http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1588338
November 14, 2013
Today a diverse coalition of community-based, public health, science
and conservation groups across the state launched a campaign to help
clean up California’s transportation system and improve air quality in
communities across the state – particularly those historically exposed
to a disproportionate share of pollution – by putting one million
electric cars, trucks and buses on the road within ten years. Shifting
to electric vehicles will also keep more transportation dollars
in-state, boosting the economy and creating new jobs.
The campaign will focus on directing current polluter fees on oil
companies to fund existing, highly successful purchase incentive
programs and to increase access to zero-emission transportation in
disadvantaged communities.
“Low income Californians want and need the cleaner air and fuel
savings that electric vehicles can bring our communities,” said Vien
Truong, director of environmental equity at The Greenlining Institute.
“Driving on electricity significantly reduces emissions and is
equivalent to paying only one dollar-per-gallon in a gasoline vehicle.
Bolstering our electric vehicle industry also means good-paying jobs in
manufacturing and related fields that communities of color so urgently
need.”
Cars, trucks, and buses are the single largest source of air
pollution in California and are responsible for 34 percent of the
state’s soot and smog-forming pollution. A recent MIT study
found that traffic pollution causes almost 6,000 premature mortalities
annually in California, almost twice the number killed in traffic
accidents. Four in ten Californians, more than in any other state, live
close enough to a freeway or busy road that they may be at increased
risk of asthma, cancer and other health hazards. Lower income households
in communities of color tend to live closest to heavily trafficked
areas and suffer disproportionately.
“Over-reliance on fossil fuel is threatening the health of our
families and communities,” said Bill Gallegos, executive director of
Communities for a Better Environment. “By expanding the market for zero
emission technologies and green infrastructure for transportation,
charging and manufacturing, we can make significant improvements to our
air quality as well as provide sustainable job opportunities for
Californians – particularly those in underserved communities.”
“More Californians live near a freeway or busy road than anywhere
else in the country and it is no surprise that communities living near
these pollution hot spots experience higher rates of asthma,” said
Bonnie Holmes-Gen, senior director of policy and advocacy for the
American Lung Association in California. “One of the most effective ways
to reduce health emergencies from asthma and other respiratory
illnesses is to cut vehicle pollution and support the transition to
clean, emission-free cars and trucks. That’s what this campaign is all
about.”
California is one of eight states that have agreed to work together to put 3.3 million electric vehicles on the road by 2025. The leaders of California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia just signed the historic Pacific Coast Action Plan on Climate and Energy,
which also calls for scaling up the use of electric vehicles. Because
it is the nation’s largest single market for electric cars, California
holds the key to meeting the eight state and Pacific Coast Action Plan
goals.
“Deployment of zero-emission delivery trucks eliminates air pollution
and supports good jobs in the heart of California,” said Ricky Hanna,
CEO of Electric Vehicles International (EVI), a Stockton-based electric
vehicle manufacturer. “Clean vehicles help address localized health
impacts for communities throughout California, particularly those near
commercial hubs and transit corridors.”
Companies such as EVI, Boulder EV (Chatsworth), Complete Coach Works
(Riverside), El Dorado National (Riverside), Altec (Dixon), Vision
Industries (Long Beach), Transpower (Poway), Quantum (Lake Forest) and
Tesla (Fremont) are already expanding and creating new manufacturing
jobs in response to increasing electric vehicle demand.
Californians spend $70 billion on gasoline and diesel annually, $40
billion of which leaves the state in payments to oil companies and
foreign oil producing countries. The use of electricity as a
transportation fuel can help keep those dollars in the state,
stimulating the economy, and insulating family budgets from gas price
spikes. Filling California’s cars, trucks and buses with electricity
instead of oil would help grow the state’s economy, creating up to
100,000 additional jobs by 2030.
Automakers are beginning to bring a diversity of advanced electric drive vehicles to the market,
which don’t rely on gasoline and appeal to families across the income
spectrum. Most automakers today are either selling or making
zero-polluting cars for sale within the next few years.
The campaign’s supporters include American Lung Association in
California, CALPIRG, Coalition for Clean Air, Communities for a Better
Environment, Environment California Research & Policy Center, The
Greenlining Institute, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra
Club California and the Union of Concerned Scientists.
For more information, visit ChargeAhead.org.
Statements from other organizations supporting the campaign:
“The technology exists today to make all vehicles – from delivery
trucks to minivans and sedans– more fuel efficient, less polluting and
affordable,” said Michelle Kinman clean energy advocate with Environment
California Research & Policy Center. “This is our opportunity to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions and head off the worst impacts of global
warming while cutting the air pollution that is slowly poisoning our
communities, improving the quality of life for all Californians.”
“California has the opportunity to continue its long history of
pioneering clean technologies, such as catalytic converters, hybrids and
solar energy,” said Roland Hwang transportation program director with
NRDC. “With the electric vehicle market at a critical tipping point,
California’s leadership can ensure that drivers and communities across
the nation can realize the clean air and fuel savings benefits of
electrification.”
“Investing in clean cars, trucks and buses – particularly in our most
polluted and impoverished communities – means cleaner air, healthier
neighborhoods and less money spent on respiratory illness,” said Bill
Magavern, policy director of the Coalition for Clean Air.
“California’s leadership has paved the way for a promising market for
electric vehicles to help us meet our climate, air quality and oil
saving goals,” said Don Anair, deputy director of the Clean Vehicles
Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. “However, sustained
investment is necessary to enable this technology to reach its potential
of providing clean, efficient transportation for the state and the
nation.”
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Contact: Michelle Kinman, Environmental California, 310-621-8935, michelle(at)environmentcalifornia(dot)org
Jessica Lass, Natural Resources Defense Council, 415-875-6143, jlass(at)nrdc(dot)org
Bruce Mirken, The Greenlining Institute, 510-926-4022, brucem(at)greenlining(dot)org
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