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Despite shopping habits, value of American-made gifts has public backing; Mark Zuckerberg dines with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago; Alabama leaders unite to address gun violence, reimagine community safety; World AIDS Day: Looking back at public-health and moral crisis; CT, US take steps to mitigate methane emissions.

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The Democratic Party is regrouping, but critiques continue. The incoming Trump administration looks at barring mainstream media from White House briefings, and AIDS advocates say the pick of Robert F. Kennedy Junior for DHHS is worrying.

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Residents in Colorado's rural communities face challenges to recycling, climate change and Oregon's megadrought are worrying firefighters, and a farm advocacy group says corporate greed is behind high food prices in Montana.

Conservation group promotes 'Ports for People' ordinance

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Wednesday, February 14, 2024   

Groups concerned about air pollution and public health are asking the city councils of Long Beach and Los Angeles and their respective Harbor Commissions to pass major restrictions on air pollution from ships.

The "Ports for People" ordinance would require agencies to take steps to reduce pollution from cargo ships by 50% from 2019 levels by 2030, and to achieve 100% zero-emission shipping at the ports by 2040.

Dawny'all Heydari, climate campaign advocacy manager for the nonprofit Pacific Environment, said ships running on fuel oil and Liquefied Natural Gas need to be phased out.

"These fuels are filled with asthma and cancer-causing pollutants that are contaminating communities like my own in Long Beach with shorter life expectancy and childhood asthma," Heydari pointed out. "We're advocating for a transition to zero-emission fuels to power shipping."

This week, advocates gathered signatures in favor of the ordinance at Cal State Long Beach and presented them to the Long Beach Harbor Commission. They hope to spur the shipping industry to switch to greener alternatives, such as battery electrification, wind-assist propulsion and "green hydrogen" fuel cells.

Heydari noted Pacific Environment has had positive conversations with some members of the Long Beach City Council and hopes they will take bold action in the future.

"When California cities institute these kinds of regulations, it forces the industry to evolve because the industry is primarily concerned about its own profits," Heydari asserted. "It's not really primarily concerned about sustainability, nor public health."

A 2019 study from the City of Long Beach found the average life expectancy in West Long Beach next to the port is eight years shorter than the average in Los Angeles County.

A 2021 study by the California Air Resources Board found fuel pollution from pandemic-era cargo ship congestion at the San Pedro Ports caused an increase in particulate matter emissions equivalent to 100,000 semi tractor-trailers per day.

Disclosure: Pacific Environment contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Energy Policy, and Oceans. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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