Today's guest blog is by Doug Bloch, Director of the Oakland Coalition for Clean & Safe Ports

Part II: The LA Solution

Yesterday, I wrote about why the California Air Resources Board, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and the Port of Oakland's effort to meet new environmental truck standards will fail because the lowest paid workers in the industry cannot assume the highest cost (and risk) for clean air.  

Fortunately, there is a solution on the table that will enable the Port of Oakland to meet emissions-reduction goals, stabilize the workforce and allow business to grow. Loyal readers of The Road should know: The Port of Los Angeles successfully launched a sustainable, sweeping policy that bans old, dirty diesel rigs; requires trucking companies to take responsibility for a clean fleet by legitimately employing their drivers; and offers powerful purchasing incentives to jump start a new alt-fuel market and allow trucking companies to get cleaner vehicles on the road quicker.

Of course LA officials considered subsidizing retrofits, but ultimately they rejected band-aid fixes in favor of a real cure. What we can't figure out is why the Port of Oakland, having LA as a model, continues to drag its feet. Industry stakeholders, instead of just resisting change, helped convince the Port of Los Angeles that strong incentives - coupled with the level playing field of a concession program - would create a market where trucking companies of all sizes could invest in new trucks that meet the highest possible environmental standards. More than 725 companies have signed up, committing more than 20,000 trucks with over 1,500 of those vehicles compliant with 2007 EPA emissions standards, a full five years ahead of the state regulations!

It's a model that economists and environmentalists support, which cannot be said of the retrofit/replacement scheme that drivers and the community are criticizing at every turn. Perhaps that's why Mayor Ron Dellums publicly pledged that Oakland would be the next city to adopt a comprehensive Clean Trucks Program. His endorsement extends from the local political establishment to the highest office, including President-elect Barack Obama, California Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and the entire state Democratic Congressional delegation.

So, the question before the Port of Oakland, which has been mired in two years of study, two years of missed deadlines and two years of broken promises: Why are you allowing the problem to get worse instead of enacting a real solution? One in five West Oakland children suffers from asthma and there is a thousand-fold elevated cancer risk among port truck drivers. This is not the time to tinker around the edges to allege you've taken action.

A reputable team of economists hired to study Oakland's broken port trucking system will report on its findings in December. That means our kids deserve a vote on a strong, comprehensive Clean Trucks Program in January.