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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for February 14, 2013.
Posted: 14 Feb 2013 12:26:45
ARB Newsclips for February 14, 2013. ARB Newsclips for February 14, 2013 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 EPA: Cuts will hamper pollution work. A top environmental official is warning lawmakers that automatic spending cuts due next month would jeopardize EPA's ability to protect against oil spills, air pollution, and hazardous waste. The cuts are outlined in a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee obtained by the Associated Press. In the letter, deputy EPA administrator Bob Perciasepe says cuts would shut down some air pollution monitors and halt some cleanups at the nation's most hazardous waste sites. Posted. http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/feb/14/epa-cuts-will-hamper-pollution-work/ http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_22589059/epa-cuts-will-hamper-pollution-work?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/epa-official-cuts-will-undercut-pollution-forecasts-waste-cleanups/2013/02/14/c943750c-76b7-11e2-b102-948929030e64_story.html http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/02/14/3173987/epa-cuts-will-hamper-pollution.html#storylink=misearch http://www.sbsun.com/ci_22589059/epa-cuts-will-hamper-pollution-work CLIMATE CHANGE Pressure builds for Keystone decision after Obama speech. Environmentalists and industry groups ramped up efforts on Wednesday to influence the White House's decision on the Keystone XL pipeline project, a day after President Barack Obama said he would take action to curb climate-warming emissions. A small group of activists and celebrities protested in front of the White House to put pressure on Obama to reject the controversial proposed crude oil pipeline. Posted. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/14/us-usa-climate-keystone-idUSBRE91D06620130214 Boxer's push is a twist on carbon tax. Sen. Barbara Boxer plans Thursday to co-sponsor a radical plan to control carbon dioxide emissions modeled on Alaska's rebates of oil royalties to residents. The California Democrat is a marquee draw for an otherwise obscure bill by Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont liberal and independent. Called "fee and dividend," the legislation is an unusual variant on a carbon tax. It would impose a fee on carbon emissions at their source, such as coal mines, raising the price of fossil fuel energy. Posted. http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Boxer-s-push-is-a-twist-on-carbon-tax-4277210.php#ixzz2Ku4HNbRL World Bank looks to battle climate change with better transportation. There’s an unexpected method governments can use to reduce poverty, improve public health and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, top world leaders said Friday. Their idea: Make transportation in the world’s megacities more available and sustainable to reduce congestion and benefit populations – and economies – that are projected to boom in the coming decades. Posted. http://www.modbee.com/2013/01/18/2577024/world-bank-looks-to-battle-climate.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy Senators roll out carbon fee bill, see chance for floor action. Two Senate stalwarts on climate action unveiled a greenhouse gas tax bill today, saying they hope the president's State of the Union address will provide enough momentum to carry the bill to the Senate floor. Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) are sponsoring a bill that would levy a fee on large fossil fuels facilities. It would spend 40 percent of the proceeds on energy efficiency, renewable energy and deficit reduction, and refund the rest to legal U.S. residents on a per capita basis. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2013/02/14/4 BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY Global warming grabs spot in GAO's financial-risk list. The federal government must better manage the financial risks of climate change, its chief watchdog said today. Although it's not a specific federal program or agency, climate change is one of two new additions to the Government Accountability Office's biennial "high-risk" list, a catalog of agencies and programs considered to be at risk for waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement, as well as those in need of reform. The agency released its latest version of the list this morning. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2013/02/14/3 BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY FUELS Chinese Plan to Invest in Cambodia Is Big, but Vague. The remote district of Rovieng was once a battleground between Cambodian government troops and Pol Pot’s genocidal Khmer Rouge. There are still unexploded bombs in the fields and forests. But there is also something more desirable: iron ore. And two Chinese companies have an $11 billion plan to extract it. Posted. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/15/business/global/chinese-plan-to-invest-in-cambodia-is-big-but-vague.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 US natural gas supplies shrank last week. The nation's natural gas supplies fell last week, the government said Thursday. The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration reported that natural gas in storage declined by 157 billion cubic feet to 2.527 trillion cubic feet for the week ended Feb. 8. Analysts expected a draw of 160 billion to 164 billion cubic feet, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos. Posted. http://www.sbsun.com/ci_22589472/us-natural-gas-supplies-shrank-last-week?IADID=Search-www.sbsun.com-www.sbsun.com Air board cuts own power as part of deal with oil industry. One of California's most powerful environmental agencies has agreed to undermine its own authority in a political deal cut with the oil industry. The California Air Resources Board helped insert language into Assembly and Senate bills that would bar the agency from enforcing one of its rules. If the legislation passes, CARB for a decade will be unable to implement its Clean Fuels Outlet, a measure aimed at providing fill-up stations for green vehicles. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2013/02/14/2 BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY Researchers develop coal reactor that cheaply separates CO2. Capturing carbon emissions from coal plants is a costly endeavor, since scrubbing flue gases is a complicated and energy-intensive process. However, by changing the coal combustion mechanism, scientists found they could cheaply separate waste streams, thereby controlling greenhouse gas emissions from one of the planet's cheapest fuels. Researchers at Ohio State University developed a system that extracts energy from coal while isolating the carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen compounds, soot and ash that result. Posted. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2013/02/14/3 BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY VEHICLES Roadshow: Are high gas prices worth the trade-off for clean air? To the silence of mass media and our elected officials, gas prices have been rocketing up the past few weeks. In Fremont, the price for regular gas increased 42 cents in just 14 days at an Arco station. Many stations are either at or closing in on the $4 price tag. Amazingly (not really), there is not even "fake" outrage from our elected officials about the oil companies hurting middle-class families by raising prices for no apparent reason. Or are the higher prices our punishment for the California and Obama "green" agenda? Posted. http://www.insidebayarea.com/mr-roadshow/ci_22582046/are-high-gas-prices-worth-trade-off-clean?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com GREEN ENERGY More Applicants Than Openings in LADWP Solar Pilot Program. Even though the L.A. Department of Water And Power (LADWP)'s new solar incentive program has taken some heat for not offering enough cash per kilowatt, the new Feed-in Tariff (FiT) already has more applicants for its first round than were planned for in the whole program. During the first week in which LADWP accepted applications for its FiT program, the applications received represented 107 megawatts of potential new generating capacity. Posted. http://www.kcet.org/news/rewire/solar/photovoltaic-pv/more-applicants-than-openings-in-dwp-solar-pilot.html OPINIONS GUEST OPINION: Cap and trade funds on way. In his inauguration speech, President Barack Obama called for a response to climate change. While commendable that he put climate change back on the political agenda, he forgot the two most important words: carbon price. A carbon price will encourage businesses to make low-carbon investments, consumers to make low-carbon purchases and the private sector to decide how best to implement the most cost-effective emissions reductions. Posted. http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20130213/OPINION/130219826/1033/news?Title=GUEST-OPINION-Cap-and-trade-funds-on-way Daniel Yost: Use California cap-and-trade funds for Green Prize to reward climate-change innovation. California has a unique opportunity to use competition to combat climate change and generate jobs and innovation. By leveraging a very modest share of revenue from California's new cap-and-trade program to award an annual Green Prize, California can motivate and inspire innovators to leverage their intellectual and financial capital to solve our climate change crisis. There is a pool of money available for reducing or mitigating climate change generated from the sale of pollution "allowances" under AB 32, California's cap-and-trade program that went into effect last fall. Posted. http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_22582291/daniel-yost-use-california-cap-and-trade-funds http://www.insidebayarea.com/opinion/ci_22582291/daniel-yost-use-california-cap-and-trade-funds?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com California Air Resources Board, AKA: Geheime Staatpolizei. For those of you who may not know, there is a plan being implemented, sponsored in part by none other than our California Air Resource Board, also known as CARB. They have achieved nearly the same power as a once infamous group known as, the Geheime Staatpolizei, the GESTAPO. New rules handed down state, any and all commercial vehicles, entering into California, not meeting 2010 PARTICULATE MATTER expectations, must retrofit the vehicle by adding highly expensive, aftermarket filters. The addition of these filters varies in cost between $2100 and $5000. Posted. http://forums.rimoftheworld.net/showthread.php?12327-California-Air-Resources-Board-AKA-Geheime-Staatpolizei&p=239038 BLOGS Climate-change mitigation is ‘high risk’ for government, report says. Climate change poses a serious financial threat to the federal government, according to the Government Accountability Office’s biennial “High-Risk Report” covering all federal agencies and programs. The nonpartisan investigative agency released its findings Thursday, noting that “The federal government is not well positioned to address the fiscal exposure presented by climate change, and needs a government wide strategic approach with strong leadership to manage related risks.” Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2013/02/14/climate-change-mitigation-is-high-risk-for-government-report-says/ U.S. homes getting more efficient — but still using more energy. One of President Obama’s goals in his State of the Union address was to make American homes twice as energy-efficient by 2030. But would that actually curtail overall energy use and reduce U.S. carbon emissions? That’s a trickier question. So here’s one way to look at it. A new report from the Energy Information Administration finds that U.S. homes have become far more energy-efficient over the past decade. Posted. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/02/13/u-s-homes-are-getting-more-efficient-but-still-use-just-as-much-energy/ Keystone Protests Resume, But None Against Oil Imports from Nigeria? I’ve got nothing against the passions of those — including friends of mine — pushing hard to persuade President Obama not to let the Keystone XL pipeline move forward and carry bitumen from Canadian deposits to United States Gulf Coast refineries. More were arrested this week. But that effort misses the reality that as long as oil demand is high in the United States and elsewhere, there will be environmental risks and often terrible social costs in farflung and loosely governed places. Posted. http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/14/keystone-pipeline-protests-resume-but-none-against-oi-imports-from-nigeria/