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Issues: Environmental Justice

Not a Magic Bus

August 25, 2008

Posted by David Pettit in Environmental Justice

Tags:
buses, busriders, fossilfuel, gasprices, losangeles, lowincome, metrotransitauthority, publictransportation

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Thomas McKnew ruled today against NRDC and NRDC’s client, the Bus Riders Union of Los Angeles (BRU), in a lawsuit brought against the L.A. Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) challenging on environmental grounds the MTA’s July,...

Monopoly Money Doesn’t Work in Real Life

August 18, 2008

Posted by David Pettit in Environmental Justice

Tags:
airpollution, cleanairact, lowincome, minority, powerplants, southerncalifornia

You can’t have an energy credit trading system with phony credits.  Even worse – you can’t have an energy credit trading system when the organization that controls the credits knows that they are phony.  That’s like letting counterfeiters take over...

Our Lungs Are Not For Sale

July 31, 2008

Posted by David Pettit in Environmental Justice

Tags:
coal, energy, lowincome, minority, naturalgas, pollution, power, renewables, southerncalifornia, vernon

NRDC and its allies Communities for a Better Environment, Coalition for a Safe Environment, and California Communities Against Toxics won a huge victory on July 28, 2008, when the Los Angeles County Superior Court ruled in their favor in a...

In CA, Port Commerce Will Pay for Clean Air

July 16, 2008

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

Tags:
california, cleanair, commerce, delatorre, dieseltrucks, lowenthal, portoflongbeach, portoflosangeles

On July 15, 2008, California State Senator Alan Lowenthal’s bill to impose a fee on cargo containers passed the California Assembly, on its way to Governor Schwarzenegger’s desk.  The vote wasn’t close:  46-23.  The Assembly vote was the result of...

Faster Freight Does Not Mean Cleaner Air

July 14, 2008

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

Tags:
asthma, cleanair, diesel, fasterfreight, portcommerce, richkassel, trucks

Last week, I attended a shipping industry love-fest in New York called “Faster Freight, Cleaner Air.”  Yes, that’s right, the industry types reading from the rosy scenario script wanted to reassure each other that our nation’s cargo movement system is...

The Federal Maritime Commission Does the Right Thing

June 16, 2008

Posted by David Pettit

Tags:
cleanair, cleantrucks, federalmaritimecommission, longbeach, losangeles

On June 13, 2008, the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) wrote to the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and stated that the FMC would “allow the early effectiveness” of the Ports’ agreement that authorized the Ports to cooperate in...

Clean Air Act Applies to All

May 29, 2008

Posted by David Pettit

Tags:
californiaairresourceboard, cleanairact, cleantrucks, electricrail, EPA, SCAQMD, southcoastairbasin, southerncalifornia

Southern California’s air quality woes are a well known fact, but not enough has been done to alleviate the problem. Today, NRDC filed a petition for review in the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, challenging EPA’s approval of the...

When Power Goes to Your Head, and Lungs

April 8, 2008

Posted by David Pettit in Environmental Justice

Tags:
airquality, environmentaljustice, naturalgas, powerplants, solarenergy, southerncalifornia, windenergy

Last week, NRDC delivered a 60-day intent to sue letter to the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) in Southern California, contending they’re giving regional polluters a free pass on pollution levels and distributing bogus emission credits – sometimes in...

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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