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Issues: U.S. Law and Policy

Mayor Villaraigosa, Let’s Promote Biking and Walking in Los Angeles

April 30, 2010

Posted by Adrian Martinez in Curbing Pollution , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
bicycling, bike, cycling, losangeles, losangelestransportation, smartgrowth, TIGER, TIGER grants, transportation, transportationpolicy, walk, walking

LA Streetsblog today posted an article about Los Angeles’ Mayor Villaraigosa promoting more biking and walking.  This is very smart thinking for the Mayor of the city that ranks highest on the list for ozone pollution, traffic congestion, and fuel...

California Tops the List for Filthy Air

April 28, 2010

Posted by Adrian Martinez in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
airpollution, california, californiaairresourcesboard, CARB, environmentaljustice, ozone, particulatematter, publichealth, smog

The American Lung Association released its most recent installment of State of the Air today.  If trophies were awarded for securing top spots for filthy air, California would have a truck load of trophies coming our way.  California secured 8...

Congratulations Port of Los Angeles—The Federal Maritime Commission is Finally Giving You Praise Instead of Headaches

April 22, 2010

Posted by Adrian Martinez in Environmental Justice , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
40earthday, americantruckingassociation, cleantrucksprogram, federalmaritimecommission, portoflosangeles

For those of you who follow my blog and David Pettit’s blog, you may have followed the epic battle that ensued between the Federal Maritime Commission and the Port of Los Angeles over the Clean Trucks Program last year.  To...

Ray LaHood, Secretary of Transportation, Makes the Case for Better Transportation Options Again

April 6, 2010

Posted by Adrian Martinez in Curbing Pollution , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
bike, losangelestransportation, raylahood, secretaryoftransportation, transportationbill, transportationpolicy

Today, Ray LaHood, the Secretary of Transportation, posted an interesting blog entry related to providing more options for people to transport themselves.  I particularly like the following statement he makes in the blog post-- That's why I told Green Inc,...

The American Trucking Association Gets It Wrong Again: Biking is Not Going to Hurt the Economy

March 29, 2010

Posted by Adrian Martinez in Curbing Pollution , Health and the Environment , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
bike, losangeles, losangelestransportation, transportationbill, transportationpolicy

In a feat of hyperbole unmatched in my recent memory, Bill Graves, President of the American Trucking Associations noted--“I’m in full agreement with the National Association of Manufacturers, who said on their Shopfloor blog last week that ‘treating bicycles and...

Air Regulators, Please Adopt Our Highways

March 18, 2010

Posted by Adrian Martinez in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , Moving Beyond Oil , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
california, highwaypollution, highways, LA, losangeles, losangelestransportation, transportationpolicy

The Adopt-a-Highway program has had success in removing litter from our roadways. Even though our roadways may be prettier due to the lack of litter, a harm related to roads exists that in many ways is more frightening.  The harm...

The Canary in the Coal Mine Is Screaming, But Is Anybody Listening? Highway Pollution and its Devastating Impacts on Local Communities

November 10, 2009

Posted by Adrian Martinez in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
airpollution, cleanair, cleanairactionplan, naaqs, NOx, particulatematter, portoflongbeach, portoflosangeles, portpollution, ports

A new study about the staggering impacts of highway and ship pollution was released by a team of scientists and academics, including some of the most pioneering researchers on issues of health related impacts from degraded air quality.  The study...

Under New Leadership, Federal Maritime Commission Backs Down—Another Cavil Hurdle Displaced on the Road to Clean Air at the Ports of LA and Long Beach

June 18, 2009

Posted by Adrian Martinez in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
cleanair, cleantrucks, cleantrucksprogram, federalmaritimecommission, portoflongbeach, portoflosangeles, portpollution, ports

This week, the Federal Maritime Commission decided to file a motion to withdraw its lawsuit against the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the nation's two busiest ports.  Reversing, the Bush-era decision to thwart efforts by these ports to...

The Federal Maritime Commission Needs A Lesson In Transparency

May 19, 2009

Posted by Adrian Martinez in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
federalmaritimecommission, freedomofinformationact, publichealth

Back in October, the NRDC filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Federal Maritime Commission related to the agency's review of the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach's Clean Trucks Programs.  Specifically, NRDC was interested in...

Breaking the Law, Breaking the Law

April 3, 2009

Posted by Adrian Martinez in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
airpollution, cleanair, cleanairact, southcoastairqualitymanagementdistrict

I suppose the Governing Board of the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) was listening to the Judas Priest song, Breaking the Law, this morning before it held its public hearing on Proposed Rule 317.  SCAQMD is one of...

Another Ozone Study Confirms that the Continued War on Smog is Worth the Effort

March 12, 2009

Posted by Adrian Martinez in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
airpollution, naaqs, ozone, smog

In the era of global warming, plain vanilla air pollution -- like smog -- sometimes gets pushed to the side.  Some people may consider it the less popular sister of the homecoming queen (CO2). However, this does not diminish the...

A Failure of Asthmatic Proportions: Port Fuel Program Not Cutting the Mustard

March 9, 2009

Posted by Adrian Martinez in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
bunkerfuel, diesel, dieselpollution, marinevessels, portoflongbeach, portoflosangeles, portpollution, ports, shippingindustry, shippollution

Today, the Engineering and Environmental Committee of the Board of Harbor Commissioners for the Port of Long Beach heard an amendment to provide more money to shippers to clean up the filthy fuel these ships currently burn.  The Committee pushed sweetening this...

Warm Welcome for the Clean Truck Fee at the Ports

February 19, 2009

Posted by Adrian Martinez in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
cleanair, cleanairactionplan, cleantruckfee, cleantrucks, cleantrucksprogram, containerfee, diesel, dieselpollution, portoflongbeach, portoflosangeles, portpollution

After years of waiting, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach started collecting a container fee to fund cleaner trucks yesterday.   To the best of my knowledge, the ports are still operating, and the sky has not fallen as some doomsday...

Are LA’s Transportation Planners Living in a Fairy Tale Land?

February 4, 2009

Posted by Adrian Martinez in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , Moving Beyond Oil , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
airpollution, freewaypollution, highwaypollution, highways, I-710, nationalambientairqualitystandards, particulatematter, portpollution, ports, publichealth, southerncaliforniaassociationofgovernments, transportationbill, transportationpolicy

I attended the Project Committee meeting for the I-710 project last week.  This Committee directs how the future expansion project for the I-710 should proceed.  For those of you not familiar with Southern California traffic, but have heard the horror...

Speed Bumps for Clean Trucks Program At Port of Los Angeles

January 27, 2009

Posted by Adrian Martinez in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
cleanair, cleanairactionplan, cleantrucks, cleantrucksprogram, federalmaritimecommission, portoflongbeach, portoflosangeles, portpollution, ports

Ron White from the Los Angeles Times wrote an interesting article today about the Clean Trucks Program.  The article examines the hurdles that have been placed in front of the Port of Los Angeles in implementing its landmark program to...

Adrian Martinez
Adrian Martinez
Project Attorney, Southern California Air Team
Santa Monica
I grew up in eastern North Carolina.  I’d say my introduction to environmentalism actually happened...
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