The U.S will suggest a near-term emission decrease target at the U.N. Type of weather change summit in Copenhagen next month, a senior management official said Monday. President Obama will announce the aim "in coming days," the official said. The statement of a target will take the current legislative stalemate over a climate bill into account, the senior official said, and thus might present a range of possible reduction rather than a single figure.

The lack of agreement in Congress puts Obama in a tricky domestic and diplomatic bind. He cannot promise to the world more than Congress may finally deliver when it takes up type of weather change legislation next year. But if he does not offer some concrete pledge, the United States will bear the brunt of the blame for the lack of an international agreement.

The official also said the leader would decide shortly whether and for how long he might attend the December climate meeting. He frequent Obama's declaration that he would consider presence if his presence could be a useful impetus to a deal. The official spoke at a White House briefing under the condition that he not be recognized.

The management has so far resisted demands that it commit to a specific goal for reducing emissions, saying it could not pre-empt Congress. China, the world's largest emitter of climate-altering gases, has also refused to spell out plans for reducing emissions, although President Hu Jintao promised in September that his country would decrease the amount of emissions per unit of economic output by a "notable margin." Many observers expect China to deliver a more exact pledge before the Copenhagen meeting.

Obama has come under criticism from leaders of dozens of countries that have already set domestic greenhouse gas lessening targets. He is also under fire from numerous environmental advocates who say the United States, the world's second-largest emitter, must take a credible commitment to Copenhagen to ensure that the talks do not fall apart.

The House approved a measure in June that calls for a 17 percent decrease over 2005 levels of house emissions. A Senate committee passed a bill last month that sets a 20 percent target, but that is likely to be weakened in future discussions.

Obama and leaders of a number of other major countries have said the Copenhagen discussion will not yield a full binding treaty to address global warming. Instead, the more than 190 nations represent there are expected to produce an interim agreement that addresses the major issues without requiring approval or international enforcement.

The Bay Bridge is once again open to traffic - following six long days of urgent situation structural maintenance and hellish commutes - but it will most likely be shut down again in a few months for a permanent fix.

Richard Land, Caltrans chief engineer, said Monday afternoon that even as the repairs finished early that morning made the bridge safe for drivers, engineers were looking for "a better solution something more robust, better performing."

Until Monday, Caltrans (California Department of Transportation) official had steadfastly protected the design of their fix, which involved taking the force off a cracked eyebar that was establish during Labor Day weekend. That repair concerned install saddles above and below the cracked piece with four high-strength steel rods connecting them, and then worried to pull the weight away from the eyebar.


Caltrans engineers suspect that metal rubbing against metal, caused by high winds, cause two rods and a saddle to come crashing to the roadway last Tuesday. Their design to fix the problem was like to what they had fashioned over Labor Day weekend, but they added elements to prevent the metal-on-metal contact.

"This is a provisional fix," Land said, "but a long-term answer might be desired. Right now the plan is not to keep the present strategy in place for the long term."Caltrans engineers will study suggested repairs over the next couple of months in search of a plan that will be as strong as the current fix but need less monitoring and maintenance as the repair just install.

Instead of designing the long-term repair under time pressure, with the bridge closed and commuters fuming, Caltrans would plan the work and schedule a closure, perhaps in four to five months, Land said. The length of the conclusion would depend on the repair chosen. The options include replace the eyebar, a huge responsibility that could involve replace several eyebars, which join like a chain.

For the time being, Caltrans official said they added a number of "enhancements" to stop metal-on-metal contact, to prevent wind and bridge feelings from causing the rods to move, and to prevent the piece of the repair from falling to the bridge deck if they should fail again.

They spent much of the time adjusting the position and configuration of the metal piece to assure they were not rubbing. Plans that monitor stress and movement have been added, and Caltrans crews will check on the repairs daily for at least two weeks.