Air Quality Report Press Conference

This past Wednesday, the Imperial Valley Chapter of the American Lung Association also known as the Clean Air Coalition, released the Quality of the Air Report.  Unfortunately the Imperial Valley received a grade of "F" but don't let that fool you, the air is actually improving thanks to the efforts of the Air Pollution Control Agency and the Clean Air Coalition.  To learn more about the statistics click HERE.  There were three speakers at this press conference, Brad Poiriez- the Imperial County Air Pollution Control Officer, Dr. Jorge Robles the El Centro Regional Medical Center Chief of Staff - Very important people in the Valley and th third speaker was Me, a Pastor from a smallish church in El Centro.    The following is what I said in my presentation (more or less). 

Everyone dreams of a better world, where things are as they “ought” to be.  Anyone can look around and point out the problems in our communities – that’s easy.  However, there are some, like yourselves, that are willing to take up the issues that lesson our quality of life and do something about them.  In this case it is the air we breathe.  Today, WE stand before you calling everyone to awaken to the possibility, - the reality that a better world is possible.

There is a nascent feeling hovering above the surface of our collective consciousness that we cannot do anything about some problems, the air quality being one of these.  But we at the clean air coalition and the friends we have made in the community believe that the opposite is true.  We believe that cleaner air is possible, we believe that a better world is possible – and to borrow the words of Arundhati Roy, “Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”  This is why, we take on issues like this.  “because when we champion one Cause, it gives way to take on other issues, This brings Hope, Hope brings belief, Belief brings action, action brings change, and Change is what we are all about”.

Solutions/What can we do? 
1.    Get Involved in the SIP Process
o    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has designated Imperial County as in being in serious non-attainment for Particulate Matter and in moderate non-attainment for Ozone.  Therefore, they are requiring that the Imperial County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) develop a State Implementation Plan (SIP).  This plan will outline how the district will achieve attainment.  In other words, better air quality!
o    The APCD will hold a series of committee work group meetings to review the SIP draft and welcomes comments from the committee members.  Working group committee meetings will be held once a month.  If you are a community member interested in joining the SIP working group committee please contact Belen Leon at 760-482-4606.
2.     Diesel Emission Rule Petition- IVCAIR.ORG
o    Sign the petition post card!
o    The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is developing an in-use heavy-duty diesel vehicle rule to cut harmful oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emissions from diesel trucks in California. According to CARB’s emissions inventory data, diesel trucks and buses were responsible for nearly 40% of all diesel PM emissions in the state in 2006. Diesel PM is recognized as a toxic air contaminant and NOx is a major component of ozone, which harms public health as well as the growth of our agricultural crops and forests. CARB estimates that diesel PM and NOx emissions from trucks are responsible for an estimated 1,500 premature deaths and more than 38,000 asthma attacks per year in California.
o    Emissions Reduction Targets
   * By the end of 2013, on-road in-use diesel vehicles will have to meet 2007 federal NOx emissions standards and be equipped with the highest level verified diesel emission control strategy (VDECS) for PM.
    * By the end of 2021, NOx emissions from on-road in-use diesel vehicles will have to meet 2010 federal NOx emissions standards and be equipped with the highest level VDECS for PM.
3.    Monitor Air Quality- imperialvalleyair.org
o    If you are one of the groups at risk, sign up for air quality alerts.
4.    Report Air Pollution to APCD
o    If a community member sees excess dust from a construction site, feedlot, uncontrolled burn, etc. it needs to be reported to the APCD at 760-482-4606.