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—Benjamin Franklin
Kat Janowicz is an author and strategist. Her first book, Chasing Zero, tells the story of how the busiest US ports cut pollution, reshaped industries, and influenced geopolitics in the quest for clean air. She’s the founder and president of 3COTECH, advising on clean energy, ports, and transportation — and she cares deeply about the health and welfare of all creatures, people and industry included. She’s drawn as much to people and their stories as to the systems that move the world.
The Quest for Clean Air
Chasing Zero: The story of how the busiest US ports cut pollution, reshaped industries, and influenced geopolitics in the ongoing quest for clean air is a testament to human ingenuity and collaboration in addressing environmental challenges. This book pays tribute to the many people who have dedicated decades to tackling these complex issues, including those who are no longer with us. Their stories and contributions are honored within its pages, serving as a testament to their remarkable achievements in creating a sustainable, prosperous future.
The author, Kat Janowicz, is the president of 3COTECH Inc. and a leading environmental and business strategist in the fields of energy, transportation, technology, infrastructure, and international trade. Her book focuses on the “Think Globally, Act Locally” narrative and the remarkable transformation of the Ports of LA and Long Beach, as well as their impact on international trade. Kat traces the history of the ports’ environmental reformation, discusses the challenges of eliminating pollution from international trade, explores the promise and realities of technology, and highlights the roles local government, the private sector, communities, and residents have played in the process.
Published by Rare Bird.
Get the Book →Explore the Going Green Timeline that marks the pivotal moments in the LA-Long Beach ports’ environmental reformation. The San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan charts over two decades of the quest for clean air and commitment to sustainable progress.
Readers
Chasing Zero out in the wild — readers with their copy, and the part that stayed with them.
“Chasing Zero, the book by Kat Janowicz, has great ideas in Chapter 12 on solutions a port can implement to improve the environment incrementally. This aligns with our efforts to deliver planet friendly projects from planning thru construction.”
— Jesus VargasPresident, VSCE, Inc. · Consultant Quality Assurance Manager – Highway Projects, Orange County Transportation Authority
“Whether reading from cover to cover or selectively referencing chapters, I found myself more informed about port initiatives and appreciative of the concern these ports have for their surrounding communities. As a public health advocate, this book has accompanied me on my travels to other countries, and its concepts hold global relevance.”
— Jamie NewmanMPH, RT (R)(M)(BD) · DrPH Candidate, Tulane · Adjunct Faculty, CSULB
“Chasing Zero is the remarkable story of how America’s largest port complex transformed its operations to dramatically reduce emissions, setting a trend that is now sweeping across ports around the globe. Until now, this story was relatively untold outside of the port community. The best part is that the story continues to unfold.”
— Dr. Noel HacegabaChief Executive Officer, Port of Long Beach
Or post it and tag @katjanowicz on LinkedIn or Instagram — I’ll always ask before featuring anyone.
Currently writing
Surviving Wilno’s five regime changes, Nazi forced labor, and a Soviet gulag, a young man escapes — only to find his hometown no longer in his country and his family gone, so he goes west to find them.
A work of creative nonfiction, deeply personal, full of near misses, long odds, and patriotism as a chronic condition. The universe, it turns out, has curious logistics.
We follow Kat’s grandfather, Michał Janowicz; her grandmother, Waleria “Wela” Bogdanowicz; and Wela’s uncle, Bolek Romanowski, along with families, friends, professors, Home Army soldiers, and apparatchiks who were, unhelpfully, very good at their jobs.
Michał and Wela had Wilno in common: streets, shops, even a school building. They didn’t know it yet. After the war they became neighbors in a small village in northwestern Poland.
Bolek and Michał both served in the Home Army, were arrested by the NKVD, rode the same train east, close enough to share the lice, and dug coal in the same labor camp in Donbas. They never met.
Beyond the book
The same instinct — find the people inside the system, and make it legible — runs through everything Kat builds.
Strategic advisory
Strategic advisory across ports, transportation, energy, technology, and public infrastructure — grounded in technical expertise and earned standing with industry, government, labor, and community.
Visit 3cotech.com →
An app · in development
The periodic table for cleaner ports. The elements, fuels, technologies, and green shipping corridors that clean the air at ports and in between — organized, connected, and kept current. Built from Chasing Zero.
Maps across time
Kat’s historical-mapping project — explore one place through different eras, borders, languages, and names. It’s also how she draws the maps for her next book.
Visit Maptopus →
Marginalia
Occasional thoughts and stories — on clean air, history, technology, and the people in all of it.
The book is out in the world — here’s the story behind getting it there.
On collaboration, community, and the long work of cleaning the air.
Notes from stepping into the role and what comes next.