By: Sarah McBride, Program Coordinator for Media & Public Engagement, Moms Clean Air Force
Date: May 9, 2023
About: Environmental Protection Agency Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2022-0829
To: Environmental Protection Agency
Thank you for the opportunity to testify. My name is Sarah McBride. I am the Program Coordinator for Media and Public Engagement with Moms Clean Air Force, and I live in St. Petersburg, Florida. I am here today to call on EPA to finalize the strongest possible clean car standards this year. Strong safeguards would protect our communities and families from dangerous tailpipe pollution. As one of the millions of people living close to major roadways, this rule would directly benefit my health.
A highway and an interstate run right outside my apartment window. Both are major thoroughfares through St. Petersburg, and I watch many, many cars go by in a steady flow of traffic all day long. I don’t open my windows much because, when I do, black grime collects on the windowsills and the floor inside. My air purifier also tells me the air coming in is unhealthy—the built-in indicator light quickly changes to orange or red when the windows open, meaning that the level of pollution in the air is high.
So I was surprised when the American Lung Association’s State of the Air Report gave Pinellas County As for both particle pollution and ozone—but not that surprised. My chest feels tight when I go for a walk around my apartment, but I can walk for miles in other parts of town without even thinking about my inhaler. Tailpipe pollution is having a profound impact on the air I’m breathing day in and day out.
I worry about how living so close to these roadways could impact my health. Exposure to tailpipe pollution can lead to increased risk of infections, cognitive problems, cardiovascular harm, and premature death, just to name a few. I worry about the health of my neighbors, who I see jogging alongside the highway every day. I worry about the health of the kids who go to school right around the corner—I see them on the field and the playground only a short distance from these two roadways. Their bodies are smaller, and particularly vulnerable to the impacts of pollution.
With these proposed clean car standards, EPA has the opportunity to significantly cut the dangerous, health-harming tailpipe pollution that is constantly spewed into my community and many more across the country. Please take this opportunity and finalize the strongest possible clean cars standards this year.
Thank you for your time today.