An eye-opening glimpse of what the future could be like if we can move away from combustion engines
Matt Stevens, Los Angeles Times, September 28, 2012
Los Angeles shut down a 10-mile stretch of one of its busiest highways, the 405, for a weekend in July 2011. Drivers stayed away in dramatic numbers – not only from the 405, but also throughout the entire region.
Last Friday, Suzanne Paulson and Yifang Zhu of UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability released their research on air pollutants measured during "Carmageddon 2011".
Air quality near the closed 10-mile portion of the 405 freeway reached levels 83% better than typical weekends. Elsewhere in West Los Angeles, the improvement was equally dramatic. Air quality improved by 75% in parts of West Los Angeles and in Santa Monica, and by 25% throughout the entire region, suggesting that large numbers of residents stayed off the road in those areas as well.
The researchers found that particulate matter dropped significantly within minutes of the road closure (accordingly, it ramped back up the moment traffic resumed). There's little heavy industry around this stretch of the 405 freeway, underscoring that changes in transportation policy or vehicle technology could yield significant air quality improvements.
Read the complete article here, and another take here.
Showing posts with label los angeles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label los angeles. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Public Health Impacts of Climate Change
Poor, minority residents face most health risks with climate change | California Watch
Poor, urban and minority residents are most at risk for health problems linked to climate change, according to a new California Department of Public Health analysis of Los Angeles and Fresno counties.
Across the country, public health departments have become increasingly focused on the connection between health and climate change. The California analysis – the first to look at climate change health and safety risks at a county level – is based on a methodology developed by researchers at Occidental College in Los Angeles, the University of Southern California and UC Berkeley, and it is part of an effort to help local officials plan and identify potential policies for handling the human health impacts of climate change.
The Union of Concerned Scientists agrees that health impacts are significant. Its study states that California would experience the “biggest economic impacts and the biggest heath impacts when ozone and temperatures increase” due to climate change, said Elizabeth Perera of the union’s climate and energy program. That study projected that an increase in ozone pollution would result in about $729 million in related health care spending in California in 2020.
But climate change skeptics say California's climate-and-health analysis is misleading and unnecessary. UC Berkeley physics professor Richard Muller, a onetime skeptic who changed his position on climate change, said that although “there is evidence of climate change that is visible to scientists but not to the everyday person,” the state public health department’s analysis is of limited use. “It’s certainly true that the poor people of our state are always the most vulnerable to any change whatsoever – you don’t have to do an analysis to figure that out,” he said.
Read the complete article here.
Poor, urban and minority residents are most at risk for health problems linked to climate change, according to a new California Department of Public Health analysis of Los Angeles and Fresno counties.
Across the country, public health departments have become increasingly focused on the connection between health and climate change. The California analysis – the first to look at climate change health and safety risks at a county level – is based on a methodology developed by researchers at Occidental College in Los Angeles, the University of Southern California and UC Berkeley, and it is part of an effort to help local officials plan and identify potential policies for handling the human health impacts of climate change.
The Union of Concerned Scientists agrees that health impacts are significant. Its study states that California would experience the “biggest economic impacts and the biggest heath impacts when ozone and temperatures increase” due to climate change, said Elizabeth Perera of the union’s climate and energy program. That study projected that an increase in ozone pollution would result in about $729 million in related health care spending in California in 2020.
But climate change skeptics say California's climate-and-health analysis is misleading and unnecessary. UC Berkeley physics professor Richard Muller, a onetime skeptic who changed his position on climate change, said that although “there is evidence of climate change that is visible to scientists but not to the everyday person,” the state public health department’s analysis is of limited use. “It’s certainly true that the poor people of our state are always the most vulnerable to any change whatsoever – you don’t have to do an analysis to figure that out,” he said.
Read the complete article here.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Costliest School in the Nation
Historic L.A. Hotel Finds New Life As School Campus
Karen Grigsby Bates, National Public Radio, September 13, 2010
Several elementary schools, high schools, and K-12 schools now make up the new Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools campus, located in one of the poorest, most densely populated parts of California.
Karen Grigsby Bates, National Public Radio, September 13, 2010
Several elementary schools, high schools, and K-12 schools now make up the new Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools campus, located in one of the poorest, most densely populated parts of California.
The campus' six schools have been the focus of considerable criticism. The price tag for the entire campus totals approximately $578 million. And in a state awash in waves of red ink, that has attracted a lot of notice.
There have been detailed descriptions of the professional-quality science labs, the giant swimming pool and the chic faculty dining room (on the site of the Ambassador's coffee shop, designed by the city's most prominent African-American architect, Paul R. Williams).
Some critics have said, "They could have built a good school for a lot less."
Georgia Lazo, principal of one of the K-12 schools on campus, says, "It's a great facility and our kids deserve it, our community deserves it," she says.
The schools were built on a site formerly occupied by the hotel where Robert Kennedy was assassinated. Once the hotel was razed, officials realized the assassination wasn't the only bad luck at the site-- a methane gas field was discovered under the building. All told, the city paid $33 million to mitigate the problem.Most state and local governments do not have the funds or property available to build schools on greenfields, however, as this and the Carson-Gore school case demonstrate, site selection guidelines and proper environmental due diligence can help prevent unplanned and costly investigations and remediation.
New LA School Built on Contaminated Site
New school campus devoted to environmental themes
Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, September 5, 2010
The $75.5-million Carson-Gore Academy of Environmental Sciences opened this September for about 675 students. However, critics say the campus' location poses a long-term health risk to students and staff. School officials scrambled to replace contaminated soil with clean fill, remediate groundwater, install vapor mitigation and air monitoring systems, and put a 45 foot barrier in place between the school and a gas station prior to opening, adding up to a cost of about $4 million.
Construction crews were working at the campus up to the Labor Day weekend, replacing contaminated soil with clean fill. All told, workers removed soil from two 3,800-square-foot areas to a depth of 45 feet, which was impacted from over a dozen underground storage tanks that used to serve light industrial businesses in the area.
The underground tanks of an adjacent gas station may be an additional source. In addition, an oil well operates across the street, but officials said they've found no associated risks. Like many local campuses, this school also sits above an oil field, but no oil field-related methane has been detected. Groundwater about 45 feet below the surface remains contaminated but poses no risk, officials said.
Read more here.
Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, September 5, 2010
The $75.5-million Carson-Gore Academy of Environmental Sciences opened this September for about 675 students. However, critics say the campus' location poses a long-term health risk to students and staff. School officials scrambled to replace contaminated soil with clean fill, remediate groundwater, install vapor mitigation and air monitoring systems, and put a 45 foot barrier in place between the school and a gas station prior to opening, adding up to a cost of about $4 million.
Construction crews were working at the campus up to the Labor Day weekend, replacing contaminated soil with clean fill. All told, workers removed soil from two 3,800-square-foot areas to a depth of 45 feet, which was impacted from over a dozen underground storage tanks that used to serve light industrial businesses in the area.
The underground tanks of an adjacent gas station may be an additional source. In addition, an oil well operates across the street, but officials said they've found no associated risks. Like many local campuses, this school also sits above an oil field, but no oil field-related methane has been detected. Groundwater about 45 feet below the surface remains contaminated but poses no risk, officials said.
Read more here.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
A New Type of Hybrid
Building on the success of the first hybrid tug launched into service at the Port of Long Beach in 2009, Foss will retrofit an existing tug with hybrid technology for service in San Pedro Bay, thanks to a $1 million grant from the California Air Resources Board. The project will be implemented through a partnership between Foss, the Port of Long Beach, and the Port of Los Angeles.
Foss will retrofit the Campbell Foss, a conventional dolphin tug currently assisting oceangoing vessels in the San Pedro Bay. The goal is to achieve significant reductions in pollution emissions while enhancing fuel efficiency and operational capabilities. Projected annual emissions reductions per year include:
Read more here. (Found via TriplePundit.)
Foss will retrofit the Campbell Foss, a conventional dolphin tug currently assisting oceangoing vessels in the San Pedro Bay. The goal is to achieve significant reductions in pollution emissions while enhancing fuel efficiency and operational capabilities. Projected annual emissions reductions per year include:
- More than 1.7 tons of diesel particulate matter
- More than 53 tons of oxides of nitrogen
- More than 1.2 tons of reactive organic gases
- More than 1,340 tons of carbon dioxide
Read more here. (Found via TriplePundit.)
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Opportunity Green - UCLA, November 7-8, 2009
Opportunity Green business conference will bring together the brightest innovators leading the growth of the new green economy. Explore the latest in sustainable strategies and best practices, and get the inside view on the hottest topics, trends, and technologies focused on creating new opportunities through sustainability.
Opportunity Green events are designed to provide business professionals the insight, inspiration, tools, and resources to create and implement sustainable business solutions. Meet supply chain vendors, find individuals who need your service, explore joint venture or business partnerships, and learn from professionals being hired and companies finding top quality talent.
Speakers include:
Opportunity Green events are designed to provide business professionals the insight, inspiration, tools, and resources to create and implement sustainable business solutions. Meet supply chain vendors, find individuals who need your service, explore joint venture or business partnerships, and learn from professionals being hired and companies finding top quality talent.
Speakers include:
- Annie Leonard, Producer/Writer/Founder, The Story of Stuff
- Adam Lowry, Co-founder/Chief Greenskeeper, Method Products, Inc.
- Alex MacDonald, Economist, NASA Ames Research Center
- Peter Diamandis, Founder, X Prize Foundation
- Antonio R. Villaraigosa, Mayor of Los Angeles
Friday, October 2, 2009
EPA Pumps $26M Green Stimulus into Southern California
Funding aimed at air quality improvements
Pat Brennan, Green OC, October 1, 2009
Yesterday at the Port of Long Beach, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson announced more than $26 million in federal stimulus funding, including millions to retrofit trucks and school buses in the South Coast Air Basin.
Much of the funding, authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is aimed at cutting diesel pollution in the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Diesel pollution results in more than 2,000 hospitalizations and 50,000 cases of asthma and respiratory illness across the state each year, EPA says.
The funding includes:
Pat Brennan, Green OC, October 1, 2009
Yesterday at the Port of Long Beach, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson announced more than $26 million in federal stimulus funding, including millions to retrofit trucks and school buses in the South Coast Air Basin.
Much of the funding, authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is aimed at cutting diesel pollution in the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Diesel pollution results in more than 2,000 hospitalizations and 50,000 cases of asthma and respiratory illness across the state each year, EPA says.
The funding includes:
- $4 million for research on technology to create cleaner-burning heavy duty trucks for the air district
- more than $4 million to replace or retrofit diesel engines for 112 pieces of cargo-handling equipment at the Port of Long Beach
- $1.9 million to replace or retrofit 27 such pieces of equipment at the Port of Los Angeles
- $8.8 million to “repower” at least eight switch-yard locomotives in Southern California
- $1.7 million to the state Air Resources Board to retrofit school buses in the region, awarded in April
- nearly $1 million to cut emissions from a variety of types of construction equipment, including tractors, excavators and forklifts
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Ports' Clean Trucks Programs Under Challenge
Federal Maritime Commission comes under scrutiny
May 19, 2009
The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has sued the Federal Maritime Commission for information about why the agency is involved in challenging the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports' new clean trucks programs.
Back in October, the NRDC filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Commission related to the agency's review of the programs. Over the last year, the Commission filed a lawsuit against the ports, initiated an administrative investigation, and used procedural hurdles to delay collection of a fee that was designed to raise money for cleaner trucks and spur deployment of cleaner, more efficient trucks.
Read more on the issue in the SF Chronicle and on the NRDC's blog.
Meanwhile, the Port of Oakland still faces tough decisions about how to reduce diesel emissions from trucks, ships, and trains after adoption of its first comprehensive master plan for reducing the air pollution last month. The Port Commission also agreed to restore up to $5 million in funding for grants to trucks to install diesel soot filters required of trucks using ports by a January 1, 2010, state deadline. The Commission had pulled back the money last November during a review of port finances hit hard by the economic downturn.
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District, California Air Resources Board, and Environmental Protection Agency said the Marine Air Quality Improvement Plan, approved 5-1 by the Board of Port Commissioners, needs more teeth, as did several local residents and leaders of community groups.
Read more in the SJ Mercury News.
May 19, 2009
The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has sued the Federal Maritime Commission for information about why the agency is involved in challenging the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports' new clean trucks programs.
Back in October, the NRDC filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Commission related to the agency's review of the programs. Over the last year, the Commission filed a lawsuit against the ports, initiated an administrative investigation, and used procedural hurdles to delay collection of a fee that was designed to raise money for cleaner trucks and spur deployment of cleaner, more efficient trucks.
Read more on the issue in the SF Chronicle and on the NRDC's blog.
Meanwhile, the Port of Oakland still faces tough decisions about how to reduce diesel emissions from trucks, ships, and trains after adoption of its first comprehensive master plan for reducing the air pollution last month. The Port Commission also agreed to restore up to $5 million in funding for grants to trucks to install diesel soot filters required of trucks using ports by a January 1, 2010, state deadline. The Commission had pulled back the money last November during a review of port finances hit hard by the economic downturn.
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District, California Air Resources Board, and Environmental Protection Agency said the Marine Air Quality Improvement Plan, approved 5-1 by the Board of Port Commissioners, needs more teeth, as did several local residents and leaders of community groups.
Read more in the SJ Mercury News.
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