Community members gathered at Harry Bridges Memorial Park today for the second annual Green Port Fair— an event featuring not only a variety of entertainment and family-friendly activities, but an opportunity to learn about the Port of Long Beach’s numerous environmental initiatives, and its efforts to reach zero-emissions.
Information booths and interactive activities from numerous Port departments, city agencies, educational programs, and local organizations lined the park, many of which had a focus on connecting with youth and inspiring the next generation, through highlighting different career paths at the Port of Long Beach.
The “Building the Port” booth, for instance, featured colored popsicle sticks that could be connected in any angle to create structures, with hopes of illustrating engineering in an accessible way for youth, explained Miguel Hernandez, deputy chief harbor engineer with the Port of Long Beach.
“There’s a lot of kids, including myself, who when going to school never thought ‘I’m going to be an engineer,’ then somebody came and talked to us about it,” Hernandez said. “Maybe some kids who come through here, it’ll stay in their mind, like ‘oh I remember building that, I want to do something like that in the future.’”
Beyond the Green Port Fair’s family-friendly activities ranging from face painting, a train traveling around the park, and an Aquarium of the Pacific touch tank, plus live entertainment from local dance groups and performances from ’80s and ’90s music cover band Knyght Ryder and Gregg Young and the 2nd Street Band, was an emphasis on the Port’s efforts to get to zero emissions.
The Port of Long Beach kickstarted its environmental initiatives in 2005 with its Green Port Policy, and since then, has made significant leaps in reducing its environmental impact, officials said during the event.
In 2017, the Clean Air Action Plan Update set the Port of Long Beach on the path towards its zero-emission goods movement, with a goal of transitioning terminal equipment to zero emissions by 2030 and on-road trucks by 2035.
The Port is on track for this goal, chief executive officer Mario Cordero said during the event.
Cordero noted that 19% of the port’s cargo handling equipment is zero-emissions, the greatest percentage of any port in the United States, and pointed to the Port’s Pier B on-dock rail facility that is currently being built, and the upcoming Pier Wind Turbine initiative, which will be the largest terminal in the United States integrating the largest wind turbines, he said.
“We’re going to move forward with the vision of the state of California, the vision of the mayor of Long Beach, the vision of the governor of California— to move toward 100% renewable energy,” he said.
As one of the largest ports in the country, what is particularly special about the port is its dedication to the people of Long Beach, Mayor Rex Richardson said during the event.
“We’re committed to adapting to climate change and reducing our impact while preserving and improving health outcomes for our communities,” he said. “We’re off to a great start, but there’s certainly much more that we can do.”
