California High Speed Rail Makes Key Link

The dream of taking a train from Los Angeles to San Francisco became one step closer to reality this week. The High Speed Rail Authority approved of bringing the rails through San Jose and the Pacheco Pass instead of through northern San Joaquin County.

According to the SF Chronicle,

The authority, whose members are appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, adopted the Pacheco Pass as the least environmentally damaging alignment on the second day of a two-day session in San Francisco.

Environmental studies for the rest of the system were completed in 2004, but controversy over which route to use between the Bay Area and Central Valley - the Pacheco Pass or the Altamont Pass - prompted further studies and much debate.

Backers of the Altamont argued that the route passes through more populous areas and would entice more riders and be able to accommodate commuter trains as well. Pacheco Pass supporters said that route is more direct, faster, and wouldn't require a costly and environmentally damaging bay crossing

The next major steps for the rail is a bond for $9 Billion dollars to finance the construction. This bond should be on November's ballot.

The Rail Authority has some great interactive maps that show where you can go on the rails. check it out here.

Photo by kjh7r

Colleges and Universities Leading the Green Charge

The LA Times published a story about Green Building on university and college campuses. It appears as though they are leading the way in the public sector. In California we have "California High Performing Schools or CHPS", which sets standards for green building in schools and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED. LEED is the national certification program established by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Some of the points that I found interesting the the article were:

• That eco-friendly buildings shrink costs is especially helpful during a time of budget cuts for education. Despite the initial "green premium" -- the extra cost of building to green standards -- sustainable facilities tend to have fewer operating expenses. And according to a study done in conjunction with the American Institute of Architects, eco-friendly construction helps lower absenteeism, improves productivity and staves off health problems for students and teachers.

• In 2001, there were 42 LEED projects in the higher education sector. Between 2006 and 2007, the number nearly doubled from 769 to 1,412. As of June, 1,497 buildings were seeking certification.

Another good point that the article makes is against launching "window dressing" green projects -- or "painting green". The article lists numerous funny recycled items that are used in construction, but probably will not have a real impact on energy savings or on the environment.

Slowing Air Traffic May Ground Airport Projects

This week the Los Angeles Times published a story that shows many airport construction projects are in trouble of being canceled or delayed. The article also asserts, the impact is going to be worse at the regional airports, like Oakland, John Wayne and Ontario than at the larger airports. High fuel prices and passenger fees increase the cost of traveling and in many cases are discouraging people from traveling. ($15 for the first bag checked on United, US Air and American!) The airports are financed largely by passenger fees. With fewer people landing and taking off at the airports the projects that were financed are in trouble.

The smaller commercial airports will be affected but the larger airports in the state will continue to do well. Below are some of the article's key points:

• Oakland International Airport has shelved plans for a $500-million terminal after it lost three airlines, with two more to be lost in September. Passenger traffic is expected to fall more than 23%.
  
• Although their losses won't be so dramatic, regional airports in Southern California are expected to see available seats drop in September. John Wayne could lose as much as 14%, Ontario nearly 20% and Burbank's Bob Hope Airport more than 10%. The decline is expected to worsen in November for some airports such as Ontario, where airline service is seen dropping nearly 30%.
• Long Beach and San Francisco International airports are the only ones expecting service to rise. San Francisco, which expects 5% passenger growth this year, is renovating one of its main terminals at a cost of at least $380 million. In 2000, the airport completed a $1-billion international terminal.

One airport that did not make the cut was my local airport, Lindbergh Field, in San Diego. Apparently the Airport Authority is unclear as to what it wants to do. They are often regularly asserting that the airport will be at capacity soon, but this year they are going to have a seven percent decrease in passengers this year. They are looking for a new site for an airport, but is there a need? The Voice of San Diego is tracking this story.

In related news Los Angeles International Airport announced that it is covering up to $1.8 billion dollars in work on its Capital Improvement Program with a project labor agreement. I will publish some thing on this soon.

Photo by: Michael Zara.

Four Construction Workers Killed Every Day Building America

I got this great statement from the Laborers International Union after I posted the article yesterday. This article originally was published in the Huffington Post July 2nd, 2008.

Invisible Tragedies -- Every day an average of four construction workers are killed as they go about building America.

When miners, firefighters and law enforcement officers are killed in the line of duty, their stories become news. We hold vigils and we mourn their loss publicly -- as we most certainly should. Yet when construction workers are killed, their tragedy too often goes unnoticed, as if the cost of building America must be injury or death on the job.

Construction work is dangerous, and those who do it understand the inherent risk of their occupation. However they should not be expected to deal with unnecessary and avoidable hazards. Unfortunately, that is exactly what many face because they lack sufficient power to protect themselves and the agency tasked with providing protection for them - the Occupational Safety and Health Administration - too often falls short.

With as many as 1,250 deaths each year, construction workers face death on the job 20 times more often than miners and 10 times more often than police officers or firefighters. While 8 percent of the U.S. workforce is employed in construction, construction workers suffer 22 percent of workplace fatalities.

Last week, the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing to address whether OSHA is adequately enacting and enforcing construction safety rules. The hearing shed light on what those in the construction industry have known for some time -- OSHA under President Bush is failing construction workers.

Much of the hearing focused on a recent wave of crane related deaths and injuries in New York, Las Vegas, Miami and Dallas, revealing a serious problem in crane safety.

In 2003, OSHA convened a panel of experts representing industry and labor to develop new safety standards for cranes. Four years ago, after 13 months of meetings, the panel developed consensus recommendations for new regulations. But, despite the support of both labor and employers, OSHA has yet to issue a proposed rule in the Federal Register.

At last week's hearing, Congressman George Miller and other members questioned OSHA chief, Edwin Foulke, about the agency's delay. Mr. Foulke offered a bureaucratic response about paper work and procedures. He never once took responsibility for OSHA's failure to move quickly to put in place crane safety regulations nor did he offer suggestions on how OSHA can speed up the process going forward.

While OSHA spent four years sitting on crane safety regulations -= despite having a standard in hand developed by industry and labor -- more than 300 workers died in crane-related accidents. Indeed, according to OSHA itself, "there are estimated to be 64 to 82 fatalities associated with cranes each year in construction, and a more up-to-date standard would help prevent them."

While last week's hearing was an encouraging step, Congress must move forward with the Protecting America's Workers Act -- an important piece of legislation to strengthen and expand the Occupational Safety and Health Act. This important legislation will cover more workers including the public employees in the many states who have no OSHA coverage or protection, increase penalties for repeated and willful violations, enhance public disclosure of safety records, require employers to provide necessary safety equipment to their workers and, perhaps most importantly in the current environment, make sure workers themselves have the power to refuse to perform work that is clearly and needlessly unsafe.

Construction workers are not a disposable commodity. The price of going to work every day to build America should never be injury or death on the job.

Building Trades President Testifies for Immediate Action on Safety Standards

The President of Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD), Mark Ayers, recently testified there needs to be immediate action to improve safety for construction workers. He testified that there should be a construction safety office within the Office of Health and Safety Administration.

Recent events such as the recent fatalities in Las Vegas and the pair of crane accidents that killed nine people this year in New York City underscore how dangerous the construction industry is. According to the Center for Disease Control's National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH), "Construction has about 6% of U.S. workers, but 20% of the fatalities - the largest number of fatalities reported for any of the industry sectors. " More information can be found out about their efforts here.

In addition to the recommendation for a new office of construction safety within OSHA, President Ayers outlined four other recommendations for improving safety on U.S. construction sites:

1. An OSHA temporary emergency standard requiring that all workers in the industry are trained and certified in accordance with the basic10-hour OSHA safety and health training program.
2. Immediate promulgation of an OSHA crane safety standard.
3. Stepped up OSHA jobsite enforcement activities.
4. Increased funding for construction safety and health research under NIOSH.

The Link to the BCTD press release can be found here.