Transporation Daily News March 19

According to a recently published study from the Department of Statistics, California State University, East Bay, and the University of California, Berkeley's Department of Electrical Engineering there were only limited benefits from the HOV system. Researchers there questioned the rationale for expanding the network. They collected peak-hour traffic data at more than 700 points along California's almost 1,200 miles of HOV routes to measure the effectiveness of the lanes that give priority to hybrid vehicles and those carrying two or more passengers. Miller Mccune 3/18/08

 

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Tuesday unveiled a $19-million plan to persuade shippers to burn cleaner fuel when vessels are near the California coast, a move expected to slash local air pollution by 11%. The proposal, which may go into effect as soon as July 1, would rely on financial incentives to encourage most of the 5,000 ships that berth at local ports each year to use much cleaner low-sulfur diesel fuels in their main propulsion engines. LA Times 3/19/08

 

Environmental groups are ratcheting up pressure on California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state Air Resources Board to revive the state's program for Zero Emissions Vehicles, otherwise known as electric cars, immediately. Cosigned by an array of environmental, civic, and business leaders that includes James Woolsey, former director of the CIA, and Ze'ev Drori, CEO of electric car company Tesla Motors, today's letter urges Schwarzenegger to fulfill his pledge to "turn back the clock on pollution" on the eve of a vote by the California Air Resources Board on March 27 to revise its ZEV program. US News and World Reports 3/18/08

 

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) today awarded $52 million to cities and counties for 139 projects funded through the state's Safe Routes to School program, which is designed to give students in grades K-12 easier and healthier ways to safely travel to and from schools. PR Inside 3/19/08

 

San Francisco-area air quality regulators are proposing to charge a fee to most businesses based on the amount of greenhouse gases they emit. The fee--4.2 cents per metric ton of carbon dioxide--would affect everything from oil refineries to power plants and would include landfills, factories, and small businesses such as restaurants and bakeries. Heartland Institute April edition

 

After warnings of rampant fraud and abuse, California's Attorney General Jerry Brown is calling on the feds to regulate the unwieldy frontier of retail carbon offset sales. The national market for carbon offsets is expected to reach $100 million within the next four years -- with an estimated 80 percent of the offset market going to companies attempting to reduce their carbon footprint. Legal News Online 3/19/08

 

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a federal complaint against Global Shipping and Global Marketing Systems, Inc. for distribution in commerce and export of materials containing PCBs on the old cruise liner MV Oceanic, formerly the SS Independence. The ship is being sent by Global to be scrapped overseas, the EPA declared. The MV Pacific Hickory is towing the MV Oceanic to its final destination. Fines against these two companies may be assessed up to $32,500 per violation per day. Environmental News Wire 3/18/08