Comment Log Display

We, the undersigned organizations, represent a broad range of
environmental justice, public health, and community-based
organizations from across the state.  We urge the California Air
Resources Board (CARB) and Governor Schwarzenegger to maintain
California's status as the world's leader on global warming by
adopting the strongest possible Early Action Measures as part of
the implementation of AB 32. 

We strongly support the recommendations of the Global Warming
Environmental Justice Advisory Committee on Proposed Early Actions
to Mitigate Climate Change, and urge CARB to adopt these
strategies, as they are important, technologically feasible 
measures that will significantly and immediately reduce
California's overall global warming impact.

Time is of the essence. And the urgency with which we must act to
achieve critical greenhouse gas is monumental.  As this state's
chief air quality regulator, ARB has been entrusted with the
responsibility of upholding Governor Schwarzenegger's promise to
fight global climate change and achieve the state's air quality
goals.  It is vital that you use all the resources at your
disposal to aggressively limit green house gas emissions by
undertaking straightforward reduction opportunities across
multiple sectors of the economy as quickly as possible.

The Air Resources Board is also responsible for protecting the
health of the millions of California residents and charting the
path to California's attainment of federal and state
health-protective air quality goals.  This is why we urge ARB to
adopt measures that have the added benefit of reducing harmful
co-pollutants in communities already heavily burdened by air
pollution.  This approach calls for looking for reductions from
major emitters of green house gases that are most likely to be
located in low-income communities and communities of color such as
the ports and goods movement infrastructure (for example, port
electrification, shoreside generation, replacing dirty diesel HDVs
with clean, alternative-fueled vehicles and technologies);
agriculture (for example, cleaning up composting facilities,
manure management); oil refineries (for example, efficiency
measures, recycling of waste gases); and power plants (for
example, ending fuel oil burning, adding energy savings measures).
Undertaking a comprehensive approach to air pollution reductions
allows ARB to reduce green house gas emissions in a manner that is
cost-effective, health-protective, and good policy.

Please implement the recommendations adopted by the Global Warming
Environmental Justice Advisory Committee. Our health today, and our
ability to stop global warming in the future, depends on you.

Sincerely,


Enrique Chiock
President & CEO