October 12, 2006
LOS ANGELES—The South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) will
pay tribute today to 10 local individuals, community groups and businesses
for their significant contributions toward cleaner air at the agency’s 18th
Annual Clean Air Awards.
Emceed by Univision 34 news reporter Oswaldo Borraez during a luncheon at
the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, the ceremony will honor recipients including
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for his environmental leadership; the
shipping firm Maersk, Inc. for implementing a cleaner fuel program; and a
doctor specializing in air pollution effects on infants.
“Today, we honor our community’s progressive leaders who have made a
commitment to healthy air quality,” said William A. Burke, Ed.D., chairman
of AQMD’s Governing Board. “They’ve developed innovative technologies,
advocated new policies and educated the public, all in service of cleaning
the air. For their efforts and dedication I applaud this year’s Clean Air
Award winners.”
AQMD’s 2006 Clean Air Award Winners are:
Leadership in Government
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, City of Los Angeles
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has pledged to convert 85 percent of the city's
fleet to alternative fuel by 2010 and has started by purchasing 50
additional liquefied natural gas garbage trucks. His administration promotes
“green” building practices in new city libraries and started a program to
expedite plan-checking for green construction.
Mayor Villaraigosa, who built a bi-partisan coalition to address Port of
Los Angeles air quality issues, also supported union port workers and port
commissioners in the union’s “Saving Lives” campaign which asks shipping
companies to reduce emissions by 20 percent over the next four years. When
the San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan was released, Mayor
Villaraigosa emphasized that Los Angeles officials were actively seeking
solutions to air pollution problems with the goal of providing better public
health and resource protection.
Promotion of Good Environmental Stewardship
International Longshore and Warehouseman’s Union, Local 13
For the past nine years, members of the International Longshore and
Warehouseman’s Union, Local 13 (ILWU) – including many living in the
community surrounding the ports -- have actively campaigned for the
reduction of air pollution from the ports. The union has provided valuable
and compelling testimony at town hall meetings and at regulatory and
legislative hearings emphasizing the fact that its members are among the
first to suffer the adverse health effects of port pollution.
In conjunction with Mayor Villaraigosa, the ILWU launched the “Saving
Lives” campaign, requesting that shipping companies reduce their ship smoke
stack emissions by at least 20 percent over the next four years.
ILWU represents over 2,000 dock workers employed at the Ports of Los
Angeles and Long Beach. These ports are the largest in the country as well
as the largest fixed source of air pollution in Southern California.
Victor Weisser, CEO, California Council for Environmental and Economic
Balance
As a critical player in statewide environmental issues, Victor Weisser has
fostered an atmosphere of ongoing dialogue between business leaders,
environmentalists and government officials to develop innovative policy
solutions on environmental issues. Weisser is the senior advisor to the
staff of the California Environmental Dialogue as well as president and
chief executive officer of the California Council for Environmental and
Economic Balance, where he has continually sought consensus-building and
cooperation in the regulatory process.
Weisser played a critical role in promoting legislation that secured
long-term funding for the Carl Moyer Program, which provides financial
incentives to purchase lower-emission, heavy-duty engines for vehicles and
equipment. He also helped establish the Moyer Light-Duty Program, through
which funding is offered to help repair or scrap light-duty vehicles that
have been identified as gross polluters. Weisser also has been instrumental
in trying to improve California’s Smog Check program to achieve additional
emission reductions. In 2002, the governor appointed him to the California
Inspection and Maintenance Review Committee, which he now chairs.
Advancement of Air Pollution Technology
Maersk, Inc.
Maersk, Inc., which operates the largest container terminal in the Los
Angeles harbor, took a step towards cleaner air in the shipping industry
when the company voluntarily switched all 37 of its cargo ships to
low-sulfur fuel in May 2006.
Cargo ships generally run on bunker fuel, a thick residue that remains
after the oil distilling process. It is partly responsible for the poor air
quality found near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Low-sulfur
marine fuel contains 0.2 percent sulfur instead of the 3 percent in bunker
fuel. Maersk estimates that this switch reduces sulfur oxides by 92 percent,
particulate matter by 73 percent and nitrogen oxides by 10 percent. Maersk
is exploring other emission reduction strategies, including a pilot program
testing selective catalytic reduction technology, which in early testing
shows an 80 percent to 90 percent nitrogen oxide emission reduction in
Maersk cargo ships in California.
Innovative Transportation Projects
Raytheon Company Space and Airborne Systems, El Segundo
The Raytheon Company has promoted employee ridesharing for the last 26
years. Through alternative transportation methods, employee miles driven to
the Space and Airborne Systems offices in El Segundo have been reduced by
more than 11 million miles. Currently, more than 1,000 employees carpool,
vanpool or use public transportation.
The company, which provides a 50 percent subsidy to employees using
public transportation, believes that convenience is a key program element
and provides a free emergency-ride-home program for personal emergencies or
unscheduled overtime, a ridesharing database to help rideshare users find
partners, a $75 startup incentive and other financial incentives for those
who participate. Additionally, Raytheon donated land for the construction of
a new Metro Rail Gold Line station and has compiled an easy-access, on-line
database of mass transit information.
Model Community Achievement
City of South Pasadena
A city of only 25,000 residents, South Pasadena has aggressively addressed
clean air and traffic congestion efforts by adopting a policy of replacing
its vehicle fleet with certified low-emission vehicles, including hybrid and
compressed natural gas vehicles. Residents are offered reduced fees for
overnight parking permits as an incentive to purchase low-emission vehicles
and the city adopted a policy requiring 50 percent of its heavy-duty vehicle
replacements to be low-emission vehicles.
The city encourages residents to use the Metro Rail Gold Line by
providing fully subsidized bus rides to the train station and discount rides
for senior citizens. The line also offers flex-route service, which takes
riders directly to their destinations rather than fixed stops, and offers
“flag-stop” service where people walking to the station can flag down a bus
between stops. The line’s main station is steps away from the award-winning
Mission Meridian Village, which offers retail shops, offices, eateries,
residential units and parking.
Robert M. Zweig, M.D. Memorial Award
Dr. Beate Ritz, Professor, Department of Epidemiology, University of
California, Los Angeles
Dr. Beate Ritz, who studies the affects of air pollution on infants and
fetuses, is currently conducting research to pinpoint which toxic air
pollutants cause problems in the womb. Her work on the developmental stages
of the respiratory system has led to similar studies in more than 15 other
countries around the globe.
Dr. Ritz’s recent study found that women who were exposed to higher
levels of air pollution were more likely to have children with birth defects
or respiratory problems. Further studies show that once born, infants
continuously exposed to higher levels of air pollution during the early
stages of their lives were more likely to develop respiratory diseases and
had an increased mortality rate.
Public Education on Air Quality Issues
Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma (LBACA)
Founded in 1999, LBACA educates Long Beach residents about the effects of
air pollution and strives to improve the lives of children with asthma. A
partnership program of Miller Children’s Hospital of Long Beach Memorial
Medical Center, LBACA conducts programming for medical staff, parents and
teachers to better educate them on methods for recognizing, treating and
preventing symptoms of asthma.
LBACA has expanded its programming to school and community outreach with
neighborhood assessment teams known as “A-Teams” that identify and test
outdoor air pollution hot spots, monitor traffic patterns and test ultrafine
particulate matter in the air. LBACA then uses the information to petition
for clean air legislation for the Long Beach area.
The A-Teams are run by parents who receive technical training from the
University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine. Their work has
already identified serious air quality problems near several elementary
schools and they are currently expanding their monitoring efforts to three
other elementary schools in the area.
Western Riverside County Clean Cities Coalition
The Western Riverside County Clean Cities Coalition, a government-community
partnership through the U.S. Department of Energy, hosted well-attended
fairs in April to educate residents about the importance of car maintenance
as a means of promoting clean air and to provide information about
alternative fuel vehicle options. The events included free car inspections
and emissions testing.
The fairs took place in five communities including Perris, Hemet, Moreno
Valley, and the Corona/Norco area, where more than 2,500 people attended and
a total of 121 vehicles were inspected. Vehicle technicians did minor
repairs onsite, and provided customers with incentive coupons from local
shops for additional repairs. A variety of information booths provided
visitors information about air quality, the California Smog Check
certification program, public transit options, vehicle scrapping programs,
and a wide range of other environmental options.
Most Innovative Idea for the 2007 Air Quality Management Plan
Jim Stewart, Ph.D.
Dr. Jim Stewart, a physics professor and environmental scientist, gave the
winning response to an AQMD request this year for innovative ideas for the
2007 Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP). He suggested that the AQMP should
include global warming analysis and reduction strategies. Dr. Stewart, the
organizing director of Earth Day LA, pointed out that global climate changes
also would have impacts on local air quality in Southern California. These
include increased smog formation, forest fires and dust from dry fields, as
well as higher ambient temperatures which would increase the demand for
electric power.
Stewart also co-chairs the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter Air Quality and
Global Warming Committee, and serves on a number of other environmental
advisory committees.
AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major
portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
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