Media Release

For Immediate Release

Contact:
Leiana Naholowaa : (619) 474-0220 ext. 101
Mobile : (619) 993-6743

EHC Executive Director Appointed To
Landmark Greenhouse Gas Reductions
Advisory Committee

(January 29, 2007) – National City, California. Diane Takvorian, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Environmental Health Coalition (EHC), was appointed to the Environmental Justice Advisory Committee on Climate Change by the California Air Resources Board (ARB) on Thursday, January 25, 2007. The committee is mandated by AB 32, the landmark California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which establishes a statewide target for greenhouse gas reductions by 2020.

“I am honored to have been appointed to the Environmental Justice Advisory Committee for Climate Change and recognize the urgency of addressing this issue,” Diane Takvorian stated. “According to the California Energy Commission, 41% of California’s greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation and 20% from electricity production. In San Diego these two sectors not only contribute to climate change but severely impact the health our residents, especially in low income communities of color that bear the burden of both of these sources.”

The Environmental Justice Advisory Committee will advise and guide the state board as they create a “scoping plan” to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Members of the advisory committee were nominated and chosen based on their experience in working with communities who have the most significant exposure to air pollution. A large portion of these affected areas are low-income communities of color.

ARB will also meet with state agencies that have jurisdiction over the actual sources of greenhouse gas emissions. The state board will discuss energy-related matters such as electrical generation, load based-standards or requirements, the provision of reliable and affordable electrical service, petroleum refining, and statewide fuel supplies.

Environmental Health Coalition has been working to reduce diesel truck traffic in the Barrio Logan community of San Diego and remove the South Bay Power Plan on the coast of western Chula Vista.

Diane Takvorian ’s statement regarding committee membership:

I am honored to have been appointed to the Environmental Justice Advisory Committee for Climate Change and recognize the urgency of addressing this issue.

According to the California Energy Commission, 41% of California’s greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation and 20% from electricity production. In San Diego these two sectors not only contribute to climate change but severely impact the health our residents, especially in low income communities of color that bear the burden of both of these sources.

Our colleagues at the Southern California Environmental Health Science Center (USC/UCLA) just released the results of their ten year study documenting that living near a freeway reduces children’s lung capacity and growth. Children living near freeways and in communities with high average pollution were the most severely impacted.

In 2003, the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice Advisory Committee recommended that cumulative impacts be considered by regulatory agencies. The Environment Justice Committee on Climate Change will continue to make this link, and bring the experiences of their communities to the policy arena.

Energy generation, land-use planning, transportation, air and water quality, and community health are all intertwined, and require comprehensive regional planning. That’s why Environmental Health Coalition is leading the efforts to create a sustainable energy future for San Diego, starting with the elimination of the South Bay Power Plant, and why we are pushing for a Clean Ports Plan for San Diego. These efforts must go hand-in-hand with efforts to revitalize the communities of Barrio Logan and Old Town-National City and to develop the Chula Vista Bayfront. It’s all connected.

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