CLEAN CARS * EPA Revisits California Waiver Decision http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/6424ac1caa800aab85257359003f533 7/8904b9648e72784e85257555005560f0!OpenDocument <http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/6424ac1caa800aab85257359003f53 37/8904b9648e72784e85257555005560f0!OpenDocument> The waiver request was made by California on December 21, 2005, to allow the state the right to control greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles. The request was denied by then-EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson on March 6, 2008. On January 26, shortly after taking office, President Barack Obama requested that EPA revisit the matter of the denial. "EPA has now set in motion an impartial review of the California waiver decision," said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "It is imperative that we get this decision right, and base it on the best available science and a thorough understanding of the law." TRANSPORTATION CHOICES * City offering Zipcar access to employees http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/398981_zip06.html <http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/398981_zip06.html> About 10,500 people employed by the city of Seattle will have access to Zipcars, the latest effort by the city to make commuting to work more environmentally friendly. "By offering car sharing, we're providing more flexibility and making it easier for city employees to choose mass transit, walk, bike or use other transportation alternatives," Mayor Greg Nickels said in a statement. "It is another way Seattle is encouraging more climate-friendly commutes."... Already, the city offers a $72 monthly transit subsidy to get employees to consider other options. More than 3,500 city employees take part in that program. * Toyota sees first annual net loss since 1950 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090206/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_earns_toyota <http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090206/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_earns_toyota> In December, Toyota, maker of the Prius hybrid and Camry sedan, thought it would eke out a small annual net profit, but the outlook has darkened since then, particularly as the U.S. auto market has collapsed. CLIMATE * Washington State Legislature Considers Cap-and-Trade Bill, Which May Start in 2012. Or Maybe Not. http://www.martenlaw.com/news/?20090205-wash-cap-and-trade-bill <http://www.martenlaw.com/news/?20090205-wash-cap-and-trade-bill> Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire has proposed legislation that would enable the state to participate, beginning in 2012, in a regional cap-and-trade system for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. But the details of how the system would work - including contentious issues of whether emission credits are auctioned or freely allocated and the use of offsets - are left to an as-yet unnamed panel to decide. By the time these hard decisions are made, a federal program may - or may not - be in place, and may - or may not - preempt some or all of the state provisions. The regulated community will have to follow both processes, because it remains anything but clear which program (or combination of programs) Washington entities will be required to comply with. * Global warming spurs commercial fishing moratorium in U.S. Arctic http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008712029_arcticclosu re6m.html <http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008712029_arcticclos ure6m.html> In a unanimous vote in Seattle, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council approved the plan in response to the dramatic retreat of summertime ice in Arctic waters. * Study: Climate change may reshuffle western weeds http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090206/ap_on_sc/farm_scene_western_weeds <http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090206/ap_on_sc/farm_scene_western_weeds> Climate change will likely shuffle some of the West's most troublesome invasive weeds, adding to the burden faced by farms and ranchers in some areas and providing opportunities for native plant restoration in others, according to a new study. * Report: US, China must cooperate on climate change http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090206/ap_on_sc/as_china_us_climate <http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090206/ap_on_sc/as_china_us_climate> Cooperation between China and the United States is crucial to successfully addressing the climate change problem, said a report released Friday that was co-produced by the U.S. energy secretary prior to his nomination. 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