The Advantages of Going Green

Regarding “Cleaner Diesel Fuels Concerns,” Sept. 1:

Your main focus appears to be on possible bad consequences of the switch to clean diesel fuel. However, it is indeed “really a big deal,” as the spokesman for the California Air Resources Board said, for our air quality when diesel vehicles go from burning as much as 500 parts per million of sulfur to 15 parts per million.

Even more significant is that ultra-low-sulfur fuel opens the door for modern, super-efficient diesel engines for passenger cars. In Europe, diesel cars delivering 60, 70 and even 80 miles per gallon are on the road.

Those of us who have experienced such performance with rental cars in Europe cannot imagine why such vehicles would not be a good thing here. For those who remember the sluggish, noisy and smelly diesels of the 1980s, the new diesels are a revelation.

John Schoenberg

Redondo Beach

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Regarding “The Greening of Work,” Aug. 27:

It was refreshing to read your report about the development trend to make workplaces environmentally friendly. Stories like this should finally dispel the notion that environmental friendliness hurts business.

One has only to look to companies like Toyota Motor Corp., which has shown -- in cars and in buildings -- that profitability and productivity can be maximized at the same time environmental impacts are minimized.

With global warming threatening to reach the point of no return, the future is in our hands. California should seize this pro-business, pro-environment opportunity and adopt statewide legislation requiring that all buildings of a certain size -- whether public or private -- go “green.”

As you reported, employees’ morale jumped when they moved into their green workplaces. Imagine the morale boost and economic and environmental benefits possible if people were able not only to work in green buildings but also to live in them.

Gloria D. Sefton

Trabuco Canyon

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Thank you for your article tying the benefits of “green” buildings to employee productivity and health. Green building practices have become incredibly important tools in the quest for a healthier environment and are quite fiscally responsible, thanks to the long-term savings in energy costs.

The city of Long Beach is excited to foster environmental stewardship in both municipal and private development. The City Council recently passed items to expand the city’s green building policy from municipal buildings to all developments and to ask for a feasibility study on requiring the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design silver certification for all projects using city funds.

Bonnie Lowenthal

Vice Mayor, Long Beach