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Bus crash victims and hero soldier tell of rescue from fire, explosions Syracuse, NY -- William and Sandy Blair worried as they sat in row 8 of the Farr’s Coach Lines Ltd. tour bus on the side of the New York State Thruway early Friday in Junius Ponds. Driver Rene Bisson had pulled the eastbound tour bus to the side of the road to reset the electronics emission control. The bus was carrying 52 passengers from London, Ontario, on their way for a three-day weekend in New York City. ... ... ... At about the same time, Army Sgt....

Some prominent Republican senators expressed openness Tuesday to a U.S. climate change bill that might be introduced next week and that would need bipartisan support to have any chance of advancing. Carbon Emissions Senator Lamar Alexander, a member of the Republican leadership in the Senate, praised the sector-by-sector approach in a compromise bill aimed at reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. "I think a sector-by-sector approach makes a lot more sense for dealing with carbon," the Tennessee senator told reporters. Winning Republican support would be big breakthrough for Democrats and the Obama White...

Pearl Jam's band members are working to be better men. The rock group is partnering with Cascade Land Conservancy -- which works to preserve forests, parks and other natural areas -- to plant approximately 33 acres of native trees and plants around the Puget Sound. It's all in an effort to offset carbon emissions from the band's 2009 world tour. The group generated an estimated 5,474 metric tons of carbon during that 32-date run of concerts. Pearl Jam is donating $210,000 to fund the plantings, which are expected mitigate more than 7,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide. The greenhouse gas...

BERLIN - The United States rejects the European Union's all-encompassing target on reduction of carbon emissions, President Bush's environmental adviser said Tuesday. James Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said the United States is not against setting goals but prefers to focus them on specific sectors, such as reducing dependence on gasoline and cleaner coal. "The U.S. has different sets of targets," he said. Germany, which holds the European Union and G-8 presidencies, is proposing a so-called "two-degree" target, whereby global temperatures would be allowed to increase no more than 2 degrees Celsius — the equivalent...

ArvinMeritor and Wal-Mart Transportation announced an agreement Jan. 10 to jointly develop a dual-mode, diesel-electric drivetrain for a Class 8 tractor. The vehicle, which the companies believe to be the first dual-mode diesel-electric tractor prototype in development in North America, will be based on an International Class 8 ProStar tractor and powered by an engine developed by Cummins. "We've been working on development of hybrid drivetrains for some time," said Carsten J. Reinhardt, president of ArvinMeritor's Commercial Vehicle Systems, based in Troy, Mich. "This Class 8 project is a major step in our continuing work in alternative drivetrain development --...

BEIJING — China will rigorously enforce limits on industrial pollution as it seeks to rein in rampant pollution and tame frenetic economic growth, the nation's top environment official said. Zhou Shengxian, head of China's State Environmental Protection Administration, said government efforts to cut sulphur dioxide and other pollutants belching into China's hazy skies were failing, the China Environment News reported on Wednesday. Breakneck economic expansion was instead overwhelming official goals to cut emissions and energy use, he said in a speech to officials on Tuesday. "The central leadership is treating reductions in energy use and major pollutant emissions as two...

WILLIAM MARSDEN The Gazette September 17, 2005 Peter Romaniuk of Innovative Hydrogen Solutions looks over his company's machine, which the company claims eliminates almost all emissions from gasoline-powered vehicles. The company says it is developing a version of the machine that will be one-eighth the size of the current prototype and that should be ready by next year. Joe Williams Sr. believes he has the machine that will help save the world. It will make the sky blue, allow everyone to breathe easier, and, in a time of skyrocketing fuel prices, save us all money. Yes, it's hard to believe....