By: Celerah Hewes, New Mexico Field Organizer, Moms Clean Air Force
Date: August 25, 2021
About: Environmental Protection Agency Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0208
To: Environmental Protection Agency
My name is Celerah Hewes, and I am a Moms Clean Air Force organizer in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Thank you so much for allowing me to speak today. New Mexico is known for it’s beautiful skies and outdoor spaces, but Albuquerque continues to receive failing ozone grades in the American Lung Association’s “State of the Air” report, in large part because of vehicle pollution. The transportation sector is the largest source of carbon pollution in the US. Cleaning up vehicle pollution is one of the most important things we can do to fight climate change. That is why I was glad to hear the EPA is proposing to strengthen federal greenhouse gas emissions standards for passenger cars and light trucks, which account for 17% of US climate pollution.
Climate change is greatly impacting New Mexico and the Southwest with drought and longer, more intense wildfire seasons, and increased heat waves that threaten the health of New Mexico families. We have seen rising heat and climate impacts, including wildfires that were causing air pollution from fires over 400 miles away. This summer, the wildfires burning in Arizona put Albuquerque on a public health alert as smoke and particulates traveled hundreds of miles. On her first day of summer camp, my eight year old daughter suffered from heat stroke as we saw the beginning of a heat wave hitting the Southwest. On the third day, I had to explain that she could not play outside because the air was dirty from smoke and particulate matter caused wildfires in another state. Over the past few weeks, we have had numerous days where Air Quality officials have told us the air outside is unhealthy due to smoke and ozone and our skies are so thick with particulate matter we cannot see the Sandia Mountains. Our children now have to spend large portions of the summer inside because the air outside is dangerous to breathe. We have to make a change now, before this becomes the new normal.
We cannot address the climate crisis without moving decisively to zero-pollution vehicles, and this proposal is a step in the right direction. The pollution from cars not only causes climate change, but it also degrades air quality and threatens our health. The EPA must set the strongest possible federal clean car standards through 2026, avoiding loopholes and putting automakers on track to meet ambitious pollution reduction goals.
Thank you again for your time today.