The Senate version of the climate bill, updated from the version passed by the House back in June, will be released on Thursday, but a draft has been made available ahead of time.  While similar to the House version, it takes a more aggressive stance on greenhouse gas reductions.

The latest version of the bill calls for a 20 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, where the earlier version called for a 17 percent cut by 2020, but the goal of an 83 percent reduction in emissions by 2050 remains the same.

Another major change is that it allows the EPA to factor in GHG emissions when considering biofuel-related land use changes, while the House version didn't allow emissions to be considered for the first six years.

Some changes other changes that should appeal to the opposition include more support for new nuclear power and protections for utilities to keep costs in check for emissions permits.

The new draft is 801 pages long and an abridged version is available for download here.  All reports have indicated it faces an uphill fight in the Senate.

via LA Times

Reusable shopping bags have become ubiquitous.  They're available at almost every retail store you walk into, but the majority of Americans still aren't using them.  That may change soon as more and more cities are taking away the choice and making them a necessity.

On Tuesday, the City of San Jose voted to place a ban on all plastic and paper bags at stores.

The ban won't go into effect until 2011 - after a lengthy environmental review of its impact.  This will allow all retailers and consumers to become prepared in time.  For stores who still want to offer shoppers a one-time use option, bags made from at least 40 percent recycled materials can be made available, but at a fee.

Other cities, like San Francisco, have banned plastic bags or levied a tax on them, but San Jose is the first to take action on paper ones.  China's ban on plastic bags, while not strictly adhered to, still resulted in 40 billion less bags being used and cut their petroleum use by 1.6 million tons.

We might see more cities inacting these types of bans very soon. It seems plastic bags are starting to go the way of the incandescent bulb.  In June, the U.N.'s Environment Program Chief called for a global ban on plastic bag production.

via Treehugger