What's New List Serve Post Display

What's New List Serve Post Display

Below is the List Serve Post you selected to display.
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/


ARB What's New

preload