Hello, my name is Paul and I live in Redlands, where warehouses
are encroaching on living spaces, and the air quality here is among
the worst in the United States. As someone who grew up with
debilitating asthma, I live in constant fear that my 18 month old
son will have to experience the same things that I did. I fear that
I will have to take my son to the Emergency Room when he's gasping
for air and struggling to get oxygen into his lungs, the way that
my parents did when I was a small child in the 1980's. That was 40
years ago. The air quality here is simply not good enough, and we
are not doing nearly enough to improve it. Why are we continuing to
do this?
I am asking the board to make a plan for:
A full phaseout of fossil fuels by 2045. We must end oil
extraction by 2035, phase out oil refining by 2045, phase out gas
fired power plants by 2035, eliminate gas appliances by 2030, and
decommission the gas distribution system by 2045. More clean cars,
trucks, and mass transit for working class Californians. Transition
to 100% zero-emission vehicles by 2035 and lower the amount of
vehicle miles traveled by 30% by 2035. A transition to clean,
renewable, zero-emissions electricity by 2035 with retirement of
all gas plants and no new gas plants. Minimize reliance on carbon
capture and storage and other climate dead ends.
This is so important. We have to prioritize the health of our
community, and especially our children. We cannot keep subjecting
our communities and our climate to these inexcusably poor health
conditions, especially when we have the renewable energy solutions
we need. Our children deserve clean air now.
Thank you.
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