I am a person with asthma acquired from living in Los
Angeles in the 50's and 60's before the EPA, when the sun rose like
a red rubber ball through the pollution, and when they were using
rocket fuel for testing Atlas rockets so close, my whole house
shook. I would ride on my girlfriend's horse to Aliso Canyon and
back before the 118 freeway was built. Now I am just getting over
pneumonia, so I urge you to strengthen and improve the Draft 2022
Scoping Plan Update to improve air quality. In addition, Scientists
have increasingly raised the alarm that this decade is our last
chance to make significant and meaningful changes in our
transportation, energy, building, and other major infrastructure to
prevent an irreversible climate catastrophe, which is why I am
disappointed that the Draft Scoping Plan fails to accelerate the
targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 40% below 1990 levels
by 2030 or to achieve carbon neutrality no earlier than 2045. It is
simply not good enough to meet the urgency of the climate crisis
and the desperate need for bold actions. CARB must achieve a more
ambitious Scoping Plan that leads to an accelerated pathway to
carbon neutrality so that the state’s 40 million residents
and future generations of Californians can live in and thrive in a
cleaner and healthier environment. Scientists also indicate if we
don't lower Greenhouse Gas emissions enough we could be facing up
to a 50% extinction of all the species on earth from global
warming. This is a horrifying thought and we could
be among that 50%.
I strongly urge the
California Air Resources Board to adopt a more ambitious plan on
how our state will combat the most catastrophic impacts of climate
change in the crucial years ahead. To accomplish this, CARB must
improve the Draft Scoping Plan by accelerating a phase-out of oil
and gas extraction and oil refining; not making any more investment
in fossil fuel infrastructure; eliminating or significantly
reducing our reliance on unproven and costly technologies to
prolong polluting fuel sources; pursuing more robust transportation
sector targets; and decarbonizing buildings. The escalating climate
crisis demands that CARB adopts a more ambitious Scoping Plan, one
with the vision and conviction to provide the solutions that are
needed to overcome the crisis that we face. Thank you for your
consideration.
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