Good
afternoon, my name
is Valeria Aceves. I am 16 years old, a resident of Fresno County,
and a fellow with California Youth Vs.Big Oil and the Central
California Environmental Justice Network. I am speaking for the
Latinex and low income youth. I’m asking the board to
reconsider the CARB SCOPING PLAN. I’m here today because the
poor air quality in the Central Valley has led to a negative impact
on my community. Asthma, heart disease, and pollution rates
continue to rise in the Central Valley. This is negatively
affecting my communities’ health, food, water, soil, future,
and careers as we are an agricultural reliant and low income
community. My community should have the right to healthy air and
lungs, and my peers and I, the youth, should have the right to a
sustainable and healthy future. I am asking the board to not leave
the responsibilities and difficulties of climate change to us
youth, when it is far too late. Our careers, health, future and
lives are in your hands. In the CARB Scoping Plan, I am asking the
board to fully phase out fossil fuels by 2030 and prioritize the
communities health. Again, this is urgent because our climate and
communities can’t wait any longer. It’s inexcusable
that CARB is catering to the fossil fuel industry while sacrificing
us people and our communities! Thank you for listening, I
appreciate your hard work, and I ask for you to consider my
concerns.
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