The Los Angeles Times takes notice of the Port of Long Beach’s environmental efforts today, with Ronald D. White’s story about advances made in air quality since the port implemented the Clean Trucks Program back in October. That plan immediately banned all trucks that were made before 1988, and will continue to restrict access to polluting trucks as time goes on.
White writes:
The National Resources Defense Council, long one of the ports’ toughest critics, was impressed. It praised the step in October to remove about 2,000 trucks that were at least 20 years old. As a result, the group estimated that diesel particulates emissions may have been reduced 50%.
The article is unclear as to whether the 50% reduction refers to progress that has already been made, or projected future progress as the plan continues. There is no doubt that removing 2,000 polluting trucks and replacing them with more efficient ones will improve air quality, but the lbpost.com is trying to find more detailed information about the NRDC’s projection.
White also quotes Mayor Foster, a huge proponent of the Clean Trucks Program since its inception:
“This is the No. 1 health issue in our city,” said Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster, who was pleased with the new truck fees introduced last week. “By paying these fees, the people who benefit from the goods-movement industry have become part of the solution to cleaning the air.”
White’s story also mentions several new innovations that the Port has debuted in the past year, and below we provide links to past stories we have published about said efforts.
Newer, cleaner trucks (Click here)
Electrical grid for docked ships (Click here)
Hybrid tugboats (Click here)
UPDATE!
The NRDC has sent us the original document that refers to the 50% reduction that the L.A. Times article refers to. It comes from a letter in support of the City of Long Beach and others, defendants in a lawsuit brought by the American Trucking Association. The letter estimates that in the future, the Clean Trucks Program will reduce diesel pollution by 50% over time. In it, scientist Diane Bailey writes:
According to data contained in the 2006 Port of Los Angeles emissions inventory and assuming that pre-1989 trucks comprise at least 14 percent of the fleet serving the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, banning pre-1989 trucks from port service beginning on October 1, 2008 will reduce toxic diesel PM emissions from port-serving trucks by roughly fifty percent. This significant reduction is due to the fact that pre-1989 trucks are disproportionately much more polluting than newer trucks and no other truck clean-up measures are slated to begin until December 31, 2009, absent the Ports’ Clean Trucks Programs.
Bailey is an employee of the NRDC, and has a degree in Chemical Engineering and a Master’s in Environmental Engineering.
By Ryan ZumMallen, Managing Editor
Disclosure: The Port of Long Beach is an advertiser with the lbpost.com.