HOME HEATING * Home Heat: a Rush for Alternatives http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121858987030235409.html <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121858987030235409.html> With record-high winter fuel costs on the horizon, a midsummer panic to find alternative heat sources is sparking unusual early demand for an old warmth standby: the wood-burning stove... Among the hardest-to-find items: pellet appliances, which run partly off electricity and use sawdust capsules resembling rabbit food as the main fuel... Prior to the late '80s, many of the wood units were poor performers in terms of smoke emissions. While some clean-air advocates worry about the environmental impact of this new residential rise in wood-burning, the Environmental Protection Agency today requires all new wood stoves and inserts to burn far more cleanly than their predecessors... Before rushing to buy, first calculate just how economical a switch will be. Prices on a ready-to-burn cord of wood (about two full-sized pickup truck loads worth) have climbed to over $200 in many places and upward of $300 in high-demand spots like Maine. <<Home Heat a Rush for Alternatives - WSJ_com.htm>> * It's Not Easy Burning Green http://www.aer-online.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.1907 <http://www.aer-online.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.1907 > And perhaps most critical of all in ensuring that today's green heat retailers make sure their new customers get the most from these products is understanding how to use their appliances correctly. "There is probably nothing worse than people who don't operate their stoves properly," he says. * Mass. Fire Department Concerned About Wood Fuel Accidents http://www.aer-online.com/mail/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content. 1905 <http://www.aer-online.com/mail/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content .1905> MetroWest Daily News reports that Ashland Fire Lieutenant David Larussi is predicting a spike in problems resulting from new woodstove and pellet stove owners who failed adhere to the state and local fire code. YARD WASTE * Pierce County extends Graham landfill contract to 2036 http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/461710.html <http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/461710.html> Councilwoman Barbara Gelman said the contract sets up an agreement between the county and LRI to expand recycling options as well as ways to compost food and yard waste... Citizens complained that the contract locks the county into too long of a relationship with LRI, whose landfill at 304th Street South and Highway 161 has angered nearby residents since it was built in 1996. They're concerned the landfill is polluting their air, the water and the land. TRANSPORTATION PLANNING * Sims seeks increase in Metro bus fares http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008140719_metrobus27m.h tml <http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008140719_metrobus27m. html> In a proposal to the Metropolitan King County Council on Monday, Sims asked immediate approval for a bus-fare increase of 25 cents to take effect Nov. 1 and for a second 25-cent increase to take effect Jan. 1, 2010. Sims is also asking that the now-idled Seattle waterfront streetcar be permanently retired... Sims wants the bus-fare increase to be implemented in steps so that commuters would have time to adjust. Metro already raised fares a quarter in March to catch up with inflation. Before that, fares hadn't gone up since 2001... The only good news is that diesel-fuel prices are coming down. Instead of a projected $4.35 per gallon next year, Metro now says fuel will cost $4 a gallon. That reduces the $36 million fuel problem to $30 million, he said, but that's not enough to erase Metro's deficit. TRANSPORTATION SOLUTIONS * California insurance commissioner backs pay-as-you-drive policies http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-insure28-2008aug28,0,1949890.story <http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-insure28-2008aug28,0,1949890.stor y> California drivers could be offered a new -- and often cheaper -- kind of car insurance next year under a voluntary pay-as-you-drive plan proposed Wednesday by Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner... Putting a pay-as-you-drive system in place would give motorists a reason to drive less and thus purchase less gasoline, proponents argue. Environmentalists are big supporters of the idea and predict the scheme would cut emissions of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. <<California insurance commissioner backs pay-as-you-drive policies - Los Angeles Times.htm>> * Assault and Battery: On hybrid myths http://www.grist.org/advice/ask/2008/08/27/index.html <http://www.grist.org/advice/ask/2008/08/27/index.html> Despite the battery issue, he concludes that the Prius is indisputably the greenest car, followed by the Highlander Hybrid, the Highlander, and (dead last) the Hummer... In short, the Prius and Civic Hybrid come out on top in the new/used/hybrid debates. And they should: They have the highest mileage in the gasoline fleet, very low emissions, and great performance. A used car, however, requires no new manufacturing impact, and for that reason it's also a fabulous choice. A used Prius would be the best of all worlds. LAND USE/PLANNING * One-Third of Schools Built in Air Pollution Danger Zones <http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20080826/hl_hsn/onethirdofschoolsbuiltinair pollutiondangerzones;_ylt=AmNxpaIVwBZOJrPp5ef8NRJpl88F <http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20080826/hl_hsn/onethirdofschoolsbuiltinair pollutiondangerzones;_ylt=AmNxpaIVwBZOJrPp5ef8NRJpl88F> > More than 30 percent of U.S. public schools are within a quarter mile of major highways, which puts them in the "air pollution danger zone," says a University of Cincinnati study... "This is a major public health concern that should be given serious consideration in future urban development, transportation planning and environmental policies," principal investigator Sergey Grinshpun, a professor of environmental health, said in a new release from the university. He noted that school-age children spend more than 30 percent of their day at school. ENERGY * Tacoma Power to buy $15M in renewable energy credits http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2008/08/25/daily17.html <http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2008/08/25/daily17.html> The purchase will help the utility comply with Initiative 937, which was passed in 2006 and mandates that utility companies increase their use of renewable energy, requiring at least 15 percent of utilities' power to come from renewable sources by the year 2020. The law also allows utilities to purchase renewable energy credits, sold separately from actual electricity, instead of buying renewable power. Tacoma Power officials said since they don't need any additional electric generation, "purchasing renewable energy credits makes the most financial sense for the utility and its ratepayers, and still provides the utility with a path to help expand the demand for renewable resources." <<Tacoma Power to buy $15M in renewable energy credits - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle).htm>> * UN urges phasing out of energy subsidies http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gV7z6TGMMJP4J2L4KWix9DADnEiAD92Q55801 <http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gV7z6TGMMJP4J2L4KWix9DADnEiAD92Q5580 1> A new U.N. report urges countries to phase out energy subsidies, saying they often waste money, do not always help the poor and are bad for the environment. Gas-rich Russia leads countries spending the most in energy subsidies, laying out $40 billion a year, according to the U.N. Environment Program report released Tuesday at a 160-nation conference aimed at drafting a new treaty to contain global warming. Oil-exporter Iran is second, spending $37 billion, while Saudi Arabia, the world's leading oil producer, is also among the top five. CLIMATE * Arctic sea ice drops to 2nd lowest level on record http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080827/ap_on_sc/sci_arctic_ice;_ylt=AoceWwJ VWoXrP4Ftf8jej8as0NUE <http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080827/ap_on_sc/sci_arctic_ice;_ylt=AoceWw JVWoXrP4Ftf8jej8as0NUE> More ominous signs Wednesday have scientists saying that a global warming "tipping point" in the Arctic is happening before their eyes: Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has melted to its second lowest level since satellite observations began... Arctic ice always melts in summer and refreezes in winter. But over the years, more of the ice is lost to the sea and with less of it recovered in winter. While ice reflects the sun's heat, the open ocean absorbs more heat and the melting accelerates warming in other parts of the world. * Vast Amount of Arctic Carbon Could Be Released <http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20080827/sc_livescience/vastamounto farcticcarboncouldbereleased;_ylt=As2WazmflMzHIVWPpkHs2CZpl88F <http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20080827/sc_livescience/vastamounto farcticcarboncouldbereleased;_ylt=As2WazmflMzHIVWPpkHs2CZpl88F> > In a new study detailed online on Aug. 24 in the journal Nature Geoscience, researchers factored in carbon amounts from lower depths of the permafrost than had been included in previous studies. They calculated that the North American Arctic contains 60 percent more carbon than previously estimated. * Climate Change Linked to Longer Pollen Seasons <http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20080826/hl_hsn/climatechangelinkedtolonger pollenseasons;_ylt=AvsgwXjO.84I4egCAb8hF1dpl88F <http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20080826/hl_hsn/climatechangelinkedtolonger pollenseasons;_ylt=AvsgwXjO.84I4egCAb8hF1dpl88F> > Researchers have found that increased carbon dioxide has boosted pollen production by 61 percent to 90 percent in some types of ragweed. Ragweed pollen grains can travel up to 400 miles with the breeze, which means there is virtually no outdoor location that is free of ragweed pollen. * Editorial: Global Warming -- Soot-covered gold http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/376739_emissionsed.html <http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/376739_emissionsed.html> The Center for Global Development calculates that China's power plants, reliant on King Crud coal, will emit about one-third more gases than last year and leapfrog well past U.S. plants. About a quarter of all climate-changing pollution worldwide comes from electrical plants. We're still far and away the leader, unfortunately, in transportation emissions. NOTE: If the hyperlink to the article fails, contact Consuelo Flores. Consuelo Flores Communications Dept. Puget Sound Clean Air Agency 206-689-4074 consueloF@pscleanair.org Bill Smith Senior Environmental Specialist City of Tacoma Solid Waste Management 3510 S. Mullen Street Tacoma, WA 98409 253-593-7719 Phone 253-591-5547 Fax