Air Quality and Health

The good News:

Decades of clean air leadership has lead California to make a great deal of progress in decreasing pollution. Despite population growth, air pollution has fallen since 2000. Thanks to state and local pollution reduction strategies, the most polluted areas have made the largest strides against pollution. California’s South Coast region has seen a particularly high population growth while experiencing a significant decline in the number of unhealthy days resulting from fine particulate matter and ozone. Cleaner and more fuel efficient cars and trucks have resulted in lower pollution per capita.

The Bad News:

Despite the progress of the past 20 years, California has a long way to go. Over 90 percent of Californians still live in areas that fail to meet federal health protective air quality standards. The San Joaquin Valley shows a continued increase in unhealthy air days, and the Inland Empire experiences an average of over 120 unhealthy days per year.

While air quality is slowly improving, Californians still release too much carbon into the air, causing climate change to remain a critical issue. California has begun to see the effects of climate change in our record high temperatures, melting glaciers, floods and droughts.

Climate change is a global problem, but it is of special concern to California because the Western States are heating up quicker than any other region in the United States. Water, which is already scarce in this state, is particularly threatened by changing temperatures. The Sierra Nevada snowpack provides most of the water to California, but it is currently shrinking. The shrinking water supply can lead to an increased risk of wildfires.

These are only some of the effects of air pollution. Climate change caused by poor air quality will impact every aspect of California life, including the state’s natural resources, public health, energy, air quality, agriculture, economy, environment, and infrastructure.

Why Reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled?

Sierra Club California and our supporters have an amazing opportunity to affect change in California though the implementation of SB 375. Right now, all over California, Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) are working to create plans to mitigate air pollution caused by personal cars and trucks. These plans, called Sustainable Communities Strategies, combine land use and transportation planning to reduce per capita greenhouse gas emissions. It is our job, as residents of California, to pressure our community leaders to increase transportation alternatives. Each MPO has a slightly unique timeframe and community participation protocol.