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newsclips -- Newsclips for October 11, 2012
Posted: 11 Oct 2012 13:32:06
ARB Newsclips for October 11, 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 Researchers describe the “where” and “when” of life cycle emissions from gasoline and ethanol in the US. Researchers from the University of Minnesota have produced a spatially and temporally explicit life cycle inventory (LCI) of air pollutants from gasoline, ethanol derived from corn grain, and ethanol from corn stover for the contiguous US (the lower 48 states). A paper on their work is published in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology. Life cycle inventories have typically been presented at global, national, or regional levels…Posted. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2012/10/tessum-20121011.html CLIMATE CHANGE Experts: Global warming means more Antarctic ice. The ice goes on seemingly forever in a white pancake-flat landscape, stretching farther than ever before. And yet in this confounding region of the world, that spreading ice may be a cockeyed signal of man-made climate change, scientists say. This is Antarctica, the polar opposite of the Arctic. While the North Pole has been losing sea ice over the years, the water nearest the South Pole has been gaining it. Antarctic sea ice hit a record 7.51 million square miles in September. That happened just days after reports of the biggest loss of Arctic sea ice on record. Posted. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hZjexMwx4JtHEl19ni3lJCOQHx2Q?docId=71ccc50ef7674d1ea661a3d0b51fb757 Other related articles: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/energy-environment/as-strange-as-it-seems-scientists-say-increase-in-antarctic-ice-may-be-sign-of-climate-change/2012/10/10/ae41f494-1312-11e2-9a39-1f5a7f6fe945_story.html http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/10/10/3024531/experts-global-warming-means-more.html#storylink=misearch http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2012/10/11/antarctic-ice-global-warming-climate-change/1626795/ http://www.nctimes.com/news/science/experts-global-warming-means-more-antarctic-ice/article_46b903fd-620d-508b-96ad-b7602f41d850.html China’s Emissions Trading May Spur Global Accord, Report Says. China, the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases linked to climate change, may create the impetus for a global carbon market as it begins pilot trading programs, according to the Climate Institute. “China’s emerging schemes can dovetail with other global schemes as a stepping stone towards a global climate change agreement by 2015,” John Connor, chief executive officer of the Sydney-based institute that commissioned a report released today, said in an e-mailed statement. Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-11/china-s-emissions-trading-may-spur-global-accord-report-says.html Climate-Proofing The Insurance Industry. The world’s largest reinsurer has examined the recent rise in the number and severity of natural disasters worldwide, and finds the trend bears the unmistakable fingerprints of climate change. What’s more, America is bearing the brunt of that change. “North America is the continent with the largest increases in disasters,” Munich Re’s Peter Hoppe told USA Today yesterday. Take a look at the map of the most costly extreme weather events in 2011 and so far in 2012 for a snapshot that begins to show what he’s talking about. Posted. http://www.forbes.com/sites/mindylubber/2012/10/11/climate-proofing-the-insurance-industry/ Majority of Americans believe Climate Change is worsening extreme weather. According to a new poll, 74 percent of Americans agree that climate change is impacting weather in the U.S., including 73 percent who agreed, strongly or somewhat, that climate change had exacerbated record high temperatures over the summer. The findings mean that a large majority of Americans agree with climatologists who in recent years have found increasingly strong evidence that climate change has both increased and worsened extreme weather events. Posted. http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/45068 Greenhouse gas emissions mapped to street level for U.S. cities. An ASU study released on October 9, 2012, utilizes extensive public databases and combines these with traffic simulation and building-by-building energy consumption modeling to estimate greenhouse gas emissions from urban landscapes. Scientists have until now quantified carbon dioxide emissions at a much broader level. Posted. http://www.examiner.com/article/greenhouse-gas-emissions-mapped-to-street-level-for-u-s-cities http://www.npr.org/2012/10/11/162656583/software-calculates-city-specific-carbon-footprint?sc=tw&cc=share Obama allies and opponents stage crossfire over climate change issues. Mitt Romney attacked the president yesterday for threatening to revive carbon-capping legislation. Meanwhile, climate advocates pressed the White House to take a stronger, and smarter, role in confronting rising temperatures. The Romney campaign is increasingly pointing to President Obama's past support for limiting emissions at large utilities and industrial plants, what Republicans successfully branded as "cap and tax" in the 2010 midterm elections. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2012/10/11/3 BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY CALIFORNIA GAS PRICES California gasoline prices declining in slow motion. Gasoline prices barely moved overnight. AAA put the statewide average price of unleaded regular this morning at $4.659, down a tiny bit from $4.666 on Wednesday and just a short hop from Tuesday's all-time record of $4.671. National gas price tracker GasBuddy.com had the average price of a gallon of gas in California at $4.63, down a penny from Wednesday. In Sacramento, AAA said the average for unleaded regular today is $4.53 a gallon, also down a penny from Wednesday. Posted. http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/11/v-print/4903191/california-gasoline-prices-declining.html No easy answer to fixing California's record gas prices. Not really, say industry officials, environmentalists and state regulators. Skyrocketing gas prices over the past week have been blamed on two key issues: outages at California refineries and the fact that the state requires a unique type of clean-burning summer gasoline that can't be easily replaced or imported from other places during shortages. As a result, California is a "fuel island," vulnerable to disruptions and price spikes. Even temporary solutions pose problems. Posted. http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_21735517/no-easy-answer-fixing-californias-record-gas-prices STATE: Gas prices drop by a half-penny. California gas prices dipped a half-penny Wednesday, the first drop after a week that saw prices surge a record 50 cents. The statewide average for regular unleaded was just under $4.67 a gallon, still the highest in the nation, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report. Posted. http://www.nctimes.com/news/state-and-regional/state-gas-prices-drop-by-a-half-penny/article_10219f0f-708a-5abb-99a2-640ffc9ff791.html California gasoline prices down for 2nd day. California's reign of pump pain is easing as prices drop for the second day in a row. The AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report for Thursday says the average price of regular is just under $4.66 a gallon—down more than a penny in two days. However, it's still the highest price in the nation. The highest state price is $4.75 a gallon in the San Luis Obispo area. San Francisco has $4.73, with Los Angeles and San Diego reporting around $4.70. Posted. http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_21748218/california-gasoline-prices-down-2nd-day http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_21748218/california-gasoline-prices-down-2nd-day?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20121011/WIRE/121019941/1350?Title=-California-gas-prices-down-for-2nd-day California gas prices drop by a half-penny. California gas prices dipped a half-penny Wednesday, the first drop after a week that saw prices surge a record 50 cents. The statewide average for regular unleaded was just under $4.67 a gallon, still the highest in the nation, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report. Gas prices rose more than 50 cents a gallon between Oct. 1 and Oct. 8, from $4.168 to a record $4.671, the largest one-week price spike in California history, AAA spokesman Avery Ash said. The previous record was 26.2 cents a gallon in February. Posted. http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_21739169/calif-gas-prices-finally-begin-fall Chevron’s damaged Crude Unit 4 to remain shut through the winter as gas prices soar. The stoppage of operations at Chevron’s damaged Crude Distillation Unit, which supplied units at the Richmond refinery responsible for 38 percent of the Bay Area’s total refining capacity, has been partially blamed for soaring gas prices across the state. California’s Air Resources Board, which granted refineries a waiver to start refining crude with higher emission this week in an effort to reduce the impact of declining refinery output on fuel prices…Posted. http://richmondconfidential.org/2012/10/10/chevrons-damaged-crude-unit-4-to-remain-shut-through-the-winter-as-gas-prices-soar/ Democrats ask for probe into high Calif. gas prices. Top California Democrats this week are asking federal investigators to examine what is behind record-high gasoline prices in the Golden State. Although national averages are also high for this time of year, the average price in California was $4.67 per gallon of regular gasoline as of this morning, compared with $3.81 nationally, according to data compiled by AAA. Rep. Henry Waxman and Sen. Dianne Feinstein are asking the Federal Trade Commission for an investigation, while Sen. Barbara Boxer is targeting the Justice Department's Oil and Gas Price Fraud Working Group. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2012/10/10/6 BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY FUELS Inglewood Oil Field fracking study finds no harm from the method. Yearlong study, conducted by firms chosen by the oil field owner and L.A. County, was meant to address fears about potential groundwater contamination, air pollution and increased seismic activity. A long-awaited study released Wednesday says the controversial oil extraction method known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, would not harm the environment if used at the Inglewood Oil Field in the Baldwin Hills area. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fracking-baldwin-hills-20121010,0,2556088,print.story Roadshow: California's clean-burning gas has supporters. Q Does the current special blend of gas really significantly help pollution? Or is this just another liberal feel-good thing that costs the taxpayers a lot of money but has only a minimal or even a negative benefit? Arlen StoneMorgan Hill A Well, some folks think the benefit is huge, despite the fact that gas is uncomfortably close to $5 a gallon. Read on. Posted. http://www.mercurynews.com/mr-roadshow/ci_21749848/roadshow-californias-clean-burning-gas-has-supporters California Advanced Energy Coalition calls for E15 accommodation. The California Advanced Energy Coalition has proposed immediate action by the California Air Resources Board to adjust its fuel regulations to accommodate increased amounts of low cost clean burning fuels on the market. By implementing a recent ruling by the U.S. EPA allowing E15 into the market place, CARB could reduce California gasoline prices immediately as wholesale ethanol is selling at more than $1.00 per gallon below the price of gasoline. An emergency update of the CARB compliance model to include levels of ethanol up to 15 percent will mitigate the need for such waivers in the future, while increasing the supply of the lowest cost fuel in the market, and enhancing California's air quality. Posted. http://www.ethanolproducer.com/articles/9199/california-advanced-energy-coalition-calls-for-e15-accommodation Fracking oversight: With regulators hobbled, good Samaritans step in. Friends (allies? sweethearts? paramours? hot erotic lovers?) of the fossil fuel industry have done a hell of a good job shutting down official government observation of what it is they’re up to. Not as good as the industry would like, mind you, but a very, very good job in the eyes of those skeptical that their stewardship of the Earth is sincere. We’ve been sucking oil out of the ground for a century, so the two sides…Posted. http://grist.org/news/fracking-oversight-with-regulators-hobbled-good-samaritans-step-in/ Discovering the keys to improved biofuel catalysts. Nanospheres, tiny spheres of silica with a honeycomb of tunnels, or pores, throughout their structure and embedded with catalytic groups, were developed in the last decade as a solution to finding a reusable catalyst for converting biomass into fuel. While scientists are now able to produce these nanospheres in ways that control the size of the pores and the type and position of the catalytic groups, understanding precisely how these chemical reactions take place will allow further fine-tuning and predictable control of catalytic processes. Posted. http://phys.org/news/2012-10-keys-biofuel-catalysts.html VEHICLES For Some Drivers, an Electric Motorcycle Could Be the Best of Both Worlds. Zipping around on a motorcycle can be fun, but being in a downpour or an accident on one is not. Driving a car is safer and more comfortable, but traffic and parking can be annoying. What if you got rid of the bad parts of both? You might end up with something like the C-1, an electric motorcycle that looks as if it came out of the movie “Tron.” For protection, the bike is encased in a metal shell, and it is controlled like a car, with a steering wheel and foot pedals. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/11/technology/start-ups/for-some-drivers-electric-motorcycle-could-be-the-best-of-both-worlds.html?ref=earth California Grants Tesla $10 Million To Build The Model X Electric SUV. California regulators on Wednesday approved a $10 million grant to Tesla Motors to help manufacture its next electric car, the Model X sport utility vehicle. Tesla will pony up $50 million to match the California Energy Commission grant, which will be used to expand manufacturing capacity at its factory in Fremont, Calif., and to purchase equipment to make components for the Model X. It was something of a love fest for Tesla at the energy commission meeting in Sacramento as commissioners and other regulators praised Tesla as an innovator that has brought automotive manufacturing back to California while creating clean cars and more than 1,500 jobs. Posted. http://www.forbes.com/sites/toddwoody/2012/10/10/california-grants-tesla-10-million-to-build-the-model-x-electric-suv/ California Energy Commission approves more than $20M for clean transportation projects; Tesla, Quallion, other EV, battery and alt-fuel vehicles projects. The California Energy Commission approved funding of more than $20 million to support low carbon transportation projects; about half went to Tesla Motors. These awards, totaling $20,093,718, are made through the Commission’s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program, created by Assembly Bill 118. The investments of public money through this program require matching-funds from awardees, and by making payments on a reimbursement basis. Posted. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2012/10/cec-20121011.html GREEN ENERGY China rejects US solar tariffs as protectionism. China demanded Thursday that Washington repeal steep tariffs on solar panels that Chinese producers fear will shut their equipment out of the American market. The tariffs upheld Wednesday by the U.S. Commerce Department add to financial pressure on struggling Chinese solar panel manufacturers that are suffering heavy losses due to weak demand and a price-cutting war. Posted. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hllddSR0beXQ-2x8U-0O8dr1A0lA?docId=2f31c25a4c784f95bc62f6678b1f6a63 Other related articles: http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_21745821/china-rejects-us-solar-tariffs-protectionism?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/10/10/3025001/china-rejects-us-solar-tariffs.html#storylink=misearch http://www.nctimes.com/business/china-rejects-us-solar-tariffs-as-protectionism/article_b7aa347d-62cd-5fcb-8f79-ca5bc45e0e53.html California's renewable-energy plans may hinge on presidential race. Players big and small in the state's rapidly growing industry worry a Romney win will strip them of federal subsidies they say are key to clean energy's future. On 7,300 isolated acres in eastern Kern County, a plan for dozens of wind turbines 20 stories high to generate enough electricity for tens of thousands of homes may hinge on who is elected president. Millions of dollars have been spent laying the groundwork. Permits are in order, contractors are lined up, government planners are on board. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-election-energy-20121011,0,4154109.story In Fighting Coal Pollution, Nevada Tribe Will Sell Solar Power to L.A. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) has agreed to buy all the power produced by a 250-megawatt solar facility on the Moapa River Paiute Reservation northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada. The Moapa Solar Energy Center, being built by K Road Power, will place photovoltaic arrays and a concentrating solar power tower on about 1,000 acres of tribal land about 35 miles northeast of Las Vegas. Posted. http://www.kcet.org/news/rewire/solar/dwp-will-buy-solar-power-from-nevada-indian-reservation.html MISCELLANEOUS Chevron stock plummets on weak forecast, disclosure of Richmond refinery unit outage for rest of 2012. Shares of San Ramon-based Chevron plunged on Wednesday, the first trading day after the oil company said its third quarter would be weaker than the second quarter. Chevron's shares sank 4.2 percent, or $4.91, and finished at $112.45. The energy giant was hobbled by the Richmond refinery fire, which slashed the company's refining capacity by 92,000 barrels a day. The fuel factory has a capacity of 245,000 barrels a day. Posted. http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_21745814/chevron-stock-plummets-weak-forecast-disclosure-richmond-refinery?source=rss . Noisy crowd gathers at San Onofre nuclear plant meeting. More than 850 people crowded into a public meeting on the San Onofre nuclear power plant Tuesday night, the sometimes-boisterous crowd cheering or jeering as panelists spoke of problems that have kept the plant's two reactors offline for nearly nine months. The meeting in Dana Point was organized by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, but speakers also included plant operator Southern California Edison, anti-nuclear activists, a union representative for San Onofre workers and state utility and energy regulators. Posted. http://www.ocregister.com/news/nuclear-374117-plant-san.html BLOGS In California, High Gas Prices and Incentives for Fuel-Efficient Cars Go Hand in Hand. With a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline flirting with $5 through much of California, many people might expect a reprise of 2008, when the state joined much of the country in turning away from gas guzzlers and toward compact cars and hybrids. But according to some dealers around the Bay Area, though gas prices are pushing consumers toward the greener sections of their showrooms, a number of incentives are doing their part, too. Posted. http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/10/in-california-high-gas-prices-and-incentives-for-fuel-efficient-cars-go-hand-in-hand/ Director lauds short-term bullet train benefits. With unemployment still above 12 percent in the Inland area, local officials are turning to any and all options for job creation — including a planned statewide bullet train system that won’t link Los Angeles and the Bay Area for a decade. And it’ll probably be even longer for fast trains to reach Riverside County or San Bernardino County. Posted. http://blog.pe.com/transportation/2012/10/10/high-speed-rail-director-lauds-short-term-bullet-train-benefits/