 |
 |
 
‘High Road to Clean Air’ Policy Expected to Pave Way for
Green Growth WILMINGTON – Major environmental and public health groups, harbor community residents, port truck drivers and their families today cheered the Port of Los Angeles for unanimously approving a strong and sustainable diesel emissions-reduction plan that must precede future growth. The program makes the trucking industry permanently responsible for turnover to—and upkeep of—a clean-technology fleet, in tandem with a progressive ban on old, dirty trucks calling at the ports. “This is what the high road to clean air looks like,” said Colleen Callahan of the American Lung Association of California. “We are ready and excited to work with the LA port to achieve the highest level of alternative-fuel trucks in the nation.” The Clean Trucks Program is structured by an innovative market-based model that acknowledges the link between the environmental crisis and economic conditions at the nation’s largest port complex. It is backed by the Coalition for Clean & Safe Ports, an alliance of over 30 organizations fighting to reduce the severe public health risks that have stalled Port expansion since 2001. “Instead of covering up an antiquated port trucking system with a band-aid, LA officials rightly identified the root of the problem and sought a real cure for truck pollution,” said Patricia Castellanos, the Coalition’s chair. “This program could pave the way for green growth and will give a lift to businesses ready to tackle the challenges of the 21st century economy.” Critical to the Port of LA’s long-term success is the provision that removes the burden for owning and operating the tools of the trade from underpaid port drivers who lack the stability or capital to purchase and maintain a new clean-technology fleet. In requiring trucking companies to act as employers to assume full responsibility for low-emission cargo vehicles, the LA program is viewed by leading independent economists as a sweeping policy that will reduce pollution by 80 percent in five years —with built-in benefits to increase operational efficiency, improve port security, and stabilize the workforce. U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) agreed. As Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, she sent a letter of support yesterday to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, under whose leadership the plan was developed. “I believe the Port of Los Angeles Clean Truck Program will help clean up the air quickly and sustainably – reducing congestion, improving working conditions and labor standards for port truck drivers and strengthening port safety and security,” Boxer wrote. While certain details on implementation remain unclear, additional key components of the LA Clean Trucks Program include:
“LA’s plan makes me feel proud to be a port truck driver again,” said Oswaldo Hernandez, a 14-year veteran trucker who lives downtown. “I work so many hours to make sure the cargo gets to the warehouses and the stores. But the more miles I drive, the more poison my old rig puts in the air. I can’t wait to have a good job driving a clean truck.” As adopted in LA, the program enjoys wildly popular support among residents in the harbor communities. Nearly 75 percent of voters in the region favor the model, according to polling conducted by Greenberg, Quinlan, Rosner Research, a fact visibly demonstrated by the thousands of lawn signs dotting area homes urging its passage. Despite such broad support, last month Long Beach Port officials under Mayor Bob Foster were suddenly directed to reject the comprehensive diesel-truck replacement plan they jointly developed with their LA counterparts. Instead, they pushed through a scheme that will suck the Long Beach Port into the trucking business with a stream of sub-prime loan defaults because it requires the workers who haul goods, not the companies, to be responsible for new clean trucks. Port drivers have vocalized their unwillingness to haul cargo from Long Beach as they view the program as unfairly saddling them with crushing debt: Independent contractors who only average $29,000 annually say they are unable to take on monthly payments of roughly $600 for seven years, with a final balloon payment of $7,000-15,000 to own the truck. Mayor Foster’s primary rationale for adopting weaker standards that disregard the economic instability of the drivers was to stave off industry litigation threats, however his political calculation quickly collapsed—the nation’s largest trucking lobby has taken legal action against Long Beach in objection to the minimal new requirements. Meanwhile, in addition to Sen. Boxer, Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have each endorsed the LA Clean Trucks model, along with the American Lung Association of CA, the Coalition for Clean Air, Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma, Physicians for Social Responsibility, the Teamsters union, Sierra Club Harbor Vision Task Force, Natural Resources Defense Council, the LA County Federation of Labor, East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice and dozens of other organizations that promote livable, sustainable communities. Initial industry concerns that consumers would protest higher prices appear to be unfounded. On the heels of a survey that found nearly 70 percent of Californians are willing to pay higher costs for sustainable goods movement, an independent economic analysis commissioned by both Ports found the LA Clean Trucks Program will only translate to 5 to 7 cents on a $45 pair of sneakers. |
|
 |
|
 |
