By: Oscar Hauptman, Michigan member, Kids Clean Air Force
Date: June 28, 2022
About: Waiver Requests for California's Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT), Zero Emission Airport Shuttle, and Zero-Emission Power Train Certification Regulations; Omnibus Low NOx Regulation; and HD Emission Warranty Regulation, Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2022-0331
To: Environmental Protection Agency
Hello. My name is Oscar, and I’m 11 years old. I live in Brighton, Michigan, with my family. Dirty diesel trucks spew carcinogenic pollution into the air. When that pollution heats up on hot days, it’s hard for me to breathe. I have asthma. Smog from trucks and buses often makes me have an asthma attack. My chest gets tight, I cough, and it feels like someone is sitting on my chest. It’s scary. Sometimes my inhaler helps; other times I need my nebulizer. I went to the emergency room twice because of a bad asthma attack. I love to play sports, but poor air quality makes it hard. I just started swimming with a team this year. It’s been really hot! Michigan has been under a heat advisory, and my mom’s weather app says the air quality is unsafe a lot this summer. The air is too dangerous for me to swim, bike, play basketball or soccer with my friends. I know the largest source of carbon pollution and smog comes from trucks, buses, and cars. It makes me mad that we are near these freeways when we play soccer breathing dirty air while we are trying to be healthy and strong.
The dirty air is especially bad for kids. Kids breathe more rapidly, and our hearts and brains are still developing. We are breathing in the poisons from these trucks and buses that harm our bodies. Lots of kids in Michigan have asthma like me too—over 130,000—and we have over 12 counties with a failing air quality grade, according to the American Lung Association. I’d be grounded if I got that many poor grades! That’s why you need to protect our developing lungs. Michigan kids want our counties' and cities' air cleaned up and our air quality grades pulled up.
The EPA can help do this. EPA must issue these waivers quickly and in full to deliver on President Biden’s commitment to the authority of states to protect their vulnerable populations and to address the climate crisis. Any delay in implementation of California’s clean truck rules will cause harm to the tens of millions of Americans who live near high-traffic corridors, including many kids like me! There is no time to waste. Please protect our lungs, heart, and brain! Thank you.