US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P.
Jackson toured the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles on April 19 to get a
first-hand look the ports’ efforts to clean the air and water in the San Pedro
Bay.
During her visit to the Port of Long Beach, Jackson boarded
a port pilot boat to view hybrid tugboats and a plug-in electricity berth for
oil tankers. At the Port of LA, Jackson observed fifth-grade students aboard a
“floating environmental science lab,” a boat tour program facilitated by Think
Watershed, a collaborative partnership whose mission is to educate students
about the watershed’s impact on the marine environment and to inspire them to
become stewards of the environment.
“I’m excited to be here to see the great things the Port of
LA is doing to protect the waters of this community, and to open up
opportunities for environmental education to the next generation,” Jackson said.
“These students know that this is their water, and they’re taking an active
role in its protection.”
While touring Long Beach, Jackson also saw a locomotive from
the nation’s cleanest short-line railroad, climbed into the cab of a
cutting-edge zero-emission big-rig truck built thanks to funding from the port’s
Technology Advancement Program, and met with Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster and
Harbor Commissioners Doug Drummond and Rich Dines.
Her visit to the port complex, which came in observation of
Earth Day, also coincided with the 40th anniversary of the Clean
Water Act.
