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Please see the attached letter from Alianna Amaya, Emily Aguilar
and Giovanni Alvarez, students at Coliseum College Prep Academy in
East Oakland.  The text is also copied below. Thank you

Alianna Amaya
Emily Aguilar
Giovanni Alvarez
In care of Coliseum College Prep Academy
1390 66th Avenue
Oakland,CA  94621


January 31, 2022

California Air Resources Board
1001 I Street 
Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Chair Randolf and Boardmembers,

We, the undersigned, are a group of seniors at Coliseum College
Prep Academy, a public highschool and middle school located at 1390
66th Avenue in East Oakland.  We are participating in an air
quality and climate internship through our school.

We are writing to support naming East Oakland a priority community
for a Community Emission Reduction Plan, because, compared to the
vast majority of California communities, East Oakland has higher
rates of polluted air with higher risk of health conditions and
health problems.

Pollution problems in East Oakland include diesel pollution from
petroleum fuel burned by trucks and trains that go through the
neighborhood.  Our school is located in a neighborhood in the 78th
Percentile on Calenviroscreen for diesel. Trains run along San
Leandro Blvd; trucks are common on I 880 going to and from the Port
of Oakland, and also going to the airport, which is right here in
East Oakland.  Other vehicles, besides trucks and trains, add to
the pollution.  Busy streets include International Blvd,
Hegenberger Blvd. and others.   People who live near schools are
exposed to lots of car exhaust during school drop-offs and
pick-ups.

Industrial pollution is also a problem. Hexavalent Chromium comes
from the AB & I Foundry near San Leandro Blvd and 77th Avenue.

Even trash can be an air pollution problem in East Oakland. We see
trash in our streets, especially when we walk home from school. 
Not only is it a source of odors, trash can be moldy, and send mold
spores into the air, along with other possible contaminants. 

Wildfires are becoming more frequent as well.  And even though
those fires aren't in East Oakland they affect East Oakland
residents, and can be a big problem for kids and people who have
asthma. 

The consequences of air pollution are becoming more frequent
because the air quality is getting worse with wildfires; we need to
make sure that we don't make it even worse in East Oakland by
adding more local air pollution.

The health effects of air pollution are already a real problem in
East Oakland. These health effects include respiratory and
cardiovascular problems.  CCPA is located in a neighborhood in the
100th Percentile on CalEnviroscreen for asthma, and the 90th
percentile for cardiovascular disease.  
https://www.epa.gov/particle-pollution-and-your-patients-health/health-effects-pm-patients-lung-disease


For many residents in East Oakland, who have asthma these problems
hit home. One of the interns in our group, Emily Aguilar, knows
that her mother and brother, who have asthma, have  more trouble
breathing when they go outside and there's a lot of trash.  When
the wildfires were bad in 2020 her mother and brother couldn't go
outside for anything because they would have trouble breathing. 
The wildfires meant that her brother had to miss school until
everything calmed down.

The pandemic has hit East Oakland particularly hard as well. 
Comparing case rates in Oakland zip codes:
CCPA's zip code (94621) has seen 26040.1 reported cases per 100,000
residents. 
Deep East Oakland's zip code (94603) has seen 26105.4 cases per
100,000 residents 
Fruitvale zip codes have had  22527.8 cases per 10,.000 residents.
This compares to the more affluent Rockridge zip code, 94618, where
there have been  8,934 cases reported per 100,000 residents. 

East Oakland needs support to develop a Community Emission
Reduction Plan that gives our residents the same chance to breathe
clean, healthy air as wealthier Californians.  That plan needs to
lower the health risks we face. It also should help East Oakland
residents stay safe in the face of climate change.  We are all
agreed that climate change is not prioritized as it should be. 
It's important that we talk about it and have more action, so that
we can slow the impacts for the future.  Climate protection and
climate resilience are social justice questions because  if you
look at statistics you can see who is getting impacted more by
climate change. That is clearly low income communities of color,
which is tied to historic and ongoing racial and economic
injustices that are happening every day. 

Some of the solutions that need to be talked about:
Keeping our communities safe and healthy in the face of wildfire
smoke and other climate change impacts without adding to the air
quality burden or adding more greenhouse gasses 
(Example air filtration systems,with clean energy and backup
storage to keep the power on during wildfire season)
Better, eco-friendly technology in lower income communities
(combining water and heat to use less fuel, solar power with
back-up storage,
Ensuring that communities near schools aren't exposed to unfair
amounts of pollution from cars

All in all, we think these reasons and plans are important for the
betterment of our communities. We hope to see noticeable change in
east Oakland. 

We thank you for your careful consideration of these crucial
matters.  We look forward to receiving information on the plan in
the future.  You can reach us at:
emilyaguilar1453@gmail.com 
alianna.amaya04@gmail.com  
giovannialvarez142@gmail.com 


Best, 

Alianna Amaya, Emily Aguilar and Giovanni Alvarez