Congressman Lowenthal Plans to Fight Climate Change

Steve Propes

With Democrats taking control of Congress in the most recent mid-term election, Congressman Alan Lowenthal is starting his fourth two-year term representing Long Beach in Washington D.C.

CSULB professor Lowenthal, who also hosted a Long Beach Area Citizens Involved (LBACI) public affairs cable access TV show, decided to run for a seat in the Long Beach City Council in 1991. That’s when environmental issues became part of his agenda.

“In late 1991, early 1992, when I ran for council, my issues were affordable housing” and similar LBACI causes. “When I was campaigning, I walked the Second District to the ports from Redondo Avenue. On Ocean Blvd and at the marina, residents wondered, what is this black soot? The outdoor furniture gets black, flags were black. I told them I don’t know, but I’ll work with you to find out and fix it. I found lots of people before me raised these issues, but little was done. I learned about port pollution air along the freeway, learned about the asthma rates, about studies that called this ‘the diesel death zone.’”

The problem turned out to be coke piles in the port. “We didn’t know the health impacts on the quality of life. Air quality became a public health issue, and since then I’ve dedicated 25 years of my life” to the environment.

At first, “the ports said you’re going to destroy the industry. I knew if they changed their business model, development and the protection of air quality could be complementary to each other. The port become a magnet of modernization and has made tremendous strides.

“These impacts are based on a carbon-based economy and to get to zero emissions, we have a long way to go to modernize our industrial base and infrastructure,” said Lowenthal, who is critical of President Trump’s rejection of the notion of climate change. “There isn’t optimism about dealing with global warming.”

A 1,600-page report of “climate assessment required by our own government by our own scientists” was made public the day after Thanksgiving when cable news was largely on hiatus, which Lowenthal believes was designed to hide it. “It was a terrible indictment. Climate change is real, fires, droughts, sea levels rising, agricultural losses and devastating impacts on California and the president said he doesn’t believe it.”

“The president ran on a populist notion of infrastructure, but there is no money for that. Of his $1.6 trillion infrastructure plan, half of that would be private sector money, half by the states. Only $200 million by the feds. Nobody bought into it. We really need to do it.”

However Lowenthal isn’t just critical of federal plans. He also critiqued California Governor Jerry Brown’s project, high speed rail, saying it was a mistake to start the construction at the midway point where few people would use the service. “Where are the passengers?” Lowenthal asked.

As to Lowenthal’s upcoming committee assignments, though the most requested committees are appropriations, ways and means and energy and commerce, “I was not asking for one of those three committees.” Lowenthal is co-chair of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, which includes the port.

He described an issue with the harbor maintenance fee, used to support other ports that are not revenue positive. “Long Beach and Los Angeles are the largest in world, and major ports are donor ports.” The way the law was written, the harbor maintenance fee money must be used for dredging. “We don’t have dredging problems. We need more flexibility of the money we are collecting in the harbor trust fund, but we can’t spend much of it.”

Then there are the investigations promised by congressional committees. “We’ll have oversight over issues of the Department of Interior and Transportation and possibly issue subpoenas under the chairman of the committee, Peter DeFazio of Oregon. “Much of what the house will do is look over conflicts of interest.”

Lowenthal is also the chairman of Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources. “There is no energy policy, how we are going to pay for it? How do we promote renewable energy, almost all of which comes from federal lands. How do we change from carbon-based and create more of a balance and promote wind and solar?”

When interviewed, the government shutdown was approaching three weeks. As to its impact on local economy, “It’s going to keep expanding, it’s not a linear thing. There are greater and greater impacts on contractors and people not able to make payments. It affects the Port of Long Beach and the ability to move goods in and out. Customs workers, TSA and air traffic controllers are going to run out of money in a high-stress job.”

Of the new Congress, Lowenthal said the “temperature has changed tremendously. I believe the Republican Party has left the people.”

steve@beachcomber.news

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