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ARB Newsclips for October 9, 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.

CALIFORNIA GAS PRICES

Rise in California gas price slows, remains record.  The rise in
California gasoline prices has slowed after recent jarring
increases, but nonetheless the cost of a gallon inched up to
another record high, even as officials hope their emergency
action will help ease the sticker shock.  The average price for
regular gas in the state on Tuesday was a bit over $4.67 a
gallon, according to the AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report. The price
was a state record and the highest in the nation.  The cost
increased only a fraction of a cent overnight, however — compared
to nearly 50 cents in the past week.  Posted. 
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jITAQRpREYk4TKuLIX-Rp90S_9BQ?docId=1d4f0b7f3ac0426e85a12d3e8db2d6be
 

Other related articles:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/officials-hope-release-of-winter-blend-gas-in-california-will-lower-prices-at-the-pump-soon/2012/10/09/6fd101c0-11e4-11e2-9a39-1f5a7f6fe945_story.html
 http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Gasoline-price-spike-may-be-slowing-down-3930546.php#ixzz28p5njXaf
 
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_21731151/gas-prices-set-california-record?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com
 
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_21731151/gas-prices-set-california-record?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/oct/09/tp-gasoline-prices-leveling-off/

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/oct/09/officials-hope-winter-blend-gas-will-drop-prices/
 
http://www.nctimes.com/business/rise-in-california-gas-price-slows-remains-record/article_90f796df-b57a-5163-97f7-96c4255d6444.html

http://www.sbsun.com/ci_21728093/southern-california-gas-prices-should-get-lower


One more new gas price record in California -- and perhaps the
last. For the fourth straight day, California has a new record
for gasoline prices, but the rise has apparently lost nearly all
of its momentum. The average cost of a gallon of regular gasoline
in California today is $4.671 a gallon, up just 0.3 cents
overnight, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report, which tracks
prices from 100,000 retail outlets across the U.S. That's still
48.9 cents a gallon higher than it was a week ago and 86.6 cents
a gallon above last year's price. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-california-gas-prices-one-more-new-record-20121009,0,6234697.story


California politicians pressing for gas-price relief and probe
into possible market. With gas prices hovering near $5 a gallon
in California, the state's politicians are simultaneously
pressing for relief and questioning whether the oil industry is
manipulating the market. The California Air Resources Board said
Monday that it had granted Gov. Jerry Brown's request over the
weekend to allow refineries to switch early to making cheaper
winter-grade fuel. The idea is to boost the supply of gasoline,
but analysts said it's unclear how quickly the change will bring
prices down, or by how much. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/09/v-print/4893565/california-politicians-pressing.html


California gas prices hit yet another record high. California gas
prices hit an all-time high for the fourth day in a row today.
AAA put the average price of unleaded regular this morning at
$4.671 a gallon, up from yesterday's record of $4.668. However,
national gas price tracker GasBuddy.com had the average price of
a gallon of gas in California at $4.65, down a penny from Monday.
GasBuddy also said the statewide trend is for falling prices.
Energy analysts blame the weeklong surge in prices on a perfect
storm of supply disruptions at refineries throughout California.
Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/09/4895245/california-gas-prices-hit-yet.html#storylink=cpy


S.F. has state's 2nd-priciest gas at $4.73. Number of the day
$4.738 That's the average price of a gallon of gasoline in San
Francisco, the second-highest in the state, AAA said Monday.
Regular unleaded is 22 percent more expensive in California than
the rest of the nation and hit an all-time high, thanks to
outages at Chevron's refinery in Richmond and Exxon Mobil's
facility in Torrance (Los Angeles County). Prices began to fall
on Monday after Gov. Jerry Brown ordered regulators to relax smog
controls so refineries can switch to cheaper winter-blend gas.
Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/S-F-has-state-s-2nd-priciest-gas-at-4-73-3930279.php#ixzz28p6FvPGc


'Winter-Blend' Gasoline Could Reduce Prices In California. State
air pollution regulators said Monday that California's air
quality is not expected to worsen appreciably after the governor
ordered the release of a dirtier blend of gasoline to help slash
record-high pump prices. The California Air Resources Board
issued a regulatory advisory a day earlier after Gov. Jerry Brown
ordered them to allow so-called "winter-blend" gasoline to be
sold in California earlier than usual to increase supply. Posted.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/08/winter-blend-gasoline_n_1949723.html?view=print&comm_ref=false


CLIMATE CHANGE

CO2 emissions go up fast when economy booms, drop more slowly
when it doesn't. Carbon dioxide emissions grow more when the
economy is healthy than they decline when global markets falter,
a new study finds. The disparity is likely a result of cars,
roads, buildings and other infrastructure that are built or
bought during good times and continue pumping out CO2 even when
growth slows, said Richard York, a sociologist at the University
of Oregon whose work was published Sunday in the journal Nature
Climate Change. His research suggests that, for each 1 percent of
growth in a nation's gross domestic product per capita, CO2
emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement manufacturing
grow 0.733 percent to 0.752 percent. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2012/10/09/8  BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

DIESEL EMISSIONS

AGC: Changes to Off-Road Diesel Emissions Rules Will Save
Construction Employees Billions. A series of changes California
officials made to their off-road diesel emissions rule, made to
correct the significant errors in the measure discovered by the
Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), will save
construction employers as much as $9 billion, according to the
AGC. Association officials outlined the changes and their
potential impacts during a federal hearing Sept. 20 on whether
California can start enforcing the revised measure in 2014.
Posted.
http://www.constructionequipmentguide.com/AGC-Changes-to-Off-Road-Diesel-Emissions-Rules-Will-Save-Construction-Employees-Billions/18991/


FUELS

Natural Gas Drops as Mild Weather to Reduce Heating-Fuel Demand. 
Natural gas futures dropped in New York for the second time in
three days on forecasts for mild weather that would crimp demand
for heating fuels.  Gas fell as much as 1.6 percent as MDA
EarthSat Weather in Gaithersburg, Maryland, predicted
above-normal temperatures from the East Coast to the Midwest and
Texas over the next six to 15 days. The Energy Department
predicted last month that stockpiles will reach an all-time high
by the end of October, before demand increases with colder
weather.  Posted. 
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-10-08/u-dot-s-dot-natural-gas-futures-gain-on-forecast-showing-cooler-weather


Compressed natural gas site opens for Okla. Trucks.  A truck stop
chain has opened its first compressed natural gas facility for
heavy-duty trucks in Oklahoma. Love's Travel Stops opened the
facility Monday on Interstate 40 at the Morgan Road exit in
Oklahoma City. The Oklahoma City-based company says the CNG
filling station demonstrates its commitment to offering natural
gas as an alternative fuel for the trucking industry. Love's says
compressed natural gas costs about $2 less per gallon than diesel
fuel, on which most big rigs run. Posted. 
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/oct/09/compressed-natural-gas-site-opens-for-okla/
 

IEA optimistic about future of Iraq oil industry. The
International Energy Agency predicted Tuesday that Iraq will
consolidate its position as a global oil power _ allowing it to
rebuild the economy of a nation ravaged by war and decades of
Saddam Hussein's autocratic rule. The leading global energy
monitor reported that Iraq's annual revenues from energy exports
could double to an average of $200 billion annually over the next
20 years. That optimistic scenario would make Iraq's economy the
same size as that of Saudi Arabia now by 2035. Posted. 
http://www.nctimes.com/news/world/iea-optimistic-about-future-of-iraq-oil-industry/article_6b540b42-58bb-5e20-a9b8-dd0915013a93.html


The road to more sustainable fuels remains ill-defined – report.
Businesses have difficult decisions to make when it comes to
producing and purchasing transportation fuels, from cost to
long-term supply to environmental impacts. The corporate
sustainability group BSR unpacked these concerns in a report
released today on the total sustainability implications of
commercial transportation fuels. A number of the 300 companies
BSR works with are large-scale fuel users confronting ever more
complicated and sometimes controversial decisions on which fuels
to use, said Eric Olson, senior vice president with BSR. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2012/10/09/7  BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

VEHICLES

Honda sees record gasoline prices as opening for natural gas
Civic. Record gasoline prices got you down? Honda thinks it has a
deal for you. Honda is offering a $3,000 debit card good at Clean
Energy natural gas filling stations with the purchase of a 2012
model year Civic Natural Gas vehicle. That is about three years'
worth of fuel for most drivers at today’s natural gas prices.
There are about 40 Clean Energy filling stations in Southern
California and about 160 nationwide. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-honda-civic-natural-gas-incentive-20121009,0,1767074.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fmostviewed+%28L.A.+Times+-+Most+Viewed+Stories%29


Dealers call Tesla factory stores illegal. After opening several
stores without much pushback, Elon Musk's ambition to replicate
the Apple experience in Tesla factory stores is now facing
potential roadblocks. Dealer associations in a handful of states,
and state regulators in at least one case, say Tesla's stores
violate state franchise laws that prohibit factory ownership of
dealerships. Electric-vehicle maker Tesla now operates 17 stores
in 10 states and the District of Columbia, most in shopping
malls. Another six are scheduled to open this fall. Posted.
http://www.autonews.com/article/20121008/RETAIL07/310089952#ixzz28pJzGMzB


GREEN ENERGY

NRC vows review of San Onofre restart plan. Federal regulators
will make a detailed analysis over “several months” of Southern
California Edison’s plan to restart one of two idled reactors at
the San Onofre nuclear plant, a Nuclear Regulatory Commission
administrator said Monday in San Juan Capistrano. Federal
regulators will make a detailed analysis over “several months” of
Southern California Edison’s plan to restart one of two idled
reactors at the San Onofre nuclear plant, a Nuclear Regulatory
Commission administrator said Monday in San Juan Capistrano.
Posted.
http://www.ocregister.com/news/nrc-373997-thorough-onofre.html 
 
MISCELLANEOUS

Clothes That Clean The Air While You Wear.  Fight air pollution
and look fabulous? CatClo, a new designer fabric conditioner,
could make it possible in as little as two years from now.  This
innovation is down to The Catalytic Clothing project, a
collaboration between the University of Sheffield and the London
College of Fashion.  Together, they have engineered a new
substance that, when added to clothing in the same way you might
use fabric conditioner, would clean the air as you go about your
daily business. It could dramatically cut pollution and
pollution-related illnesses like asthma.  Posted. 
http://www.care2.com/causes/clothes-that-clean-the-air-while-you-wear.html


OPINIONS

Behind California's gas spike. Gov. Brown was right to act to
reduce prices. But are more than market factors at work?
California's record-breaking rise in gasoline prices over the
last week was so sudden, and so apparently unjustified by the
supply-and-demand factors that usually control markets, that it's
natural to suspect some kind of conspiracy at play. Among the
suspicious is Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who sent a letter
to the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission on Monday calling
for an investigation. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-gasoline-20121009,0,7222847.story


California gas prices to tumble? Just my luck. Darn it, I missed
out again. You know when the iPhone came out? Well, I didn’t buy
one. Same with the iPod and the iPad.  I also didn’t buy a Mini
Cooper when they were such hot sellers. And now I’ve missed the
big gasoline price run-up in California. My habit of missing out,
or being late to the party, goes way back, unfortunately.  When
disco was all the rage, I liked oldies rock. I stuck with film
cameras way too long. I don’t have a smartphone. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-california-gas-prices-go-tumbling-down-20121008,0,3488923.story


Q&A: When will gas prices start to fall? At least gas prices
aren't spiking up any longer. The average statewide price for
regular Tuesday morning remained at a record $4.67, according to
AAA’s daily fuel gauge report. That's the same as on Monday. San
Diego hovered around $4.722, down ever so slightly from $4.725,
also a record. Now the question is -- when will we see relief at
the pump? Posted.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/oct/09/questions-answers-gasoline-prices/


GAS: Pain at the pump worst in the desert. Patrick Matthews’
decision to fill his gas tank somewhere near the middle of his
trip across the Mojave Desert cost him dearly. Matthews,
returning to his El Centro Navy base after visiting with family
in Las Vegas, said he stopped at Vidal Junction at the crossroads
of highways 62 and 95 because he was halfway between the two
points. He paid $27.65 for 4.85 gallons at the junction’s only
station and joined a growing number of Southern Californians
paying well past $5 per gallon as gas prices go up like a rocket
launch. Posted. 
http://www.pe.com/local-news/transportation-headlines/20121008-gas-pain-at-the-pump-worst-in-the-desert.ece


Where is outrage? EDITOR: I am happy that Gov. Jerry Brown is
helping California car commuters and other users of gas by
releasing the gas held for winter (“Brown tries to drive down gas
prices,” Monday). What I fail to understand is why our people
have to pay for the failures and mistakes at the oil company
refineries. Posted.
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20121009/OPINION/121009542 

BLOGS

On Our Radar: Mock Candidates Go Head to Head on Energy.
Surrogates for President Obama and Mitt Romney debate the future
of federal energy policy. [E&E News] Siemens begins testing the
world’s largest wind-turbine rotor, with blades measuring 505
feet. [Clean Technica] A growing majority of Americans — 74
percent, up 5 points from a survey in March — say that global
warming is affecting weather in the United States. [Yale Project
on Climate Communication]. Posted.
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/09/on-our-radar-mock-candidates-go-head-to-head-on-energy/
 

Aid Groups Push for Clean Energy. When Samantha Smith started
working for the World Wildlife Fund more than a decade ago, she
was stationed in the Arctic, where her work focused on the
species she was trying to protect in that habitat.
‘‘I had my encounters with polar bears,’’ she said.Now, she is
working on a much broader set of problems. ‘‘We started out
looking at animals, species and the places where they lived, but
we are finding that a lot of this is about natural resources,’’
she said. Posted.
http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/08/aid-groups-push-for-clean-energy-policies/
 

Climate Change Threatens Maize and Bean Farmers in Central
America.  Climate change is real, and it is going to have real
effects on real people in Central America. That is evident in a
new report that for the first time takes a specific look at the
impact of climate change on a local level.  "Tortillas on the
Roaster" exposes the risks of climate change to the cultivation
of maize and beans -- the two most-important food crops in
Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. Posted. 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/catholic-relief-services/central-america-climate-change_b_1947838.html



Fox's Solution To CA Gas Price Spike: Drill, Baby, Drill. Fox
News is seizing on high gas prices in California to push for
opening up new areas, including the California coast, to
drilling, ignoring the real factors driving up prices at the
pump. But experts say increasing U.S. production will have no
impact on gas prices, and that the only way to protect against
price spikes is to reduce consumption. Gas prices in California
hit near-record highs this week as a result of supply disruptions
at several key refineries in the state as well as the shutdown of
a contaminated pipeline. Posted.
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2012/10/09/foxs-solution-to-ca-gas-price-spike-drill-baby/190482