We’ve already reported on the ground-breaking report, Moving California Forward, Zero and Low-Emissions Freight Pathways.
We neglected to mention how many members of the Moving Forward Network supported this very valuable work.
Check out the membership list at the bottom of the Coalition for Clean Air press release below, and you’ll see a lot of people you know!
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 21, 2014
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New Report Sets a Course for Cleaner Freight Transportation in California
Electrification is a key strategy for reducing air pollution that harms health and contributes to climate change
SAN FRANCISCO (January 21, 2013) – A report released today outlines solutions for overhauling the state’s freight system to protect public health, meet air quality standards and slow the pace of climate change. Freight transportation in California creates air pollution that harms the health of communities exposed to its dangerous emissions and contributes to global warming.
The new study commissioned by the California Cleaner Freight Coalition, Moving California Forward, Zero and Low-Emissions Freight Pathways, evaluates strategies for modernizing how goods are moved through California. By evaluating alternatives to conventional diesel vehicles, the analysis aims to inform a statewide plan for cleaning up freight transportation.
The Coalition cautions that any shift in freight movement to rail or ship, while providing regional pollution benefits, would need to ensure reduction in emissions, exposure, and health risks to those communities close to rail yards, rail lines, ports and shipping lanes.
“This report provides solutions,” said Dr. Joseph Lyou, President & CEO of the Coalition for Clean Air. “We must address freight industry pollution to achieve clean air in California. Our report offers a path forward.”
“Low income, working class and communities of color disproportionately suffer health problems from air pollution from freight transport, and we have a right to clean air and healthy communities,” said Maricela Mares Alatorre, a resident of Kettleman City in the San Joaquin Valley where residents have suffered from high rates of birth defects and childhood cancer and many pollution sources including from freight transport along Interstate 5 and Highway 41.
“The cost of cleaning up the trucking and freight industry in California is nothing compared to the lost lives, elevated cancer risk, chronic respiratory conditions and other costs Californians have shouldered for years,” said Margaret Gordon, co-director of the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project. “Low-income communities, in particular, are paying with their health to allow the freight industry to do business in California.”
“It is critical that California has a clear plan to clean up our freight industry in 2014,” said Jesse Marquez, executive director of Coalition for a Safe Environment. “As our report shows, our air pollution problem is so bad that communities from around the state are uniting to take on the issue. Moving to electrification and zero emission transportation technologies can literally save lives.”
Transforming the freight system is a large undertaking that will not happen overnight, which is why it is crucial that California’s Air Resources Board identify and implement long-term strategies to move our freight system into the 21st century.
“Moving our freight system off of polluting fossil fuels with clean electric power will result in faster cargo delivery without the pervasive pollution affecting some of the most vulnerable communities living along these polluted corridors,” said Diane Bailey, senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council. “We should build electric power into our existing freight systems however we can.”
“We don’t have to sacrifice economic success to achieve air quality, health and climate benefits,” said Don Anair, research and deputy director for the Clean Vehicles Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. “Emerging technologies are presenting an opportunity to transform conventional freight vehicles into a low-carbon transportation system that cleans our air and reduces our oil consumption.”
Many of the report’s proposals can be achieved with technologies that are either available today or can be commercialized over the next several years—with appropriate investments and support from policymakers. The California Cleaner Freight Coalition urges the California Air Resources Board to adopt a sustainable freight plan in 2014.
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The mission of the California Cleaner Freight Coalition is to create transformational changes to the freight transportation system in California in order to protect the public’s health, clean the environment, and promote social justice and equity. We are a collaborative partnership of organizations committed to an inclusive membership, honest dialogue, respect for differences, and transparent decision-making. The Coalition includes grassroots environmental justice, environmental, science, and health groups.
The Coalition for Clean Air (CCA) has been dedicated to making sure that every breath you take is a breath of clean air since 1971. With offices in Sacramento, Los Angeles and Fresno, CCA reduces air pollution and improves public health in California through advocacy, outreach and education. For more information, visit www.ccair.org.
The members of the California Cleaner Freight Coalition include American Lung Association in California, Bay Area Healthy 880 Communities, Breathe California, Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice, Central Valley Air Quality Coalition, Coalition for a Safe Environment, Coalition for Clean Air, Comite Civico Del Valle, Communities for a Better Environment, Ditching Dirty Diesel Collaborative, East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, Environmental Health Coalition, Global Community Monitor, GreenAction, LAANE, Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma, Natural Resources Defense Council, Pacific Institute, People for Clean Air & Water of Kettleman City, Regional Asthma Management & Prevention, Sierra Club California, Union of Concerned Scientists, Valley Improvement Projects, West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project.
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