Ports are key hubs for transport and trade. Yet, they harbor significant pollution, affecting the air quality and health of those living and working nearby.
October brought good tidings when the Biden administration, via the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Ports Program, announced $3 billion in funding to be used across 55 projects to reduce over 3 million metric tons (3.3 million tons) of carbon pollution at U.S. ports over the next decade, Inside Climate News reported. Over $200 million will go to ports in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio.
Previously, the Biden administration approved $7 billion to establish green hydrogen fuel hubs, including one serving states along the Great Lakes, to produce, store, and distribute clean hydrogen energy in nearby areas. Since hydrogen as a fuel requires an electrolysis process, "green" hydrogen is hydrogen that is produced using only renewable energy, such as solar power.
The EPA grants for midwestern port projects will support clean energy transition plans, port emissions inventories, and clean energy feasibility studies, among other activities.
Funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, these grants will also allow ports to transition their equipment and infrastructure from diesel to cleaner energy sources, such as solar power, lowering the overall cost of transition for ports while significantly reducing gas pollution at these hubs.
For example, the Detroit-Wayne County Port Authority in Michigan plans to ditch diesel and purchase new electric- or hydrogen-powered equipment, including forklifts, cranes, and boat motors, as Inside Climate News reported. The Port Authority will also upgrade port infrastructures to support solar and electric.
This is especially exciting for residents like Raquel Garcia, who lives in Wayne County near the Ambassador Bridge that feeds into the Port of Detroit. With over 10,000 freight trucks passing through the port daily, the surrounding neighborhoods are coated in heavy soot, as the reporting detailed.
"My house is completely covered [in soot]," Garcia said, per Inside Climate News. "You can literally write your name in it."
You can imagine the air quality in an area with blankets of soot over neighborhoods.
🗣️ Do you worry about air pollution in and around your home?
🔘 Yes — always 💯
🔘 Yes — often 😷
🔘 Yes — sometimes 😟
🔘 No — never 🙅
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
"We care about the air. There's a lot of kids in the neighborhood where I live," Garcia said.
Switching from diesel to clean energy–powered equipment will drastically improve air quality, subsequent quality of health, and soot-related problems for nearby port residents.
"Delivering cleaner technologies and resources to U.S. ports will slash harmful air and climate pollution while protecting people who work in and live nearby ports communities," EPA administrator Michael Regan commented, per Inside Climate News.
"This money is helping those [port] businesses make the investment in this clean technology," Mark Schrupp, Detroit-Wayne County Port Authority executive director, said, per Inside Climate News.
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
