Union Pacific cleaning up its act?

Looks like one of Southern California' railroad powerhouses is making efforts to be more green:

Union Pacific Railroad will spend $300 million over the next several years to reduce pollution and improve efficiency at its container facility at the Port of Los Angeles, the company announced today. At the Intermodal Container Transfer Facility, located five miles north of the San Pedro Bay Port complex, Union Pacific officials plan to replace 10 diesel-powered gantry cranes with 39 electric-powered, rail-mounted cantilever gantry cranes. Those new cranes will allow the company to remove 71 of its 73 diesel- powered truck tractors. The remaining two trucks will be replaced with vehicles that run on alternative fuels. (from CNS)

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Comments

[annonymous]

Not soo fast buddy;
This company, just prior to X-mas layed off thousands of it's employees w/out provication or probable cause.
Many of these poeple were veterans such as myself.
I and family are now facing a very uncertian future to include the possibility of becoming homeless as a result of Union Pacific.
Prior to coming to work for this company my family and I were a happy middle class unit, owning a house and contributing to this country's economy. Now we can barely afford to put food on the table,,, and forget paying the bills. All the while Jim Young, UP/CEO, makes roughly $12 million annually and UP records record profits.
And what's wrong with America!!!?????

[TrafficBulldog.org]

TrafficBulldog.org would like to take this opportunity to thank Union Pacific for taking voluntary early actions to clean our air and reduce its affects on Global Warming.

As the California Climate Change Initiative (Assembly Bill 32, AB 32) moves forward, and also as we try to just get the Air Pollution in Los Angeles and especially Long Beach under control by 2014, this is truly a caring gesture toward our community and a long and healthy relationship.

The children at the local schools in Long Beach should start a letter writing campaign to thank Union Pacific for helping them live healthier lives.

They call it the South Coast Air Basin because our air is trapped here like a bowl. Notice that the smoke from yesterdays fire is hanging in the air still today and likely for a while. The ocean breeze gets backed up against the Angeles and Santa Monica Mountains. The pollution just sits here. Pollution from the ports is a particular problem with the amount of diesel vehicles in operation. Not to mention the ships that arrive from foreign ports may not be so clean to begin with.

This action by Union Pacific will make everyone in Los Angeles County, San Gabriel Valley, and even Orange County breathe a little easier.

There is something that each of us can do to help the air. We can look to forming carpools. Sites like

http://ridebay.com

are there to help people form carpools and help the driver get reimbursed. Basically a free market for rideshare.

When we rideshare, we help out in many areas such as :
- reducing our own carbon footprint
- cutting down on our own pollution
- helping improve traffic so there is less stop an go ... which leads to less belching of exhaust by trucks and less needless idling

Oh, and the price of gas would get dented if people embraced rideshare.

What is your favorite reason for you to take action? Cleaning up this planet is going to take action by all of us.

Wouldn't you like to see a blue sky over Los Angeles?

Or better, wouldn't you like to take a nice deep breath of clean air?

http://trafficbulldog.org is a commuter advocacy group committed to helping people form carpools and establish that is is only fair for the driver to get reimbursed in rideshare.

Please join the conversation.

[Richard]

Instead of that ridiculous $40 billion "Fly California" high speed passenger train, how about $40 billion to grade separate and electrify the railroad freight lines in this State; particularly to and from the joint LA/LB Ports?

As a side benefit, electrify Metrolink too.