REMARKS
FOR
THE
HONORABLE NORMAN Y. MINETA
SECRETARY
OF TRANSPORTATION
MARITIME
ENERGY AND CLEAN EMISSIONS WORKSHOP
WASHINGTON,
D.C.
TUESDAY,
JANUARY 29, 2002
8:30
a.m.
Thank you, Captain Schubert, and the Maritime Administration,
for inviting me to address this distinguished international audience.
I also want to thank my colleagues at the Department of Energy,
and the Environmental Protection Agency, for their assistance and support
of this event.
I am pleased to note that so many representatives from the
private and public sectors from around the United States and abroad are
participating in this two-day workshop.
Indeed, it is a testament to the recognition, world-wide, of
the need for a concerted, immediate joint approach to effecting and implementing
a plan to operate our vessels and port facilities more profitably, while
protecting the atmosphere of the communities they serve.
These next two days provide an opportunity to examine ways
and means of achieving a more effective marine transportation system that will
be both efficient and environmentally friendly.
All of us here now face the twin challenges of becoming more
energy efficient while reducing air emissions in the maritime industry.
This problem is not a new one.
Almost a half century ago, the United States determined that
toxic air emissions from trucks and automobiles were a serious problem in many
of the major cities around the country.
In a cooperative venture with auto and truck manufacturers,
air pollution reductions of 95 percent have been achieved over the last three
decades, while we increased energy efficiency by 37 percent.
Similar initiatives were launched in the operation of the
nation’s railroads with similar positive results.
Now the spotlight is on all of us in the maritime sector.
Annually, ferries in the United States carry more than 134
million passengers, and ships move more than 95 percent of our overseas trade
through our ports. Overall, the
United States has 25,000 miles of navigable waterways.
And while seagoing vessels account for only 5 percent of all
transportation-related air pollution, the marine sector, relative to other modes
of transportation, has not kept pace in reducing harmful air emissions.
This factor provides the driving force behind the recent
concerted efforts, worldwide, to regulate and reduce toxic air emissions from
marine operations.
So, I’m pleased to note that the Department, through the
efforts of the Maritime Administration, has served as a catalyst to bring about
this two-day workshop to highlight the experiences of other industries and other
governments that have already been dealing with these issues with beneficial
results.
All of us can learn a lot from them on how to map out a
strategy to get where we need to go.
This morning, you will hear from some of our port cities that
have or are beginning to struggle with this challenge.
Later today, you will have the opportunity to hear from the Association
of American Railroads and the American Trucking Association on their experiences
and initiatives in tackling these issues.
Additionally, representatives from the governments of Canada,
the European Union, and Norway will outline the joint approaches they have taken
with industry to meet these twin challenges.
I encourage you to take advantage of these and other
opportunities over the next two days to hear what other modes and other regions
are doing to combat the issues of energy efficiency and emissions control.
By these remarks, I don’t mean to imply that nothing
positive has been undertaken to date in the maritime industry.
In fact, much initial progress has been made in examining
ways of making marine vehicles and port operations more efficient and with lower
levels of air polluting emissions.
We at DOT have been working with our co-sponsors, other
federal agencies, the private sector, and academia in partnerships to research
how existing and new technologies can help the maritime community get ahead of
the energy efficiency curve, and reduce emissions.
Those initiatives address such things as:
more efficient engines, alternative fuels, fuel additives, and fuel
cells.
For example, tests are underway to examine bio-diesel fuel
aboard a ferry in San Francisco. And
with the Department of Energy and the United States Navy, we are conducting
additional laboratory tests with bio-diesel fuel.
Additionally, there are programs to examine the use of
hydrogen as a fuel for marine vessels and port equipment, along with the ability
of fuel cells to operate in the marine environment.
As you are probably aware, President Bush has committed this
Administration to exploring all possible uses of fuel cell technology.
We are also in the very early stages of exploring with the
Department of Energy the use of fuel cell technology on the ferries that serve
the Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. We
believe that with fuel cells these ferries would generate zero emissions, yet
efficiently serve hundreds of thousands of visitors to that hallowed monument
every year.
It is certainly true that these and other efforts by all of
us in government, and by our partners in academia and private industry, will be
costly and time-consuming. The
rewards, however, will be important to us all.
I look forward to working with all of you in this effort.
The maritime community rallied to help us meet the security
challenges following the September 11 terrorist attacks.
I am confident that I can rely on you to work cooperatively with us once
again.
In closing, my best wishes for a successful two-day workshop
and thank you again for allowing me to speak to you today.
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