No technology has transformed commerce and the way we live our lives as much as the 20th century shipping container. And compared to other technologies (e.g. internal combustion engine), it’s drop dead simple … it’s a just a metal box. I’ve always enjoyed watching ships roll under the Golden Gate Bridge. And on occasion I’ve enjoyed the Port of Oakland in some ways that involve loud music and the cover of night.

So I was interested to read that the Port of Oakland is considering some of the biggest changes to the industry since deregulation in the 70s. At the center of debate is trucking, traditionally contracted out and held and arms length. But now the Port is owning up to the fact that each crappy truck driving through West Oakland dump 127,677 times as much toxic soot as a regular car does. As the trucking industry phrase goes, ports are where “the trucks go to die.” So-called “independent” truckers serving the port are almost exclusively poor immigrants making about $8/hour after expenses. Naturally they can only afford older used trucks, pollution spouts on eighteen wheels.

The Port is considering proposals as radical as granting employee status to all truckers, which is a breath of fresh air. Besides establishing a more reasonable wage and health benefits, the Port would take responsibility for cleaner vehicles. About 20% of west oakland residents have asthma, and the proportion is rising. The asthma is linked directly to the diesel pollution.

Here’s to the Port of Oakland for trying to make the right thing happen, a move that will force all the other West Coast Ports to follow, if not the entire US. And while we’re at it, let’s open up the port to the public so they can see all the amazing stuff that happens there. Crazy container cranes moving huge loads, massive stacks of containers that form mazes the size of small cities …. it’s some crazy shit.

Link to Death In The Air at The Bay Guardian.

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