REGISTERED SOURCE (Cedar Grove) * Gas in that trash: Seattle's food and yard waste to produce energy http://www.seattlepi.com/local/418370_compost.html The company is deciding between two different designs for the anaerobic digester, which it plans to install by the end of 2010 -- in time to take advantage of a tax incentive from the Obama administration. It should be producing methane by 2011. It should take in 50,000 tons a year of waste (About 13 percent of last year's intake at Cedar Grove) and produce enough methane to generate 1.3 megawatts of electricity. The company will either produce electricity or make compressed gas for vehicles, Jerry Bartlett, chief environmental sustainability officer. OZONE * NW EPA head says Seattle may not meet new ozone standards http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126123398 The Environmental Protection Agency's new northwest administrator says Seattle will likely fail to meet standards for atmospheric ozone levels. Dennis McLerran says the EPA will announce higher federal air quality standards this summer. TRANSPORTATION * Seattle City Council Responds To 520 Plan, And Raises Idea Of Another New Bridge http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=20003 The Washington state Department of Transportation is scheduled to formally select a west side design for the 520 floating bridge project at the end of the month. Yesterday, a key stakeholder, the Seattle City Council voiced concerns about the current recommended option. And they also expressed interest in yet another new bridge that could be added to the project sometime in the future. * Cities look at seceding from Pierce Transit -- Budget crisis: They don't want to pay if they don't get service; agency says it's too soon to worry http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/04/18/1152269/cities-look-at-seceding-from-pierce.html Suburban communities around Pierce County have a message for Pierce Transit: Don't cut our bus service, or we may take our tax money elsewhere. A dozen officials from five Pierce County cities and towns are researching how they might cut ties with Pierce Transit in response to proposed route cuts next year. GOODS MOVEMENT * Washington's economic recovery depends on a stronger freight infrastructure http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/2010/01/010710FreightRailPlan.htm The Freight Systems Division has developed a document outlining Washington State's freight priorities. The Washington State Freight Priorities folio defines how important Washington State's freight infrastructure is to the state economy; shows samples of statewide freight dependent businesses and how Washington's distribution system is essential to local communities; and highlights priority statewide freight deficiency improvements and how they impact Washington manufacturers and farmers who rely on the transportation network to ship their products. LAND USE PLANNING * How a sidewalk can fight childhood obesity -- Making it easier for kids to walk to school may prevent health problems http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100419/NEWS01/704199915#How.a.sidewalk.can.fight.childhood.obesity A project with a similar goal, to build sidewalks and designate bike lanes, is now underway in Marysville. Funded by the state Department of Transportation, it includes more than 1,700 feet of sidewalks near Liberty Elementary School and Marysville Middle School. CLIMATE * Redmond High environmental-science teacher wins $25,000 Green Prize http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011649351_greenprize20m.html Town's program, "Cool School Challenge," shows kids how to do energy audits of their school buildings and, using math and science, reduce the carbon footprint by powering down computers at night, turning out lights that aren't being used, recycling, composting and a range of other strategies. About 150 participating schools across the country have saved an estimated 1.5 million pounds of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse-gas emissions... "We have a lot of schools that do recycling, but they've taken it on steroids here," said Mary Lindquist, president of the Washington Education Association, who was on hand for the award. * And the heat goes on: warmest March on record http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100415/ap_on_sc/us_sci_hot_march Contributing to the record month was El Nino, a periodic warming of the tropical Pacific Ocean that, combined with changes in winds and air pressure, can affect weather worldwide. In addition, climate researchers have been reporting rising global temperatures for several years as a result of what is called the "greenhouse effect," in which rising levels of carbon dioxide and others gases in the atmosphere trap heat instead of allowing it to escape into space. NOAA also reported that in March Arctic sea ice, which normally reaches its maximum in that month, covered an average of 5.8 million square miles (15.1 million square kilometers). That was 4.1 percent below the 1979-2000 average expanse, and the fifth-smallest March coverage since records began in 1979. 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