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Sustainable Portland September 27, 2008 Reporting by Roddy Scheer Public transportation is a big part of Portland’s green appeal. If you’re into living green, Portland, Oregon is your city. The rose city retained its dominance atop website SustainLane’s bi-annual “green city” rankings, released this past week. SustainLane, a website and online community which describes itself as “the web's largest people-powered guide to sustainable living,” assesses the most populous 50 cities in the U.S. every other year to get a read on which are the most—and least—sustainable places to live.   No one was surprised that Portland topped the list once again, given what SustainLane calls the city’s “visionary” implementation of strict land use policies, an urban growth boundary, density requirements, and encouragement of sustainable development. San Francisco, Seattle and Chicago each retained their respective #2, #3 and #4 spots from 2006 this time around, while a greener New York City replaced Oakland as #5. Boston, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Baltimore rounded out the top ten. At the other end of the list, Mesa, Arizona got the dubious distinction of finishing last, while Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Las Vegas, and Memphis helped bring up the rear as the least green major U.S. cities. To find out where your city ranks, and to learn more about the methodology behind the rankings, check out SustainLane.com. Source: Sustain Lane

Gray Wolf Back on the List September 27, 2008 Reporting by Roddy Scheer The population of some 1,450 gray wolves in the northern Rockies has gained protection. Last week, the White House reinstated federal Endangered Species Act protections for the gray wolves of the northern Rockies. The population of some 1,450 wolves had been “delisted” by the federal government just this past March.   “This is great news for the wolves. We are one step closer to true recovery of a native to the northern Rockies that was driven to extinction in most places,” Doug Honnold of the nonprofit environmental law firm Earthjustice told reporters. Earthjustice was instrumental in getting the delisting overturned. The group filed suit against the federal government, calling into question the science behind the original delisting decision. A federal judge ruled in Earthjustice’s favor, ordering that hunters freshly licensed by their states (Idaho, Montana and Wyoming) to kill wolves would have to lay down their arms. The ruling judge also said that conservation groups would likely succeed in claims that Wyoming’s management of wolves was inadequate and that the three-state wolf population was not yet large enough, and not well enough connected geographically, to ensure adequate reproductive rates. Apparently the pressure was enough for the White House to give in on the issue, so it overturned the delisting pending further scientific review. “It’s time for the government to address connectivity and the failure of state laws to adequately protect wolves,” added Honnold. “We are close to having healthy sustainable populations of wolves and now the government needs to come up with a new approach that gives us a self sustaining wolf population as required by federal law.” Source: Earth Justice

COMMENTARY: Laying Down the Port Law The Port of Long Beach Sets Ambitious—and Strict—Green Standards (2nd in a 2-Part Series) By Mara Schechter On Sunday, October 4, the Port of Long Beach is letting visitors and local families in on all its green efforts, with its Green Port Fest. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the seaport is giving away bus passes (to support public transportation) and offering free harbor cruises (it has 35 miles of waterfront) and letting visitors get an insider’s look at the cargo shipping operations via a train ride. What’s so impressive about Long Beach’s Port? It’s environmental commitment is setting the bar for ports across the globe.   Starting October 1, no trucks built before 1989 will be allowed to drive onto the Port of Long Beach’s terminals. © Photos, Port of Long Beach In 2005, the Port of Long Beach (POLB) adopted its Green Port Policy, which establishes guiding principles for the Port that puts the environment first. “We made the Green Port Policy the center of our operations,” says Bob Kanter, the Manager of Environmental Affairs and Planning, who adds that environmental surveys are the first step in any infrastructure updates at the port. “The Green Port Policy makes [sustainability and environmental concerns] integrated and accountable.” One of their boldest new policies is the Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP), which was adopted in 2006 by the POLB and the Port of Los Angeles (POLA) in conjunction with local, state, and federal agencies in an effort to reduce the area’s air pollution by 45% by 2012. As part of the CAAP, they are implementing a Clean Trucks Program, which will cost $2 billion and should reduce the area’s air pollution by 80% by 2012. Most of the $2 billion will be generated by a cargo fee and will go to retrofits and truck replacements. No Old Trucks Starting on October 1, 2008, no trucks built before 1989 will be allowed to drive onto the Port’s terminals. On January 1, 2012, this policy will get a lot stricter: only trucks that meet 2007 federal emission standards (which apply only to new trucks) will be allowed to drive in the Port. This has “never been done in the world before,” says Art Wong, the Port’s Public Information Officer. He realizes that incredible challenges will come with having “17,000 trucks replaced in 5 years and [having to] still keep goods moving and make sure people [like drivers] can make a living.” Mario Cordero, President of the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners, has said that, “This is the most ambitious, far-reaching clean-air plan ever undertaken by any seaport.” How can they do this? Well, the truckers are coming onto their property. “We don’t have authority to tell ships or trucks that they have to be clean, but it’s our property, and we have the right to determine the safety of trucks,” says Art Wong. Adds Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster, this is in line with the “proprietary standard,” in which “you can regulate who comes on your property.” A 2007 article in the LA Times, “Opposition Grows to Ports’ Clean Air Plan,” discusses the trucking companies that are against the ports’ Clean Trucks Program and who claim that the ports are overstepping their bounds. Within the article, an expert asserts that, “The ports are trying to fill the vacuum that has been left by [the government’s] lack of action.” Natural Gas Trucking From diesel-electric cranes to a hybrid tugboat, the Port is experimenting with ways to cut emissions. Not all the trucking companies are upset. Brian Griley, President of Southern Counties Express, says that his trucking company’s work is 70% Port-related. He saw the Clean Trucks Program as a business opportunity, and has now built what he calls a “Green Fleet” of 50 Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) trucks. LNG trucks fit into the Clean Trucks Program’s guidelines because they emit at least 50% less nitrogen oxide, 80% less particulate matter, 100% less sulfur dioxide and 20% fewer greenhouse gases than similar heavy-duty diesel trucks. Griley has now set up on-site fueling and maintenance stations, run by LNG provider Clean Energy and engine manufacturer Westport Innovations, respectively. With some previous LNG trucks, Griley was skeptical, because they did not have enough horsepower, torque, range, or mileage for heavy-duty drayage (short-haul, or local, trucking). But then he saw that Westport was using diesel engines with LNG fuel, which were “perfect for this application,” except that their 325-350 mile range means they have to be refueled every day. “Fuel cost [of LNG] today is significantly less” than diesel, and “will always be cheaper than diesel,” says Griley. There is a risk in spending so much money and effort on LNG, especially since, according to the Clean Truck Program’s rules, Griley must scrap an old truck for every new one they get funding on. Even though he has a grant, he has to pay income taxes on the grant money and ends up paying about $60,000 per truck. He is “hoping that it pans out. It is a gamble, but I feel confident enough that there’s been enough legwork done.” The company has been using one LNG truck for two years already, and sees that it is up to par with their other trucks. “My drivers love this truck,” he says. The “best success story” is that “one company driver’s wife can tell what truck he was driving that day based on the smell of his clothes,” since the LNG truck, unlike diesel, leaves no smell. In general, “people are liking the alternative fuel,” he says. “It’s the cool/right thing to do.” More Environmental Steps With its extensive initiatives, the Port of Long Beach has been recognized as an environmental leader in the industry. Environmental activities at the Port also include improving cargo-handling equipment, expanding on-dock rail systems (which eliminate the need for trucks), reducing traffic congestion, protecting wildlife, and experimenting with new technologies. These actions are based on 7 main areas: air, water, wildlife, soil/sediment, sustainability, community engagement, and traffic/efficiency, as part of the Green Port Policy. Only some of the Port’s steps are detailed below. Long Beach Container Terminal, Inc. (LBCTI), one of the companies leasing space from the Port, has been using diesel oxidation catalysts and low-sulfur diesel fuel in its yard tractors, vehicles that move containerized cargo within the terminal. Now its yard tractors, like some used in other terminals, are equipped with Tier 3 (the strictest emissions standard used now) engines. LBCTI is also among the terminals using some electric cranes to unload cargo from ships. It is also trying out a diesel-electric hybrid crane that reduces emissions by 70-80%, and is testing some LNG and hybrid yard hostlers, or tractors. The Port has also helped fund a hybrid tugboat. Since tugboats idle about 75% of the time, and hybrid tugboats can use diesel when they need power but can rely on electricity the rest of the time, that means emissions can be reduced by 75%. Says Kanter: “projects like that are so exciting.” Experiments with ships’ emissions, at least until every ship and terminal is equipped for shore-side electricity, include placing a bonnet with an air scrubber on top of a ship’s smokestack, which reduces emissions by 90% and is known as a “Sock on a Stack.” The Port also began a program known as OffPeak, which keeps gates for trucks open on Saturdays and for more hours during the week, and charges trucks that come to transport goods during the day. Now, about 30-40% of the cargo is transferred at night, which lightens the traffic caused by freight transport on highways. To protect wildlife, the Port uses mitigation credits, and has put “millions of dollars into wetland restoration,” says Wong. They also monitor their waters for chemicals and pollution, most of which comes from upstream. Part of their property is known as a brownfield, or a site that was tainted by industrial use, so they have had to sequester soils that were contaminated years ago, before the land belonged to them. Many people involved with the Port feel strongly against forcing people in other regions or future generations to deal with their problems. Jobs in Cleaner Trucks According to Bob Foster, the “let somebody else pay for it” attitude is “horrible public policy.” Gail Schwandner, the Dean of Workforce Development at Long Beach City College (LBCC), who has entered into a partnership with the Port, agrees: “We cannot just ship our pollution someplace else. Nobody else is going to want it or stand for it.” Schwandner is aware of the other activities going on at the Port, such as the “Sock on a Stack” concept and clean-diesel trains. “Trucks are only one piece of the picture,” she says. Schwandner, however, who is always searching for high-tech jobs that will give someone with a two-year degree a good income and benefits, particularly supports the Port’s Clean Trucks Program. When she heard about the CAAP’s timeline for the Clean Truck program, she took advantage of the opportunity. About 50% of the trucks will be clean diesel and about 50% will use Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and LNG. With the time limit (October 1, 2008) in mind, she wrote a grant to the state to start an LNG training program at the college. “If LNG is going to be brand new, we should be training people in LNG because there will be a huge gap in jobs,” she says. The college has partnered with Kenworth, which builds trucks, and Westport, which produces engines, on this project. The partners see the “critical need” and are having their incumbent workers trained by the college. The college also developed a program with a local high school, Cabrillo High School, which makes it easier for them to receive an Advanced Transportation and Alternative Fuels certificate. Renee Moilanen, of the Port’s Communications Division, believes that LBCC’s program is “so critical because come October 1, we are fundamentally changing” the truck, engine, and fuel market in Southern California. “To the extent that we can minimize the disruption of industry here, that’s huge for us. The Port created the market and is moving the market,” which is both “exciting and scary,” she says. “If it hadn’t been for the CAAP/ Green Trucks program…” Schwandner reflects. “I can’t train young people for jobs that I hope are going to be out there. You cannot train people for jobs that don’t exist.” Schwandner notes that this “ability to mobilize a workforce is extremely unique. Every other port city in the country (and probably the world) is looking at this.” A Higher Bar for Ports Kanter asserts that, “We have set the standard in a lot of areas. The CAAP is a worldwide standard. Other ports are unhappy because we are setting the bar pretty high.” The Port hopes to be a leader and “a model for other ports,” says Wong, mostly because change needs to happen soon. “Port communities around the world are recognizing that [the goods movement industry] poses serious health risks and something has to be done about it,” he says. Foster and other Port leaders have recently taken trips to ports in Asia and Europe in order to exchange information and engage in environmental partnerships. Another “part of that was to tell our customers that we’re serious about this [environmental protection]; this is not a fad, it’s a way of life,” says Foster. He adds that, “all over the world, if international trade is going to survive and thrive,” all ports will “have to be much more efficient and cleaner.” Making the Right Demands Consumers need to become more aware of how their demand for products has far-reaching environmental consequences. It would be ideal if stores started publishing where their goods come from, so consumers could make more informed purchases, but right now they have no obligation to do so. Companies can get away with a lot that way. Brian Griley says, “You’d be shocked if I told you the companies” that turned his Green Fleet down because it costs more money and yet are portraying themselves as green. Steinke also wishes that someday we’d know more about where products come from. “The approach we’d love to get to is a label that reads, “‘Brought to you by the Port of Long Beach,’” he says. “But the consumer doesn’t reach that far back and doesn’t care.” There could be serious trouble if we don’t start caring, though. According to that Green Car Congress report, the International Maritime Organization (the regulating body with few environmental standards) estimates that ships’ emissions could increase 72% by 2020 if no one makes changes. Luckily, the Port of Long Beach is trying to help build a network of seaports committed to making those changes. There is, however, one troublesome question on people’s minds: with trade growing at such a rapid rate, will we actually see any decrease in pollution? CONTACTS: The Port of Long Beach; Long Beach Container Terminal; Southern Counties Express Green Fleet MARA SCHECHTER was an editorial intern at E who attends Georgetown University.

Unleash the Wasps Controversial Measures to Save the Nation’s Ash Trees By Alicia Graef Hundreds of Chinese wasps, each no larger than a sesame seed, were released in Michigan last summer in the latest effort by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to control the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB).   The larvae of the Emerald Ash Borer (inset) eat the inner bark of ash trees and leave them for dead. © Photos: CFIA The tiny iridescent green beetle hitched a ride in cargo from Asia to Michigan in the 1990s and decimated more than 25 million ash trees in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and On-tario before bringing its path of destruction to Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania. The assassin beetle attacks all species of ash, regardless of a tree’s health. The adults nibble on the foliage, but it’s the larvae that finish them off, eating the inner bark of the trees and blocking the movement of water and nutrients from roots to leaves. The USDA Forest Service estimated that it could cause approximately $7 billion in additional costs to state and local governments and landowners to remove and replace dead and dying ash trees over the next 25 years. The federal government has already spent millions in the past five years trying to control the spread of EAB by felling trees near known infestations. But the pest continues to spread. Last April, the USDA declared biological warfare, releasing three species of imported wasps, the EAB’s natural predator. The species are known as Oobius agrili, Tetrastichus planipennisi and Spathius agrili. When studied in China and in labs in Michigan and Massachusetts, the wasps were found to bore into the tree’s bark and lay eggs both in and on EAB’s larvae and eggs to prevent them from hatching. “We expect the wasps will establish,” says Dr. Leah Bauer, a researcher at the Forest Service’s North Central Research Station. “They are efficient at finding their host. But we may lose a lot more trees yet. It can take five years to see any effect.” This spring, the Forest Service took samples of trees from the five release sites in Michigan and brought the EAB egg sacks back to the lab to watch for the wasp’s establishment. “They’re easy keepers,” says Bauer. “We feed them water and honey. To get them to lay eggs, we have to dissect a branch and find the right temperature, humidity and lighting.” So far, Spathius has been seen on the larvae and Oobius and Tetrastichus are expected to follow. As part of a five-year plan of the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), a new lab is being established in Michigan in a cooperative effort with the Forest Service, which will be responsible for the breeding and scheduled releases of the wasps, says Sharon Lucik, public affairs specialist for APHIS. “Public comments on this were all over the broad spectrum—some very much in favor, others concerned it would cause more problems,” says Lucik. More than 25 million ash trees have been lost across Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and Ontario since the Emerald Ash Borer arrived in the 1990s. “Bringing in an exotic species to control an invasive species can create a lot of problems,” says Dr. James Dunn, a former forest entomologist for the Forest Service who now teaches biology at Grand Valley State University in Michigan. “Once it’s out there, there’s nothing we can do. It’s going to cost the taxpayers, we can’t control it and it’s got a low probability of working. They know that,” he says. “The researchers are on mission-driven research. They’re getting paid to find a species. What bothers me the most is they should at least be honest about the probabilities.” The use of biological control has had mixed results in the past. When the Asian lady beetle was released in the U.S. to control aphids, it did a fantastic job, but it didn’t stop there. It spread across the country, becoming a household pest in some areas while leaving native ladybugs with little or nothing to eat. It’s also suspected to have played a role in the extinction of the nine-spotted ladybug, New York state’s official insect. When the mongoose was introduced to Hawaii, Jamaica and Puerto Rico to control rats in sugarcane, it developed a taste for ground-nesting birds, reptiles and amphibians. It now costs these areas due to the loss of native species and poultry and is responsible for at least three species extinctions. “Native species have a better probability of controlling the invasive species. It can take years, but they adapt and take it over,” says Dunn. “It’s a better way to let nature rebalance itself than to bring in more exotics.”  Risk studies on the wasp introduction looked at what other larvae they may attack, says Lucik. The wasps were found to be host-specific to EAB. However, the federal proposal to release the wasps acknowledges, “there is a slight possibility they could move from the target insect (EAB) to attack non-target insects,” adding that “the resulting effects could be environmental impacts that may not be easily reversed.” Dr. Clement Hamilton, vice president of arboretum programs and director of research at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois, says the risks are worth it. “The potential benefits of introducing the three parasitoid wasps significantly outweigh the risks,” says Hamilton, “especially when one considers the ecological and economic devastation that EAB is creating in the absence of effective control.” The use of biological control does present a reasonable alternative to the use of pesticides and cutting. Researchers are now developing an aerial spray of Bt, the pathogen used in genetically modified foods to repel insects. “We have a good Bt that kills EAB and we’re working with companies to develop the spray,” says Bauer. Unlike the wasps, which will reproduce naturally, the aerial spray will have to be repeated at substantial costs, and with toxic side effects. In addition, 47 states have adopted a trapping program. The traps are two-feet long, three-sided and purple, and will be hung from ash trees and placed around the trunks. “They’re going to be a spectacle,” says Lucik. CONTACTS: The Emerald Ash Borer, www.emeraldashborer.info; Purple EAB Survey, www.purpleeabsurvey.info.

Turn It Around Recycling Is a Massive Industry with Lots of Investment Potential By Rona Fried When we invest in recycling companies, we’re investing in energy efficiency—it takes much less energy to make new materials from old ones than from fresh cut trees or mined metals. We’re investing in climate change solutions because when we use less energy to make products, we create fewer emissions. And recycled materials are a key feature in green buildings, which offer additional solutions to climate change.   © Elizabeth Prager Then there are the benefits we usually associate with recycling: reducing waste and protecting forests and habitats from mining and clear cutting. There are many mid-to-large well-established recycling companies, and including some in our portfolios affords us less volatile investments than just renewable energy companies alone. Eric Prouty from Cannacord Adams, one of the analysts interviewed for a recent “Investing in Recycling” report, says, “Ever-escalating energy prices, commodity price inflation and scarcity, and global environmental concerns have coalesced into a ‘perfect storm’ for the [recycling] industry.” Recycling Takes the Lead The recycling industry has become a backbone of our economy, pulling in $236 billion in revenues last year and employing over a million people. The industry accounted for about 2% of the U.S. gross domestic product in 2007. At the current rate of resource depletion—especially from emerging economies like China—the world can no longer satisfy demand for paper and steel from virgin materials alone. We couldn’t print a newspaper, build a car or ship a product in a cardboard box without recycled materials. In fact, two-thirds of the steel produced in the U.S. is made from recycled materials. Making iron and steel from scrap requires 74% less energy. Making aluminum from scrap requires an astonishing 96% less energy than from virgin minerals. As of 2005, 51% of paper was recycled, using 36% less energy and far fewer chemicals. Plastic is the laggard: Although recycled plastic reduces energy use by 80%, while also lowering petroleum use, only 17% of plastics are recycled. Industrial recycling has gone far beyond municipal recycling—that’s where the action is. Over the past decade, with the advent of “corporate environmental responsibility,” businesses have come to rely on recycling to lower energy costs, conserve raw materials, minimize waste streams and reduce pollution. With a global market, very high costs for virgin materials and overwhelming demand, recycling helps companies achieve competitive advantage and profitability. Nearly every product is now recycled—paper, metals, car parts and carpet. Electronics are the newest category. Extremely short product lifecycles and the proliferation of cell phones, iPods and Blackberrys have made electronics the fastest growing waste stream worldwide. When the U.S. shifts to digital-only television in 2009, as many as 100 million TVs could be obsolete. Unbelievably, about 70% of the heavy metals and 40% of the lead in U.S. landfills seeps out of dumped electronics, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Eighty percent of e-waste is shipped to Asia and Africa, where it is simply dumped after the metals are salvaged. The European Union passed two major laws—Restriction of Hazardous Substances and the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive—which require e-cycling as well as green product design to minimize hazardous chemicals and waste. In the U.S., manufacturers have instituted product take-back. Thirty-five states have banned electronics from landfills, setting the stage for the emerging e-cycling industry. Industry Giants There are about 40 publicly traded recycling firms worldwide and thousands of privately held companies. They operate in a wide range of fields: recycling ap-pliances, cell phones, mining waste, asphalt, paper, metals, vehicles and just about every mineral and product you can think of. Some of the better-positioned companies include metals recyclers Metalico (AMEX: MEA) and Schnitzer Steel (Nasdaq: SCHN), auto parts recycler LKQ Corp. (Nasdaq: LKQX) and the largest recycler in the world, Sims Group (NYSE: SMS). As the price of petrochemicals rises along with oil, Interface (Nasdaq: IFSIA) benefits along with the recycling industry, because it uses a high percentage of recycled materials in its carpets. Matt Patsky, managing partner for Winslow Green mutual funds, says, “The recycling industry truly offers us an important hedge against this tough market, especially the metals recyclers.” RONA FRIED, PH.D., is the president of www.SustainableBusiness.com .