Dear Members of CARB,
I am writing to you as a pediatrician and as a
Californian who lives in Los Angeles. I ask that you reconsider
your scoping plan and prioritize the recommendations of CARB's
Environmental Justice Advisory Committee. You are charged with protecting the public
from the harmful effects of air pollution and developing actions to
fight climate change. Please consider whether the draft as it is
currently written fulfills these commitments. You will conclude
that it does not.
Climate change is
a public health crisis. The science is clear. We have a very short
time to stop burning fossil fuels invest in building new fossil
fuel infrastructure is the wrong move. Yet, the draft plan proposes
increasing gas-fired power generation. The CALGEM Scientific
Advisory Panel has clearly stated that the most effective way to protect public health
from oil and gas operations is to stop drilling and
developing new wells and phase out existing oil and gas development
activities and associated infrastructure.
As a physician, I know that the extraction
and burning of fossil fuels increases our risk of heart attacks,
stroke, cancer, lung disease and our children's risk of premature
birth, birth defects, asthma, cancer, and developmental and
behavioral problems. We need cleaner air to breathe.
Please reconsider the Scoping Plan according to
the Environmental Justice Advisory Committee's
recommendations and see our health professionals and students'
letters and the
scientists’ letter for additional information.
Sincerely,
Karina Maher,
MD
Los Angeles
|