PORTS * $850,000 will help clear air at ports http://www.djc.com/news/en/12002543.html <http://www.djc.com/news/en/12002543.html> The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency was awarded an $850,000 grant by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to bolster a program to reduce diesel emissions at the ports of Seattle and Tacoma. <<DJC_COM $850,000 will help clear air at ports, provided by Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce.htm>> * Global cargo traffic plummets http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/aerospace/archives/160672.asp <http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/aerospace/archives/160672.asp> The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released some grim data Thursday that underscored just how bad the industry downturn could be, and why Boeing, Airbus, the airlines and others are in for a very rough ride this year. LAND USE/PLANNING/DEVELOPMENT * Cluster of 160 homes sent back for review http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20090129/NEWS01/701299864#Cluster.of.16 0.homes.sent.back.for.review <http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20090129/NEWS01/701299864#Cluster.of.1 60.homes.sent.back.for.review> The Snohomish County Council sends a development on the Lowell-Larimer Road back to a hearing examiner for further comment from neighbors... Curt Brees, a 36-year-old father of three, lives in the Highlands subdivision next door to the proposed construction. He believes the new homes could increase vehicle traffic on his street fivefold, to 1,500 trips every day. He figures about 300 vehicles currently pass by daily. "All of the traffic studies have been based on false assumptions," he said during a break in the meeting. "Allowing this development really short-changes everybody in the county. The developers are not paying for the needed regional traffic improvements. So it goes beyond just our neighborhood." CLIMATE * Ocean climate fix remains afloat. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7856144.stm <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7856144.stm> Plans to curb climate change by using plankton to draw carbon dioxide into the world's oceans have been boosted. * Dumping iron in the ocean may not fix the climate. http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16498-dumping-iron-in-the-ocean-ma y-not-fix-the-climate.html <http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16498-dumping-iron-in-the-ocean-m ay-not-fix-the-climate.html> As arguments rage over the legality of an attempt to fertilise algae in Antarctic seas, evidence is emerging that, legal or not, this kind of "ocean engineering" may not suck enough carbon out of the atmosphere to reverse climate change. * Tracking carbon footprints to the breakfast table. http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/01/22/business/0122-PEPSI_index.ht ml <http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/01/22/business/0122-PEPSI_index.h tml> PepsiCo, which owns the Tropicana brand, recently calculated that the equivalent of 3.75 pounds of carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere for each half-gallon carton of orange juice it makes. <<Tracking Carbon Footprints to the Breakfast Table - The New York Times Business Slide Show Slide 1 of 8.htm>> * Gore on Hill to discuss climate change. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99974975 <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99974975> Former Vice President Al Gore visited the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to emphasize the importance of U.S. leadership on the issue of climate change. * Obama considers regulating greenhouse gases. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28869028/ <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28869028/> President Barack Obama's push for cleaner-running automobiles is being viewed as the clearest signal yet that he intends to regulate greenhouse gases. 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