Letter to SacCounty Supervisors re Air Quality from ECOS, 350 Sac, CCL, and Sierra Club

June 10, 2022

ECOS, 350 Sacramento, Citizens’ Climate Lobby Sacramento, and Sierra Club Sacramento Group have submitted a letter to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors regarding the quality of the air in our region. With this letter, we urged the Board to discuss air quality as an agenda item in an upcoming Board of Supervisors meeting, and to develop actions to address the issues raised in the American Lung Association report referenced in our letter.

Below is an excerpt.

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors should support policies that reduce emissions by encouraging walking- biking- and transit-based communities. Most critically, the Board needs to exercise its land use authority to shift priorities from sprawl development to infill to support these modes of transportation and reduce vehicle miles traveled. This would decrease automobile exhaust, the largest source of local ozone and particulate pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions.

Click here to read the letter in full.

Join us Thursday Jun 9 at 6 pm for ECOS Climate Committee

What local jurisdictions can do about climate change

Featuring Dr. Alberto Ayala, Director of Sacramento’s Air Quality District

Agenda

6:00: Welcome and Introductions

6:10: Alberto Ayala, Director of Sacramento’s Air Quality District, will discuss clean air & climate actions.
Alberto Ayala is the Executive Officer of the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (AQMD), and former Deputy Executive Officer of the California Air Resources Board. Last month, Alberto noted that we are making progress in tackling air and climate pollution, although climate change has exacerbated nearby wildfires and smoke.

The AQMD has been active in several efforts to reduce air pollution — that also reduce our climate change impact. Whether or not we see good Climate Action Plans this summer from Sacramento City and County, these efforts show that local jurisdictions can do a lot to deal with climate change:
• Cool Roofs, Walls, and Pavements
• Trees and Vegetation
• Zero-Emission Vehicles, and Charging Stations
• Solar Photovoltaic Parking Lots
• Infill Development
• Climate Resilience for Under-Served Communities; especially Trees!

Alberto will also discuss health impacts of near-road pollution on under-served communities, and what we’re doing.
[See Alberto’s recent Sactown Magazine interview: www.sactownmag.com/qa-alberto-ayala-sacramento-air-quality]

6:50 Transportation Team Report
John Deeter, Team Chair

7:00: Land Use Committee Report

7:10: Green Building Committee Report

Updates:
7:20: Transportation Measure for November Ballot & SACOG
7:30: Climate Action Plans

7:45: Adjourn

Click here for the agenda in PDF.

Sacramento’s Air Quality: A Passing Grade, Alberto Ayala LTE SacBee, May 22, 2022

Post: Sacramento Bee, Letters to the Editor, May 22, 2022

AQI PASSING GRADE

RE: “Sacramento among California cities with filthiest air in the US, new study says. What to know,” (sacbee.com, April 22)

The American Lung Association’s “State of the Air 2022” report does not specify that extreme but short-term impacts from wildfires cause high readings, resulting in a misleading picture of Sacramento’s air quality. Air quality and public health are absolutely impacted by wildfires, but to assign an “F” grade without naming the reason unnecessarily undermines public confidence and denies true progress tackling air and climate pollution. Thanks to innovative initiatives by the Sac Metro Air District and our regional partners and stringent rules and regulations, air quality in Sacramento (minus wildfires) has improved significantly over the past several decades and will continue to improve. Our region has made great strides in moving toward meeting strict health-based ambient air quality standards. That is no small feat for the public and private sectors and certainly worth a passing grade.

Dr. Alberto Ayala, Sacramento

https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article261627617.html#storylink=cpy

CA Air Resources Board 2022 Scoping Plan Update

The 2022 Scoping Plan Update assesses progress toward the statutory 2030 target, while laying out a path to achieving carbon neutrality no later than 2045. The 2022 Scoping Plan Update focuses on outcomes needed to achieve carbon neutrality by assessing paths for clean technology, energy deployment, natural and working lands, and others, and is designed to meet the State’s long-term climate objectives and support a range of economic, environmental, energy security, environmental justice, and public health priorities.

Click here to learn more.

Sacramento and smog: Your role in it, health risks and why it’s worse in the summer

By Brianna Taylor | May 9, 2022 | The Sacramento Bee

The list of health risks associated with ground-level ozone is a long one.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ground-level ozone is linked to diminished lung function, causing more hospital admissions and emergency room visits, and an increase in premature deaths. “The problem with ground-level ozone is that it causes inflammation in our airways, our trachea, in our sinuses and in our lungs,” Easter said. “The lung issue is probably the biggest of the issues because that affects our breathing and causes asthma, bronchitis and other respiratory impairments.”

Sacramento among California cities with filthiest air in the US, new study says. What to know

By Brianna Taylor | April 22, 2022 | The Sacramento Bee

Sacramento has some of the filthiest air, according to a new air quality study. The American Lung Association’s “State of the Air 2022” is based on the data of air quality throughout the United States, obtained from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality System. The study focuses on the years 2018 to 2020. According to the 155-page air quality report, the area ranked No. 7 out “25 Cites Most Polluted by Daily Particulate Matter.” The 11 other state cities ranked include: Fresno, No. 1, Bakersfield, No. 2, San Jose, No. 4, Redding, No. 5, Chico, No. 6, Los Angeles, No. 8, Visalia, No. 9, San Diego, No. 13, Salinas, No. 14 and San Luis Obispo, No. 22.

We suggest you also read a letter to The Sacramento Bee written by 2021 Environmentalist of the Year Anne Stausbol, written in response to this article.

Kudos to The Bee for bringing attention to Sacramento’s ranking, once again, as one of the country’s regions with the worst air pollution. The American Lung Association report also shows that we rank ninth worst for ozone pollution. Both particulate and ozone pollution have serious health impacts, especially for vulnerable populations. The report tells us the first thing local governments must do is adopt a climate action plan that supports walking, biking, transit and zero-emission-vehicle infrastructure, with supportive building and parking policies. The Mayors’ Commission on Climate Change made this exact recommendation to the City Council in June 2020. Yet almost two years later, the city has not produced its climate action plan. How can our leaders allow Sacramento to remain on this list year after year? The city must act now to address this public health crisis by enacting a plan that embraces and funds our recommendations.
– Anne Stausboll, Sacramento