Jan. 7, 2005
"Children's Clean Air Bill of
Rights" and Unprecedented Mobile Board Meetings Highlight Plans to "Take
Off the Gloves" in Fight for Air Quality
AQMD Governing Board Chairman William A. Burke today announced an
innovative “AQMD is Clearing the Air” program for 2005 to engage residents
and opinion leaders in a dialogue on how to speed up progress in the war
on smog.
Burke delivered his “State of the Air” remarks at the South Coast Air
Quality Management District’s first Board meeting of the year, partially
in response to last year’s landmark USC Children’s Health Study. The
research showed that many children growing up in Southern California may
suffer permanently underdeveloped lungs as a result of breathing smog.
“We are not doing enough for the future of our children, knowing that
poor lung function is second only to smoking as a risk factor for
premature death,” Burke said. “The time for political correctness has
passed. The time has come to take off the gloves and tell the plain truth
about what needs to be done to improve air quality. Every day we don’t
advance the cause for cleaner air is a day our children lose.”
Throughout 2005, each of the AQMD’s 12 Governing Board members will be
offered the opportunity to speak out on a variety of pressing air quality
issues. Standing behind a podium wrapped with colorful “AQMD is Clearing
the Air” artwork, they will address such hot-button issues as air
pollution from the ports and railroads, environmental justice and others.
Major components of the initiative will include:
- Unprecedented plans to hold “mobile” AQMD Board meetings in each of
AQMD’s four counties, where residents will be encouraged to voice their
concerns about local air quality issues. Burke said, “I want to hear
directly from the residents who bear the brunt of air pollution.”
- A “Children’s Clean Air Bill of Rights.” Children and others will
be invited to sign petitions calling on all Southern Californians to
step up efforts to clean the air;
- Dialogue with residents on strategies for reducing toxic air
pollution following the expected release later this year of results from
AQMD’s Multiple Air Toxics Exposure Study III; and
- Speaking opportunities on AQMD’s goal to convert all school buses in
the region to compressed natural gas or lower-emission diesel models.
During his remarks today, Burke spoke of his friendship with Muhammad
Ali.
“When everyone thought Ali was defeated in the Rumble in the Jungle, he
surprised the world and went on to win the fight,” he said. “This is
where I stand in the fight for cleaner air – taking blows from anti-clean
air advocates and dishing it back.”
AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major
portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
