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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for November 15, 2012.

Posted: 15 Nov 2012 12:31:43
ARB Newsclips for November 15, 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.

CAP AND TRADE

California takes big step in limiting greenhouse gases.
California is set to unveil a new weapon in its fight against
global climate change on Wednesday when it holds its first sale
of carbon emissions permits - a landmark experiment that it hopes
will serve as a model for other U.S. states and the federal
government. The state's carbon auction is a key step in the
initiation of its "cap-and-trade" program, a policy where the
state sets a limit, or cap, on the amount of heat-trapping gases
released by manufacturers, oil refineries, electric utilities and
other large emitting businesses. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/15/us-california-carbon-auction-idUSBRE8AD0F220121115


California holds cap-and-trade auction of greenhouse gas credits.
The sale, a market-based approach to curbing global warming,
takes place despite a last-minute lawsuit filed by the state
Chamber of Commerce. California environmental officials moved
ahead with a first-ever auction of greenhouse gas pollution
credits despite a last-minute lawsuit filed by the state Chamber
of Commerce to invalidate the sale. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-pollution-credits-calif-20121115,0,5041759.story


California kicks off its cap-and-trade auction. California's
ambitious program to curtail greenhouse gases launched Wednesday
with a conspicuous lack of fanfare. The state auctioned up to 62
million emissions allowances, each one good for spewing a ton of
carbon, officially kicking off California's much-anticipated
cap-and-trade market. But the California Air Resources Board, the
agency overseeing the auction, won't divulge any of the auction
results until Monday. Stanley Young, an agency spokesman, said
the computerized sale lasted the scheduled three hours. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/11/15/v-print/4987325/california-kicks-off-its-cap-and.html


Calif. unlikely to spur federal emissions cap soon. California's
new system for limiting industrial greenhouse gas emissions by
putting a price on carbon is not likely to spur a similar federal
program anytime soon, but it might influence other states to
follow suit, energy policy experts said. The state's Air
Resources Board on Wednesday began auctioning permits called
"allowances" for greenhouse gas emissions, launching the world's
second-largest marketplace for carbon emissions. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/business/energy/article/Calif-unlikely-to-spur-federal-emissions-cap-soon-4039149.php#ixzz2CJL6dhmI

http://www.nctimes.com/business/calif-unlikely-to-spur-federal-emissions-cap-soon/article_bde223e8-32ad-5c44-b20c-68e5b082bddc.html


Pollution 'allowances' could send prices up, S.J. businesses
worry. There was no one banging a gavel on the courthouse steps,
but an auction marking California's adventurous foray into carbon
cap and trade attracted much attention Wednesday from San Joaquin
County businesses worried about new costs. Cap and trade puts a
ceiling on the carbon emissions causing climate change. With that
ceiling in place, businesses must choose to either reduce their
emissions, or to buy and sell "allowances" made available by the
state. Posted.
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121115/A_NEWS/211150326&cid=sitesearch
 

Arguments from both sides about emissions program. California
launched its "cap-and-trade" system on Wednesday by holding its
first auction for pollution permits - a process that will put a
price on carbon emissions. The program works by placing a limit,
or cap, on emissions from individual polluters such as power
plants, refineries and food processors. Businesses are required
to cut emissions to cap levels, or buy allowances from other
companies for each ton over the cap that is discharged annually.
Posted.
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/nov/15/arguments-from-both-sides-about-emissions/
 

California holds first-ever auction of greenhouse gas pollution
credits. After six years of planning, California moved forward
Wednesday with the nation's first auction of greenhouse gas
pollution credits. The bidding and buying began at 10 a.m. and
closed at 1 p.m. There was no jam-packed auction house or
frenetic trading floor: Bids were placed quietly and
electronically, from computers around the country. Results of the
auction…Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/business/ci_21995962/california-holds-first-ever-auction-greenhouse-gas-pollution
 

Climate Change: Cap-and-Trade Is Coming to California. California
is set to unveil a new weapon in its fight against global climate
change on Wednesday when it holds its first sale of carbon
emissions permits — a landmark experiment that it hopes will
serve as a model for other states and the federal government. The
state's carbon auction is a key step in the initiation of its
"cap-and-trade'' program, a policy where the state sets a limit,
or cap, on the amount of heat-trapping gases released by
manufacturers, oil refineries, electric utilities and other large
emitting businesses. Posted. http://www.cnbc.com/id/49819676  

Calif., Wash., Ore. and British Columbia profess support for
carbon pricing policies.  As California begins its auctioning of
greenhouse gas allowances under its economywide cap-and-trade
program, three other West Coast jurisdictions are professing
support for carbon pricing. The leaders of British Columbia,
California, Oregon and Washington issued a statement yesterday
praising California and British Columbia's carbon regulations and
other climate policies, including renewable energy…Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2012/11/15/4 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY



AIR POLLUTION

Wildomar Families Believe Homes Are Making Them Sick. The state
says it may open an investigation into claims by residents of a
local housing development that their homes are making them sick.
On Wednesday, the state Department of Toxic Substances Controls
told residents that they may reconsider their earlier decision
not to test the homes for possible chemical contamination.
Posted.
http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-wildomar-toxic-homes,0,1245569.story


Port of Hueneme power system now expected to cost $11 million.
The estimated cost of the Port of Hueneme's shore-side power
system has risen by more than $2 million, according to the
company in charge of the project. A state mandate requires ports
to build land-based power systems to reduce pollution. The
systems are being developed to comply with new regulations
requiring that ships anchored at ports turn off their engines to
limit emissions. Posted.
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/nov/14/port-of-hueneme-considers-tariff-hike/


At long last, battle over Bush ozone standard heads to court.
After a lengthy delay, a federal appeals court tomorrow will
tackle the legality of U.S. EPA regulations setting standards for
ozone pollution that were issued by the George W. Bush
administration four years ago. The case before the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Mississippi v. EPA,
was put on hold in early 2009 after President Obama took office.
EPA then considered whether to revise the Bush standard for
ozone, which is one of the main components of smog. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2012/11/15/4 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

CLIMATE CHANGE

Obama sees second-term focus on climate change. President Barack
Obama said he plans to work with Congress in his second term to
curb human-aggravated climate change, but not at the expense of
the U.S. economy. "I am a firm believer that climate change is
real, that it is impacted by human behavior, and carbon
emissions," Obama said at a televised news conference on
Wednesday. "And as a consequence, I think we've got an obligation
to future generations to do something about it." Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/14/us-usa-obama-climate-idUSBRE8AD1IU20121114


Carbon output from Canada oil sands higher than thought-study. As
President Barack Obama faces a decision on whether to approve the
Alberta-to-Texas Keystone XL pipeline, a study said Canadian oil
sands release more planet-warming gases compared to other crudes
than originally thought. Oil sands refined in the United States
released 9 percent more greenhouse gases last year than the
average of other crudes processed in the country, according to
the study released Wednesday by IHS CERA, an energy research
group. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/14/oilsands-emissions-idUSL1E8MEG3U20121114


EU climate head wants Obama to pull his weight. The European
Union's climate commissioner says she hopes that President Barack
Obama's renewed attention to global warming after the election
will translate into greater U.S. involvement in U.N. climate
talks. Connie Hedegaard told The Associated Press during a visit
to Stockholm on Thursday that many Europeans were disappointed
that climate change didn't get more attention during Obama's
first term. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/EU-climate-head-wants-Obama-to-pull-his-weight-4040286.php#ixzz2CJMhNt9C

http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_22002081/eu-climate-head-wants-obama-pull-his-weight?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com


E.U. proposes auction delays, tougher targets to boost CO2 price.
 The European Union wants to delay the auctioning of nearly 1
billion carbon permits starting next year and set tighter climate
goals in a bid to boost the price of CO2 on its Emissions Trading
System, Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said yesterday.
"Our carbon market is delivering emissions reductions, but
because of oversupply, the ETS is not driving energy efficiency
and green technologies strongly enough," Hedegaard said. "This is
bad for Europe's innovation and competitiveness." Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2012/11/15/10  BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

FUELS

The new boom: Shale gas fueling an American industrial revival.
The shale gas revolution is firing up an old-fashioned American
industrial revival, breathing life into businesses such as
petrochemicals and glass, steel and toys. Consider the rising
fortunes of Ascension Parish, La. Methanex Corp., which closed
its last U.S. chemical plant in 1999, is spending more than half
a billion dollars to dismantle a methanol plant in Chile and move
it to the parish. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/the-new-boom-shale-gas-fueling-an-american-industrial-revival/2012/11/14/73e5bb8e-fcf9-11e1-b153-218509a954e1_story.html


Gas Crisis Abates, With Rations, Special Deliveries and
Refinery’s Return. In addition to 1970s-era rationing, a series
of critical developments behind the scenes — like emergency
deliveries to gas stations and the impending return of a major
refinery — have worked to ease a fuel shortage that had
threatened to disrupt travel during Thanksgiving week. Lines at
gas stations have largely disappeared in New York City and on
Long Island, where rationing was put in place late last
week…Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/15/nyregion/gas-shortage-eases-with-rations-special-deliveries-and-refinerys-return.html?ref=earth


California gas price spikes not tied to refinery outages, group
says. West Coast gasoline price spikes in May and October were
widely blamed on refinery outages, but new research to be
released at a California hearing today shows that refiners
continued to produce gasoline in periods when the public was told
the contrary. The information, shared exclusively with McClatchy
Newspapers, comes from Oregon-based McCullough Research, which
combed through thousands of pages of environmental documents to
conclude that refineries were in fact operating during supposed
outages and maintenance shutdowns. Posted. 
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/11/15/4987115/gas-price-spikes-not-tied-to-refinery.html


Bay Area drivers 1st with algae biofuel. Drivers in the San
Francisco Bay Area have become the first motorists in the nation
to fill up their gas tanks with an algae-based biofuel. The fuel,
known as Biodiesel B20, went on sale Tuesday at gas stations in
Berkeley, Oakland, Redwood City and San Jose as part of a
month-long pilot program, according to the San Francisco
Chronicle. Biodiesel B20 is made from 20 percent algae and 80
percent petroleum, and can be used by any vehicle that runs on
diesel. Posted.
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20121114/WIRE/121119780  

APNewsBreak: BP gets record fine in Gulf oil spill. Oil giant BP
has agreed to pay the largest criminal penalty in U.S. history,
totaling billions of dollars, for the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf
of Mexico, a person familiar with the deal said Thursday. The
person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not
authorized to speak on the record about the deal, also said two
BP employees face manslaughter charges over the death of 11
people in the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that
triggered the massive spill. Posted.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/nov/15/apnewsbreak-bp-gets-record-fine-in-gulf-oil-spill/
 

Oil industry group pushes Obama to OK pipeline. The fight over a
proposed pipeline to transport crude oil from Canada to Gulf
Coast refineries is picking up again as groups urge President
Barack Obama to either approve or reject the pipeline. The
American Petroleum Institute held a conference call with
reporters Thursday to emphasize the virtues of the Keystone XL
pipeline that TransCanada wants to build. API is the oil and gas
industry's main lobbying group, and spokesman Marty Durbin says
Obama should approve the pipeline as soon as possible to boost
the economy. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_22002568/oil-industry-group-pushes-obama-ok-pipeline
 

US crude oil supplies grew by 1.5 million barrels. The nation's
crude oil supplies increased last week, the government said
Thursday. Crude supplies grew by 1.1 million barrels, or 0.3
percent, to 375.9 million barrels, which is 11.6 percent above
year-ago levels, the Energy Department's Energy Information
Administration said in its weekly report. Analysts expected an
increase of 1.5 million barrels for the week ended Nov. 9,
according to Platts…Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_22002259/us-crude-oil-supplies-grew-by-1-5
 

Calif. refineries continued operating during outages – report.
Gasoline price spikes earlier this year in the West were blamed
on refinery outages, but new research shows refiners were still
producing fuel at those times. McCullough Research will present
its findings at a hearing today before California's Senate Select
Committee on Bay Area Transportation. Researchers looked at
thousands of documents and concluded that refineries were
operating during supposed outages and maintenance shutdowns.
Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2012/11/15/19  BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

VEHICLES

GM to exit one of its venture capital unit's investments soon.
General Motors Co (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
will soon exit one of its venture capital unit's investments,
either through an initial public offering or the acquisition of
that company by another, the U.S. automaker's chief technology
officer said. GM started its venture capital unit more than two
years ago with a $200 million budget to invest in start-up
companies with promising auto-related technologies. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/15/us-gm-ventures-idUSBRE8AE0E820121115


Toyota Recalls 2.77 Million Vehicles on Steering, Pump Flaws.
Toyota Motor Corp., Asia’s largest automaker, said it will recall
2.77 million vehicles worldwide after detecting faults in the
steering and water-pump systems of some of its gasoline and
hybrid vehicles. The Prius hybrid and Corolla compact sedans are
among the 14 models subject to inspection and repair, Naoto Fuse,
a spokesman for the Toyota City, Japan-based company, said by
phone today. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/business/bloomberg/article/Toyota-Recalls-2-77-Million-Vehicles-on-Steering-4037293.php#ixzz2CJIvtcLv


HIGH SPEED RAIL

High-speed rail jobs may give priority to down-on-luck workers.
Job-creation advocates in Fresno said they moved a step closer
Wednesday to ensuring that local workers who need a job can
compete for one building California's high-speed rail system.
Their hopes were boosted during the California High-Speed Rail
Authority meeting in Sacramento, where bullet-train planners also
took their first step to reducing their system's footprint on
agriculture -- approving a $20 million effort to compensate for
farmland lost to the railroad right of way. Posted.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/11/14/3066612/high-speed-rail-jobs-plan-may.html


GREEN ENERGY

Google invests $75 million in Iowa wind farm. Google is investing
$75 million in an Iowa wind farm as part of its effort to
encourage development of cleaner energy sources. The deal
announced Thursday gives Google Inc. a stake in the Ropey Wind
Farm in Greene County, Iowa. RPM Access LLC is the primary owner.
The wind farm is located about 130 miles northeast of Council
Bluffs, Iowa, which is home to one the eight data centers that
power Google's Internet search engine and other services. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Google-invests-75-million-in-Iowa-wind-farm-4040340.php#ixzz2CJLgw1q6
http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/11/15/3067193/google-invests-75-million-in-iowa.html#storylink=misearch
 

Greenbuild hot climate for sustainability. If you're in need of a
700-gallon rainwater harvesting tank, ultra-low-flow toilets or
porous driveway pavers, then Moscone Center is the place this
week. The occasion is Greenbuild, a conference organized by the
United States Green Building Council and being held for the first
time in San Francisco. With 35,000 people expected to attend and
more than 1,000 companies exhibiting what they claim are
eco-friendly product…Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/place/article/Greenbuild-hot-climate-for-sustainabilty-4038162.php#ixzz2CJMS4LYN


JPMorgan punished for California power-trade violation. In a
stunning move, a Wall Street investment bank was suspended from
trading electricity for profit in California on Wednesday for
submitting false information to federal investigators. JPMorgan
Chase & Co.'s energy-trading division was suspended from
California's wholesale market for six months starting April 1.
The suspension was imposed by the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission. The decision could cost JPMorgan millions of dollars.
It was a move almost without precedent. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/11/15/4987327/jpmorgan-punished-for-california.html


TEMECULA: City sparking energy program to fund retrofits. The
city of Temecula is forming a "green" TEAM. The acronym stands
for the Temecula Energy Efficiency and Asset Management fund.
That fund will be fed by rebates from Southern California Edison
and the cost savings that result from making the city's buildings
more energy efficient, said Patrick Richardson, director of
development services. Posted.
http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/temecula/temecula-city-sparking-energy-program-to-fund-retrofits/article_af0c78df-bab9-5dd6-9216-614e703a7542.html
 

Nuclear power crucial to California’s energy future. California’s
discussion about the merits of nuclear energy is an important one
as consumers consider the state’s energy future. With Southern
California Edison’s (SCE) San Onofre reactors offline, many are
asking questions about the contribution of nuclear energy to
California’s energy future and the stability of our electric
grid. California relies on nuclear energy for one-fifth of the
state’s electricity. Posted.
http://www.nctimes.com/news/opinion/perspective/nuclear-power-crucial-to-california-s-energy-future/article_7c2a8599-fc02-535d-aeff-251773760aeb.html


MISCELLANEOUS

2 groups develop global standards for long-term carbon storage.
Two groups are releasing the first multinational standards today
for geological storage of captured carbon dioxide in deep
underground rock formations. The new voluntary standards, put
together over the past three years with a technical team of
companies and organizations ranging from Chevron to Princeton
University, aim to put a hodgepodge of rules in one place, as
well as offer new recommendations. They focus solely on saline
aquifers for storage of the greenhouse gas …Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2012/11/15/5 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

OPINIONS

Filling Up on Your Dime. GASOLINE prices have been falling in
recent months, and the International Energy Agency just reported
that the United States will overtake Saudi Arabia to be the
world’s leading oil producer in about five years. But it’s too
early to celebrate. The next time you fill up your tank, you
should know that the person next to you might be paying much less
than you for gasoline. By reporting their personal automobile use
as a business expense, millions of drivers are essentially
getting taxpayer subsidies for their gasoline. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/15/opinion/filling-the-gas-tank-on-taxpayers-dime.html?_r=0
 

Christopher Horner: New carbon tax would be folly. Recently, a
leaked agenda laid bare a strategy session among a virtual Who's
Who of left-leaning big-government activist groups, hosted by a
generally conservative policy group, the American Enterprise
Institute. By the agenda's title, this fifth in a series was part
of a "Lame Duck Initiative" to strategize enactment of a "carbon"
tax, or federal energy tax on oil, coal and gas, in the
post-election session of Congress that began this week. Posted.
http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/tax-377765-carbon-new.html 

BLOGS

The whole truth about Superstorm Sandy and climate change. When
it comes to climate change and its effect on Superstorm Sandy, it
seems many of the loudest voices fall into two camps: 1) the
all-in camp: climate change is making the weather more extreme,
and Sandy is the poster child for that. We can and should blame
climate change for the storm’s terrible toll and it’s a sign of
things to come. 2) the no effect camp: climate change played no
role in Superstorm Sandy and there’s no cause for concern about
the future. Posted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/the-whole-truth-about-superstorm-sandy-and-climate-change/2012/11/15/d3b7ceea-29e4-11e2-bab2-eda299503684_blog.html


The Do-It-Yourself Approach to Tracking Gas Drilling. Given that
government resources for environmental regulation (and just about
everything else) will be constrained for a long time to come,
I’ve been enthusiastic about efforts by the public to take a
D.I.Y. (do it yourself) role in tracking pollution or resource
issues, whether on the ground or online. Posted.
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/14/the-d-i-y-do-it-yourself-approach-to-tracking-frackin/?ref=earth
 

An Afterlife for the Electric Car. Advocates of electric cars and
renewable energy have talked for years about repackaging the
battery packs built for cars as home energy storage devices once
they can no longer hold enough charge to run a vehicle. On
Wednesday, ABB and General Motors announced that they are trying
out just that idea with the battery packs of five Chevy Volts.
When it is new, the Volt battery pack holds 16 kilowatt-hours.
Posted.
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/14/an-afterlife-for-the-electric-car/?smid=tw-nytimesgreen&seid=auto
  

Five Reasons You Should Care about California’s Cap-and-Trade
Carbon Market. California will attempt to launch an
honest-to-goodness carbon market on Wednesday, officially kicking
off the state’s cap and trade program. It’s part of the landmark
global warming bill, AB 32, signed back in 2006 by Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger. This won’t be first cap-and-trade program in the
world -- Europe’s been trading carbon allowances for a half-dozen
years or so -- but it’s the first time it’s being tried on such a
large scale in the U.S…Posted.
http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/2012/11/14/five-reasons-you-should-care-about-california%E2%80%99s-cap-and-trade-carbon-market/



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