Air board still scandalous
Contrary evidence on diesel rules seems to be ignored
BY UNION-TRIBUNE EDITORIAL BOARD
SATURDAY, JULY 17, 2010 AT 12:02 A.M.
In December 2008, this editorial page reported that Hien Tran – the lead California Air Resources Board scientist on a study used to justify sweeping, costly new rules on diesel emissions – had lied about his academic credentials. The scandal seemed to unfold in slow motion. Finally, 10 months later, two members of the air board – Fresno cardiologist John Telles and San Diego County Supervisor Ron Roberts – denounced the regulatory agency for not disclosing Tran’s dishonesty before the vote to adopt diesel rules based on his work. This helped prompt the suspension of the rules.
Now, 10 more months have passed, and something extremely curious is unfolding.
Contrary to promises made by air board Chairwoman Mary Nichols, the accuracy of Tran’s central premise – that PM2.5 (tiny soot particles from exhaust, smoke and dust) causes thousands of premature deaths each year in California – has been found wanting. In February, a CARB-commissioned outside study was released that found no evidence for his claim. This corroborated independent scientists who said Tran’s theory was flawed because it was based on studies from Eastern states, where sulfates are common and may interact with PM2.5 to harmful effect.
Yet this finding doesn’t seem to have had any effect on regulators, who have informally made clear to industry groups that they still want to impose Tran’s rules even though they will bankrupt hundreds of small businesses that can’t afford expensive new engines or engine retrofits.
This isn’t right. Roberts’ spokesman said Friday that the supervisor plans to raise questions at a board meeting next week about the air board staff’s reaction to the contrary evidence. In disturbing ways, the reaction parallels the staff’s reaction to confirmation of Tran’s deceit and its decision to pursue a cover-up. It may be time for Telles and Roberts to give another lecture to Nichols on honesty and professionalism.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jul/17/air-board-still-scandalous/

'Climategate' fallout may impact legislation
David R. Baker, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, July 19, 2010
Five investigations into the "Climategate" scandal have now cleared a group of scientists accused of twisting data in an effort to prove the world is getting warmer.
But many environmentalists and climate researchers fear the damage has already been done.
The scandal spawned big headlines and heated blog posts when it erupted last fall after hackers released a stash of unflattering e-mails from a climate research lab in Britain. In one message, a scientist wrote of using a "trick" to "hide the decline" in temperature-proxy data from tree rings. Global warming doubters claimed vindication.
British and American investigations have now largely exonerated the scientists, saying they did not warp their studies to reach a pre-determined end. But the public may not buy it. Some polls show the public's belief in the reality of climate change has ebbed, although other surveys disagree.
"Despite multiple denials from people in the field, this has really hurt," said Daniel Kammen, a UC Berkeley professor who contributes to reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The accuracy of the IPCC's reports, long considered the most authoritative on global warming, came under fire during Climategate.
"Even though the science of climate change hasn't changed, the public perception of it has," Kammen said. "You have less than 50 percent of people strongly believing in something that 99.99 percent of climate scientists agree on."
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/19/MNNS1EFLDU.DTL&feed=rss.news_pageone#ixzz0u9a3ED2s

 
Noted environmental advocate to speak at mayor's monthly 'green' meeting
By Ryan Lillis
rlillis@sacbee.com
Published: Monday, Jul. 19, 2010 - 9:46 am
Last Modified: Monday, Jul. 19, 2010 - 11:59 am
Author and environmental advocate Van Jones will be the featured speaker at Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson's monthly green initiative meeting on Tuesday.
Jones, author of "The Green Collar Economy" and co-founder of three nonprofit organizations, will discuss the national green movement and ways he says it can help break down social and economic inequalities as well as work to protect the environment.
The monthly Greenwise meeting will be at the California EPA building in downtown Sacramento. Cal EPA secretary Linda Adams and Assembly Speaker John Perez also are scheduled to speak.
The Greenwise initiative, started earlier this year by Johnson, is meant to promote the region's green technology sector.
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/07/19/2900150/noted-enviromental-advocate-to.html#ixzz0uA1xB7Jt

California's pioneering e-waste program a model gone wrong
By Tom Knudson
tknudson@sacbee.com
Published: Sunday, Jul. 18, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 1A
Last Modified: Sunday, Jul. 18, 2010 - 9:40 am
It seemed a perfect symmetry: California, the world's high-tech capital, would lead the way in recycling the debris of our digital revolution.
But five years after its launch, the state government-run electronic waste program stands out not as a model of the green innovation for which California is famous but as an example of good intentions gone awry.
By paying more than $320 million to collect and recycle computer monitors and televisions, the state has built a magnet for fraud totaling tens of millions of dollars, including illegal material smuggled in from out of state.
"I don't think anybody could have forecast the greed that has poisoned the program," said Bob Erie, chief executive officer of E-World Recyclers north of San Diego and once an enthusiastic supporter of the state effort.
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/07/18/2897609/californias-pioneering-e-waste.html#ixzz0u3Wwo5LS

 
Saving the environment and the economy
BY CARY LOWE
SUNDAY, JULY 18, 2010 AT MIDNIGHT
Environmentalists and business interests are battling over whether efforts to promote renewable energy sources and “green” jobs are stimulating or undercutting the state economy. Actually, with the right focus, we can save both the environment and the economy.
The top issue on the environmental front is climate change. Reports from virtually every scientific organization confirm that global warming is worsening, yet efforts to combat climate change are stalled. The recent Copenhagen climate summit produced no international agreement. Congress can’t coalesce around even the pallid legislation proposed to date. And California’s Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32) is threatened by a pending ballot initiative.
The other looming environmental challenge concerns water supply. The Sierra Nevada snowpack and rainfall throughout the state have been shrinking steadily and cannot adequately replenish our rivers and reservoirs. Water deliveries from the Sacramento Delta have been slashed. Access to Colorado River water has been reduced. The resulting shortage is blocking new real estate developments, causing agricultural areas to be fallowed and forcing domestic water use reductions.
At the same time, the state economy is struggling.
There is, however, no need for despair.
The answer lies in our residential and commercial buildings, in particular the ones built before contemporary energy efficiency standards came into effect. California currently has approximately 13.4 million homes and about a half million commercial buildings. Two-thirds of the homes and a majority of the commercial structures were not subject to any energy efficiency requirements at the time of construction, though some have been upgraded since then. The California Air Resources Board estimates that residential and commercial buildings are responsible for about 22 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, not counting the emissions associated with water delivery.
Simply retrofitting residential structures built before 2006 to current efficiency standards would slash their share of those emissions, without even taking into account other potential gains, such as from converting to solar and other sustainable energy sources. Similar calculations for retrofitting commercial buildings are more difficult, because of the great variation in the standards to which they have been built and renovated. However, the Air Resources Board calculates that adherence to the state’s Green Building Standards Code, expected to become mandatory next year, would result in a 35 percent reduction in the carbon footprint of commercial buildings, far more than is required by AB 32.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jul/18/saving-environment-and-economy/
(THIS IS THE RHETORIC WE WILL CONTIUE TO HEAR ABOUT THIS ISSUE)

PG&E opposes initiative to block state climate law
By Rick Daysog
rdaysog@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Jul. 7, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 6B
California businesses are beginning to pick sides in the initiative battle over the state's landmark climate change law.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. on Tuesday said it will oppose the November ballot initiative, which seeks to suspend Assembly Bill 32, a law that mandates statewide reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.
PG&E joins corporations such as Levi Strauss and Co. and eBay Inc. in opposing the rollback.
"Studies show that unchecked climate growth could cost California's economy alone tens of billions of dollars a year in losses to agriculture, tourism and other sectors," said Peter Darbee, PG&E's chairman and CEO.
"Thoughtful and balanced implementation of AB 32 is one of the most important opportunities we have to avoid this costly outcome while spurring new clean-tech investment, innovation and job creation in California."
But a coalition funded by Texas oil companies and California manufacturers wants the law's implementation suspended until the state unemployment rate, now at 12.4 percent, drops to 5.5 percent. Proponents of the initiative, Proposition 23, say implementing the climate change law will cost the state 1.1 million jobs.
A PG&E spokeswoman said it's too early to say whether PG&E will contribute financially to the initiative debate.
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/07/07/2872971/pge-opposes-initiative-to-block.html#ixzz0t0sOyFT9

 
CALIFORNIA TAKING NEXT STEP ON GREEN CHEMISTRY INITIATIVE
by Greg Lucas
Thu, Jul 08th 2010

California is a step closer toward creating the nation’s most ambitious program to regulate toxic substances in consumer products after publicly releasing in late June the mechanics of how its so-called Green Chemistry Initiative would work.
“Study after study have shown that many consumer products are not safe, resulting with more and more being recalled,” said Maziar Movassaghi, acting director of the Department of Toxic Substances Control, which will implement the program. “This draft regulation is the first of its kind in the nation and it essentially shifts the way government, industry and the public think about the products that end up in our homes,” Movassahi said in a statement announcing the release of the 61-page document called “Draft Regulation for Safer Consumer Products.”

Settling on exactly how the program operates is a contentious issue between environmentalists and manufacturers. Businesses urge the state to move slowly in creating a list of carcinogens, neurotoxins and other harmful compounds found in everything from toys to turbines. Environmentalists and other advocacy groups like the Breast Cancer Fund seek swifter declarations about a chemical being harmful, and speedier removal of the chemical from whatever product contains it.
Nearly two years have already passed since the 2008 passage of the two bills dubbed the Green Chemistry Initiative – an idea initially proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s administration. The central focus of green chemistry is to find safer alternatives to toxic substances, ultimately shifting the focus of environmental protection from how to sequester those toxic substances at the end of a product’s life to creation of safer products that no longer contain the toxic compounds.
http://www.caivn.org/article/2010/07/08/california-taking-next-step-green-chemistry-initiative

 




Feds pull plug on cities' green home loans
ROBERT SELNA, CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER

WEDNESDAY, JULY 7, 2010
San Francisco's new, $150 million program to help property owners finance solar and other energy-saving programs is all but dead, according to city officials, after a federal agency announced Tuesday that the program and others like it across the state are potentially risky and inadvisable for mortgage lenders.
The programs have been widely championed as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy bills and to create green jobs. Generally, the programs allow a property owner to obtain a low-interest loan from local governments that are backed by bonds. The property owner then repays the loan over 20 years through a tax assessment, which is attached to the home, even if it is sold.
Several Bay Area cities embraced the energy retrofit plans, which originated in Berkeley and are made possible by 2008 state legislation. Fourteen additional California counties planned to embark on similar endeavors later this year and cities and counties in other states have pursued similar proposals.
The Department of Energy also has said that millions of dollars in stimulus funds should go to installing the energy-saving systems under the programs, which are referred to as Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE.
San Francisco launched its version of the idea, called GreenFinanceSF, with great fanfare in April and $150 million in financing, making it one of the nation's most ambitions efforts.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/07/MNCI1EA8OI.DTL&feed=rss.news_pageone#ixzz0t0seonkr

PG&E installing SmartMeters across Marin; Fairfax balks
By Richard Halstead
Posted: 07/06/2010 11:09:23 PM PDT
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. is beginning to install trademarked SmartMeters throughout Marin this month, but when the Fairfax Town Council meets this week it will consider a moratorium and other action to block installation of the devices there.
The digital meters, which use wireless radio signals to transmit data on power usage from individual homes, caused a minor uprising in late 2009 when PG&E began using them to replace analog meters in the San Joaquin Valley. Ratepayers complained that their bills increased dramatically after installation of the meters. PG&E insisted the bill spikes were caused by hot weather, which increased use of air conditioners.
"There was a lot of controversy down that way, and it's just been percolating up through the community," said Fairfax Councilman Larry Bragman, who put the SmartMeter issue on the council's agenda for Wednesday, July 7.
Paul Moreno, a PG&E spokesman, said the investor-owned utility is installing SmartMeters at homes throughout the county this month and expects to finish the rollout by February 2011. He said PG&E more than a month ago began installing devices on Marin County streetlight arms that will gather data broadcast from homes and businesses and relay that data to PG&E.
The California Public Utilities Commission, which regulates PG&E and approved installation of the SmartMeters at a cost of $2.2 billion, has reacted to questions regarding the billing accuracy of the technology by commissioning an independent
http://www.marinij.com/ci_15454453?source=rss

NEW: Lawmakers Push Backdoor Climate Change
JUNE 29, 2010 By KATY GRIMES
Just in case California’s global warming legislation is suspended in November with passage of California Jobs Initiative 2010, California’s Democratic legislators are leaving nothing to chance. They’ve been busy pushing through plenty of other climate change and green legislation through the Capitol’s backdoor.
SB 1006, currently traveling through legislative committees at the capitol, would further expand the subsidized greening of California through local governments and state agencies, by requiring the Strategic Growth Council to address climate change impacts in its” coordination role” and to “provide information” to local and regional government agencies on climate adaptation strategies.
Legislators continually reference the council as an information-only council, but what information is the group imparting on state agencies?
The purpose of the Strategic Growth Council, (a cabinet level committee), is to “improve air and water quality, improve natural resource protection, increase the availability of affordable housing, improve transportation, meet the goals of the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, encourage sustainable land use planning, and revitalize urban and community centers in a sustainable manner,” according to the council’s website. “Existing law requires the council to support the planning and development of sustainable communities, to manage and award financial assistance to a city, county, or nonprofit organization for the preparation, planning, and implementation of a specified urban greening project.”
This goes way beyond mere “information.”
Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, the author of SB 1006, referenced the need for more California “sustainability” in her testimony. Her bill would require the council to take actions to coordinate programs to address the various list of climate change impacts. One bill summary reads, “The bill would require the council additionally to provide, fund, and distribute information to local governments and regional agencies regarding climate change adaptation strategies, projects, or activities, as described.”
http://www.calwatchdog.com/2010/06/29/new-lawmakers-push-backdoor-climate-change/

 

Streetlight project radiates savings
Efficiency upgrade in SDG&E region
BY MIKE LEE, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 2010 AT 9:24 P.M.
SOURCE: CleanTech San Diego
Replacing streetlights might not seem to make a serious dent in pollution, but a regional initiative to install high-efficiency models could eventually do just that.
The goal: to lower emissions of carbon dioxide by 40,000 tons annually and reduce electricity consumption by 60 million kilowatt hours each year.
Potential financial savings also are eye-popping: $10 million annually in energy and operating costs if roughly 145,000 streetlights are replaced throughout the San Diego Gas & Electric service territory in San Diego and southern Orange counties.
Such lofty goals could take more than a decade to realize, but several cities and other organizations are off to a fast start thanks to money from the federal stimulus package and additional sources of public financing. About 13,000 eco-friendly streetlights will be installed from Carlsbad to El Cajon starting this summer, and at least 10,000 more trade-outs in the county are planned for the next year.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jun/29/streetlight-project-radiates-savings/

June 18,2010

AB 32 and CARB
CARB GETTING READY TO IMPOSE TAXES ON VEHICLES THEY DON’T APPROVE OF!

The California Air Resources Board recently spent $800,000 on a study concluding they want to go ahead with a "feebate" plan. A feebate is AB 32 bureaucrat speak for a tax on vehciles CARB doesn't approve of.

CARB intends to use taxes to force us from buying vehicles they deem to contribute to global warming. Trucks, minivans, SUV's and sports cars are all likely to be targeted under this draconian scheme.

The feebate plan is just one stark illustration of the way AB 32 bureaucrats will infringe on your personal freedom if not stopped. Let's not let the government tell us what we are allowed to drive!

========================
New CARB Fact Sheet now available!

Our fact sheet is a great overview of the unelected and unaccountable bureaucracy that is taking away our freedoms and destroying our economy.

CARB does so many shady things that limiting the fact sheet to one page was difficult.

The fact sheet is a great resource for you to distribute to meetings of activist organizations and to share with your family, friends and neighbors who are not yet informed. Our success rests on our ability to educate the folks we know. Every person who's informed is one more vote for freedom and jobs.

Please download the fact sheet today, print them out and distribute them far and wide!
http://www.facebook.com/l/807282-OfV1jMn4f9r-n_6-rH3Q;www.suspendab32.org/CARB_Fact_Sheet.pdf

 

========================
FACEBOOK FAN PAGE NOW APPROACHING 2200 FANS!

The Fan Page is a great way for us to show the strength and power of our movement. Our page currently is nearly three times the size of the page supporters of AB 32 set up. However, we have to remember that far left forces recently built a fan page of over 200,000 in a single campaign.

If we are to win we must disseminate the love and logic of Suspend AB 32 across the internet to everyone we know. The internet is great in this respect. We can quickly and easily send out vast amounts of powerful information through cyberspace and reach citizens with the truth whether the establishment media likes it or not. Please help in this fight right now and:

1. “Like” the California Jobs Initiative
2. Click the “Suggest to Friends” link beneath the awesome truck in the upper left hand corner of the page
3. Invite everyone in your friends list
4. Give yourself a big ol’ pat on the back for helping spread the message of jobs and freedom!

Now fellow patriot, go to the fan page! http://www.facebook.com/californiajobsinitiative?ref=ts

April 19, 2010

DEMS Kill Bill to Weigh Impact of Regulations on Jobs
From Temple of MUT Blog:

What is the most recent example that the state’s elite, aristocratic Democratic assembly has no sense of the way a free market system runs? In an act that confirms that the typical California Democrat world-view is that all business is EVIL, a bill that would have simply required state bureaucracies to weigh the impact of new regulations on California jobs and post the information online was effectively killed by Democrats via a party-line vote in its first committee hearing.

"After meeting with countless business owners who have left California for other states, we know that costly state regulations are driving jobs away. We’ve essentially handed the power to impose crippling state regulations over to bureaucrats who have never run a business or created a job in their life,” said Assemblyman Dan Logue (R – Linda).

“Requiring an independent analysis of state regulations for their impact on jobs would have gone a long way to stop the flow of jobs outside California. Unfortunately, the majority party in Sacramento joined with unions again in crushing a bill meant to protect small businesses and restore our economy.”

Assembly Bill 1833 (Logue and Garrick) would require state agencies to first conduct an independent economic analysis of a proposed new or revised state regulation before its adoption. Representatives of California job creators testified in committee that passing this much-needed reform would ensure that state officials fully consider the impact proposed new state regulations would have on jobs and the economy before they are adopted.

Democrat State Assembly actions such as this have direct consequences. For example, California is experiencing severe unemployment throughout the state: California’s economic woes continue to grow with unemployment .
The head of the committee is Democrat Mary Hayashi.

 If you can only make one phone call or email, make it to her: Mary Hayashi – Chair (Dem-18); (916) 319-2018; Assemblymember.Hayashi@assembly.ca.gov .

Other members you can contact to express your opinion of this purely partisan, bureaucracy-embracing action, are as follows:

• Mike Eng (Dem-49); (916) 319-2049; Assemblymember.Eng@assembly.ca.gov
• Edward P. Hernandez (Dem-57); (916) 319-2057; Assemblymember.Hernandez@assembly.ca.gov
• Jerry Hill (Dem-19); (916) 319-2019; Assemblymember.Hill@assembly.ca.gov
• Fiona Ma (Dem-12); (916) 319-2012; Assemblymember.Ma@assembly.ca.gov
• Pedro Nava (Dem-35); (916) 319-2035; Assemblymember.nava@assembly.ca.gov
• Ira Ruskin (Dem-21); (916) 319-2021; Assemblymember.Ruskin@assembly.ca.gov

Please call these people and let them know how angry we are at the blatant disregrad for the business environment in our fair state.
Here is the a link to the unemployment rates in CA too just for inspiration! http://www.sacbee.com/2009/03/19/1698037/unemployment-in-california.html

CALIFORNIA ALREADY HAS "CAP & TRADE" - COMING  IN 2012!

AB 32, the “Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006” :
 

*Assemblyman Dan Logue has introduced AB 118 to REPEAL AB32
**Tell your state lawmakers to support AB 118

VISIT www.SuspendAB32.org     for updates and petition