REGISTERED SOURCES * Mysterious Stench Invades North Sound Neighborhoods http://www.kirotv.com/news/16815254/detail.html <http://www.kirotv.com/news/16815254/detail.html> KIRO 7 viewers in Snohomish County are complaining of a mysterious, overpowering odor that's stinking up their neighborhoods and making some people sick. The stench has been on the mind of people who live in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Marysville and some said they found the smell so sickening that they called 911... State investigators with the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency told KIRO 7 reporter Gary Horcher they followed the odor and believe the foul smell is coming from a compost processing plant in North Everett. CLIMATE * Tacoma City Council backs 'green' goals -- Tacoma supports drastic carbon emissions cuts despite steep growth http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/environment/story/405918.html <http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/environment/story/405918.html> City Council members embraced a report last week from the mayor's Green Ribbon Climate Action Task Force outlining a plan to dramatically reduce carbon emissions over the next several decades. If the plan is successful, Tacoma would produce 80 percent fewer carbon emissions in 2050 than it did in 1990 - despite projections for a population almost twice as large as today... Not surprisingly, Councilman Jake Fey liked what he heard. Fey, who was recently appointed to Gov. Chris Gregoire's Climate Action Team, is arguably the "greenest" member of the Tacoma City Council... Fey said Tacoma has an opportunity to become a leader in the emerging green economy, but the challenge will be to differentiate the city from others competing for the same businesses. * Cheney wanted cuts in climate testimony http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080708/ap_on_go_pr_wh/cheney_climate_10;_yl t=AmLzxC38hxmOvMu7b06crBdrAlMA <http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080708/ap_on_go_pr_wh/cheney_climate_10;_y lt=AmLzxC38hxmOvMu7b06crBdrAlMA> Vice President Dick Cheney's office pushed for major deletions in congressional testimony on the public health consequences of climate change, fearing the presentation by a leading health official might make it harder to avoid regulating greenhouse gases, a former EPA officials maintains. * US, allies want global pollution slashed - by 2050 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080708/ap_on_re_as/g8_climate_change_19;_yl t=As9xa1vspxjj4LpD.A9Teg5rAlMA <http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080708/ap_on_re_as/g8_climate_change_19;_y lt=As9xa1vspxjj4LpD.A9Teg5rAlMA> But one environmental critic suggested that by 2050 those leaders would be forgotten and "the world will be cooked." * EU lawmakers force CO2 caps on airlines http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080708/sc_afp/euaviationenvironmentregulat eclimate;_ylt=AjoTZPQqwemJdWh573SBxwBpl88F <http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080708/sc_afp/euaviationenvironmentregula teclimate;_ylt=AjoTZPQqwemJdWh573SBxwBpl88F> * Eco-tourism: Carbon 'offsets', a good idea that's not working http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080701/lf_afp/lifestyleenvironmenttourismo ffsets_080701053140 <http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080701/lf_afp/lifestyleenvironmenttourism offsets_080701053140> The problem is that few tourists seem eager to write off their green guilt. * Mount Shasta glaciers growing, despite warming http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080708/ap_on_re_us/growing_glaciers;_ylt=Ar NCVLEwlNvI7jkGhjnwKB9pl88F <http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080708/ap_on_re_us/growing_glaciers;_ylt=A rNCVLEwlNvI7jkGhjnwKB9pl88F> Global warming is shrinking glaciers all over the world, but the seven tongues of ice creeping down Mount Shasta's flanks are a rare exception: They are the only long-established glaciers in the continental U.S. that are growing. ENERGY * Green energy "gold rush" revs up, investment jumps 60 percent in 1 year http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008028800_green02.htm l <http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008028800_green02.ht ml> Global investors plowed $148 billion into new wind, solar and other alternative-energy assets last year, in what the United Nations describes as a "green-energy gold rush" gaining speed the past several years. * Pickens says gas and wind would slash oil imports http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080708/bs_nm/energy_pickens_plan_dc_4;_ylt= ArR8Lpet5r9MBtkoj6WOzWWAsnsA <http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080708/bs_nm/energy_pickens_plan_dc_4;_ylt =ArR8Lpet5r9MBtkoj6WOzWWAsnsA> Texas energy tycoon T. Boone Pickens on Tuesday called for a massive switch to natural gas as a transportation fuel and a boost in wind power in a plan aimed at reducing U.S. foreign oil dependence by a more than a third. HOME HEATING * New Maine Financing Deal For Alternative-Fuel Appliances http://www.aer-online.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.1675 <http://www.aer-online.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.1675 > Fosters.com reports that Aubuchon Hardware, headquartered in Lewiston, Maine, has entered a partnership with Northeast Bank to offer special pricing and financing on wood-pellet, corn and other alternative-fuel stoves. In the partnership, the bank will offer unsecured, low-interest loans of up to $5,000 to qualifying homeowners who wish to convert from their traditional fuel sources to an alternative energy appliance. TRANSPORTATION PLANNING * Retiming traffic lights should help improve downtown traffic flow http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transportation/369392_streetlight03.html <http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transportation/369392_streetlight03.html> Seattle officials said Wednesday that they've synchronized signals at 258 downtown intersections for the first time in more than two decades and promised quicker, less polluting trips through the central business district will result... Mayor Greg Nickels, announcing the downtown signal changes Wednesday, said they should help reduce motorist frustration and cut fuel consumption and cut greenhouse gas emissions. * One option for viaduct would cost hundreds of parking spots -- New interchange proposal assessed http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transportation/369179_viaduct02.html <http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transportation/369179_viaduct02.html> The project is one of three identified by Gov. Chris Gregoire, King County Executive Ron Sims and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels that could be initiated before they decide at the end of this year how to deal with the viaduct between King Street and the Battery Street Tunnel. TRANSPORTATION CHOICES * Rising fuel costs to increase bus fares http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transportation/369507_metro04.html <http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transportation/369507_metro04.html> Metro bus and Access van fares are likely to be increased by 25 cents per trip to cover surging fuel costs, according to a proposal unveiled by King County Executive Ron Sims Thursday. Without the increase, county transit managers believe they would face a $36 million deficit in the two-year transportation budget covering 2008 and 2009. The proposed quarter increase would almost cover that deficit, Sims said... Sims said increase necessary to preserve current levels of service. His proposal, if approved by the King County Council, would take effect Oct. 1. * The Saga of Fume -- On exerting yourself in traffic http://www.grist.org/advice/ask/2008/07/02/ <http://www.grist.org/advice/ask/2008/07/02/> Fortunately, biking is not worse than being inside the car. A car shell contains little gaps into which pollutants flow, and as a result, car occupants sit in a stew of carbon monoxide, benzene, and particulate matter, among other unpleasant vehicle emissions. Bicyclists, bus passengers, and pedestrians are all exposed to these emissions as well, but in a different way... A few variables in these studies are worth mentioning and considering for all kinds of transit. Just as you would guess, pollutants are lower on less-travelled routes and during less-travelled times of day. Pollutant concentrations are very influenced by the vehicle just in front of you, so it's better not to follow, say, a diesel truck in poor condition. AIR QUALITY * Smoke from coastal fires threatens inland air quality -- San Joaquin Valley residents breathe soot-laden air http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/369201_wildfire02.html <http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/369201_wildfire02.html> California's raging wildfires have created a smoky haze so stifling that doctors in the state's landlocked farm country say their waiting rooms have been crowding with patients struggling to breathe amid the soot-laden air. Even without the blazes, the farming towns and subdivisions dotting the long, flat San Joaquin Valley are typically shrouded in a layer of smog during the summer... Once the tiny particles of soot -- which are blamed for causing asthma and other respiratory problems -- reach the valley, they're sealed in under a layer of warm air created by hot summer temperatures. 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