Though most people don’t pine to live in a beachside locale with skies that can best be described as muddy brown/misty charcoal, Los Angeles has decided to clean up its act, starting with two notoriously smoggy ports.
On January 1st the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles will officially complete a plan to ban all trucks with engine models dating past 2007. By the end of 2011, a remaining group of 1,400 older trucks will be traded for newer models. Officials say the conversion to newer engine models has reduced truck emissions at the ports by a whopping 89 percent since 2008. Once the ban reaches its final stage, the locations will be able to claim the most rigorous clean air standard of any major international port.
In 2008 the Clean Truck Program was created to combat the infamously smoggy air surrounding the two ports, which combined handle nearly 40 percent of U.S. shipping imports. The program is a subsidiary of the broader 2006 San Pedro Clean Air Action Plan, which mandates that docked ships use plug-in electricity instead of leaving the engines idling.
"The Clean Truck Program has shown that you can be green and grow the Port of Los Angeles at the same time," said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. And because SoCal sunsets aren't cheap, actually being able to see them is a concept everyone can rally around.