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Lebanese children have been displaced; hospital facility fees have cost Colorado patients $13 billion; and a Wyoming county without a hospital is finally getting one.

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Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas warns about false claims affecting FEMA's hurricane relief, Vice President Harris prepares for a Fox News interview, and local Democrats want more election funds in key states.

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Hurricane Helene devastated the Appalachians and some rural towns worry larger communities could get more attention, ranked choice voting on the Oregon ballot next month gets mixed reviews, and New York farmers are earning extra money feeding school kids.

Advocates call on Biden administration to decarbonize maritime shipping

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Wednesday, May 29, 2024   

With the Port of Baltimore nearing a return to full commercial operations, advocates are renewing their call for an executive order to address maritime shipping emissions.

Last year, 45 environmental groups sent a letter calling on the Biden administration to decarbonize the maritime shipping sector. Among their recommendations was eliminating in-port ship emissions by 2030, with one approach to connect ships to shore power while docked.

Antonio Santos, federal climate policy director for the nonprofit Pacific Environment, said reducing emissions is not just about climate change.

"As you're reducing emissions, you're also protecting those directly impacted," Santos pointed out. "When we talk about where these ships tend to congregate, it is port workers and those frontline communities, those port adjacent communities that are directly affected."

Since the collapse of the Key Bridge, researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Air Resources Lab have been taking samples in the Curtis Bay neighborhood to eventually assess the effect of the closure of the Port of Baltimore on local air quality.

The letter also called on the administration to fund the electrification and quieting of the U.S. federal ferry and harbor craft fleets, as well as supporting domestic shipbuilders to build low and zero emission marine vessels. Advocates are also making the case the administration can use existing Clean Air Act authority to establish a goal-based fuel standard for ships entering U.S. ports.

Santos acknowledged advocates recognize ports are hubs of economic activity and attempting to protect the environment does not mean ignoring economic considerations.

"We can have a good economy, and we can also protect the environment," Santos contended. "A lot of these recommendations that were in our letter put in front of the White House include provisions that will create good paying union jobs."

Estimates indicate if shipping were a country, it would be the world's sixth-largest greenhouse gas emitter.


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