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Long Beach Harbor Commissioner Mario Cordero Speaks About The ATA Settlement

November 17, 2009

Posted by David Pettit in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment

Tags:
americantruckingassociation, portoflongbeach, portpollution, trucking

Last night, there was a hearing at the Port of Long Beach about the Port's decision to settle the American Trucking Association case on terms that I think are so weak that they are a setback to clean air and...continued

Problems With Port Of Long Beach Settlement With ATA

November 9, 2009

Posted by David Pettit in Curbing Pollution

Tags:
americantruckingassociation, ATA, cleantrucks, portcommerce, portoflongbeach, portoflosangeles, trucks

My blog posts of October 19 and 28 about the Port of Long Beach's settlement of the trucking industry's lawsuit against it generated two canned responses and a number of real ones.  I also received a "Dear David" letter from...continued

A Breach Of Trust

October 28, 2009

Posted by David Pettit in Curbing Pollution

Tags:
americantruckingassociation, ATA, portcommerce, portoflongbeach, trucking, trucks

To follow up my blog post of October 19, 2009, here is the text of a letter that was sent today by the following organizations to the Port of Long Beach:  California School Employees Association, Long Beach Chapter; Coalition for Clean...continued

On The Beach

October 27, 2009

Posted by David Pettit in Solving Global Warming

Tags:
carbon, climatechange

Last weekend, as part of a worldwide effort to raise environmental consciousness, Jessica Lass, Noah Garrison and I joined 100 or so others to pick up trash along a stretch of Santa Monica Beach.  Collectively, we picked up 40 pounds...continued

Run, Run Away

October 19, 2009

Posted by David Pettit in Curbing Pollution

Tags:
americantruckingassociation, portoflongbeach, portoflosangeles, portofnewark, portpollution, trucks

Today the Port of Long Beach violated the public trust and sold out the citizens of Long Beach by approving a worthless settlement agreement with the American Trucking Association ("ATA") in ATA's lawsuit against the Los Angeles ports' clean trucks...continued

A Tale Of Two Parties

September 29, 2009

Posted by David Pettit in Environmental Justice

Tags:
environmentaljustice, environmentallawyer, vernon

At Resurrection Church in Boyle Heights, California, a party was thrown recently to celebrate the City of Vernon's withdrawal of a proposal to build a huge powerplant upwind from Boyle Heights and the surrounding, largely Latino communities.  NRDC opposed this...continued

East Yards Communities For Environmental Justice

September 24, 2009

Posted by David Pettit in Environmental Justice

Tags:
dieseltrucks, environmentaljustice, losangeles, losangelesport

This is just a quick note to ask you take a look at a story in today's LA Times about the organization East Yards Communities for Environmental Justice and its director, Angelo Logan.  Angelo and East Yards are leaders in...continued

A Stadium Full Of Excuses

September 9, 2009

Posted by David Pettit in Curbing Pollution

Tags:
california, CEQA, losangeles

The Los Angeles Rams used to play in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, a stadium that was built in 1923, used in the 1932 Olympics and used again in the 1984 Olympics.  I used to go see them play when...continued

From Russia With Electric Rail

August 21, 2009

Posted by David Pettit in Moving Beyond Oil

Tags:
electricrail, pollution, transportation

I was reading an article in the New Yorker by Ian Frazier about the Trans-Siberian railroad, the world's longest, when I ran across his statement that the rail line ran under electric power for both passengers and freight.  This was...continued

Not Good For You

August 18, 2009

Posted by David Pettit in Curbing Pollution

Tags:
airpollution, airquality, diesel

Southern California, a semi-arid region in the best of times, is getting drier.  Our wildfire season used to be September and October; now it's year-round.  Another life-threatening year-round problem in California is air pollution. Two recent studies yet again confirm...continued

EPA Holds Hearing On New Marine Diesel Rules

August 7, 2009

Posted by David Pettit in Curbing Pollution

Tags:
diesel, environmentaljustice, portoflongbeach, portoflosangeles, portpollution

Recently, the EPA has taken a number of positive steps towards reducing toxic air pollution from ships that call at U.S. ports.  In 2008, EPA enacted regulations covering certain marine diesel engines.  Earlier this year, EPA submitted a very far-sighted...continued

Don't Trade What You Don't Have

July 20, 2009

Posted by David Pettit in Curbing Pollution

Tags:
airpollution, airquality, cleanairact, environmentaljustice, powerplants, SCAQMD

Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decided a case that brought a breath of fresh air to the idea of cleaning up some of America's most polluted cities.   By way of context, in an area...continued

We're All At Risk From Air Toxics

June 26, 2009

Posted by David Pettit in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment

Tags:
airpollution, cancer, diesel, EPA, particulatematter, simplesteps

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday released some very disturbing results of its analysis of air toxics data from 2002. EPA found that every U.S. resident has a higher cancer risk of greater than 10 in a...continued

Live Wire In Long Beach

June 18, 2009

Posted by David Pettit in Curbing Pollution

Tags:
airpollution, portoflongbeach, ships

The Port of Long Beach recently announced an important first:  A BP oil tanker, the Alaskan Navigator, tied up at Pier T in Long Beach and shut off its diesel auxiliary engines, using alternative marine power ("cold ironing") to run...continued

Nixon Said What?

June 3, 2009

Posted by David Pettit in Curbing Pollution

Tags:
airpollution, airquality, diesel, dieseltrucks

 In his 1970 State of the Union address, Richard Nixon said:  "Clean air, clean water, open spaces - these should once again be the birthright of every American."  My friend Erika Zucker was the first to identify this quote when...continued

David Pettit
David Pettit
Director, Southern California Air Program
Santa Monica, CA
I grew up in the L.A. area and am a die-hard Dodgers and UCLA Bruins...
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