What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for March 23, 2012. 

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

CalRecycle unveils Commercial Climate Calculator for businesses'
energy costs.  The Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery
(CalRecycle) has unveiled its Commercial Climate Calculator to
help businesses evaluate the benefits of reducing waste,
including cost savings. CalRecycle’s online calculator
complements Air Resources Board and Department of Toxic
Substances Control tools developed for use by businesses,
industry, and the general public to gauge their carbon footprint
and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a news release.
Posted. 
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2012/03/22/2279656/calrecycle-unveils-commercial.html

FUELS

U.S. Inches Toward Goal of Energy Independence. The desolate
stretch of West Texas desert known as the Permian Basin is still
the lonely domain of scurrying roadrunners by day and howling
coyotes by night. But the roar of scores of new oil rigs and the
distinctive acrid fumes of drilling equipment are unmistakable
signs that crude is gushing again. And not just here. Across the
country, the oil and gas industry is vastly increasing
production, reversing two decades of decline. Posted. 
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/23/business/energy-environment/inching-toward-energy-independence-in-america.html?scp=2&sq=air%20pollution&st=cse
http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/03/23/2772005/electric-cars-risk-losing-green.html#storylink=misearch
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_20235244/inching-toward-energy-independence-america?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_20235244/inching-toward-energy-independence-america?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com

VEHICLES

Electric cars risk losing green sheen in Japan.  Electric car
owners who prided themselves on being green now find themselves
in a bind as Japan's government maneuvers to restart dozens of
nuclear power plants idled after last year's meltdowns.  For
decades, nuclear generation has been a crucial source of power
here, but the tsunami-triggered meltdowns at the Fukushima
Dai-ichi plant have spurred a debate over how to supply Japan's
electricity in the future.  Long touted as a clean, zero-emission
alternative to vehicles powered by dirty fossil fuels, electric
cars are now at risk of being tainted by their association with
nuclear.  Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/03/23/4360364/electric-cars-risk-losing-green.html
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_20238152/electric-cars-risk-losing-green-sheen-japan?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/electric-cars-risk-losing-green-sheen-in-japan-after-meltdowns-highlight-nuclear-power-risks/2012/03/23/gIQA5Gz6US_story.html
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_20238152/electric-cars-risk-losing-green-sheen-japan?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/mar/23/electric-cars-risk-losing-green-sheen-in-japan/
http://www.nctimes.com/business/electric-cars-risk-losing-green-sheen-in-japan/article_39a92f46-83f0-5b2c-b472-a87c3342bdac.html

Wireless charging and Catalonia’s EV ambitions presented at EV
Forums.  EV Forums, held 21-22 March 2012 in Barcelona, Spain
brought together experts to discuss latest updates on EV
batteries and EV charging. Technical solutions and applications
were presented by the likes of SEAT, Renault-Nissan, Peugeot,
Endesa to name but a few. A strong theme on the first day was how
to better integrate EVs in urban environment with smarter ways to
charge them. Posted. 
http://www.cars21.com/content/articles/78020120323.php

GREEN ENERGY

Labor Department identifies 3.1 million green jobs. Washington --
At least 3.1 million Americans are employed in green jobs, a
sector that now accounts for about 2.4 percent of the nation's
total employment, the Labor Department said Thursday. The report
represents the first time the department's Bureau of Labor
Statistics has come up with an official count of environmentally
friendly jobs, an emerging part of the economy and a centerpiece
of President Obama's stimulus plan. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/03/23/BUOI1NOR31.DTL&type=printable
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/labor-dept-green-jobs-account-for-24percent-of-employment-in-2010/2012/03/22/gIQAExURUS_story.html
http://www.modbee.com/2012/03/22/2124846/labor-dept-americans-hold-31-million.html
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

Green features attract both tenants and developers. The 22-story
apartment tower in Portland, Ore., has a roof garden that funnels
rainwater to its public toilets. Because the water isn't treated,
state law requires "Do Not Drink" warning signs."Just in case
your dog can read," said Dennis Wilde, chief sustainability
officer for Gerding Edlen, the Portland builder of the
development, called Indigo @ Twelve|West. Green features, such as
reusing rainwater and generating about 1 percent of the tower's
electricity with four rooftop windmills…Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/03/23/BU6T1NO9MC.DTL&type=green

New wind power guidelines are for the birds. Washington -- The
Obama administration is offering advice on the best places to put
wind farms to reduce the number of birds that die by flying into
turbines. A bird advocacy group that lobbied for mandatory
standards says the new guidelines will do little to protect
hundreds of thousands of birds killed each year by the turbines.
Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/03/23/4361221/new-wind-power-guidelines-are.html

Startups pitch 'green' products to potential investors. If you
were a venture capitalist or angel investor with an eye for
"green" technology or services, which of these companies would
you bet on? That was the question posed to the audience Thursday
at a session of The Wall Street Journal's ECO:nomics conference
in Santa Barbara. The audience watched as five hungry CEOs of
companies that make some sort of green products or services
pitched their ideas, sustainability and future profitability in
short-fire summaries. Posted. 
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/mar/22/startups-pitch-green-products-to-potential/

MISCELLANEOUS

Stuck with high gas prices, drivers just pump less.  Americans
have pumped less gas every week for the past year.  During those
52 weeks, gasoline consumption dropped by 4.2 billion gallons, or
3 percent, according to MasterCard SpendingPulse. The decline is
the longest since a 51-week period during the recession.  The
main reason: higher gas prices. The national average for a gallon
of gas is $3.88, the highest ever for this time of year…Posted. 
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_20239190/stuck-high-gas-prices-drivers-just-pump-less?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com
http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/03/23/2772237/stuck-with-high-gas-prices-drivers.html#storylink=misearch

OPINIONS

Dan Walters: Lawmakers ready to green-light California high-speed
rail. Its popularity has declined sharply, many of its details
have yet to emerge, and independent authorities have questioned
its financial and operational viability, but California's bullet
train project is very likely to get the green light from the
Legislature soon. That's the consensus of those who have been
counting votes among the Legislature's dominant Democrats, who
can give the California High-Speed Rail Authority authorization
to sell bonds and begin construction of an initial segment in the
San Joaquin Valley. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/03/23/4359961/dan-walters-lawmakers-ready-to.html#mi_rss=Dan%20Walters

John Kass: Price of gas will fuel debate during presidential
campaign. Mitt Romney has won the Illinois primary, and with it a
sizable advantage in the Republican presidential race. If he can
close the deal - or even if Rick Santorum somehow finds a way to
come back - one thing seems certain.  The price of gas will loom
large in the fall campaign, with the Republicans taking full
advantage and the Democrats trying to duck the blame.  Whether
it's fair to blame a president for the price of gas can be
debated. What's not being debated is what a driver thinks when it
costs so much to fill up the soccer van. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/03/22/4360331/john-kass-price-of-gas-will-fuel.html

SPIN METER: GOP claims about Obama puzzle enviros. Mitt Romney
says President Barack Obama blocked construction of the Keystone
XL oil pipeline as a gift to environmentalists. Newt Gingrich
calls Obama "President Algae" for supporting research on
biofuels. And Rick Santorum says Obama's environmental views
constitute a "phony theology" that prioritizes the earth over
people. The leading Republican presidential hopefuls have cast
Obama as environmental extremist whose policies have put him out
of touch with the needs of ordinary Americans. Posted. 
http://www.nctimes.com/news/science/spin-meter-gop-claims-about-obama-puzzle-enviros/article_34c91695-1dc3-53ad-aa01-a1a20c682072.html#ixzz1pxhA0t7Q

BLOGS

Apps, Anyone? Managing Your Energy Consumption. Amid the debate
in Washington over federal energy policy, at least one of the
administration’s ideas seems to be gaining widespread support. On
President Obama’s four-state tour to promote his “all of the
above” energy agenda, nine of the country’s largest utility
companies pledged to support the White House’s Green Button
program by making information on energy usage available to their
customers. Posted. 
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/23/apps-anyone-managing-your-energy-consumption/

A Tally of Green Jobs. For the first time, the federal government
on Thursday released an estimate of the number of so-called green
jobs in the United States economy, saying that 3.1 million people
are employed in the production of goods and services that benefit
the environment. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, a unit of the
Labor Department, spent more than a year compiling its report,
which found that green goods and services accounted for 2.4
percent of total United States employment in 2010. Posted. 
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/22/a-tally-of-green-jobs/

California lags nation in green jobs. The latest monthly
employment report, released Friday, was not particularly good
news for California, whose jobless rate was unchanged in February
at 10.9 percent with more than two million workers unemployed.
That’s a bit better that it was during the depths of the
recession, but not much, the data from the Federal Bureau of
Labor Statistic indicate. Posted.
http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2012/03/california-lags-nation-in-green-jobs.html

GM "loans" Volts in Southern California to spur sales. Think of
it as an extended test drive. General Motors is looking to spur
sales of its Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in hybrid in
California by loaning hundreds of Southern California drivers
Volts for as long as a week, Green Car Reports said, citing GM
representative Shad Balch. Under GM's "Cars to People" program,
the automaker has loaned almost 300 people Volts over the past
few months, and will likely loan the cars to a few hundred more
by the end of the year, according to the website. Posted. 
http://green.autoblog.com/2012/03/23/gm-loans-volts-in-southern-california-to-spur-sales/

GM starts testing electric Chevrolet Spark. General Motors is
literally changing its stripes with its battery-electric powered
Chevrolet Spark. The automaker is testing battery-electric
versions of its Chevrolet Spark compact and is suggesting that
production versions may have a single-charge range of more than
100 miles.GM posted on Tuesday on its The Future Is Electric blog
that engineers are testing a handful of electric-powered sparks.
Posted. 
http://green.autoblog.com/2012/03/22/gm-starts-testing-electric-chevrolet-spark/