Los Angeles once again has the most air pollution in the country. Cleaning up our air would likely enhance our next Olympic bid, aid the economy and help our youth and elderly suffering from more asthma, and premature heart and lung disease and deaths.
Our governor and mayor need to help the South Coast Air Quality Control Board be more effective. First, Governor Schwarzenegger must veto Australia’s BHP Billiton’s LNG port proposal by May 21 to avoid a legal limbo. The SCAQCB staff reported that this one LNG port alone would add more smog and particulate pollution than all the electric generating plants in Los Angeles, San Bernadino and Orange counties; and the CO2 pollution from the diesel burning LNG freighters and the plant would equal 40 percent of New York City’s global warming effects.
Second, our governor and mayor shouldn’t let Sempra and others import “hot” LNG, which is much more polluting than natural gas coming from the United States. And they should insist that any LNG reaching California should be carried on freighters that only use natural gas rather than diesel for their 5,000 or more mile trips. This should help reduce LNG’s global warming pollution.
Finally, they should make sure that California’s electric generating plants are all upgraded to reduce smog pollution and to use natural gas more efficiently. These and other cleaner energy measures should make us more energy independent, not dependent on foreign LNG and much less polluting.
Jeff Harris