IDLING * Opinion: It's not an idle matter http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/388681_youngonline21.html <http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/388681_youngonline21.html> The issue is idling in one's car. It wastes fuel. It pollutes unnecessarily... For those who say that necessity dictates we must drill pristine wilderness to sate sweet tooths for crude, suggest they go to the nearest drive-through bank and see gallon after gallon gobbled for naught. CLIMATE * Waxman topples Dingell; House Dems go greener http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081120/ap_on_go_co/waxman_dingell;_ylt=AtzG s14ZAwUBfFC.x0sy7NCs0NUE <http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081120/ap_on_go_co/waxman_dingell;_ylt=Atz Gs14ZAwUBfFC.x0sy7NCs0NUE> The switch could help President-elect Barack Obama on Capitol Hill with one of his favored issues: trying to curb global warming by limiting greenhouse gas emissions. But Waxman's combative stance on climate change and other issues also could alienate Republicans and moderate Democrats, making it harder to get the bipartisan support Obama will need... Dingell's bitter battles with Waxman over clean air issues date to the Reagan administration and were recently revived as Waxman complained that the committee has been too slow to address global warming... Driving Waxman's bid was the issue of global warming, a top issue for Obama. Waxman is expected to move legislation with tougher emissions standards than Dingell would have. * New Senate to get major global warming bill http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081120/sc_afp/uspoliticscongressenvironmen t;_ylt=AuNo6UsoX_NSEI.VEp4Bhf1pl88F <http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081120/sc_afp/uspoliticscongressenvironme nt;_ylt=AuNo6UsoX_NSEI.VEp4Bhf1pl88F> Top Senate Democrats on Thursday said they would introduce major global warming legislation early next year, saying Barack Obama's election meant a "sea change" in the battle against climate change. California Senator Barbara Boxer said one new bill in January would be designed to cut global warming gas emissions by spending up to 15 billion dollars a year to spur clean energy innovation and the development of advanced biofuels. The other piece of legislation will direct the US Environmental Protection Agency to set up a cap-and-trade system to stem greenhouse gas emissions. * Climate change may be causing disease outbreaks in Philippines http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081120/hl_afp/healthphilippinesclimate;_yl t=Aicj10Ff2_zW9cniP4QGZa5pl88F <http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081120/hl_afp/healthphilippinesclimate;_y lt=Aicj10Ff2_zW9cniP4QGZa5pl88F> Global warming may have contributed to a recent spate of outbreaks of deadly diseases in the Philippines, a senior minister said Thursday. TRANSPORTATION PLANNING * Costs released for 8 viaduct options: from $800M to $3.5B http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008415714_webviaductcos ts20m.html <http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008415714_webviaductco sts20m.html> The state will narrow the options to two or three in December. Gov. Christine Gregoire, King County Executive Ron Sims and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels will then choose a preferred option by the end of the year. Already the state has evaluated each option for everything from travel times to seismic safety. The cost estimates released today include price ranges for five categories of improvements that go along with each of the eight options: improvements to Interstate 5, transit, surface streets, policies and management, and how to encourage alternatives to driving alone. * Bad economy won't stop massive road projects http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008418429_transpochal lenges21m.html <http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008418429_transpocha llenges21m.html> Legislative leaders may have a way to build support for replacing the deteriorating Alaskan Way Viaduct and Highway 520 bridge: Call it a jobs package... Transportation has a separate budget with its own source of revenue - primarily the gasoline tax, which is more stable than the sales tax. * State announces 520 cost estimates http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transportation/388717_520costs21.html <http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transportation/388717_520costs21.html> The overall figures include mitigations throughout the corridor and improvements on the east side of the bridge, as well as the area around Montlake. Least expensive at $4.6 billion to $4.8 billion, Plan A features a second bascule bridge alternative, which removes the Lake Washington Boulevard ramps to south Montlake, the arboretum and Madison Park. It urges a public switch from single-occupancy vehicles to transit. * Costs for viaduct options revealed -- Price tag could go as high as $3.5 billion http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transportation/388791_viaduct21.html <http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transportation/388791_viaduct21.html> Next month analysts say how each replacement option will affect jobs and the economy, another factor to be considered. They'll narrow the possibilities to two or three either by Dec. 4 or Dec. 11. * As third Sea-Tac runway opens, some seek a fourth http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008413289_thirdrunway20 m.html <http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008413289_thirdrunway2 0m.html> As the first jetliner takes off today on Seattle-Tacoma International Airport's new $1 billion third runway, state and local decision-makers are already debating where in Puget Sound to put a fourth runway or its equivalent... Paine Field, a former military base about 30 miles north of Seattle, is a perfectly good airport, notes Everett City Councilmember Paul Roberts. Boeing uses it to manufacture big jets and to deliver them to customers. Bringing airline service to Paine Field wouldn't pose the same expensive engineering and environmental challenges as building the third runway, Roberts said. That project required construction of a 130-foot-tall plateau and retaining wall, the largest of its kind in North America, to make the new runway level with the existing ones. * Eastside passenger railway would cost $1billion http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008413371_commuterrail2 0m.html <http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008413371_commuterrail 20m.html> The Port of Seattle is buying the 42-mile corridor from BNSF Railway for $107 million. The Port and other agencies are studying whether the corridor linking Renton, Bellevue, Kirkland, Woodinville, Redmond and Snohomish should become a passenger-rail corridor, biking and walking trail or both. ENERGY * State Supreme Court approves Kittitas County wind farm http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/388704_windfarm21.html <http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/388704_windfarm21.html> The project, from developers Horizon Wind Energy of Houston, would be along U.S. 97 northwest of Ellensburg. Turbines would sit on ridge tops in the blustery Kittitas Valley, on private and state land. Project officials have said they expect to spend at least $150 million on the wind farm, and supporters say it could provide enough electricity to supply about 30,000 homes. * Celebrate the Environment: Look for the Energy Star, the Gift that Keeps on Giving http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/6424ac1caa800aab85257359003f533 7/d405da5663a60b42852575060064ae8f!OpenDocument <http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/6424ac1caa800aab85257359003f53 37/d405da5663a60b42852575060064ae8f!OpenDocument> This holiday season you can give a gift that is green in more ways than one. With Energy Star labeled products, you are helping someone save money on their energy bill and protect the environment by fighting climate change. In fact, the typical homeowner can save more than 30 percent, or about $700 on annual energy bills with Energy Star labeled products. NOTE: If the hyperlink to the article fails, contact Consuelo Davis. Consuelo Davis Communications Dept. Puget Sound Clean Air Agency 206-689-4074 consueloF@pscleanair.org