Los Angeles’ program to reduce trucking pollution is working faster than planned, but it has come under attack by the trucking industry.

Today, the city celebrates the one-year anniversary of the  Clean Truck Program (CTP), which has taken more than 2,000 polluting trucks off the road and helped placed more than 5,500 clean vehicles into service. The changes mean that ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are now two years ahead of schedule in their master plan to reduce shipping truck emissions by 80 percent. The two ports have collaborated to reduce air pollution from both trucks and ships using the hubs.

Photo: Port of Los Angeles

“Los Angeles is home to the worst air pollution in the country, which plays a role in thousands of heart attacks, respiratory ailments and deaths every year,” said David Pettit, senior attorney with Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), in a statement. “Knowing those statistics, the Port of Los Angeles decided to take proactive and permanent action to reduce those deaths and invest in sustainable jobs at the ports.”

But, like so many air cleansing efforts, this one faces opposition from the polluters, who until recently hadn’t been asked to pony up for their effects on the environment. The American Trucking Association is fighting the program, arguing that it costs too much and will put independent truckers out of business. The ATA also opposes pending climate legislation in Congress as too costly.

It’s not cheap to clean up “dirty trucks” and replace them with retrofitted or new cleaner operating  diesels or biofuel vehicles.

The CTP is spending an estimated $1.6 billion to replace an aging fleet of 17,000 trucks with newer, cleaner vehicles at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach before 2012. So last February, the port authorities began collecting a $35 container fee (applied to each 20-foot container) to help offset the purchase the clean trucks.

The ports have reported that the fund created by the $35 fees will allow them to subsidize up to 80 percent of each new truck.

The ATA sued, citing a federal law (the Federal Aviation Admnistration Authorization Act – FAAAA) that prevents the local authorities from asking the trucking companies to meet environmental standards set by local authorities.

Environmentalists and local proponents of the Clean Truck Program say the suit has put the Clean Trucks Program, which they consider a model for other ports, in jeopardy.

But the Truck Association says the program puts an unfair burden on trucking companies .

The ports, the NRDC, Sierra Club and the Coalition for Clean Air are fighting the  ATA’s lawsuit. The groups also are working with federal legislators to update the FAAAA law  so that it would allow the Clean Truck Program to go forward.

Sustainability and clean air advocates have lavished praise on the ambitious truck clean-up program, which they believe will help reduce asthma and other respiratory-related ailments from air polllution.

The Bay Area, which has plans for a similar program at the Oakland port, is watching developments in LA closely.

“Congratulations to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, environmentalists, port truck drivers and residents for leading the way to green growth at our nation’s ports. Nearly 6,000 clean trucks put into service, and 2,000 dirty trucks off the roads in the blink of an eye. It’s simply awe-inspiring,” said Nikki Bas, Executive Director of the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy in a news release Thursday.

Bas continued:  “California’s port officials must be able to finish the job they set out to do. Oakland’s port clean-up efforts to get roughly 2,300 polluting rigs off the roads came to a grinding halt when the ‘profits before people’ mindset of the American Trucking Association obstructed LA’s continued emissions-reduction progress in court. The Clean Truck Program is legally sound but this devastating development has put the Port of Oakland’s plans on hold.

“In the meantime, the cost to our health and our pocketbooks skyrocket because the industry refuses to take responsibility for cleaning up its dirty air…”

The debate walks a more delicate line with workers. The ATA argues that truck drivers are being burdened. But the groups favoring continuation of the Clean Truck Program say that drivers are only unduly affected if industry refuses to pay for their air pollution.

County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, Executive Secretary-Treasurer Maria Elena Durazo issued a statement supporting the Clean Truck Program, and blamed the trucking industry for paying for the costs of clean trucking by keeping down the wages of contract drivers.

“A backwards-looking industry lobby has sued to block this pollution-fighting plan, creating a murky legal environment that has allowed unscrupulous employers to put the burden for truck leases back on their impoverished immigrant contract drivers. These drivers eke out a living on $10-11 an hour and cannot afford the proper upkeep and maintenance of these clean-technology vehicles,” Durazo said.

The CTP is part of a larger Clean Air Action Plan devised by the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to expand business operations and reduce air pollution. The ports plan to expand over the coming years.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

A survey of eco-friendly vehicles released today from IntelliChoice.com shows that most 2009 hybrid and clean diesel cars, trucks and SUVs deliver a lower cost of ownership compared to standard versions of the same vehicles.

The 2009 IntelliChoice.com Hybrid and Diesel Car survey examined the value of all 2009 model year hybrids and vehicles with clean diesel engines. The company evaluated the major factors that determine a vehicle’s cost of ownership over a five year period or 70,000 miles, including fuel, maintenance and repair, retained value, insurance costs and taxes and fees.

Among the top-line findings from the survey:

• Clean diesel has the potential to be a game changer. “Clean diesel cars like the VW Jetta TDI and Mercedes Benz E320 perform even better than hybrids in saving thousands of dollars in costs and recouping their purchase premium,” James Bell, editor of IntelliChoice.com, said in a statement. “Make no mistake that clean diesel cars are now mainstream. The Obama Administration needs to reexamine the legacy of higher tax rates on diesel fuel, which were set long before the switch to the low sulfur formulation required for general consumer use. The time has come to put diesel on a level playing field with gasoline. The Administration could even promote it with lower taxation as is done in Europe.”
• Small cars, sedans and crossovers perform better than large trucks and SUVs. “No surprise here. The Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid and even small SUVs like the Ford Escape Hybrid save their owners thousands of dollars over five years. When you begin to move into the larger vehicles, especially big SUVs, you may pay a few thousand dollars more in ownership costs for hybrid cars and clean diesel versions,” said Bell.
• The higher fuel prices go, the greater value hybrids and clean diesels deliver. “The survey uses a six-month running average of $3.20 per gallon in factoring fuel costs. We expect that gas prices will eventually go up, which increases the savings for hybrid car owners.”

IntelliChoice.com’s 2009 Hybrid and Diesel Car Survey pits hybrid and clean diesel vehicles against their gas-powered counterparts in the five most important cost of ownership categories. For instance, the Ford Escape Hybrid is compared against the “regular” or gas-only Ford Escape. The list below is a sample of findings from the survey that demonstrates how cost of ownership can offset higher sticker prices.

From Green Right Now Reports

The 2009 Audi Q7 TDI clean diesel, Audi’s first clean diesel vehicle for the U.S. market, will arrive in U.S. dealerships later this month priced at $50,900.

Audi says the TDI technology, now 20 years old, is the “world’s cleanest diesel system.” The technology meets emissions regulations in all 50 U.S. states, the company says. That includes the California ULEV II (Ultra-Low Emissions Vehicle) standards that also apply to conventional gasoline vehicles and represent one of the world’s most rigorous motor vehicle emission requirements.

“The moment has arrived for clean diesel to be seen as an immediate answer to America’s energy challenges,” Johan de Nysschen, President of Audi of America, said in a statement. “With the Q7 TDI, Audi is clearly demonstrating that luxury car buyers do not need to sacrifice progressive styling, comfort or performance to see fuel economy gains.”

The Q7 TDI gets 30% better fuel economy than gasoline engines of similar size, Audi says. That means the Q7 TDI offers the efficiency of 25 mpg in highway driving and a range of more than 600 miles on a full tank. The Q7 TDI also gets an EPA-rated 17 mpg in city driving and combined fuel economy of 20 mpg.

Audi says the TDI clean diesel engine in the 2009 Audi Q7 TDI is significantly better for the environment than past diesel engines. The 3.0-liter V6 engine in the Audi Q7 TDI produces about 25% less carbon dioxide than traditional gasoline engines. The exhaust emission control system found in the Q7 TDI reduces smog-causing nitrogen oxides by up to 90% when compared with past generations of diesel technologies sold in the U.S.

The $50,900 base price does not include a destination charge of $825, taxes, title or dealer charges. Buyers of the 2009 Audi Q7 TDI also qualify for a $1,150 Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit, according to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

An expectation met is rare enough. An expectation surpassed is a culturally appropriate winter solstice celebration miracle.

So imagine my surprise and delight when reading the miles per gallon readout on the trip computer of the 2009 Jetta TDI during a recent holiday drive over the river and through the woods. The display reads: 43.7 mpg. That’s significantly above the Environmental Protection Agency estimate of 40 mpg in highway driving.

And we weren’t doing any of that 55 mph, coast-down-hills, hyper-miler sort of driving. We were zipping along at 70 mph or so, singing loudly along with the Christmas tunes provided by the satellite radio.

That sort of fuel economy apparently isn’t a fluke. Volkswagen hired a third party, automotive evaluation company AMCI, to test the real-world fuel economy of the Jetta TDI and found it performed 24 percent better than EPA estimates, getting 38 mpg in the city and 44 mpg on the highway.

Such miserly fuel use is one reason the Jetta TDI earlier this year was named the 2009 Green Car of the Year by Green Car Journal.

“The Volkswagen Jetta TDI rose to the top as Green Car Journal’s 2009 Green Car of the Year® for some very important reasons,” said Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of Green Car Journal and editor of GreenCar.com.

“Hybrids have dominated the discussion of environmentally positive vehicles in recent years.” Awarding the title to the VW, Cogan said, “shows that advanced clean diesel has arrived and is poised to change this dynamic. With its affordable price point, refined ride and handling, and high fuel economy, the Jetta TDI shows that hybrids now have a strong competitor in the marketplace.”

The diesel cars of today aren’t the clattering, smoky, smelly diesels of 20 years ago. The new vehicles meet even strict California emissions standards, in part because of regulations requiring the development of ultra-low sulfur fuel. Refiners reduced the sulfur content in diesel fuel by 97 percent, making exhaust control systems more effective.

The new, clean-burning diesel cars such as the Jetta are a better alternative to conventional automobiles than even gasoline-electric hybrids such as the Toyota Prius, according to a RAND study.

The study, presented in November 2007 at the annual meeting of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management in Washington, D.C., examined the benefits and costs of three alternatives to the gasoline-powered internal combustion engine for the 2010-2020 period. The alternatives were advanced diesel technology (the kind making its way to dealer showrooms), gas-electric hybrids and duel-fuel vehicles burning E85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.

Don’t be fooled. Gasoline prices won’t be bumping around $2 a gallon for long. Driving a car with good fuel economy still makes sense. Higher mpg means lower operating costs for the household budget and fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

Happily, car shoppers today have a myriad of options among fuel frugal 2009 cars. You can find something getting 30 mpg or better on the highway at nearly every dealer lot. In some cases, you’ll have to settle for a trim line with a smaller engine and manual transmission to hit the 30 mpg mark.

Here are 30 with 30 mpg:

Audi TT

Gorgeous lines, 200-horsepower and a crisp six-speed manual transmission make the Audi TT a swell sports car. The fuel economy of the base 2-liter model makes it an earth-friendly sports car.
EPA estimated mpg: 22 city/30 highway