CLEAN PORTS * USA - Long Beach Pollution Drops 52 Percent in Five Years

Clean Air Action Plan helps decline in pollution to outpace drop in trade

Long Beach,CAL,USA -The Journal of Commerce OnlineBill Mongelluzzo -Jun 15, 2010: -- Pollution from port activities in Long Beach dropped as much as 52 percent in 2009 compared to 2005, according to the port’s latest inventory of pollutants such as diesel particulate matter, nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides... Diesel PM emissions declined 52 percent compared to 2005, NOx emissions were down 35 percent and SOx emissions dropped 46 percent compared to 2005 levels... Port executives attributed the decline in harmful emissions to the Clean Air Action Plan developed jointly by the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles in 2006. The plan calls for a 45 percent reduction over five years in total pollution from vessels, harbor craft, marine terminal operating equipment, trucks and trains...


* New York - Cleaning Up Trucks and Jobs at the Port Authority

New York,NY,USA -The Huffington Post, by Amy Traub -June 17, 2010: -- By January 1st, 2011, the dirtiest of the diesel trucks spewing pollution on their way to and from the ports of New York and New Jersey may get a much-needed retirement. That's the Port Authority's goal for replacing more than 600 pre-1994 trucks that service area seaports with newer, cleaner models. The shift will cut regional air pollution, reducing emissions of diesel particulate matter from port trucking by more than 23 percent, according to Port Authority projections... Given that diesel truck pollution contributes to 1,159 premature deaths a year in New York and cost the state as much as $9.6 billion a year in medical costs and lost productivity, the effort to clean up dirty port trucking is welcome progress... To emulate -- and even surpass -- the best aspects of the Port of Los Angeles Clean Truck Program, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey first needs clear authority from Congress to regulate port trucking. Then it should go beyond banning the dirtiest trucks to address the economics of an industry that generates not only bad air, but poor-quality jobs... (Photo: New York's one dock)