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newsclips -- Newsclips for July 2, 2012

Posted: 02 Jul 2012 14:07:27
ARB Newsclips for July 2, 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

NOx emissions exceeded limits in 12 European countries in 2010. 
Air pollution emitted from sources such as traffic, industry and
households is still above internationally agreed limits in 12
European countries, according to newly published data. The
accompanying report from the European Environment Agency (EEA)
confirms an initial assessment published earlier this year,
showing 12 EU Member States exceeded limits under the National
Emissions Ceilings (NEC) Directive in 2010. (Earlier post.) 
Under the NEC Directive, countries were obliged, by 2010, to meet
ceilings for four important air pollutants: nitrogen oxides
(NOx), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC), sulfur
dioxide (SO2) and ammonia (NH3). These pollutants are harmful to
both people and the environment, causing respiratory illnesses,
acidifying soil and surface water, and damaging vegetation. 
Posted. 
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2012/07/eea-20120702.html  

CLIMATE CHANGE

Report on costs of California's greenhouse gas law debated. 
Business and health groups sparred again this week over whether
state-mandated greenhouse gas reductions will eliminate jobs and
halt investment in the state, or create jobs, cut health care
costs and fuel the economy.  The California Manufacturers and
Technology Association released a report Thursday saying that
California families would pay $2,500 annually and lose $900 in
earnings per year by 2020 as a result of the state Global Warming
Solutions Act. The act, also known as Assembly Bill 32, will also
cause billions of dollars in losses to employers and the state
economy, the report found.  Posted. 
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/06/30/4600984/report-on-costs-of-californias.html


California Regulators Set Cap-and-Trade Implementation Schedule,
Delay Links to Quebec, and Agree to Next Set of Offset Protocols.
 ARB approves reg changes, will open tracking system. Rice and
coalmine methane offset protocols move ahead. Gov. Brown must
approve Quebec linkages.  Yesterday, the California Air Resources
Board (ARB) approved regulatory changes to the State’s
cap-and-trade program. Board passage of the amendments set in
place a schedule for implementation of the program, which
includes an opening in July of the program’s carbon allowance and
offset credit tracking system.  ARB also indicated they would
open a public process for the acceptance of new offset protocols.
Plans to link the California cap-and-trade program to a similar
scheme in Quebec, however, were put on hold.  Posted. 
http://new.evomarkets.com/desks/carbon_ca/post/421/ 

FUELS

Keystone XL pipeline expansion driven by oil-rich tar sands in
Alberta.  Repairman Shawn Flett stood 30 feet above the ground on
the deck of a truck the size of a house. He had just waved it
gingerly into the repair shop as if guiding an airplane into a
hangar.  This is a beast of a machine, with 14-foot tires and
weighing in at more than a million pounds. The truck burns 50
gallons of diesel an hour as it rumbles with 400-ton loads across
the giant open-pit mines that have transformed a swath of
Alberta’s vast northern forest into unsightly but lucrative
sources of oil.  Posted. 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/keystone-xl-pipeline-expansion-driven-by-oil-rich-tar-sands-in-alberta/2012/06/30/gJQAVe4ZEW_story.html


Gas under graveyards raises moral, money questions.  Loved ones
aren't the only thing buried in the 122-year-old Lowellville
Cemetery in eastern Ohio. Deep underground, locked in ancient
shale formations, are lucrative quantities of natural gas. 
Whether to drill for that gas is causing soul-searching as
cemeteries - including veterans' final resting places in Colorado
and Mississippi - join parks, playgrounds, churches and
residential backyards among the ranks of places targeted in the
nation's shale drilling boom.  Opponents say cemeteries are
hallowed ground that shouldn't be sullied by drilling activity
they worry will be noisy, smelly and unsightly. Defenders say the
drilling is so deep that it doesn't disturb the cemetery and can
generate revenue to enhance the roads and grounds.  Posted. 
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jyPeKQg2dDKuOwGCByLcPkLrSTYg?docId=eada8a33ab544b14913e9ad74d77f09c


AP Newsbreak:
http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/07/01/2895539/gas-under-cemeteries-raises-money.html#storylink=misearch

http://www.centredaily.com/2012/06/30/3247613/gas-under-graveyards-raises-moral.html
 
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-06-30/gas-drilling-cemeteries/55945368/1


White rot, the fungus that stopped coal, might start commercial
biofuels. The evolutionary rise of a common fungus -- white rot
-- is responsible for the end of underground coal formation 60
million years ago, scientists say in a paper published last week
in Science.  Ironically, that same fungus could now be a key
element to help the world move away from fossil fuels by helping
to create cheaper renewable fuels.  White rot is probably most
familiar to homeowners in humid climates because it decomposes
wood by breaking down the lignin -- the latticelike material that
makes wood and other plant material rigid.  BY SUBSCRIPTION. 
Posted.  http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2012/07/02/3 

VEHICLES

This Summer, Electric Cars Are Merging Into California's Traffic.
 IT doesn't sound as sexy as the 1967 Summer of Love, but for
Californians with a passion for plug-ins, the warm months of 2012
are turning into the season of the electric car.  Some four years
after the $100,000-plus Tesla Roadster became the nation's only
new electric vehicle capable of highway speeds, a wave of more
affordable plug-in cars are coming to market. And California, the
state with the nation's largest auto market, the worst air
quality and the most stringent emissions rules, is the first to
catch the tide.  Posted.  
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/automobiles/evs-are-merging-into-californias-traffic.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all


http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/business/auto-news/this-summer-electric-cars-are-merging-into-californias-traffic-642685/


California's electric car rebate program gets $27 million boost
in funding.  The Clean Vehicle Rebate Project, the source of the
$2500 of additional incentives for electric car purchases, which
was running low on funding, received new funding from the Air
Resources Board.  California and its concern for air pollution
has been at the forefront of pushing for clean vehicle
technology. One of that states programs, the Air Quality
Improvement Program, provides funds under the California Clean
Vehicle Rebate Project for the $2500 rebate California offers for
electric car purchases on top of the $7500 federal tax credit.
The funds in that program, which had shrunk to $3,368,013, just
received a massive infusion of over $27 million in new funding
from the Air Resources Board and $5 million from the California
Energy Commission.  Posted. 
http://www.torquenews.com/1075/californias-electric-car-rebate-program-gets-27-million-boost-funding


A Bare-Bones Electric Car That Goes the Extra Miles.  THE driving
distance for electric vehicles priced near the heart of the
new-car market — starting around $35,000, before federal tax
credits and other incentives — is defined by cars like the Nissan
Leaf and Ford Focus Electric. Each of those models, when keeping
pace with a typical mix of traffic conditions, will drive about
70 to 80 miles on a fully charged battery.  So the introduction
of a similarly priced electric sedan that delivers a consistent
100-mile range represents something of an industry milestone. 
Posted. 
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/automobiles/autoreviews/a-bare-bones-electric-car-that-goes-the-extra-mile.html?_r=1


Nissan providing residual battery power forecast and use
information services to LEAF owners.  Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
introduced two services through the Nissan LEAF owners’ website
and smartphone applications: one that precisely forecasts the
LEAF’s remaining battery capacity when it arrives at a
destination; and the other called “Minna no Syouhi Denryoku
(Energy Usage Database)” (available in Japan and North America). 
A dedicated website for Nissan LEAF owners already supplies a
route search function which alerts a driver to information on
charging spots, time required to drive a given travel route, and
driving directions. Recently, owners have requested information
regarding energy consumption based on additional variables, such
as when a Nissan LEAF travels in areas with a large elevation
change, such as up mountains.  Posted. 
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2012/07/nissan-providing-residual-battery-power-forecast-and-use-information-services-to-leaf-owners.html
 

Focus on choice — gas or electric.  Big Valley Ford in Stockton
is among the first 67 dealers in the nation certified to offer
Ford Motor Co.'s first all-electric car, the 2012 Focus Electric.
 To earn that standing, the dealership had to agree to install
charging stations and train service technicians and sales
personnel on all the ins and outs of these electric vehicles. 
But it's not all that unusual for the dealership, which
previously made a major commitment to offering natural gas-fueled
commercial trucks in this region.  Posted. 
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120702/A_BIZ/207010307&cid=sitesearch


MISCELLANEOUS

How about laser's red glare?  Like Francis Scott Key's Fort
McHenry, the venerable tradition of Independence Day fireworks
shows is under attack.  From one flank, red ink from municipal
budgets has fireworks fuses fizzling.  Without enough bucks for
their bang, California cities that once bankrolled fireworks
shows for the Fourth of July have canceled them – though in the
immediate Sacramento region, most of the shows go on.  Posted. 
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/07/02/4604026/how-about-lasers-red-glare.html#storylink=misearch
 

New app provides air quality readings.  Worried about breathing
polluted air? A new app shows users the air quality in their area
and lets them know when it might be best to stay indoors.  State
of the Air, a free app released by the American Lung Association,
provides real-time updates on levels of ozone and particulate
pollution in the atmosphere -- the two most widespread air
pollutants, and among the most dangerous, in the United States. 
Posted. 
http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/07/02/app-air-idINL2E8I22H520120702


OPINION

ANOTHER VIEW: We can't afford debt from 'visionary' high-speed
rail.  In his June 22 Community Voices piece, "Despite naysayers,
high-speed rail on track to be a game changer," Howard Silver
wrote about California's "doers" and "optimistic, visionary
people" who built the Golden Gate Bridge, highways and the
aqueduct. Those were different days. People and businesses were
flocking to the Golden State in search of a better life.  Today's
movers, shakers and crony capitalists have a different vision of
California -- where the unions rule.  Posted. 
http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/opinion/hot-topics/x1330930563/We-cant-afford-debt-from-visionary-high-speed-rail
 

Global warming in our backyard.  It's not just about the polar
bears anymore. There was a time when the conversation about
global warming was dominated by news about the Arctic, where its
effects are the most easily visible to the lay public. The
narrative involved shrinking glaciers and the ferocious white
bears that live part of their lives on drifting ice floes that
now are melting.  But polar bears are far away and ice is just,
well, ice. So it would be a good idea for the public — and
especially Southern Californians — to pay rapt attention to
several reports published within the last couple of weeks that
bring the reality of climate change from the polar ice caps to
our backyard.  Posted. 
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-adv-global-warming-20120702,0,4512793.story


Climate-warming deniers are zealous in their convictions. 
Several of the regular readers of this column have told me that
since I've been brave enough to tell the truth about evolution, I
should do the same for climate change and expose it as a hoax.
It's an interesting attitude and speaks to some key differences
in the way creationists and climate change skeptics approach
science.  Climate change skeptics are much more scattered in
their views than are creationists, but they are better organized
and together speak with a louder, and angrier voice.  Posted. 
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/07/02/4604606/climate-warming-deniers-are-zealous.html#storylink=misearch


Tighter pollution rules seconded.  I'd like to thank The
Californian very much for its June 21 editorial, "Time to adopt
tighter rules on air pollution," which recognizes the human toll
of air pollution in the Central Valley and the need for the
Environmental Protection Agency to set more health-protective
standards for fine particulate matter, or PM 2.5, one of the
deadliest and most dangerous forms of air pollution.  Under the
Clean Air Act, air quality standards must be set at levels that
protect public health, including the most sensitive individuals. 
Posted. 
http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/opinion/letters/x1330930861/Tighter-pollution-rules-seconded?utm_source=widget_60&utm_medium=summary_entries_teaser_widget&utm_campaign=synapse

LOIS HENRY: When it comes to fireworks, I'm still a hater.  Well
here we are again, just a hop, skip away from another 4th of July
celebration.  And after all these years of being ignored in my
quest to have personal fireworks banned, I've decided...I'M STILL
RIGHT!  We absolutely must ban personal fireworks.  What? You
thought I'd gone soft in my old age? Pshaw!  Personal fireworks,
and the absolute insanity they engender, have created a hazard
that is so out of control they need to be banned.  Potential fire
damage is just one issue. (Considering our tinder dry conditions
this year, though, that is a huge issue.)  They also cause
injuries, terrorize animals and push our pollution levels into
the stratosphere.  Posted. 
http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/columnists/lois-henry/x1330930768/LOIS-HENRY-Fireworks-still-not-worth-the-risk


BLOGS

Reviewing the Coda.  In Sunday’s Automobiles section, Bradley
Berman reviews the 2012 Coda, a purely electric, no-frills
compact sedan that is priced within range of the more luxurious
Ford Focus Electric and Nissan Leaf.  The Coda regularly returned
100 miles of range on a single charge in Mr. Berman’s week with
the car, roughly 20-30 miles more than the estimated ranges of
the Leaf and Focus.  Posted. 
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/29/reviewing-the-coda/



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