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Some of the linked articles hosted on newspaper websites may only be available within one week after posting. Search the archives of their website to find the article.
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News Links
Current news stories on trade, health and environmental impacts of ports and goods movement |
Thanks to USC staff and faculty for finding these news citations, as well as to Environmental Health News, which has excellent media resources. |
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| Added October 3,2008: | ||||
| San Bernardino residents urge cleaner air immediately. Air pollution reductions can't come soon enough for a number of people who live near BNSF Railway's yard.Westside residents crowded the council chambers at City Hall on Wednesday night to demand air quality improvements around their neighborhoods.State regulators and BNSF employees heard about three hours of angry, frightened and impassioned words from people who demanded to know why the best possible technology could not be purchased for the San Bernardino rail yard at the earliest possible time. The Sun, San Bernardino, CA. http://www.sbsun.com/sanbernardino/ci_10624230 | ||||
| BNSF, state pollution officials hear residents concerns over rail yard. Railroad representatives and state air pollution officials vowed Wednesday night to strengthen a diesel-pollution cleanup plan for California's most problematic rail yard, but the assurances did little to mollify a crowd of about 100 people who sometimes shouted in anger. The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, California. http://www.pe.com/localnews/sbcounty/stories/PE_News_Local_N_nrail02.22ad00d.html | ||||
| Let's get creative in finding solution to railway trouble. BNSF Railway Company, Union Pacific and California officials created a creative way to fix rail congestion heading east from the Long Beach, Calif., port.The trains could only go 10 mph through the highly populated and congested area, so an open-air trench was dug under the roads, allowing the trains to move unimpeded, according to John Lanigan Jr., executive vice president and chief marketing officer for BNSF. He spoke at the 2008 Global Logistics Summit of Will County held Thursday in Bolingbrook. The Herald News, Chicago, IL. http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/business/1175949,4_3_JO21_CAINCOL_S1.article | ||||
| Governor kills port smog-fighting bill, signs into law sprawl and water supply measures. California embarked Tuesday on a sweeping effort to curb suburban sprawl by rewarding communities that build homes and workplaces closer together to reduce pollution that contributes to global warming. However, a multibillion-dollar proposal to curb air pollution near the state's ports was rejected by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who concluded that the related cargo fees would harm an already suffering economy. LA Times, Los Angeles, California. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bills1-2008oct01,0,6985795.story | ||||
| Governor Schwarzenegger Vetoes Sen. Lowenthal's SB 974 "Port Investment"/Container Fee Bill. CA Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed SB 974 by state Sen. Alan Lowenthal (D., Long Beach-Paramount), a measure that would have placed a fee on cargo containers entering the Ports of LB, L.A. and Oakland with the revenue divided between funding for mainly rail-related cargo infrastructure projects (increasing the Ports' through-put capacity by moving cargo faster and more efficiently) and environmental mitigation measures (but not requiring a net pollution reduction). LB Report, Long Beach, California. http://www.lbreport.com/news/sep08/sb974vet.htm | ||||
| "Green Governor" Vetoes Significant Air Quality, Fish Protection Bills Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed many of the top environmental bills on his desk this week, including the most important air quality bill, SB 974, demonstrating that there is very little actually "green" about the "Green Governor." Schwarzenegger also vetoed Assemblywoman Lois Wolk's Fish Rescue Plans Bill, AB 1806, supported by a broad coalition of fishing and environmental groups. Indymedia, Central Valley, CA. http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/10/02/18542572.php | ||||
| Added September 30, 2008: | ||||
| Project raises air-quality angst. Eastern Moreno Valley runs the risk of being inundated with big-rig trucks and diesel pollution if warehouses open -- unless the city and developers insist on buffer zones, low-emission equipment and other precautions to protect residents, warn regional air pollution officials. Without such steps, eastern Moreno Valley could become another Mira Loma, the officials say. The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, California. http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_warehouses28.3c9147.html | ||||
| Area leaders urge signing of bill to help ease cargo congestion. Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, and a host of Southland port, air quality and transportation leaders are urging Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign a bill aimed at reducing air pollution and traffic congestion from the movement of goods at the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland. The group held a press conference in Long Beach on Friday in support of Senate Bill 974, which was introduced by Lowenthal. The legislation would impose a $30 fee on cargo containers moving through the ports. Pasadena Star, Pasadena, CA. http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/business/ci_10571248 | ||||
| Port workers union seeks Schwarzenegger veto of cargo container fee bill. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which represents workers who handle cargo at 29 West Coast ports, on Thursday asked Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to veto legislation that would levy a fee of up to $60 on each 40-foot cargo container going through the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland to pay for pollution-reduction programs. LA Times, Los Angeles, California. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/cal/la-fi-ports26-2008sep26%2C0%2C3143540.story | ||||
| Fayette County fearing possible rail yard . From the storefronts of Rossville's folksy business district to the new subdivisions sprouting on the edge of town, most of the talk around here these days is how someone is buying up land -- lots of it. Nearly 1,000 acres of Fayette County farmland, woods and wetlands east of Rossville have been placed under option by a group representing an unknown purchaser. Over the past few weeks, Fayette County and some of its municipalities have registered opposition to what they believe are plans by Norfolk Southern Railway to build a massive intermodal yard where containers would be transferred between trucks and rail cars. Norfolk Southern Discussion Forums. http://jreb.org/ns/index.php?topic=6453.msg18537#msg18537 | ||||
| Plans for freight hub and warehouse project move forward. Plans for a $716 million freight hub and warehouse project, to be built in southwest Johnson County, took a significant step forward Thursday. After more than a year of tedious negotiations, county commissioners voted to accelerate improvements to public roads leading to the 1,000-acre logistics park being developed in the Gardner area by BNSF Railway and the Allen Group. Kansas City Star, Kansas City, MO. http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/story/814214.html | ||||
| Added September 26, 2008: | ||||
Trains major source of local pollution, study finds. A new significant source -- diesel locomotive emissions -- has emerged as a contributor to the smallest fine particulate air pollution in downtown Prince George, according to the preliminary findings of a long-awaited study obtained by The Citizen. The Prince George Citizen, Prince George, Canada. http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/20080925153307/local/news/trains-major-source-of-local-pollution-study-finds.html |
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| Turning the "Freight Trains of the Ocean" Into Hybrids Glance around your living room or office: Almost everything within your line of vision is probably an international traveler. Your iPod . The table lamp your Aunt Betty gave you for your birthday. Your infant son's diapers. The rug beneath your feet. In all likelihood, each of these crossed at least one ocean within the dark confines of a container measuring 8 by 8.5 by 20 feet, stacked with as many as 10,999 others aboard one of the 4,500 container ships in use around the world. Discover: Science, Technology and the Future. http://discovermagazine.com/2008/oct/23-turning-the-freight-trains-of-the-ocean-into-hybrids | ||||
The Box- BBC News is following a container around world for a year to tell story of globalisation and world economy Satellite tracking unit being used to plot route on live updating map, BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/business/2008/the_box/default.stm Build Your Own Box. BBC Box Model cut-out. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/16_09_08_bbc_box_d_hathaway.pdf |
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| Derailed? City Blasts Study With plans for a Stanislaus County alternative education school still in the works, Oakdale city officials are continuing the fight against it. At the Sept. 9 Stanislaus County Office of Education board meeting, board member Zella Grant told Oakdale City Manager Steve Hallam she had confidence in a rail safety study regarding a proposed school site on Wakefield Drive, as it had been approved by the California State Department of Education. Others within the Office of Education have echoed this statement but city officials remain adamantly opposed to the school being put in at the location. The Oakdale Leader, Oakdale, CA http://oakdaleleader.com/main.asp?SectionID=15&SubSectionID=3&ArticleID=36259 | ||||
| Added September 25, 2008: | ||||
| Port report overlooks seriousness of cargo ship emissions. At first glance, a report from the South Carolina State Ports Authority is seemingly good news: port related operations during 2005 accounted for some 5% (and declining) amount of the tri-county area's pollutants. By far the largest source of pollutants observed were, unsurprisingly, from ships and trucks. But the story gets a bit more interesting when you look at sulfur oxide emissions. The Digitel, Charleston, S. Carolina. http://thedigitel.com/top-stories/port-report-overlooks-seriousness-cargo-ship-emiss-1638-0922 | ||||
| Report details port pollution For the first time, Charleston knows roughly how much poisonous gas, acid rain and smog its port creates. The S.C. State Ports Authority on Monday released an air emissions inventory. It is the first report of its kind in the Southeast, according to SPA officials. The Port of Charleston accounts for up to 5 percent of air pollution within the three-county area, with ships and trucks generating the majority of that contamination. The Post and Courier, Charleston, S. Carolina. http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/sep/23/report_details_port_pollution55436/ | ||||
| Asia Trade Growth Drives Terminal Expansion at East Coast Ports. East Coast ports continue to build and expand terminals to capitalize on expected growth in Asian trade, shipper dissatisfaction with West Coast ports and proximity to Eastern population centers. The ports' reasoning is sound. “The East Coast is where the people are,” said Mark Sisson, associate vice president and transportation planner and analyst at DMJM Harris, a marine architectural and engineering firm in Oakland, Calif. Shipping Digest, Newark, New Jersey. http://www.shippingdigest.com/news/article.asp?sid=5462<ype=maritime | ||||
| Added September 19, 2008: | ||||
| One-Month Diesel Exhaust Inhalation Produces Hypertensive Gene Expression Pattern in Healthy Rats. Exposure to diesel exhaust (DE) is linked to vasoconstriction, endothelial dysfunction, and myocardial ischemia in compromised individuals. Environmental Health Perspectives. http://www.ehponline.org/docs/2008/11647/abstract.html | ||||
| San Bernardino rail yard has clean-up plan. Air pollution caused by diesel emissions at a major rail yard in San Bernardino could be significantly reduced in about a dozen years. Harold Holmes Jr., engineering evaluation manager for the California Air Resources Board, said air quality officials expect to cut back on diesel particulate matter emissions by 85 to 90 percent at BNSF Railway's San Bernardino yard at some point between 2015 and 2020. Breaking News 24/7, Inland Empire and Inland Valley, California. http://www.insidesocal.com/news247/2008/09/san-bernardino-rail-yard-has-c.html | ||||
| Added September 9, 2008: | ||||
| Long Beach, Los Angeles officials lobby for federal cash . SOS to Washington: Southern California's highways and bridges are severely congested and crumbling ... send relief fast. That was the plea to federal lawmakers Thursday during a Senate hearing on the region's infrastructure needs held in downtown Los Angeles. Hosted by California Sen. Barbara Boxer, the forum comes as Congress considers how best to spend an estimated $500 billion in fuel taxes between 2009 and 2015. The Press-Telegram, Long Beach, California. http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_10385880 | ||||
| Roseville railyard's air pollution found highest downwind. Extensive air pollution testing has confirmed that the daily spew of locomotive exhaust from Roseville's Union Pacific Railroad yard is highest for downwind residents, particularly those near the maintenance and repair shops, newly released data show. The testing gives local officials more leverage to negotiate with Union Pacific for making further emission reductions. Sacramento Bee, Sacramento, California. http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/1216181.html | ||||
| A Long Slow Slog: In China, massive construction projects can be done seemingly overnight. Beijing was transformed in just a few years for the Olympics. The first phase of the mammoth Yangshan container terminal off the coast of Shanghai was built in less than four years. Shipping Digest, Newark, New Jersey. http://www.shippingdigest.com/news/article.asp?sid=5399<ype=special | ||||
| Environmentalists Blast ATA In Comments Filed With FMC: The Natural Resources Defense Council filed comments with the Federal Maritime Commission on Friday, arguing against comments filed with the same agency by the American Trucking Associations. The Cunningham Report, Long Beach, California. http://www.cunninghamreport.com/news_item.php?id=455 | ||||
| Riverside County not big source of fine-air pollution. Riverside County now has proof that it can't be blamed for having the worst air quality in Southern California. The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, California. http://www.pe.com/localnews/rivcounty/stories/PE_News_Local_S_air31.3719eff.html | ||||
| Cleanup plan aims to cut pollution at San Bernardino rail yard: Diesel pollution from the state's most problematic rail yard can be slashed by as much as 76 percent from 2005 levels if railroad officials follow through with a cleanup plan released by the state on Friday, a state official said. The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, California. http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_N_nrailplan30.4b6c942.html | ||||
| Rail yard report: Pollution trend unclear: More study is needed to determine whether pollution mitigation efforts at the Union Pacific Roseville rail yard are working, according to the latest results from a long-term monitoring effort. The Press Tribune, Roseville, CA. http://www.rosevillept.com/detail/91635.html | ||||
| Mexico plans huge Baja port for US trade. Mexico's government is setting sail with the largest infrastructure project in the nation's history, a $4-billion seaport that it hopes will one day rival those of Los Angeles and Long Beach. LA Times, Los Angeles, California. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-mexico28-2008aug28,0,844963.story | ||||
| Added September 1, 2008: | ||||
| Board to sue over rail facility. Montgomery County is expecting to spend up to $250,000 in legal fees to pursue the case. Montgomery County officials on Tuesday announced plans to file suit against the state over its plan to spend $40 million in public funds on the Norfolk Southern intermodal facility in Elliston, saying it violates the state constitution's prohibition on spending state money on private industry. The Roanoke Times, Roanoke, VA. http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/174601 | ||||
| Investigators looking for cause of derailment. Rail cars that left the tracks near Santa Fe were up righted and lined up in a quickly made field Sunday morning as crews cleaned up and investigators tried to determine what caused a train carrying small amounts of toxic chemicals to derail on Saturday. The Daily News, Galveston County, Texas. http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=8c871804834ee3fb | ||||
| 15 BNSF train cars derail in Fremont: A 15-car train derailment caused the closing of several Fremont streets early this morning.Lt. Jeff Elliott of the Fremont Police Department said officers notified residents they could leave their homes if they wished because[...]there was a flammable liquid leaking from a southbound Burlington Northern Santa Fe train in the area of Factory and Schneider streets. Freemont Tribune, Freemont, Nebraska. http://www.fremonttribune.com/articles/2008/08/05/news/local/doc48986bd8b3d79616903110.txt | ||||
| Derailment, Explosions Send Fire, Smoke Into Okla. Sky. Crews with Burlington Northern-Santa Fe will soon begin the process of cleaning up after a train derailment Friday afternoon near Luther that resulted in explosions and sent a massive plume of smoke into the central Oklahoma sky. KOCO 5, Oklahoma City, OK. http://www.koco.com/news/17268024/detail.html | ||||
| Mayport terminal's opposition energized. As Jacksonville Port Authority officials unveil more details about a proposed cruise ship terminal, more opposition is voiced from residents, who said this week pollution from the ships will wreck the fishing village that was established in 1562. The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville, Florida. http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/082308/nes_321583563.shtml | ||||
| Pollution from ships causing thousands of deaths: Sea air is generally regarded as healthy, but it may be polluted with dangerous chemicals from ships, say scientists. Dirty smoke pouring out of the funnels of ships at sea or in port is having a major impact on the air quality of coastal cities, a study has found. Sulphur particles from ships may be responsible for as many as 60,000 deaths a year, say US scientists. The Guardian, United Kingdom. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/aug/19/pollution.usa | ||||
| Cargo traffic expected to hit slump. Predictions just weeks ago of a late-summer surge in cargo volumes at the nation's seaports appear to have been overly optimistic, with economists now cautioning the U.S. is poised for its biggest dropoff in international trade in at least a decade. The Press-Telegram, Long Beach, California. http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_10146427 | ||||
Maintained by the Trade, Health & Environment Impact Project |
