Seattle Times staff reporter Craig Welch continues his close examination of the Bush environmental record.
"Through a filament of haze they emerge: containerships long enough to ferry the Space Needle, some belching as much exhaust as 12,000 cars, cutting through the bay toward the ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach."
Snip.
"During a decade in which scientists learned diesel pollution was even worse for our health than once thought, Murphy's agency made an astounding discovery: Ocean-going ships that cruised past Santa Barbara's coast each year emitted more smog-forming pollution than all vehicles on the county's roads combined.
Yet the Bush administration derailed efforts to cut emissions from cargo carriers, tankers and cruise ships - a decision with great impact on the West Coast and the Puget Sound region. The lumbering ocean-going giants are now the country's least-controlled source of bad air. Bush's record on clean-air rules has won him praise and criticism. He was criticized for refusing to cap carbon-dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming but was lauded for his decision to slash diesel pollution from many types of engines. He changed power-plant rules affecting emissions, a move favored by industry, and has balked at forcing big ships to clean their smokestack pollutants."
Staffer Hal Bernton looks at how the two candidates view global warming.
"Bush opposes mandatory caps on greenhouse-gas emissions from industrial plants, while Kerry backed a failed Senate bill seeking such regulation and fought unsuccessfully to improve the gas efficiency of U.S. automobiles."
The Times' Ralph Thomas reports that Dino Rossi's early tough upbringing led, in part, to his political development. A compelling story of alcoholism, mixed families and poverty.
Mike Lindblom reports on what the monorail recall is all about.
A profile of the Senate race in the 1st legislative district.
And the House race there, which pits trooper vs. ex-cop.
And, another House race there.
Debate is Thursday. Here's what to look for.
The pundits are saying this is make or break for Kerry, which seems a little ridiculous, considering they said the same thing about his convention speech, which they all lauded before saying it was a failure. To really know what's going on in this election, read this.
Big new registration numbers. The polls, which have been widely divergent, may be missing these newly registered voters, who may be hard to find because they'll tend to be younger and more transient. Whether they're Republican or Democrat, we don't know for sure, but large turnouts almost always favor Democrats. Can the Democrats get these voters to the polls?
It all comes down to that.
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