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.

Caltrans, working together with the CHP has decided to slow traffic down across the new S-curve on the Bay Bridge, by closing one to two lanes of the Bay Bridge's upper and lower decks during off-peak hours.

The lane closures are intended to warn and slow vehicles approaching the S-curve to the posted 35 MPH speed. CHP officers will also be on duty enforcing the speed limits on the bridge.


Caltrans officials say this won't cause any traffic jams because the lanes will only be closed during off-peak hours.

The lane closure on the westbound deck will start past the toll plaza and will extend through the Yerba Buena Island tunnel. The eastbound lane closure will start at the center anchorage of the West Span and will end just past the Yerba Buena Island detour.


The off-peak hours are as follow:
Weekdays
Westbound: 12 p.m. - 3 p.m. and 11 p.m. - 5 a.m.
Eastbound: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. and 11 p.m. - 6 a.m.

Weekends
Westbound: 11 p.m. (Fri) - 7 a.m. (Sat) and 11 p.m. (Sat) - 9 a.m. (Sun)
Eastbound: 11 p.m. (Fri) - 8 a.m. (Sat) and 11 p.m. (Sat) - 9 a.m. (Sun)

Other safety actions include install additional 35 MPH signs, reflective striping on the barrier rails and radar signs that tell motorists how fast they are driving.

The S-curve is a temporary detour on the Bay Bridge put in place during Labor Day weekend 2009 to reroute traffic around building of the new East Span near Yerba Buena Island.

The spot has been plagued by more than 40 accidents since then, including a fatal crash this week in which the truck driver plummeted over the side of the span. CHP investigators say speed appears to be a factor in the crash.

The speed limit on the Bay Bridge is 50 MPH, but that is reduced to 40 MPH on the S-curve; drivers of large trucks are urged to drive 35 MPH or less on the S-curve.

At this time, Caltrans has not determined for how long the lane closures will occur.