Life With Iron Giants: On Being a Quiet Revolutionary

My husband thinks I'm a bit of a drama queen.

But this has nothing to do with the causes I've taken on lately.  He just thinks I'm exaggerating when it comes to my fear that if I should, say, get arrested in a peaceful demonstration, I would be deported and then that.....

would be that.

Many of you are probably wondering how that could be.  I love my home country - Canada,  and for the decades I've lived here I've had some ambivalence to actually pledging allegiance to another one.  I remain merely what the U.S. Government politely calls a 'resident alien', living here at their invitation.  An alien who could be sent packing and refused re-entry  should I do something to piss it off.  Not a good idea when you have a family.

Along with activism comes a certain amount of acknowledgement that you've become one of the 'people' in the 'by the people for the people' part of the Declaration of Independence.  That's me, the gopher who's sticking its head out of the hole in what sometimes feels like a very bare field.  And if I'm going to seriously take on this role, I'll have to bite the bullet and become one of you. Officially.  In the process of studying for my citizenship exam (a much harder one these days) I will probably better educated about the history of this country and the workings of a Republic style government.  So it's not such a bad thing if I'm willing to start taking a front line stance on issues that are so compelling I cannot in any conscience, turn the other cheek.

I mentioned in my last piece that I was about to attend a day-long workshop on something called the CEQA.  Don't know what this is?  Neither did I but hopefully more States than California have something similar because it's one of those laws that often stands between you and a lot of toxic chemicals under or leeching into your backyard, poisoning you, your kids and your pets, not to mention everything else that flies, walks, crawls, or swims.

The California Environmental Quality Act came into being in 1972 and California Supreme Court Justice, Stanley Mosk wrote of the decision: "In an era of commercial and industrial expansion in which the environment has been repeatedly violated by those who are oblivious to the ecological well-being of society, the significance of this legislative act cannot be understated."

CEQA's power lies in its ability to put the brakes on development of any kind in any location where the public's health and safety may be endangered by forcing developers to undergo an EIR (Environmental Impact Report).  EIR's are comprehensive third-party expert examinations which include many kinds of tests (water, air, soil), local current and projected environmental impact, plus recommendations for mitigation's and offsets.  This could include cleaning up existing contaminants, scaling back project size and scope, or providing buffers or dedicating additional space for specialized use (such as additional farming land, parks, wetlands, etc.)

What I learned in this workshop is that without laws like this one we would all be in deep shit. But what I also discovered is that we are mostly unaware of the protections available to us as a community.  Generally lawyers bring CEQA to bear in lawsuits against an egregious situation (like building a school on a toxic dump) , but because it doesn't happen often enough CEQA specialists have begun to hold workshops for activists and concerned neighborhoods to help them understand the tools at their disposal when confronted by out-of-control development.

Living next to the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach has to be the mother of all out-of-control developers so this workshop was well attended.  (You are probably not aware that there are dredged channels so toxic they are on the SuperFund Cleanup list).  That Saturday we learned about various cases pending (and settled) with examples of California projects large and small that were slated to go ahead until and EIR turned up horrific health issues for the surrounding communities and/or the people who would have been moving into the proposed developments. Global warming is an issue, but I was more interested in the micro rather than the macro.  As my mother used to say, save your pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves.

One particular issue we have been very concerned about here is the Clean Trucks Program. And before you yawn, an aging fleet of 16,000 trucks make 1.2 millions trips in and out of the Ports every year accounting for an estimated 15% of the heavy air pollution in the Los Angeles Basin. Historically, the majority of these trucks have been owned by individuals and small companies with questionable business practices (Atty. General Jerry Brown just filed lawsuits against two of them for running businesses that cheated employees out of fair wages, benefits, workers comp, and billions of taxation to the strapped California coffers).  Most trucks are dirty, diesel polluters of the worst kind, and so jerry-rigged with cheap repairs they are a constant danger on the highways in Southern California.

When the Ports finally started to heed the pressure of environmental groups and local communities to clean up their act, they passed the Clean Trucks Program earlier this year which would do away with the owner-operated trucks unless they purchased new, cleaner models, or became employees of large companies with newer fleets.  The American Truckers Association filed a lawsuit to stop the October 1st implementation, even though enough large trucking companies went against their own association by joining the program.  

When the American Retailers Association filed an amicus brief (friend of the court) supporting the ATA I wrote an impassioned letter to their President warning them that trying to stop this important clean-up program would certainly backfire because when it came to big business interests vs. the health of a community, big business usually fails.  The company attorney responded to our letters by saying the Port had no authority under Federal Statutes to regulate the trucks and this program would put thousands of truckers out of business.  Aside from the fact that this most likely wouldn't happen en masse, it was clear they would rather thousands sicken and die from diesel pollutants instead.  Despite the lofty and frankly condescending legalese, it was really about keeping the price of goods as cheap as possible and folks.....that boat has sailed.

For the first time in history, the Ports teamed up with The Sierra Club (which was granted official "intervener" status in the defence process) to fight for the health and safety of the people of Los Angeles. They believed their legal right as landlords of the Port they could set the standards for tenants (the ships) and support services (trucks, trains, etc).  Much hinged on their right to defend this status, despite the threat of vigorous challenges from the opposition.

Yesterday we got the news: The California Supreme Court sided with the Ports and The Sierra Club, ruling against the ATA's motion.   The Clean Trucks program has enough companies and individuals signed up to service the Ports without interruption beginning October 1st.

We can all breathe a little easier.

Next: Big Ships, Big Money