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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for March 28, 2012
Posted: 28 Mar 2012 11:53:11
ARB Newsclips for March 28, 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. AIR POLLUTION Texas wins latest round with EPA in federal court. A federal appeals court scolded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday for rejecting a series of state pollution control projects in Texas that federal regulators said failed to satisfy requirements of the Clean Air Act. The ruling from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stopped short of ordering the EPA to accept the previously rejected Texas measures. Yet the three-judge panel directed the agency to take another look at the state's regulations and issue a quick decision. Posted. http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_20267917/texas-wins-latest-round-epa-federal-court?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_20267917/texas-wins-latest-round-epa-federal-court?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com Map shows the worst air in America. The EPA is issuing new regulations for emissions from power plants, and the American Lung Association knows why. This map shows U.S. deaths caused by toxic power plant emissions. If you live in a state with a big red circle, you should be very glad about the new rule — Texas in particular should be jumping for joy, if they can manage to stop coughing for five minutes. The new rule will only apply to new power plants, so this is what the map of toxic emissions looks like for the near future. Eventually we’ll also get laws governing emissions from old coal plants, at which point maybe we’ll see those circles shrink. Posted. http://grist.org/list/map-shows-the-worst-air-in-america/ CLIMATE CHANGE Mumbai, Miami on list for big weather disasters. Global warming is leading to such severe storms, droughts and heat waves that nations should prepare for an unprecedented onslaught of deadly and costly weather disasters, an international panel of climate scientists says in a report issued Wednesday. The greatest danger from extreme weather is in highly populated, poor regions of the world, the report warns, but no corner of the globe — from Mumbai to Miami — is immune. The document by a Nobel Prize-winning panel of climate scientists forecasts stronger tropical cyclones and more frequent heat waves, deluges and droughts. Posted. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jYrXYY-yYjFxeib2uuhxAt33qj6A?docId=5206c263f8774bc49877d308500b2bd4 AP Newsbreak: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/climate-panel-forecasts-unprecedented-weather-disasters-lists-shanghai-bangkok-miami/2012/03/28/gIQA9dbTgS_story.html http://www.nctimes.com/news/national/mumbai-miami-on-list-for-big-weather-disasters/article_0d89013e-c58e-5261-90e1-b60dba954cab.html Plan now for climate-related disasters: U.N. report. A future on Earth of more extreme weather and rising seas will require better planning for natural disasters to save lives and limit deepening economic losses, the United Nations said on Wednesday in a major report on the effects of climate change. The U.N. climate panel said all nations will be vulnerable to the expected increase in heat waves, more intense rains and floods and a probable rise in the intensity of droughts. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/28/us-climate-adaptation-idUSBRE82R0X320120328 http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/reports-link-heat-waves-deluges-to-climate-change/2012/03/27/gIQA16wVgS_story.html http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/globalwarming/story/2012-03-28/climate-change-global-warming-weather-disasters-floods-droughts-storms/53826590/1 Sprawling cities pressure environment, planning. Expanding cities threaten to eat up a swath of land the size of France, Germany and Spain combined in less than 20 years, putting the world under even more environmental pressure, experts said at a climate conference on Tuesday. Cities are growing to accommodate a rising global population and as countries like China, India and Brazil pursue fast economic growth. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/assets/print?aid=USBRE82Q0K120120327 U.S. Airlines Seek Action on EU Carbon Tax. The trade group representing the largest U.S. airlines has called on the Obama administration to take action against the European Union in a bid to end the bloc's carbon-trading market. The Airlines for America lobbying group dropped its own lawsuit against the EU and called on the administration to bring a case through the International Civil Aviation Organization, a branch of the United Nations. Posted. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304177104577307980838597906.html BY SUBSCRIPTION Obama Power-Plant Rule Signals Demise of ‘Old King Coal’ President Barack Obama’s proposed emission rules for power plants effectively prohibit new coal- fired power plants, buttressing the nation’s shift away from a power source that fueled the Industrial Revolution to cheap natural gas. Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency proposed the first limits on greenhouse-gas emissions from U.S. power plants yesterday, setting a standard natural-gas facilities can meet. Posted. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-03-28/obama-power-plant-rule-signals-demise-of-old-king-coal California crudes to receive no favored status in state's new carbon limits. As the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard heads toward a possible legal resolution later this year, one of the many changes from its earlier version is that crudes produced in the state won't have the same sort of special status under the new rules that they did in the regulation's formative years. That is one of the key changes in amendments approved late last year, according to various state and industry officials in California interviewed recently by Platts. Posted. http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/Oil/8113322 EPA’s New Carbon Rule Doesn’t Do Much in CA. California enacted similar limits to pollution from power plants in 2006. The EPA's new rule limits carbon emissions from new power plants nationwide. The US Environmental Protection Agency will, for the first time, begin restricting greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants. The EPA’s new standard limits how many pounds of carbon can be emitted per megawatt-hour of electricity generated. Posted. http://www.npr.org/local/stories/KQED/149482520 VEHICLES Electric vehicles: It's about more than cars. In the United States, the phrase "electric vehicles" usually means cars like the Nissan Leaf or Tesla's forthcoming Model S sedan. But the global market for electric vehicles includes not just cars but also aircraft, bicycles, buses, taxis, industrial and commercial vehicles, marine craft, golf carts and motorcycles. The entire spectrum of electric vehicles is being highlighted this week at Electric Vehicles Land, Sea & Air, an industry conference that opened Tuesday in San Jose and continues through Thursday. http://www.contracostatimes.com/business/ci_20267654/electric-vehicles-its-about-more-than-cars?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com http://www.insidebayarea.com/business/ci_20267654/electric-vehicles-its-about-more-than-cars?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com Infiniti has fast first hybrid. Here's an intriguing fact: The Infiniti M luxury sedan that's listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for its acceleration prowess is the same M that has the best fuel economy rating of the lineup. It's because the Guinness record holder is the new-for-2012 M35 Hybrid, which pairs a gasoline V-6 to an electric motor and lithium ion battery pack and manages the power through a seven-speed automatic transmission. There's no continuously variable transmission (CVT) here. Posted. http://www.nctimes.com/news/national/infiniti-has-fast-first-hybrid/article_9b67282d-4180-5602-a21b-9e15ae244699.html http://www.modbee.com/2012/03/28/2133177/infiniti-has-fast-first-hybrid.html BY SUBSCRIPTION MISCELLANEOUS Is a nontoxic home possible for children? Laura MacCleery was four months pregnant when she parked herself on the couch and started an inventory of the chemicals in her Alexandria, Va., town house. First, MacCleery, 40, a lawyer and women's health advocate, collected 70 products in a pile: things such as makeup, shampoo, detergents and sink cleaners. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2012/03/27/4367986/is-a-nontoxic-home-possible-for.html#storylink=misearch OPINIONS COLUMN-EPA emission regulations shut door on coal: John Kemp. Proposed emission rules for new power plants unveiled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on March 27 spell the gradual demise of coal-fired power generation and entrench the current cost advantage for natural gas. The agency's proposed rule, signed yesterday, would set a standard well within the capability of modern gas-fired plants but impossible for coal-fired units to meet unless they employ (unproven) carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/28/column-epa-coal-fired-power-idUSL6E8ES90R20120328 Elephants Down Under. I’ve learned three things visiting New Zealand and Australia: There is a place in the world where rugby is front-page news. There is a place in the world — the Auckland airport — where the restrooms have digital clocks in the entryway telling you hourly when they were last cleaned and when they will be cleaned again. And there is a place in the world where moderate Republicans still exist — unfortunately, you have to take a 13-hour flight from Los Angeles to get there. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/28/opinion/friedman-elephants-down-under.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print Editorial: Bumps in solar road obscure its success. What was once touted as the world's biggest solar project – a $5 billion, 1,000-megawatt project in Blythe – has stalled. That follows the demise of Fremont-based Solyndra, a solar-panel manufacturer that filed for bankruptcy protection last year after securing a half-billion dollars in federal loan guarantees. In addition, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District spent $500,000 of ratepayer funds and another $1.6 million more in federal and state grants before it finally pulled the plug on a project to install solar panels along Highway 50. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2012/03/28/v-print/4371272/bumps-in-solar-road-obscure-its.html Stop and sniff the marigolds and brassica. Healthy communities are essential for viable economies, not methyl iodide. On March 20, Arysta Life Science, the largest producer of pesticides and fumigants in the world, announced that it would pull methyl iodide (a.k.a. iodomethane, and MIDAS) from the U.S. market. Sales of methyl iodide have not been good in the U.S., especially in California. This is in part because of overwhelming public concern about health and environmental safety. Posted. http://www.thecalifornian.com/article/20120328/OPINION04/203280304 Former Speaker Ignores his own Intent on CARB Fees. The reasoning and intent behind a law is of upmost importance especially when courts attempt to interpret legislative actions. Yet, the Air Resources Board and even the bill’s author, Former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, are ignoring the clear intent of “fee” revenue raised under the provisions of AB 32, the 2006 bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Posted. http://www.foxandhoundsdaily.com/2012/03/former-speaker-ignores-his-own-intent-on-carb-fees/ Dirty Crude Spells Dirty Air in California. California’s long-running campaign to reduce air pollution has indirectly helped create a new problem: its oil refineries now produce more greenhouse gas emissions than refineries anywhere else in the country. On average, California refineries emit 19 to 33 percent more greenhouse gases per barrel of crude oil when stacked up against comparable gas-producing regions in the United States, according to a recent study commissioned by the Union of Concerned Scientists. Posted. http://junkscience.com/2012/03/28/dirty-crude-spells-dirty-air-in-california/ BLOGS Why does the EPA have such an odd way of regulating pollution? One of the strangest aspects of the EPA’s newest rules on carbon-dioxide emissions is that they only apply to future power plants. Existing facilities — the ones that are actually producing all the pollution — get to carry on as they were. That seems perverse. So why does the EPA do things this way? Regulating where the pollution isn’t (Susan Montoya Bryan/AP) As it happens, this is how a lot of environmental regulation gets done in the United States. Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/why-does-the-epa-have-such-an-odd-way-of-regulating-pollution/2012/03/28/gIQAFioNgS_blog.html When the World Tackled an Environmental Threat, and Won. In 1974, Dr. Sherwood Rowland, a young research scientist, warned the world that chlorofluorocarbons, man-made chemicals found in aerosol sprays and refrigerators, were damaging the earth’s ozone layer. It took 13 years of bitter debate among governments, business leaders, scientists and concerned citizens before the world accepted his findings and moved to ban these chemicals through an international treaty, the Montreal Protocol, in 1987. Posted. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/28/when-the-world-tackled-an-environmental-threat-and-won/ New Carbon Pollution Safeguards Will Protect Our Health, Our Children's Future. Today, our nation is taking a historic step for our health and our children's future. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Obama administration have just announced new carbon pollution safeguards that will protect clean air and the planet, while also spurring innovation and creating jobs in the clean energy economy. Posted. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mary-anne-hitt/pollution-laws_b_1382624.html Sacramento and SoCal: How to do sustainable communities right. Last Thursday, the implementation of SB 375 hit another milestone with the Air Resources Board's (ARB) review of two more Sustainable Communities Strategies (SCS) -- from Southern California and Sacramento. ARB members heard staff presentations on the two plans, asked questions of the regional agency directors, and heard stakeholder reactions. Posted. http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2012/03/28/sacramento-and-socal-show-how-do-sustainable-communities-right Time to Tighten Up Oil & Gas Industry Methane Leaks to Curb Global Warming. Everyone is talking about methane leaks; it’s time to do something about them. OK, really it’s mostly only policy wonks, but there is an important link to the weird weather everyone really is talking about. Last week I posted on the connection between heat-trapping pollution in our atmosphere and the record-breaking warmth we’ve seen this spring. It turns out that a significant amount of this global warming pollution is methane that leaks from oil and gas industry operations. Posted. http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/dlashof/time_to_tighten_up_oil_gas_ind.html