Environment

Oakland Port Commissioners approve a ban on dirty trucks

After listening to more than a dozen passionate speakers, Oakland Port Commissioners last night approved a ban next year on trucks don’t comply with new clean air standards. The ban on dirty trucks, which will go into effect Jan. 1 of next year, will require seaport facility operators to deny entry to trucks with engine model years earlier than 1994, or those with engine model years between 1994 and 2003 that have met standards set by the California Air Resources…

Port commissioners approve polluting trucks ban

After listening to more than a dozen passionate speakers, Oakland Port Commissioners last night approved a ban next year on trucks that don’t comply with new clean air standards. The ban on polluting trucks, goes into effect Jan. 1, will require seaport facility operators to deny entry to trucks with engine model years earlier than 1994, or those with engine model years between 1994 and 2003 that have not met standards set by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Some…

Conference discusses climate change’s future local effects

A panel of scientists, environmentalists and urban organization leaders gathered Tuesday afternoon in downtown Oakland to help kick off a three-day conference on water usage and the potential perils of climate change around San Francisco Bay. Heather Cooley, a research associate with the Water Program of the Pacific Institute, Water Program, an Oakland-based environmental advocacy nonprofit, warned at the panel that that her studies have found the sea level is rising in San Francisco Bay.  High enough sea levels could…

Students prep for green-collar careers

Berkeley High is one of five California schools chosen to participate in a cutting-edge program designed to train students for environmentally friendly jobs and careers. State Senator Loni Hancock and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell attended a Wednesday morning assembly unveiling the new curriculum.

Frank Snapp and the not-so-secret guerrilla garden

Frank Snapp walks up 40th Street, just east of Broadway, with a wheelbarrow full of plants and a plastic green garden hose slung in rounds over his shoulder. His olive sunhat shades denim blue eyes. It’s a 78-degree day in North Oakland and the heat rising off the asphalt makes it seem even hotter, but the fair-skinned, red-haired Snapp is in his element. He is a gardener like many gardeners, but three things set him apart: He has a remarkable depth…