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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips of October 23, 2012.
Posted: 23 Oct 2012 12:35:40
ARB Newsclips for October 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. AIR POLLUTION Tribe near Vegas appealing EPA coal plant air rule. An American Indian tribe living in the shadow of a NV Energy Inc. coal-fired power plant outside Las Vegas is heading a legal push for more stringent emissions and air quality standards for the facility. The Moapa Band of Paiute Indians, National Parks Conservation Association and Sierra Club is asking the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to order the federal Environmental Protection Agency to beef up standards approved in August for the Reid Gardner Generating Station. Posted. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57537994/tribe-near-vegas-appealing-epa-coal-plant-air-rule/ CLIMATE CHANGE EU needs to decide carbon reform "without delay”: draft. A rapid rise in surplus EU carbon credits is expected to slow from 2014 onwards, but to tackle a short-term glut member states need to decide before the end of the year on a temporary fix, a European Commission draft document said. The draft report on the carbon market also called on the member states to discuss and explore options for more lasting changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) after allowance prices hit a record low in April. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/23/us-eu-ets-idUSBRE89M0KX20121023 EU to Sell 197 Million of CO2 in Early 2013, New Energy Says. The European Union will probably sell about 197 million metric tons of carbon allowances in the first two months of next year, even as it seeks to complete details of a supply-glut fix, said Bloomberg New Energy Finance. That volume will “almost certainly” be sold in auctions over that period while the bloc seeks to complete details of its plan to temporarily delay supply, James Cooper, an analyst in London for New Energy Finance, said today in an e-mailed response to questions. Posted. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-19/eu-to-sell-197-million-of-co2-in-early-2013-new-energy-says-1-.html Climate linked to conflict in East Africa, study finds. A study relating climate to conflict in East African nations finds that increased rainfall dampens conflict while unusually hot periods can cause a flare-up, reinforcing the theory that climate change will cause increased scarcity in the region. The study was published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Politicians and many scientists have called climate change a security risk…Posted. http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-climate-change-linked-to-conflict-in-east-africa-20121022,0,7901739,print.story Climate change will increase methane emissions from rice paddies – study. Both warming and increased carbon dioxide in the air will nearly double the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions from rice paddies, a new study has found. "We're pushing these ecosystems to become more of a source of this potent greenhouse gas," said Bruce Hungate, a researcher at Northern Arizona University and co-author of the report. Researchers from the University of California, Davis, Northern Arizona University and Trinity University in Dublin analyzed journal articles on greenhouse gas emissions from rice cultivation in fields, growth chambers and glass houses. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2012/10/23/5 BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY Candidates spar over energy; climate's a no-show. Despite weeks of protests and public campaigns, advocates for a discussion of climate change policy saw their efforts fall short last night when neither President Obama nor GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney broached the topic at their final debate of the campaign cycle. Obama and Romney met at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., in their third and final matchup last night, in an event largely keyed to foreign policy. Various environment organizations had lobbied for weeks -- submitting petitions, purchasing national television ad time and staging protests at each of the debate sites -- for candidates to be asked to address their positions on climate change science. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2012/10/23/2 BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY DIESEL EMISSIONS Diesel fumes more polluting than gas, new California study finds. A chemical analysis of air samples taken from California's San Joaquin Valley and an Oakland traffic tunnel show that diesel fuel emissions are more polluting than previously thought, according to researchers. The study, which appeared Monday in the journal PNAS, focuses on a specific form of pollutant known as secondary organic aerosol, or SOA. The pollutant is a major element of smog and can contribute to heart and respiratory problems. Posted. http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-diesel-pollution-20121022,0,5516594,print.story CARB: How do you know your PM filter is legal? That diesel particulate filter a shop or parts dealer talked you into may fit onto your after-exhaust system – but it won’t keep you from getting a citation issued by the California Air Resources Board. As part of CARB’s diesel truck inspection blitz in September, the air quality agency found many trucks that had particulate filters installed, though some weren’t CARB approved and left truck owners vulnerable to expensive fines. In a news release, CARB says “some companies are advertising and attempting to sell devices that cannot be used to comply with Air Resources Board diesel engine regulations.” Posted. http://www.landlinemag.com/Story.aspx?StoryID=24313 Air pollution study clears the air on diesel versus gas emissions. Are gasoline-fueled cars or large diesel trucks the bigger source of secondary organic aerosol (SOA), a major component of smog? UC Berkeley researchers have stepped into this debate with a new study that says diesel exhaust contributes 15 times more than gas emissions per liter of fuel burned. The study, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, elucidates the contributions to air pollution from the two types of fuel emissions. The authors estimate that diesel exhaust is responsible for 65-90 percent of a region’s vehicular-derived SOA, depending upon the relative amounts of gasoline and diesel used in the area. Posted. http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/10/22/diesel-vs-gas-contributing-to-smog/ FUELS When prices spike, do gas stations make money? Consumers took a beating when gas prices jumped this month, but the price spike also gashed independent station owners too, leaving many bleeding red ink. Branded stations like Shell, BP, or Exxon typically charge more for gas than the unbranded stations, but they’re insulated from shortages like the one that struck California earlier in the month. Posted. http://www.nctimes.com/business/when-prices-spike-do-gas-stations-make-money/article_365b23a2-300e-5708-baa0-8ca97655a613.html Oil price below $88 on global growth concerns. The price of oil fell below $88 a barrel Tuesday as the impending reopening of a key pipeline in North America and concerns about slowing economic growth overcame rising Middle East supply risks. By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark oil for December delivery was down $1.04 to $87.61 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange after briefly venturing above $89 earlier in the day.The contract fell $1.32 to finish at $88.73 per barrel in New York on Monday, reaching a three-week low as a major North American pipeline got set to reopen. Posted. http://www.nctimes.com/news/world/oil-price-below-on-global-growth-concerns/article_005799b2-822e-5a54-9237-3e47bf27fa0c.html GREEN ENERGY Green buildings on the rise in Persian Gulf states. With massive steel Sidra trees sprouting from the base of the building and a 9-meter (yard) high sculpture of a spider in the lobby protecting a sack of grey and white eggs, Qatar National Convention Center is hard to ignore. But it's what most visitors don't see that may become the building's lasting legacy in a region far better known for over-the-top excesses than conservation. From the sustainably logged wood used in its construction to the 3,500-square-meters of solar panels on the roof…Posted. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_GULF_GREEN_BUILDINGS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT IKEA to move to clean energy by 2020, protect forests. IKEA, the world's largest furniture retailer, will shift to renewable energy by 2020 and grow more trees than it uses under a plan to safeguard nature that has won support from environmentalists. The Swedish-based group, which wants to build on many customers' desire for a greener lifestyle, also said on Tuesday it would limit sales by 2016 to energy-efficient products including induction cookers and LED light bulbs. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/23/us-ikea-idUSBRE89L1LZ20121023 Billboards Urge L.A. Mayor to Up City's Renewable Energy. Given the last renewable energy-related billboard that mentioned Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa -- a well-placed sign on the 10 near its entrance to the Coachella Valley slamming the mayor for his support of the proposed "Green Path North" transmission line -- you might expect him to be a little jumpy to hear there are new ones. Posted. http://www.kcet.org/news/rewire/utilities/billboards-urge-los-angeles-mayor-to-up-citys-renewable-energy.html MISCELLANEOUS As unconventional U.S. oil, gas boom, so do jobs: report. The U.S. oil and gas rush is cutting into jobless numbers, supporting a total of 1.7 million jobs this year, a number that will swell to almost 3 million by 2020, a leading consultant said in a study released on Tuesday. The report by forecaster IHS Global Insight (IHS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is part of a series attempting to quantify the impact that booming production of so-called "unconventional" oil and gas has had on the American economy. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/23/us-usa-oil-economy-idUSBRE89M05Y20121023 OPINIONS The Promise of Renewable Energy. David Brooks’s Oct. 19 column, “A Sad Green Story,” unfairly brands clean technology subsidies as wasteful corporate welfare. He does not mention the numerous subsidies, in the form of research grants, sweetheart resource extraction contracts and costly foreign policy interventions, that have benefited fossil fuels for decades. The reluctance of both political parties to eliminate these subsidies puts clean technologies at a competitive disadvantage. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/23/opinion/the-promise-of-renewable-energy.html?_r=0 Michael Shellenberger to climate activists: It’s not the end of the world. Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus have a real knack for stirring the pot. In 2004, the duo, founders of an Oakland, Calif.-based think tank called the Breakthrough Institute, published a paper called “The Death of Environmentalism: Global Warming Politics in a Post-Environmental World.” Much to the chagrin of many old-school greens, they argued that the institution of environmentalism was unable to deal with the global crises knocking at our door, because environmentalists were pigeonholed by what they called “the politics of limits”…Posted. http://grist.org/climate-energy/michael-shellenberger-to-climate-activists-its-not-the-end-of-the-world/ Obama and Romney ignore climate, could learn from Hillary Clinton. The climate silence is complete: Climate change got not a single mention in any of the three presidential debates nor in the vice presidential debate this year. That hasn’t happened for 24 years. In the final debate on Monday night, focused on foreign policy, moderator Bob Schieffer didn’t ask anything about energy or climate, but he posed a couple of open-ended questions that would have given easy entrée to either candidate had they any inclination to bring up the topic: “What is America’s role in the world?” and “What do you believe is the greatest future threat to the national security of this country?” Posted. http://grist.org/politics/obama-and-romney-ignore-climate-could-learn-from-hillary-clinton/ BLOGS Obama won the third presidential debate, but what about climate change? In their last presidential debate Monday night, the two presidential candidates began with Libya and stayed in the Islamic world for almost the entire evening. They talked about “divorcing” Pakistan, arming Syrian rebels and rallying allies against Iran. In this exchange, Romney offered few serious counterproposals to Obama’s current policy, and Obama offered little more about his vision for the next four years. Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/obama-won-the-third-presidential-debate-but-what-about-climate-change/2012/10/23/1842c0c4-1cc0-11e2-ba31-3083ca97c314_blog.html One Reason for Debate Climate Silence. Below you can see my two-slide Powerpoint explanation for the presidential debates’ resounding #climatesilence (that’s the Twitter hashtag for the failed push to get global warming on the debate agenda). Try to find slide one — depicting the online tussle over climate science and policy — within slide two, which places the first issue in the flow of the moment’s news. Posted. http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/23/one-reason-for-debate-climate-silence/?ref=earth Invasive Grasses as Biofuel? Scientists Protest. More than 200 scientists from across the country have sent a letter to the Obama administration urging the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider a rule, in the final approval stages, that would allow two invasive grasses, Arundo donax and Pennisetum purpureum, to qualify as advanced biofuel feedstock under the nation’s renewable fuel standard. “As scientists in the fields of ecology, wildlife biology…Posted. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/23/invasive-grasses-as-biofuel-scientists-protest/ A New Sustainability Chief for New York. New York City’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability is about to see a changing of the guard. In a few weeks Sergej Mahnovski, the current director of energy policy for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, will take over the sustainability office, which puts changes into effect related to the mayor’s PlaNYC environmental agenda. Posted. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/23/a-new-sustainability-chief-for-new-york/?ref=earth Food and Climate: A New Warning. As we have noted many times, one of the major questions about climate change is what it will do to the world’s food supply. Competing factors are at work. On the one hand, the rising level of carbon dioxide in the air significantly bolsters the growth of plants, potentially raising yields. Conversely, rising heat and, in some places, additional weather extremes like drought and heavy rains threaten to reduce yields. Posted. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/23/food-and-climate-a-new-warning/?ref=earth Sustainable Innovation: The Ethanol Stove. Many of the 1.2 million people living in Maputo, Mozambique’s capital, have a clean energy problem. Charcoal, the main source of fuel, harvested from the old-growth forests in the north of the East African country, is slowly running out. Because the forests are receding, the cost of a bag of cooking charcoal is rising. The fuel — used in many places in sub-Saharan Africa — has other drawbacks, of course. Posted. http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/22/sustainable-innovation-the-ethanol-stove/ Hydrogen leak at San Onofre poses no risk, Edison says. Workers discovered a hydrogen leak in a pipe on the non-nuclear side of the shuttered San Onofre nuclear plant over the weekend. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a non-emergency notice of the leak on Sunday, after plant operator Southern California Edison reported it. Edison also notified the California Emergency Management Agency and the San Diego Department of Environmental Health. Posted. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/10/hydrogen-leak-san-onofre.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+lanowblog+%28L.A.+Now%29 Cap-and-Trade, Carbon Taxes, and My Neighbor's Lovely Lawn. The recent demise of serious political consideration of an economy-wide U.S. CO2 cap-and-trade system and the even more recent resurgence in interest among policy wonks in a U.S. carbon tax should prompt reflection on where we've been, where we are, and where we may be going. Almost 15 years ago, in an article that appeared in 1998 in the Journal of Economic Perspectives, "What Can We Learn from the Grand Policy Experiment? Posted. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-stavins/cap-and-trade-carbon-taxes_b_2003791.html Mind your sign language. A FARMER from Corcoran, California, has come up with a rather unsubtle way to draw attention to Not-In-My-Back-Yard objections to the route planned for America's first true high-speed rail (HSR) line. A sign erected on his farm at the side of the road suggests, "To All High Speed Rail Advocates—Eat Sh** And Die" [his asterisks, not ours]. California's high-speed rail plans, which Gulliver has covered before, have long been a subject of controversy in the state. Posted. http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/10/high-speed-rail-california