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Dear Chair Randolph and Members of the Board, 

Ships are one of the worst air polluters in California, and harbor
boats are one of the top three cancer risks for Californians living
near the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Diego and Oakland.
California must stop investing in diesel operated harbor boats and
instead invest in clean technologies and jobs. 

The technology exists to transition commercial harbor craft to 100%
clean fleets today. Battery-electric boats are already in
production, and hydrogen fuel cell electric vessels are being
designed that support longer ranges and durations than
battery-electric systems.

I am specifically submitting this letter in support of funding for
UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography (Scripps)
hydrogen-hybrid coastal research vessel project. This vessel will
reduce criteria pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, while
demonstrating the viability of clean, nonpolluting zero-emission
shipboard power systems to the maritime industry. The vessel will
feature an innovative hybrid propulsion system that will use
hydrogen fuel cells to enable true zero-emission operations for 75
percent of the ship's expeditions, supplemented by a conventional
diesel-electric power plant when additional range is required
offshore.

Given the climate emergency that we are facing, we need bold
climate leadership -- and bold transformation of maritime power
systems that Scripps is working to demonstrate. 

I am also advocating for adoption of green hydrogen (hydrogen
derived from low-carbon sources) for maritime hydrogen fuel
systems.  Institutions like Scripps need to defray the cost of
green hydrogen used on ships to effectively compete with lower-cost
diesel fuel. Access to affordable green hydrogen will incentivize
and accelerate the expanded use of hydrogen fuel technology within
the maritime industry, supporting federal and state carbon
reduction goals and enabling a zero-carbon well-to-wake energy
pathway.

This is a critical time to protect the health of port-side
communities, Californian families, and our environment. 

Thank you for your attention to this important issue.