The City Council last night approved several measures introduced by 2nd District Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal that will introduce green spaces and practices to Long Beach, already deep in the throes of the green movement and searching for new ways to operate cleanly.

Lowenthal’s proposals called for the creation of a multi-functional park on Chestnut Ave., backing of Los Angeles County’s efforts to convert trash into usable energy, and a request for City Manager Pat West to explore the possibilities of implementing a city-wide plan to convert grass clippings and other yard waste into energy.

In the case of a backwards plan that seems to keep taking steps backwards, the Press-Telegram’s Kris Hanson tells us that the City Council also voted unanimously to take another look at the Port of Long Beach’s $2 billion plan to replace polluting trucks with newer, cleaner ones.  The vote to halt the plan for more efficient trucks was, ironically, a win for environmentalists.  

The issue under scrutiny is that the drivers themselves – not large trucking companies – are expected to purchase, finance and maintain the new, expensive trucks.  The Harbor Board of Commissioners last week was told that up to 10% of drivers will probably default on their loans under that plan.  

“I don’t think it makes fiscal sense or serves the public interest to lend money to these low-income drivers who are going to find it very difficult to meet their monthly payments,” the story quotes Candace Kim of the Coalition for Clean Air. “If I were an elected official, I would want to make sure that the truck replacement program is going to work in the long term.”

From the Port’s side:

“The trucks get better mileage, there’s much less maintenance, and we’re subsidizing these loans by up to ($1,000) per month, so the risk is greatly reduced,” the story quotes Port of Long Beach Finance Director Steve Rubin. “I think there’s a lot of misconception out there about the financing (plan).”

The fight rages on, though the real irony of the situation is that the Council wields no actual power.  Port authorities and the Harbor Department hold the decision in their hands, and the Council will have to persuade them to change if they wish to stop the plan.