  The Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette ( http://bit.ly/rCyqa2) reports Tuesday that the DEP
isn't using federal guidelines to determine how close such sites
need to be in order to be considered a single, major source of
air pollution.  Posted. 
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_19479744?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_19479744?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com

CLIMATE CHANGE

UN Says Climate Pact ‘Beyond Reach’ United Nations Secretary
General Ban Ki-Moon said a global warming treaty may be “beyond
our reach” this week as India and China rejected pressure for
developing nations to adopt mandatory pollution targets. “We must
be realistic about the opportunity of a breakthrough in Durban,”
Ban said at UN climate talks in the South African port city
today. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-06/un-says-climate-pact-beyond-our-reach-as-india-rejects-cuts.html

Calif. Takes Big Step Toward Greenhouse Gas Limits. First of a
two-part series on California's climate policies. California is
about to try a radical experiment. A little over a year from now,
the state will limit the greenhouse gas emissions from factories
and power plants, and, eventually, emissions from vehicles. The
U.S. Congress tried to pass a similar plan for the whole country
but dropped the idea last year. Paying a price for emissions has
many Californians worried about what they'll have to pay for
electricity and fuel and everything that takes energy to make.
Posted.
http://www.npr.org/2011/12/06/142942778/calif-takes-big-step-toward-greenhouse-gas-limits

UN chief doubts comprehensive climate deal likely.  An
all-encompassing climate deal "may be beyond our reach for now,"
the U.N. chief said Tuesday as China and India delivered a
setback to European plans to negotiate a new treaty that would
bind all parties to their pledges on greenhouse gas emissions. 
The European "road map" toward a new accord that would take
effect after 2020 is a centerpiece of negotiations among 194
countries at a U.N. climate conference in the South African
coastal city of Durban.  Posted. 
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_19479220?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com
http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/12/06/2639402/un-chief-doubts-comprehensive.html#storylink=misearch
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/dec/06/un-chief-to-open-ministers-level-at-climate/
http://www.modbee.com/2011/12/06/1976116/un-chief-doubts-comprehensive.html

County considers plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  The
San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors is set to vote Tuesday
on a long-term plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at
least 15 percent by 2020 — the first such sweeping policy in the
county.  The plan aims to comply with a 2007 settlement agreement
with the Attorney General’s office, after the state sued the
county for not meeting California Environmental Quality Act
requirements in its general plan update.  Posted. 
http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/bernardino-31704-plan-considers.html

Natural wonder of roosting swallows disappoints _ is it climate
change?  Wetlands — critical for the health of South Africa’s
coasts and river systems — already have been degraded or
seriously altered by human activity, and experts fear global
warming threatens them further.  As talks to shore up the
international response to global warming entered their second and
crucial week in the South African coastal city of Durban,
environmentalists led a tour of a wetlands area nearby.  Posted. 
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AF_CLIMATE_WETLANDS?SITE=PAREA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

AP Newsbreak:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/natural-wonder-of-roosting-swallows-disappoints-_-is-it-climate-change/2011/12/06/gIQAuV5lYO_story.html
http://www.nctimes.com/news/world/wetlands-focus-on-climate-talks-sideline/article_34c9e030-7402-5002-9409-cd93fb797db1.html

FUELS

CARB responds to testy congressional inquiry over fuel mileage. 
Under fire from the leader of a major congressional committee,
the California Air Resources Board has fired back with shots of
its own.  CARB Chairman Mary Nichols has responded to a
congressional inquiry into this past year’s agreement between
EPA, CARB and U.S. automakers, and questions of whether CARB
overstepped its regulatory bounds in helping EPA and automakers
craft national policy for new mpg standards earlier this year. 
Posted. 
http://www.landlinemag.com/todays_news/Daily/2011/Nov11/112811/120211-02.shtml

VEHICLES

Toyota Hybrids Go From Strength to Strength as World No. 1: Cars.
Toyota Motor Corp.'s new plug-in Prius threatens to cast a shadow
over competitors' hybrids. A successful debut of the Prius PHV,
which Toyota will begin selling in 2012, may help Toyota secure
its place as the industry leader in gas-and-electric vehicles and
undermine General Motors Co.'s prospects with its Chevrolet Volt.
Though the Volt, introduced a year ago, was the first plug-in
hybrid on the market, its sales are trailing the company's
target. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/12/06/bloomberg_articlesLVRE156S9728.DTL

Paris to launch electric car sharing program.  Paris, in its
latest bid to be an innovator of the City of Tomorrow, is
launching an electric car-sharing program to cut air and noise
pollution on the city's medieval cobblestone streets and beyond. 
Autolib', a project built on the success of the city's
bike-rental scheme, makes its debut Monday and officials want the
self-service e-cars to be as much a part of Paris life as the
Eiffel Tower or Notre Dame Cathedral.  Posted. 
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_19473034 
http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/12/04/2637181/paris-to-launch-electric-car-sharing.html#storylink=misearch

GREEN ENERGY

Arnold Schwarzenegger urges candidates to champion green energy.
Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday urged Republicans running for
president to do more to encourage investment in renewable energy,
and pledged to be a "cheerleader" for the issue. The former
California governor was honored in Washington on Monday night as
the "renewable energy leader of the decade" by the American
Council on Renewable Energy. Speaking at the group's 10th
anniversary dinner, he said the United States had lost its way
when it came to investing in developing new sources of energy.
Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-schwarzenegger-energy-20111205,0,587679.story

Santa Cruz releases environmental action plan.  Santa Cruz wants
to increase the number of solar-powered homes, double bicycle
ridership and slash energy use in city buildings under a plan to
reduce greenhouse gases by 2020.  The city on Monday released the
final draft of a Climate Action Plan. It could be approved by
March.  Posted. 
http://www.modbee.com/2011/12/06/1975971/santa-cruz-releases-environmental.html#ixzz1fmUOB9DM

A visual representation of renewable energy growth in the U.S. 
The folks over at Black & Veatch sent me a couple of interesting
graphics today. Here is a U.S. map showing installations of
non-hydro renewable energy in 1970…A few things jump out. One,
there weren't very many! Two, they weren't very big. And three,
they were all biomass. In other words, in 1970, renewable energy
in the U.S. was effectively nonexistent.  Now, here's a U.S. map
of non-hydro renewable energy installations built or planned
today…Posted. 
http://www.grist.org/renewable-energy/2011-12-06-a-visual-representation-of-renewable-energy-growth-in-the-u.s

MISCELLANEOUS

Field Poll: Californians want a chance to vote 'no' on high-speed
rail. For all the questions about its management and cost, this
much is clear about high-speed rail: Californians who authorized
the project three years ago want a do-over, according to a new
Field Poll, and by a wide margin they want to vote "no."
Opposition to the multibillion-dollar project crosses party lines
and includes more than a third of voters who previously favored
the state's plan to build a high-speed rail system. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/06/v-print/4102325/field-poll-californians-want-a.html

OPINIONS

Dan Walters: California's high-speed train losing public support.
Has California's bullet train project – or pipe dream – finally
run off the track? Voters think so. When the California
High-Speed Rail Authority released a much-revised "business plan"
for the project that doubled its cost, it won praise in many
quarters, including this one, for moving from abject fantasy into
at least semi-reality. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/06/v-print/4102223/dan-walters-californias-high-speed.html

Eugene Robinson: Dealing with pollution will be key test for
Chinese government. Hong Kong – China has to find a way to
continue its rapid growth without choking to death. Literally.
When I landed in Beijing last week, the sky was a brownish miasma
through which distant landmarks were only faintly visible. The
moment I stepped outside the city's vast international airport, I
noticed an acrid hint of burning coal in the all-too-palpable
air. The next day, when I went to see the Great Wall, China's
most famous cultural treasure was wreathed in a gauzy shroud of
pollution. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/06/v-print/4102145/dealing-with-pollution-will-be.html

China faces a series of daunting internal challenges.  China has
to find a way to continue its rapid growth without choking to
death. Literally.  When I landed in Beijing last week, the sky
was a brownish miasma through which distant landmarks were only
faintly visible. The moment I stepped outside the city’s vast
international airport, I noticed an acrid hint of burning coal in
the all-too-palpable air. The next day, when I went to see the
Great Wall, China’s most famous cultural treasure was wreathed in
a gauzy shroud of pollution.  Posted. 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/china-faces-a-series-of-daunting-internal-challenges/2011/12/05/gIQAYx6qXO_story.html

An unfair fight for renewable energies.  More energy from the sun
hits Earth in one hour than all the energy consumed on our planet
in an entire year.  In those terms, it is absurd that our federal
government spends tens of billions of dollars annually
subsidizing the oil industry, which pulls diminishing resources
from underground, while the industry focused above ground on
wind, solar and other renewable energies is derided in
Washington.  Posted. 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/an-unfair-fight-for-renewable-energies/2011/12/02/gIQA9lWrTO_story.html
http://www.modbee.com/2011/12/06/1975432/green-energy-deserves-fair-shot.html

Editorial: U.S. should take lead on climate change. The U.N.
Climate Summit opened over the weekend in Durban, South Africa,
amid still more evidence of dangerous changes in extreme weather
patterns. The drought in Texas and across the southern United
States, along with record flooding in parts of Africa and Asia,
are signs of an ominous trend supported by recent reports based
on scientific data: -Thirteen of the world's hottest years on
record have all occurred in the last 15 years. Posted.
http://www.thecalifornian.com/article/20111206/OPINION01/112060314/Editorial-U-S-should-take-lead-climate-change

Arnold Schwarzenegger: Green energy deserves fair shot at federal
aid. More energy from the sun hits Earth in one hour than all the
energy consumed on our planet in an entire year. In those terms,
it is absurd that our federal government spends tens of billions
of dollars annually subsidizing the oil industry, which pulls
diminishing resources from underground, while the industry
focused above ground on wind, solar and other renewable energies
is derided in Washington. Posted.
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2011/12/06/2146516/arnold-schwarzenegger-green-energy.html

BLOGS

More on the ‘Sensitive’ Climate Question.  Here are some fresh
thoughts on the enduring and important questions surrounding 
“climate sensitivity” – how much warming will result from a
substantial buildup of greenhouse gases.  After my post on a
much-discussed paper trying to clarify the extent of
greenhouse-driven heating to expect in coming decades, I sought
input from the lead author, Andreas Schmittner of Oregon State
University. (As I mentioned, another author, Nathan Urban of
Princeton University, provided one valuable view in a long
interview posted on the Planet 3.0 blog.)  Posted. 
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/05/more-on-the-sensitive-climate-question/

In U.S., Hydrogen Cars May Line Up With Few Places to Fill Up. 
Last week at the Tokyo auto show, Toyota unveiled its FCV-R
concept. According to a Toyota spokesman, John Hanson, the
vehicle was designed to give the public an impression of the
hydrogen-powered fuel-cell sedan it expected to make available in
2015. With a projected range of more than 400 miles, a production
version of the FCV-R would surely dodge the range-anxiety stigma
that afflicts battery electric vehicles.  Posted. 
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/06/in-u-s-hydrogen-cars-may-line-up-with-few-places-to-fill-up/

Severe Beijing smog -- or fog? -- leads to long airport delays.
REPORTING FROM BEIJING -- Whether it was fog or smog, thousands
of travelers have been delayed since Sunday evening by the almost
opaque air around Beijing Capital Airport. The delays at one of
the busiest airports in the world raise questions about whether
air pollution in China has gotten bad enough to derail the
country’s economic growth. Hundreds of flights were canceled and
even the highway to the airport had to be closed. Posted.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2011/12/severe-beijing-smog-or-fog-leads-to-long-airport-delays-.html

Biofuels win two, lose one. For the biofuels industry, the past
week has been a case of two steps forward and one step back. The
U.S. Navy announced Monday that it would buy 450,000 gallons of
advanced biofuels from two companies, including Solazyme in South
San Francisco. It’s the government’s largest biofuel purchase to
date, and will allow the navy to test how well bio-based versions
of jet fuel and marine distillate fuel perform in a variety of
ships and air craft. Posted.
http://blog.sfgate.com/energy/2011/12/

High-speed rail blames 'uncertain economy' for voter opposition.
In response to a new poll finding widespread opposition to the
state's high-speed rail project, the California High-Speed Rail
Authority issued a statement late Monday blaming the "uncertain
economy" for voters' mood. "To back pedal on this project means
we reject billions in stimulus funds, lose 100,000 new jobs and,
ultimately, pay tens of billions more for congested highways in
the long run," the statement said. Posted.
http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/12/high-speed-rail-blames-uncertain-economy-for-voter-opposition.html#ixzz1fmIvIUhQ