while we all put our lives on hold to save lives, the big polluters are working overtime to use the crisis as an excuse to weaken public health by lowering air, water and climate standards. for weeks in washington, the trump administration has rolled back environmental regulation using the pandemic as an excuse. yesterday buzz feed reported “on march 26, the epa announced a temporary relaxing of enforcement rules, allowing factories, power plants, and other companies to stop conducting routine tests for pollutants and reporting them to the agency if they could claim the pandemic had led to a shortage of staff or other operational challenges.” https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zahrahirji/warren-epa-coronavirus-letter-polluters
here in california, where environmental leadership and laws are stronger, the polluters are seeking rollbacks as well, particularly in clean air standards. last week a group of environmental organizations fired back with a letter urging california governor gavin newsom and legislative leaders to stand firm in keeping our public health strong and protected. Here are the best parts:
March 31, 2020
Re: Do Not Delay or Weaken Standards that Protect Public Health, Air and Climate
Dear Governor Newsom, Speaker Rendon, President pro tem Atkins:
Seven of the ten smoggiest cities in the United States are in California, and too many of our most vulnerable communities bear the greatest burdens when the air is unhealthy to breathe. Air pollution damages our health through increased risk of asthma attacks, emergency room visits and hospitalizations, lung cancer, heart attacks, strokes and premature death. On top of that, people with respiratory illnesses are at a higher risk of becoming critically ill with COVID-19, and many Californians with respiratory illnesses are concerned about what that will mean for their health. Those at greatest risk for harm include children, the elderly, and those with lung and heart disease. In addition to these air pollution-related impacts, we face the existential threat of climate change. As the Fourth California Climate Assessment noted: “Climate change poses direct and indirect risks to public health, as people will experience earlier death and worsening illnesses.” The climate crisis has already taken a severe toll on our state through several devastating wildfires.
Weakening or delaying needed health-based standards would damage both our economy and our health. Scientists warned of a pandemic and scientists have also warned us of the climate crisis, and it has become even more clear that crises like these will only exacerbate economic and health inequality. Smart regulatory standards drive innovation and save lives and money. In fact, a 2011 analysis by US EPA found that the benefits of the Clean Air Act “exceed its costs by a wide margin, making the CAA a very good investment for the nation.” The analysis estimated that the annual dollar value of benefits of air quality improvements would reach a level of approximately $2.0 trillion in 2020, far offsetting their related costs of $65 billion.
While the Trump Administration continues, even during this crisis, to roll back sensible standards at the behest of polluters, California must stand firm in defense of public health. All three of you have shown leadership in opposing the rollbacks coming from the federal government, and we need your continued leadership more than ever during this emergency.
We fully recognize the magnitude of the crisis that threatens not only our health but also our economy. We urge you to put Californians to work building the infrastructure of the clean energy/sustainable transportation economy that we need. We would welcome an opportunity to discuss a “green stimulus” package that could create jobs while reducing emissions to ensure our communities are resilient in the face of any crisis.”
We are lucky in California to have leaders of all branches of government that understand the fundamental and obvious truth that our health and happiness requires clean air and water. Let’s hope they all continue to contribute their leadership and long-vision to the state of this state, which leads the world.
