Use of alternative fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel could displace 26 percent of the gasoline and diesel used in California by 2022 and more than 50 percent by 2050, under an ambitious plan approved by state energy regulators this week. Approved Wednesday by the California Energy Commission, the plan's suggestions are not binding but are intended to shape future legislation. SF Chronicle 11/2/07
The Los Angeles Harbor Commission on Thursday unanimously approved a phased ban of old-model trucks, a move that is expected to reduce harmful diesel emissions by 80% within five years but also ignite controversy among shippers, drivers, trucking companies and environmentalists. The Clean Truck Program would require 16,500 aging short-haul trucks that move goods from wharves to warehouses and train yards to meet federal 2007 emission standards by 2012 through replacement or retrofitting, authorities said. The $1.8-billion plan would begin next October by prohibiting trucks manufactured before 1989 from entering port facilities. An estimated 15% to 20% of the current fleet, mostly driven by independent operators, fall into that category, port authorities said. LA Times 11/2/07
Touted by officials as a safeguard against terrorist threats, a new security system that would increase the number of surveillance cameras in BART locations has some passengers anxious about possible violations of their privacy. For security reasons, when and where the cameras will be placed is not being disclosed. The fundamental claim of this article seems based on a few cursory interviews done with random BART passengers. Contra Costa Times 11/2/07
In Auburn north of Sacramento, Foresthill Bridge, which shares the same architecture as a Minneapolis bridge that collapsed in August, has not undergone a full, up-close inspection of all girders since 1995, according to inspection records. That falls short of federal requirements that all key girders be checked at arms distance every two years. The state bridge inspections chief asked his staff this week to pull together a list of other "hard-to-reach" bridges so that those inspection records could be reviewed. Sacramento Bee 11/2/07
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