gazette green section 2012

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P R E S E N T S MARCH 8-9, 2012GREEN GAZETTE

G | GREEN GAZETTE | March 8-9, 2012

BY JONATHAN VAN DYKESTAFF WRITER

Good news has been the order of the day for the Port of Long Beach’s Middle Harbor Container Terminal, which started construc-tion about a year ago and prom-ises to be one of the most envi-ronmentally advanced terminals in the world. The Middle Harbor Project is combining terminals of 160 acres and 90 acres into a larger 304-acre terminal, taking parts of Pier E, D and F. “You’ll have this state-of-the-art terminal that will be able to move more than twice as much in terms of containers in comparison to the older terminals inhabiting that space,” said Lee Peterson, port spokesman. “The emissions, the air pollution — all that is cut in half.” Despite merging two large ter-minals and increasing container traffi c, all the new technology being installed at Middle Harbor will mitigate and cut emissions, offi cials said.

“As we build Middle Harbor, it’s getting the latest and great-est, it’s a blank canvas to paint on,” said Thomas Jelenic, port as-sistant director of environmental planning. Orient Overseas Container Line (local affi liate Long Beach Container Terminal) has signed a $4.6 billion 40-year lease to oper-ate Middle Harbor. Long Beach Container Terminal currently is operating on the 90 acres that will be merged into Middle Harbor. The entire project is projected to create about 14,000 permanent jobs by 2020. The lease and construction will include cleaner fuel for ships, complete shoreside power, cleaner air from yard equipment (forklifts, tractors, ship-to-shore cranes) and internal electric cranes. The on-dock rail system being developed will help the most with emissions, offi cials said. “You’re taking a very small rail yard they have and making it fi ve times as large with the amount of

track they’re adding,” Peterson said. “When you have on-dock rail, you’re eliminating truck trips.” Effi ciency also is boosted from bigger ships the terminal will be able to handle — with more con-tainers per ship, there will be less ship trips. Most of the buildings, offi ces and the maintenance yard will be built to the newest environmental standards — offi cials said they are shooting for silver and gold ratings. “The construction right now, it’s not like anything that the port’s ever gone through before,” Peterson said. Beyond what’s at the terminal, Middle Harbor has put $15 mil-lion toward the Port Mitigation Grant Program. That money can go toward mitigations outside of the port, but inside of affected ar-eas surrounding it. Money has gone to schools for indoor air fi lters that improve air quality by 90% and helped St. Mary Medical Center unveil a

mobile clinic that will concentrate on respiratory problems affecting the local community. Port offi -cials just fi nished the solicitation process for greenhouse gas-relat-ed projects. There are playground and daycare landscaping projects that plant trees that specialize in capturing particulate matter from

the air. The school and health-care projects will impact about 280,000 Long Beach residents, offi cials said. “These are real projects that provide real benefi ts to the com-munity and they are coming out of Middle Harbor,” Jelenic said. For details, visit polb.com.

Middle Harbor Project Emphasizes Sustainability

For our Green Gazette, we sent our video team to the Health Freedom Expo to check up on or-ganic food and food that is good

for environment along with a few other things. To see their report, visit our website at www.ga-zettes.com.

Find More Green Coverage Online

—Gazette photo by Jonathan Van DykeBEGINNINGS. Construction workers install some of the infra-structure needed for the Middle Harbor Container Terminal.

INSIDE THIS SECTION CITY’S RECYCLING PLAN KEEPS GROWING.............................PAGE 4G

SHOP WITH CARBON FOOTPRINT IN MIND...............................PAGE 5G

TRANSIT SCRUBS POLLUTION FROM AIR.................................PAGE 6G

BIKE RIDING BECOMES A LIFESTYLE.......................................PAGE 7G

ELECTRIC VEHICLES CONTINUE TO EVOLVE.............................PAGE 8G

COMMUNITY GARDEN FEEDS SOULS.....................................PAGE 12G

WAYS TO FIND ALTERNATIVE FUEL STATIONS.......................PAGE 13G

AQUARIUM WATCHES ITS WATER QUALITY, USE...................PAGE 15G

PORT CONTINUES MARCH TO CLEAN AIR..............................PAGE 16G

WEDDINGS CAN GO GREEN WITH PLANNING.........................PAGE 17G

ELECTRONIC WASTE TAKES SPECIAL CARE...........................PAGE 19G

March 8-9, 2012 | GREEN GAZETTE | PAGE 3G

Travel Gets Greener With Airport ModernizationBY ASHLEIGH OLDLAND

EDITOR

The Long Beach Airport’s nearly $140 million moderniza-tion plan currently underway includes plans to “go green” through the use of solar technol-ogy, lower water usage, decreased carbon footprints and more. “As far as airports go, we are pushing to be one of the green-est airports in the country,” said Long Beach Airport Director Mario Rodriguez. “There are so-cietal and fi nancial reasons for doing this, but ultimately, to us, this boils down to being the right thing to do and what we are sup-posed to do, which is serve Long Beach.” Rodriguez said the airport is committed to being a good neigh-bor and leader in aviation envi-ronmental sustainability. LGB is part of the U.S. Green Build-ing Council’s Leadership in En-ergy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards to reduce to waste in construction projects. That includes recycling 100% of the pavement and base material demolished during construction. The completion of the Long Beach Airport’s new parking structure last year, which was completed ahead of schedule and under budget, meant that the airport could eliminate its off-site parking area and the shuttle service that bused people to and from that parking lot to the air-port. “We are reducing our car-

bon footprint by eliminating the shuttle service, and we are saving $2 million annually,” Rodriguez said. To conserve water at LGB, low-fl ow toilets are being installed as well as waterless urinals, which, in total, are expected to save about a million gallons of water per year. Additionally, the airport is promoting a dry-washing tech-nique on the airplanes. Construction is underway on the $45 million passenger con-course, the largest component of the airport’s modernization plan. Slated for completion in 2013, the LEED-certifi ed concourse will include an atrium, garden walk-way, a streamlined passenger screening area, boarding lounge and improved seating, conces-sions and restrooms. The project also will add to the airport’s ef-forts to use more solar technolo-gy — there will be a rooftop solar array that will supply 13% of the power needed in the concourse. The airport’s new atrium and native, drought-tolerant plant and palm tree garden are meant to remind passengers that they have arrived in Southern Califor-nia, a major improvement when compared to the bland temporary buildings being used now, Rodri-guez said. Use of LED (light-emitting diode) lights at the airport, in-cluding on the runways, is meant to decrease the electric bill. The lights also will not need to be re-placed as often. This will result

in a cost savings of $170,000 an-nually, Rodriguez said. He added that the LED lights also are easier for pilots to see from the air. The airport’s greatest reduc-tion in emissions, Rodriguez said, would come from changes made on the air carrier ramp, where parking positions are being retro-fi tted with electrical power. This change reduces aircraft emissions and the need for planes to use auxiliary power. Ultimately, Rodriquez said Long Beach Airport is creating a “greener way to fl y” and better service its three million annual

passengers and the Long Beach community at large. “We are doing everything we can do,” Rodriguez said. “Every-thing within our control, to create a more sustainable airport in the most heavily traffi cked area (the LA Basin) in the United States.” On the horizon, Rodriguez said an airfi eld geometry study of LGB is in the works that would help airport offi cials determine if changes need to be made to the layout of airplane runways, including the possible closure of one or more runways that are in-frequently used.

“There are two runways that get very little usage because they are not lit and not instrumented, so they are visual runways only,” Rodriguez said. “Those runways would be nice to have if you have an unlimited amount of money, but the world doesn’t work that way… Those runways cost $1.3 million per year, and they are barely used.” Rodriguez said the geometry study would analyze how chang-es on the ground could improve safety and effi ciency at the air-port. The study could show that

—Gazette photo by Ashleigh OldlandREACHING SKYWARD. As seen from the main terminal, the skeleton of Long Beach Airport’s new passenger concourse is currently under construction.

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BY STEP HANIE MINASIANSTAFF WRITER

When it comes to recycling, Long Beach has its residents cov-ered. There are a few options in the city to take part in that work to make Long Beach a cleaner, more sustainable place to live. With several different services to fi t the needs of its residents, Long Beach’s environmental services bureau and SA Recycling offer convenient, local ways to be eco-friendly. The city’s recycling service is celebrating its 20th year of using the purple recycling carts to col-

lect reusable items each week. In 1992, a program went into effect where residents were given 18-gallon plastic boxes to be set out for recycling. Ten years ago, the city switched to the large pur-ple carts, which were found to be much easier to use and keep the recyclables dry from the rain. “It’s pretty amazing that we used to recycle about 18,000 tons a year,” said Long Beach Recy-cling Manager Jim Kuhl. “The number jumped to about 27,000 tons each year in 2011. It does have a big impact on the environ-ment, and we save water, energy and air resources.”

This improvement equals out to about a 74% recycling rate in Long Beach — almost touching the state’s goal of 75%, Kuhl add-ed. Once recycling items are col-lected each week, they are taken to a processing facility in the Harbor District, where workers separate everything into various commodities. Long Beach has a comingle system, so the items are separated at the facility into pa-per, plastic and glass. “A lot of paper and cardboard goes overseas,” Kuhl said. “Some stays here domestically, but it’s really market driven — whatever

the highest price for the commod-ity is, is where it goes.” Long Beach schools also are doing their part in recycling. Out of the 77 schools across the city, 72 participate in the purple bin program, resulting in about 900 tons of recyclables coming from schools each year. Last year’s plastic bag ban also has seen a signifi cant change, ac-cording to Kuhl. About 80 large retailers went into compliance last August to stop using plastic bags, with small businesses fall-ing in line in January. “We do a lot of community cleanups, and we see a lot fewer plastic bags as litter,” he added. “I know it’s been controversial, but we are seeing less plastic bag lit-ter around the city.” For recycling questions or comments, call the hotline at 570-2876, or visit www.longbeach-recycles.org. For larger items, there’s an-other service nearby that helps to melt down metals from appli-ances, cars, bicycles, etc., to ship and reuse overseas. SA Recycling’s 1-800-GOT-SCRAP service shreds these large pieces of metal, and offers its clients money in return for their scraps. Its facility in the Port of Long Beach, while not open to the public, is where much of

the metal prepares for its journey overseas. “It is interesting that the end products being collected all end up in Long Beach,” said 1-800-GOT-SCRAP Marketing Manager Heidi Smart. “That’s where it’s shipped away. All these cars and items being recycled they all end up in the Long Beach facility.” The closest drop-off facility for residents in the area is in Carson, at 22606 South Alameda St. A typical appliance, such as a wash-er or dryer, will fetch between $5 and $10, according to Smart. Another option is to call 1-800-GOT-SCRAP for an imme-diate pick-up of any scrap metal, for a fee of $50. To celebrate Earth Day, this service will be free during the month of April. At its drop-off facilities, SA Recycling will remove any haz-ardous material from the appli-ances, and is a certifi ed appliance recycler. “We want to make sure that people can do what’s right for the environment,” Smart said. “We will remove all harmful materials, and then crush it down to maxi-mize room for transport. We load them up in trucks, and take it all down to the port.” There are about 45 SA Recy-cling locations in California. For details, call 1-800-GOT-SCRAP or visit www.gotscrap.com.

Recycling Made Easy Through Long Beach Services

—Photo courtesy Environmental Services BureauPICK ME UP. Bins, colored purple for recycling or gray for other waste, are on residents’ curbs and ready for pick up.

the number or runways or taxi paths should be changed or re-duced. “In the end, we anticipate some changes on the ground that would make things safer and more effi cient, but we don’t foresee any traffi c pattern chang-es whatsoever, and this has abso-lutely nothing do with airspace issues,” he explained. “This is all about creating a better asset for the city of Long Beach.” Besides doing what it can to go green, the airport’s efforts are being mirrored by the Federal Aviation Administration and En-vironmental Protection Agency, which are working together to study airplane engines and fu-els on a national level and try to make sure that new generations of aircraft continue to be built quieter and more sustainably, Rodriguez said.

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Ways To Help Reduce Food’s Carbon FootprintBY KURT A. EICHSTEADTEDITORIAL ASSISTANT

It’s a well-known fact that you are what eat. Perhaps less well known is the fact that what we eat has a huge effect on planet Earth. Since everybody eats, the pro-duction and distribution of food has a massive impact on our envi-ronment. It’s called the food car-bon footprint. There are plenty of ways to en-joy food while reducing the food carbon footprint and friendly to planet Earth. Local grocery stores like Fresh and Easy, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s help. Carbon footprint is the mea-surement of the release of green-house gases including (CO2) and aerosols, which likely contribute to changes in climate. Greenhouse gases are produced by burning fossil fuels for elec-tricity, heating, transportation, etc. It’s usually measured in units of tons or kilograms of carbon di-oxide equivalent. Food carbon footprint relates to the consumption of food. The entire food system is responsible for a third of global greenhouse emissions and 25% of each house-hold’s total carbon footprint. The average meat-eating U.S. diet produces 2.52 tons of CO2 emissions a year. A full vegetar-ian diet reduces that to 1.5 tons. (That’s the equivalent of driving 8,000 miles in one year.) Just going vegetarian on weekdays reduces the yearly output to 1.8 tons. And for the adventurous, a full vegan diet (no eggs, milk or any other diary) drops the output to just .5 ton a year. A person’s carbon footprint consists of two parts, primary and secondary. Primary footprint measures direct emissions of CO2, in energy consumption and transportation like cars or planes. Secondary footprint refers to indirect C02 emissions, from the

products we use, their manufac-ture and eventual breakdown. The more we buy, the more emissions are generated. Whole Foods has set a stan-dard that to be considered local, a product cannot travel more than a day to get to its stores. California products include cheese products from Angelo and Franco, Aviara Farms strawberries, Bennett’s Honey Farm honey and Carlsbad Aquafarm seafood. Measure your carbon footprint at www.carbonfootprint.com or www.eatlowcarbon.org.How To Cut The Carbon Eating local makes a big differ-ence. Shifting entirely to a local diet reduces emissions equivalent to driving 1,000 miles. Changing your diet from meat and dairy to chicken, fi sh and vegetables for just one day a week has the same impact. Changing to a full veg-etarian diet (allowing eggs and dairy) saves 1 ton of emissions a year. Even a diet that is vegetarian only on weekdays is .7 ton a year. Going totally vegan saves 2 tons a year. And that’s per person. Eat organic. Organic farming methods for both crops and ani-mals have a much lower impact on the environment.

Cook smartly. Gas and electric ovens use less than 10% of their energy to actually cook. Eat more raw foods that do no need cook-ing, use the stovetop whenever possible, next best is microwave. Bring back home cooking, plan meals ahead to reduce waste, use leftovers. To sum up, buy local, reduce meat consumption and consider changing the way you cook.

—Gazette photo by Ashleigh OldlandGROWING GREEN. This garden is an example of locally-grown produce that results in a lower carbon footprint than some other foods.


BY HARRY SALTZGAVEREXECUTIVE EDITOR

There are an average of 76,344 environmentally-friendly acts oc-curring every day in Long Beach. And those are only the people who are boarding a Long Beach Tranit bus. Long Beach Transit is the pub-licly-owned nonprofi t agency that operates the city’s bus system, in-cluding the downtown Passports, Dial-A-Lift service and the water taxis and AquaLink boats that ply the city’s coast. The current pub-lic version of the bus system was formed in 1963, and tallied 8 mil-lion boardings that year. In 2011, that number had grown to nearly 28 million. “Our customers are mostly transit dependent,” according to Marcelle Epley, Transit’s chief administrative offi cer and senior vice president. “That means they don’t have a car and rely on the bus, or the bus and their bicycle, to get around. “It breaks down to about 75% transit dependent and 25% are riders of choice. We’re doing what we can to try to build that up.” Getting someone to ride pub-lic transit is, by defi nition, an environmentally-friendly act be-cause it gets them out of a car. It is so important that a fair share of Long Beach Transit’s budget comes from grants designed to improve air quality — that’s the idea behind giving a share of the state’s gasoline tax to public tran-

sit as well as to street repair. A prime example of how that works is Long Beach’s down-town Passport shuttle buses. When the program began, the city and downtown businesses helped subsidize the free service (the red buses start charging once they pass Alamitos Avenue heading east). When that subsidy ended in 2008, LBT tried to help offset costs by charging 25¢ a ride. “Ridership dropped precipi-tously,” Epley said. “It’s kind of a complex equation, because only 25% of our budget comes through the fare box. The rest is from grants, and the Passport’s state grant is based on ridership.” Free rides resumed, and rider-ship has gone back through the roof. That’s a lot of greenhouse gas-spewing vehicles left on the curb. Still, the perception of buses for many are those smoke-belching diesel vehicles you dreaded get-ting stuck behind at a stoplight. Just because a bus is carrying 40 or 50 people doesn’t mean it isn’t a source of pollution. Long Beach Transit has been on the cutting edge of bus tech-nology to cut down air pollution. Half of its current fl eet of 247 buses are hybrid gas-electric, and the rest burn ultra-low sulfur diesel. Those buses are equipped with particulate traps so there is essentially no particulate (soot) pollution escaping. And the agency isn’t sitting on its laurels.

“Even before the AQMD said we had to get rid of all diesel, we were transitioning our fl eet,” Ep-ley said. “In 2004, we went to the hybrid electric, and we were the only ones in Southern California going to electric-gas, not elec-tric-diesel… Last year, we took a CNG (compressed natural gas) proposal to the board for diversity of the fl eet, and they embraced it whole-heartedly.” That embrace translated into an order for 64 state-of-the-art CNG-fueled 40-foot buses. As they arrive, they will replace the remaining diesel-fueled buses, in-cluding the Passports. The switch to 40-foot buses may mean fewer stops, but the buses will handle more passengers than the 30-foot buses and will be much, much quieter, Epley said. To service the new CNG buses,

the board authorized spending $6.4 million to refurbish Transit’s north Long Beach facility, add-ing a CNG fueling station and shop. An added plus — the CNG buses built in Hawthorne, Calif., cost $430,000 each compared to $550,000 for the gas-electric hybrids. The company that built those buses was in Canada and has since gone out of business. Epley said that the greening of buses will continue. Already on order are 10 all-electric bus-es, expected to arrive in 2013 or 2014. Part of the work at the 6860 Cherry Ave. facility is to prepare a charging station for those buses. “We’re really a very green op-eration internally, too,” Epley said. “It’s a philosophy.” It’s also a business, and Epley said Transit realizes people are motivated by their own economic

well-being as much as a concern for the environment. People can save about $10,000 a year by leaving their cars at home. That sort of argument makes a lot of sense to students and fac-ulty at California State Univer-sity, Long Beach. When univer-sity administration realized bus riders didn’t take up precious parking spaces, a partnership was formed. Called the U-Pass, it al-lows CSULB students and staff to ride buses free with a valid ID during the school year. CSULB subsidizes the service. “It’s a real win-win,” Epley said. “And Belmont Shore has just passed a similar program for their employees.” For more, go to lbtransit.com or call 591-2301. There is an infor-mation center at the First Street Transit Mall, at 130 E. First St.

Long Beach Transit Looks For More Riders, Cuts Down Pollution

—Gazette photo by Harry SaltzgaverRIDING GREEN. The fi rst Long Beach Transit’s Compressed Natural Gas bus has arrived.


Rewards, Obstacles For Bike-Heavy Travel LifestylesBY JONATHAN VAN DYKE

STAFF WRITER

About fi ve years ago, Evan Kelly decided he didn’t really need a car anymore. Kelly, who is executive direc-tor of The HUB, has lived in the East Village Arts District, near Poly High School and just recent-ly moved to the Willmore area of town. In each location he has made his daily commute via bi-cycle — and he said he wouldn’t want it any other way. “It’s actually really conve-nient,” he said. “I don’t have to look or pay for parking any-more. I don’t have to worry about what’s in my car. I can usually ride up right to the front door of wherever I want to go.” When it comes to tasks like go-ing from work, meeting to meet-ing or stopping by the grocery store, all Evans said he needs is the one-speed mountain bike hy-brid he has. “If I was dependent on a car, it would be a pain,” he said. “I go from meeting to meeting, so like an hour later I would have to re-park and pay just to go 10 blocks away — and then do it all over again.” For Portfolio Coffeehouse owner Kerstin Kansteiner, she said that all the bike-friendly in-frastructure Long Beach recently has installed (i.e. bike lanes and racks) has made her and her hus-band more eager to ditch their car. “I think just personally, for my life these past few years — I live

close to my work and it just felt like it’s the right thing to do,” she said. “It defi nitely was kind of spurred by the city’s efforts to put in bike lanes and that just made it so much easier and I didn’t think I felt like I was in danger anymore riding my bike.” The social aspects came into play as well, she said, with friends being more eager to take to two wheels. Work may force her to use a car here and there, but if the trip can be done on bicycle, she does it that way. “I went from a fun use (for a bike) to now it’s something that allows me to accomplish errands — it’s more of a workhorse,” she said of her current bike that has a basket in front and panniers in the back. When push comes to shove, Jenny Stockdale (Seje Creative designer, OutSpoken associate) will tag along with a friend in their car — but it’s rare. “I sold my car in 2007 when I graduated and never looked back,” she said. The 6-mile commute to her job? Going on various errands? “Very attainable,” she said. “You can actually carry a surpris-ing amount of weight on your bi-cycle without it being a hassle.” Much like Kansteiner, Stock-dale said she has plenty of spots to put groceries and other objects. She also uses the panniers, which can carry upwards of 75 pounds on the back of her bicycle. “The upside is you don’t have

to spend $5-a-gallon and the downside is you can’t really cre-ate a big circle of infl uence,” she said. Still, everyone said that Long Beach was a good city to try out such a bike-heavy lifestyle — and not only because of the infra-structure. “It has been kind of eye open-ing, especially as a business owner, what a difference it makes having a bike rack nearby,” Kan-steiner said. There is less fear on the road, Kelly said, and it should be that way. “For a lot of people, I think it’s

hard for them to consider riding on the main streets if they’re not used to that,” he said. “But ev-ery main street has parallel side streets with just a few cars on them. “You become very aware of all the main streets, alleys and all the smaller streets. You have time to look at houses, and businesses and you can say hi to people on the street. It’s a lot more commu-nity friendly because you’re not locked in a bubble going 30 mph down the street.” Stockdale said she does advise people looking to take up a bike-heavy lifestyle to take a safety

class and know the rules of the road. “There are a lot of wrong ways to do it,” she said. Sometimes, it just takes confi -dence. Most people are consider-ate on the road, even if there are a few who get frustrated with the bikers, they said. “If you’re trying to hug the parked cars, between me and the car there is not a lot of room,” Kelly said. “Why even worry about it? I’m just going to take the entire lane and it’s much safer because the car knows it has to go around — it’s safer for me and them.”

—Gazette photo by Jonathan Van DykeSAFE RIDING. Long Beach cyclists have said that the city infrastructure, like this bike lanee along Third Street, has made it easier for them to ditch their cars.


BY RYAN ZUM MALLENSTAFF WRITER

When most people think of a world full of electric cars, they envision an advanced, futuristic and almost utopian environment where zero-emissions vehicles automatically fl ock together like birds while their drivers sip coffee and enjoy the view or read their iPads behind the wheel, emitting nary a particle along the way. Maybe there’s even a fl ying bus or two. Electric cars have always rep-resented the future. A world with more electric cars is headed to-ward a cleaner, better civilization.

That may be the case some day, but the coming Electric Vehicle (EV) revolution has so far put-tered its way into rough begin-nings. Buyers want to be a part of the future – and if that makes us eco-friendly, all the better – but above all, they want value. No matter what current EV you’re interested in buying, this is the is-sue you’ll have to come to terms with. Because electric cars are not exactly affordable at the moment, and in their rush to produce bet-ter and more effi cient cars since the 2008 market crash, automak-ers have created a golden era of effi cient and luxurious “regular”

cars for great prices that nearly renders EVs obsolete. And just when they were ready for their close-up. Turns out, it’s much easier to produce eco-friendly internal combustion vehicles than it is to produce affordable electric ones. (Remove V8, insert turbocharged Inline-4 and some low-rolling tires, and voilà!) But a perfect storm of necessity and activism began to gather around electric cars in the early 2000s, leaving automakers with no choice except to invest heavily in EV technol-ogy. As gas prices sky-rocketed around 2006, with help from fi lms like “An Inconvenient Truth” and “Who Killed The Electric Car?,” customers began to demand elec-tric effi ciency instead of Esca-lades. Recently, President Obama

has made headlines with his man-date that all automakers meet a fl eetwide standard of 54.5 mpg by 2025, and his hope that one mil-lion EVs are on America’s roads by just 2015. It’s unclear whether the country is on pace to meet that goal, but there certainly are more choices available today than ever before. Today, cost-conscious consumers can choose from the Nissan Leaf, coming-soon Ford Focus and the (extended-range electric) Chevro-let Volt. In the fl ashy segment lie the $100,000 Fisker Karma sedan and the $110,000 Tesla Roadster. Electric vehicles from BMW and others are in the pipeline, looking to replicate previous successes (Leaf and its urban-friendliness) while avoiding the mishaps (Volt and its penchant for liter-ally catching fi re, though GM has

since fi xed the issue). The two biggest concerns among EV buyers are range and value. The fi rst has already been solved — technology exists to keep electric cars going for hun-dreds of miles on one charge — but the latter is a major hurdle. It’s expensive to not only produce electric cars and their costly bat-teries, but to fund the R&D nec-essary to keep the technology ad-vancing. Tesla has found this out the hard way, accepting hundreds of millions of dollars from govern-ment energy loans — plus untold sums from customers leaving deposits fi ve years in advance — and still struggling to begin pro-duction on their 2012 Model S sedan. Even massive companies like GM aren’t able to keep the

More Electric, But Expensive, Car Choices Than Ever

—Photo courtesy PorscheENVIRONMENTALLY FLASHY. Porsche is developing the sporty 918 Spyder Hybrid car, which will take electric technology a step further for vehicles.

(Continued on Page 9G)


Chevy Volt from being the most expensive car, EV or not, in the midsize four-door market, and that includes competing models from Audi, Cadillac and BMW. It’s no longer a question of wheth-er customers want electric cars, or whether automakers can put them in showrooms. It’s whether or not Joe the Plumber can afford one. Before the country turns into an all-electric haven, the American public must become comfortable with the idea of owning and oper-ating one. Then automakers could sell more, and justify spending more to make them more attain-able. Automakers would do well to remember an old car racing mantra: Race on Sunday, sell on Monday. NASCAR and other rac-ing series used to serve as testing grounds for future mass-produced products, as the advancements that earned trophies on the track found their way into cars avail-able to the public. This is how features like dual overhead camshafts or even rear-view mirrors eventually became standard equipment on your Dodge Durango. Automakers

didn’t wake up one morning and draw the modern car from scratch — they took one idea after an-other, implementing what worked on the track, until over time we reached today’s ultimate era of both safety and performance. The same opportunity exists to-day with electric cars. Outfi tting everyday cars with features like regenerative braking and Start/Stop engine shut-off could be the fi rst step toward familiarizing the buying public with the benefi ts of eventual EV ownership. Porsche has taken this idea and run with it. In 2010, they debuted the 911 GT3 R Hybrid that devel-oped more than 450 horsepower, plus an extra 100 horsepower each from two electric motors at the front wheels. When the car nearly won the grueling 24 Hours of Nürburgring — due largely to less refueling — Porsche smashed the notion that electric cars have to be underpowered egg-shaped pods. Using technology they gained from the experience, Porsche will build the plug-in 918 Spyder Hy-brid. While the supercar can run just 16 miles on electric power and will cost a staggering $845,000, Porsche has thrown down the EV

gauntlet. Plans for an all-electric line — including the hallowed 911 Carrera — are in the works, and corporate partner Audi has borrowed tech to race their R18 e-tron Quattro at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this June. Once Porsche electrifi es their sports cars, could

an all-electric Audi fl eet be far off? After that, little brother Volk-swagen? It’s unclear who will be able to ford the electric car river of affordability fi rst. And there’s no doubt that the journey hasn’t started off as hoped. But the tech-

nology does exist, or it will soon, and the important part is that au-tomakers are fi nally committed to development that should have been in place for decades. That clean, effi cient, futuristic utopia still lies ahead. We’re just getting on the on-ramp.

—Photo courtesy ChevroletHIGH VOLTAGE. Chevrolet has a big ad campaign behind its Volt, but the car is still the most expensive four-door midsize.

(Continued from Page 8G)Electric Cars

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There’s dirt underneath their fi ngernails — even a smudge or two wiped across cheekbones — when the smiling gardeners are at work at their plots at the Long Beach Community Garden near El Dorado Park. Today, longtime gardener Bill Bonocora, 65, holds up a basket full of peas he’s just picked off the vine. He’s wearing a ball cap to keep the sun out of his eyes, kneepads for comfort when pull-ing weeds and his hands are cal-loused from the work of main-taining his 20-foot-by-30-foot garden plot. “I like fresh vegetables,” Bono-cora said simply when asked why he comes to the garden every day. “Those of us here know we will live longer if we keep moving and take some time to get some sun-shine each day. Plus, this food is good and healthy.” Bonocora’s plot is enough to supply his family with plenty of veggies for cooking his favorite Italian dishes, plus he gives away a lot of food — tomatoes, pep-pers, eggplants, squash, carrots, beats and more — to neighbors and friends. “Last year, I measured, and I

grew 500 pounds of tomatoes,” he said proudly. He and the other garden-ers, such as 70-year-old Lonnie Brundage, who serves as the pres-ident of the Long Beach Com-munity Garden Association, also commit to giving away a portion of what they grow to community charities that feed individuals in need. “Everyone in the garden plants an extra row, or more, for the community, and we have three plots grown specifi cally for chari-ties,” Brundage said. Volunteers at the garden deliver the food to charities on a daily basis. There are more than 300 plots at the garden, plus a communal fruit orchard, which is situated between the 605 Freeway and El Dorado Park. Brundage said there’s always a waiting list of people who want to be members — it can take up to a year to get a plot assignment. Members pay annual dues of $100 and must be Long Beach residents. Having a plot at the Long Beach Community Garden re-quires quite a commitment — and a good green thumb — from members, who typically spend at least fi ve hours a week watering, weeding, planting, harvesting or

otherwise maintaining their or-ganic space, Brundage said. But all that work is worth it, once you taste the results, she said while biting into a carrot freshly-pulled out of the ground. “Having a garden is all I’ve ever known,” she said. “I’ve al-ways had a garden, even growing up, and I wouldn’t know how not to do it. And, when I see young people here, it gives me hope that this place will be here long after I’m gone.” Brundage brings her whole family to the garden regularly, in-cluding her two children and fi ve grandchildren. “You can grow everything you can image here,” she said. “We’re teaching that to my grandkids… My grandson said it best when he was at my house recently and bit into a sweet pea. He said, ‘Nana, It (the taste) never gets old.’” She said the garden is a place for individuals and families from a variety of backgrounds and ages. Some members rely on the garden for food they otherwise might not be able to afford and others use the garden as a form of recreation or as a way to give back to the community. Brund-age, who often trades her vegeta-bles with her neighbors for other

foods, said she doesn’t need to buy much from the grocery store. Crossing the garden to get to Tyler Jackson’s plot means navi-gating a grid-system of plantings as well as a variety of windmills, scarecrows and even a rock that reads: “Gardeners know the best dirt.”

Jackson, like Brundage, has been gardening here since the Long Beach Community Garden opened in 1997. Wearing a straw sunhat, he bends over to pull some stubborn beets out of the soil. “I’ve always like to garden, and I’ve always liked to cook,” Jack-son said. “Because the building lots are small (in Long Beach) and there’s usually shade even if you have a backyard, this is the best way to garden.” For details about the Long Beach Community Garden, or to get on the waiting list for a plot, visit LBCG.org. There are other community gardens in Long Beach as well, and a good source of information about those is available online at LongBeachOr-ganic.org.

Community Gardeners Grow Enough Food To Share

—Gazette photo by Ashleigh OldlandFRESH PICK. Gardener Bill Bonocora holds up a basket full of peas he’s just picked off the vine.

BUILD IT GREENBUILD IT GREENBUILD IT GREEN


BY HARRY SALTZGAVEREXECUTIVE EDITOR

So you’ve gone and gotten one of those fancy alternative fuel ve-hicles. Where do you fi ll up? “It’s defi nitely something we’ve been talking about,” said Larry Rich, the city’s sustainabil-ity coordinator. “We’re interested in fi nding companies to install and maintain fueling stations. But we haven’t sent out any re-quests for qualifi cations or pro-posals.” The two primary alternatives available for consumers today are electric and CNG (com-pressed natural gas). There are other alternatives such as lique-fi ed natural gas and hydrogen fuel cells, but vehicles using those fuel sources are not being mass-produced. The most popular alternative vehicle is the hybrid, using both gasoline and electricity stored in batteries. They, and completely electric cars (the “golf cart” mod-el), require frequent recharging. “There aren’t really any public electric charging stations now,” Rich said. “Most vehicles can be plugged in to a regular 110-volt socket… For a faster charge, a lot of people will install a 220-volt outlet in their garage, and the fastest charge is a 440-volt out-let.” While there are not publicly-owned charging facilities, a num-ber of garages and companies have a charging station or two. Community Hospital of Long Beach recently fi red up a site for its doctors, and Landmark Square’s garage reportedly is one of several buildings with a plug-in in the downtown area. There are several ways to search for charging stations, from smart phone applications to Google Map searches. Limited range and power cur-rently available in all electric vehicles coupled with the avail-ability and relative cheapness of natural gas has made it the alter-native fuel of choice for fl eets, from the trucking fi rms serving the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to the trash trucks

rumbling down the city’s alleys. The largest vehicle natural gas supplier in the country, Clean Energy is headquartered in Seal Beach and has a near monopoly in Long Beach to supply both liquifi ed natural gas (LNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG). “Natural gas is cleaner and cheaper by far than gasoline or diesel,” said Chad Lindholm, Clean Energy’s vice president for the western region. “You can save up to $2 a gallon on natural gas… Our facility at the ports is the world’s largest truck stop for natural gas. We fuel up to 1,000 natural gas trucks there a day.” Still, driving a CNG car re-quires a bit of planning when it comes to making sure you don’t run out of gas. The better range of CNG vehicles is a help, and most cities now have at least one station. Long Beach drivers can fi ll up at the Gas and Oil Depart-ment facility on Spring Street, and downtown next to police headquarters at Magnolia and Broadway. Drivers don’t have to stay in the city, either. Frank McIlvenny, in the city’s Fleet Services Bu-reau, said he commutes from the Inland Empire every day in his CNG car. “There are CNG stations all over,” he said. “Google has incor-porated a search in Google Maps. Even the AQMD has an app for alternative fuels. I couldn’t do it (the commute) without CNG.” If the recent past is any indi-cation, the future of natural gas fueling stations is bright, Lind-holm said. His fi rm, started just 15 years ago, now has 1,100 em-ployees and continues to grow. “It’s true there’s not a fuel-ing station on every corner, and there probably never will be,” Lindholm said. “But it’s our goal to put a station every fi ve or 10 miles. We’re privileged here in Southern California because we already have a network of sta-tions in place… It’s spurred de-velopment across the country. We’re starting from the ports, and we’re creating America’s Natural Gas Highway. It’s a good thing.”

Clean Energy Suppliers Easier To Find As They Grow

—Gazette photo by Harry SaltzgaverFILLING STATION. Clean Energy operates the largest vehicle natural gas truck fi lling station in the country to supply haulers to the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.

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BY ASHLEIGH OLDLANDEDITOR

It’s obvious there’s a lot of wa-ter at the Aquarium of the Pacifi c, but what isn’t as apparent to visi-tors are the ways that aquarium staff receive, treat, use and reuse that precious liquid every day. Christopher Carr, a marine bi-ologist and life-support manager at the aquarium, oversees the water in the pumps, pipes and tanks, ensuring that his team of eight technicians are available 24 hours a day to monitor the water and do necessary repairs to the tanks or other equipment. “We have a little over 1.2 mil-lion gallons of water here,” Carr said. “We get that water two ways: One is a water company that pumps water from the ocean and treats it on their site and then brings it to us in 7,000-gallon truckloads; and another way is by barge … they tow a 75,000-gal-lon container and they fi ll it with raw seawater and then we pump that in.” Every drop of water, almost all of which is saltwater, being used in the exhibit tanks is treated and examined by aquarium staff to ensure that the water is clean and appropriately balanced for ma-rine life. Each exhibit has its own pipes, pumps and water separate from other exhibits. Although Carr said the aquar-ium loses more than a million gallons of water a year to evapo-ration, and some water must be used to clean the tanks or fi lters (which can become clogged with bird feathers, otter hair, fi sh food and more), the Aquarium of the Pacifi c continues to add new ex-hibits while at the same time con-serving more water. Currently, the aquarium uses between seven million and 10 million gallons of seawater a year. “We have increased our vol-ume since we opened, but every year we go down in water usage,” he explained. “This is thanks to backwash recovery (some of the water from exhibits can be reused in the sea lion or bird exhibits since those animals don’t breathe the water), and we are also doing

denitrifi cation using sulfur fi lters to keep the bacteria levels down.” Carr added that the aquarium is taking steps to stop importing as much water through trucks and barges by installing a new system that would pump water directly from the ocean into the aquarium, but that project is still in development. “The great thing about seawa-ter is that it is naturally abundant, but it would be great to pump our own from the ocean and be more green by reducing truck rides and decreasing our carbon footprint and labor and energy,” he said. Besides conserving seawa-ter wherever possible, Carr said the Aquarium of the Pacifi c also has made efforts to decrease the amount of water used by the 1.5 million annual aquarium visitors. “We are using waterless uri-nals, duel-fl ush toilets and we have sensors on the sinks,” he said. “The waterless urinal can save 40,000 gallons per urinal per year.” Also, the aquarium is using satellite-based climate control system that waters the aquari-um’s outdoor landscaping based on time of day and weather con-ditions, Carr said. Besides water usage, the Aquarium of the Pacifi c is going green in other ways, too. All new construction at the aquarium is LEED certifi ed, and the new penguin exhibit set to open this May will use recycled water from the backwash recov-ery system. Also, the aquarium has solar panels on the animal care building and the water-shed exhibit, variable frequency pumps (pumps that can be con-trolled so that they are not always on full power), skylights to natu-rally light some of the exhibits, a generator that runs on natural gas and more.

Aquarium Strives For Green, Sustainable Water Use

—Photo courtesy Aquarium of the Pacifi cTIME FOR A BIRD BATH. On display in one of the Aquarium of the Pacifi c’s outdoor bird exhibits, this creature can clean its feathers with water from the aquarium’s backwash recovery system.

“We have a little over 1.2 million gallons of

water here.”—Christopher Carr


BY JONATHAN VAN DYKESTAFF WRITER

In addition to a Middle Harbor Project that will signifi cantly cut down emissions in future years,

Port of Long Beach offi cials tout a number of initiatives that are up and running to cut down on harm-ful air pollution every day. At the end of last year, the

Clean Trucks Program went fi nal. Almost all of the 11,000 drayage trucks that service the port will be 2007-or-newer models. “For me, the biggest deal envi-

ronmentally is the Clean Trucks Program,” said Thomas Jelenic, port assistant director of envi-ronmental planning. “It has been tremendous in re-shaping the port and reducing our emissions. It has been enormously successful.” Now that it is complete, the Clean Trucks Program has re-duced diesel emissions by 90%. “There are two pollutants that we are most concerned about at the port,” Jelenic said. “The one we are most concerned with is particulate matter, which is close-ly associated with cancer risk and other health problems. The other pollutant is NOx, which is a pre-cursor to ozone and fi ne particu-lates. We need to reduce both to come into federal air quality stan-dards.” The 2007 standards address particulate matter by a great mea-sure, he said, noting that 2007 die-sel trucks versus just 2006 equals 90% cleaner air with concerns to particulate matter. The port al-ready is seeing many trucks at the potential next benchmark, 2010 vehicles, which address NOx concerns more, offi cials said. While the scale has been tipped signifi cantly toward reductions in trucks technology, offi cials said ships are catching up. “It’s not just clean trucks in isolation or vessels in isolation,” said Daniel Yi, port spokesman. “I think what the port’s Green Port Policy is doing is taking an overall approach.” About 80% of vessels slow down signifi cantly within 40 nau-tical miles and about 95% of ves-sels slow down within 20 nautical miles of the port. “They burn less fuel so there are less emissions coming out,” said Lee Peterson, port spokes-man.

Fuel requirements also are changing statewide, requiring vessel fuels that burn less sulfur when they are within 24 nautical miles from the coast. The results have shown about an 80% reduc-tion in particulate matter from ships. Because of all these emissions changes, offi cials said the Port of Long Beach as a whole has seen a 72% reduction in particulate mat-ter between 2005 and 2010. Ships also are taking advantage of shoreside power, which means operators can turn off their en-gines and plug into electric power when they dock in the port. Pier C has been completely up-dated with this technology and Pier G has seen partial upgrades. Within the next several years, of-fi cials said they expect more and more shoreside power — eventu-ally with it becoming the industry norm. “Going forward, what you’ve seen is we have been able to tackle these big sources and get huge emissions reductions,” Je-lenic said. “We still have a lot to do, but the pieces that will come in the future will be smaller and more diffi cult to get.” The Port of Long Beach and Port of Los Angeles both are in-vesting in the Technology Ad-vancement Program (TAP) — $1.5 million yearly each toward new technology like zero emis-sions trucks and vessel infrastruc-ture to reduce emissions — that offi cials said they hoped would continue good trends toward bet-ter environmental standards. “We’ve gotten the low hanging fruit and now we really need tech-nology to assist us to get the rest of these emission reductions,” said Renee Moilanen, port envi-ronmental specialist associate.

Port Trucks, Ships, Fuels Key Environmental Success

—Gazette photo by Jonathan Van DykePORT PROGRESS. Local offi cials and members of the public gather around a zero emission Tyrano truck.



Walking down the aisle and celebrating with friends and fam-ily can be one of the best days of a couple’s lives, and with all the aspects that go into planning a wedding, there are several op-tions that can allow for a fun party, while still protecting the environment. Hosting an eco-friendly wed-ding does take some extra work, but as long as you have the time and patience for it, the green event can be pulled off without a hitch. Ryan Choura, founder of Choura Events in Long Beach, has helped many couples plan “green” weddings across South-ern California during the last sev-eral years. “We’re one of only a few cater-ing companies to have complete sustainable menu, which are ex-tremely diffi cult to abide to,” Choura said. “If someone really wants to be green, it takes a big commitment to what you’re go-ing to spend, and what products you can really use to classify yourself as ‘green.’” When it comes to the tasty treats at weddings, it’s all about staying local. It’s important to choose produce that is locally grown and organic. Poultry must be free-range, and any fi sh that are harvested should be from healthy populations with low mercury and caught without nets. “Any beverages that are served need to be fair trade,” Choura added. “That means coffee and certain alcohols. Also, reusable packaging should be used, and we recommend serving the meals on china, or biodegradable prod-ucts. China is reusable, so it’s more green.” When the evening is over, it is recommended that any leftovers be donated to those who are hun-gry in the community. Choura said he suggests that couples do-nate to Food Finders. “The second portion on hosting a green wedding, is the rentals for tents, tables and chairs,” he add-ed. “On that, all aluminum must come out of recycled mills, and all cleaning products Choura uses to clean are biodegradable.” Choura also transports rent-als to events using tricks fueled with biodiesel — which is much cleaner for the environment, and removed smoke particles by 70%, according to Choura. And, it’s not just about food, rentals and transportation. The venue a couple chooses must also be taken into consideration. Many glamorous venues use a lot of electricity, water and unfriend-ly earth products to host events, but with the right research, stay-ing green can be done. Of course, choosing an outside, garden or beach wedding is the greenest way to go, but Choura said that The Grand ballroom, at 4101 East Willow St., is his most earth conscious space because of its ability to save on transporta-tion. “The greenest venue would re-ally be a venue that limited the amount of travel and movement of items,” he said. “The Grand does not require vendors to move

in and move out because the kitchen is already there, so it’s a reduction in the carbon foot-print.” A green wedding also extends to entertainment, and Redondo Beach-based DJ Jeff Murrell, is passionate about green parties. Murrell worked with Focus En-tertainment, and has helped cou-ples in Long Beach plan sustain-able events. “I do a lot of clubs and private events,” Murrell said. “Every-thing I do DJ-wise all has a zero carbon footprint.” This means that Murrell uses solar energy to power his DJ equipment. He travels to events in a truck that uses bio-diesel, and does not plug equipment into walls or grids, he said. “I also help couples with all the other aspects of having a sustain-able event too,” he said. “It’s a personal interest of mine, and the vendors I use are the most eco-friendly that are around.”

Focus Entertainment also is working on an eco-project called Eco Boom, which is a communi-ty of all things sustainable. Mur-rell hopes the effort will provide a system where all “green” vendors can be found for hire. “We also have a big event trailer that is a hybrid,” he said. “Inside, we have an educational experience that shows how so-lar works, and how we make bio fuel, with a comparison of how much energy we save and what you can power with it.” While outdoor weddings are the most safe for the environ-ment, Murrell said that it’s im-portant to remain cautious of kill-ing any grass or plants that may be growing near or at the location of the wedding. He added that he would love to see more venues take part in solar energy. “I would love to have more venues that are really interested in doing the green thing,” he said.

Tips, Trends For Tying A Green Wedding Knot

—Photo courtesy Choura EventsECO-FRIENDLY TOSS. Weddings, such as this one in Los An-geles, can be eco-friendly with thoughtful planning.



When that old television con-sole from 1987 fi nally stops working, or if that box of old electronics is still collecting dust in the garage, it’s time to start looking at a clean, safe way to dispose of it. It’s called e-waste. Long Beach Environmental Services Bureau can take care of removing those items, as well as other hazardous household ma-terials, at scheduled hazardous household waste/e-waste perma-nent collection centers and desig-nated weekend round-ups. “We have an e-waste program for all electronics,” said recycling manager Jim Kuhl. “It’s a fairly new law that bans the disposal of computer screens and TVs in landfi lls. There is now a special collection, where residents can call to get something picked up, and we will come out and collect it to get it recycled. Residents also can take it to household haz-ardous waste roundups to drop off any household hazardous waste.” The next household hazardous waste drop off weekend is set from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Satur-day, March 24, at Veterans Me-morial Stadium, located at 5000 E. Lew Davis St., near Long Beach City College. But it’s not just old monitors and television sets, household hazardous materials also include batteries, paints, cleaners with acid or lye, fl uorescent light bulbs and tubes, pool chemicals, cell phones and keyboards. Also, bulky items that are no longer of use to residents, such as a washer and dryer or another non-functioning appliance, can be picked up by the city as part

of its bulky item pick-up twice a year. E-waste also can be picked up as part of this program, as well. “I think people are learning more about this,” Kuhl said. “We can’t legally pick up trash that has these types of items in it, so we have to send out a special truck. But, residents are getting pretty good at knowing these items need to be set aside. It’s mostly heavy metals and the lead that is probably one of the big-gest components to keep out of landfi lls and out of the water.” Kuhl added that non-running cars also can be picked up to be scrapped for its metal and shipped overseas. Last year, about 3,000 cars from Long Beach were recy-cled, he said. For those who wish to get rid of used motor oil and fi lters, the city offers a collection by request only by calling (800) RECYCL2 by 4 p.m. While the closest permanent drop-off center for these types of waste is located in San Pe-dro, at 1400 N. Gaffey St., Kuhl said that a center for e-waste and household hazardous materials drop-off should open soon in Sig-nal Hill. “We are hoping it will be set to open this June,” he added. “Right now, residents can either wait for the annual roundup or go to San Pedro to drop off their materials, so we’re excited about having this more locally now.” The expected center will be lo-cated on California Avenue, be-tween Spring and Willow streets, and will be open on every Satur-day morning starting in the early summer. For more about e-waste, visit the website at www.longbeach-recycles.org, or call 570-2876.

City EmphasizesE-Waste Removal

—Gazette fi le photoLong Beach has continued a campaign of retrofi tting its street me-dians with drought-tolerant landscaping to save water.

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