As a doctor, I spent 20 years in a clinic in downtown Portland, the place I labored intently with low-income and homeless individuals. I noticed firsthand the influence of air air pollution from vehicles on frontline communities residing close to main roads. It is clear that our dependence on fossil fuels straight threatens the well being and security of all Oregonians.
Air air pollution from autos poses a major well being burden to communities throughout Oregon. Persistent air high quality alerts from quite a lot of pollution, together with autos, wildfires and different climate-related impacts, are a reminder that clear air is changing into more and more troublesome to come back by. Impaired air high quality is a disaster that all of us should tackle urgently.
This week, the Division of Environmental High quality determined to undertake the life-saving Superior Clear Automobile II Rule. The rule will shift all new small automobile gross sales to 100% clear autos by 2035. Nationwide, 110,000 untimely deaths might be averted by 2050 by transitioning to wash transport and electrical energy. With this vote, Oregon joins the nation’s chief states. Adoption of pollution-free autos.
Throughout our state, publicity to air air pollution is claiming lives. By adopting this rule, DEQ is taking an vital step towards offering aid to frontline communities statewide whereas additionally holding automakers accountable for his or her electrical automobile promise. Electrifying Oregon’s transportation sector as quickly as attainable is important to cleansing the air and preserving the atmosphere for this and future generations.
Patricia Kulberg
Kulberg is a former household doctor and former medical director of Multnomah County.
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