air pollution

Schrag: Damage from Toxic Oil Spill Small Potatoes Next to Day-In, Day-Out Air Pollution from California's Major Ports

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

Consider When Negotiating Senate Bill 974 (Lowenthal)

Schrag.gif By Peter Schrag

Had the container ship Cosco Busan run into a bridge pier and spilled 58,000 gallons of bunker fuel in Savannah, Tacoma or even Long Beach it would have been just as deplorable. That it happened in San Francisco, the mother church of environmentalism, made it blasphemy.

So it wasn't surprising that California's politicians, from the governor down, outdid themselves demanding or launching investigations to determine who deserved the rap for the fouled beaches and the dead birds. Some quickly castigated the Coast Guard and other emergency agencies, many long underfunded, for their slow response. What if a terrorist ... ?

Next to the day-in, day-out air pollution generated by the ships, trucks and diesel railroad engines engaged in containerized transport at California's major ports, the damage from the accident at the Bay Bridge, however toxic, was small potatoes.

Still, the incident – admiralty lawyers call it an allision, meaning the ship hit a fixed object, not another ship – ought to be a loud reminder of the larger price in illness, environmental degradation and congestion that we pay for the ports.

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Air Pollution from California's Ports: A Serious Health Issue--Senate Bill 974 and the Art of the Possible

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

Alan-Lowenthal.gif By Senator Alan Lowenthal

With an Introduction by Hannah Beth Jackson

Recently, we posted a piece by Senator Alan Lowenthal, calling for passage of his container-fee measure, SB 974. This common-sense measure would have required a minimal fee on each container coming off the ships at the Ports of Long Beach, L.A. and Oakland where the air quality is so badly impacted by the vehicles transporting this important commerce. The fee generated would go to mitigate the filthy and unhealthy air quality. It would also be used to repair the infra-structure upon which the trucks and vehicles transporting these goods move.

Unfortunately, those who benefit from the commercial (read profit) aspects of this---the Wal-Marts and other big corporations, have been fighting tooth-and-nail to kill this bill. While Senator Lowenthal remains committed to its passage, the dark under-belly of politics has pushed back ferociously. Although they've been able to delay the measure, the pressure being put on the Governor and other legislators has increased because of the public concern and outcry that has moved this bill far beyond what the big moneyed lobbyists ever expected.

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Cleaning Up Air Pollution from California's Ports Will Have to Wait Until Next Year

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

After threatening veto, Governor Schwarzenegger promises to work with Senator Lowenthal, author of SB 974, which would have imposed $30 fee on cargo containers to pay for reducing pollution

frankrusso-small.jpg By Frank D. Russo

A major bill to clean up air pollution from California's ports--estimated by the California Air Resources Board to cause 2,400 deaths a year--on the verge of receiving what may have been final legislative passage, will not be considered on the Assembly floor as had been scheduled to take place in the waning days of this year's session. SB 974 by Senator Lowenthal, which faced a veto by Governor Schwarzenegger, was taken out of consideration by the Senator after a private meeting with the Governor.

There is good news and bad news here with this development on one of the top priorities for the environmental community in California which enthusiastically supported this measure in a coalition with health and other groups.

The good news is in the words of the joint statement issued by Schwarzenegger and Lowenthal:

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San Joaquin Valley Voters View Air as Serious Health Problem and Want Stronger Action Taken By State Government

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

Surprising Findings of PPIC Poll Show Valley Supports Greater Restrictions on Farm and Agriculture Air Pollution, Even if it Costs More

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By Frank D. Russo

The Public Policy Institute of California released a major poll last week, showing Californians by large margins want immediate action on global warming and more done on air pollution, cited as the largest environmental problem the state faces. This is in accord with other public opinion polls and the trend of where California residents and voters have been headed, especially in the last few years as to global warming.

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Air Board: No More Dirty Diesel Construction Equipment

by Julia Rosen [courtesy of Working Californians blogs]

The California Air Board is back to making regulations, a welcome sign after quite a bit of controversy. They ruled yesterday that construction equipment that belches pollution be replaced with ones that emit less emissions. This ruling has been eagerly awaited for three years. LAT:

California's diesel-powered bulldozers, scrapers and other heavy construction equipment must be retrofitted or replaced over the next 13 years to reduce the air pollution that sickens tens of thousands of residents every year, state regulators decided Thursday.

Under tough new rules adopted by the Air Resources Board, California is the first state to make construction companies fix existing diesel-powered machines. Heavy equipment can last 30 years or more, so without the new mandate, it would take decades for fleets to upgrade to cleaner equipment.

Although the fumes are most often associated with big trucks and buses, 20% of California's diesel pollution comes from the construction industry. Building, mining and airport vehicles are responsible for an estimated 1,100 premature deaths statewide every year and more than 1,000 hospitalizations for heart and lung disease, along with tens of thousands of asthma attacks, scientists say.

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PPIC Poll Shows Californians Very Concerned About Global Warming and Air Pollution and Want Stronger Action by State Government

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

Strength of Public Feeling Likely to Impact Pending Bills, Politics, and AB 32 Implementation by Air Resources Board and Legislation

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By Frank D. Russo

The Public Policy Institute of California, a respected nonpartisan polling organization, has just released it's 79th statewide survey that should leave no doubt as to where the California public and voters stand on the environment, particularly their strong support for enforcement of the state's laws on greenhouse gases and air pollutants even if these actions have significant costs. The numbers in some cases just about jump off the pages.

There are a lot of details in this 46 page poll. Here are the highlights:

• 66% of Californians say the effects of global warming have already begun and 77% agree there will be effects within their lifetime with 88% saying it will effect future generations. Only 7% say it will have no effect.

• 82% feel global warming is a very serious or somewhat serious threat to the economy and quality of life in California while 15% don't think it will be serious.

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