What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for March 27, 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

CORRECTED-Pollution trial of New York coke producer wraps up.
Jury deliberations could begin as early as Wednesday in the trial
of Tonawanda Coke Corp, which has been charged with fouling the
air for years and whose environmental manager is accused of
hiding plant deficiencies from U.S. regulators. The western New
York company faces a 19-count indictment that lists numerous
violations of the federal Clean Air Act, the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act and obstruction of justice for an
alleged cover up of emissions prior to a 2009 investigation by
the Environmental Protection Agency. Posted.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/27/usa-ny-pollution-idUSL2N0CJ01020130327


Protest action in Poland against government. Bowing to the power
of tens of thousands of miners, some previous governments have
agreed to lenient lay-off and pension terms for them. Poland
still depends on black coal for much of its electricity, a policy
that has put Warsaw at odds with nations that are cutting down on
carbon gas emissions. Posted.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/mar/26/protest-action-in-poland-against-government/


CLIMATE CHANGE

Federal plan aims to help wildlife adapt to climate change. The
National Fish, Wildlife and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy,
developed by federal, state and tribal officials, seeks to help
species survive as global warming changes their habitats. The
Obama administration Tuesday announced a nationwide plan to help
wildlife adapt to threats from climate change. Developed along
with state and tribal authorities, the strategy seeks to preserve
species as global warming alters their historical habitats and,
in many cases, forces them to migrate across state and tribal
borders. Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-adaptation-strategy-20130327,0,4088605.story

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/26/climate-change-requires-us-land-conservation/2021931/


CLIMATE: Studying clouds to find global answers. Some of the same
chemicals that scientists believe are influencing climate change
may be having an equally important effect on people’s health, as
they inhale those chemicals into their bodies. UC Riverside
professor Akua Asa-Awuku is studying both. Using the world’s
largest atmospheric chamber at UCR’s College of
Engineering/Center for Environmental Research and Technology,
Asa-Awuku is trying to determine how airborne particles from
emissions influence the formation of clouds. Posted.
http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/riverside/riverside-headlines-index/20130326-climate-studying-clouds-to-find-global-answers.ece
 

A Hot Topic: Climate Change Coming To Classrooms. By the time
today's K-12 students grow up, the challenges posed by climate
change are expected to be severe and sweeping. Now, for the first
time, new nationwide science standards due out soon will
recommend that U.S. public school students learn about the
climatic shift taking place. Mark McCaffrey of the National
Center for Science Education says the lessons will fill a big
gap. "Only 1 in 5 [students] feel like they've got a good handle
on climate change from what they've learned in school… Posted.
http://www.npr.org/2013/03/27/174141194/a-hot-topic-climate-change-coming-to-classrooms


A national plan for adapting conservation to climate change. The
need to protect fish, wildlife and plants in the United States
from the impacts of climate change has received a response at the
national level. An umbrella strategy drawn up by federal, state
and tribal agencies was released yesterday. The seven goals of
the strategy are conserving and connecting habitats, protecting
ecosystem functions, improving management capacity, supporting
adaptive management, increasing knowledge, motivating action and
reducing non-climate stressors. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2013/03/27/6 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

E.U. begins crafting its 2015 climate strategy. The European
Union launched a public comment period for stakeholders yesterday
that will guide the 27-member group's strategy in a new
international climate agreement for 2015, to take effect by 2020.
"In Copenhagen, [Denmark], world leaders set the goal of keeping
global warming below 2 [degrees Celsius] in order to prevent the
most severe impacts of climate change. That is good," Connie
Hedegaard, European commissioner for climate action, said in a
statement. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2013/03/27/8 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

DIESEL EMISSIONS

Add Exhaust-Emissions Gear to a Used-Truck Inspection. EGR, DPFs
and SCR need to be a consideration when buying your next used
truck. Is it time to replace your old truck or tractor? Is it old
enough that its engine has none of the exhaust-emissions
equipment that’s been giving people fits in recent years? Have
you decided to take the plunge anyway because your vehicle is
just plain worn out? Certainly you know the basics of truck
hunting, like:  •Deal only with reputable people, whether
dealers, fleets or individuals.  Posted.
http://www.truckinginfo.com/article/print/story/2013/03/add-exhaust-emissions-gear-to-a-used-truck-inspection.aspx


FUELS

Greenland 'reluctant' to new offshore drilling. Greenland's new
minister for natural resources says the Arctic island's recently
elected government doesn't plan to issue any new licenses for
offshore oil exploration. Jens-Erik Kirkegaard told The
Associated Press on Wednesday that the 20 licenses issued to date
were at a level that are "natural for an area like Greenland" and
that the government would be "reluctant" to offer more. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Greenland-reluctant-to-new-offshore-drilling-4388713.php#ixzz2OlJvHyJR
http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/03/27/3232444/greenland-reluctant-to-new-offshore.html#storylink=misearch
 

Iraqi oil: Once seen as U.S. boon, now it’s mostly China’s. Ten
years after the United States invaded and occupied Iraq, the
country’s oil industry is poised to boom and make the troubled
nation the No.2 oil exporter in the world. But the nation that’s
moving to take advantage of Iraq’s riches isn’t the United
States. It’s China. America, with its own homegrown energy
bonanza, isn’t going after the petroleum that lies beneath Iraq’s
sands nearly as aggressively as is China, a country hungry to
fuel its rise as an economic power. Iraq remains highly unstable
in terms of security, infrastructure and politics. Posted.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/03/27/3232657/iraqi-oil-once-seen-as-us-boon.html#storylink=misearch


VEHICLES

State adds millions for clean car rebates. The California Air
Resources Board has added $6 million to the state's Clean Vehicle
Rebate Project. Along with a recent infusion of $4.5 million from
the California Energy Commission, the combined $10.5 million is
expected to extend the rebate program until next year's funds are
available. Under the program, individuals, nonprofits, government
entities and businesses can get a rebate of up to $2,500 when
purchasing or leasing new, eligible, zero-emission or plug-in
hybrid electric vehicles. Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/03/27/5295537/state-adds-millions-for-clean.html#storylink=cpy


HIGH-SPEED RAIL

High-speed rail's strongest backers now express reservations.
Proponents of the bullet train from L.A. to the Bay Area say
political compromises reached to advance the plan undermine legal
safeguards and will slow travel. The California bullet-train
project has collided with farmers, political conservatives and
wealthy suburbanites who would like to see the $68-billion system
killed. Now it is facing tough criticism from an unlikely
quarter: within the ranks of high-speed rail's true believers.
Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bullet-train-believers-20130323,0,6470905.story
 

GREEN ENERGY

Vt. Green energy bill advances but is scaled down. Foes of
mountaintop wind power in Vermont were dealt a setback Tuesday
when a bill calling for more study of large-scale renewable
energy development was significantly reduced in scope. Though the
bill won preliminary approval in the Senate, it was only after
provision calling for a slowdown of such development was scaled
back, then removed completely. Posted. 
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2013/mar/26/vt-green-energy-bill-advances-but-is-scaled-down/#ixzz2OkvIOlQJ


U.S. tries to surf the edge of rapidly growing clean tech market.
Responding to profound shifts in energy economics that have
challenged a half-century of assumptions about the world's use of
oil, gas and electricity, U.S. business executives along with
leading academics and government leaders yesterday launched a
partnership to help secure the United States' place in the
world's advanced energy pecking order. The three-year effort,
dubbed the American Energy and Manufacturing Competitiveness
Partnership (AEMC)…Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2013/03/27/3 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

MISCELLANEOUS

Fire-retardant chemicals in furniture challenged in California.
Jim Doucette served the Sacramento Fire Department for more than
30 years, and he understood the perils of the job when he
accepted it. But there was one hazard he did not anticipate: the
effects of burning toxic chemicals embedded in furniture. "We
became firefighters knowing the dangers involved," Doucette said
at a Department of Consumer Affairs hearing on Tuesday. "But none
of us thought we would be exposed to something that has no
purpose." Posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/03/26/5294965/fire-retardant-chemicals-in-furniture.html#storylink=cpy


Assemblyman Dan Logue, Air Resources Board plan Chico meeting
Thursday. Representatives of the California Air Resources Board
will be in Chico Thursday to talk about diesel regulations, and
hear from people who are having a hard time understanding them
and/or meeting them. Assemblyman Dan Logue, R-Loma Rica,
organized the meeting after hearing from people who said the
rules are difficult to keep up with. The town hall gathering will
be 5-6:30 p.m. at the Chico City Council Chambers, 421 Main St.
Posted.
http://www.chicoer.com/ci_22880189/assemblyman-dan-logue-air-resources-board-plan-chico

http://www.examiner.com/article/carb-reps-to-meet-chico-on-trucking


OPINIONS

Shale oil could bring boost to Valley. The central San Joaquin
Valley has long provided opportunity to anyone willing to work
hard and play by the rules. That opportunity is rooted in an
economy based on agriculture, energy production and food
processing among other industries. But over the last five years,
the Valley has been impacted by the Great Recession with
unemployment levels in some areas still more than twice the state
average. With many small businesses faltering, cities are making
draconian cuts and opportunities for constituents are dwindling.
We have the opportunity to do better. Posted.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/03/26/3231614/shale-oil-could-bring-boost-to.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy


BLOGS

BMW Thinks Small With a 3-Cylinder Engine. What’s the benefit of
a 3-cylinder engine? Fuel economy gains and emissions reductions
are two advantages. Turbocharging and direct injection improve
performance, and fuel economy could improve 5 percent to 15
percent and emissions drop by the same amount, the company said.
Posted.
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/27/bmw-thinks-small-with-a-3-cylinder-engine/