(Cough, cough, cough, cough)
"Busy ports bring dirty air, endless traffic din" by Darryl Fears | Washington Post, May 12, 2013
WASHINGTON —The diesel trucks help move $1 billion worth of cargo annually in and out of Port Newark, a cornerstone of the nation’s third-largest port system — the Port of New York and New Jersey — and the source of tens of thousands of jobs. But the pollution exacts a heavy toll on residents, advocates say.
And they fear it could get much worse.
The widening of the century-old Panama Canal will allow a new generation of gigantic cargo ships to slip between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans within two years. Bigger ships mean more trucks hauling goods in and out of port communities — areas that studies have shown are disproportionately poor, have higher minority populations, and a greater incidence of asthma and other respiratory illnesses.
Related: Boston Can Finally Breathe a Sigh of Relief
That's weird because Boston is also a port city.
Gaddy and her three children, ages 8 to 24, have asthma, as do thousands of other adults and children in Newark, where the asthma-related death rate is nearly twice that of the suburbs. Environmentalists and residents say that particulate-matter pollution from trucks contributes to poor health in areas that have the fewest resources to fight it.
Nationwide, African Americans and Latinos who live around ports are far more likely to breathe dirty air, according to a 2011 study by a global research firm, ICF International, published in the Journal of Public Health.
‘‘You hear about the killings in Newark, but the heart attacks we die of in higher numbers are never talked about,’’ said Kim Gaddy, an organizer for the New Jersey Environmental Federation. ‘‘The pollution is killing us. We’re fighting for our lives.’’
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The $5.25 billion project to widen the canal — started in 2007 and expected to be finished in 2015 — has touched off a race among ports along the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico eager to attract the world’s largest container ships and their enormous cargo. They are investing billions of dollars to deepen their harbors and expand their operations.
Only a handful of the 360 ports in the United States can handle the biggest cargo ships, and only two, Baltimore and Norfolk, Va., are in the east. Many of the superships carry cargo from Asia and use West Coast ports....
Newark’s mayor, Cory Booker, a Democrat, argues that pollution will probably decrease because the new ships will be more fuel efficient and that a program will help truck drivers buy more fuel-efficient rigs and get rid of older models.
Related: Throwing the Booker at Obama Over Bain
That same argument is echoed by other officials....
I can't imagine why they would $ay that, can you?
But the Environmental Protection Agency has its doubts....
As do I.
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Related: California Flare-Ups: Port Strike
While in the Sunshine State:
"Debate gets heated over fire pits on S. California beaches" by Gillian Flaccus | Associated Press, May 12, 2013
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — The glow of a tradition dating back decades could soon be dimmed....
The proposition has sparked a bitter dispute between those who see the bonfires as a treasured slice of California coastal culture and those who say they are a smoky health hazard for millions. More immediately, the debate has fueled an increasingly personal spat between residents of two neighboring beach cities known worldwide for their luxurious stretches of sand, surfing, and sun-kissed weather.
The affluent coastal city of Newport Beach [versus] Huntington Beach, a.k.a. Surf City USA for its laid back surf culture....
State and local politicians have also waded into an escalating war of words that is increasingly being cast as a showdown between NIMBY-happy residents of Newport Beach and the scrappier middle-class surf haven to its north....
In a sign of the mounting tension, the chairman of the regional air quality board was pilloried by fire pit supporters after he angrily compared the smoke from Newport Beach’s bonfires to ‘‘carpet bombing’’ during the Vietnam War during a public hearing.
Well, that's a bit of a reach, ain't it?
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Related: Hot Time in Old Town Tonight
(At this point blog editor inhales and sighs)
