By: Celerah Hewes, New Mexico State Coordinator, Moms Clean Air Force
Date: May 10, 2023
About: Environmental Protection Agency Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2022-0829
To: Environmental Protection Agency
Thank you for the opportunity to give testimony today. My name is Celerah Hewes, and I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with my family. I am a National Field Manager for Moms Clean Air Force, an organization with over 1.5 million parents, caregivers, and family members working to protect our children’s health from the impacts of climate change and air pollution.
I am here today to support the strongest possible standards for light- and medium-duty vehicles produced beginning in model year 2027. This timing is especially significant to my family, as 2027 is the year my daughter can get her driver’s license. This rulemaking will impact the cars our children drive—and the quality of the air they breathe in the future. The vehicles covered by this rule will likely be on the road until my child is the age I am now. They will be part of her world as she chooses a place to live, a career to pursue, and possibly to raise a family of her own.
Although air quality in the US has improved in the past several decades, 36% of Americans live in places with unhealthy levels of air pollution, according to the 2023 “State of the Air” report. This includes Albuquerque, which has repeatedly received an F grade for ozone. Clean car standards are an important step forward in protecting our families from dangerous tailpipe pollution, which is a significant contributor to climate change and other harmful health impacts.
In the southwest we are all too familiar with the impacts of climate change, most notably drought and extreme heat. Research shows that hot temperatures are associated with worse test outcomes for Black and Hispanic students, as well as students from low-income communities. In addition, Hispanic and Indigenous communities often have reduced access to the resources that would help them adapt to climate change. With approximately 75% of the children in New Mexico identifying as Hispanic, Black, or Indigenous this means that New Mexico’s children are carrying a disproportionate burden of climate impacts.
New Mexico also has the third highest levels of poverty in the United States at 19.1%, according to the most recent US Census. That rate is even higher for New Mexico’s children: 28% of children under age five live in poverty and 25% of children under age 18 live in poverty. This increased burden of stress places vulnerable and marginalized communities at elevated risk for health impacts from climate change and air pollution.
Parents around the country want to see a rapid transition to zero-emissions vehicles, not just because our kids are excited about a new generation of vehicles, but because we see the impacts of climate on our families every day. From our children struggling with heatstroke, climate anxiety, and their ability to learn in the classroom to much more severe health impacts.
On behalf of Moms Clean Air Force, and my family, I am urging EPA to finalize the strongest possible clean cars standards this year. Our children are counting on it.