CLEAN AIR, CLIMATE CHANGE & LUNGS

AB 32 Opponents Vulnerable on Pollution’s Health Hazards
Jonathan Kim, February 16, 2010 (Huffington Post)

"Imagine if Toyota made this statement: "It has come to our attention that, due to faulty gas pedals, a small number of our cars have killed or injured a small percentage of our customers. However, to recall and repair our cars to address this problem would simply be too costly…So we are delaying a recall for one year, after which time we will re-evaluate…We ask for your patience and understanding…"

"Naturally, there would be a furious uproar. How dare a company attempt to put short-term economic interests ahead of people's health and safety? Yet this is essentially what the opponents of AB 32, California's nation-leading environmental legislation that seeks to reduce greenhouse gases in California to 1990 levels by 2020, are asking Californians to do. And since there is ample evidence that AB 32 would actually provide a needed boost to California's economy without harming small businesses, what AB 32 opponents are attempting to do is arguably worse."

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"…[O]pponents of AB 32 -- like Meg Whitman and dirty energy astroturf front the AB 32 Implementation Group…claim they are deeply concerned about the state of the environment…[because] Californians breathe some of the worst air in the nation, with 95% of Californians living in areas with unhealthy air…When it comes to the most polluted cities ranked by particulates in the air, the top three cities are in California, with six in the top ten.

"…[T]he American Lung Association [links]…air pollution to lung cancer, asthma attacks, heart attacks, strokes and early death…There is also growing evidence that air pollution actually causes asthma in otherwise healthy children…[and] the effects of air pollution fall disproportionately on poor and minority communities…[I]f emissions in California are not reduced to 1990 levels, over 700 Californians will die prematurely in 2020 alone, along with thousands of cases of asthma and other respiratory illnesses…"

The science linking air pollution, lung disease and neurological disease is well-established. (click to enlarge)

"The response by AB 32 opponents? "Sucks to be them." …[B]y acknowledging that air pollution is a serious problem, AB 32 opponents are also acknowledging that the health risks caused by pollution are real and serious. If they want to dispute that, they can take it up with the American Lung Association. That's a fight I'd like to see, and one AB 32 supporters should make them have.

"With the economy polling as the #1 concern of Californians…AB 32 is largely being looked at through the prism of job creation. And AB 32 supporters should be winning easily on this front…[Three thorough studies, using] very conservative estimates were correct in their conclusion that implementing AB 32 would generate robust economic growth…[without the job losses predicted by scaremongering] AB 32 opponents…
…[But] the media, striving for "balance," …[and] Californians, influenced by gobs of advertising and lobbying money from the dirty energy industry…[could recoil from climate fighting measures]…That's why supporters of AB 32 would be wise not to put all their strategic eggs in the job creation basket…[B]y acknowledging the health risks caused by air pollution, opponents of AB 32 are essentially confirming one of the best reasons why waiting to implement AB 32, like Toyota delaying a recall, is simply unacceptable."