Image from PortofLosAngeles.org

America’s Port, aka the Port of Los Angeles, is making headway on its quest to significantly lower emissions and improve air quality.  This is even despite it being one of the largest U.S. Harbors, handling more cargo and international shipments in just a few weeks than most North American harbors do in a whole year. 

Last year I wrote a blog titled “Nitrogen oxides coming to a port near you” about the volume of pollution being generated from ships coming in/out of ports like the Port of Los Angeles.  So, I figured it was about time to see what steps are being taken by the Port of L.A. to improve the environment around it:

• The Los Angeles Harbor Board just approved the first terminal lease under the San Pedro Bay Ports “Clean Air Action Plan”.  Not only will this bring more construction and regional jobs to the area, but it takes one of the most obsolete container terminals and turns it into a “state-of-the-art facility by which TraPac will be able to implement cutting edge environmental mitigation technologies.”    They are even building an energy-efficient administration building which will meet LEED “Gold” standards.  Per estimates, these upgrades alone will reduce NOx and SOx emissions by 62%.
• TraPac (the company doing the upgrades) will also become eligible to receive an additional $1.5 million.  These funds would be ear-marked towards technology that can capture harmful emissions from ships not retro-fitted to plug in to the shore-side electric power while they are in port.
• NOTE: Capturing harmful emissions from ships who aren’t or can’t afford to be retro-fitted to make use of the shore-side electric power while in port, is a key step.  But, ships and shipping companies can implement simple and immediate cost-effective technologies such as using fuel additives proven to lower emissions in both heavy fuel oil and marine diesel.  Every step taken to lower emissions helps.
• A ”Water Resources Action Plan” was just adopted.  It is designed improved water quality in the port…a much needed improvement.  The plan zeroes in on littering, sediment pollution and other potential contaminants.
• Since implementing their “Clean Trucks Program” in October 2008, The Port of Los Angeles reports that almost 60% of the over 177,000 cargo moves done in June 2009, were done by clean trucks that meet or exceed the EPA’s 2007 emission standards. 
• In Feb 2009, the port took possession of the first 25 heavy-duty all electric trucks from Balqon Corp.  Balqon Corp built these electric trucks exclusively for the port.  Each truck can haul a 60,000 lb. cargo container at speeds up to 40mph.  The battery has a range of 30-60 miles, so obviously they are designed for local hauling.  Each battery charger can fully charge 4 electric trucks within a 4 hour period, but can also provide up to 60% charge in just an hour for peak delivery times. 

Those are just some of the steps the Port of Los Angeles (and Port of Long Beach for the most part), have recently been taking towards lowering harmful emissions and improving air quality around the ports.  I don’t know about you, but it looks to me like they are serious about…..”The Port of Los Angeles - A cleaner port. A brighter future.”   

Last month Japan set out on its biggest whale hunt yet, with more than 1,000 whales targeted for slaughter – all in the name of science.  Japan’s whaling in the southern ocean will see up to 935 minke whales, 50 endangered fin whales and 50 humpback whales killed. 

In this article from The Age, Australia plans to strengthen its efforts to stop Japanese whaling, and will be sending ships and aircraft to monitor the whalers and collect evidence in their fight against whaling.

New Zealander solo yachtsman David Taylor will also join the fight against Japanese whaling by setting sail in his homemade boat, along with New Zealand’s Greenpeace, to make a stand against the Japanese and voice his disgust for whaling. 

“I’m against whaling in total, but the humpback whales, they’re just such a magnificent animal,” says Taylor.  “I just feel it’s something I have to do, I’ve got no option.”

Sometimes I wonder what the world will be like in 100 years – how many more species will be extinct, how much will we have ravaged mother earth and will it be just a deathly shadow of what once was?  A melodramatic thought or not, but I bet our great-grandparents never envisioned what is today.  Once the whales have been and gone, what will we exterminate next?  Not to get on my soap box and cry wolf or anything, but really, how simple and obvious is the concept to look after what we’ve got?  Hope you get through to them boys… safe sailing

Not too many people catch a ship to work or sit in a congested shipping lane during peak hour, sucking in all the fumes through their air conditioning. So when most people think of fuel fumes, they think of all pollution oozing out of the millions of cars, trucks and buses on the roads.

An Associated Press article reported that a study in the American Chemical Society found that in 2002, almost 60,000 people who lived in coastal areas along the world’s major shipping routes died from heart and lung complications due to the high sulfate emissions from ships. The report also concludes that the death toll could rise up to 82,000 by the year 2012.

“Ship pollution affects the health of communities in coastal and inland regions around the world, yet pollution from ships remain one of the least regulated parts of our global transportation system,” said Dr. James Corbett who is a co-author of the report.

“There are a lot of observations made from data to suggest a very strong association between sulfur, air pollution, including marine pollution, and premature deaths from respiratory problems like chronic lung failure,” T.W. Wong professor of medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong told the AP.

“If ships switched to cleaner fuels, it would help save lives,” he said.

This is not really surprising, you don’t need binoculars to see the fumes that billow out of the ships, and even if your eyesight isn’t up to par, you can most certainly smell it. And I’m not talking about one of the major shipping ports in Asia either.

I love the beach, sand under my feet, the sea breeze blowing through my hair… what doesn’t go with this scenario is one of those pollution masks. Diesel ships burn some of the dirtiest fuel in existence, but there is an answer to cleaning up the fuel… check out the following link Green Plus.