With ocean shipping on the rise all over the world and in the U.S., residents of coastal communities close to this industry suffer health and environmental impacts—as ships, tugboats, and all the heavy diesel machinery involved in offloading and transporting cargo release pollutants from particulate matter to nitrous oxides.
But how are affected communities—largely lower-income and people of color—and policymakers pushing back on this massive cog in the economy?
Having completed one investigation looking solely at Boston Harbor, where there’s been mostly inaction, journalist Chris Burrell leads two more projects for WGBH and NPR that highlight tangible actions by community activists, some lawmakers, and port operators. Motivating many stakeholders are new programs and more than $8 billion in federal funds from the Biden administration aimed at decarbonizing and electrifying ports.
Burrell unpacks the health impact and activism in port communities around Providence, Rhode Island, and New York City. He has talked with mothers in both places whose children suffer severe asthma—a reality that has fed their activism and their frustration. They have succeeded on some fronts, enlisting governments, academics, and port industry to assess and mitigate pollution and to respond to concerns rather than ignore them.
Burrell also looks at possible solutions in California, where there’s been a decade of mandates for electric shore power for ships at port and aggressive and promising moves toward electrification of tugboats and other port equipment, specifically in San Diego.
