Not another agency

(TWIP mobile post) West Seattle Blog is reporting today about plans to revive elevated transit in 'Seattle's west side transportation corridor' -- http://bit.ly/GLs1Rn

I have been aware for a few months that this organization -- 'CenTran' -- has been in the works. However I had been under the impression what it's about is Son Of Green Line.

Instead, it looks like they're intending a 16-mile monorail+PRT (pod transit) system in the West Seattle to Ballard corridors.

Ignoring stormwater science

Does anyone doubt that stormwater pollutes Western Washington's water cycle? At its simplest, civilization drops stuff on the ground, and gravity washes it downhill into Puget Sound.

Pretty easy. Yet now comes Democratic State Rep. Larry Springer of Kirkland. His HB2641 proposes making laboriously negotiated low-impact development rules voluntary.

An example on your fingertips

The news that most thermal cash register receipt paper is coated with bisphenol-A receives such little notice, that when a tiny syndicated column mentioning it did surface last Sunday, I realized I had forgotten it since it had first come out over a year ago:

Just the highlights

There are a number of items competing for the top of the environmental news -- some positive, some worrisome. Here they are, with pointers:

State of Washington puts Puget Sound on 'waters of concern' list. In a report to the EPA, the state Department of Ecology cites the threat of ocean acidification to sea life. Oceans naturally absorb CO2, but mankind's CO2 output has the oceans working overtime. Too much CO2 lowers ocean pH, interfering with the food chain by altering the development of key species.

Press release from the Center For Biological Diversity

Property wrongs. On Monday the U.S. Supreme Court

Climate vs. Weather

A simple and clear explanation, for people who keep saying 'it's snowing so there must not be climate change.'

The old adage is that "climate is what you expect, weather is what you get," since day-to-day weather may depart significantly from average conditions. But that doesn't really tell you much about how climate is measured over the long-term, or when weather ends and climate begins.

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Climate Central