This was written by Moms Clean Air Force’s New Mexico State Coordinator, Ana Rios:
Over the last couple of months, you have heard from many of us at Moms Clean Air Force about EPA’s proposal to clean up pollution from heavy-duty trucks and buses. This proposal is a welcome step forward in cutting harmful pollution from these dirty vehicles, but it doesn’t go far enough to ensure a rapid transition to zero-emitting trucks.
My family and I live in the San Jose neighborhood of Albuquerque. Our neighborhood is known as a low-income area where people of color live. It is surrounded by pollution. My house is one mile away from an interstate highway, near the railroad, and even worse, just a few steps away from what used to be an oil transfer station and is now a heavy-duty truck company.
Communities like mine are seeing the health impacts of air pollution from ground transportation — asthma, heart attacks, stroke, and lung infections, to name just a few. Our communities are also living with the impacts of climate change — extreme heat, drought, and wildfires made worse in part by climate pollution from the transportation sector. I worry every day about how air and climate pollution will affect my children’s health and development.
My family is concerned about the climate crisis, so we installed solar panels on our house and we drive an electric car. But we are only one family, and our individual actions can’t solve a systemic problem. There is no time to waste.
Join me in urging EPA to finalize standards that put the US truck and bus fleet on a clear roadway to 100% zero-emission sales by 2035. Parents know that eliminating emissions from heavy-duty vehicles — especially through a rapid transition to zero-emission vehicles — is essential for making strides toward cleaner air in communities like mine and a safer climate for our children.