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Emissions from cars, trucks and other sources contribute to smog and particle pollution, making symptoms worse for people with asthma. Cleaning up transportation in California, especially the San Joaquin Valley, reduces asthma, heart disease and costly ER visits while easing household expenses.<\/p>\n
The Modesto Bee<\/p>\n
In the San Joaquin Valley, air pollution isn\u2019t just a health concern \u2014 it\u2019s an often overlooked piece of the affordability conversation.<\/p>\n
Despite ongoing progress to clean the air, the Fresno area ranks among the top five worst in the nation<\/a> for all three major air pollution measures in the American Lung Association\u2019s \u201cState of the Air\u201d report. Families here are paying the price in asthma attacks, heart disease, missed school days and costly emergency room visits.<\/p>\n California lawmakers in Sacramento now face a choice: continue leading on clean transportation to protect public health and lower health costs, or allow preventable pollution to drive both higher. The stakes could not be higher for the greater Central Valley.<\/p>\n At a time when 80% of Californians say they are concerned about health care costs<\/a> and gas prices are spiking again, cleaning up our air is one of the most direct ways to reduce financial strain on families.<\/p>\n In the Valley, a single emergency room visit for a child suffering a pollution-induced asthma attack can cost more than $5,000<\/a>, according to UC Merced research. For many households, that far exceeds monthly rent. These are preventable costs often driven by preventable pollution from vehicles that burn gasoline and diesel.<\/p>\n In my nearly two decades working on clean air issues in California, I\u2019ve spoken with hundreds of doctors and nurses across our state. They see firsthand how air pollution drives patients into their emergency rooms \u2014 children gasping for breath during asthma attacks, seniors struggling with heart and lung disease and families struggling to balance the costs of prescriptions and paying other bills.<\/p>\n They understand that pollution isn\u2019t just harming lungs; it is straining household budgets.<\/p>\n While local air pollution controls are yielding important gains, federal actions are now threatening to reverse decades of clean air progress. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is dismantling crucial clean air protections. Among the more notable was the repeal of the Endangerment Finding<\/a> \u2014 the long-standing scientific determination that greenhouse gases endanger public health \u2014 and the elimination of federal standards that cut pollution from new cars and trucks.<\/p>\n For Valley families, that means more asthma attacks, more heart and lung disease and higher medical costs, stressing households.<\/p>\n What lawmakers must do<\/p>\n Lawmakers should approve the $200 million electric vehicle purchase incentive proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom that would replace the now-expired national $7,500 tax credit. These funds must be designed to ensure low- and moderate-income families can afford cleaner new or used vehicles that cost less to operate and don\u2019t pollute the air their children breathe. We have seen the benefits of these programs in the Valley and elsewhere and should build from that success.<\/p>\n Similarly, there is a clear need for the legislature to continue to invest in accelerating the transition to zero-emission trucks and charging infrastructure to curb exposure to toxic diesel exhaust.<\/p>\n