TRANSPORTATION * Federal move would help keep buses running in King County http://www.seattlepi.com/transportation/407177_transit12.html A new federal provision would help struggling transit agencies, including King County Metro Transit, keep buses on the road. U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., announced Thursday that she inserted into the 2009 Supplemental Appropriations bill a provision allowing transit agencies to use up to 10 percent of their federal stimulus funding to pay for operating costs. The money originally was restricted to capital expenses. * Industries steering Washington state to freight-friendly Alaskan Way Viaduct plan http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2009/06/15/story11.html As planning for the downtown Seattle viaduct-replacement tunnel unfolds, freight haulers are working to make sure their needs don't roll off the table. Stakeholder meetings on the north, south and middle sections of the tunnel are under way, each including representatives of companies that move cargo through city streets. At issue is whether the final design of the tunnel replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct, and supporting routes, will replace the viaduct's cargo capacity. <<Industries steering Washington state to freight-friendly Alaskan Way Viaduct plan - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle).htm>> ENERGY * Seattle-based Powerit Solutions' technology helps companies reduce their energy consumption http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2009/06/15/smallb1.html A small Seattle company is helping big industrial facilities find more efficient ways to manage their electricity demand, shaving thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars from their power bills. Powerit Solutions is part of the burgeoning "smart grid" industry, which uses information technology to make electricity transmission and distribution more efficient and effective. The company's technology lets users take a series of strategic, predetermined steps to trim power demand at key times without hurting productivity. <<Seattle-based Powerit Solutions' technology helps companies reduce their energy consumption - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle).mht>> * Ore. project would use manure, tires for energy http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009339389_apusfarmscenetiresandmanure.html An Oregon company is seeking permits for a facility on the Columbia River that would harness methane gas for energy by collecting it from decomposing old tires and cow manure. Portland-based Northwest Biogas proposes an anaerobic digester project at a large dairy farm and is seeking a permit from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to store waste tires. The DEQ scheduled an information meeting Tuesday to discuss the permit, which would allow using 40,000 waste tires to help grow micro-organisms for producing the methane. The company would use the waste tires inside a lined and covered digester lagoon. If the facility ceases to operate, Northwest Biogas will have to clean, remove and recycle the tires. * Intel aims to capture wild electricity http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009340228_brier15.html Free high-def TV is just one benefit of Friday's shift to digital broadcasting. A bonus may be free electricity for everyone - a tiny bit, but perhaps enough to charge small electronic gadgets and cellphones someday. Scientists at Intel's University of Washington lab are already "harvesting" this power supply in the sky. GREEN BUILDING * Tacoma building so green it needs to be mowed -- Pacific Plaza: Building expected to set standard for environmental construction http://www.thenewstribune.com/1031/story/776124.html The City of Tacoma's Park Plaza South is undergoing a rebuilding, with floors of office space added on top and a new name: Pacific Plaza. So green is the building that it will likely earn LEED Platinum status - LEED from Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design - as awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council. It's a rating only the buildings that meet strict criteria for energy efficiency and environmental benefit can earn. So green is Pacific Plaza that it likely will serve as a standard by which other buildings are measured. * Innovative i-house catching eyes and interest from home buyers -- Manufactured house uses recycled materials http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20090615/BIZ/706159901/1005#Innovative.i-house.catching.eyes.and.interest.from.home.buyers For now, the display at the Heritage Home Center in Everett is the only one north of Sacramento, Calif. The i-house, developed and sold by Tennessee-based Clayton Homes, is generating buzz in the home construction industry. It's made from reclaimed materials, right down to its metal deck railings, and designed to be the first green construction manufactured home. The roof of the house forms a shallow V, allowing rainwater to be easily collected. The floors are bamboo; the decking and doors are made from recycled material. There are solar panels, and even the ceiling fans are energy efficient. CLIMATE * GOP says Democrats' climate bill is another tax http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090613/ap_on_go_co/us_gop_climate Republicans on Saturday slammed a Democratic bill before the House that seeks to address climate change, arguing that it amounts to an energy tax on consumers. In the GOP's weekly radio and Internet address, Indiana Rep. Mike Pence said Congress should instead open the way for more domestic oil and natural gas production and ease regulatory barriers for building new nuclear power plants. * It's got a ring to it, no? Ditch 'warming' and start talking 'deteriorating atmosphere,' PR firm says http://www.grist.org/article/2009-06-11-ecoamerica-public-opinion/ The non-profit PR shop ecoAmerica finally released the findings of its public opinion research today, bringing a trove of information about how on-the-fence Americans respond to different messages about climate change and energy. The firm conducted an impressive amount of research in February through March-focus groups, a phone survey, an online survey-all focused on finding better talking points for wooing folks who are undecided about this whole global warming/clean energy/green jobs business... For anyone who communicates about climate and energy, it's worth reading the whole report, "Climate and Energy Truths: Our Common Future." <http://ecoamerica.net/press/media/090520/truths> * TransAlta coal power plant faces heat from Sierra Club http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2009/06/15/story8.html The TransAlta power plant near Centralia is the source of 10 percent of Washington's power. It's also the source of 10 percent of Washington's greenhouse gas emissions. So the Sierra Club, citing the health and financial costs of global warming, is targeting TransAlta, the state's only coal power plant. The environmental group wants to see it shut down, or its emissions sharply reduced, within a decade... Meanwhile, the Association of Washington Business and a labor union that represents many of the plant's workers say they don't want to lose the reliable, relatively affordable power and 600 jobs the plant generates... The first round in the battle will play out in coming weeks. The TransAlta facility is going through a re-permitting process with the Southwest Clean Air Agency, in Vancouver. The public comment period ends June 17, and the Sierra Club will weigh in, saying that the agency should regulate carbon dioxide as well as other pollutants. <<TransAlta coal power plant faces heat from Sierra Club - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle).htm>> * Stalled carbon capture coal plant in Ill. gets OK http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090612/ap_on_bi_ge/us_futuregen;_ylt=AiI1yNf5Qg8UoAvZz1fNy.tpl88F The Energy Department is moving forward on a futuristic coal-burning power plant in Illinois that the Bush administration had declared dead. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said Friday that reviving the FutureGen plant is an important step that shows the Obama administration's commitment to carbon-capture technology... The project, planned for Matoon, Ill., is part of a broader effort to develop large demonstration projects on carbon capture and sequestration. The Energy Department is considering as many as seven such projects that would capture and put into the ground at least 1 million tons of carbon dioxide a year. FutureGen would be the project likely to be furthest along in development. * Western governors dip into growing water demand http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2009339231_apuswesterngovernors.html The three-day Western Governors' Association meeting that began Sunday focuses on key issues that affect states throughout the West, including water use, climate change and energy... Sunday's main discussion, which included Canadian officials and experts from the Middle East and Australia, focused on managing water amid changing climate conditions. Although many of the controversies in the West center around urbanization, natural resources and energy development, water - and often the lack of it - comes up again and again. * Oysters in deep trouble: Is Pacific Ocean's chemistry killing sea life? http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009336458_oysters14m.html If true, that could mean shifts in ocean chemistry associated with carbon-dioxide emissions from fossil fuels may be impairing sea life faster and more dramatically than expected. And it would vault a key Washington industry to the center of international debate over how to respond to marine changes expected to ripple through and undermine ocean food webs. * Lifestyle melts away with Uganda peak snow cap http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090615/wl_africa_afp/ugandaclimatewarmingsocial;_ylt=Aloj0qOA8CCy.z8FRlAjAsVpl88F In 1906, Mount Speke, one the highest peaks of Uganda's Rwenzori Mountains was covered with 217 hectares (536 acres) of ice, according to the Climate Change Unit at Uganda's ministry of water and environment. In 2006, only 18.5 hectares remained. Satellite images taken in 1987 and again in 2005 show that much of the thaw has occurred over the past two decades. * Argentine glacier advances despite global warming http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090615/ap_on_sc/lt_argentina_glacier;_ylt=AjLbxK.Un1NstvGVygEaxbZpl88F Argentina's Perito Moreno glacier is one of only a few ice fields worldwide that have withstood rising global temperatures... "We're not sure why this happens," said Andres Rivera, a glacialist with the Center for Scientific Studies in Valdivia, Chile. "But not all glaciers respond equally to climate change." GREEN-WASHING * FTC fights "green" claims http://www.sustainableindustries.com/breakingnews/47607172.html Since 1992, the FTC's "Green Guides" have aimed to help marketers avoid making false claims about the origin and make-up of their products. While the guides are not enforceable by law, if a company makes claims that are not in line with the guides, the FTC can take legal action under Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair or deceptive practices... The agency says, with the growth of "green" consumer products on the market, it is committed to ensuring that environmental marketing is "truthful, substantiated and not confusing to consumers." The public can comment on this case, or send complaints about other products, by visiting FTC's Web site. 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