L.A. Harbor Fuming Over Diesel Engines
I think those criticizing the boat cleanup plan are the ones missing the mark (Aug. 25). One of ecologist Barry Commoner’s many contributions to the environmental movement was his simple delineation of the planet’s operating rules, including: Everything goes somewhere. The boats need cleaning up, regardless of whether they are spewing exhaust around L.A. or anywhere else. As a resident of the “diesel death zone” around the ports, I say that it needs cleaning up. Now. Not in 2004. Now!
Andrea L. Bell
Long Beach
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The state has spent $25 million on diesel technology intended to reduce smog in the L.A. harbor area. As a result, new engines have been installed on 139 boats. That’s $179,856 of taxpayer money spent on each privately owned boat, boats that are reportedly deployed outside the harbor area. The program is not cost-effective and it isn’t helping solve the problem of smog in the harbor area. Is this an isolated waste of money, or is the program just one example of why the state has a multibillion-dollar budget deficit?
Thomas Keiser
Arcadia
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