September 21st , 2004

Contacts:
Andy Weisser, (818) 703-6444, aweisser@earthlink.net
www.californialung.org
or your local American Lung Association at (800) LUNG-USA.

American Lung Association of California Urges Tough, New Global Warming Regulations to Improve Public Health

Public Opinion, Health Professionals and Thousands of Public Letters Reflect Strong Support for Landmark Regulations

Editor/Reporter Interview Opportunties: Two related events as follows:

• Sacramento , Tuesday, September 21: News conference: 10:30 a.m., north steps, State Capitol.
• Los Angeles , Thursday, September 23: Spokespeople available at ARB Hearing: Beginning 8:30 a.m. , LAX Gateway Sheraton, 6101 W. Century Blvd.

(September 21, 2004, Sacramento, CA): With 87 percent of California adults saying that it is either very important (61 percent) or somewhat important (26 percent) for California to take a leading role in enforcing laws to reduce car emissions that lead to global warming pollution (*) and with more than 2,000 California residents and medical professionals expressing individual support through American Lung Association of California efforts, the Association continues its push for the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to pass a role-model regulation to reduce global warming air pollution from cars in the state at its September 23 hearing. (Combined with other organizations’ efforts, there are more than 112,000 individuals expressing such support.)

The proposed regulation will implement landmark legislation passed in 2002 that calls for the state to reduce greenhouse gases emitted from cars and trucks. If adopted, California would be the first state in the nation to require car companies to make cars that emit fewer global warming pollutants.

“Controlling greenhouse gas emissions is a key part of our state’s strategy to fight air pollution,” said said John Balmes, MD, a volunteer who serves on the American Lung Association of California’s Clean Air Technical Advisory Group and is division chief of occupational and environmental medicine at San Francisco General Hospital. “We simply have to hold the auto companies accountable to make cleaner cars,” he added. “Adopting this new regulation will help clean the air and improve public health.”

Unless controls are placed on greenhouse gas emissions, higher temperatures due to global warming are expected to worsen air pollution. High temperatures not only contribute to ground-level ozone formation, but also lead to increased pollution emissions from increased use of power plants and air conditioning, and increased evaporation of fuels.

“Bad air already takes a huge toll on public health in California . Global warming is expected to make our pollution problems even worse,” said Balmes. “Increased air pollution leads to more hospitalizations, more asthma attacks, more emergency room visits, and more school and work absences. Various studies show that air pollution has been shown to increase problems with heart and lung disease, impair quality of life, and decrease life expectancy.”

California adopted legislation, supported by the American Lung Association of California, AB 1493 (Pavley), that requires CARB to adopt regulations to achieve the “maximum feasible and cost effective reduction” of greenhouse gases from motor vehicles. Once regulations are adopted to implement AB 1493, they will undergo a period of legislative review before becoming effective in 2006. The purpose of California ’s clean cars law is to reduce global warming gases from passenger vehicles, which account for approximately 40 percent of the state’s emissions.

According to the California Energy Commission, almost 60 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in California come from burning petroleum fuels in the transportation sector. Existing technology is already available for automobile engines, transmissions, refrigerants, tires, aerodynamics and other areas to significantly reduce greenhouse gases. Use of hybrid-electric vehicles and alternative fueled vehicles such as battery electric, natural gas and fuel cell vehicles can also achieve significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

The CARB staff proposal would make substantial contributions toward reducing global warming gases. The proposal finds that automakers can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 22 percent by 2011 and up to 30 percent by 2014 across the vehicle fleet, using a mix of readily available and cost-effective technologies. However, some of these proven and developed technologies are not utilized by car companies and will not be made available in new cars, unless regulations require it. The proposed reductions can be accomplished without affecting vehicle size, weight or performance, contrary to auto company messages.

“California is already the international leader in smog control technologies,” said Balmes. “Now we must become the leader in technologies that reduce global warming pollution, and slow the warming process of our planet.”

The American Lung Association of California is working to help people understand the detrimental impacts of greenhouse gas emissions and global warming on air quality and public health, as well as the need for cleaner transportation. The central problem leading to greenhouse gas pollution is over-consumption of petroleum, especially in the transportation sector, which contributes 60 percent of California ’s greenhouse gas emission. Greenhouse gases are also emitted from various industries, power plants and other activities using fossil fuels.

The American Lung Association of California’s position statement regarding global warming is available at: http://californialung.org/spotlight/hn_policy.html.

The American Lung Association of California provides a number of resources regarding cleaner transportation at: http://californialung.org/spotlight/vehicles.html and also offers free print ads that provide health facts about diesel and tell Californians “There’s Even More You Should Know About Diesel.” They can be downloaded from the association’s Web site at: http://californialung.org/spotlight/cleanair01_ads.html.

*The Field Research Corporation survey was conducted in May, 2004 and sponsored by the American Lung Association of California. The poll findings are based on a random sampling of 1,003 California adults conducted by telephone in English and Spanish between May 18 through 24, 2004. Results have a sampling error or +/- 3.2 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.

For 100 years, the American Lung Association has been the lead organization working to prevent lung disease and promote lung health. Lung disease death rates continue to increase while other leading causes of death have declined. The American Lung Association funds vital research on the causes of and treatments for lung disease. With the generous support of the public, the American Lung Association is “Improving life, one breath at a time.” For more information about the American Lung Association or to support the work it does, call 1.800.LUNG.USA (1.800.586.4872) or visit www.californialung.org or www.lungusa.org.call 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872) or visit www.californialung.org.