CLIMATE/AIR QUALITY AWARD * Agency's Cool School Challenge program receives national Clean Air Excellence Award http://www.pscleanair.org/news/newsroom/releases/2009/05_13_09_Clean_Air_Excellence.aspx "The Cool School Challenge is grounded in the principle that big change starts with small steps," said Kimberley Cline, Cool School Challenge program manager at the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. "This program began with one teacher in one school, and has now reached several hundred teachers in schools from Bellevue to Bellingham, Seattle to Spokane, and even Denver to Dubai. To date participating schools anticipate collectively, they could reduce their climate pollution by roughly 650,000 pounds." * EPA Recognizes Innovation in Clean Air Projects http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/6424ac1caa800aab85257359003f5337/837cefb96a4081fd852575b500600dcc!OpenDocument Puget Sound Clean Air Agency's Cool School Challenge climate-education program is among the winners. The awards program, established in 2000 at the recommendation of the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee, annually recognizes and honors outstanding innovative efforts to help make progress in achieving cleaner air. Award-winning entries must directly or indirectly reduce pollutant emissions, demonstrate innovation, offer sustainable outcomes, and provide a model for others to follow. * 2008 Clean Air Excellence Awards Recipients http://www.epa.gov/air/caaac/recipients.html In addition to the Cool School Challenge, there were other Puget Sound area recipients: Renaissance Rumford 1,000 -- Renaissance Fireplaces, Bellevue, Wash. First introduced to the fireplace industry at the Hearth Patio and BBQ Association trade show in February 2008, the Renaissance Rumford 1,000 has been specifically developed to surpass the low emissions performance requirements of the new ASTM low mass fireplace standard. It incorporates a positive sealing outside air intake, a gasketed guillotine style glass door, and utilizes an insulated chimney to prevent uncontrolled cold air leakage from the chimney system. In addition to surpassing the national standards for woodstove emissions, the Renaissance Rumford fireplace surpasses the most stringent state standard of 4.5 g/hr set by the State of Washington. Kenworth Green Power Solutions -- Kenworth Truck Company, Renton, Wash. The Kenworth Clean Power System is a no-idle, battery-powered system that provides 10 hours of continuous operation during mandatory rest periods for truck drivers. The system is comprised of enhanced insulation, cooling storage capacity for air conditioning, auxiliary heat, high efficiency LED lighting, and 110 volt AC outlets. By eliminating idling during rest periods, the system reduces fuel use by one gallon per hour. CLIMATE * Climate change threatens millions who live off sea http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009214682_apascoralcrisis.html If carbon emissions are not cut by 25 percent to 40 percent by the year 2020, higher ocean temperatures could kill off vast marine ecosystems and half the fish in them, according to the World Wildlife Fund, which warned that 100 million people earning a living off the sea could be forced to leave inundated coastlines and find new jobs. The group, which presented its 220-page study at the World Ocean Conference, cited 300 published scientific studies and 20 climate change experts. * Charge your iPod, kill a polar bear? Energy watchdog says gadgets pose environmental threat http://www.startribune.com/science/44885612.html In a report Wednesday, the Paris-based International Energy Agency estimates new electronic gadgets will triple their energy consumption by 2030 to 1,700 terawatt hours, the equivalent of today's home electricity consumption of the United States and Japan combined. The world would have to build around 200 new nuclear power plants just to power all the TVs, iPods, PCs and other home electronics expected to be plugged in by 2030, when the global electric bill to power them will rise to $200 billion a year, the IEA said. LAND USE/PLANNING/DEVELOPMENT * Walkable communities the goal of Fort Lewis master plan http://blogs.thenewstribune.com/military/ Fort Lewis' urban planners plan to transform the post from a concrete jungle of sprawled buildings to a leafy collection of smaller communities. The post's long-term master plan, which was unveiled Tuesday, organizes the installation into 13 neighborhoods, each anchored by a mixed-use area... A major goal of the design is to reduce commuting; planners hope to group barracks, dining facilities, motor pools, administrative buildings and training areas close enough to encourage soldiers to walk to work... Planners are touting the post's ecofriendly design: The reduction of car commuting, addition of more trees and adoption of sustainable construction standards could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 18 million pounds per year. ENERGY * Sustainable Energy Practices Guidebook for Public Agencies http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/a8e7b979#/a8e7b979/2 Funded by the (California's) Bay Area Air Quality Management District and developed by Brown and Caldwell, it's good information that any agency can use to establish baselines, set goals, develop best practices, measure progress and manage successful sustainability plans. WOOD BURNING * Montreal will ban new wood-burning stoves http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2009/04/16/woodstoves-montreal-ban-0416.html The City of Montreal has said it is going ahead with a ban on new wood-burning stoves, after holding public consultations on the matter. The new bylaw will ban the installation of any new residential wood-burning stoves. The ban includes devices retrofitted with more environmentally friendly components. Wood pellet stoves - which burn cleaner - are exempt from the bylaw... Montreal's estimated 85,000 wood-burning stoves and fireplaces are believed to produce nearly half of the island's winter smog. * Pellet stoves may be allowed in S'thorne, Colorado -- Town council approved installation of masonry heaters in December 2008 http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20090425/NEWS/904259983&parentprofile=search Town council recently reviewed pellet stove information at its work session, and council members are so far amenable to changing the town code to allow the environmentally friendly stove. In December 2008, the Town of Silverthorne approved the use of masonry heaters in homes but did not approve the use of pellet stoves - a wood-burning device that may be even more environmentally friendly than masonry heaters... Due to air-quality concerns in the 1980s and 1990s, the town prohibited solid-fuel burning devices, but made an exception for the masonry heaters, which capture heat from combustion and radiate it for a long period of time. MARITIME EMISSIONS * Proposal Would Tighten Air Emission Standards for Ocean-Going Ships http://www.martenlaw.com/news/?20090422-ship-air-emission-standards The United States and Canada recently proposed to designate large areas of their coastal waters for strict control of ship air emissions. The proposed Emissions Control Area ("ECA") off the U.S. and Canadian coastline is the first proposed by any nation State under new regulations adopted by the International Maritime Organization ("IMO") in October 2008. 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