What's New List Serve Post Display

ARB Newsclips for March 28, 2013. ARB Newsclips for March 28,
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

Pistachio orchard raises air quality concerns.  Weeks after
attention was drawn to a dusty situation regarding a planned
Inyokern pistachio orchard was brought to the attention of Kern
County and Eastern Kern Air Pollution District, plans are in
motion to mitigate a dust situation.  Mike McGee, owner of the
80-acre lot in Inyokern, said Tuesday that he was working in
consort with the Air Pollution District to curb the dust issue. 
Posted. 
http://www.ridgecrestca.com/article/20130327/NEWS/130329792 

Duke Energy's Rogers discusses impact of air regulations on
energy investments. With new air regulations coming online and
many utilities easing their use of coal-fired generation, what
will the technology trends in the electric power sector be over
the next 10 years? During today's OnPoint, Jim Rogers, chairman,
president and CEO of Duke Energy, discusses game-changing
technologies and the role subsidies should play in promoting
these new energy sources. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/tv/transcript/1653 

CLIMATE CHANGE

How climate change threatens the seas.  The tide rolls out on a
chilly March evening, and the oystermen roll in, steel rakes in
hand, hip boots crunching on the gravel beneath a starry, velvet
sky.  As they prepare to harvest some of the sweetest shellfish
on the planet, a danger lurks beyond the shore that will
eventually threaten clams, mussels, everything with a shell or
that eats something with a shell. The entire food chain could be
affected. That means fish, fishermen and, perhaps, you.  Posted. 
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/27/climate-change-seas/2024759/
 
 
With Drought Season Off to a Bad Start, Scientists Forecast
Another Bleak Year. Current climate-induced drought is slipping
into a trend that scientists say resembles some of the worst
droughts in U.S. history, like the Dust Bowl. Drought conditions
in more than half of the United States have slipped into a
pattern that climatologists say is uncomfortably similar to the
most severe droughts in recent U.S. history, including the 1930s
Dust Bowl and the widespread 1950s drought. Posted.
http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20130328/drought-season-bad-start-scientists-forecast-another-bleak-year


San Diego, bracing for climate change, studies its weaknesses. A
collection of experts are assembling in San Diego to wrestle with
the city's seesaw climate challenges that include heat-sparked
wildfires on one side and increased floods from rising seas on
the other. The meeting will pull together insurers, real estate
developers and officials from the area's largest infrastructure
projects, like the airport and the city's sprawling seaport, to
probe climate impacts on the city and identify ways to prepare
for more. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2013/03/28/1  BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

New research points to ocean circulation, not winds, as driver of
CO2 release after each ice age. At the end of each ice age, the
ocean exhales carbon dioxide. Scientists believe this explains
the difference in atmospheric CO2 concentrations between ice
ages, which have lower concentrations of carbon dioxide, and
warmer, more CO2-saturated periods like the one we're living in
now. What causes that carbon dioxide to exit the ocean when an
ice age ends, though, is still a puzzle oceanographers are trying
to decipher. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2013/03/28/4 BY
SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

FUELS

Powerful Oklahoma quake was caused by oil-drilling procedure,
scientists say. An unusual and widely felt 5.6-magnitude quake in
Oklahoma in 2011 was probably caused when oil drilling waste was
pushed deep underground, a team of university and federal
scientists concluded. That would make it the most powerful quake
to be blamed on deep injections of wastewater, according to a
study published Tuesday by the journal Geology. The waste was
from traditional drilling, not from the hydraulic fracturing
technique, or fracking. Not everyone agrees, though, with the
scientists' conclusion: Oklahoma's state seismologists say the
quake was natural. Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/california-earthquakes/ci_22875663/powerful-oklahoma-quake-was-caused-by-oil-drilling


Natural gas is an energy favorite behind renewables – poll.
Nearly two-thirds of Americans want U.S. officials to put more
emphasis on producing natural gas from domestic shale plays,
according to a new Gallup poll. Though solar power and wind were
the top choices -- with 76 percent and 71 percent support,
respectively -- 65 percent of participants in the March 7-10
survey favored ramping up production of natural gas. "Americans
overall and across political and socioeconomic groups generally
are most likely to call for more emphasis on solar and wind
power…Posted. http://www.eenews.net/energywire/print/2013/03/28/4
BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

VEHICLES

Hot Wheels: Subaru unveils its first hybrid.  Subaru is coming
out with a gas-electric hybrid crossover SUV for the crunchy
granola crowd that wants to save fuel but still haul kayaks to
the river.  The Japanese brand, which specializes in
all-wheel-drive vehicles, unveils the 2014 XV Crosstrek Hybrid on
Thursday at the New York International Auto Show.  The company's
first gas-electric hybrid gets somewhat better gas mileage than
the conventional Crosstrek and has stop-start technology that
shuts down the engine at red lights to save fuel. Posted. 
http://online.wsj.com/article/AP30ef3eebfd3448ebba3060fc79dee044.html
 
http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/03/28/3233917/hot-wheels-subaru-unveils-its.html#storylink=misearch
 
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2013/03/subaru-20130328.html 
http://www.modbee.com/2013/03/28/2643260/hot-wheels-subaru-unveils-its.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy


HIGH-SPEED RAIL

California's High-Speed Rail Authority sues everybody, invites
you to argue case in court. If you're reading this, consider
yourself served. The state of California has filed a civil case
against everyone -- literally, the whole world -- seeking to
validate $8.6 billion in voter-approved bonds for its $69 billion
high-speed rail project. The lawsuit, titled "High-Speed Rail
Authority v. All Persons Interested," is meant as a pre-emptive
strike so the state can confirm that it's definitely legal to
issue some of the bonds needed to begin bullet train construction
this summer.  Posted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/california-high-speed-rail/ci_22885008/california-high-speed-rail-sues-everybody-invites-people?source=rss


GREEN ENERGY

Dairy Finds a Way to Let Cows Power Trucks. Here at one of the
largest dairy farms in the country, electricity generated using
an endless supply of manure runs the equipment to milk around
30,000 cows three times a day. For years, the farm has used
livestock waste to create enough natural gas to power 10 barns, a
cheese factory, a cafe, a gift shop and a maze of child-friendly
exhibits about the world of dairy, including a 4D movie theater.
Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/28/us/dairy-finds-way-to-let-cows-power-trucks.html


Solar plane prepares for flight across America. A solar-powered
plane that has wowed aviation fans in Europe is preparing to fly
across North America. The Swiss creators of the Solar Impulse are
announcing Thursday which U.S. cities the experimental plane will
visit during its "Across America" tour that kicks off in May.
Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg will display the aircraft
and discuss the cross-country trip at a news conference at the
NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Solar-plane-prepares-for-flight-across-America-4390776.php
http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_22889017/solar-plane-prepares-flight-across-america


MISCELLANEOUS

Toxic waste site near Kettleman City to pay $311,000 in fines.The
penalties are part of a settlement capping an investigation into
Chemical Waste Management, which failed to report 72 hazmat
spills in the last four years. A toxic waste dump near the San
Joaquin Valley farming community of Kettleman City has agreed to
pay $311,000 in fines for failing to report 72 hazardous
materials spills over the last four years, the California
Department of Toxic Substances Control announced Wednesday.
Posted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-kettleman-fines-20130328,0,1654547.story


OPINIONS

Cooling on Warming. Is spring actually here? We are definitely
getting tired of snow stories. It’s time for some sun. And then
the drought stories! At which point we will ask ourselves: What
ever happened to worrying about global warming? You may remember
what a big deal President Obama made about climate change in his
Inaugural Address. It definitely looked as if the ozone layer was
making a comeback. Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/28/opinion/collins-cooling-on-warming.html?_r=0


Dr. Michael Peterson: Don't let Big Oil weaken clean-air efforts.
Each day in my outpatient waiting room here in Fresno, I see men
and women afflicted with asthma and other respiratory illnesses.
Many of them wake up coughing, drag around oxygen tanks and only
walk a few steps before they're forced to rest. What makes this
especially hard for me to witness is my knowledge that so much of
this suffering -- and worse -- might be avoided by investing more
attention in the air we all breathe. Posted.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/03/27/3233461/dr-michael-peterson-dont-let-big.html#storylink=cpy


California's $68B rail project will hire the 'disadvantaged' --
like felons and dropouts.  What do high school dropouts,
convicted felons and union apprentices have in common?  They’re
all “disadvantaged” workers who — alongside veterans, former
foster children and single parents — must account for at least 10
percent of the labor force behind California’s $68 billion
high-speed rail project. By 2029, the state’s High-Speed Rail
Authority hopes to send commuters hurtling at 200 mph between San
Francisco and Los Angeles. Posted. 
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/03/27/california-controversial-6b-rail-project-must-employ-disadvantaged-workers/


BLOGS

IMF: Want to fight climate change? Get rid of $1.9 trillion in
energy subsidies.  What’s the simplest way to tackle global
warming? Make sure that fossil fuels are priced properly and not
subsidized.  That’s the core idea behind a large new report (pdf)
from the International Monetary Fund, which argues that the world
“misprices” fossil fuels to the tune of some $1.9 trillion per
year.  Posted. 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/03/27/imf-want-to-fight-climate-change-get-rid-of-1-9-trillion-in-energy-subsidies/
 

Poll: Green energy popular, partisan split on oil.  Roughly
three-quarters of U.S. residents want the country to boost
emphasis on wind and solar power production, making the fuels
much more popular than coal, nuclear and oil, a new poll shows. 

Natural gas, which has substantial political backing among
lawmakers in both parties, is close behind renewable energy in
popularity, the Gallup poll shows.  Posted. 
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/290735-poll-green-energy-popular-partisan-split-on-oil


Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid: Innovation but No Beauty. You’re not
going to see Prius-level fuel economy in a seven-passenger S.U.V.
Driving around town to meetings of the Cub Scouts, you’ll see 25
m.p.g. in the hybrid, but that’s much better than the 19 you’d
see in a 2013 Pathfinder with a V-6 and 4-wheel drive. And it’s
not a huge price premium. One big benefit is the 526-mile
cruising range, which should be very useful for passing gas
stations in the Pathfinder’s suburban habitat. Posted.
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/27/nissan-pathfinder-hybrid-innovation-but-no-beauty/
 

Infiniti QX60 Hybrid Pairs Style and Economy. Instead of the
standard QX60’s 3.5-liter V-6 engine, the hybrid is equipped with
a supercharged 2.5-liter in-line four-cylinder and an electric
motor powered by a compact lithium-ion battery pack (under the
third-row seat) good for 250 horsepower. The system uses a
continuously variable transmission. Posted.
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/27/infiniti-qx60-hybrid-pairs-style-and-economy/
 

Port of Long Beach Breaks Ground on Project Expected to Alleviate
Rail Congestion, Truck Pollution. In an attempt to not only clear
traffic between the Port of Long Beach (POLB) and the Alameda
Corridor rail line but also clear the air of pollutants, the
Green Port Gateway–after years of discussion–is finally underway
with a ten-month later-than-expected completion date. Originally
slated to be completed in September of this year with a projected
$66 million budget, the project will now cost some $83.5 million
and is projected to be finished in July of 2014. Posted.
http://la.streetsblog.org/2013/03/28/port-of-long-beach-breaks-ground-on-project-expected-to-alleviate-rail-congestion-truck-pollution/


What CNN Is Missing About High-Speed Rail. CNN has repeatedly
portrayed stimulus funding for high-speed rail as a "boondoggle"
because much of the money has gone to upgrading existing rail
lines rather than new bullet trains. But the untold story is that
Republican obstructionism has halted progress on new high-speed
rail lines, which require a long-term investment of time and
money. The Situation Room aired a report by Drew Griffin on
Tuesday claiming that high-speed rail is "turning into a pipe
dream," pointing to a rail improvement project in Washington
state that has received $800 million in stimulus funding. Posted.
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/03/28/what-cnn-is-missing-about-high-speed-rail/193313


Is Global Warming Hot Air? On the left they say carbonation will
kill all of us. Some say it's carbon dioxide, others -- methane,
yet others both, but all insist the C must be made cold. On the
right they use another c-word: cyclical -- that climate change is
just how nature waxes and wanes. Or they trash it as the left's
baloney. If it was as dangerous as claimed, should we not have
all melted by now? The back-and-forth goes on. Storms swirl,
hurricanes rage, landscapes erode, ice caps contract. Posted.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sunil-sharan/is-global-warming-hot-air_b_2967177.html?utm_hp_ref=barack-obama