Every comment you make on a proposed federal rule really makes a difference for health, for clean air, for climate. Government agencies have to consider all our comments.
Right now, NHTSA (National Highway Transportation and Safety Agency) is accepting comments on a proposal to strengthen fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks (pickup trucks).
How does this affect health? Stronger standards mean less air pollution. Less air pollution means fewer asthma attacks, fewer heart attacks, fewer strokes, fewer people with dementia, fewer kids getting asthma, fewer babies being born prematurely.
Stronger standards also mean less greenhouse gases and helps address climate change. This also significantly affects health, since the climate crisis is a public health emergency.
Every single thing we can do to reduce air pollution is good for our health. So please comment in favor of stronger fuel economy standards.
Here is what Mothers & Others For Clean Air’ Dr. Anne Mellinger-Birdsong submitted to NHTSA on behalf of Mothers & Others:
“I am writing on behalf of Mothers & Others For Clean Air. We strongly support stronger corporate average fuel economy (CAFÉ). Cars and pickups create numerous kinds of air pollution: particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In addition, the NOx and VOCs are the substrate for ozone on hot sunny days. PM2.5 from fossil fuels cause 13% of all deaths in the U.S., and cars and trucks produce a significant amount of PM2.5. PM2.5 causes heart attacks, strokes, lung disease, lung and other cancers, and dementia. Here in the Southeast, PM2.5 causes increased hospitalizations for all causes and for dementia. PM2.5 causes preterm birth, low birthweight, damaged lung growth in children and teens, and cognitive problems in children. Students who go to schools downwind from a major highway see their test scores drop and they have more behavioral incidents. NOx causes 1.6% of all deaths in the U.S. NOx cause heart disease, lung disease, increased incidence of asthma, increased asthma attacks in children and adults who have asthma, and damaged lung growth in children and teens. VOCs are toxic and affect health in many ways. Ozone causes increased deaths, affects people with heart and lung conditions, can cause asthma, and is as bad for people with emphysema as smoking a pack a day of cigarettes. In addition, numerous studies show that highway air pollution is higher in communities of color, because of our past history of redlining and how our country built highways in the middle of black and brown communities. Black and brown communities have more exposure to traffic air pollution, and suffer more health problems as a result. As we can see, children, pregnant women, and black and brown communities are more exposed and more vulnerable to vehicle pollution. Stronger CAFE standards will reduce air pollution, improve health, and help address some of the health disparities in our country. Many of these same air pollutants are also greenhouse gases. Climate change is affecting us now. This year the U.S. experienced floods, strong hurricanes, wildfires, heatwaves, and droughts, all amplified by climate change. We are already experiencing hundreds of deaths each year due to climate change. And again, the health damage from climate change is not evenly distributed, with children, pregnant women, and black and brown communities experiencing more health problems. Stronger CAFE standards will reduce greenhouse gases, and help address the root cause of climate change. For health reasons, for vulnerable and overburdened communities, and for the people who are children now, stronger CAFE standards will make major differences. Mothers & Others For Clean Air strongly supports this proposal to strengthen CAFE standards.”
10/25/2021
