Transporation Daily News 1/24

BART is going to introduce electronic lockers for bicycles at some East Bay stations in a new strategy aimed at enticing more people to pedal rather than drive to train stations. In the last survey taken in 1999, BART found that about 2 percent of its train riders reached stations by bicycle during the morning rush hour, and about 4 percent during the off-peak hours. Inside Bay Area 1/24/08

 

A Senate committee recommended Wednesday that one of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's appointees to the state air board be replaced because of her record with public health issues. The Rules Committee voted 3-2 along party lines against the appointment after some Central Valley lawmakers complained board member Judith Case routinely sides with polluters on air-quality issues. CC Times 1/24/08

 

Attorney General Jerry Brown and 18 other state and local officials from around the country sent a letter to the federal Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday demanding the agency begin developing standards for regulating greenhouse gases. A similar letter was sent by 12 environmental groups.  Wednesday's letter accuses the EPA of "unreasonably delaying action," after the U.S. Supreme Court last April said it had the authority to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Sacramento Bee 1/24/08

 

The Environmental Protection Agency's staff concluded last month that greenhouse gases pose a threat to the nation's welfare, which would require federal regulations to rein in emissions from vehicles, factories, power plants and other industrial polluters under the Clean Air Act, sources in the agency told The Times. The conclusion, known as an "endangerment" finding, has been sent to the White House for review, and comes as the agency is under a Supreme Court order to examine risks from greenhouse gases. LA Times 1/24/08

 

Newly released documents show that Environmental Protection Agency staff members made a strong case that California should be allowed to proceed with its first-in-the-nation greenhouse gas regulations - arguments that the agency's chief, Stephen Johnson, ultimately overruled. In the presentation last year, EPA staffers wrote that California could clearly demonstrate "compelling and extraordinary conditions" - the legal definition under the Clean Air Act that requires EPA to approve regulations set by the state. SF Chronicle 1/24/08

 

As restaurants around the country are beginning to use environmentally friendly construction techniques, a new restaurant in Sacramento, Hot Italian, scheduled to open this spring is participating in a pilot program offered by the U.S. Green Building Council to help retail stores and restaurants. The restaurant plans to include green features ranging from solar panels to a special composting bin to extensive bicycle parking. Sacramento Bee 1/24/08

 

The head of the EPA stood firm Thursday against a chorus of congressional criticism over his refusal to allow California and more than a dozen other states to impose greenhouse gas reductions on cars and trucks. He said, "The Clean Air Act does not require me to rubberstamp waiver decisions," Johnson said. "It was my conclusion that California didn't meet the criteria, or at least all of the criteria." Sen. Barbara Boxer chided him, "You're going against your own agency's mission and you're fulfilling the mission of some special interests." AP 1/24/08