TITLE
Recommendation to respectfully request City Attorney to work with the American Lung Association of California to draft a resolution in support of the State of California and the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) efforts to reduce criteria air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles while also advancing public health, air quality, the environment and the green economy in California;
Request resolution to include support for the establishment of ambitious regional Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reduction targets as envisioned by SB 375 that incentivize local governments to integrate land use and transportation planning that supports air quality and public health goals and emphasizes reductions in vehicle miles traveled through alternatives to driving, such as walking, biking and mass transit options; and
Request resolution also include support for CARB’s promotion of clean vehicle technologies by adopting expanded Low Emission Vehicle
(LEV III) standards to reduce criteria air pollutants and greenhouse gases and to strengthen the state’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) and Clean Fuels Outlet (CFO) infrastructure programs to protect the health of California’s economy, environment and its people.
DISCUSSION
According to the American Lung Association in California and other health sources, our state is experiencing a public health crisis due to poor air quality, with over 90% of Californians living in areas that exceed federal health-based ozone standards. Exposure to elevated levels of ozone and other pollutants such as particulate matter annually contributes to hundreds of thousands of asthma attacks and tens of thousands of hospitalizations and premature deaths due to heart and lung disease and recent research conducted by the RAND Corporation found that hospital care related to elevated pollution levels in California cost nearly $200 million from 2005 to 2007.
Higher temperatures resulting from global warming can create conditions that...
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