TRANSPORTATION * Bellevue council chooses light rail route along Bellevue Way http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008780089_webbellevueco uncil24m.html <http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008780089_webbellevuec ouncil24m.html> The council also agreed upon Light Rail routes for downtown Bellevue and the Bel Red corridor. The recommended downtown line includes a tunnel that would snake under Main Street, turn up 106th Avenue Northeast and stop at the Bellevue Transit Center. From there, the line would cross I-405 and move through Bel Red to Overlake. The council's recommendation is headed to the Sound Transit board, which has the final say. The board is expected to vote on a preferred alignment in April. * Bus route gives lift to Auburn commuters http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/636347.html <http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/636347.html> The new route - known as Lakeland Hills Connector Service - started Feb. 9. It links the Lakeland Hills neighborhood, which straddles the Pierce County line in Auburn, with the Sounder commuter rail and transit center in downtown Auburn. "It's been an overwhelming response," said Lars Erickson, a Pierce Transit spokesman. Because of high demand, the agency already has replaced its 16-passenger buses with 30-passenger buses on half the runs. The first day there were 82 riders; by this week the route was consistently above 100 riders each day. * Seattle makes most congested cities list http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_022509WAB-seattle-congested-ci ties-LJ.ca8f50.html <http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_022509WAB-seattle-congested-c ities-LJ.ca8f50.html> A new study puts Seattle in the top 10 list of cities that see a lot of stop and go traffic, but the overall trend shows fewer people out on the roads. And the economy may be to blame... The study found congestion is the worst in our area Fridays, between 4 and 5 p.m. ENERGY * Facing economic crisis, President Obama calls for new stimulative efforts http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2008783002_obama25.html <http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2008783002_obama25.html> Energy: Said his recovery plan will double the amount of renewable sources in three years. * 'It begins with energy' -- Obama puts climate and energy atop his priorities list in his first address to Congress http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2009/2/24/184835/368 <http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2009/2/24/184835/368> * All Set -- On LCD vs. plasma TVs http://www.grist.org/advice/ask/2009/02/25/index.html <http://www.grist.org/advice/ask/2009/02/25/index.html> Energy Star requirements for televisions became more stringent last November, and Energy Star TVs are touted as "up to 30 percent more efficient than non-qualified models." So they are an obvious, good choice. The ES site lists all certified models in a comparison chart, and also provides an energy savings worksheet... Big plasma sets are scary. For instance, Consumer Reports' chart shows a 42-inch plasma running yearly costs similar to an efficient 25-cubic-foot refrigerator. CLIMATE * Port of Seattle develops plan to reduce Sea-Tac emissions http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/401336_port25.html <http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/401336_port25.html> The port's strategy to reduce aircraft emissions is focused primarily on increasing airport efficiency and reducing the airlines' fuel costs, which have the secondary benefit of reducing the associated emissions. Projects in the works, with Federal Aviation Administration funding already secured, include supplying aircraft with centralized pre-conditioned air at the gates rather than having such aircraft heated and cooled by auxiliary power units, saving 40,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year. Some port emissions-reducing projects, such as piping jet fuel to aircraft from a tank farm, rather than using fuel tanker trucks, are already in use, allowing the agency to bank small amounts of emissions reductions with the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, with the hopes of using them to mitigate other port projects. * Committee guts Gregoire's emissions-cap plan http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008782493_webcapandtrad e24.html <http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008782493_webcapandtra de24.html> The Senate bill is significantly different from the governor's plan. It asks the state Department of Ecology to design voluntary emission targets and a voluntary emissions reduction registry and report back to the Legislature. "It's a work in progress," Ecology Director Jay Manning said Tuesday, adding he was pleased the legislation was still alive. He said the state would work with the Legislature to find a proposal both could support. * Opinion: Create incentive to cut emissions with carbon price http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2008777644_opinb24myers.ht ml <http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2008777644_opinb24myers.h tml> * Opinion: Cap-and-invest approach good for environment and economy http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2008773754_opinb23butler.h tml <http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2008773754_opinb23butler. html> * Global Warming May Bring More Respiratory Woes http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20090224/hl_hsn/globalwarmingmaybringmoreres piratorywoes;_ylt=AgA5H1oEmdPLbKURX.y6L7Jpl88F <http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20090224/hl_hsn/globalwarmingmaybringmorere spiratorywoes;_ylt=AgA5H1oEmdPLbKURX.y6L7Jpl88F> It's known that increased temperatures can boost cardiovascular emergencies, so the finding that cardiovascular-related hospitalizations did not increase with temperature came as a surprise. But the researchers suggested this may be because many patients who experience cardiovascular emergencies die before they can receive medical treatment. The study appears in the first issue for March of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. * Carbon dioxide emissions could last millenniums, expert says http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20090224/sc_mcclatchy/3175013_1 <http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20090224/sc_mcclatchy/3175013_1> Until now, most discussion of climate change has been about what scientific evidence shows is likely to happen between now and 2100. However, scientific research shows that the carbon dioxide gas released from burning fossil fuels lasts in the atmosphere much longer than mere decades... If the world continues its heavy use of coal over the next couple of hundred years until it's essentially used up, it would take several centuries more for the oceans to absorb about three-quarters of the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere. In those centuries, there would be a "climate storm" that Archer says would be significantly worse than the forecast from now to 2100. * NASA global warming satellite crashes after launch http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1501ap_sci_carbon_satellite.html <http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1501ap_sci_carbon_satellite.html > The loss of the $280 million mission came a month after Japan launched the world's first spacecraft to track global warming emissions. The failure dealt a blow to NASA, which had hoped to send up its own satellite to measure carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas behind human-caused global warming... The 986-pound satellite was supposed to be placed into a polar orbit some 400 miles high. The project was nine years in the making, and the mission was supposed to last two years. The observatory was NASA's first satellite dedicated to monitoring carbon dioxide on a global scale. Measurements collected by the satellite were expected to improve climate models and help researchers determine where the greenhouse gas originates and how much is being absorbed by forests and oceans. * Global warming danger threat increased http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1501ap_sci_climate_update.html <http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1501ap_sci_climate_update.html> The Earth won't have to warm up as much as had been thought to cause serious consequences of global warming, including more extreme weather and increasing threats to plants and animals, says an international team of climate experts... Now, researchers report that "increases in drought, heat waves and floods are projected in many regions and would have adverse impacts, including increased water stress, wildfire frequency and flood risks starting at less than (1.8 degrees) of additional warming above 1990 levels." * Ministers get close look at Antarctic ice threat http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090223/ap_on_re_au_an/aa_antarctica_mission <http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090223/ap_on_re_au_an/aa_antarctica_missio n> A parka-clad band of environment ministers landed in this remote corner of the icy continent on Monday, in the final days of an intense season of climate research, to learn more about how a melting Antarctica may endanger the planet... The visitors will gain "hands-on experience of the colossal magnitude of the Antarctic continent and its role in global climate change," said the mission's organizer, Norway's Environment Ministry. NOTE: If the hyperlink to the article fails, contact Consuelo Davis. Consuelo Davis Communications Dept. Puget Sound Clean Air Agency 206-689-4074 consueloD@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